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Fantasy Basketball Advice

Frye Defrosted
February 10
Rotoworld.com
 
"Early on in Thursday night's loss to the Rockets, Channing Frye took a power dribble and dunked ferociously on Samuel Dalembert. Even Sammy D looked confused. After all, players like Frye don't come along very often. He's 6'11 and made 2.0 3-pointers per game last season while also grabbing 6.7 rebounds and blocking 1.0 shots. Along with Kevin Love and Ryan Anderson, it's the kind of unique athletic and shooting ability that fantasy dreams are made of. That ugly shooting slump Frye was in early on this season appears to finally be coming to an end. He got a pep talk from college coach Lute Olson two weeks ago and coach Alvin Gentry continued to instill confidence with the green light. Frye"
The Daily Dose: Linsanity
February 9
Rotoworld.com
 
"I could have headlined this article with any number of the Jeremy Lin puns that I saw last night, but Linsanity is the only real way to describe the phenomena. I'm not going to pigeon-hole him into any Tim Tebow-like comparisons, because I'm sure Skip Bayless will do it for all of us later, but I will say that I'm actually looking forward to the hype. Lin has always come across as a humble kid that worked hard and never got a chance. What's not to like about that? He put up 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting with a career-high 10 assists, a steal, a block, and one nice crossover on John Wall that finished in a dunk. If you want to predict that he will be the waiver wire pickup of the year"
The sans-Billups era begins for Clippers
February 9
ESPN.com
 
"On Wednesday night, we got our first look at the Los Angeles Clippers since they lost starting shooting guard Chauncey Billups for the rest of the season. It wasn't pretty for the Clips; they lost to the Cavaliers in Cleveland despite double-doubles from Chris Paul and Blake Griffin and 21 points out of Caron Butler. Randy Foye looks as if he'll be the starting point guard for the foreseeable future. His scoring was up to par (15 points, including three 3-pointers, shooting 5-for-11 from the floor), but he really didn't do much else -- and on most nights he's not going to go 3-for-6 from the 3-point line, which he did against the Cavs. If Foye is playing more than 25 minutes per game, he's"
Potential blocks breakouts
February 9
ESPN.com
 
"In the NBA's marquee matchup last night, Dwight Howard delivered one of his better performances of the season versus the Heat: 25 points (on only 14 field goal attempts), 24 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. A 20-20 is a great night by any standard, but this was already Howard's sixth of the campaign, as many as the rest of the NBA combined. However, for Howard's fantasy owners, his most exceptional line in 2011-12 came last Friday versus the Cavaliers, when Howard swatted eight shots, nearly four times his season average of 2.2 blocks per game. The truth is, when you own a player who averages 25.5 points and 14.0 boards a night, you should expect at least 10 games with 20 and 20"
Courtside Seat: Looking back to look forward
February 9
CBSSports.com
 
"We're seven weeks into the Fantasy Basketball season, and because of the lockout, we're almost at the halfway point in most leagues. This feels like a good time to look back on what went right and wrong on Draft Day. I play in three leagues -- an eight-category head-to-head league with 30 owners, a 12-team head-to-head league in total points and a 12-team average-based league -- with a variety of formats. We're going to compare the Top 12 players in those formats to the Average Draft Position on CBSSports.com. For those owners looking to make trades, this should help you in judging players who are underperforming or might be playing over their heads. Ricky Rubio, for example, is a Top 12"
Player Rater: Sell-high options
February 8
ESPN.com
 
"Last week, we took a look at some players who have been underachieving (at least in fantasy) in the early part of the season in order to think about players you might want to target in trades. Of course, there's another side to that coin. This has been a strange season, and that means there are quite a few players who have found themselves among the elite on the Player Rater but probably won't be there by the end of the season. Those are the players you might want to look to trade in the coming weeks if you can get good value for them. Here are a few to consider. (Current ranking, based on per-game averages, in parentheses.) Paul Millsap, PF, Utah Jazz (19): I love Millsap's game, and his"
Waiver Wire: Lin is quite a gem
February 8
CBSSports.com
 
