🖥 TAP TO SAVE 50% WITH CODE THANKS
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

NBA Waiver Wire (Week 9): H2H Defensive Category Streamers

This week's streamers will be a little different.  Since nearly all NBA teams play on Friday, you'll have no trouble filling your lineup with existing rostered players.  Meanwhile, there are no games on Christmas Eve Saturday.  That means 100% of the streaming value comes from who's playing in a good Christmas Day matchup.  So that's all I'll be looking at!

Below are my Week Nine defensive category streamers for fantasy basketball - rebounds, steals, and blocks for Christmas Day! All position eligibility and ownership percentages are based on Yahoo! fantasy leagues.  Merry Christmas, RotoBallers.

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive our full season NBA (or NFL) Premium Pass for free (includes DFS Cheat Sheets). Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium Pass.

 

Rebounds Streamers

Marreese Speights, PF/C, LAC, Sun @ LAL (owned in 25% of Yahoo leagues)

With all the actual good NBA teams playing on Christmas Day, we gravitate toward the Lakers as the ideal opponent for streaming, with Speights filling in for Blake Griffin as the ideal streaming candidate. Speights is averaging 11.8 rebounds per 36 minutes on the season, so if he can play in the min-20s against the Lakers, he should get a shot to go for a double-double -- because you know the points will be there. He is averaging over 20 points per 36 for the third straight year, and has in fact been more efficient scoring this year by cutting his two point attempts in half and moving most of those shots across the arc. He is in fact scoring more points per 36 despite fewer field goal attempts per 36 than notable stars including Marc Gasol, Kristaps Porzingis, Devin Booker, and Dennis Schroder. Mo Buckets is an ideal rebounds streamer if you don't want to sacrifice scoring or treys, and don't particularly care about FG%.

Other options: Larry Nance Jr., PF, LAL (23% owned); Joakim Noah, PF/C, NYK (40% owned)

 

Steals Streamers

Andre Roberson, SG/SF, OKC, Sun vs. MIN (owned in 12% of Yahoo leagues)

Roberson is the only elite steals specialists active on Christmas, and has a nice matchup against the Wolves. There's not much to say about that. I'd also plug Austin Rivers here. He'll have a nice matchup in all respects against the Lakers, for both playing time and scoring opportunities. Meanwhile the Lakers young roster turns over the ball a ton, giving even a guy not known for steals like Rivers the chance to luck into a few. He makes for a nice add for Sunday in a lot of ways.

Other options: Austin Rivers, PG/SG, LAL (2% owned); Justin Holiday, SG/SF, NYK (1% owned)

 

Blocks Streamers

Kyle O'Quinn, PF/C, NYK, Sun vs. BOS (owned in 12% of Yahoo leagues)

Boston's opponents are averaging 5.4 blocks per game. Only eight teams get more of their shots blocked than that on a nightly basis, and none of those teams are allowed to play on Christmas Day (the only team with a winning record to see more opposing blocks is Memphis). This makes it as good a day as any to fire up O'Quinn as a blocks streamer. The other usual suspects either aren't playing (Hibbert) or have tough matchups for blocks and playing time (Dewayne Dedmon). If you're looking to stream only partially for blocks and partially for other stats, you're probably better off grabbing a wing who blocks shots here and there like Roberson or a big who isn't known for blocks like Speights and hoping for the best.

Other options: Dewayne Dedmon, C, SAS (2% owned); Andre Roberson, SG/SF, OKC (12% owned)


By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.



POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Seth Jarvis

to Be "Out for a While"
Phillip Danault

Rejoins Canadiens for Draft Pick
Mason Marchment

Blue Jackets Acquire Mason Marchment
Ja Morant

to Miss Second Straight Game Saturday
Brandon Lowe

Pirates Acquire Brandon Lowe in Three-Team Trade
RJ Barrett

to Remain Out Saturday
Jakob Poeltl

Facing Another Potential Absence Saturday
Jerami Grant

Picks Up Questionable Tag
Deandre Ayton

to Miss Matchup Against Clippers Saturday
Lauri Markkanen

Unlikely to Play Saturday
Klay Thompson

Iffy for Saturday
Anthony Davis

Expected to Play Saturday
James Harden

Available Saturday
Domantas Sabonis

to Miss 4-5 More Weeks
Anthony Edwards

Returns Without Minutes Restriction Friday
Zach Collins

Upgraded to Available Friday
Tre Jones

Available With Minutes Restriction
Ayo Dosunmu

Returns From Three-Game Absence
Kasparas Jakucionis

Makes First Career Start Friday
Davion Mitchell

Ruled Out Friday
Craig Porter Jr.

