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
Lou Williams, SG, Raptors
Williams was dropped in a lot of leagues after a couple games scoring in single digits. But in mid-sized leagues, he requires some patience to own. The Raptors like to play the hot hand, and when Williams has been on, he has seen a starter's workload. In two of the past three games, he has scored 26 points, while also averaging more than two three-pointers per game over the past five contests. DeMar DeRozan remains without a timetable to return, and while Williams may only be an asset in the short term, he is one of only a handful of players on waivers who can go for 25-plus points on any given night.
REBOUNDS
Tristan Thompson, PF, Cavs
Thompson is kind of the forgotten man in Cleveland, but he has been a beast on the boards of late. The three-year pro is averaging 11.4 rebounds per game over his last five contests, and he has three double-doubles over that span. Against Oklahoma City he was able to snag 13 rebounds, despite Kevin Love hauling in 16 in the same game, so the notion that Love greatly depresses Thompson's value is a little overblown. The crazy thing is that Thompson is widely available in both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues. While we know he's probably not ever going to be the player the Cavs hoped they were getting with the No. 4 overall pick in 2011, he is a competent pro, and warrants ownership in most formats.
ASSISTS
Josh McRoberts, PF, Heat
Whoever drafted McRoberts in your league has probably already dropped him, as injuries have really limited his court time. In fact, he's dealing with a knee bruise right now, and hasn't played in the Heat's last two games. However, when he has played, he has been an excellent distributor, especially in recent games. Last season, McRoberts averaged more than four assists and more than four rebounds per game, which is a rarity, especially for a forward. He will never be a great scorer, but once he's healthy, he will be a sneaky source of assists without doing much damage to a fantasy team's shooting percentages.
STEALS
Shaun Livingston, PG, Warriors
Livingston has nine steals in his last four games, and while he's always been a better real life player than fantasy contributor, he needs to be owned in deeper leagues. His minutes have started to tick up, and with that comes solid assists totals and a good amount of thefts. He is also one of the few guards who shoots better than 50 percent from the field (50.5 percent on the season), so he's an asset in that category as well. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is another strong option here.
BLOCKS
Rudy Gobert, C, Jazz
Derrick Favors (sprained ankle) may not be out long, but Gobert will be a great source of blocks in the short term. He was a dynasty league darling heading into the season, but there was always the potential for him to blow up in single season leagues with an injury to Favors or Enes Kanter. Gobert had five blocks in 26 minutes Friday, and should offer two-plus blocks per game while Favors is out. At 7-foot-1, few centers can match his length and ability to protect the rim.
THREE-POINTERS
Marcus Morris, PF, Suns
The less heralded Morris brother is starting to make his presence felt this season. Over his past five games, he is averaging an acceptable 26 minutes per game, and hitting 2.2 three-pointers per game. Morris could be the floor spacer the Suns needed after failing to retain Channing Frye, as he is certainly efficient enough to be that guy. On the season, he is shooting 42 percent from downtown. Unfortunately, he doesn't do much to help fantasy teams in other categories, but he's available in most leagues.
