In-Season Strategy: Week 10 Start/Sit

Week 10 is a bit lighter than we've seen lately, with just eight teams on four-game weeks and four teams on two-game weeks. So we need to focus in on total production potential. Do what you can to swap out players with two games for players with four games. It's not always easy, but you can search the waiver wire for some help if you have one or more streaming spots.

Here's the full breakdown:

Teams with four games: DEN, GS, HOU, MEM, NO, PHI, SAC, TOR

Teams with three games: ATL, BOS, CLE, DAL, DET, IND, LAL, MIA, MIL, MIN, NY, ORL, PHO, POR, SA, UTA, WAS

Teams with two games: BKN, CHA, CHI, LAC

Here are some start candidates and some sit candidates:

Point Guard

Consider Starting: George Hill, MIL

Opponents: @Phi, @Atl, Orl

With Eric Bledsoe out until late December and possibly early January, Hill has become more of a focal point of the Bucks' gameplan, though he's been a quality contributor all season. Over the past two weeks, Hill has ranked 86th, averaging 11.3 points (1.4 threes, 56.0 FG%), 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 22.6 minutes. Though the Bucks have just three games on tap, Hill is someone who can be added and streamed in Week 10, especially in 14-team formats.

Consider Sitting: Terry Rozier, CHA

Opponents: OKC, @Mem

Rozier has struggled lately, ranking 116th over his past eight appearances. What's dragging him down is poor shooting, with the guard hitting just 34.1 percent of his looks during this stretch. While that's bound to improve, he doesn't project to be productive enough to be worth a start on just a two-game week. Fantasy owners in head-to-head leagues may be able to get away with it if they're desperate for threes, assists and steals. But, otherwise, save Rozier for Week 11.

Shooting Guard

Consider Starting: Ben McLemore, HOU

Opponents: @Sac, @GS, Bkn, @NO

While McLemore has cooled off a little bit from his hot stretch in late November/early December, he's still a great three-point shooter. Over the past seven games, he's averaging 3.4 made threes per contest and is shooting 52.2 percent from the field for 14.4 points per game. That's been enough for a rank of 113 over this stretch. He won't provide real value in other categories, but fantasy owners in need of threes can throw him in the starting lineup on a four-game week against some mediocre competition. The upside is there for him to hit 12 to 14 triples across seven days.

Consider Sitting: Lou Williams, LAC

Opponents: @LAL, Uta

Between dealing with a calf injury and poor shooting, Williams finds himself outside of the top-180 over the past two weeks. He's scored in single-digits across four of his past nine appearances, hitting only 37.2 percent of his looks. Even though Williams ranks 99th on the season as a whole, largely due to his 19.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, that's not high enough to be worth a start on a two-game week. Plus, he is going up against some tough defenses in Week 10.

Small Forward

Consider Starting: Joe Ingles, UTA

Opponents: @Mia, Por, @LAC

In a stat I felt compelled to triple-check, Ingles has ranked as the 12th-best fantasy player over the past two weeks. He's been thriving into a bigger role due to Mike Conley's hamstring injury. During this stretch, Ingles is averaging 14.5 points (2.5 threes, 54.4 FG%), 6.3 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 34.1 minutes. He also hasn't missed a free-throw since Dec. 4. Obviously we shouldn't expect Ingles to return first-round value for the remainder of Conley's absence, but he's proven in the past to be a quality fantasy asset, so this production isn't out of the blue. Ingles is simply playing too well to be on your bench in Week 10.

Consider Sitting: Aaron Gordon, ORL

Opponents: Chi, Phi, @Mil

Facing the 76ers and Bucks this week is not what Gordon needs to escape the slump he's been in. This month, he's ranked 147th. His rebounding (7.7 per game) has been passable, but he's providing almost nothing defensively, and he's shooting just 43.0 percent from the field and 65.4 percent from the charity stripe. Look for other options before locking Gordon into your starting group. If you're falling behind in your league, you may not be able to wait for Gordon to figure things out. He's a drop candidate in 10-team leagues especially, and streaming his spot could certainly end up being more productive.

Power Forward

Consider Starting: Nemanja Bjelica, SAC

Opponents: Hou, Min, Pho, @Den

Surprisingly, the return of Marvin Bagley has barely affected Bjelica's role and workload. He's seen at least 22 minutes in each of Bagley's first four games back, and he's ranked 69th over the past two weeks in 26.4 minutes per game. That's been fueled mostly by 2.1 threes and 1.3 steals per contest. Even if Bjelica's role does drop off a bit moving forward, the Kings having four games this week would potentially minimize the damage to our fantasy teams. He can be started this week, but certainly keep an eye on his production moving forward.

Consider Sitting: Lauri Markkanen, CHI

Opponents: @Orl, Atl

I hesitate to include Markkanen here because he's finally found his stroke, but on a two-game week, fantasy owners in eight- or 10-team formats may have to sit him. The fact that he's been good enough lately to have a start/sit debate about him is worth exploring. Through his first 20 appearances, he ranked 146th, really only providing value as a rebounder. He was shooting an abysmal 34.9 percent from the field. However, this month, he's going 51/41/85 for 17.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.0 threes 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals. That's resulted in him ranking 35th. The size of your league will ultimately determine whether you can afford to sit Markkanen or not.

Center

Consider Starting: Derrick Favors, NO

Opponents: @Por, @Den, Ind, Hou

Favors has looked solid over the past four games -- averaging 5.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 blocks in 18.8 minutes-- after re-joining the team following an extended absence due to the death of his mother. On this four-game week, I'm expecting the workload to increase and for him to also up his 45.5 FG%. The potential is certainly there for him to accumulate 30 points, 30 rebounds, five assists and five blocks. In 14-team leagues, that's valuable enough for a start, especially if your format requires two centers.

Consider Sitting: Montrezl Harrell, LAC

Opponents: @LAL, Uta

If you're in a head-to-head league, Harrell's scoring (18.6 points per game on 51.8 percent shooting) and shot-blocking (1.1) over the past two weeks has been very valuable. However, he's ranked just 123rd over this stretch in roto formats due to a lack of threes (0), steals (0.5), and assists (1.4), plus some marginal free-throw shooting (73.3 percent) on a voluminous 5.6 attempts. None of that should be surprising -- it's what we've come to expect from Harrell. But that kind of production won't cut it on a two-game week in many 12-team leagues, especially if you only need to start one center.