NBA Category Strategy: Targeting Blocks

Each day this week has at least five games but no more than 10. If you play in a daily moves league, your choices for streaming are amplified courtesy of the smoother schedule. The table below offers a guide for maximizing your games played this week. Adding players from these teams throughout the week will guarantee you a stacked active lineup. Truthfully, you could stream every night this week if your league doesn't enforce a strict cap on moves. For reference, my lineup in a 12-team league has at least one empty slot each night in Week 6.

POINTS

Rodney Hood (SG/SF)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 51; ESPN - 25.2)

Hood is one of the Jazz's primary ball handlers, leading them with 3.1 assists per game, as coach Quin Snyder will often go long stretches without a traditional point guard on the court. Hood played through back spasms on Saturday and scored 16 points on a team-high 15 field goal attempts. He's still struggling with his outside shot, sinking 28 percent of his three-pointers after converting 36.5 percent last season. Because Hood operates as a facilitator, he's forced to create his own offense, thus reducing his catch-and-shoot opportunities. Ignoring his subpar efficiency, Hood is averaging 14.5 points in 32 minutes per game over the last six.

REBOUNDS

Bismack Biyombo (C)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 16; ESPN - 14.2)

Since replacing Jonas Valanciunas (hand) in the starting lineup, Biyombo is pulling down 14.0 rebounds in 33 minutes per game, and he also leads the Raptors with 1.0 block per game. However, Biyombo is strictly a two-category specialist. Prior to Saturday's scoreless outing, Biyombo recorded three assists and two steals in his previous 16 games. If he's not inhaling rebounds or blocking shots, he's usually throwing up zeroes across the box score. Biyombo does a good job springing toward the rebound, and he's aided by DeMarre Carroll playing irregular minutes as a nominal power forward. If you're itching for a longer-term investment, Meyers Leonard played his first game Saturday since dislocating his left shoulder on Nov. 11. A return to the starting unit isn't a guarantee, potentially yielding copious rebounding opportunities if he doesn't play alongside Mason Plumlee. The Blazers will work him back slowly, so he's less likely to offer immediate dividends compared to Biyombo.

ASSISTS

Evan Turner (SG/SF)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 24; ESPN - 30.8)

Marcus Smart (leg) is expected to miss at least another seven games, and with Isaiah Thomas in the starting lineup, Turner is the Celtics' primary backup facilitator. In seven games without Smart this season, Turner is averaging 11.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals in 28 minutes per game. Smart's presence reduces Turner to 24 minutes per game and marginalizes his playmaking responsibilities. Turner exited Friday's game due to a right eye injury, and assuming he plays Sunday, he should suffice for the upcoming week. Take advantage of Turner while Smart is out, but if you're looking for a miracle, enlist the help of Miracle Max.

STEALS

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (SF)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 17; ESPN - 12.6)

The Brooklyn Bandit; RHJ; The self-proclaimed "Mid-Range Assassin." Pick a nickname, and if you covet steals, acquire Hollis-Jefferson, who has 27 steals in the first 16 games of his rookie season. Since joining the starting lineup 11 games ago, Hollis-Jefferson is averaging 2.0 steals in 25 minutes per game. He's a 6-foot-7 shooting guard with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, and in watching his steals, I didn't witness a particular pattern or go-to move on Hollis-Jefferson's part. He was relying on his length and athleticism to create turnovers. His fantasy value extends beyond steals, as he's averaging 7.7 rebounds in 11 starts while shooting 50 percent from the field.

BLOCKS

Clint Capela (C)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 20; ESPN - 11.2)

Capela replaced Terrence Jones in the starting lineup last Friday, and that arrangement wasn't based on matchup, as coach J.B. Bickerstaff intends on using Capela alongside Dwight Howard in the starting lineup. In general, it matters not whether a player starts or comes off the bench; minutes trump all. Capela is averaging 1.7 blocks in 24 minutes as a starter versus 1.4 blocks in 14 minutes as a reserve. Howard has been cleared to play on back-to-backs, of which the Rockets are scheduled for two this week. Because Howard will be limited closer to 25 minutes on both nights of the back-to-back sets, Capela will procure additional playing time at center. Unfortunately, if you're targeting solid free-throw shooters, Capela isn't a stout option with his 49 percent accuracy from the charity stripe.

THREE-POINTERS

Jerryd Bayless (PG)
(Ownership percentages: Yahoo - 26; ESPN - 22.7)

The Bucks are a top-five team in three-point percentage this season, and Bayless is hitting them at a career-high 48.7 percent, which ranks second among qualifiers. It's entirely unsustainable and mainly dependent on playing alongside the Bucks' starters. Bayless is shooting 56 percent from downtown when Greg Monroe is on the court drawing double teams and 41 percent when Monroe is on the bench. Whether Bayless starts or comes off the bench, he's offering at least 12.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 2.3 three-pointers per game. He's playing 31 minutes per night, fourth-most on the team and more than starter Michael Carter-Williams. Coach Jason Kidd entrusted Bayless last season with 8.6 fourth-quarter minutes per game, and with Carter-Williams scuffling, Bayless is playing a team-high 9.6 minutes in the final quarter this year.