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
Shabazz Muhammad, SF, T-Wolves
Obviously Muhammad's current level of play is not sustainable, but on a young, terrible team like Minnesota, players like him with upside will be given the opportunities to continue to develop down the stretch. He has 20 points in two straight games, and 18-plus points in four of his last five games. While Andrew Wiggins has more upside, he hasn't had a stretch of games like this in his young career. Playing time will be key for Muhammad, as the one time he didn't put up 18-plus points in this stretch was a four point outing against the Sixers when he played just 17 minutes. His 58.3 percent shooting over this stretch is also going to dip, so expecting 20 point outings on a regular basis is foolish, but Muhammad's one skill is scoring, so when he's out there he'll be shooting. If he can continue to see around 25 minutes per game, he should be viable in 12-team leagues.
REBOUNDS
Reggie Evans, PF, Kings
With news that DeMarcus Cousins will be out another 7-10 days, Evans makes for a solid short-term pickup. His minutes won't be steady, as he has seen between 11 and 35 minutes over the past four games, but
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
Shabazz Muhammad, SF, T-Wolves
Obviously Muhammad's current level of play is not sustainable, but on a young, terrible team like Minnesota, players like him with upside will be given the opportunities to continue to develop down the stretch. He has 20 points in two straight games, and 18-plus points in four of his last five games. While Andrew Wiggins has more upside, he hasn't had a stretch of games like this in his young career. Playing time will be key for Muhammad, as the one time he didn't put up 18-plus points in this stretch was a four point outing against the Sixers when he played just 17 minutes. His 58.3 percent shooting over this stretch is also going to dip, so expecting 20 point outings on a regular basis is foolish, but Muhammad's one skill is scoring, so when he's out there he'll be shooting. If he can continue to see around 25 minutes per game, he should be viable in 12-team leagues.
REBOUNDS
Reggie Evans, PF, Kings
With news that DeMarcus Cousins will be out another 7-10 days, Evans makes for a solid short-term pickup. His minutes won't be steady, as he has seen between 11 and 35 minutes over the past four games, but he is unarguable one of the five or 10 best pure rebounders on the planet, so when there's a chance for him to see significant run, fantasy owners should take notice. He will likely be added and dropped many times this season in most leagues, but this upcoming week represents as good a time as any to slot him in and hope for a 20-rebound game like the one he posted last Sunday against the Grizzlies.
ASSISTS
Greivis Vasquez, PG, Raptors
With DeMar DeRozan out, Vasquez is starting at the two, and just by nature of him seeing big minutes, he's dishing out a good amount of assists. Kyle Lowry is still technically the point guard, but Vasquez's best quality is his ability to set up his teammates, and he has done a good job of continuing to do that, even if he's often the secondary ballhandler for the Raptors. Don't forget, this is a player who averaged nine assists per game for a full season in 2012-13 when he was seeing big minutes in New Orleans. He has five or more assists in five straight games, and should continue to average about five dimes per game as long as he remains a key contributor with DeRozan out.
b>STEALS
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, SF, Sixers
Always well known for his defensive prowess, Mbah a Moute is starting to get big run in Philly, as one of only a handful of legitimate NBA players on the roster. He's not a good shooter, so there's a chance his lack of efficiency on offense could force coach Brett Brown to curtail his minutes, and there's a chance he could damage shooting percentages on a fantasy team, but for now, he's a great option for steals. Over his last five games he has 12 thefts (2.4 per game), and offers basically the same production as Tony Allen, but with slightly worse shooting percentages.
BLOCKS
K.J. McDaniels, SG, Sixers
Like Mbah a Moute, McDaniels benefits from how horrific the rest of the Sixers' roster is. But unlike Mbah a Moute, McDaniels is actually pretty awesome at most things on the basketball court. Over his last five games, he is averaging 8.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.6 steals, and he's a shooting guard! He is a 42.6 percent shooter on the season, so he won't do significant damage there, and he could swing some leagues in the defensive categories. In most deeper, serious leagues he has already been picked up, but for those looking to put in a free agent bid on McDaniels this week, feel free to break the bank. This guy is the real deal.
THREE-POINTERS
Anthony Morrow, SF, Thunder
Even with the Thunder back to full strength, Morrow has remained the top option to spread the floor for the team's slashers. His lack of major playing time limits his value to deeper leagues, but he should have no problem averaging two three-pointers per game over the rest of the season.
