NBA Supercoach | Best schedule-based options weeks 7-9

NBA Fantasy and Supercoach analyst Matty G looks at the upcoming schedule and goes through his best trade in options

NBA

Looking ahead, and casting our gaze into the week beyond the week that is to come, is a worthwhile exercise in planning.

Week 7 presents the most 4-game week options Supercoaches have had to choose from so far this year, with a total of twenty-six (26) teams playing 4.

The only teams that don’t are the Grizzlies, Thunder, Suns, and Kings.

Looking at the SC Crystal Ball as it were, Week 8 is NBA Cup week, so those who qualify will play elimination games of the cup, and those who don’t qualify play 2 regular-season games.

They are all scheduled later, as the group stage of the cup concludes.

Every team will have 2 games, except those that already have the Monday games scheduled; those teams play 3 times.

These teams are the Hawks, Bulls, Rockets, Heat, Timberwolves, Knicks, Kings, Raptors, Spurs, and Wizards.

Of these teams, only Sacramento plays 3 games in Week 7.

So scratch them as an option unless Keegan Murray tickles your fancy in Weeks 8 and 9.

The quandary for many Supercoaches here, then, will be whether to plan to attack the 3-game teams in Week 8 and accept the 3 games these teams play in Week 9, or roll a team with 2 games in Week 8 and get them on the 4 the following week.

Either way you slice it, ALL teams in the NBA will play 6 games cumulatively between Week 8 and 9.

So, who to look at from that list of 10 teams with the 4/3/3 split on the way?

Some of my considerations are:

Jalen Johnson | ATL | 18.86m

Look, JJ has been incredible in SC and fantasy this year.

He has happily filled the void left in Atlanta with the injury to Trae Young and has been the team’s “spiritual leader” as it were.

However, we do have to note that some of the ball-handling responsibilities will likely dip in Week 8 or 9 with Young expected to return during that stretch.

He is without a doubt the team’s premo.

Onyeka Okongwu | ATL | 13.9m

A sneaky POD play, as has been the team’s 2nd-best total points scorer this year.

The reason “The Omelette” as I like to call him, caught my eye is that the Hawks have two back-to-backs in this stretch.

One in Week 7 and one in the 3-game Week 9.

This means that Kristaps Porzingis will sit one in each of those weeks, and The Omelette starts.

He is a rollercoaster on the break-even front but has my attention.

Karl-Anthony Towns | NYK | 18.77m

Big Pur has been the Knickerbockers’ No.1 SC player so far this year.

He is the dog (see: kitty) in New York and has had solid showings of late.

The only issue with Towns is that he walks a dangerous line of sending you into the red with high BE points.

Well, that and trying to remember if the hyphen in his name is between the Karl and Anthony or Anthony and Towns, as we spend most of our time calling him just plain old KAT.

Mikal Bridges | NYK | 13.15m

The little fantasy engine that could this season is also the SC engine that CAN.

Behind excellent efficiency (outside his FT%), Bridges is reinstalling himself as the prototypical 3-and-D player in the NBA.

What sets him apart is his elite defensive numbers.

At the time of writing, he has made 1.6m on the season.

His Week 7 break-even of 96 is a risk factor for Week 7, considering OG Anunoby could return by then.

Following that, they are 62 and 63, respectively, in Week 8 and Week 9.

With an average of 24.7, he should surpass these and keep you green.

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Josh Giddey | CHI | 17.11m

I love Giddey, and even writing this, I feel innately conflicted.

His break-evens are perilously close to his current average of 30.0 for Weeks 7 through 9 (119, 85, and 92).

We also need to see a larger sample size of him beside Coby White in Chi Town.

But I have a feeling Giddey is going to have another run soon, and the gut is telling me it could come in this stretch.

Coby White | CHI | 12.38m & Ayo Dosunmu | CHI | 10.13m

I like both these guys, and they have both digestible price points with reasonable break-evens in this timeframe.

White obviously gets the nod as incumbent starter and can go thermonuclear at any moment.

But I don’t discount Dosunmu’s value to this Bulls roster and potentially an SC one as well.

Reed Sheppard | HOU | 7.44m

Well, well, well, look what we have here, a breakout for a player I can’t help but look at and see more suited for a Ralph Lauren catalogue than a gritty Rockets team.

Sheppard has been blessing all of us who put him on our rosters at the beginning of the season, having made SC managers who invested early 3.4m.

Once a player we saw readying the oranges on the bench has come to be considered a “must play” move.

Fair warning, his Week 6 break-even of -6 will be a thing of the past as he is set at 48, 42, and 49 Weeks 7-9, which puts him close to his season average of 16.6.

But form indicates Sheppard’s trajectory is heading up. 

Kel’el Ware | MIA | 12.3m

I mean, look, it all must come to an end sooner or later.

But for now, at Ware’s price point, it is a brain-scratcher.

His break-evens are close to his projections for the coming weeks, and we are a moment away from Coach Spo reducing his minutes, but if we get through Week 6 and he shows malleability with Bam and the Heat stay winning, he could be a play.

Jamie Jaquez Jr | MIA | 10.76m

“The Homie” is having a year. After a disappointing 24/25 season, Jaquez has had a resurgence in 25/26.

Break-evens set at 66, 51, and 48 during Weeks 7-9 make him a very appealing play as a POD.

Brandon Ingram | TOR | 13.62m

Despite high break-evens, the absence of RJ Barrett has made my play of Ingram a win so far.

Across two games in Week 6 he has scored 49 SC points and is leading the team with Scotte Barnes.

BE’s are set at 96, 69, and 70 during Weeks 7-9; however, the rhythm and confidence Ingram has played with should also put him on your radar for the weeks ahead.

Alex Sarr | WAS | 13.2m

Sarr’s sophomore season needs to be appreciated.

The red flag for him was always efficiency, but with this being much improved, the Frenchman is averaging 65.7 SC the last three weeks (Weeks 2-5) and so far has tallied 37 in Week 6 at his BE of 53 with two games remaining.

The guy shows promise and looks to continue making cash and has already returned Supercoaches 3.1m green cash dollarydos this season.

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