Fantasy Basketball Week 7 Start/Sit: Is Reed Sheppard for Real?

We have a jam-packed schedule for week 7, with the majority of teams playing four games. A loaded slate typically means deciding on who to start and who to sit can be difficult, given the number of choices available. Despite the return of Kevin Durant, Reed Sheppard remained in the starting lineup for Sunday's win over the Jazz. Is this going to be a trend moving forward or simply an anomaly?

Week 7 brings with it plenty of NBA action, with 22 teams suiting up four times and just six teams taking the court three times. That leaves the Suns and the Kings as the only two teams with two games.

Sitting players who only go two or three times has its advantages, but fantasy managers still have to make smart decisions when figuring out whom to play, regardless of game count. Being aware of back-to-back sets is also a key factor, especially with so many teams now sitting players during the home stretch.

Four Games: ATL, BKN, BOS, CHA, CHI, CLE, DAL, DEN, DET, GSW, HOU, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIL, NYK, ORL, PHI, POR, TOR, UTA, WAS

Three Games: IND, MEM, MIN, NOP, OKC, SAS

Two Games: PHO, SAC

Here are four potential starts and four potential sits entering the seventh week of the NBA season. Just keep in mind that this is based on games played for the week. If you play in a rotisserie league, the number of games played each week may not matter in your format.

Guards

Consider starting: Reed Sheppard, HOU

Opponents: @UTA, SAC, PHO, @DAL

Despite the return of Kevin Durant, Sheppard remained in the starting lineup during Sunday's win over the Jazz. His role had been a point of contention prior to Durant's absence, with Sheppard continuously coming off the bench. In his three starts, Sheppard has averaged 15.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.0 three-pointers and 4.0 combined steals and blocks. It remains to be seen whether Sheppard will continue to start, although Sunday was an encouraging development. With four games on the slate, it's time to activate Sheppard across all formats.

Consider sitting: Zach LaVine, SAC

Opponents: @HOU, @MIA

The Kings continue to be one of the more disappointing teams in the league. The roster construction raised a lot of questions coming into the season, questions that remain relevant six weeks into the season. LaVine has been solid enough on the offensive end, providing Sacramento with a consistent scoring threat. In seven games over the past two weeks, LaVine has averaged 17.4 points, 1.1 steals and 1.9 three-pointers. However, his supporting stats are less than ideal, averaging 2.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.0 blocks during that time. With only two games coming up, LaVine is someone to seriously consider moving to the bench, especially if your squad is ripe with scoring threats.

Consider sitting: Grayson Allen, PHO

Opponents: @LAL, @HOU

Allen has been fantastic thus far, averaging 17.9 points, 4.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.8 three-pointers per game through his first 14 appearances. However, having recently returned from an injury-related absence, Allen could remain on some sort of minute restriction for at least the next week. He scored 10 points in his first game back, logging 25 minutes. Given there are so many teams suiting up four times, it makes sense to have Allen on your bench, factoring in all the variables that could still be present regarding his short-term role.

Forwards

Consider starting: Noah Clowney, BKN

Opponents: CHA, @CHI, UTA, NOP

After showing promise for the past two years, it appears as though Clowney has finally carved out a consistent role in the Brooklyn rotation. Prior to Saturday's blowout loss to the Bucks, Clowney had played at least 35 minutes in four straight games. In six appearances over the past two weeks, he has averaged 17.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 three-pointers and 2.1 combined steals and blocks. He has scored double digits in 11 of his past 13 games, while his defensive numbers have started to trend in the right direction. The Nets have four games this week, three of which are against favorable opponents. It's simple. Get him active.

Consider starting: Peyton Watson, DEN

Opponents: DAL, @IND, @ATL, @CHA

Watson has taken full advantage of the fact that Denver is dealing with a couple of significant injuries, those being to Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun. He has moved into the starting lineup, subsequently putting up career-best numbers. He has been a top 50 player over the past two weeks, averaging 16.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.3 three-pointers and 1.6 combined steals and blocks in seven appearances. Both Gordon and Braun are likely to miss at least another month, likely making Watson a key piece of the rotation moving forward. Denver is another team with four games, three of which are team-friendly. Get Watson into your starting lineups.

Consider sitting: DeMar DeRozan, SAC

Opponents: @HOU, @MIA

Much like LaVine, DeRozan has been a little up and down thus far, not surprising given the state of things in Sacramento. While he has stepped things up over the past two weeks, his numbers are still somewhat underwhelming. During that span, he has averaged 17.6 points, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.4 minutes per contest. Understandably, his motivation is lacking at times, meaning another poor performance could be just around the corner. In a case of quantity over quality, DeRozan moving to the bench for a quiet week could be the smart move.

Centers

Consider starting: Moussa Diabate, CHA

Opponents: @BKN, @NYK, @TOR, DEN

Diabate continues to come off the bench behind Ryan Kalkbrenner and yet has been able to remain relevant in standard leagues. Through 20 appearances, Diabate is averaging 9.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in just 22.9 minutes per game. His playing time is tough to project, with head coach Charles Lee opting to make rotation-based decisions on the fly, based on the individual matchup. However, starting a player who could hypothetically get you 40 rebounds and 10 defensive stats could be worth the risk.

Consider sitting: Derik Queen, NOP

Opponents: MIN, MIN, @BKN

Queen remains in the starting lineup despite his recent play, turning out a combined -63 in his past three games. He has been outside the top 180 in the past week, averaging 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in just 21.0 minutes per game. It's hard to get a good read on what is going on in New Orleans, meaning Queen's potential value is really up in the air. He is worth holding, given what we saw from him earlier in the season. However, moving him to the bench until things settle down seems like a viable option.