Skip to main content

Cedric Coward vs P.J. Washington: who to start in Week 1

Cedric Coward plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), P.J. Washington 3. For that week alone, start P.J. Washington: 89.1 projected fantasy points to 0.0 for Cedric Coward. Over the season, P.J. Washington leads in points leagues (29.7 fantasy points a game to 26.0) and Cedric Coward in 9-cat leagues (139th against 141st). The two go close together on our board, which is our own ranking order from 2025-26 and 2026-27 box scores, not ADP.

Updated Oct 24, 8:26 AM ET.

Parlae may earn a commission from price links.

Cedric Coward
SGSFMEMage 23OUT
Points leagues
#127
26.0 FP/G, slot 11.07, $6
9-cat leagues
#139
-2.2 z, slot 12.07, $3

Out (Wrist)

The pick in 9-cat leagues.

P.J. Washington
PFCSFDALage 28
Points leagues
#84
29.7 FP/G, slot 7.12, $11
9-cat leagues
#141
-2.2 z, slot 12.09, $3

The pick in points leagues.

The call

Points leagues: P.J. Washington. 29.7 fantasy points per game against 26.0, 84th on our board to 127th.

9-cat leagues: Cedric Coward instead, -2.2 in summed z-scores against -2.2 (139th to 141st), because the categories pay for a different mix.

Category by category, Cedric Coward is ahead in 4 (AST, FG%, FT% and TO) and P.J. Washington in 4 (PTS, REB, STL and BLK).

Per 36 minutes, Cedric Coward produces more: 36.1 fantasy points to 34.4, on 25.9 minutes a night against 31.1. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.

Cedric Coward plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), P.J. Washington 3. For that week alone, start P.J. Washington: 89.1 projected fantasy points to 0.0 for Cedric Coward.

Slots are where our board's order lands in a 12-team snake draft (round.pick), and dollars are auction value over replacement for 12 teams with $200 each. Neither is ADP: no free draft-position feed lets us republish it.

Advertisement

Per game, side by side

Per gameCedric CowardP.J. Washington
Fantasy points per game26.029.7
Minutes25.931.1
PointsPTS13.214.3
ReboundsREB5.97.2
AssistsAST2.71.7
StealsSTL0.60.9
BlocksBLK0.51.2
Threes3PM1.51.4
Field goal %FG%47.2%45.5%
Free throw %FT%84.3%67.2%
TurnoversTO1.61.8
Games, 2025-266256

Bold is the better number. The line blends 2025-26 with 2026-27 games as they are played, the same numbers the rankings use.

Per 36 minutes

Per 36Cedric CowardP.J. Washington
Fantasy points36.134.4
Points18.316.5
Rebounds8.38.3
Assists3.81.9
Steals0.81.0
Blocks0.71.4
Threes2.01.7
Turnovers2.22.1

Each per-game number divided by minutes and scaled to 36: the rate a bigger role would carry.

Advertisement

9-category z-scores

CategoryCedric CowardP.J. Washington
PointsPTS-0.5-0.4
ReboundsREB+0.1+0.7
AssistsAST-0.4-1.0
StealsSTL-1.1-0.4
BlocksBLK-0.5+1.0
Threes3PM-0.2-0.2
Field goal percentageFG%-0.2-0.6
Free throw percentageFT%+0.4-1.3
TurnoversTO+0.3+0.0
Total-2.2-2.2

Each number is standard deviations above or below the top 156 players (a 12-team league's rosters). Field goal and free throw percentage are weighted by attempts, and turnovers count against.

If you punt a category

Punting assists, threes, free throw percentage and turnovers flips the 9-cat answer to P.J. Washington.

PuntCedric CowardP.J. Washington
PTS-1.6 (#143)-1.8 (#155)
REB-2.3 (#149)-3.2 (#203)
AST-1.7 (#139)-1.3 (#114)
STL-1.1 (#98)-1.8 (#132)
BLK-1.9 (#125)-3.6 (#199)
3PM-2.0 (#136)-1.9 (#133)
FG%-2.1 (#125)-2.2 (#131)
FT%-2.5 (#161)-0.8 (#87)
TO-2.6 (#131)-2.3 (#118)

Value is the sum of the other eight z-scores, recomputed with the punted category left out of the pool that sets them; the rank is among all 392 ranked players.

Week 1 (Oct 19-25)

  • Cedric Coward: 3 games (Wed UTA, Fri @GSW, Sun @SAC), listed Out.
  • P.J. Washington: 3 games (Wed @HOU, Fri @IND, Sat SAS), 1 back-to-back.

Every team's games this week · Week 1 streamers

Recent games

  • Cedric Coward: 21.4 fantasy points a game over his last 1 of 2026-27, against 26.0 on the board.
  • P.J. Washington: 29.7 fantasy points a game over his last 2 of 2026-27, against 29.7 on the board.

Advertisement

Other picks at the same spot

NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers

Is Cedric Coward playing tonight? · Is P.J. Washington playing tonight?

Rookie cards: Cedric Coward

Common questions

  • Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Cedric Coward or P.J. Washington?

    Points leagues: P.J. Washington. 29.7 fantasy points per game against 26.0, 84th on our board to 127th. 9-cat leagues: Cedric Coward instead, -2.2 in summed z-scores against -2.2 (139th to 141st), because the categories pay for a different mix.

  • Who wins more categories, Cedric Coward or P.J. Washington?

    Category by category, Cedric Coward is ahead in 4 (AST, FG%, FT% and TO) and P.J. Washington in 4 (PTS, REB, STL and BLK).

  • Who should I start in Week 1, Cedric Coward or P.J. Washington?

    Cedric Coward plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), P.J. Washington 3. For that week alone, start P.J. Washington: 89.1 projected fantasy points to 0.0 for Cedric Coward.

By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 24, 2026 at 8:26 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number