We’re back for another week of category analysis, and this week’s article is a bit unique, because Week 11 runs Mar 1 through Mar 14 due to the All Star Game Weekend (Mar 5-7). Pickups this week will need to sustain you for a fortnight, so plan accordingly.

Every other week, we’ll be looking at players who are widely available and rostered in fewer than 60 percent of fantasy leagues on Yahoo. We’ll focus on eight-cat leagues because turnovers are a waste of a category, to be honest. We’ll be looking at players who can help you in each of the eight categories who you can get before your league-mates catch on.

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The eight categories we’ll focus on each week are:

1. Points
2. Rebounds
3. Assists
4. Steals
5. Blocks
6. Threes
7. Field-goal percentage
8. Free-throw percentage

Let’s get to it.

Points

Malik Monk (G – CHA) 39% rostered
Across his last four games, Monk has put his heroics on display, generating 23.8 points per contest, including the final three points in Sunday’s last-second, one-point win over the Kings. He’s been known to get hot throughout his career, so managers should expect some cold games as well, but if Monk can stick in the rotation, he’s a good bet for solid production in the points department moving forward.

Rebounds

Bobby Portis (F/C – MIL) 58% rostered
Bobby P has been a key piece of the Bucks’ rotation this season and a top-100 fantasy player for much of the year thanks to his well-rounded play, infrequent turnovers, and high shooting percentages. His 7.3 boards per game this season are the second most of his career. If you’re looking for some help on the boards, Portis is your man.

Assists

T.J. McConnell (G – IND) 46% rostered
McConnell has been one of the most under-appreciated fantasy assets all season long, so it’s no surprise he’s still rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues. The man has averaged a career-high 6.7 dimes per contest across only 24.8 minutes per game. He’s also committing just 1.9 turnovers per contest and swiping 1.8 steals in the process. TJM is a huge value who could be sitting on your waiver wire right now. 

Steals

Matisse Thybulle (G – PHI) 7% rostered
Despite averaging just 17.9 minutes per game, Thybulle has racked up an impressive 44 steals this season (T-9th in the NBA). He’s widely available in Yahoo leagues, and despite the lack of additional counting numbers, he’s worth an add as a category specialist if you’re hurting for swipes.

Blocks

Nerlens Noel (F/C – NYK) 59% rostered
Noel was mentioned in this article two weeks ago when he was 57% rostered, but he’s only been picked up in two percent more of leagues since then. That’s crazy for a guy who’s averaging 2.1 swats across his last eight games (all starts). Noel is the gift that just keeps giving for fantasy managers, as he’s grabbing 7.3 boards and swiping 1.1 steals per contest in that same stretch. He needs to be a priority add. 

Threes

Davis Bertans (F – WAS) 60% rostered
After a slow start to the season, Bertans is back in our good graces as a preeminent three-point sniper, much like he was last season. Since the last Category Analysis article was published two weeks ago, Bertans has splashed 3.8 triples per contest across nine games. He’s draining them at a 50% clip, so expect some regression, but Bertans has knocked down at least 42% of his attempts from long range in each of the last two seasons.

Field-goal percentage

Jakob Poeltl (C – SAS) 63% rostered
Poeltl has shot at least 60% from the floor in four of five career seasons, and he’s canning 63% over his last eight since joining San Antonio’s starting lineup. He’s a guy likely to remain in the starting five moving forward, and because of his close-range shot selection, he should remain a high-level source of FG% for the rest of the season.

Free-throw percentage

Josh Richardson (G/F – PHI) 48% rostered
Richardson has converted an impressive 94.1% of his free-throw attempts this season, and while he’s only attempting 2.2 per game, the percentage is one to take advantage of nonetheless. J-Rich has started to find his groove again as of late, so you can add him for the FT% and keep him for the other numbers he’ll generate in the process.

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