Week Five is already here! This week I focused again on very low owned players to ensure availability when the weekend comes around. Although there are a ton of teams playing two games this weekend, the streamers candidate pool was surprisingly thin overall, so make sure the players below are a priority if you’re in need of help in a category or two.

This column will be posted every week as part of RotoBaller's regular season NBA coverage for the 2015-16 NBA season. It will focus on available players who could win you your H2H matchup in specific categories.

All of these players will have multiple games over the weekend, but in most cases will only help your team in one or two categories. To be clear, most of these players are “streamers,” meaning that unless they drastically increase their basketball skills overnight, these players should NOT be rostered for an extended period of time in leagues of standard depth. Everyone should only be used if you need help winning a specific category in your matchup and you don’t have to drop anyone valuable.

Last thing, we’ll usually only focus on one player per category, but list other available options underneath. Certain guys might be listed in more than one category, so if you need help in both, be sure to make those players a priority.

Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List

 

NBA Week 5 Category Streamers

 

Blocks Streamer

Festus Ezeli (GSW, PF/C) - 19% owned

Weekend Schedule: Fri @ PHX, Sat vs. SAC

If anyone is upset I didn’t include the seemingly obvious Bismack Biyombo in this section (due to the recent Jonas Valanciunas injury),you have most likely never watched Bismack Biyombo play basketball, and you are most definitely too emotionally invested in fantasy basketball. Biyombo will put up some good rebounding totals this weekend, but Bismack looks like he’s running under water on the court and is usually reaching for the ball as opposed to being in good position for blocks. Just take my word for it or watch some more Raptors basketball.

Anyways, I think Festus Ezeli has the highest floor and highest ceiling this weekend for blocks streamers candidates- which is ideal. Back-to-back games usually has a negative connotation when it comes to fantasy basketball, but in this case it helps our cause. Festus is severely limited by his minutes, averaging only around 20 minutes per game. However, with back-to-back games I think it is very likely Ezeli far exceeds his average minutes total this weekend to help rest starters.

More minutes equals more block opportunities, and the matchups this weekend are pretty good too. Phoenix loves to run, and this might be a game Bogut just can’t stay on the floor due to the pace. In an ideal world, Golden State will put this one away early and they’ll let Festus run with the first unit for the majority of the game. On Saturday, the Warriors will have to use all the bigs they have to contain DeMarcus Cousins. However, like I’ve mentioned a bunch of times in this article, with so many touches down low, there will be a lot of opportunities for blocks if Ezeli can stay on the floor.

Even if Ezeli doesn’t get a boost in minutes over the weekend, he’ll still be good for around four blocks. In the 20 minutes a game he’s been averaging over his last five games, he’s been able to block two shots a game. However, if he does see closer to 25, or even 28 minutes a game this weekend, we could realistically see eight blocks from him over the weekend. Unless you’re getting crushed in blocks, eight will usually swing the category in your favor. It’s definitely a little bit of a flyer, but will pay off if the stars align.

Also consider:  Jordan Hill (IND, PF/C)

 

3PM Streamer

Mirza Teletovic (PHX, SF/PF) - 5% owned

Weekend Schedule: Fri vs. GSW, Sun @ TOR

This is the deepest category for streamers this weekend, so if you need help in 3PM and something else, feel free to put in claims for one of the other guys listed below. Both players listed are more than serviceable for 3PM and this weekend and I could have written up any of the three, but went with Mirza Teletovic because I think he has the highest ceiling, and has the lowest ownership percentage.

If you’ve never seen Mirza Teletovic play, which is totally understandable, picture a poor man’s version of Nikola Mirotic with far less ball skills. However, just like Mirotic, Mirza Teletovic fires from deep, and is not trigger shy. A few nights ago he shot five threes in 13 minutes of playing time against the Chicago Bulls. Don’t be deterred by the 13 minutes of playing time, that’s the only game he’s gotten less than 20 over his last five games.

Over those last five games Mirza has averaged just about three 3PM a game, while only taking around 6.5 3PA a game. That comes out to 42% from three point range, and I expect that to continue against his opponents this weekend.

Golden State on Friday might scare off some people, but Mirza’s game fits perfectly with the style of play for this game. We all know Golden State loves to go small, and the Suns will have no problem matching that. While that is probably a bad idea for the Suns, it’s great news for future Mirza Teletovic owners who provides a unique combination of size and spacing on the offensive end.

