It’s Sunday. You know what that means. It’s time for another edition of the category analysis.
Every week, we’ll look at players rostered in fewer than 60 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues. We’ll focus on eight-category leagues because turnovers are a waste of a category, to be honest. We’ll identify players to get before your league mates catch on who can help in each category.
The eight categories we’ll focus on each week are:
- Points
- Rebounds
- Assists
- Steals
- Blocks
- Threes
- Field-goal percentage
- Free-throw percentage
Let’s get to it.
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Points
Devin Vassell (SG/SF – SA): 48%
Vassell being at 48 percent gets a pass this week because the Spurs only had two games. He should be rostered more, but you have an excuse this week, at least. Vassell should be closer to 75 percent rostered at this point, as he’s scored 15 or more points in four of his last five games, including 18 or more in three of his last four.
Rebounds
Kevin Love (PF/C – CLE): 43%
Collin Sexton is out for the season with a torn meniscus. That’s a huge hit to the surprising Cavaliers, who have dropped three straight games after starting 9-5. Love is back from COVID protocols, and while his long-term future is in question with the club, he’ll provide some short-term run for fantasy teams looking to pad their rebounding numbers and get some points along with them.
Assists
Monte Morris (PG/SG – DEN): 48%
Morris recently revealed that he’s been playing through a leg injury, but you can hardly tell from his big minutes. Over the last two weeks, Morris has averaged 4.4 assists per game for the Nuggets.
Steals
Gary Payton II (PG/SG – GS): 16%
After his minutes trended down over the previous three games, Payton II had two more steals in 29 minutes Friday night for the Warriors. As long as he’s playing this type of defense, head coach Steve Kerr will have little choice but to keep him in his regular rotation.
Blocks
Isaiah Hartenstein (PF/C – LAC): 11%
Hartenstein’s ceiling is still capped, as he doesn’t get enough minutes to matter in standard leagues, but the big man’s talent is obvious. He’s recorded back-to-back 11-6 lines in his past two games, adding five total blocks. He’s valuable in deeper leagues, and monitors should monitor his minutes in standard leagues.
Threes
Kelly Oubre (SG/SF – CHA): 58%
We’ll take the week off from Joe Harris, as he’s nursing an ankle injury. Among players under the 60-percent rostered threshold, only Duncan Robinson has made more three-pointers this year than Oubre. Unlike Robinson, though, Oubre isn’t a one-trick pony and can help you across the board in eight-category leagues.
Field-goal percentage
Larry Nance Jr. (PF/C – POR) 48%
Over the last week, Nance is the 63rd-rated player in fantasy. That’s in large part to him settling into his role with the Trail Blazers and catching fire from the field. Nance went 15-of-20 in his last three games and has a 61.4 field-goal percentage in the last two weeks. Add in his rebounds and ability to hit some shots from behind the arc, and Nance is turning into a nice fantasy waiver-wire find.
Free-throw percentage
Coby White (PG/SG – CHI): 13%
You know the drill by now with this category. We find someone who can knock down free throws, yes, but it’s also to highlight a player who we can’t quite squeeze into any of the above categories. White made his season debut Monday against the Lakers, and while he’s done nothing of note yet — he’s only played in 31 minutes in three games — White has immense upside and can help run the Bulls’ second unit. He’ll require patience, as he’s getting back up to speed after labrum surgery. Try to pick him up or trade for him in dynasty leagues while you can.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
