Hey, let's think about this weekend. No, not about actually leaving your house and doing something. Let's plan who we're burning our precious weekly transactions to steal a category or two in our fantasy matchups.
Below are my Week Seven defensive category streamers for fantasy basketball - rebounds, steals, and blocks for the weekend of 12/9 - 12/11. All position eligibility and ownership percentages are based on Yahoo! fantasy leagues.
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Rebounds Streamers
P.J. Tucker, SG/SF, PHO, Fri @ LAL, Sun vs. NOR (owned in 14% of Yahoo leagues)
With T.J. Warren still sitting for the Suns, the uninspiring Tucker has been in the lineup for the Suns doing his usual inconsistent thing on offense. 21 points one day, 4 points another, we've been watching this act for years. One thing you can rely on Tucker for is a solid amount of rebounds for a wing, though. This weekend he makes a great option for stockpiling boards, especially if you've already maxed out your F/C lineup spots, because he'll have every opportunity to not soil the bed in the rest of his stat line thanks to a couple of extremely fantasy-friendly matchups against the Lakers and Pelicans. Teammate Tyson Chandler, hovering at around 50% ownership in Yahoo! leagues, makes an even better streamer for boards (and perhaps long-term solution for rebounds) in leagues where he hasn't been rostered yet -- though he's likely unavailable in competitive leagues.
Other options: Dwight Powell, PF/C, DAL (17% owned); Salah Mejri, C, DAL (1% owned); Andre Roberson, SG/SF, OKC (14% owned)
Steals Streamers
Wayne Ellington, SG, MIA, Fri @ CLE, Sat @ CHI (owned in 22% of Yahoo leagues)
There are better options if you're selling out completely for steals. Add Roberson or Tucker, or better yet use two transactions to snag Thabo Sefolosha for Friday and Tony Allen for Saturday. But if you want to make one transaction to make a push in steals while also helping out in a few other categories, Ellington is a guy who has averaged a consistent steal for every 30 minutes played, plus he can shoot and score. And he is getting plenty of playing time and shot attempts for the MASH unit which is the Miami Heat. It's not often you can tack on 15 points and a couple of treys to your steals streamer.
Other options: Andre Roberson, SG/SF, OKC (14% owned); P.J. Tucker, SG/SF, PHO (14% owned); Dwight Powell, PF/C, DAL (17% owned)
Blocks Streamers
Kyle O'Quinn, PF/C, NYK, Fri @ SAC, Sun @ LAL (owned in 4% of Yahoo leagues)
It's true, O'Quinn's playing time and production has been a roller coaster lately. But even in his down games, he's been netting plenty of blocks -- including 4 swats in his previous game against the Kings this past Sunday, which was an otherwise disappointing 14-minute outing sandwiched between two games where he saw the court for 25+ minutes and produced big numbers. It's worth rolling the dice on O'Quinn this weekend in a rematch against the Kings followed by another friendly matchup with the Lakers. Best case scenario, you get one or two of the good O'Quinn games. But even if you whiff, you've still added one of the best bets for blocks on the waiver wire.
Other options: Andre Roberson, SG/SF, OKC (14% owned); Salah Mejri, C, DAL (1% owned); Roy Hibbert, C, CHA (8% owned)
By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.