"Fantasy owners have made it through seven weeks of the season and there are still players out there who can help lead the charge to the playoffs. Some have come out of nowhere while others have finally stepped up after weeks of underachieving. Either way, many things can happen between now and the end of the season so the coming weeks will determine whether or not owners will be winning their leagues or just missing out. This week we are looking at Jeremy Lin. Lin became the gem of the waiver wire this past week after breaking out for 25 points with seven assists and five rebounds on Feb. 4 against the Nets. Then, after being moved to the starting lineup, he bested that with 25 and 8"
The Daily Dose: Montazuma's Revenge
February 8
Rotoworld.com
 
"After a record-breaking day for news and just about everything else on Monday, last night was thankfully light. Folks talk about the players suffering from the lockout, but in the nobody cares department NBA writers have been put through the ringer after an endless (and busy) offseason of non-news news stories. That was followed by a three-week preseason that included four months' worth of news, and fast-forward to today the action comes in flurries and it doesn't really stop. I said before the season that the experienced and aggressive fantasy owner would clean up in this cornucopia of basketball hysteria, but what I failed to mention is that we all might go crazy in the process. And"
Nikola Pekovic posts another double-double
February 8
ESPN.com
 
"Nikola Pekovic got another start for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday evening and racked up another big double-dub with 23 points and 10 boards, while knocking down nine of his 12 shot attempts and all five of his free throws. He even rounded out his stat line with three steals and two blocks. Based on what he's done the past couple of weeks, the hustle stats are a bit of an anomaly, but the double-dubs are coming in bunches. He has three in his past four games and missed the fourth by a single rebound. The question now is: How long can he maintain this pace? He benefited Tuesday night from Kevin Love serving the first of a two-game suspension for using Luis Scola's face as a"
Grand Theft Roto: Atypical statistics
February 7
ESPN.com
 
"One of the beauties of basketball is that regardless of your shape, size or position, you can score points. If you're a seven-foot center, you can use your height to toss shots over your opponent in the paint. If you're a bulky power forward, you can use your weight to bang through your defender and score from the post. If you're a quick 5-foot-10 point guard, you can blow by your opponent to get easy layups. And if you're somewhere in between the biggest and smallest, you can square up from beyond the arc and drop open jumpers. You want proof that you can score from any position on the court? Just look at the positions of the top six scorers in the NBA: SG Kobe Bryant, SF LeBron James, SF"
The Daily Dose: A Painful Monday
February 7
Rotoworld.com
 
"Monday was a rough day for yours truly, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't alone given the list of surprise DNPs that broke before the games started, and then the list of All-Stars who went down during the games. It reminded me of a Modest Mouse album title; 'Good News For People Who Love Bad News.' I listed this fantasy all-star team on Twitter Monday afternoon, which consisted of surprise DNPs for Monday night: PG Raymond Felton, SG Jarrett Jack, SF Anthony Morrow, PF Kevin Love/Elton Brand, and C Nene/Amare Stoudemire. And the news only got worse on Monday night, as the following all-star team went down in-game. PG Derrick Rose, SG Chauncey Billups, F Carmelo Anthony, F Danilo Gallinari,"
Jeremy Lin the answer at point guard?
February 7
ESPN.com
 
"So Mike D'Antoni has a new point guard. We're been here before. Will it be any different with Jeremy Lin than it was with Iman Shumpert? Or Toney Douglas? Can fantasy owners really win with Lin? The quick answer? Quite possibly. As a fantasy analyst, I've certainly been prone to making breathless pronouncements about guys D'Antoni has selected to run the point. So let me first say that Lin's performance on Monday -- 28 points, eight assists and two steals against the Utah Jazz -- is just one game, not to mention one game in which he led a severely shorthanded New York Knicks team. However, in contrast to Shumpert and Douglas, who are primarily shooting guards, Lin seems more capable of"
Rotating Rotations
February 7
Rotoworld.com
 
