👉 TAP TO SAVE 30% WITH CODE NEW
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

#1 Expert Projections
Save 30% Now
Import Your Leagues
Top-Rated Accuracy
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
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.

Featured Promo: New Novig users get a $25 purchase match (50% discount up to $25) on your first Novig deposit, and 6 free months of RotoBaller's "Big-4" Premium Pass (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL) which includes exclusive tools for Betting, Props, DFS and more! CLAIM IT NOW

 

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

#1 Expert Projections
Save 30% Now
Import Your Leagues
Top-Rated Accuracy
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Bub Carrington

Exits Early Sunday Due to Cramping
Will Richard

Won't Suit Up Sunday
Seth Curry

Active Against Nuggets
Quinten Post

Back in Action Sunday Night
Aaron Gordon

Won't Play Sunday
Trent Williams

49ers Making Headway With Trent Williams on Potential Extension
Mykel Williams

Expected to be Back for Training Camp
Nick Bosa

49ers Expect Nick Bosa Back for Training Camp
Myles Garrett

Browns GM Confirms Myles Garrett isn't Being Traded
Quinshon Judkins

Browns Hopeful Quinshon Judkins Will be on the Field "in Some Form" This Spring
Alex Bregman

Clobbers First Two Homers in Sunday's Loss at Wrigley
Tobias Harris

Likely to Sit Out Monday's Game
Yandy Díaz

Yandy Diaz Records Five Hits, Drives in Four in Win Over Cardinals
Ausar Thompson

Uncertain for Monday
Jalen Duren

Unlikely to Play Monday
Trey Murphy III

Out on Sunday
Dejounte Murray

Available Against Rockets
Miles McBride

to See Limited Minutes Sunday
Jaden McDaniels

Won't Play Monday
Anthony Edwards

Listed as Questionable for Monday
Collin Murray-Boyles

Misses Sunday's Action
Brandon Ingram

a Late Scratch on Sunday
RJ Barrett

Good to Go Sunday
Robert Williams III

Ready to Play Sunday
Malik Monk

Won't Play Against Nets
DeMar DeRozan

Sits Out Sunday's Game
Brandon Ingram

Available Against Magic
Neemias Queta

Cleared to Play Sunday
Jeremy Swayman

Remains in Bruins Crease Sunday
TB

Nicholas Paul Available Against Predators
Nikita Kucherov

Remains Out Sunday
Mason Lohrei

Unavailable Sunday
Dmitri Voronkov

Considered Week-to-Week
Artyom Levshunov

Out With Fractured Hand
Sidney Crosby

Practices Fully on Sunday
Geno Smith

"No Doubt" That Geno Smith is Jets' Starting Quarterback
George Kittle

49ers Hopeful George Kittle Will be Ready for Week 1
NFL

Eric McAlister Diagnosed With Fractured Foot
Zach Charbonnet

Could Return to a Wide-Open Backfield
Brian Thomas Jr.

Uncertain Future Could Make Him a Buy-Low Candidate
Kyle Larson

Is Likely to Pay Off for DFS at Martinsville
Luke McCaffrey

Is Luke McCaffrey Still Worth Stashing on Dynasty Benches?
Christopher Bell

Could Have Another Top-10 Performance At Martinsville
William Byron

Is A Threat to Win Again at Martinsville
NFL

Elijah Sarratt's Contested-Catch Ability is a Double-Edged Sword
Chase Elliott

is A Solid DFS Option for Martinsville Lineups
Roman Wilson

a Cut Candidate for Dynasty Managers Facing Roster Decisions
Chase Briscoe

has Plenty of Upside for DFS Lineups at Martinsville
Patrick Mahomes

Andy Reid Doesn't Offer Timeline on Patrick Mahomes
Carlos Estévez

Carlos Estevez Unlikely to See High-Leverage Opportunities in Near Future
Tre' Harris

The Buy-Low Window for Tre' Harris Could Be Closing
Dont'e Thornton Jr.

Is Dont'e Thornton Jr. Still Worth Rostering in Dynasty Formats?
Braelon Allen

Has Clear Buy-Low Upside Coming Off a Lost Year
Michael Mayer

Is Michael Mayer a Sneaky Buy-Low Candidate for Dynasty Managers?
KaVontae Turpin

