Fantasy Basketball: Week 1 Primer Oct. 29-Nov.3

It's here. Despite the enthralling, back-and-forth World Series and the midway point in the NFL season, basketball season is finally upon us. 

If you play in a league where your lineups are set weekly, it behooves you to walk over to basketballmonster.com and print out a schedule grid for the 2013-14 NBA season. 

Opening week is going to be the most balanced week on the schedule in terms of games played. The Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat play four times this week. The Denver Nuggets only play twice this week while everyone else will be starting the season with three games during Week 1. 

With Kobe Bryant still recovering from a torn Achilles and Steve Nash possibly missing Wednesday's game, according to the Los Angeles Times, the door opens for Nick Young to have plenty of minutes thrown his way this week.

Young isn't shy in shooting the basketball, attempting 9.2 shots per game in 23 minutes per game with the Philadelphia 76ers last season. Young isn't efficient (career 42.7 percent shooter), but if you could stomach the poor field goal percentage, Young could be a nice source of three pointers and points this week.

Lakers' forward Shawne Williams told the Los Angeles Times that he expects to start against the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday night. Williams could be a sneaky plug-and-play in deeper leagues. He averaged 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 three pointers 20 minutes per contest in 2010-11 with the New York Knicks. 

The Denver Nuggets are the only team playing twice this week, so weekly managers may want to think twice about starting Ty Lawson and Wilson Chandler. Both are dealing with injuries that could keep them out of the opener. Even if they make their way onto the court, sitting all the Nuggets in weekly leagues would be the wise move.

Looking ahead on the 2013-14 NBA schedule, there are some trends that should influence your fantasy decisions in the coming weeks. 

• The Los Angeles Clippers will play five times during Week 4. Darren Collison and J.J. Redick should be on your radar for that week.
• The Houston Rockets will play five times in Week 9. Point guard Patrick Beverley has the talent to take over the starting gig from Jeremy Lin by then. Keep a close eye on Beverley. 
• Through the first nine weeks of the regular season, the Washington Wizards will play the least amount of total games (27) and home games (12). The Rockets and Utah Jazz will play the most games (33) before the New Year. While the schedule evens out, it may be wise to acquire Wizards for the playoff push (if you're in position to do so, of course).
• The Charlotte Bobcats will play the most home games (18) through the first nine weeks. 

Good luck to everyone playing fantasy basketball this season and stay tuned for weekly assessments of the 2013-14 NBA season. 

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