• Carmelo Anthony will be back in the lineup on Friday after missing 10 games with a fracture in his right (shooting) hand. While it’s good to have him back, don’t be expecting sparkling offensive numbers from the outset, as neither his hand nor right elbow is actually fully healed at this point. From The Denver Post:

Anthony will have his middle and ring fingers taped together for the foreseeable future. “In this case it’s not going to be fully healed until about another couple of weeks, as far as the fracture goes,” Anthony said. The rest did some good for his banged-up right elbow, which caused him to miss three games in December, Anthony said. “It feels better,” Anthony said. “But that’s not something that’s going to get better in two weeks, three weeks. That’s going to take time to actually heal up.”

Melo made 48.2 percent of 4,506 field goal attempts and 80.1 percent of 1,867 free throw attempts during the past three seasons, but those numbers have fallen to a respective 43.7 percent and 76.8 percent during the current season.

• Other status updates: Danny Granger expects to be back in the lineup on Friday … David West will “probably” play Friday night … Gerald Wallace is out of the hospital and a long way from returning to the court … Andrew Bogut will return on a limited basis on Friday, and Luke Ridnour is not expected to miss any time after taking an elbow to the face on Wednesday … There’s a “pretty good chance” that Zydrunas Ilgauskas will return to the lineup on Friday … Shawn Marion’s groin is feeling better but he’s questionable for Friday.

• Andrei Kirilenko will undergo right ankle sugery on Friday to remove a bone fragment that has been causing him serious discomfort in recent weeks – he tried to delay the procedure until the offseason, but even three cortisone shots weren’t enough to allow him to do that. He’s expected to need three to four weeks of recovery. Jerry Sloan plans to spread out Kirilenko’s minutes evenly among some starters (Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles) and reserves (Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring).

(more…)

• Gerald Wallace is out indefinitely with a collapsed lung and broken rib, courtesy of a flagrant foul by Andrew Bynum (you can watch the video here). There is no timeline for G-Wall at this point, but count on it being a while. What also remains to be seen is if Bynum is given any kind of suspension – he clearly (1) leaned into the ‘hit’ and (2) made zero effort on the ball, so you can argue that in today’s NBA it might be deserved. There’s no singular anticipated recipient for Wallace’s minutes – figure on Larry Brown divvying them up between a combination of Adam Morrison, Shannon Brown, Juwan Howard, and DeSagana Diop, depending on matchups and performance.

• His unfortunate foul aside, Bynum posted his fourth straight double-double (24 points, 14 boards) and had six blocks – over the past four games, he’s averaged 26 points on 65 percent shooting, 13.5 boards, and 3.5 blocks. He’s now scored in double figures in 11 straight games, averaging 20.3 points on 61 percent shooting, 8.1 boards, and 2 blocks during that stretch – during that time, those numbers have been good for a rank of 30 on a per-game basis.

• Mo Williams went for a career-high 43 on Tuesday, the most points ever scored by a teammate of LeBron James, and has stepped up his production in general since Delonte West suffered his wrist injury. Over the past seven games, Williams has averaged 24.9 points on 48 percent shooting, 3.7 threes, 4 boards, and 5.1 assists, while making 28 of 31 free throws (90 percent). On a per-game basis, he’s the 14th-ranked player in impact over that stretch.

• In other Cavs’ news, Zydrunas Ilgauskas returned to practice on Monday and wants to play Thursday, but Mike Brown still isn’t sure and plans to be cautious with his big man.

• Mickael Pietrus returned from his wrist injury on Tuesday and was big-time (27 points, 3 treys, 10 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block) in a big-time blowout of the Pacers (135-111). While you shouldn’t let this performance skew expectations, it certainly makes sense to get Pietrus back on rosters for some threes, points, and occasional steals/blocks moving forward.

(more…)

The Eddy Curry Line was originally established to put a spotlight on how truly anemic Curry’s overall fantasy line is. It can be used to help establish which players are among the best and worst, in terms of efficiency of production, for fantasy basketball. The standard: a player’s Curry Line ratio is his combined assists, steals, and blocks totals divided by his total turnovers – in order to qualify for the leaderboard, a player must have appeared in at least half of his team’s games and averaged at least 25 minutes of playing time.