"Who will get the minutes? It's a simple question that rarely has a simple answer. Coaches are constantly tinkering and toying with their rotations. Sometimes it has to with injuries and in other instances, it's a result of ineffective play from a certain player. The impact this has on minutes played and thus statistical production is where we come in. Every Tuesday for the rest of the season, I'll explore a certain aspect of half the league's rotations while attempting to get inside coaches' heads. The idea isn't to tell you what Kevin Love and LeBron James are going to do -- it's to decipher how much burn fringe players are going to get. Here's last week's look at the East. Let's kick"
Chris Bosh not the same as third wheel
February 6
ESPN.com
 
"With the month of January in the books, it's time for another game of fun with numbers, this time focusing on recent trends and monthly splits. 21.6: Points plus rebounds per game for Chris Bosh since Dwyane Wade's return from an ankle injury. Coming off his best month as a member of the Heat, in which he posted 21.9 points and 7.6 rebounds in January, Bosh has been rather pedestrian as the third option when both LeBron James and Wade are healthy. Bosh is averaging just 14.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game since Wade's return, so his owners should temper their expectations unless James or Wade goes down with an injury. 1.6: Blocks per game for Blake Griffin in his past 10 games. That's a"
Week 7 Start 'Em and Sit 'Em
February 6
CBSSports.com
 
"Nets guard Anthony Morrow has been a very good, albeit very limited sharpshooter during his four-year NBA career. He has developed a reputation as a light's out spot-up shooter who isn't capable of too much more than that; however he resembled so much more than that last Friday, as he went off for career-high 42 points against the Timberwolves. There's nothing like going off for a career night to put a forgotten player on the map for Fantasy owners. Morrow hadn't exactly been off the grid prior to this performance, however with that game, he reminded Fantasy owners that there's more than one viable starting Fantasy option in the backcourt in New Jersey. However, I'm not making him my Start"
Roundball Stew: Considering Jordan Crawford
February 6
Rotoworld.com
 
"As you're likely aware, the sport commonly known as "NFL football" concluded its season last evening, which means we can all focus our energy on wasting entirely too much time on fantasy basketball (which most of us were already doing in the first place). Here's the latest from the Roundball Stew universe as we enter Week 7: I'm all for adding Reggie Williams and Bismack Biyombo (in that order), but beware of the "Double Bobcat." When I say Double Bobcat, I'm referring, of course, to the practice of having two or more players from the same crappy team on your roster, a situation that becomes wildly frustrating when said team is averaging just 79.1 points in its last seven games (and just"
What's on the Schedule: Week 7
February 6
CBSSports.com
 
"There are only 112 games scheduled during Fantasy Week 7 (Feb. 6-12), making this scoring period the lightest of the season thus far. No team is slated to play five times or play three games on three consecutive days this week, as 24 of the 30 teams are scheduled to take the court four times over the next seven days. Only six teams will play three contests and there are only 26 back-to-back sets. With this week's schedule arguably the most balanced to date, there aren't that many intriguing matchups at first glance. However, after taking a closer look at each team's upcoming schedule, we found plenty of tidbits that Fantasy owners should be aware of when setting their lineups this week."
Deng, Rondo make triumphant returns
February 6
ESPN.com
 
"Fantasy teams missing an integral part of their lineups were relieved this weekend, as Luol Deng and Rajon Rondo returned from wrist injuries. Deng didn't miss a beat, scoring 21 points with nine rebounds and three 3-pointers Saturday in 41 minutes of play. Coach Tom Thibodeau loves riding Deng for big minutes, and Deng is instantly back as a key cog in Chicago's lineup; he should be reinserted into fantasy lineups immediately. Ronnie Brewer's limited value essentially vanishes, and Kyle Korver goes back to being an inconsistent, 3-pointer-only option, as Deng and his near 40 minutes per game sop up the value of the other swingmen on the roster. Rondo missed eight games, and even though he"
Fantasy Forecaster: Week of Feb. 6
February 4
ESPN.com
 
"The week ahead is fairly ordinary, in the sense that most NBA teams are playing four games, while a few are playing three. But, for once, no one has as many as five games nor as few as two. No team plays three in a row, either. However, the week ahead also is pretty interesting, because if you're looking to fill the last spot or two in your lineup -- particularly in leagues of at least 12 teams -- help is available. I guess that's the one sort of positive thing about a season in which we're dwelling on injured players. Injuries make holes in our rosters, but they also can offer opportunities to repair our teams through free agency. We do have a lot of names to cover. I'm not sure there's a"
Week 7's Top NBA Pickups
February 4
Rotoworld.com
 
