RADIO
Welcome to the second weekly edition of the RotoBaller H2H Streamer Specialists column! 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.
NBA Week 2 Category Streamers
Blocks Streamer
Festus Ezeli (GS, PF/C) - 10% owned
Weekend Schedule: Fri vs. DEN, Sat @ SAC
Watch this from last night.
That should be enough to add Festus Ezeli this weekend for blocks, but if you need more support just look at his weekend schedule. The Denver game alone is worth adding him, and DeMarcus Cousins still might not be back by the Sacramento matchup on Saturday.
Ezeli has proven very quickly he deserves starter’s minutes, and I think we’ll see him getting more minutes than Bogut on a regular basis. These matchups are great, and Ezeli is playing even better averaging almost two blocks a game in only 20 minutes of playing time. Don’t over think it--if you need blocks this weekend go add Festus.
Also consider: Kosta Koufos (SAC, PF/C), Clint Capela (HOU, PF/C)
Rebounds Streamer
Tristan Thompson (CLE, PF/C) - 57% Owned
Weekend Schedule: Fri vs. PHI, SUN vs. IND
A little bit higher ownership level than I usually like to include in this article, but his match ups this weekend are too good to not mention. Philly at home is ideal, as he will most likely earn extra minutes of garbage time to pad the stats. Indiana on Sunday isn’t quite as good, but nothing scares me about their front court, and if you’ve ever watched them play, you know there will be plenty of rebound opportunities for Tristan Thompson.
Unfortunately that’s really all he’ll contribute, maybe a few blocks if you’re lucky, but he’s a sure thing for rebounds if you need them.
Also consider: Kosta Koufos (SAC, PF/C), Clint Capela (HOU, PF/C), Festus Ezeli (GSW, PF/C)
3PM Streamer
*All of the 3PM streamers will also help you in points; I usually won’t have a “Point Streamers” category because it would just be the same players listed twice.
Marcus Thornton (HOU, SG) - 16% Owned
Weekend Schedule: Fri vs. SAC, SAT vs. LAC
I can’t believe this is the second time I’m writing about Marcus Thornton already, but apparently he’s a serious part of Houston’s rotation. He’s been jacking up around 15 shots a game including at least five threes, and he’s playing over 30 minutes a game. Yes Marcus Thornton is playing 30 minutes a game for a championship contender in 2015.
I’m not sure how long this will last, but definitely snag him for the weekend and ride it out. The matchups this weekend against SAC and LAC are actually pretty good considering how high the point totals will be. I could see Marcus Thornton sinking over seven 3PM between the two games.
Also Consider: Nick Young (LAL, SG/SF), Nik Stauskas (PHI, SG)
Assists Streamer
Matthew Dellavedova (CLE, PG/SG)- 13% Owned
Weekend Schedule: Fri vs. PHI, SUN vs. IND
You can pretty much just read what I wrote about Tristan Thompson above and substitute the word “assist” for “rebound." Like I mentioned last week, it’s super hard to find consistent assists on the waiver wire, so I’ll include them whenever I can.
Luckily this week Dellavedova fits the bill. He has been dishing out a ton of assists off the bench, and he has great matchups this weekend. We all know David Blatt loves Delly, so I see him getting a ton of minutes this weekend while he’s playing well.
Like most of the guys listed in this article, he won’t really help you in other categories consistently, but against Philly anything is possible.
Also consider: Ish Smith (NOP, PG), T.J. McConnell (PHI, PG)
