Fantasy Basketball: Week 21 Start/Sit, including Dalano Banton, Duncan Robinson and Brandon Miller

We're set for another unbalanced schedule in Week 21, as there are more three-game clubs than those with four contests, plus another pair of teams saddled with just two games on their ledger. Fortunately, we do have some surging players at each position who will have the benefit of a full schedule and still aren't being started at the rate their recent play warrants.

Each week, we'll aim to highlight a pair of Start candidates for your fantasy rosters that may shape up as some of the tougher calls of the week to make, with the focus usually being on players with a start or roster rate of 50 percent or less in Yahoo leagues. We'll also typically hone in on players with four-game weeks in an attempt to maximize opportunities for production.

Likewise, we'll spotlight one Sit candidate at each position who would normally not be considered for a spot on your bench, often focusing on players with fewer game opportunities during the coming week.

TEAMS WITH FOUR GAMES: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz

TEAMS WITH THREE GAMES: Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards

TEAMS WITH TWO GAMES: Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks

Without further ado, let's examine some of the tougher start/sit decisions for Week 21:

Guards      

Start: Dalano Banton, Trail Blazers

38% roster rate

Banton is Exhibit A when it comes to a player who's being underappreciated in fantasy circles at the moment. The 2021 second-round pick is thriving in his new Portland digs, averaging 17.9 points (on 41.0 percent three-point shooting), 5.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists across the 10 games he's played thus far in March. Banton has three tallies of 25 points or more in that sample and is being given all the run he can handle, most recently playing 42 minutes in back-to-back games. With Portland having plenty of incentive to continue evaluating him and Banton having taken firm hold of the starting shooting guard role, he's a definite start on a four-game week for Portland.

Start: Duncan Robinson, Heat

49% start rate 

Robinson is another guard that's over-delivered recently, and the confirmed absence of Tyler Herro (foot) for at least another week keeps the former as a very viable start candidate. Robinson just went off for a season-high 30 points against the Pistons on Sunday and has produced double-digit scoring efforts in nine of his last 10 games, including four straight. Robinson is shooting 50.0 percent, including 40.4 percent from behind the arc, over the entirety of that sample, and he even has a quartet of four-plus rebound tallies and a trio of five-plus assist contributions during that time. Moreover, Robinson is averaging 1.2 steals per contest in his starting tenure, making him quite the well-rounded contributor heading into Miami's full schedule.

Sit: Coby White, Bulls

54% start rate

White has played so well this season that only injury or a two-game week could relegate him to this status. Unfortunately for White, both could apply this coming week, as he's dealing with a hip strain that's already cost him two games and has him listed as doubtful for the first of Chicago's three contests on Monday against the Blazers. With the likelihood that you'll get only two games at most from White, it's a good time to give him the week off.

Forwards         

Start: Simone Fontecchio, Pistons

46% start rate 

Fontecchio does have a toe concern heading into the new week, so his condition will bear monitoring. However, assuming he's cleared, he makes for an appealing candidate again this week after putting up 16.5 points (on 48.0 percent shooting, including 41.4 percent from three-point range), 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists across 36 minutes per contest in his four-start week last week. The talented wing is currently holding down the starting small forward role with Ausar Thompson sidelined by an illness that's already confirmed to be sidelining him for a fifth straight game Monday, and based on his body of work since joining Detroit, Fontecchio should continue to offer strong production even if he moves back into a second-unit role.

Start: Trey Murphy, Pelicans

37% start rate

Murphy has developed into quite the asset off the bench for the Pelicans, spearheading the second unit with a torrid current nine-game stretch in which he's averaging 20.2 points (on 53.0 percent shooting, including 46.6 percent from three-point range), 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists over a robust 30.8 minutes per contest. Murphy has encouragingly logged at least 28 minutes and as many as 36 in every game during that stretch, and he could even be due for at least one more spot start this week due to Herbert Jones's back and hip injuries. 

Sit:  Brandon Miller, Hornets

78% roster rate

The Hornets join the Mavs as one of two teams dealing with a dreaded two-game schedule this week, and the rookie second-overall pick is in the midst of a bit of a downturn. Miller was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul Sunday against the Sixers, but even before that contest, he'd scored 10 and 14 points in his previous two games. Miller is shooting just 34.1 percent over his last three full games. When combined with his sparse schedule, he is a Sit candidate.

CENTERS   

Start: Paul Reed, 76ers

49% start rate 

Reed has been relegated to a bench role in eight of his last nine games, but he's still averaged a solid 11.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 blocks across 24.7 minutes over that entire sample. There's a pair of double-doubles and five multi-block efforts ensconced within that stretch as well, and given his numbers are still markedly better than current starter Mo Bamba's, Reed could well move back into the first unit at some point during Philly's upcoming four-game week.

Start: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Warriors

20% start rate 

Jackson-Davis had some noteworthy performances from mid-December to mid-January, and he's started to heat back up during the stretch run. The young big comes into the Warriors' four-game week with five double-digit scoring efforts in his last six games, including four straight, a stretch during which he's put up 11.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocks across 22.2 minutes per contest. Jackson-Davis has even drawn a pair of starts during that sample and could serve as a valuable contributor of rebounds and blocks in particular with a full schedule on tap.

ALSO CONSIDER: Jalen Smith, Pacers (8% roster rate) 

Sit: Brook Lopez, Bucks

68% start rate 

I thought long and hard about listing the Mavericks' Daniel Gafford (59% start rate) in this spot due to his two-game week, but the way he's played compared to Lopez recently, there's a chance he still outpaces the latter despite one fewer game. Lopez drained five threes against the 76ers two games ago, but he's scored 12 points or fewer in the 10 other games since Feb. 25. The big man is shooting just 43.8 percent in that span and averaging a modest 4.6 rebounds per contest in that stretch. He's putting up just 7.3 shots per contest after going into the sample with a figure of 10.2 per game from the beginning of the season up to that point.