For as wonderful as it is, fantasy football often comes down to yards and touchdowns. Produce gobs of each, and you are good. Fantasy basketball, however, is in many ways a closer sibling to imaginary baseball management, as requires its competitors to monitor myriad statistical categories at once.
Even the best fantasy hoops rosters will need help in some specific stat during the season. Everything looks great except for steals. You are dominating in points, but somehow lack blocks. This is where one-tool wonders, or single-stat specialists, become valuable to fantasy basketball investors.
Most of my leagues compete in nine categories. Balancing so many varying statistical needs on one roster often requires help from commodities that offer very little beyond one or two categories. With this in mind, the aim of this piece is to highlight some of the more under-the-radar one-tool weapons in fantasy hoops for the coming campaign.
Shooting: The prototype -- Kyle Korver
If you build a team around volume midrange scorers and productive big men, where will the 3-point production come from? This is where assets like the Hawks' Korver come into play. While Korver is the ideal example of a bankable high-volume 3-point specialist, let's explore which late-round or waiver-bound shooting mavens might be able to help us in the new season.
From an informative Insider piece by Tom Haberstroh, it's clear there will be more 3-point shooting than ever this season; with the onus on quality production from this department proving greater than ever. If you don't attain some volume sharpshooters in this three-happy market, you'll cede sizable margins each week in the statistic to your competitors.
Robert Covington, Philadelphia 76ers: Fondly known as "RC3" to the several thousand fans that attend Sixers games (I'm one of them!), Covington ranked fifth last season in 3-point attempts per-36 minutes among players to have played at least 1,000 minutes last season. The Sixers, with 32 3-point attempts per game over their first six preseason games, are second only to the Rockets (35.9) so far, while actually leading the league in percentage of overall field-goals from 3-point range (38.9 percent of Philly's shots have been from deep this preseason). Korver is currently going 71st overall among NBA assets in ESPN live drafts, while Covington can be found several rounds later at pick 98th overall.
Sticking in South Philly, it shouldn't be lost on deeper-league investors that point guard Isaiah Canaan could consume meaningful minutes on the league's thinnest depth chart at the position. Both Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten, meanwhile, are expected to miss at least the first month of the season. Canaan is sixth in 3-point attempts per game this preseason, after having ranked seventh in the NBA in 3-points attempts per-36 minutes last season.
Doug McDermott, Chicago Bulls: After a quiet rookie season often spent on the outside of Tom Thibodeau's tight rotation, this second-year shooter is ninth in 3-point attempts per game this preseason. New Bulls head coach Fred "The Mayor" Hoiberg had his squad shoot 39 3-pointers in their first preseason game. As Haberstroh noted in his aforementioned piece, the Bulls' regular-season record for attempts from beyond is 34. Suffice to say, this won't be Thibodeau's offense or rotation, with NCAA shooting legend "McBuckets" poised to enjoy emboldening shooting freedom. Those seeking help from 3-point range can find McDermott going 181st overall in ESPN drafts.
C.J. McCollum, Portland Trailblazers: A career 38.8 percent shooter from beyond already hitting 39.4 percent of his 5.4 attempts per game this preseason, McCollum stands to receive a massive uptick in usage and opportunity on a remade roster. With nearly 30 minutes and 16.3 field-goal attempts per game for a robust usage rate of 28.3 this preseason, this third-year Lehigh product can be found at a discount around the eighth and ninth rounds.
Honorable Mentions: The Kings brought in Marco Belinelli to shoot in George Karl's 3-point-friendly scheme. So far, he's 11th in the preseason in attempts from beyond per game. ... The Bucks' Chris Copeland might not see many minutes on a deep rotation, but both he and rookie Rashad Vaughn could offer volume shooting in limited exposure this season. ... The initial boys, J.J. Redick and J.R. Smith, are always inclusions to consider when chasing shooting volume. ... Gerald Green is a perfect fit in Miami -- he regularly performs a personal heat check upon entering the game from the bench and led all players with at least 1,000 minutes last season in 3-point attempts per 36 minutes. ... Feel free to share any shooting specialists you are eyeing in the comments below.
Assists: The Prototype -- Ricky Rubio
Given that most assist-heavy players are high-usage point guards that we often see go in the early rounds of fantasy drafts, we don't often find many single-stat stars in the assists category. Minnesota's Rubio profiles as a specialist for both assists and steals, but it's the volume of dimes he produces as one of just three players with at least 600 minutes last season to average at least 10 assists per 36 minutes that makes him valuable. With dime-heavy distributors in mind, let's explore some worthy assist assets.
Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic: The Magic's collection of talent could begin to jell this season, as evidenced by their success in the preseason's small sample, as they rank ninth in offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions). Payton ranked eighth in total assists last season and was top-20 in assist opportunities per game. A borderline top-100 pick in ESPN live drafts, we can forgive Payton's lack of scoring acumen given such rich assist and steal potential.
