Michael Waterloo | Thu, Nov 21st 2019, 9:35pm EST

Fantasy Basketball Category Analysis: Week 5 (2019)

We are more than a month in, and we have plenty to look at from a real-life and fantasy landscape.

The biggest news in the past two weeks is that Paul George made his in-season Clippers debut, and on Wednesday night, George and Kawhi Leonard shared the floor for the first time as teammates. The Clippers are likely to alternate rest days for their two stars, but it was promising to see them share the court for 27 minutes in their tandem debut.

Every other week, I’m going to be looking at players who are widely available and rostered in fewer than 60 percent of fantasy leagues on Yahoo. We’ll be focusing in on 8-cat leagues because turnovers are a waste of a category if we’re being 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.

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

Richaun Holmes (PF/C – SAC): 58% Owned
Why is Holmes still available? He’s been the best player on the Kings this season, and Dewayne Dedmon is left in the dust. Our friends over at HoopBall have been on the Holmes train for a long time now (back to his Philadelphia days), and it’s coming to fruition this year.

Even with Marvin Bagley III on the way back, it looks like the Kings are opting to go with a Bagley-Holmes pairing at the 4-5.

Rebounds

Kenrich Williams (SF/PF – NO): 19% Owned
The Pelicans have been disappointing as a whole, but there have been bright spots – namely Brandon Ingram. However, Williams has been sneakily good for this New Orleans team as they’ve dealt with a slew of injuries to start the season.

With Ingram back in the lineup Tuesday night, Williams still played 34 minutes (!) and brought in an impressive 14 rebounds, which is something you love to have from your small forward.

It will get muddy with Zion Williamson, Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball, and Derrick Favors return to the lineup, but for the short term, Williams is a solid streamer.

Assists

Tomas Satoransky (PG/SG – CHI): 49% Owned
Coby White has shown the hot-and-cold flashes that you might expect from a highly-drafted rookie, but Satoransky has held his own as the starting point guard for the Bulls. His Per 36 numbers are solid, with 12.1 points and 6.8 assists.

He’s not flashy. He’s not sexy. He can, though, help you in assists and steals, while contributing something in points. He can live in the top 75-100 range.

Steals

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (SF/PF – TOR): 10% Owned
I watched Tuesday night’s Raptors game because I enjoy watching the young Hornets play. The Raptors announcers couldn’t hype up RHJ any more if they tried, and honestly, I saw why. It was nice to see a rejuvenated RHJ on the floor, and just a casual viewer can see the difference and energy he makes on the court.

With Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka still hurt, RHJ and Chris Boucher are going to get more run. He’s averaging 25.4 minutes over his past five games, and in that span, he has seven steals and is averaging 7.4 boards per game.

He’s a solid streamer until the Raptors get healthy.

Blocks

Chris Boucher (PF/C – TOR): 14% Owned
I loved Boucher in Oregon. As a Ducks fan, I was excited to see if his game would translate to the NBA, but he was so raw. Last year, he shined in the G-League, and he’s gotten some run this year while Ibaka misses time. As a fantasy player, he’s been inconsistent, but he has two straight double-doubles averaging just 19 minutes in those games – both of which were blowouts.

Boucher deserves around 18 minutes or so when the Raptors are healthy, which can be enough to make him an option for the end of your roster.

Threes

Moritz Wagner (PF/C – WAS): 29% Owned
There were so many players I considered going with here. I had Danuel House Jr. originally, but he got hurt Wednesday night and is expected to miss more time. Then I had Coby White, but I didn’t want to do another set of teammates. So I pivoted to Davis Bertans, who I love, but there’s something about Mo Wagner that drew me to him instead.

Per 36, Wagner is averaging 23.8 points, 1.7 blocks, 1.1 steal, 1.7 assists, 10.6 rebounds, and 4.8 three-point attempts.

On the season, Wagner’s .516 three-point percentage is fourth in the league, and that’s only in 19.6 minutes per game.

In his last three games, though, Wagner has eclipsed the 25-minute mark twice, and in one of those games, he poured in 30 points – including going 4/4 from downtown.

The Lakers let him go for nothing. Don’t you do the same.

Field-Goal Percentage

Malik Monk (SF – CHA): 13% Owned
Is this a breakout from Monk? Possibly, but I’m still betting on a rollercoaster season from the Kentucky product.

On the year, he’s shooting 46.5 percent from the field, which you’ll take for a guy who has shown flashes of being able to take over a game. What’s nice about Monk is that he’s attacking the basket more, which helps his field goal percentage instead of taking long- to mid-range shots regularly.

Devonte’ Graham has been the main star for the Hornets this year, but Monk has – and will – get his.

Free-Throw Percentage

Langston Galloway (PG/SG – DET): 29% Owned
The injuries for the Pistons continue, and it was Galloway who drew the start in place of Tony Snell. Galloway played 40 minutes (!) and hit all four of his free throws on the night. Galloway’s 93.2 free-throw percentage is fifth in the league.

With his defense (plus-14.7 net rating), free-throw shooting, and three-point shooting (46.2 percent), Galloway is a guy who you have to roster and should be rostered in more than 29 percent of leagues.