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Single-category studs to add for fantasy basketball playoffs

Nets guard Shane Larkin has eight or more assists in three of the last five games. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Each Monday throughout the fantasy basketball season, we go around the league and identify highly available players (owned in less than 50 percent of ESPN leagues) that can help improve your team in certain statistical categories.

For those of you who are in leagues that are still going, here are the players to target this week (with their ownership listed):


Points

Matz Jerami Grant, SF/PF, Philadelphia 76ers (16.6)

Since returning to the court from a knee injury, Grant has averaged 18.5 points over the last two games while also contributing in other categories. His inefficiency from the field hurts your shooting percentages, but he helps as a scorer, shot blocker and rebounder.

Matz Luke Babbitt, SF, New Orleans Pelicans (7.9)

Babbitt continues to take advantage of the opportunity that is there on the injury-riddled Pelicans roster. Over the last five games, he has averaged 16.2 points while shooting better than 47 percent from 3-point range.


Rebounds

Matz Thomas Robinson, PF, Brooklyn Nets (20.5)

Widely regarded as a bust, the No. 5 pick in the 2012 NBA draft is putting up the type of numbers many expected him to when he was drafted out of Kansas. The former lottery pick is getting plenty of opportunity with Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young shut down for the rest of the season, averaging 13.3 points and 12.8 rebounds over the last four games.

Matz Cody Zeller, PF/C, Charlotte Hornets (18.9)

Not only is Zeller an underrated force on the boards, averaging 7.3 rebounds a game over the last 10 games, he is also shooting 62.1 percent and contributing as a shot-blocker (1.3 BPG) during that span.


Assists

Matz Tim Frazier, SG, New Orleans Pelicans (23)

Frazier is impressing in a number of ways since joining the Pelicans; he is shooting 52.2 percent from the field, 52.9 percent from 3-point range, swiping 1.2 steals and scoring 13.6 points in his 10 games as a Pelican. But his greatest fantasy contribution is as a distributor; the 25-year-old has dished out six assists per game on his new team, and is coming off a big game against Brooklyn on Sunday when he had 19 points, 13 assists and three steals.

Matz Shane Larkin, PG, Brooklyn Nets (17.3)

Larkin has eight or more assists in three of the last five games, and is averaging 5.9 assists over the last 10 games. What makes Larkin even more of a fantasy asset is his presence on defense, where he has at least two steals in six straight games.


Steals

Matz Courtney Lee, SG, Charlotte Hornets (9.8)

Lee is playing huge minutes on his new team in Charlotte, logging 34.8 MPG over the last five games. That bodes well for his stats, especially when it comes to the things he does best -- rack up steals and 3-pointers. Lee has averaged 1.6 steals and 1.4 threes over the last five games.

Matz Langston Galloway, PG/SG, New York Knicks (5.2)

Galloway is available in nearly 95 percent of ESPN leagues and is a sneaky force when it comes to steals. He has at least two steals in three of the last four games, and is coming off a big game against Indiana where he had nine points, six assists and three steals in 31 minutes.


Blocks

Matz Roy Hibbert, C, Los Angeles Lakers (14.6)

It has been a nightmare season for the 7-foot-2 big man, both from a personal and team standpoint, and it's not surprising that he's available in over 85 percent of ESPN leagues. But if you're looking for a shot-blocker, he's a good one to target this week following a stretch of 10 blocks over the last three games.

Matz Steven Adams, C, Oklahoma City Thunder (18.1)

What Adams lacks as a true shot-blocker capable of rejecting three or four shots in a game, he makes up for with consistency. Oklahoma City's young big man enters the week averaging 1.1 blocks per game this season, and has recorded at least one block in each of the last four games as his minutes have risen into the low 30s on average.


3-Pointers

Matz Mirza Teletovic, SF/PF, Phoenix Suns (29.2)

Teletovic remains underowned and underappreciated despite playing a huge role for the Suns. He has made 2.2 threes per game this season and is coming off back-to-back games of at least 24 points, six rebounds and 31 minutes.

Matz Austin Rivers, PG/SG, Los Angeles Clippers (2.9)

Rivers is turning himself into a solid NBA player under his father's watch in Los Angeles, and one of the areas he has shown improvement is his shooting from behind the arc. Rivers is shooting 68.4 percent from 3-point land over the last five games, making 2.6 threes per game during that span.