"Things have finally started to calm down in the NBA and it feels like there were fewer surprises last week as far as waiver-wire gems coming out of nowhere. However, Greivis Vasquez looks like he's gained a serious role in New Orleans and is a guy who should be being gobbled up in most leagues right now. Guys who should already be owned include Anthony Morrow, Marcus Thornton, Landry Fields, Vince Carter and Michael Beasley, so they're not included here. Another guy not included here is Cleveland G/F Alonzo Gee. I only mention Gee because he's grabbed four steals in each of his last two games, and hit double figures in scoring in both of them. Maybe he ends up taking over the"
Jared Dudley has job, groove back
February 4
ESPN.com
 
"Two weeks ago, I highlighted players to target in rebounds, assists, 3-pointers, blocks and steals. Those categories are relatively simple to address via the waiver wire, because a player's positive impact is easily measurable, and there are specialists who help specifically in those categories but are largely unowned due to their lack of overall contribution. This week it gets a bit hairier, as I'll look at options to improve your team's performance in two difficult-to-address categories: points and field goal percentage. Finding free-agent help in these categories is quite challenging. Waiver-wire points are rare because the majority of players scoring with regularity are already"
Shards in Charlotte
February 4
Rotoworld.com
 
"The Bobcats were already one of the worst teams in the league. Then they lost Corey Maggette (hamstring) and D.J. Augustin (toe) to injury. On Thursday, things got even worse when they announced Gerald Henderson would be out 2-4 weeks with a hamstring pull of his own. Early signs point toward this being a long-term injury. The 3-20 Bobcats certainly won't rush him, the All-Star break looms in three weeks and serious hamstring strains are always tricky. Don't be surprised if Henderson misses the full month. Considering Henderson was averaging just 0.3 3-pointers, 0.9 steals, 0.4 blocks and 1.8 assists, most owners will be forced to move on. So what we have left is a team blatantly devoid of"
Introducing Field Goal Impact
February 3
ESPN.com
 
"During last week's discussion of categorical scarcity, I mentioned that in a later column, we'd be looking a little more deeply at the true impact of a player's cumulative effect on a fantasy team's performance from the field. That is, how much a player is really impacting your team's field goal percentage. Well, I knew I couldn't just throw out a proposition as tantalizing as that and not follow through. Unlike Paul George, I am not a roto tease. Specifically, I want to approach it from the perspective that it isn't merely enough just to look at who has the best and worst field goal percentages (FG%) when gauging which players are helping and hurting you the most, because two other"
Do the Knicks have a point?
February 3
CBSSports.com
 
"Knicks point guard Baron Davis is not expected to play in Fantasy Week 6 with his back injury, but he could return soon. Coach Mike D'Antoni is hopeful Davis is back in Week 7, but Fantasy owners shouldn't be holding their breath since he has yet to play this year. In the meantime, several players have emerged as legitimate Fantasy options as the Knicks sort out their backcourt. The player to benefit the most has been rookie Iman Shumpert, who got off to a hot start but has cooled off of late. Shumpert said in an interview with CBSSports.com that he remains confident in his ability and expects to finish the season strong, including when Davis returns."
Shards in Charlotte
February 3
Rotoworld.com
 
"The Bobcats were already one of the worst teams in the league. Then they lost Corey Maggette (hamstring) and D.J. Augustin (toe) to injury. On Thursday, things got even worse when they announced Gerald Henderson would be out 2-4 weeks with a hamstring pull of his own. Early signs point toward this being a long-term injury. The 3-20 Bobcats certainly won't rush him, the All-Star break looms in three weeks and serious hamstring strains are always tricky. Don't be surprised if Henderson misses the full month. Considering Henderson was averaging just 0.3 3-pointers, 0.9 steals, 0.4 blocks and 1.8 assists, most owners will be forced to move on. So what we have left is a team blatantly devoid of"
The Daily Dose: Blocked: The Serge Ibaka Story
February 2
Rotoworld.com
 