The key will be if he can hang with Draymond on defense. If he can, I could definitely see the Suns transferring some Tyson Chandler minutes over to Mirza to try to get some more offense on the floor while not giving up too much defensively. (FYI Tyson Chandler is way better defensively overall, but the Warriors are extremely well coached, and you can bet every time Tyson is on the floor they’ll make sure whoever he’s guarding is nowhere near the paint, making him basically obsolete)

Don’t expect much else from Teletovic, who doesn’t usually crack five rebounds and assists combined, but if you need help with 3PM he’s a great option this weekend.

Also consider: C.J. Miles (IND, SG/SF) Marco Belinelli (SAC, SG/SF)

  

Steals Streamer

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (BKN, SG/SF) - 10% owned

Weekend Schedule: Sat @ CLE, Sun vs. Detroit

Yes I know, I wrote about Rondae Hollis-Jefferson last week, but he has good matchups again this weekend and it was an opportunity to not so subtly remind everyone I made a great pick last week 😉 . I made a lofty prediction that Rondae would tally around five steals and 15 rebounds over last weekend if he could see close to 30 minutes a game (he was only seeing around 21 previously).

Well Mr. Hollis-Jefferson delivered in a big way; grabbing 18 rebounds, dishing out six assists, and snagging a ridiculous EIGHT steals. On top of all that, Rondae, who usually only scores around four points a game, scored 22 points combined over the weekend.

This weekend the Nets will need him again defensively. He’ll most likely see a lot of time on LeBron James on Saturday, which is a little scary, but as long as he can stay out of foul trouble there will be plenty of steal opportunities. The Cavs have a severely depleted backcourt right now, and LeBron will have to do a lot of the ball handling and distributing. Again, as long as he can keep the fouls under control Rondae will be in great position all day to get some steals.

On Sunday Rondae plays Detroit, which is a good matchup for the exact opposite reason. The Pistons have exactly one good perimeter player on offense--Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Assuming Rondae isn’t matched up with him all day, he’ll have an opportunity to play somewhat of a “free safety” position on defense, roaming the passing lanes and playing very aggressive help defense. Although it would be tougher to get steals matching up against KCP all day, if that is the case Rondae has proven he’s somewhat matchup proof when it comes to steals.

If this is a sign of things to come, Rondae could turn into a serious breakout candidate in fantasy basketball. Like I mentioned last week, if he can start to average around 10 points per game, he’ll be a top 60 fantasy player overall with his ability to contribute in a variety of categories including elite steal and rebound numbers (for his position).

Also consider: Tony Allen (MEM, SG/SF)

 

 

Rebounds Streamer

Jordan Hill (IND, PF/C) - 23% owned

Weekend Schedule: Fri vs. Bulls, Sun @ LAL

Without any great options for assist streamers this weekend, I decided to switch it out for a great rebound streamer. Jordan Hill has bounced around the NBA, and has been an excellent rebounder everywhere he’s been.

This season with the Indiana Pacers, Hill has averaged 8.6 rebounds a game, which puts him in the top 30 in the NBA so far this season. It’s kind of surprising he’s only 21% owned, considering he’s almost averaging a double-double. Tristan Thompson has nearly identical numbers (7.7 PTS, 9.8 REB), and contributes even less assists and blocks than Hill, but is somehow 63% owned. I know, doesn’t make any sense to me either.

Anyways, this weekend Hill has a few things going for him that gave him the nod for this week’s rebounds streamer. Most importantly, Hill is playing his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Now I don’t have any numbers to back this up, but guys always play better in what we like to call a “revenge game”. That’s just how basketball works sometimes. Now this is a double revenge game because Roy Hibbert is facing his old team as well, but Hibbert is a notoriously bad rebounder and Hill should eat him up on the glass.

On Friday, Hill faces the deep front court of the Bulls, but that means there will be serious action down low. The Pacers will probably be forced to player bigger than usual, giving Hill a boost in not only his minutes, but in rebounding opportunities. Three games ago, the Pacers played at Chicago and Hill tallied 12 rebounds in 26 minutes. I could definitely see him duplicating that.

Overall, I think this is the safest streamer I’ve listed today, considering Hill as grabbed at least seven rebounds in every game this season except the season opener--now that’s what I call consistency.

Also consider: Bismack Biyombo (TOR, C)

 

NBA & Fantasy Basketball Chat Room