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 Ten 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
Tony Snell, SG/SF, MIL, Opponents: Friday @ MIN, Saturday @ CHI (3% Owned);
Since the Michael Carter-Williams trade, Jason Kidd has stuck to starting Tony Snell. The Bucks needed the floor spacing since they lost Khris Middleton and his 1.8 threes per game to a hamstring tear. The trade probably doesn’t happen unless Middleton goes down. All this means is that we get to capitalize on his absence since Snell has done a good of a job hitting triples. From what we could realistically expect from Snell, that is.
As a Buck, Snell’s averaged 29.2 minutes per game in 28 games as the starting shooting guard this season. He’s hit a triple in nine of the last ten games, including seven straight and a six three-point night against the Wizards. He’s got a low ceiling as a starter hitting 25-plus minutes per game, but does remain a viable three-point option since he’s hitting 1.7 threes on the season. He’s one of the few perimeter options on the squad, so expect this trend to continue. Give him a look this week.
Other Options: Patrick Patterson, PF/C, TOR (14% Owned); Marreese Speights, PF/C, LAC (21% Owned); Austin Rivers, PG/SG, LAC (8% Owned); Channing Frye, PF/C, CLE (11% Owned); Joe Ingles, SG/SF, UTA (5% Owned)
Points Streamer
Montrezl Harrell, PF, HOU, Opponents: Friday vs. LAC, Saturday vs. NYK (22% Owned);
Clint Capela will miss the next month or so with a leg injury. That means, Mike D’Antoni will have a starting role and about 24.3 minutes to get creative with every night. So far, Nene and Montrezl Harrell have traded off starting roles, but Harrell has been the Paul Simon in the duo. Even in a timeshare, Harrell has averaged 14.0 points and 4.8 rebounds on 68.5% shooting in only 25.3 minutes over the four games Capela has missed so far.
The Houston Rockets rank top 5 in pace (100.73) and have looked like a Mike D’Antoni team as the third ranked offense (111.4) in the league. They’ve also dropped 113.5 points per game in 40.5 field-goal makes, which only ranks behind the Golden State Warriors in both categories. This is all backed behind an offensive system that hucks up a league leading 39.4 three-point attempts per game and an angry beard. The Rockets will lock horns with an injured Clippers team and against a Knicks team that isn’t afraid to exchange buckets this weekend. Harrell is lining up nicely as an offensive streaming option as long as Capela sits.
Other Options: James Johnson, SF/PF, MIA (25% Owned); Marreese Speights, PF/C, LAC (21% Owned); Ty Lawson, PG, SAC (21% Owned)
Assists Streamer
Malcolm Brogdon, SG, MIL, Opponents: Friday @ MIN, Saturday @ CHI (17% Owned);
Besides posterizing Kyrie and LeBron in the same game last week, Malcolm Brogdon has been a good developing piece for the young Bucks this season. He was netted in the second-round in the 2016 draft and looks have been a steal in this rookie class at that spot. He does possess mediocre averages of 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, but has been trending in the right direction in December.
In the last two weeks, Brogdon has put up averages of 8.7 points and 4.7 assists at 62.9 FG% in 24.5 minutes per game. With Giannis Antetouknmpo running point-forward, Brogdon has been the primary backup behind Matthew Dellavedova. Delly has taken a serious dip since the start of the season, and lately has been held under 30 minutes in five of the last seven games. It’s giving way for Brogdon to shine. Approaching the second half of the season, the rook is looking like a decent contender to see more minutes. In the meantime, he makes for a solid streaming assists option with assists totals of five, seven, and seven in the three of the last four games. Tony Parker and Andrew Harrison could shape up to be decent options as well, but I'm going with Brogdon's improved play.
Other Options: Tony Parker, PG, SAS (23% Owned); Andrew Harrison, PG/SG, MEM (3% Owned); Ty Lawson, PG, SAC (21% Owned); D.J. Augustin, PG, ORL (3% 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.