Category Strategy: Week 5 Pickups

CATEGORY STRATEGY

Each week, this article highlights players who are widely available in standard leagues who can help in specific roto categories. While each player highlighted can help in a specific category, there's no guarantee for production in other areas.

POINTS

Nikola Mirotic, PF, Bulls

The 6-foot-10 forward from Montenegro might be the best short term pick up this week. With Taj Gibson out for at least a couple games and Pau Gasol also banged up, coach Tom Thibodeau should have no choice but to give Mirotic big minutes. He is hitting 39 percent of his three-point attempts this season, and is grabbing nine rebounds per 36 minutes, but with an increased role this week, he should be an excellent source of scoring. Mirotic is one of the best players to watch, as his inside-out game is so unique for his size. Thibodeau will surely go back to riding Gibson and Gasol along with Joakim Noah in the frontcourt once everyone is healthy, but Mirotic should shine for a handful of games. Another quality option here is Gary Neal, as he should see plenty of minutes with Lance Stephenson sliding over to play the three on occasion because of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's foot injury.

REBOUNDS

Kris Humphries, PF, Wizards

A regular in this spot over the past few seasons, Humphries is at it again. He has nine rebounds in three of his last six games, and is averaging seven boards per game over the last two weeks. Humphries should start posting double doubles on occasion, and offers a relatively high floor as the Wizards' primary big off the bench.

ASSISTS

Mo Williams, PG, T-Wolves

For some bizarre reason, Williams is still available in 70 percent of Yahoo! leagues and over 85 percent of ESPN leagues. Assists are very tricky to find on the waiver wire, and Williams has been a top-10 producer in that category since Ricky Rubio's injury. He has double-digit assists in two of his last three games, and has completely supplanted Zach LaVine at the point guard position, as the rookie saw just 13 minutes in the T-Wolves' last game. Williams should be able to play himself into a sixth man role once Rubio returns, which will make him valuable all season.

STEALS

Corey Brewer, SG, T-Wolves

The injury to Kevin Martin makes Brewer an enticing add for contributions across the board, but steals will be the one category where his production is elite. He had six steals in a game a couple days ago, and is averaging 2.1 thefts per game this season. Brewer saw 30 minutes in Minnesota's last game, and his playing time should hover around there for the foreseeable future. Also, if Andrew Wiggins was foolishly dropped in your league, pick him up right away.

BLOCKS

Steven Adams, C, Thunder

While Adams clearly won't be a monster in this category to the extent that he was last week, swatting 14 shots over the span of three games, he should have some staying power here. Kendrick Perkins only played 18 minutes in the Thunder's last game, and with Serge Ibaka having to focus a lot of his efforts on the offensive end with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook out, Adams offers another rim protector on the defensive end. Chris Kaman and Spencer Hawes are other solid options here.

THREE-POINTERS

Lou Williams, SG, Raptors

Williams will be a hot add after scoring 36 points Saturday, and while that is an unreasonably high total to expect going forward in terms of scoring, he has a sustainably high amount of three-pointers made of late. Over his last four games Williams is averaging three treys per game, and he is doing that while averaging just 22.5 minutes per game over that span. Williams is in an instant offense role that lends itself to hoisting with regularity from deep, and when he gets hot like he did against the Cavaliers and the Bucks this weekend, it can result in excellent scoring production as well. Ben McLemore remains the preferred option here, but he is getting scooped up everywhere. Shawne Williams is another strong option.