Nuggets, Lakers With Favorables; Bulls, Hornets Each Play Two

Court Vision is a breakdown of the weekly schedule to help you set your fantasy lineup.

The Nuggets have arguably the most favorable schedule with home games against the Nets, Knicks and a home/road series against the T-Wolves. For starters, the Nuggets have won 15 straight home games, while averaging 117 points per game at home. Then there's the fact that Minnesota is allowing 114.4 points per game on the road, while the Knicks yield 105.5 points away from The Garden.

And do we need to get started on the Nets? Yes, the 0-13 Nets. New Jersey is 27th in the league offering 8.8 steals per game and 25th in opponents rebounding at 44.6 per. With that, Kenyon Martin made top of my list in this week's waiver adds. Look at Ty Lawson in deep leagues as well. Chris Andersen should tattoo the Knicks on the defensive end of the ball. Eh? Tattoo? Get out of my way, I'm on fire!

With that, let's break down the schedule.

Schedule Breakdown

Below are the teams listed by the number of games they play. You'll find the home/away games listed as '(home, away)'.

Four-game teams: Mavericks (1,3), Nuggets (3,1) Clippers (2,2), Grizzlies (1,3), Bucks (1,3), Timberwolves (2,2), Nets (0,4), Knicks, (1,3), Magic (1,3), 76ers (1,3), Blazers (3,1), Kings (3,1), Spurs (3,1), Raptors (2,2)

Three-game teams: Hawks (1,2), Celtics (2,1), Bobcats (2,1), Cavaliers (1,2), Pistons (3,0), Warriors (1,2), Rockets (2,1), Pacers (2,1), Lakers (2,1), Heat (2,1), Thunder (2,1), Suns (1,2), Jazz (3,0), Wizards (2,1)

Two-game teams: Bulls (0.2), Hornets (1,1)


Favorable Schedules

Sacramento sits near the top of the list of favorable schedules with three home games -- Knicks, Nets, Hornets -- and a road game against the Grizzlies. Aside from the Hawks game Saturday night in which Atlanta shot 4-of-22 from beyond the arc, the Hornets have allowed 106 points per game since Chris Paul went down. We already discussed what the Nets and Knicks lack on defense, but we can add the Grizzlies to that list as they stand 26th in the league in defensive efficiency at 120.5. Hopefully Tyreke Evans will be able to suit-up for all four. Omri Casspi and Donte Greene are deep leaguers to grab this week.

The Lakers get a nice gift this week with home games against the Knicks and Nets and a road game against the Warriors. There's some sort of pattern going on here and it starts with the word "new." If you can't find it, e-mail me. We'll discuss further. The Lakers got Pau Gasol back this week, meaning Lamar Odom was shipped to the bench. No fear, Odom will gets his this week. I would even go as far as taking a shot with Derek Fisher in deep leagues this week.

Memphis has a nice slate -- vs. Sacramento, @Phoenix, @Portland, @Clippers). The Portland matchup is a tough one, but by the way the Warriors dissected their defense it's possible that Rudy Gay and company won't have much of a problem getting it going. The Suns, of course, have made a habit out of giving up 100-plus points to their opponents, while Sacramento has allowed 100-plus points in each of the past four games. Maybe Mike Conley will give us a reason to believe again. Wishful thinking, no?

Phoenix has three games -- home to Memphis and at Minnesota and Toronto. The Raptors have been the worst defensive team over the past week allowing their opponents 117.2 points per game with teams shooting 51-percent from the floor against them. As Jay Triano puts it, the Raptors are a "fair-weather" team. With things not going so well, it might be worth exploiting that defense. Then again, the Suns are all but a lock for scoring 100-plus points per game this week. Give Jared Dudley a look in deep leagues.

Unfavorable Schedules

The Bulls play just twice this week -- @Portland, @Utah). I can't argue against sitting the league's leading rebounder, Joakim Noah, or Derrick Rose who dropped 20-plus in two straight and is starting to look like he's about to go off. After that, with just two games the rest of the Bulls should see the bench.

The Hornets also have two games -- vs. Milwaukee, @Sacramento. The Bucks are a tough defensive matchup this season. Only three teams have topped the 100-point mark against the Bucks this season. I would sit each and every one of my Hornets this week. David West has scored double-figures in just two of the four games since Chris Paul went down. Emeka Okafor should be played only if you're short on centers. Even Darren Collison, after his 22 and 11 game on Saturday, should sit. Unfortunately, the Hornets play just seven times over the next three weeks. That's pretty awful.

Utah plays three of the top seven defensive teams in points per game allowed. The only sure starts are Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko. Paul Millsap put up four points and four rebounds on Saturday knocking him off my list of guys to start. All I need is a bomb from Millsap in a three-game week. No thanks. Ronnie Brewer is an interesting start if you need steals, points, and a nice field-goal percentage from your shooting guard. Mehmet Okur is coming off the flu. It might take him a game or so to get his wind back. I would give him a sit this week as well.

Cleveland is at Detroit, at Charlotte, and home to Dallas. Tough. Shaquille O'Neal will more than likely sit a game or two, so you should probably get him out of your lineup. J.J. Hickson has been a nice spark, but I'd be worried against the Pistons and Bobcats on the road. They both lead the league in home defense allowing fewer than 85 points per game in their respective arenas. LeBron James -- start him.

Atlanta Hawks also have a tough one -- Orlando, at Philadelphia, at Detroit. Mike Bibby is likely going to miss the week, so you should definitely start Jamal Crawford. Marvin Williams? As hot as he's been, I think it's just a little hot streak he's on and considering the Hawks don't play again until Thursday he might be chilled by then. Against this schedule I would probably sit him.