With the holidays in the rearview mirror, the NBA slate has a more familiar look in Week 12. There are three days, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with double-digit games, with Thursday being the light game day. Unfortunately, fantasy managers have a lot of injuries to navigate, including Denver's Nikola Jokić and San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama. As is always the case, availability and scheduling will affect how managers craft their rosters for what they hope will be a successful week. Let's look at the Week 12 schedule and some of its key storylines.
Week 12 Games Played
4 Games: ATL, BOS, CHA, CHI, DEN, GSW, HOU, LAC, MEM, MIA, MIN, NOR, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHI, PHX, POR, SAS, TOR, UTA, WAS
3 Games: BKN, CLE, DAL, DET, IND, LAL, MIL, SAC
Week 12 Back-to-backs
Sunday (Week 11)-Monday: DEN, DET, OKC, PHX
Monday-Tuesday: None
Tuesday-Wednesday: LAL, MEM, NOR, ORL, SAS, WAS
Wednesday-Thursday: CHA, CHI, UTA
Thursday-Friday: None
Friday-Saturday: BOS, LAC
Saturday-Sunday: MIA, MIN, SAS
Sunday-Monday (Week 13): BKN, PHI, SAC, TOR
We dig into shifting rotations, uncovering which players deserve more attention or are falling out of favor.
Week 12 Storylines of Note
- Thursday is the light game day of Week 12.
Thursday is the only game with fewer than six games on the schedule, with it being a four-game night. Three of the eight teams in action, Charlotte, Chicago and Utah, will be dealing with a back-to-back. All three have some availability concerns. The Hornets have been hit hard by injuries in the frontcourt, with Ryan Kalkbrenner, Moussa Diabaté and Mason Plumlee all missing the team's final game of Week 11. Plumlee underwent surgery and is looking at a long-term absence, but fantasy managers will be more concerned about Kalkbrenner and Diabaté anyway. PJ Hall has made a few starts, and he may have value in deep leagues given the injuries and the Hornets' four-game Week 12 schedule.
As for Chicago, their most significant injuries have occurred on the perimeter, with Josh Giddey and Coby White sidelined. Giddey will be re-evaluated in two weeks after straining his left hamstring, while White's right calf injury will keep him out for at least one week. With those two off the board, Tre Jones, Ayo Dosunmu and Kevin Huerter will all have increased fantasy value in Week 12, and the Wednesday/Thursday back-to-back should not be an issue for any of them, provided they get through Chicago's first two games of Week 12 unscathed.
Lastly, there's Utah, which has not needed the excuse of a back-to-back to sit key players in the past. Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkić have been sidelined on multiple occasions, and Keyonte George missed the team's New Year's Day loss to the Clippers. It isn't the "silly season" yet, but players like Kyle Filipowski, Brice Sensabaugh and Isaiah Collier stand to take on added importance during Week 12.
- Be ready to move on from fringe Lakers at the end of games on Friday.
Not only do the Lakers play just three games in Week 12, but they won't be active on either Saturday or Sunday. While the absences of Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura may complicate things for some fantasy managers, others are likely to conclude that they're better off scouring the waiver wire for value during the final two days of Week 12 than holding onto Marcus Smart or Jake LaRavia. The Lakers' three games are against New Orleans, San Antonio and Milwaukee, beginning with a Tuesday/Wednesday back-to-back.
- Miami, Minnesota and San Antonio end Week 12 with Saturday/Sunday back-to-backs.
These three teams may prove most valuable to fantasy managers at the end of the week since they'll be active on Saturday and Sunday. While a player like Minnesota's Mike Conley won't be great to have, since he hasn't been playing both games of back-to-backs, some intriguing options should be available in most leagues. Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jović, and San Antonio's Julian Champagnie are three who may have added value toward the end of Week 12, due to both their production and injuries to other rotation players.
- How long will the Spurs be without Victor Wembanyama?
Regarding the Spurs, will Wembanyama be available at all during Week 12? And if so, how many games will he play? While San Antonio is scheduled to play four games, it has two back-to-backs, which may limit the 7-foot-4 phenom to two games at most if he can play to begin the week. After escaping severe damage to his left knee during Wednesday's win over the Knicks, Wembanyama is considered day-to-day and will travel with the team to Tuesday's game in Memphis.
That's followed by games against the Lakers (Wednesday), Celtics (Saturday) and Timberwolves (Sunday) to conclude Week 12. Luke Kornet was outstanding in Saturday's loss to the Trail Blazers and will be a starter as long as Wemby is out. How much he plays when allowed to start depends on how well he and Kelly Olynyk play. Olynyk was better on Friday against the Pacers, so he played more, and the roles reversed the following night against Portland.
- Brooklyn won't play its first game of Week 12 until Wednesday.
While the Lakers are the team to avoid at the end of Week 12, the Nets won't offer much value at the beginning of the week. Brooklyn won't play its first game until Wednesday, the first of three games on the team's slate. And the last, Sunday in Memphis, is the first of a back-to-back with Brooklyn visiting Dallas the following night. The back-to-back could loom large for Michael Porter Jr., Nic Claxton (who's currently away from the team for personal reasons), Cam Thomas and Terance Mann. The "silly season" isn't here yet, but players like Egor Dëmin and Danny Wolf may have added fantasy value at the end of Week 12. As for its beginning, that won't be the case.
Eric Samulski