"We're knee deep into the NBA season and before you know it we'll be talking about the trade deadline in wonder about where it all went. There are teams that are still tweaking rotations like it's training camp, and there are other teams that are legitimately packing their seasons in to play the young guys. Somewhere, Billy Hunter and David Stern are laughing at us all. BLOCKED: THE SERGE IBAKA STORY Serge Ibaka played 40 minutes and scored four points last night, but went off with a season-high 10 blocks and 11 rebounds last night. Check my prior work to get some back-story about the so-called defensive lapses that Scott Brooks and the local media have used as rationale for why his"
Courtside Seat: Do the Knicks have a point?
February 2
CBSSports.com
 
"Knicks point guard Baron Davis is not expected to play in Fantasy Week 6 with his back injury, but he could return soon. Coach Mike D'Antoni is hopeful Davis is back in Week 7, but Fantasy owners shouldn't be holding their breath since he has yet to play this year. In the meantime, several players have emerged as legitimate Fantasy options as the Knicks sort out their backcourt. The player to benefit the most has been rookie Iman Shumpert, who got off to a hot start but has cooled off of late. Shumpert said in an interview with CBSSports.com that he remains confident in his ability and expects to finish the season strong, including when Davis returns."
Serge Ibaka has 10-block night
February 2
ESPN.com
 
"Serge Ibaka might have had a triple-double on Wednesday night for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Dallas Mavericks if he'd managed to put the ball in the basket, but he'll settle for four points most nights if he can manage 11 rebounds and 10 blocks at the same time. He's the first player to have 10 or more blocks in a game since JaVale McGee had 12 against the Chicago Bulls last March. There had been a lot of talk about whether Ibaka could lead the league in blocks coming into this season; he's been a significant margin behind McGee and DeAndre Jordan so far, but Ibaka is a good candidate to improve as the season wears on. He simply hasn't looked like himself this season, but he's"
Player Rater: Bound to improve
February 1
ESPN.com
 
"Joakim Noah, we all assumed, was going to have a big year this season. For one thing, his game had gotten better every year of his career, and since he's only 26, he should be just about to enter his prime years. Just as importantly, the Chicago Bulls are a great team, and Noah has -- rightly so --been seen as one of the essential members of that team. Missing 34 games to injury last season, he still managed to set a career-high in minutes per game at 32.5, and there was reason to believe those minutes would go up even more assuming he could stay healthy. Of course, that's not how it went; at least, not at first. Noah struggled to start the season, and found himself -- justifiably --"
The Daily Dose: Anderson Varejao sees 20/20
February 1
Rotoworld.com
 
"INJURY NEWS Manu Ginobili started doing "basketball work" and is about a week away from performing in one-on-one drills. This isn't a hamstring tear or muscle ailment that is subject to aggravation, but rather a broken bone that has a definitive timeline more or less. Ginobili's return will be guided by the doctor's recommendation on what timeline is needed for the bones to properly set, and from there it will be an issue of pain management and slowly building up the small muscles around the hand so the hand itself is stable. All of this is more or less a cookie-cutter transaction from a doctor's perspective, so if Ginobili is sitting around in your daily league go ahead and pick him"
Waiver Wire: Versatile Booker worth a look
February 1
CBSSports.com
 
"Fantasy owners have been delighted to see some of their favorite players from seasons past finally coming alive recently, as it looks as though everyone has played enough games to see what they are made off. The lack of training camp appears to have balanced itself 20-something games into the season and the numbers for most players are starting to even out. Some players have been able to bounce back from early struggles and injuries continue to dictate roles on most clubs. This week we are looking at Trevor Booker. With Andray Blatche expected to be out for nearly a month, Booker will receive a boost off the bench and could end up starting for the Wizards if Jan Vesely continues to"
Carmelo Anthony shoots well in return
February 1
ESPN.com
 
