Fantasy Basketball Week 10 Start/Sit Guide: Top Picks to Start, Players to Sit

The Week 10 scoring period presents a tricky slate for fantasy basketball managers navigating the Christmas Week schedule, uneven game counts, and an increasingly crowded NBA injury report. Weekly success now hinges on monitoring changing NBA starting lineups and short-term opportunity. This Start/Sit guide breaks down position-by-position decisions using recent NBA player stats, the latest NBA news, and schedule context, helping managers maximize value during a pivotal stretch of the NBA fantasy season.

Week 10 NBA Schedule

TEAMS WITH FOUR GAMES: Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz

TEAMS WITH THREE GAMES: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards

TEAMS WITH TWO GAMES: Brooklyn Nets

Fantasy Basketball Start/Sit Guide

Guards

Start: Anthony Black, Magic

17% start rate

Black has been a super-sub for the Magic this season and parlayed that opportunity into some career-best numbers, including 13.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. Shooting efficiency remains a work in progress, but Black is entering the new week in the midst of a starting tenure at point guard due to Jalen Suggs' absence due to a hip injury. Black has provided 16.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.0 steals across his current four-game run with the first unit, and Suggs is already listed as doubtful for Monday's game against the Warriors. With Orlando on a back-to-back to open the week (at POR on Tuesday), it seems likelier than not that Black draws at least two more starts during the next week.

Start: Cam Spencer, Grizzlies

12% start rate

Spencer also looks primed for some extended run this week as a result of yet another Ja Morant multi-game absence. Morant has missed back-to-back games due to an ankle injury and is already ruled out for Monday's matchup against the Thunder. Spencer was excellent in a spot start Saturday against the Wizards, generating a 19-point, 11-assist double-double that also included four rebounds across 37  minutes. He'd also come into that night with averages of 16.9 points, 5.2 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals on absurd 63.7% shooting, including 63.6% from 3-point range, over his previous 10 games, offering a glimpse at his upside over a larger sample.

Sit: Ja Morant, Grizzlies

49% start rate

As just discussed in Spencer's entry, Morant's ankle injury is going to cost him more games this week. In addition to Monday's already confirmed absence, it's very conceivable Tuesday's favorable road tilt against the Jazz is also out of the question for the oft-absent star, which simply makes him too much of a risk, especially considering he's already seeing a near six-point-per-game drop in scoring average (17.7, down from 23.2) season over season.

Forwards

Start: Shaedon Sharpe, Trail Blazers  

41% start rate 

Sharpe continues to author a career-best season, one in which he's provided 24.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals on 49.7% shooting, including 51.2% from 3-point range, in his last eight games. The fourth-year wing's minutes have encouragingly picked up of late as well, as he's played 32 or more in five of the last seven contests. Sharpe's average of 18.1 field-goal attempts over the aforementioned eight-game sample is also a bright spot, as he continues to develop into a key playmaker alongside Demi Avdija as part of a talented young core in Portland. 

Start: Derik Queen, Pelicans

30% start rate

Queen is another young asset that's offering plenty of useful fantasy production, as the rookie big is averaging 13.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 25.7 minutes per contest over his first 29 NBA games. Queen checks into the Pelicans' four-game week with back-to-back double-doubles, as well as averages of 15.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists across 30.8 minutes per contest in his last nine games. Queen does frequently flirt with foul trouble, but he's still managing to navigate it successfully enough to log solid playing time and produce with it. The rookie 13th overall pick has also proven a solid free-throw shooter – he's sporting an 82.1% success rate from the line over the aforementioned nine-game span – and will have another four games to work with this week.

Sit: Austin Reaves, Lakers

53% start rate

Fading Reaves is never going to feel comfortable, but the Grade 1 calf strain that's already cost him three games is likely to significantly mute his potential this week. The Lakers have just three games to work with this week, and Tuesday's matchup against the Suns may already be out of Reaves' reach considering the lingering nature of his injury. As such, you're risking a two-game week at best – and a potential blanking altogether – if rolling with Reaves in your lineup.

Centers

Start: Jarrett Allen, Cavaliers              

24% start rate 

Allen is projected to continue seeing some extra usage, including plenty of rebounding opportunities, over the coming week with Evan Mobley likely to sit out the entirety of Cleveland's four-game schedule because of his calf strain. Allen played only 23 minutes in Mobley's first absence Dec. 14, but the former has surged back to average 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks over 29.0 minutes in the subsequent pair of contests. Allen was already having one of his signature solid seasons before Mobley's injury, and his upcoming four-game schedule should prove very productive. 

Start: Donovan Clingan, Trail Blazers

32% start rate

Clingan has seen a significant expansion of opportunity, and with it, production, so far in his second season. The 2024 seventh overall pick has seen his minutes bump up to 25.7 this season, and he's returning 10.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 blocks per contest. Clingan is also in the early stages of exploring his floor-stretching skills – he's up to 2.7 3-point attempts per game after averaging less than one per contest as a rookie. Although he's currently matching the same poor 28.6% success rate in that category that he had last season, it brings an added element to his fantasy profile. Clingan is a threat for a double-double and multiple blocks any time he's on the floor, making him very viable on a four-game week.

Sit: Joel Embiid, 76ers

63% start rate

Embiid represents our third injury-impacted Sit recommendation this week, and when it comes to the big man, it likely won't be the last time he earns this designation this season. Embiid's latest setback has officially been an illness that cost him Philadelphia's back-to-back set Friday and Saturday, although his knee injury management is also a constant on the injury report. The Sixers have just three games this coming week, including an unappealing matchup against the Thunder, and based on his spotty playing record this season, Embiid seems like a virtual certainty to miss at least one. He has frequently proven capable of some trademark numbers when he's been on the floor, but the risk of both absences and in-game setbacks make him less than optimal, unless you're simply in a pinch.