This article is part of our Category Strategy series.
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
Dion Waiters, SG, Thunder
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant asked for Waiters' locker to be moved next to theirs so that he could be better integrated, but Waiters certainly hasn't been struggling on the court since the trade from Cleveland. He went 1-for-9 from the field in his first game, but in his last three games, he is 21-for-46 from the field (45.7 percent) while averaging 17.3 points in 31.7 minutes per game. He has also been a good source of steals and three-pointers over that span. While it is unlikely that Waiters will keep up this production and this level of efficiency going forward, there is reason to believe he can be a poor man's James Harden (the OKC version) over the rest of the season, and that has value in most leagues.
REBOUNDS
Alex Len, C, Suns
Nobody who saw Len play during his rookie season would have predicted that he would be seeing 30 minutes per game on a team competing for a playoff spot, but that is exactly what has been happening lately. Over his last five games, the young center is averaging 11 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 29.2 minutes per game. He is also shooting 55.3 percent from the field and
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
Dion Waiters, SG, Thunder
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant asked for Waiters' locker to be moved next to theirs so that he could be better integrated, but Waiters certainly hasn't been struggling on the court since the trade from Cleveland. He went 1-for-9 from the field in his first game, but in his last three games, he is 21-for-46 from the field (45.7 percent) while averaging 17.3 points in 31.7 minutes per game. He has also been a good source of steals and three-pointers over that span. While it is unlikely that Waiters will keep up this production and this level of efficiency going forward, there is reason to believe he can be a poor man's James Harden (the OKC version) over the rest of the season, and that has value in most leagues.
REBOUNDS
Alex Len, C, Suns
Nobody who saw Len play during his rookie season would have predicted that he would be seeing 30 minutes per game on a team competing for a playoff spot, but that is exactly what has been happening lately. Over his last five games, the young center is averaging 11 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 29.2 minutes per game. He is also shooting 55.3 percent from the field and 73.8 percent from the free-throw line on the season -- numbers that are excellent for a young big man. Len is not a big part of the Suns' offense, as he is averaging less than seven field-goal attempts per game over his last five, but he does not need to fill it up to be a valuable fantasy piece when he is doing so much in the other categories. I wrote about how good Gorgui Dieng and Rudy Gobert have been this season in the Prospect Post earlier this week, and recently, Len has been just as good. This is an exciting era for young big men in the NBA, as there will be 10-15 centers playing in the league next season who are under 25 years old and have the potential to be franchise cornerstones. Len is certainly part of that mix.
ASSISTS
Jameer Nelson, PG, Nuggets
It's an incredibly small sample, as Nelson has played just one game with the Nuggets, but he had seven assists in 28 minutes against the Mavericks on Friday. It has been said in this space a thousand times already, but steady assists are the toughest thing to find on the waiver wire during the season, so it's worth taking notice of Nelson in Denver. Should Ty Lawson get hurt, which seems to happen every season, Nelson would immediately become the starting point guard. Even if Lawson remains healthy, the Nuggets only have Nelson, and Randy Foye (who is banged up right now) as secondary ball-handlers, so Nelson should have no problem seeing 20-28 minutes per game and could average five-plus assists in that scenario.
STEALS
Khris Middleton, SF, Bucks
Middleton may not have been drafted or picked up in fantasy leagues for his defense, but right now that is the area where he is thriving. He has two or more steals in eight straight games, and is seeing big minutes every night. While he has only scored more than 15 points in one game over that stretch, he has at least one three-pointer in all eight games, so there is enough contribution elsewhere to justify owning Middleton in virtually all category leagues.
BLOCKS
K.J. McDaniels, SG, Sixers
With McDaniels it is always going to be about playing time. He is an elite defensive contributor on the wing, and is averaging 1.4 blocks while seeing seeing 29.2 minutes per game over his last five games. Owners should expect over a steal and a block per game if McDaniels is seeing 30-plus minutes per game going forward. That said, his offense has gone in the tank since I profiled him earlier in the season, and his field-goal percentage will soon dip below 40 percent on the season, which is likely contributing to him struggling to see the playing time his fantasy owners have been hoping for. At a moment's notice he could be back to seeing around 20 minutes per game, but for now, McDaniels can swing the blocks category from the guard position.
THREE-POINTERS
Patty Mills, PG, Spurs
Mills is one of the best backcourt role players in the league, because he fills the instant offense off the bench role while also maintaining a high level of efficiency. A career 45.2 percent shooter, Mills is shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 52.2 percent from downtown over his last five games. This success has led to 2.4 three-pointers per game over that stretch, and he is averaging 25-plus minutes despite sharing time with other qualified ball-handlers and shooters. He may not be the best option for points leagues, but it's adds a lot and takes nothing away in rotisserie formats.
