This year, RotoBaller is separating its waiver wire recommendations by position a little differently.  In our three position breakdowns, we'll be separating players into GUARDS, including point guards (PG), shooting guards (SG), and combo guards (PG/SG); WINGS, including small forwards (SF), swing men (SG/SF), and small ball fours (SF/PF); and BIGS, including power forwards (PF), centers (C), and bigs who play both front court spots (PF/C).

In this post, we'll provide options for guards, eligible at PG, SG, or PG/SG who may be available in both standard leagues (less than 50% owned) and deeper leagues (less than 25% owned), and will typically provide a boost in points, assists, threes, and steals.  All position eligibility and ownership rates based on Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

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Standard League Waiver Wire Guard Adds

Patty Mills, PG, SAS (45% Owned)

Last call!  Mills is already owned in almost every active 12 team league, but at only 45% owned on Yahoo, he's still out there in many not-so-competitive ones and in a lot of 10 team leagues.  He's been lights out for the Spurs -- over the last 11 games, he's been shooting a blistering 51%, including 48% from downtown.  That's putting him at close to top 50 value in that timespan.  While that kind of insane shooting is obviously not going to keep up, he's going to get plenty of minutes going forward, with the upside for more if the aged Tony Parker were to get injured or regress even further past the point of coach Pop's trust in the lineup.  Top 50 is unrealistic, but top 100 in a bench role with upside if he starts is more than enough to warrant universal ownership in fantasy hoops leagues.

Oddly enough, Patty's most recent outing against Brooklyn, where he played only 16 minutes, might be his most encouraging yet.  In those 16 minutes against the hapless Nets, Mills racked up 16 points, 4 assists, 4 treys, and 3 steals on 54.5% shooting, then sat out the 4th quarter to rest in what had become a blowout.  Not only is that outstanding production in such limited time, but the fact that he -- a bench player! -- got rested underscores how important the Spurs see him.  Danny Green, Manu Ginobili, and even Pau Gasol were still out there at points in the 4th quarter playing alongside bottom of the benchers like Davis Bertans and Nicolas Laprovittola, but Mills got to take it easy with Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge.  The Spurs see him as that important, so fantasy owners should, too.

Allen Crabbe, PG/SG, POR (25% Owned)

There's a reason Crabbe is a guy who spazzes between starting rosters and the waiver wire in fantasy leagues as quickly and erratically as one of Draymond Green's legs.  This is a guy who provides you little to nothing in most of the non-shooting categories -- assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks -- so his production relies 100% on whether his shot is falling.  If it is, he's racking up points and treys with good percentages.  If it isn't, he's providing no counting stats while he destroys your percentages.

Right now his shot is falling and he's been getting minutes, since his ability to play off-ball makes him a much better fit alongside Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum than Evan Turner.  It could stop falling at any moment, but the situation for him right now is excellent.  Playing time and open shots are all you can ask for when it comes to Crabbe, and right now that's what he's getting.  If the poorly fitting Turner ends up getting traded (especially if it's for a pick or a big man), that'll lock in his situation even tighter.  Crabbe's too one-dimensional to want to drop a real player for, but he makes a solid plug-in for anyone down a point guard in competitive leagues.

Standard League Honorable Mentions: Jameer Nelson, PG, DEN (16% Owned); Troy Daniels PG/SG, MEM (22% Owned); and if you're really desperate for short term assists, Shelvin Mack, PG, UTA (4% Owned)

Deep League Waiver Wire Guard Adds

Malcolm Brogdon, SG, MIL (3% Owned)

The steal of the draft so far after being taken by the Bucks in the 2nd round, Brogdon is one of those guys who got overlooked because he was a college senior (he turned 22 on Sunday, and is a full 5 days younger than Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was drafted 3 years earlier), despite the fact that all he did was ball out and win in a killer conference. Of course, Buddy Hield and Denzel Valentine didn't get overlooked for being elite college players who came out as seniors, and a fat lot of success they've had so far in this season, so maybe we shouldn't be too hard on the league for not taking a chance on Brogdon.

Anyway, Brogdon's been particularly hot of late, putting up a line of 9.6 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.9 threes on 50% shooting with less than a turnover per game in an average of 22 minutes since Thanksgiving.  That's been close enough for him to sniff top 100 value.  Now you should not treat him like he'll get anywhere near top 100 value and be worth an add in standard 12 team leagues.  He's been buoyed by an even more unsustainable hot streak than Mills -- Brogdon has hit 17 of 24 three point attempts since Thanksgiving.  Yes, he's hitting SEVENTY-ONE PERCENT (!!!) from downtown over the last 9 games. Unless he is the result of the Monstars stealing the talent of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Ray Allen, then infusing it all into one single player, I feel pretty safe in saying he's not going to keep that up.

In deep leagues, he doesn't need to keep it up to be useful, though. He was a good shooter in college and he looks good in the pros.  He won't be otherworldly going forward, but it seems like he should be decent. He'll be able to provide a smattering of treys and assists in a decent role for the Bucks going forward, which is really the best you can hope for off a waiver add in 14 or 16 teamers. Plus, he'd have very nice upside were Giannis or Matthew Dellavedova to miss any time this year.

Deep League Honorable Mentions: Shelvin Mack, PG, UTA (4% owned); Joe Harris, SG, BKN (2% owned); Rodney Stuckey, PG/SG, IND (1% owned)