Emmanuel Mudiay, Denver Nuggets: We must lead with the requisite disclaimer: if your league counts turnovers, Mudiay might be an unbearable investment. For those formats that don't punish turnovers, there is real value in Mudiay's assist upside as a high-usage director at the helm of an offense currently ninth in pace (number of possessions per 48 minutes) this preseason.
Honorable mentions: The Thunder's D.J. Augustin averaged 6.5 assists per 36 minutes last season and could provide help in deeper leagues if he can net over 20 minutes per game. ... For those in leagues with deep benches or injury spot, the Sixers lead the preseason in pace with over 107 possessions per 48 minutes. Pure point guard Kendall Marshall is still on the mend from an ACL injury, but is eyeing a return in December and could produce rich assist output upon his return.
Boards: Prototype -- Andre Drummond
Detroit's Drummond will sink your free-throw metrics, but you'll never want for rebounds, as he led the league last season with 15.9 boards per 36 minutes last season. What other board bosses can we pursue?
Enes Kanter, Oklahoma City Thunder: The NBA tracks an awesome metric deemed rebound chances, defined as the number of times per game a player is within 3.5 feet of a potential rebound. Kanter was third in the league in such opportunities per game, with a rich rate of 19 such chances per game while playing for the Thunder, behind only Drummond and fellow board monster DeAndre Jordan. It wasn't just proximity to opportunity that fed Kanter's numbers, as he also ranked third in the rate of contested rebounds, moments where an opponent is within 3.5 of the ball. Kanter comes at a nice discount in drafts, found going 96th overall in ESPN drafts.
Clint Capela, Houston Rockets: For an option that isn't even going in the top 200 of drafts, Capela is one of just five players averaging as many as 10 rebounds in the preseason. After having the seventh-highest rate of boards per 36 minutes in the league last season in a small sample, Capela could be an interesting cheap source of blocks and boards if he can earn more minutes this season.
Honorable mentions: The Pelicans' Omer Asik is truly a one-stat provider, averaging the eighth-most rebound chances per game last season, but offering literally nothing else besides work on the glass. ... Gorgui Deng might lose some minutes with Karl Anthony-Towns in town, but the fact he was 13th in the league last season in rebound chances per game, while also providing nice block production, suggests he's still a bargain found outside of the top 200.
Blocks: The Prototype -- Rudy Gobert
Both Hassan Whiteside and Gobert burst onto the market last fall with white-hot block and rebounding rates for fantasy fiends to consume. These are the kind of defensive waiver-wire wonders that can shift season-long fantasy fortunes.
Alex Len, Phoenix Suns: Eighth in the NBA in blocks per 36 minutes (for players with at least 1,000 minutes), Len merits mention as a potential Mutumbo-like all-star for the new season. With an expected increase in minutes and usage for his third season, I'm landing cheap shares of Len in the twilight rounds of drafts.
Willie Cauley-Stein, Sacramento Kings: "Tyson Chandler 2.0" is averaging just 1.3 blocks per game in the preseason, but it's not unrealistic at all to expect him to routinely swat multiple shots and offer rich box scores this season on a team that will play at a high pace. As the 25th center off the boards on average, the argument can easily be made for "WCS" to already be top-20 commodity at the position.
Honorable mentions: Kyle O'Quinn is averaging nearly eight boards and one block on just 20 minutes per night in the preseason for the Knicks. If you like cheap blocks and boards, this new Knick could provide both on a roster in need of quality post play. ... The Spurs' Danny Green offers great percentages and healthy 3-point numbers, but the fact he led all shooting guard eligible assets with 1.1 blocks per game last season shouldn't be lost on investors. ... Terrence Jones was 11th in the league among players to play at least 800 minutes in blocks per 36 minutes with 2.4 and comes at a discount after an injury-riddled 2014.
Steals: The prototype - Tony Allen
Not only does Allen offer the best sound bites in basketball, he's the most larcenous defender of our era when it comes to producing steals. As one of the more difficult stats to collect past the point guard position, we evaluate some key thieves in the league.
Corey Brewer, Houston Rockets: Brewer played the fewest minutes per game of any player in the top 20 in steals last season . Always active in the passing lanes, Brewer is fifth in the preseason with 2.4 steals per game.
Gary Harris, Denver Nuggets: One of the most impressive improvements I've seen this preseason has been the play of Harris, who is enjoying over 27 minutes per game of exposure and is responding with strong play. Ranking 15th in the preseason in steals per game and with a wide-open depth chart offering him real minutes in the regular season, Harris is an ideal stash for steals to consider.
Honorable mentions: Both Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart of Boston offer strong steal rates to consider, with Smart potentially proving elite in the category given heavy minutes. ... Aaron Gordon's draft profiles were rife with favorable Shawn Marion comparisons, while he's already eighth in the preseason in steals per game. Gordon will need increased usage in the regular season to build on this small sample, but with power forward eligibility and the Magic's potential propensity to go small this season, Gordon could begin to mimic Marion's diverse defensive offerings in his sophomore season.
