It’s week four of the NBA Fantasy Season and this week I’ve focused on even lower owned players than I normally write about. Everyone is under 25% owned, which should help you ensure you get them, and more importantly make you look super-smart when one of these guys wins you a category.

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 4 Category Streamers

Blocks/Rebounds Streamer

Steven Adams (OKC,C) - 13% owned

Weekend Schedule: Fri @ NYK, Sun vs. DAL

Steven Adams has quietly worked his way up to number 11 in the NBA in blocks, averaging 1.9 per game. I say quietly because, as you can see, he is only 13% owned. This is great news for you if you need blocks this weekend, because the matchups are fantastic. Adams is playing the average-at-best New York Knicks, and of course the notoriously soft front court of the Dallas Mavericks.

With or without Durant, I fully expect both of these games to be over early, and Adams should reap the rewards of some extra playing time. Let me remind you that Adams is averaging almost two blocks playing only 25 minutes per game. Although he is capable of blocking five shots in under 20 minutes like he did against Phoenix on 11/8, I’d feel much more comfortable with him playing closer to 30 minutes like I expect this weekend.

On top of blocks, the matchups should provide an opportunity for Adams to collect more than a few extra rebounds. The Dallas Mavericks are the worst in the league in OPP DREB, letting their opponents snag 37.2 DREB per game, and are fourth worst in TOT OPP REB allowing opponents to grab 47.3 TOT REB per game. Whether or not Kevin Durant plays on Sunday, this game will be very fast-paced, with lots of shot attempts. This will give Steven Adams plenty of opportunities to grab rebounds, and do what he does best--block shots.

Also consider:  Ed Davis (POR, PF/C), Clint Capela (HOU, PF/C)

 

3PM Streamer

Nick Young (LAL, SG/SF) - 19% owned

Weekend Schedule: Fri vs. TOR, Sun vs. POR

Now that the Marcus Thornton train has broken down, I guess it’s time to move on to a more common name in the 3PM streamers market. Swaggy P, aka Nick Young, could be in this article every week. However, I’ve elected to save him for a week with great matchups like this.

Neither Toronto nor Portland are known for having great perimeter defense, and are both sitting in the bottom third in the NBA of OPP 3PM per game. Now this early in the season I don’t always put so much stock into statistics like that, because so much is dictated by who teams have played so far. However, almost every team in the NBA is jacking up a ton of 3’s this season, so this should be pretty steady going forward.

Both of these matchups should see a lot of running and gunning.  This is great news for Nick Young, because that’s pretty much all he can do (and sometimes he only sticks to the gunning part). Although he is only playing around 20 minutes a game, he has played over 25 minutes a game in his last two, and that’s enough for me to be optimistic about this weekend and the potential for six 3PM or more if he gets hot.

There’s really not much else available this week for help in 3PM over the weekend other than Mirza Teletovic, so if you need help in this category make him a priority.

Also consider: Mirza Teletovic (PHO, SF/PF)

 

Steals Streamer

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (BKN, SG/SF) - 2% owned

Weekend Schedule: Fri @ BOS, Sun vs BOS

If Rondae Hollis- Jefferson could get his PPG up closer to 10, he would be over 60% owned. Unfortunately for now, he’s only averaging 3.9 points a game, with more than a few goose eggs to start his promising NBA career. However, if you have already conceded points this week, or you’re up by a ton, I would make Rondae priority number one to help win steals.

The Nets are playing back to back games against the Celtics, which is perfect considering the Celtics are third worst in the league in OPP STL, letting opponents swipe 9.4 steals per game. Combining that with the fact that Rondae has had at least one steal in seven of his last eight games (including two games with three steals), and we have the perfect storm for a very under the radar steals streamer.

The only thing I do worry about his Hollis-Jefferson’s playing time. It’s all over the place- 23, 31, 16, 12, 23 minutes in his last five. That’s a tough thing to deal with when you’re only planning to pick him up for the weekend, but I think the risk is worth the reward considering the matchup and his recent play.

On top of steals, Jefferson will definitely contribute to rebounds and even chip in a few assists if he gets enough playing time. He’s averaging 5.4 REB per game on the season, and grabbed 13 against Golden State in 31 minutes of playing time a few nights ago.

If either of these games are blowouts, and Rondae gets to see closer to 30 minutes of playing time, I fully expect around 15 rebounds and five steals over the weekend. That may not seem like a lot, but considering you can usually win steals with well under 50 total, this is a nice 10% or more boost that could easily swing the category in your favor.

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

 

Assists Streamers

Ish Smith (NOP, PG) - 23% owned

Weekend Schedule: Fri vs. SAS, Sun vs PHX

Not really sure why Ish Smith is still only 23% owned. Like I’ve mentioned every week, assists do not come around often on the waiver wire, and Ish Smith is currently sitting sixth in the NBA this season with 7.6 AST per game. This is not a joke. Until Tyreke Evans comes back and takes some of the ball handling responsibilities (and Jrue Holiday gets taken off a minute’s restriction), Ish Smith will be running the offense and dishing out tons of assists for the Pelicans. Alvin Gentry is a great offensive coach, and I am not surprised he is getting so much out of the mostly unknown Smith.

This weekend New Orleans plays San Antonio and Phoenix. Rach present their own pros and cons. San Antonio has always been prone to fast point guards and Ish Smith might be the fastest in the league. I am worried about a blowout, but the Pelicans are so decimated by injuries that it shouldn’t effect Smith’s playing time severely.

The Suns, on the other hand, could wind up sticking Bledsoe on Ish Smith, which would be close to a worst case scenario in terms of individual matchup. However, this game will be super-fast paced, and there will be plenty of opportunities for Smith to run in transition and avoid Bledsoe in the half court. My gut tells me Bledsoe will be on Eric Gordon, who has been red hot lately, but Brandon Knight should be able to hold his own, and I could see Hornacek feeling more comfortable with Bledsoe negating the speed of Ish Smith. Regardless, this game will be very high scoring, and will most likely not be a blowout on either side. With Ish handling the ball as much as he has it shouldn’t really matter who is guarding him to reach high assist numbers.

Over seven assists a game so far this season is no fluke, and Smith can help in enough other categories to justify him being a long term pick up. Again, this will only last as long as Tyreke and Jrue are out of the picture, but that should be until at least after the holidays, and could be longer if their injury history is any indication of how things will progress.

Also consider: Jameer Nelson (DEN, PG), J.J. Barea (DAL, PG)

 

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