• Play Fantasy Basketball on Yahoo! >

Week 22 brings another top-heavy schedule with four-game teams, which is exactly what fantasy players want to see at a critical juncture to maximize our starting options. With injuries taking their toll at this time of the season as they usually do, there are plenty of appealing candidates with newly expanded roles and sub-50% start rates at each position this week.

Each week, we’ll aim to highlight a pair of Start candidates for your fantasy rosters who may shape up as some tougher calls of the week to make, focusing on players with a start or roster rate of 50% or less in Yahoo leagues. 

Likewise we’ll spotlight one Sit candidate at each position who would normally not be a consideration for a spot on your bench, often focusing on players with fewer game opportunities during the coming week.

TEAMS WITH FOUR GAMES: Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards

TEAMS WITH THREE GAMES: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors

TEAMS WITH TWO GAMES: Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic

Without further ado, let’s examine some tougher start/sit decisions for Week 22:

---

Start: Miles McBride, Knicks             

32% roster rate

McBride is the first of two Start suggestions at guard benefiting from the absence of a talented backcourt asset on their team. In his case, it’s Jalen Brunson’s lack of availability due to an ankle injury that’s expected to keep him out for at least another week. McBride has already been capitalizing during his teammate’s last three absences by averaging 17.0 points (on 55.6% 3-point shooting), 5.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks across 36 minutes per contest. With a four-game ledger on tap and particularly favorable matchups against the Hornets and Wizards to close the week, McBride is firmly in play.

Start: Tre Jones, Bulls

23% roster rate

Jones appears to have a firm grasp on the starting point guard role as the Bulls’ four-game week begins, having averaged 16.0 points (on 53.3% shooting, including 62.5% from behind the arc), 5.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals across his last five games. Josh Giddey will also open the Bulls’ four-game schedule listed as doubtful for Monday’s game against Jazz due to the ankle injury that’s already cost him a pair of contests, which means Jones should continue to be the beneficiary of a bump in usage for what could be multiple games. Given Chicago’s propensity for fast-paced, high-scoring battles, Jones could deliver another week of solid multi-category production, especially if he manages to maintain his blistering hot hand.

ALSO CONSIDER: Dennis Schröder, Pistons (37% roster rate); Kyshawn George, Wizards (30% roster rate)

Sit: Bradley Beal, Suns

78% start rate

Beal is back in the familiar territory of the injury report to start the week, as he tweaked a hamstring in Sunday’s loss to the Lakers and was forced from the game as a result. That puts his status for Monday night’s game against the Raptors very much into question, and if Beal sits as appears likely, he’ll only have two other chances to take the court during the scoring period. Consequently, at such a critical point in the fantasy season, it’s best to play it safe and seek out healthy three- or four-game options capable of providing similar production.

---

Start: Tari Eason, Rockets     

37% start rate

Eason missed Saturday’s game against the Bulls with a lower-leg injury, but he’s off the injury report to start the Rockets’ four-game week. Eason had just put up a season-high 30 points against the Mavericks the game prior to his absence, and he’s averaging 16.6 points (50.0% shooting), 5.8 assists, 2.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks over his current five-game starting stint. The emerging third-year wing should continue running with the first unit throughout the coming week considering Amen Thompson isn’t yet due back from his ankle injury, meaning fantasy managers should feel confident rolling with Eason on a week where the lack of back-to-back sets for Houston significantly reduces to the risk of a rest day.

Start: Shaedon Sharpe, Trail Blazers  

45% start rate 

Sharpe has been impressively steady throughout his third season, and he’ll check into Portland’s four-game week averaging a career-high 17.5 points per contest. Sharpe has hit or cleared the 20-point mark on 23 occasions overall, and he’s averaging 20.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest over his last 10 games. The Blazers have three appealing matchups to start the week in the form of the Wizards, Grizzlies and Nuggets, home games that could prompt some of Sharpe’s higher-percentile performances due to the expected pace of play and questionable defenses. 

ALSO CONSIDER: Kyle Filipowski, Jazz (34% roster rate); Moses Moody, Warriors (20% roster rate)

Sit: Paul George, 76ers

55% start rate

George has missed the last six games with groin and knee injuries, and there appears to be an increasingly strong chance he won’t suit up again until next season. Latest reports indicate the talented forward is consulting with doctors on the best course of action moving forward, and with Philadelphia devoid of any postseason aspirations, George may very well be shut down for what remains of the campaign. 

---

Start: Alex Sarr, Wizards                     

45% start rate 

Sarr came through for us handsomely as a Week 21 start suggestion, capping off a productive four-game run by going off for a career-high 34 points against the Nuggets on Saturday. The second overall pick put up 19.3 points (with 44.0% 3-point shooting), 7.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 blocks per game in the entirety of Washington’s four-game span, and he’s teed up for another full schedule this week. The talented seven-footer unsurprisingly seems to be getting more comfortable as the cumulative effect of the valuable reps he’s received throughout his first NBA season kicks in, making him another very viable Start consideration this week.

Start: Donovan Clingan, Trail Blazers

34% roster rate

Clingan is the second component of the rookie theme at center this week, as the seventh overall pick is in the midst of a solid 14-game starting run that’s his longest yet as a pro. Clingan is averaging a well-rounded 7.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.0 blocks over 24.1 minutes per game in that stretch, and he also recorded 21 points in 21 minutes off the bench against the Nuggets in the game immediately preceding that sample. While Clingan’s scoring undeniably experiences plenty of fluctuation, he’s capable of popping for double figures any time he’s on the floor and is also a very reliable source of rebounds and blocks. 

ALSO CONSIDER: Jaxson Hayes, Lakers (21% roster rate)   

Sit: Brook Lopez, Bucks

64% start rate

As fantasy managers who’ve rostered him can attest, Lopez is a hard player to figure out, and his unpredictability is far from ideal during the stretch run of the fantasy season. The big man’s last seven games are a microcosm of how he can confound, considering Lopez has scored in single digits four times during that span while also posting a pair of 23-point tallies. Even the rebounds and blocks are no longer as reliable on a game-to-game basis as they once were, and Lopez has just three games – all on the West Coast – to work with this week.