Skips Friday's Game
Sam Hauser

Available Versus Heat
Shane Baz

Orioles Acquire Shane Baz From the Rays
Andrew Wiggins

Misses Friday's Action
Donovan Mitchell

Unavailable Friday Due to Illness
Jonathan Marchessault

Out Day-to-Day
Tristan Jarry

Oilers Place Tristan Jarry on Injured Reserve
Patrick Kane

to Remain Out Saturday
Shea Theodore

Considered Week-to-Week
Karl-Anthony Towns

& Josh Hart Active Friday Night
Jack Eichel

to Miss at Least Two More Games
Davante Adams

Likely Won't Play in Week 17
Jordan Martinook

Misses Friday's Contest
Evan Rodrigues

Available Against Hurricanes
Tyler Seguin

Undergoes Surgery, to Be Re-Evaluated After Olympics
Marvin Harrison Jr.

Listed as Questionable for Week 16
Drake London

Expected to Play Sunday
Tee Higgins

Questionable to Play in Week 16
Michael Carter

Will Start at RB in Week 16
Dalton Kincaid

Will Practice on Friday, Expected to Play on Sunday
Garrett Wilson

Shelved for Remainder of 2025
CFB

Darian Mensah Returning to Duke Next Season
CFB

Josh Hoover Linked to Indiana in Transfer Portal
CFB

Arch Manning Agrees to Reduced Compensation for 2026 Season
Zach Werenski

Enjoys Second Consecutive Multi-Goal Game
Logan Thompson

Collects Second Shutout of the Season
Linus Ullmark

Blanks Penguins Thursday
Tyson Kozak

Hurt Against Flyers
Conor Timmins

to Miss 6-8 Weeks With Broken Leg
Tristan Jarry

Sustains Lower-Body Injury Versus Bruins
Anthony Cirelli

Injured in Thursday's Loss
Kenneth Walker III

Breaks Off Long Touchdown in Comeback Win vs. Rams
Matthew Stafford

Racks Up Highest Yardage Total in Over a Decade
Puka Nacua

Delivers Career-Best Performance on Thursday Night Football
Michael King

Padres Bring Michael King Back on Three-Year Deal
Logan Webb

Will Pitch for Team USA in World Baseball Classic
Tarik Skubal

Joins Team USA for World Baseball Classic
Jakobi Meyers

Jaguars Agree to Three-Year Extension With Jakobi Meyers
Davante Adams

Officially Out on Thursday Night
Michael Kesselring

Available After 14-Game Absence
Peyton Krebs

Good to Go Thursday
Jake Bean

Set for Surgery, Out Indefinitely
Devin Neal

Placed on Injured Reserve, Will Not Return in 2025
CFB

Will Muschamp Becoming Next Texas Defensive Coordinator
Christian Watson

Questionable for Week 16
Josh Jacobs

Listed as Questionable for Saturday Night
T.J. Watt

Unlikely to Play in Week 16
D'Andre Swift

Questionable to Face the Packers
Rome Odunze

Ruled Out for Week 16
Jawhar Jordan

Could be in for Significant Workload Against Raiders
Rome Odunze

Expected to Miss Third Straight Game
CFB

Beau Pribula Set to Enter Transfer Portal
Josh Jacobs

Expected to Play in Week 16
Bo Bichette

Willing to Make the Move to Second Base
CFB

Jeremiyah Love Officially Heading to NFL Draft
CFB

Jake Merklinger Leaving Tennessee for Transfer Portal
Mike Trout

Angels Open to Mike Trout Playing Center Field in 2026
CFB

Kansas State's Jayce Brown Intends to Transfer
CFB

Nation's Leading Passer Drew Mestemaker to Enter Transfer Portal
Justin Crawford

Phillies Planning to Start Justin Crawford in Center Field
CFB

Jayden Maiava Signs New Deal to Return to USC
CFB

Aidan Mizell Won't Return to Florida, Entering Transfer Portal
CFB

East Carolina Targeting Jordan Davis as Next Offensive Coordinator
CFB

Michigan QB Jadyn Davis Set to Enter Transfer Portal
CFB

Travis Williams Joining Texas A&M Defensive Staff
CFB

Dylan Raiola Entering His Name into Transfer Portal
CFB

Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby Plans to Transfer When Portal Opens
Adolis García

Adolis Garcia, Phillies Finalizing One-Year Deal on Monday
Brandon Royval

Suffers First-Round TKO Loss
CFB

Baylor, LSU, Miami Among Potential Suitors for DJ Lagway
CFB

Aidan Chiles Will Enter Transfer Portal
Manel Kape

Shines At UFC Vegas 112
Kevin Vallejos

Gets Second-Round Knockout Win
Giga Chikadze

Suffers His First Career Knockout Loss
CFB

Quarterback DJ Lagway Entering Transfer Portal
Cesar Almeida

Gets Dominated
Cezary Oleksiejczuk

Wins Sixth Fight In A Row
Morgan Charrière

Morgan Charriere Suffers First-Round Knockout Loss
Melquizael Costa

Gets First-Round Knockout Win
Marcus Buchecha

Still Winless In The UFC
Kennedy Nzechukwu

And Marcus Buchecha Fight To Draw
Lance Gibson jr

Lance Gibson Jr. Drops Decision In His UFC Debut
King Green

Gets Back In The Win Column
Kenley Jansen

Agrees to One-Year Deal With Tigers
Merrill Kelly

Returns to Diamondbacks on Two-Year Deal