It’s Friday. You know what that means.

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.

But if you find the turnovers helpful, let me know. I’m happy to include them if enough of you play in 9-cat leagues.

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:

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.

Check out the latest fantasy basketball expert consensus rankings

Points

Alec Burks (PG/SG/SF – DET) 41%

The mayhem around Detroit has settled down since the brawl with the Magic, but don’t lose track of Burks maintaining fantasy value going forward – especially for those managers who need a scoring boost. Burks has scored 13 or more points in six straight games, and over the last two weeks, he’s returned top-75 value for fantasy. With Jaden Ivey‘s struggles and Cade Cunningham out for the season, Burks has the chance to be a garbage-time hero this year.

Rebounds

Tari Eason (SF/PF – HOU) 17%

The Eason breakout is so close I can taste it. In another lost year, the Rockets should free up playing time for Eason in the second half of the season, similar to what they did with Alperen Sengun last season. Despite eclipsing 20 minutes just once in the last two weeks, Eason is averaging six boards per game during that stretch. He’s a double-double guy just waiting for the run needed to achieve those averages.

Assists

Monte Morris (PG/SG – WAS) 57%

Bradley Beal returned from the injury report, just to land back on it. Beal is slated to miss at least the next three games with a hamstring injury, but we know how those injuries go. Morris won’t only see an uptick in scoring out of necessity, but he should also handle primary facilitating responsibilities, too. Morris is averaging 6.7 assists per game over the last two weeks, a stretch in which he’s been a top-100 fantasy player.

Steals

Jalen Williams (SG/SF – OKC) 52%

Another column, another Williams mention. Over the last two games, Williams has nine steals, and he has 11 over his last three games. He wasn’t a big steals guy in college (averaging 1.3 in his final year at Santa Clara), but the 2.2 per game he’s averaged over the last two weeks is a great sign of the continued development that we see with Williams each night.

Blocks

Christian Koloko (C – TOR) 1%

The minutes aren’t always there with the Raptors, but what do you expect for a big man in Toronto? But the reason I like Koloko as a short-term add is that the Raptors play two of their three games against the Hornets this week. The Hornets allow 6.4 blocks per game to the opposition, which leads the league. Koloko is averaging more than 1 block per game to lead the Raptors and should return some immediate value this week.

Threes

Trey Murphy (SF/PF – NOP) 58%

Without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, the Pelicans need secondary scoring – especially from someone who can stretch the floor. Enter Murphy, who has shown the ability to be a knock-down three-point shooter this year. Murphy has at least two threes in six straight games – including two games where he made five shots from behind the arc.

Field Goal Percentage

Hamidou Diallo (SG/SF – DET) 3%

When you look at players with a high field-goal percentage, they’re typically big men who work close to the basket. That isn’t the case for Diallo, who is anything but a big man. The wing takes 90 percent of his shots at the rim, ranking ninth among wings who have played at least 300 minutes on the season. Detroit is looking for scoring, and Diallo can bring that in an efficient fashion.

Free-throw Percentage

Josh Richardson (SG/SF – SAS) 10%

With this category, we typically highlight a player who doesn’t fit in the other areas but can be a sneak deep-league pickup. This week, it’s Richardson. With the news that Devin Vassell is going to miss an undisclosed period of time with a knee injury, Richardson should be in line for a big role and big minutes in San Antonio. We saw earlier this year that Richardson was a must-stream option when Vassell or Keldon Johnson missed time. With the Spurs likely shifting to full-on tank mode in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, look for them to take their time bringing Vassell back and freeing up Richardson for big minutes.

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