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
Rodney Stuckey, SG, Pacers
Stuckey is still widely available, despite being the Pacers' go-to scorer in the backcourt at the moment. He didn't play much or take many shots in Saturday's loss to Cleveland, as it was not a close game and it was the second night of a back-to-back, but most nights he should see around 30 minutes and attempt close to 15 shots. Lou Williams is certainly the more popular pick-up, following DeMar DeRozan's groin injury, but there is reason to be a little skeptical about his ability to fill that void. DeRozan was the Raptors' most irreplaceable piece, even though Kyle Lowry is a better player. There is not another true shooting guard on the roster, and it seems unlikely that any one player, whether it be Williams or Greivis Vasquez, will step into a 32-35 mpg role with DeRozan out, as the defensive deficiencies would negate any offensive impact. Instead, Terrence Ross might actually see the biggest bump in value, as he should get a lot more looks, while Williams will only see a minor uptick in playing time.
REBOUNDS
Steven Adams, C, Thunder
Adams is still learning to be a good rebounder for his position, and his free-throw shooting deficiencies
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
Rodney Stuckey, SG, Pacers
Stuckey is still widely available, despite being the Pacers' go-to scorer in the backcourt at the moment. He didn't play much or take many shots in Saturday's loss to Cleveland, as it was not a close game and it was the second night of a back-to-back, but most nights he should see around 30 minutes and attempt close to 15 shots. Lou Williams is certainly the more popular pick-up, following DeMar DeRozan's groin injury, but there is reason to be a little skeptical about his ability to fill that void. DeRozan was the Raptors' most irreplaceable piece, even though Kyle Lowry is a better player. There is not another true shooting guard on the roster, and it seems unlikely that any one player, whether it be Williams or Greivis Vasquez, will step into a 32-35 mpg role with DeRozan out, as the defensive deficiencies would negate any offensive impact. Instead, Terrence Ross might actually see the biggest bump in value, as he should get a lot more looks, while Williams will only see a minor uptick in playing time.
REBOUNDS
Steven Adams, C, Thunder
Adams is still learning to be a good rebounder for his position, and his free-throw shooting deficiencies limit his overall upside, but he should still be more widely owned than he currently is. With Russell Westbrook back, and Kevin Durant not far behind him, Adams should actually start getting a lot of easy looks at the rim and put-back opportunities, as the Thunder's star players will attract the defense, leaving Adams free. He is averaging 10 rebounds over his last three games.
ASSISTS
Devin Harris, PG, Mavericks
This may only be a short-term play, but as long as Jameer Nelson is dealing with back spasms, Harris will be the starting point guard in Dallas. In his last three games, Harris is averaging six assists per game. It seems pretty clear that the Mavericks are a little hesitant to bring Raymond Felton back, as coach Rick Carlisle had some comments last week about needing to play the point guards ahead of Felton on the depth chart. So even when Felton is medically cleared to play, he may be a healthy scratch on a regular basis. This will at least allow Harris to be somewhat useful in deeper leagues even when Nelson is fully healthy.
STEALS
Kirk Hinrich, PG, Bulls
Hinrich has always been a little underrated defensively, but there is a reason he continues to hang around coach Tom Thibodeau's defensive-minded Bulls teams. The 11-year veteran has a steal in eight of his last 10 games, and in addition to moderate contributions in steals, there is always the potential for Hinrich to go off as a distributor because of all the questions surrounding Derrick Rose's health. Hinrich has seven-plus assists in three of his last five games, and is always the de facto point guard when Rose cannot play, as Aaron Brooks profiles as more of a scorer.
BLOCKS
Nikola Mirotic, PF, Bulls
Mirotic had a five-block game his last time out, and while that is certainly not the norm, it shows that he has some defensive upside (he also has four steals in his last two games) to go with an impressive offensive package. Once Taj Gibson returns to the court, which could be as soon as Tuesday's game, Mirotic will be a difficult start in most formats. However, if you're looking for a high-upside player to stash and have a few bench spots to work with, Mirotic could be a significant contributor in every category except assists if a significant injury should befall any of the other three bigs in Chicago.
THREE-POINTERS
Anthony Morrow, SF, Thunder
Morrow is shooting well below his career mark of 42.7 percent from downtown, but he is still an excellent option for three-point shooting, even as the Thunder start to get healthy. There seems to be a sense that he could be one of the key rotation guys when Oklahoma City is operating at full strength, as he has the elite shooting numbers that other wing players on the team lack. He has 11 three-pointers in his last four contests, and should continue to hit about two per game going forward. Shabazz Napier is another solid option here.
