It’s Saturday. You know what that means.
It’s time for another edition of the category analysis.
If you’re new to this column, here’s what we will be looking at each and every week.
Every 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 be focusing on 8-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.
Check out today’s NBA Shot from FanDuel 
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.
Points
Cam Reddish (SG/SF – NYK) 33%
I’m a Reddish fan. I know the fantasy community is torn on him, but with a bigger role, I believe that he can be an impact scorer for his real-life team and for fantasy managers alike.
If you want big minutes, Coach Thibs is the place to turn.
Yes, Reddish is going to be out for a little bit with an ankle injury, but when he returns, he’ll slot in nicely into the starting five as the second or third option for the Knicks. I see top 75 value going forward, and that’s being conservative.
Rebounds
Kevon Looney (PF/C – GSW) 15%
It’s not that Looney is particularly good. He’s not.
If you watch Golden State games, you can see that. And when they are in a shootout with a team – depending on the matchup – they’ll go small ball and Looney will be on the bench.
But Looney does typically play in the mid-20s in minutes, and he’s really the only true big guy they have. That’s resulted in 43 boards over his last four games – including an 18-board game.
Even when James Wiseman returns, Looney should see the bulk of the time at center.
Assists
Jalen Suggs (PG – ORL) 48%
Suggs returned from a thumb fracture Friday night, and he put up a 12-point, 7-assist, 6-rebound performance in 22 minutes.
He hasn’t had the rookie campaign you’d hope, but he was starting to put it together before his injury.
Suggs return will cut into Cole Anthony‘s time just a tad. Suggs won’t be a must-roster player at all, but he’s a great guy to stash with a high ceiling for a second-half push.
Steals
Herb Jones (SF/PF – NOP) 50%
With all the talk of the rookies this year, Jones isn’t getting the respect he’s earned so far this season.
He’s the 61st-ranked player in fantasy on the season, and he’s been the 27th-ranked player over the last two weeks.
What else does Jones have to do to get more respect in the fantasy community? He’s averaged 2.4 swipes in the last two weeks, and he’s filling the stat sheet across the board.
Buy in, folx.
Blocks
Brandon Clarke (SF/PF – MEM) 46%
After a disappointing sophomore campaign, Clarke is really looking good for the Grizzlies in this role off the bench in Year 3.
No, he’s not doing what he did his rookie year, but he’s putting up mid-round value in fantasy so far this year.
He has nine blocks in his last five games, and pairing those with the rest of his stat line makes him a good backend guy in 12-team leagues.
Threes
Max Strus (SG/SF – MIA) 24%
We could talk about Strus hitting 18 threes in his last four games. We could talk about him being the new Duncan Robinson, but better.
But what’s most important here is that Strus was starting alongside Jimmy Butler Friday night. For the longest time, Strus held value due to Butler missing games, but if he maintains that starter’s gig, Strus’ rostership should soar above 45 percent here in short order.
He’s a hold if you have him and you should look to get him if you need three-point help.
Field-goal percentage
Onyeka Okongwu (PF/C – ATL) 14%
The Hawks are open to moving anyone not named Trae Young (of course) and Clint Capela (because they can’t yet). I doubt they move Okongwu but we’ll take anything we can to get him more playing time – with the Hawks or not.
He makes the Hawks better offensively and defensively than Capela does already, and he’s impressed over the last few weeks with the opportunities he’s had.
Free-throw percentage
Amir Coffey (SF – LAC) 32%
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. This week, we’ll talk about Coffey.
Coffey moved into the starting lineup over Terance Mann, and he had a breakout game Wednesday night, posting an 18/5/7/4 line for the Clippers.
I’m intrigued by Coffey, to say the least. It doesn’t really have to do with the singular game – it helps, sure, but his follow-up didn’t go nearly as well – but it’s because the Clippers are missing so many key wing players, that opportunity will be there for him. And in fantasy, opportunity is one of the more important facets to a player’s value.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
