December 14, 2016

JT picks fantasy basketball waiver wire streamers and adds for points, assists, and three pointers in Week 8 of the NBA season. These players can be sleepers.

It's never too early to start streaming. Whether you have an opening due to an injury, you auction-drafted a crew of stars and scrubs, or you just didn't bother putting any effort into your last couple draft picks, you probably have a player or two on your team who isn't must-own. You're better off using that roster spot to stream players to eke out wins in close categories in your weekly head-to-head matchups.

This year, RotoBaller will be making weekly recommendations for extreme short term category specialists every week in all six counting stat categories (points, assists, threes, rebounds, steals, and blocks). Below are my Week Eight offensive category streamers for fantasy basketball - points, threes, and assists are below. All position eligibility and ownership percentages are based on Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

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Three Points Made Streamer

Terrence Ross, SG/SF, TOR, Opponents: Thursday vs. ATL, Saturday @ ORL (15% Owned)

Terrence Ross has taken a step forward this season after seeming to have regressed in the previous two. It’s early, but he’s putting up Steph Curry-esque percentages (50.3% FG/46.1% 3P/88.5% FT), which has easily been his career-best. He’s taking less shots and getting less minutes, but is currently tied with his highest points output (10.9). That speaks volume about the quality of his shots he’s taking when he’s on the floor.

Despite Shaqtin’ A Fool with his missed breakaway windmill, Ross has been a serviceable streaming option for threes in the past three weeks. He’s hit a three in nine of the last ten games. Of those nine games, he’s had a multi-three game in seven of them. During that stretch, he’s attempted 4.6 threes per game. Not too shabby.

Even though they rank ninth from the bottom for three-point attempts (24.3), the Raptors sit in the top 10 for three-pointers made (9.8) and first in three-point percentage (40.1%). It’s all about quality from beyond the arc for the Raps as they’re also first in the league for offensive rating (114.9). Toronto will take on Atlanta on Thursday, who have given up the ninth worst threes (10.0) and seventh worst percentage in the league (36.5%). The matchup looks good and he’s coming off a season high 25 points. Give him a look.

Other Options: Allen Crabbe, PG/SG, NOP (25% Owned); Patrick Patterson, PF/C, TOR (22% Owned); Wayne Ellington, SG/SF, MIA (22% Owned); Langston Galloway, PG/SG, NOP (10% Owned); Jared Dudley, SG/SF/PF, PHX (8% Owned); Joe Harris, SG, BKN (2% Owned); Joe Ingles, SG/SF, UTA (2% Owned)

Points Streamer

Omri Casspi, SF/PF, SAC, Opponents: Friday @ MEM, Saturday @ DAL (6% Owned)

To start the season, Omri Casspi was irrelevant in the crowded Sacramento frontcourt because of Rudy Gay’s strong play and Matt Barnes’ familiarity with Dave Joerger’s system. Now, he finds himself in a nice situation as Gay is dealing with a hip flexor and the Kings are “resting” Matt Barnes while he’s being investigated by the NYPD. Yikes. Casspi has a clear path to minutes and could start at small forward as Rudy Gay remains questionable against Houston tonight. Even if Gay does suit up, the Kings could limit him as they play three games in six days on the road.

Since the weird postponed game in Philly, Casspi has seen a boost in minutes, averaging 23.7 minutes in the last six games. He’s become a bigger part of the offense over that span, attempting 7.3 shots per game, which eclipses his 4.8 attempts in the prior nine games before that. He’s averaging 10.0 points and converting 55.8% on his field goals over that six-game period with an opportunity to improve on those numbers. While the weekend opponents aren’t ideal for fantasy, Casspi is still a good bet to put up good offensive numbers and is widely available in Yahoo leagues.

Other Options:  Tim Hardaway Jr., SG/SF, ATL (9% Owned); Dorian Finney-Smith, SF/PF, DAL (13% Owned); James Johnson, SF/PF, MIA (13% Owned); Marco Belinelli, SG/SF, CHA (12% Owned); Leandro Barbosa, PG/SG, PHX (3% Owned)

Assists Streamer

Brandon Jennings, PG, NYK, Opponents: Thursday @ GSW, Saturday @ DEN (21% Owned)

Derrick Rose exited last night’s game against Phoenix after only 10 minutes due to back spasms and has been dealing with back issues for the better part of a week now. It doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Knicks to rush Rose back given his extensive injury history, so Young Money immediately steps into the fantasy spotlight. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for and we knew it was only a matter of time before Jennings got his opportunity.

In the past week, Brandon Jennings has stepped into a bigger role averaging 30.3 minutes per game. He’s posted 10.3 points and 4.8 assists in that time, but should be able to outperform those numbers if Rose misses additional time. If Jennings does start, he’ll see Steph Curry and Emmanuel Mudiay over the weekend. While the Warriors game has blowout potential, both teams have high paced offenses, which should help the nine-year vet rack up dimes along the way. He’s a great streaming option for assists in the late week and could be a hold candidate passed that depending on Rose’s timetable.

Other Options: Tony Parker, PG, SAS (22% Owned); Andrew Harrison, PG/SG, MEM (14% Owned); Jameer Nelson, PG, DEN (11% Owned); Ty Lawson, PG, SAC (9% Owned); Shelvin Mack, PG, UTA (3% Owned)