RADIO
It's a quarter of the way through the NBA season and the Warriors are still undefeated heading into tonight's game against the Celtics. It's unlikely that you're undefeated in your H2H category league (though if you are, please tweet a screenshot to @RotoBaller). Most managers need to scrap for every category win possible to ensure a good position in the playoffs.
Remember, these streamers are solely for short term gains in specific categories. For recommendations on guys to add for the long-term, be sure to check out our Waiver Wire Pickups List. Also, be sure to check out the rest of our Week 7 NBA coverage, including our recommendations for Waiver Wire Centers, Waiver Wire Forwards, and Waiver Wire Guards.
NBA Waiver Wire : Category Streamers – Weekend Edition (Week 7)
Weekend of 12/12 & 12/13
Teams with 2 games: None
Teams with 0 games: CLE, DEN, ORL, SAC
Points
Alan Crabbe (SG, POR)
Owned in 4% of Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Leagues
Weekend Schedule: Saturday, Dec. 12 vs. New York
ANALYSIS: Crabbe has carved out a nice role as Portland’s sixth man. Over his last 5 games, his minutes have seen a significant uptick, reaching as high as 34 on Tuesday night. In that same time frame, his points per game has averaged right around 15 on an impressive 55% FG. The Blazers offense has been in the upper half of the NBA’s top scoring offenses for the season thus far, and Crabbe has become a key member of that rotation as their top scoring option off the bench.
Rebounds
Bismack Biyombo (C, TOR)
Owned in 12% of Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Leagues
Weekend Schedule: Sunday, Dec. 13 vs. Philadelphia
ANALYSIS: Following the injury to starting center Jonas Valanciunas in late November, Biyombo was thrust into a starting role for the Raptors where he totaled 42 rebounds in his first 3 starts. While he hasn’t been able to maintain that off-the-charts pace, his 8 rpg in 5 December games has been impressive, and if your rebounding matchup is close heading into the weekend, there is a good chance Biyombo can put you over the top in rebounds on Sunday evening against a historically bad Sixers team.
Assists
Raymond Felton (PG/SG, DAL)
Owned in 5% of Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Leagues
Weekend Schedule: Saturday, Dec. 12 vs. Washington
ANALYSIS: The veteran point guard hasn’t been fantasy relevant in several years, but has experienced a bit of a rebirth in Dallas. If you still can’t fathom the sight of Felton being a fantasy relevant player again, check out his minutes played over his past 5 contests: 30-34-38-34-40. The Mavs have gone to a small-ball starting lineup in recent weeks, inserting Felton into the starting lineup in place of Chandler Parsons, who Dallas is easing back into playing shape following offseason knee surgery. Somehow, this lineup with Felton in it has been as successful as any in the league. Felton has dished out 5 assists in each of his last 6 games and the Wizards rank 25th in opponents points per game this season, giving Felton and the Mavericks plenty of chances for points Saturday.
Steals
Tony Wroten (PG/SG, PHI)
Owned in 13% of Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Leagues
Weekend Schedule: Sunday, Dec. 13 @ Toronto
ANALYSIS: Before tearing his ACL last January, Wroten was a valuable part of the Sixers rotation, particularly on the defensive end where he ended his season averaging an impressive 1.6 spg. Wroten returned to Philadelphia’s talent-deprived lineup this past weekend, and worked his way back into the starting lineup Thursday night @ Brooklyn where he exceeded his minutes on the court compared to his first two games back. Wroten is a player who offers short-term help in the steals department, but could also prove to be a valuable player worth hanging onto if he can avoid a long period of rust.
Blocks
Alex Len (C, PHO)
Owned in 33% of Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Leagues
Weekend Schedule: Sunday, Dec. 13 vs. Minnesota
ANALYSIS: The former top 5 pick (in arguably the worst top 5 since 2000, by the way) struggled in his first two NBA seasons to find consistent minutes and production. Their offseason signing of veteran Tyson Chandler seemed to provide yet another road block to Len’s development. Despite a slow start to the season, the Suns appear ready and willing to give Len a fair shot to prove worthy of his high selection. In his last 6 games, Len has averaged 2.0 bpg, and has finally seen the big minutes many fans have waitied for as Chandler has missed all of or parts of the Suns previous 8 games, and the unhappy Markieff Morris has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff and could be on his way out of Phoenix soon. Even if Chandler returns this weekend, Len has earned his playing time, and the Suns need to see what they have in their young center.
Three Pointers
Doug McDermott (SF, CHI)
Owned in 5% of Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Leagues
Weekend Schedule: Saturday, Dec. 12 vs. New Orleans
ANALYSIS: McBuckets hasn’t offered much in terms of fantasy value in his brief two-year career outside of his ability from long-range. His minutes have trended upward lately, not only playing more than starter Tony Snell, but out-producing him as well. McBuckets is stroking it from downtown at an impressive 41.3% this season, and appears to have found some confidence that was previously lacking. He has an extremely favorable matchup this weekend against the Pelicans, who rank dead last in opponent three-point percentage this season.