"The New York Knicks went into Tuesday night having lost nine of their previous 10 games. Fortunately for the Knickerbockers, they got Carmelo Anthony back and played the hapless Detroit Pistons, who had the same record in their previous 10. The end result was a crushing 113-86 victory for the Knicks, but there were some side stories of interest to fantasy folks. First, Melo looked good and said afterward that he felt "refreshed" following a two-game absence to rest his sore ankle and wrist. He scored 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting (including a pair of 3s) and dished out six dimes, though he mustered just one board and turned the rock over four times. Despite feeling better, he wasn't ready"
Grand Theft Roto: Playing percentages
January 31
ESPN.com
 
"Most NBA teams have played 20-21 games, which means we are basically one-third of the way through the compacted and abbreviated 66-game 2011-12 season. For perspective, during a traditional 82-game NBA campaign, teams would wrap up their 20th game in early December and they would be about a third of the way through the season by mid-late December. So while it may feel like we're just getting the ball rolling this season, the reality is that time is really flying and we don't have time to dilly or dally. This is particularly true if you are struggling with percentages in rotisserie leagues. It's relatively easy to overcome deficiencies in non-percentage categories, because the stats you"
Rotating Rotations: The Real Bayless
January 31
Rotoworld.com
 
"Who will get the minutes? It's a simple question that rarely has a simple answer. Coaches are constantly tinkering and toying with their rotations. Sometimes it has to with injuries and in other instances, it's a result of ineffective play from a certain player. The impact this has on minutes played and thus statistical production is where we come in. Every Tuesday for the rest of the season, I'll explore a certain aspect of half the league's rotations while attempting to get inside coaches' heads. The idea isn't to tell you what Kevin Love and LeBron James are going to do -- it's to decipher how much burn fringe players are going to get. Here's last week's look at the West. Let's kick"
The Daily Dose: Dunk of All Dunks?
January 31
Rotoworld.com
 
"Monday was another crazy night in the Association, and I've decided that managing a winning fantasy hoops team might be the most difficult thing to do in fantasy sports. It's an everyday job, and there are lineup tweaks and injuries every single night. Especially this season, as every hour seems to bring a new injury. Yesterday's victims included Al Jefferson, Andray Blatche, MarShon Brooks, Jameer Nelson and Nicolas Batum. Tuesday's Injury Report Al Jefferson sat with a sore right foot, and the fact he's taken two injections, is in a walking boot and said he felt like he was "walking on glass" during his last game is a little scary. Scary enough that I picked up Derrick Favors in a"
Court Report: Bad news for MarShon Brooks
January 31
Yahoo! Sports
 
"A Monday X-ray revealed that MarShon Brooks has a broken right pinky toe, and he's now on the shelf indefinitely. The Nets aren't sure when or how the injury happened and won't establish a specific timetable until after team doctors have a look at him. It's been all bad for Brooks lately, who also has been dealing with Achilles tendinitis and was looking at having his minutes limited in any case. This injury news means Anthony Morrow is locked in at shooting guard, Jordan Farmar will see plenty of playing time between the two guard spots, and Shawne Williams will be needed to play more minutes at small forward. • Dwane Casey is searching for the right mix with Andrea Bargnani out"
Michael Beasley proving worth the wait
January 31
ESPN.com
 
"Michael Beasley is making tons of fantasy hoops owners feel like geniuses at the moment. He's also making plenty of folks sorry for chucking him to the waiver wire. In just his third game back since missing three weeks with a foot injury, Beasley could hardly miss against the Houston Rockets on Monday. He was 10-of-14 from the field (with a couple of 3-pointers) and 12-of-12 from the line, good for 34 points. And this showing came only a night after he posted 18 points and 12 rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers. Not bad for a guy who was a free agent in about half of ESPN.com leagues a mere seven days ago. If you recently grabbed Beasley or had the patience to stash him,"
Early busts start to bounce back
January 30
ESPN.com
 
"Don't look now, but some of this year's biggest early-season disappointments are finally starting to show signs of life. Just as players like John Wall and Marcin Gortat have left their slow starts in the rearview mirror, fantasy owners are beginning to wonder if recent hot streaks for Serge Ibaka, Joakim Noah, Dorell Wright and Devin Harris are signs of things to come. Let's take a deeper look at some of the early-season bust candidates who have begun to turn things around after a month of play: Serge Ibaka, C/PF, Oklahoma City Thunder: I probably should have included Serge on my list of per-minute warriors last week, but didn't because despite his struggles, his shot-blocking stats have"
Week 6 Start 'Em and Sit 'Em
January 30
CBSSports.com
 
