NBA Category Strategy: Lot O' Rebounds

The Warriors, Bucks and Raptors play two games this week, 18 teams play three times and only nine teams play four games. That gives players on teams with four games a distinct advantage this week over the field. Most of my recommendations hail from teams scheduled for four contests.

For the second straight week, three of the Lakers' four games occur on nights with fewer than six games. Only four other teams (Nuggets, Grizzlies, Heat and Thunder) play two such games and most teams have one or zero games on nights with less than half the league competing. I didn't endorse anyone from the Lakers this week because their fantasy-relevant players are owned in a majority of leagues.

Two other notes:

• Al Jefferson is eligible to return from his suspension on Saturday against the Grizzlies.
• There are no games scheduled on Thursday.

Arbitrary Suggestion Thresholds:
Yahoo! & ESPN - less than 40 percent owned

POINTS

Courtney Lee (SG)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 4; ESPN - 41)

Take a leap with me. I know Lee scored two points Saturday night in 30 minutes. He's maddeningly inconsistent. However, the Grizzlies play four games this week containing matchups against the Sixers and Lakers. Against the Wizards and Hornets, the Grizzlies other two opponents, Lee recently scored a combined 27 points. He could register a 50-point week, a similar fate befitting Jeff Green, Matt Barnes or Mario Chalmers. I chose Lee as the Grizzlies' representative because he's shooting 47 percent from the field over the last eight games.

Tony Allen (knee) was absent the last five games, coinciding with Zach Randolph's demotion to the bench. In that time, Lee is scoring 10.4 points in 34.6 minutes per game. He's not forcing shots, but I have faith he'll perform well given the quantity of games and level of opponents this week. Jeremy Lin has been on a hot streak lately if you're uncertain of Lee, but the Hornets only play three times this week, including a game against Avery Bradley and the Celtics. Gerald Green is averaging 15.5 points per game in the last eight, but his minutes will drop when Tyler Johnson (shoulder) returns to the lineup and the Heat only play three games.

REBOUNDS

Kyle O'Quinn (PF)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 4; ESPN - 2.0)

Guess who's back in the circle of trust? Following three straight DNP-CDs, O'Quinn has played six straight games and been the first big off the bench the last five games as Robin Lopez's replacement. In those six games, O'Quinn is averaging 6.7 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game. It doesn't seem like much, but the Knicks play four times this week, including a game Monday against O'Quinn's former team, the Magic. The situation in Phoenix is too fluid to recommend Alex Len or Jon Leuer with high certainty. Both players are averaging 8.0 rebounds per game over the last eight, but Markieff Morris was recently reintroduced into the rotation and Tyson Chandler replaced Len in the starting lineup last week. Len and Leuer are better long-term solutions to O'Quinn, but if your goal is to accumulate as many rebounds as possible this week, O'Quinn's four games supersedes Len and Leuer's three.

ASSISTS

Brandon Jennings (PG)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 23; ESPN - 32.1)

This signifies a long-term move. Jennings originally targeted Dec. 29 for his debut, and when he returns, he'll certainly be on a minute restriction. I suspect Jennings hoards 16 minutes as the backup point guard and 4-8 minutes as the backup two alongside Reggie Jackson. He's already made it known that he's fine coming off the bench as the sixth man. Coach Stan Van Gundy deploys his starters a league-high 33.2 minutes per game. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris play the second and fourth-most minutes per game, respectively, in the NBA. Ersan Ilyasova has missed 51 games over the last two seasons, and he's never averaged more than 28 minutes per game in his career. There's also murmurs of Jennings being available in the trade market. I don't view that as an immediate threat because Jennings is on the final year of his contract and he's 11 months removed from rupturing an Achilles. He had 11 points and 12 assists in a D-League stint Saturday night.

STEALS

Raymond Felton (PG)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 29; ESPN - 32.6)

Felton recently snapped a streak of 12 games with at least one steal, and he averaged 1.4 steals in 31.4 minutes per game over the last 14. At first, I assumed his best performances occurred on nights Chandler Parsons rested. Then I thought his elevated playing time came from injuries to J.J. Barea and Devin Harris (hamstring). At this point, Felton will continue to start because Parsons prefers coming off the bench while his minutes are restricted. The Mavericks are scheduled for a back-to-back set later this week, ensuring Parsons sits at least one game. Felton has played at least 34 minutes the last four games Parsons missed, averaging 37 in those contests. The Mavericks play three times this week. If you prefer quantity over quality, Allen Crabbe, Gary Harris and Corey Brewer all play four times and are owned in fewer than 15 percent of leagues. I listed them in order of importance.

BLOCKS

Clint Capela (PF/C)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 25; ESPN - 31.9)

I don't claim to know how the Rockets' frontcourt will unfold on a nightly basis, but I do know they play four times this week including a back-to-back that will limit Dwight Howard's playing time. On the second nights of back-to-backs, Howard is averaging 5.3 points on 39 percent shooting in 28.8 minutes per game. Capela has eight blocks over the last four games, six of which occurred with Howard on the bench. His free-throw shooting will continue to be a nuisance, as will the limited playing time sharing a frontcourt with Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas.

THREE-POINTERS

Matt Barnes (SF)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 44; ESPN - 22.1)

I feel tardy recommending Barnes, but his ownership levels indicate he's reasonably available. It's true I gave Courtney Lee the points benefit, but Barnes is the most attractive Grizzlies player for fantasy leagues in the interim. Over the last six games (five starts), he's averaging 12.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2.0 steals, 1.3 blocks and 2.3 three-pointers in 31 minutes per night. Since coach Dave Joerger adjusted the starting line last week, the Grizzlies are fifth in Defensive Rating, a 14-spot improvement from their seasonal rank. The upcoming opponents thwart Zach Randolph's ability to play over 25 minutes a night, yielding consistent minutes to Barnes and Jeff Green.