The Fantasy Five: Start Anthony Morrow and be skeptical of the Spurs and a future star

This column will concentrate on borderline fantasy options who should get strong consideration to start/bench during the upcoming week based on schedules.

Anthony Morrow: Over the last 10 days, Morrow has averaged 17.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.0 steals and a whopping 4.2 3pt while shooting 56.5 percent from the floor. It’s a six-game span in which he’s been the No. 14 ranked fantasy player despite seeing just 27.7 mpg. Morrow is somehow owned in just 30 percent of Yahoo leagues right now, but he’s going to be a major part of a Thunder team that’s going to miss Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka down the stretch. Oklahoma City plays an NBA-high four games in Week 22 as well.

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Ish Smith: He’s averaged 15.3 points, 7.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.7 blocks and 0.7 3pt while shooting 48.8 percent from the floor over the last three games, when he’s been a top-80 player over the past week. Smith has replaced Isaiah Canaan in the 76ers’ starting lineup yet is still owned in just 16 percent of Yahoo leagues. Philadelphia plays a league-high four games in Week 22, so Smith could be a difference maker in deeper leagues.

Zaza Pachulia: He’s coming off a game in which he pulled down an amazing 18 offensive rebounds and has averaged 13.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 0.8 steals while shooting 50.8 percent from the floor and 88.5 percent on free throws over his past six games (a span in which Pachulia has been a top-50 fantasy player). The Bucks play only three games in Week 22, but if you’re looking for rebounding help, Pachulia is available in more than 80 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Here’s Derrick Williams throwing it down.

Here’s John Wall with a sick 360 move.

Here are the Rockets in a terrific NBA Jam mashup.

The San Antonio Spurs: It’s possible the Spurs make the four seed and get home-court advantage in the first round, but there’s no worry of them missing the playoffs. They are one of only two teams to play just one game in Week 25, and this is an organization well known for being willing to rest its players looking at the long term. In other words, it’s a big risk relying upon any Spurs during the final week of the fantasy playoffs (although to be fair, they do have four scheduled games the prior week).

Elfrid Payton: The rookie has averaged 16.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 9.6 assists. 2.2 steals and 0.4 blocks while shooting 53.2 percent from the field over the past five games. However, Payton hasn’t been a top-70 fantasy player over that span thanks to shooting 40 percent on free throws while committing 3.4 TPG. Don’t get me wrong, his future is bright, but he has some areas of his game that need improvement. Most importantly, for the immediate future, the Magic play just two games in Week 22 (the only team to do so) and are scheduled for an NBA-low 10 games from here on out.

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