"One of the most unfortunate things to witness as an NBA fan over the last few years has been the inability of Bucks center Andrew Bogut to stay healthy. From a gruesome, freak elbow injury at the end of the 2010 season to a myriad of foot ailments over the years to his most recent injury, a fractured ankle suffered last Wednesday against the Rockets that will likely cost him much of the balance of the season, the former No. 1 overall pick has had his career derailed a number of times before his 30th birthday. However, as is always the case in the zero-sum game of Fantasy Basketball, one man's unfortunate break is another's shot to shine, and in this case, it's veteran Drew Gooden's turn"
Rodrigue Beaubois ably replacing J-Kidd
January 30
ESPN.com
 
"Rodrigue Beaubois went from putting up tantalizing numbers in limited minutes to being a fantasy must-start with Jason Kidd out at least a week because of a calf injury. In two starts this weekend, Roddy averaged 18.0 points, 7.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 1.5 3-pointers, and other than rebounds and field goal percentage, there doesn't appear to be a category in which he won't contribute. His stats for the year average out to about 14.0 points, 2.0 steals, 1.5 3s and 1.5 blocks per 30 minutes, and Beaubois notched 36 minutes in each of the weekend contests, so he should be in line for some impressive nights over the next week-plus. His blocks are almost unheard of from a point"
What's on the Schedule: Week 6
January 30
CBSSports.com
 
"There are 116 games on tap during Fantasy Week 6 (Jan. 30-Feb. 5) as the NBA calendar is about to turn into February. While the schedule continues to balance itself as the weeks pass, there are still several intriguing matchups on the docket during the upcoming scoring period. Three teams will play a set of three games over three consecutive days including the Pistons, who we have chosen to highlight this week. The Pistons are just one of two teams to play five times during Week 6 and the first team to play five times during a scoring period more than once this season. The Pistons, who also played five games back in Fantasy Week 3 (Jan. 9-15), will begin the week playing three games over"
Roundball Stew: Millsap Manifesto
January 30
Rotoworld.com
 
"Funny how time flies when the schedule features a silly number of games packed into a relatively brief timeline, and as of Monday, the majority of the league's teams were already approaching the one-third mark of this odd but entertaining NBA campaign. Here are some key topics the Stew has been pondering as we begin Week 6: Exactly how valuable is Paul Millsap? Utah's starting PF got off to a relatively unspectacular start (12.7 ppg in his first nine games), but lately Millsap has gone flat-out berserk, averaging 21.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.8 spg and 0.7 bpg on a high-volume 52.7 percent from the floor in his last nine games. That makes Millsap the No. 4 overall player in Basketball"
The Daily Dose: Lineup Changes Abound
January 30
Rotoworld.com
 
"It's Monday and as long as you don't play in a Yahoo! Weekly league, that somehow still requires you to set a lineup before you go to bed on Sunday night, you'll likely be setting your lineups illegally at work today. Let's go with team-by-team notes and hope that this doesn't take too long to get through. The NBA Season Pass is up and running, so check it out! Weekly projections and rankings, exclusive live chats, the schedule grid and breakdown, customizable scoring, and much more is all there. Do you miss football already? Didn't get into enough hoops leagues? Check out SnapDraft, where you can draft a new team every night and win some cash. Atlanta 3 games Jeff Teague was back"
Wired: Week's Top Pickups
January 28
Rotoworld.com
 
"It's been another wild week in the NBA with injuries to Andrew Bogut and Andrea Bargnani making the latest headlines. Check out the fallout, as we break down 26 guys worth a look in your league. The NBA Season Pass is up and running, so check it out! Weekly projections and rankings, exclusive live chats, the schedule grid and breakdown, customizable scoring, and much more is all there. Do you miss football already? Didn't get into enough hoops leagues? Check out SnapDraft, where you can draft a new team every night and win some cash. Point Guards Devin Harris Jazz Harris finally had the breakout game his owners have been waiting for on Wednesday night when he had 24 points and"
Fantasy Forecaster: Week of Jan. 30
January 28
ESPN.com
 
