This article is part of our NBA Category Strategy series.
Each week, I identify players who'll contribute in specific categories while trying to narrow my suggestions to those owned in less than 45 percent of ESPN leagues and 41 percent of Yahoo leagues. The top 130 owned players in ESPN leagues are above the 45-percent mark and the top 150 owned players in Yahoo leagues sit above 41 percent (one week after registering 50 percent)
The Celtics play two games this week while every other team plays at least three, and more than half plays four. If you seek quantity for a weekly head-to-head matchup, grab players from the Grizzlies, Heat, Thunder or Trail Blazers because three of their four games occur on nights when less than half the league plays. Conversely, all three of the Wizards' games this week appear on nights with nine or 10 games; you'd be hard pressed to get Kris Humphries into your active lineup under those conditions.
POINTS
Rodney Hood (SG)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo 50; ESPN 14.7)
Hood is averaging 15.3 points in 27 minutes per game but his playing time has been depressed due to foul trouble, as he's collected a team-high 4.0 fouls per contest. Hood is connecting on 48 percent of his shots even though he's struggling from deep, nailing 4-of-16 three-pointers. Only 25 percent of his baskets have been assisted, and he's proving to be more than just a spot-up shooter. He's not afraid to drive into the teeth of the defense and hit them with a lefty floater or
Each week, I identify players who'll contribute in specific categories while trying to narrow my suggestions to those owned in less than 45 percent of ESPN leagues and 41 percent of Yahoo leagues. The top 130 owned players in ESPN leagues are above the 45-percent mark and the top 150 owned players in Yahoo leagues sit above 41 percent (one week after registering 50 percent)
The Celtics play two games this week while every other team plays at least three, and more than half plays four. If you seek quantity for a weekly head-to-head matchup, grab players from the Grizzlies, Heat, Thunder or Trail Blazers because three of their four games occur on nights when less than half the league plays. Conversely, all three of the Wizards' games this week appear on nights with nine or 10 games; you'd be hard pressed to get Kris Humphries into your active lineup under those conditions.
POINTS
Rodney Hood (SG)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo 50; ESPN 14.7)
Hood is averaging 15.3 points in 27 minutes per game but his playing time has been depressed due to foul trouble, as he's collected a team-high 4.0 fouls per contest. Hood is connecting on 48 percent of his shots even though he's struggling from deep, nailing 4-of-16 three-pointers. Only 25 percent of his baskets have been assisted, and he's proving to be more than just a spot-up shooter. He's not afraid to drive into the teeth of the defense and hit them with a lefty floater or pullup jumper. Neither Trey Burke nor Raul Neto, the team's only traditional point guards, are averaging more than 23 minutes per game, allowing Hood a chance to intermittently facilitate the offense alongside Alec Burks and Gordon Hayward.
REBOUNDS
Steven Adams (C)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo 8; ESPN 4.6)
Adams won the playing time battle over Enes Kanter in both of the first two games. In 33 minutes per game, he has corralled 7.5 rebounds, which is slightly more than Russell Westbrook. Adams gets the nod this week over Zaza Pachulia (25 percent owned in Yahoo; 18.8 percent owned in ESPN) because he plays one extra game and three of the Thunder's four contests are on nights with seven games or fewer. If you're concerned about your free-throw percentage, target Pachulia over Adams. Kyle O'Quinn was recommended last week and is owned in less than 30 percent of Yahoo leagues and 14 percent of ESPN leagues. My affinity for him forces me to suggest him over Adams or Pachulia if all three are at your disposal.
ASSISTS
Dennis Schroder (PG)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo 38; ESPN 45.4)
The Hawks play the most games (17) in November, making this the easiest long-term recommendation all week. The training staff is being cautious with Kyle Korver and Thabo Sefolosha, sitting them one game of a back-to-back, but never the same game. The Hawks have five back-to-backs in November, and Schroder should waver between 18-27 minutes on a nightly basis. He tends to break off plays and isolate too often, but as the season progresses, I expect his assist numbers to exceed his current average of 2.7 per game. Of those averaging at least 10.0 points and 4.0 assists last season, Schroder has played the fewest minutes per game (19.7).
STEALS
Tony Allen (SG/SF)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo 52; ESPN 9.6)
Allen is the constant sponsor of this category. The Grizzlies, as mentioned above, play four games this week, three of which occur before Friday. Afterward, you're freed up to target someone who'll play two games over the final three days to improve your chances of earning the head-to-head win. Alternatively, you can add someone who earns a larger role on their team due to an unforeseen injury. If you're rotisserie bound, rostering Allen isn't a terrible decision because he attempts nearly all his shots in the restricted area via backdoor cuts and in transition. Those soliciting longer-term solutions should consider Al-Farouq Aminu, who's owned in 42 percent of ESPN leagues.
BLOCKS
Willie Cauley-Stein (C)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo 28; ESPN 19.7)
DeMarcus Cousins sat the entire second half of Saturday's game due to a sore right Achilles. Even though he's considered day-to-day, adding Cauley-Stein is an anticipatory maneuver in the event Cousins takes a week off. The Kings play four games in five nights this week, and the condensed schedule may force head coach George Karl's hand. Cauley-Stein gets the recommendation over Kostas Koufos, who played 17 second-half minutes to Cauley-Stein's 11, because the latter is one of two players averaging at least 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per games early this season.
THREE-POINTERS
Nik Stauskas (SG)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo 10; ESPN 6.1)
Stauskas recently returned from back spasms to play 21 minutes in his first game as a Sixer. Prior to the back issue, he missed summer league with an ankle injury and preseason with a right tibia stress reaction. In between his NBA responsibilities, Stauskas played for team Canada in the Pan American Games and the FIBA Americas Championship, and the stress reaction can be traced back to overexertion this summer. Stauskas inhabits a primo opportunity on a team devoid of proficient NBA playmakers. He exhibited facilitator capabilities during his sophomore season at Michigan, and assuming that skill hasn't atrophied, he should acclimate immediately to head coach Brett Brown's fast-paced system. Stauskas hit 42 percent of his three-pointers after George Karl was hired in Sacramento, and all but four were catch-and-shoots. Stauskas is limited in what he can provide for fantasy, and if he can't create his own space, you shouldn't expect him to repeat his shooting efficiency from last season's second-half.