Blocked Off from a Significant Offensive Role in Dallas
Jacob deGrom

Feels "Much Better," Hopeful he Can Start This Week
Josh Allen

"Good to Go" After Foot Surgery
Cole Hutson

Delivers Two Assists Saturday
Mikhail Sergachev

Ties Mammoth Record With Four Assists
Connor McDavid

Reclaims Scoring Lead With Three-Point Effort
Dmitri Voronkov

Unavailable Sunday
Aliaksei Protas

Suffers Upper-Body Injury Saturday Night
Ty Gibbs

Should Fantasy Managers Roster Ty Gibbs at Martinsville?
Josh Anderson

Limited Due to Illness Saturday
Ryan Preece

Is A Solid DFS Option for Martinsville Lineups
Josh Berry

Could Josh Berry Pay Off for Tournament DFS Lineups At Martinsville?
DAL

Nathan Bastian Makes Early Exit Saturday
Carson Hocevar

May be Too Inconsistent to Start in Martinsville DFS Lineups
Austin Cindric

Is Austin Cindric Worth Rostering for DFS At Martinsville?
Denny Hamlin

the Favorite to Win at Martinsville
Ryan Blaney

Should Contend at Martinsville
Tyler Reddick

Should Come Back Down to Earth at Martinsville
Joey Logano

Will Be Strong at Martinsville
Deshaun Watson

in "Pole Position" to be Week 1 Starting QB?
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Looking to Rebound at Martinsville
Shane Van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen Showing Progress, Qualifies Fifth at Martinsville
Gabriel Vilardi

has a Two-Point Performance
Ivan Demidov

Collects Two More Points on Saturday
Dylan Cease

Fans 12 in Blue Jays Debut on Saturday
Shane Wright

Exits Early Saturday
Connor Zary

Remains Out Saturday Night
Noah Laba

a Game-Time Call Sunday
Jonathan Quick

to Remain Unavailable Sunday
Joel Hanley

to Miss Rest of Season
Andrew Vaughn

Needs Hand Surgery, Expected to be Out 4-6 Weeks
Jacob deGrom

"Confident" he Will Make his Next Start
Jacob deGrom

Scratched From Saturday's Start Due to Neck Stiffness
Jeferson Quero

Brewers Calling Up Catching Prospect Jeferson Quero
Deyvison De Los Santos

Marlins Promote Deyvison De Los Santos to Major Leagues
Shea Langeliers

Hits Two Home Runs on Opening Day
Kevin Gausman

Picks Up No-Decision But Strikes Out 11 on Opening Day
Tanner Bibee

Day-to-Day, Could Make his Next Start
Shane Baz

Orioles Agree to Five-Year Extension
Jeremy Peña

Jeremy Pena Making Season Debut on Friday Against Angels
Tiger Woods

Involved In Rollover Car Crash
Tanner Bibee

Shoulder Issue Not Considered Serious
Joe Pyfer

Set For UFC Seattle Main Event
Israel Adesanya

Returns At UFC Seattle
Maycee Barber

Looks To Extend Her Win Streak To Eight
Alexa Grasso

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Dominic Canzone

a Top Pickup After Two-Homer Game
Niko Price

In Dire Need Of Victory
Michael Chiesa

Set For Retirement Fight
Chase DeLauter

Launches Two Home Runs, Emerges as Top Waiver-Wire Target
Lerryan Douglas

Set For His UFC Debut
Julian Erosa

Looks To Bounce Back
Tanner Bibee

Leaves Opening Day Start Early With Shoulder Inflammation
Cristopher Sánchez

Cristopher Sanchez Makes a Statement on Opening Day With 10 Strikeouts
Kevin McGonigle

has Four Hits in Impressive MLB Debut
Ryan Fox

a High-Upside Value in Houston
Marco Penge

a Boom-or-Bust Option in Houston
Aaron Rai

Looks to Bounce Back in Houston
Jason Day

a Volatile Option at the Texas Children's Houston Open
Harris English

Eyes a Bounce-Back at the Texas Children's Houston Open
Ben Griffin

Looks for Turnaround at the Texas Children's Houston Open
Rickie Fowler

Brings Strong Form Into Texas Children's Houston Open
Ryan Gerard

Can Continue Rolling at Texas Children's Houston Open
Pierceson Coody

Bounces Back at Valspar Championship
Rasmus Hojgaard

Trying to Get Back on Track at Texas Children's Houston Open
Michael Thorbjornsen

Playing Well Heading to Texas Children's Houston Open
Harry Hall

Looking for Consistency at Texas Children's Houston Open
Brooks Koepka

Continues Building Momentum
Scottie Scheffler

Withdraws From Texas Children's Houston Open
Luke Clanton

Might Have a Problem in Houston
Sam Stevens

Happy to See Houston This Week
Keith Mitchell

Tries to Rebound After The Players Championship
Will Zalatoris

Returning This Week at Houston
Wyndham Clark

Trending in the Wrong Direction Heading to Houston
Shane Lowry

Seeking Better Luck in Houston This Weekend