"As a fantasy owner, I find this season frustrating because of all the injuries. For instance, in one of my leagues I have 12 players with eight active roster spots. Everyone has a game on Friday. Only problem is, everyone includes Andrea Bargnani (out), Ty Lawson (likely out), Spencer Hawes (maybe playing but would probably be limited since he's been out awhile) and Tayshaun Prince (who at least isn't actually injured but did miss the previous game because of personal reasons). I know, a lot of you have had to deal with far worse on the injury front. I'm just saying: It's frustrating. As a fantasy analyst, I find this season frustrating because even though the lockout-altered schedule"
Tiago Splitter a must-add
January 28
ESPN.com
 
"I prefer carrying an expendable player on my fantasy team. It may sound strange, because many owners attempt to stockpile depth, but with the volatile nature of the waiver wire it's important to have the freedom to readily pounce on current "hot hands." Additionally, impressive bench depth isn't especially beneficial, unless your team becomes ravaged by injuries, and you're better off exchanging depth to upgrade your starting rotation. If nobody on your bench is droppable, you're prone to miss out on gems that surface on the waiver wire, and if they are undroppable they're probably worth starting on somebody's team -- so pursue a trade. Below are some widely available players whose numbers"
Addressing categorical scarcity
January 27
ESPN.com
 
"I just want you all to know that it's not me, people. It's the stats. And the stats this season have been positively manic depressive. It's numerical bedlam. The streams have been crossed and we haven't even met Sigourney Weaver yet. Games are being played at a reckless, feckless tempo, one that we're not used to. Feel that? Another tenth of the season just dripped away. We're a month in and are already almost one-third of the way through our schedule. I made the decision back in December to make my columns less interpretive than I would in a regularly scheduled season. Why? NBA stats are padded-wall crazy enough without anyone trying to force an extreme point of view upon them. Take the"
Bogut Could Be Done
January 27
Rotoworld.com
 
"There were two NBA games on Thursday night, but the big topics of conversation were green & yellow uniforms, as well as the health of Andrew Bogut, Eric Gordon and Andrea Bargnani. The news on all three players is not good and six weeks sounds about right for all three of them, although we're still awaiting the official timetable on Bogut and Bargnani. It sounds like Bogut's ankle is broken, or shall we say fractured, while Bargnani's calf could possibly be torn. And while Gordon's knee doesn't seem to be afflicted with ligament or cartilage damage, something is obviously not right. I hate to say this, but I would strongly consider dropping all three of them in fantasy hoops. We"
The Daily Dose: Big Wednesday
January 26
Rotoworld.com
 
"Simply put, Wednesday night was madness. There is a whole lot to get into so I'm not going to waste any time with the foreplay. ONE FULL PAGE OF INJURY NEWS Chris Paul (hamstring) finally returned to action after a five-game absence, scoring just four points on 2-of-8 shooting with four rebounds, 12 assists, and a steal in 27 minutes. He emerged unscathed as far as we can tell, and that leaves Mo Williams (16 points) and his owners hoping for some late-round value going forward. Don't drop Williams until he forces you to, as he has been on fire lately. Andrea Bargnani broke owners' hearts after leaving last night's game due to the same calf injury that cost him six games, and of"
Ronnie Brewer, Riip Hamilton worth adding
January 26
ESPN.com
 
"Ronnie Brewer had a great game for the Bulls on Wednesday night against the Pacers while filling in for Luol Deng, and since Deng is going to be missing a significant bit of time, Brewer is someone you should consider adding in fantasy leagues. He always has shot a fairly high percentage for a shooting guard, but his real potential value is in steals, a category in which he has averaged better than 1.0 per game every year since his rookie season. Elsewhere on the Bulls, Deng's injury probably means more minutes for Richard Hamilton as well, and Hamilton will definitely get his chances to score. He managed 17 points against the Pacers, but he led the team with 20 field goal attempts. If he"