Week 3 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: NBA Assists Specialists

November 15, 2014

In his Week 3 NBA Category Specialist column, Trevor Crippen searches the fantasy basketball waiver wire for some sleepers that can help out with assists.

The 2014-15 NBA Season has really heated and with that it is time to dive back into the fantasy basketball waiver wire. Today, the focus is on sleeper options that can help your team out in the assist department.

Assists Category Specialists

Devin Harris (DAL, PG/SG) – 24% Owned

Neither point guard playing for the Mavericks is exactly “sexy” to own right now. Jameer Nelson is who we think he is – a borderline fantasy asset – while Devin Harris is behind him on the depth chart. That said, Harris has provided some workmanlike fantasy value this season, averaging 4.2 assists to go along with 9.8 points, 1.2 treys and 1.6 steals per game coming off the bench.

Harris's numbers so far add up to solid top-100 value in a backup role – meaning he is both worth owning right now in standard leagues for his assists and is a potential goldmine if Jameer Nelson misses time, as Jameer Nelson regularly tends to do.

Zach LaVine (MIN, PG) – 13% Owned

Ricky Rubio’s severe ankle injury has opened things up for his backups. That has involved plenty of 31-year-old veteran Mo Williams (collective yawn by fantasy owners), but LaVine, the Timberwolves' 19-year-old first-round draft pick from this past summer, has also been a beneficiary of increased playing time.

LaVine has averaged 30 minutes through the first couple of games since the Rubio injury. In those two efforts, he has racked up 13 total assists and nine rebounds. Unfortunately, he cannot shoot at all (.313 FG%) and offers little in the defensive categories. But as a pure source of assists, LaVine is as good as you can find in deeper leagues right now.

Kostas Papanikolaou (HOU, SF/PF) – 2% Owned

Here is a super deep-league option. For those in need of some last minute assists in head-to-head leagues, but all full at guard positions, Papanikolaou has been filling the stat sheet with both his name and his numbers, even in games where he has been playing behind both Terrence Jones and Omer Asik.

While his percentages and scoring have been uninspiring, Kostas (yes, we are on a first name basis now for the sake of convenience) has averaged 3.3 assists per game, to go with 1.5 threes and 1.1 steals, all excellent numbers for a power forward. This makes him a decent situational pickup in deep leagues.