Fantasy hoops weekly rankings: Sit Nikola Jokic this week?

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You're in a weekly transaction league, and you need to decide by Monday evening who your starting lineup will be for the week. Should you consider sitting usual impact starters like Nikola Jokic or Aaron Gordon? Or perhaps starting someone like Al-Farouq Aminu or Bojan Bogdanovic who might generally be on your bench, perhaps even your waiver wire?

After the first set of weekly rankings came out last week, I had a conversation on Twitter (@ProfessorDrz) with one of my followers, The Wardog, who had a question about which players he should start. I referred him to the rankings, and he ultimately responded with this:

"i am a plus subscriber and these rankings helped, though its points rankings not roto, it gives me good context. I was only going to start 4/7 guys but im opting to sit Wall this week, hes out tonight and not worth gamble he sits again, when all these guys play 4 times."

His first sentence is key and the point I want to emphasize today. Even though these are points rankings, they give context and can help you decide your lineups in roto leagues as well. Roto leagues are all different, and each manager has to decide whether she or he absolutely needs more of one category or another, regardless of schedule. However, if you have multiple players who contribute stats that your team needs relatively equally, then the Forecaster information and these rankings can absolutely help you decide whom to start and sit.

Managers in roto leagues should look at these rankings as an "all things being equal, this guy is more likely to produce this caliber of production" list. If your team needs blocks, and there's an all-around player higher in the rankings than your shotb-locker, you may have to go with need. But if you could use blocks and assists equally, and your flex point guard is ranked higher in the rankings than your flex center, then these rankings could help you make that type of decision in a more informed, intelligent way.

Let's take a look at next week's schedules and some player news to help make personnel decisions.

Potentially startable players

The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting racked by injuries this season. Add that to the trade of George Hill last week, and suddenly players like Collin Sexton, Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson are carrying even more of a load than usual. Add in a favorable schedule, and all make worthy starters this week.

The Timberwolves have a crowded frontcourt since the trade that sent wing Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia in exchange for two starting-caliber forwards. Because of this, they have several brand-named forwards who are ranked a bit lower than their names might suggest. This week, though, their busy schedule has most of their forwards as possible fantasy starters this week.

Bojan Bogdanovic is on this list due to a favorable schedule, and though Bogdan Bogdanovic just missed the cut with a weekly ranking of 105, he deserves mention as well.

Both "Bogdanovii" (similar to Winklevii?) are producing at a similar level right now, and both have solid schedules, so both are potentially startable this week.

Potentially sittable players

Jokic is by far the highest-rated player on the potentially sittable list. His projected weekly ranking of 93rd isn't a definite sit, by any means, but there is a reasonable likelihood that you may have other centers/flex players on your roster with four games who project higher than the two-game production estimate for Jokic.

Horford was also in the borderline range before factoring in that he's working to come off an injury. Once that was factored in, it dropped him well into the sittable list, though you should listen out to hear if he gets injury clearance before your weekly lineups are set.

Dragic and Murray are two others who were already projected into the sittable range and are dealing with potential injuries, which anchors them more firmly to a potential week on the bench.

Weekly projections/rankings for Dec. 17-23

Methodology

The "potentially startable" list is generally comprised of players ranked below 80th in the season-long points rankings who ended up among the top-100 projected players for this week utilizing the Forecaster. Conversely, the "potentially sittable" list is generally comprised of players ranked in the top 100 of the season-long points rankings who ended up outside of the top-120 projected players for this week utilizing the Forecaster (or who are in the 120 range but projected much lower for the week).

There is also some correction for injury, so a player with injury question marks may have his value lowered enough to end up on the sittable list even if he's not officially out. Similarly, an understudy would get a boost in value if he is expected to play, and that could land him in the startable category. Finally, I have the license to add players to either list even if they don't fit the exact criteria, but if I feel that it is close enough to be of interest.