Draymond Green, Payton Pritchard, Plus 4 Must-Sit Week 17 Fantasy Basketball Players
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We, Fantasy Basketball owners, enter a lucrative week in the league. There are no teams playing fewer than three games this week, and many are playing five times. Matchups across the board are not that bad for lower-volume players this week, and we can really kick it into high gear. Nonetheless, there are players to sit in Fantasy Basketball. These are those names.
Payton Pritchard, Guard — Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are one of two teams playing three games this week, in week-long Fantasy Basketball, which makes Pritchard a bench player. He is never a sure-thing start, and he should not be one this week, which will end a road trip out west.
RJ Barrett, Guard/Forward — Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are the other team playing three games this week. While Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, and Immanuel Quickley are must-starts with their volume, Barrett is not. He is only the player No. 37 at his position and lacks the upside to play with reduced matchups. If we roll with a three-game player, he must have player top-5 upside.
Draymond Green, Forward — Golden State Warriors
Draymond is towards the end of his career. Despite that, he is a weekly Start 'Em, Sit 'Em discussion. This week, he absolutely must be sat. While Green has a very average four-game schedule this week, he is only the No. 20 PF in Fantasy Basketball. Green is better benched for a higher-volume, higher-upside player than may also have five games ahead this week, instead of four.
Brandin Podziemski, Guard — Golden State Warriors
While Podziemski could have a higher volume this week with Curry out, he is still hard-pressed to be startable. He will see an increase of at most 10% in output. In such a spread offense, Podziemski lacks the reward to outweigh the risk, with just an 18% usage rate. Curry also plans to be back as soon as Wednesday.
Amen Thompson, Guard — Houston Rockets
This is a bold bench, but we can bench Thompson given the metrics here. Thompson begins his week on a back-to-back against the Clippers. While they are bad against shooting guards, Thompson is currently injured and questionable to start on Tuesday. Whether he plays or not, Thompson would logically be on a minutes restriction. Following this sequence, Thompson goes on an East Coast road trip to face two middling units in the Hornets and Knicks. The risk here is too high; you may have a better backup option.
Jabari Smith Jr., Forward — Houston Rockets
Though healthy, Smith Jr. gets the Clippers on the back-to-back where they rank top-10 against power forwards. The Hornets are then mid-pack against the position, and the Knicks are borderline top-10. As a 67%-owned player, he is a hopeful start, so he is better sat this week.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.