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The Playlist - Week 17 fantasy basketball pickups & how to handle All-Star Game stretch

Yahoo Sports fantasy basketball analyst Dan Titus offers up a handful of players to consider for your lineup and some helpful tips on how to approach the two-week long stretch around the NBA All-Star Break.

Video Transcript

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DAN TITUS: What's going on, y'all? Welcome back to "The Playlist." It's week 17. So let's get right to my pickups. I'm picking up Amen Thompson. Fred VanVleet is going to miss his fourth game coming into Monday. So that means that Amen Thompson's still going to be the point guard for the Houston Rockets for at least the All-Star break. He's coming off a double-double in two of his last three games, definitely will help you in rebounds, assists, and stocks. Pick up Amen Thompson.

Also, Precious Achiuwa, if he's still out there, he's just under 50% rostered. So if you see him in shallow leagues, get him. He is averaging the most minutes over the last six games in the NBA. So this guy can get you a double-double. You know what he can do on the stocks. And pick him up.

GG Jackson, this guy is available in less than 40% of leagues. So I'm pretty sure, you might be able to get him and still in some 12-team formats. And he's really been a microwave bucket off the bench, averaging close to 20 points. And he just got awarded a four-year deal from the Memphis Grizzlies for his fine play. So as the Memphis Grizzlies continue to invest in this youth development, make sure you pick up GG Jackson.

And my last play, probably going to be available in some shallow leagues, probably many shallow leagues, actually, maybe not so much in deep leagues, but Malik Beasley. The Bucks play three games this week, and that's really important because playing three out of the four days is going to be a huge scheduling advantage. You can pick up Beasley on Monday. You can get him for Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, all later-slate games that you can actually get somebody that can get you some points and 3's.

All right, so those are my pick ups. Let's head over to the schedule, things you need to know. It's week 17, that means it's All-Star week. So this week, well, actually, the scoring period will last for a total of two weeks. So we're talking February 12 to February 25. The problem is, there's no counting reset for your transactions. So whatever transactions your league setting has, whether it be four, five, seven, et cetera, that's what you're going to have for the two weeks. So make sure that you use your streaming options wisely.

Target teams that will play on the shorter slates. So the Bucks and the Timberwolves are two teams that play on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. So you could look at some deep streamers like Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Maybe you want to go to Kyle Anderson. He hasn't been really good in fantasy, but this is a volume play here, especially in head-to-head leagues where you just want to get a couple more stats of production against your opponent. But Malik Beasley is definitely an option. Pat Connaughton is a guy that I would also be looking at and be interested in.

But then there's also the teams that play on Tuesday and Thursday, which is the Blazers. So I would really be looking at Jabari Walker. He's a second-year player that's really coming on as of late. He's put up double-doubles, has that potential. And this injury report for the Portland Trail Blazers is getting pretty ugly right now. So as we approach that All-Star break, there's going to be a lot of teams that need some rest for certain players. So I would look at Jabari Walker as a guy that could definitely help you in this week. Out of one transaction, get two games, so definitely something I would pursue.

And in terms of teams to avoid. It's got to be the Oklahoma City Thunder. They only play one game this week. So they're not really going to be any help this week. So you can pretty much avoid them. And remember, because this is a two-week scheduling period, try to get your starts in as best you can in the beginning of the week. And then look to next week. There'll be more pickups for sure then. But until then, good luck this week. It's going to be All-Star weekend. So have a lot of fun. Take a break. Enjoy the Dunk Contest if we can actually do that. Let's be honest, we're all looking forward to the 3-point shootout. But yeah, we'll see you next week, peace.

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