Top 20 (Worst)

(more…)

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

four-game teams: ATL, CLE, IND, LAC, MIA, MIL, MIN, NJN, NOR, OKC, PHI, SAC, and WAS

three-game teams: BOS, CHA, CHI, DEN, DET, GSW, HOU, LAL, MEM, NYK, ORL, PHO, POR, SAS, TOR, and UTA

two-game teams: DAL

elsewhere on the web: NBA Schedule Analysis (RotoWire) and Basketball Monster ease rankings

PICKUPS/PLUG-INS

• Kirk Hinrich – Hinrich has been reasonably effective in seven games since returning from a thumb injury (10.7 points, 1.7 threes, 3.3 boards, 5.3 assists, 0.9 steals in 29 minutes) and the Bulls have favorable matchups in Week 14 (@LAC, @SAC, @PHO). But what should really pique the interest of fantasy owners is that Vinny Del Negro is considering a lineup shake-up, and that could entail Hinrich replacing Ben Gordon in the starting five. He’s been solid as a reserve, and his impact only figures to improve if he’s named a starter.

• Andray Blatche – it’s another four-game week for Blatche, whose averages in 22 starts now include 11.4 points on 49 percent shooting, 6.1 boards, 2.5 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks. What’s also working in his favor this week is that the Wizards’ matchup with the Suns (Monday) comes as the second game of a back-to-back for Phoenix, so he may not have to face Shaquille O’Neal.

• Mario Chalmers – Chalmers has been more down than up lately (.366 FG%, 7.4 points in January), but he scored 20 points on Saturday and looking like a nice Week 14 plug-in due to a fantasy-friendly schedule for the Heat (ATL, WAS, @IND, DAL).

• Sebastian Telfair – the T-Wolves are 9-2 in January and Telfair’s play at point guard has had at least something to do with it. He’s allowed Randy Foye to return to his natural shooting guard position, and he’s been putting up reasonable numbers himself, including 11.8 points, 1.4 threes, 6.8 assists, and 1.1 steals over the past nine games. A warning: after a nice matchup on Monday (@MIL), things get tough for Minnesota (DET, LAL, @BOS).

(more…)

• Monta Ellis will be back in the starting lineup and play 20 to 30 minutes for the Warriors on Friday. We have no choice but to wait and see how prophetic Don Nelson’s quote turns out to be:

“I was very concerned that he would maybe never be the same player again … he severed two tendons in his ankle, and they had to surgically repair them and put pins in them and a whole bunch of stuff — and I was thinking he may never be the same again, but I can assure you that he will be,” Nelson said.

Some things to contemplate heading into Ellis’ debut here (you’ll also note that his contract situation remains heated behind the scenes).

• Elton Brand is also ready to return and the plan is that he’ll do so on Saturday, as a reserve and in five-minute stretches while he works to improve his conditioning. An interesting note: given there recent success, there is speculation that the Sixers could try going small against some teams moving forward, with Brand playing center.

• Other injury notes: Marcus Camby practiced Thursday without issue and he may play on Friday – his status will be determined after the morning shootaround .. As for Baron Davis? No good news here .. Devin Harris is doubtful for Friday .. Jose Calderon went full speed at practice on Thursday and all signs point to a Friday return .. While their respective returns remain up in the air, Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest did return to practice on Thursday .. Andrew Bogut is still having back problems.

• The Grizzlies fired Mike Iavaroni on Thursday, citing the poor record and lack of player development. The Grizz are exactly on pace to match their 22-60 record from last season (currently at 11-30), they continue to get zero production from the point guard position (last in the league at 16.6 assists per game), and Rudy Gay appears to have regressed. Struggles are to be expected for a young team with so little depth, but the death knell was that players gradually began to question the system Iavaroni had in place. Lionel Hollins will take over on an interim basis (Avery Johnson has already turned down an offer to take over).

(more…)

For each installment of “Catching the Buzz”, I’ll pull the most notable names from Yahoo!’s Buzz Index over the past three days and discuss the circumstances surrounding their surplus transaction activity. To view the Buzz Index yourself, visit one of your league’s homepages and add “/buzzindex” to the end of the URL.  An example: http://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/nba/55915/buzzindex

STOCK RISING

• Andray Blatche – 8,885 adds
Blatche has put together some pretty good lines against fantasy-friendly competition over his past five games (13 points on 54 percent shooting, 7.6 boards, 3 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.2 blocks). If you look a bit deeper, however, you’ll see that the 23-year-old’s stint as a starter has been largely successful – 11.3 points on 49 percent shooting, 6.5 boards, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks in 19 games. Given his success and his relative lack of competition for playing time, there aren’t many good reasons for his low percent-owned number (37 percent in Yahoo! leagues).

• Matt Bonner – 6,164 adds
Bonner is one of those players who have to be looked at from an overall perspective. On a game-to-game basis, he’s frustrating, as evidenced by seven total points over the past two games; but take a look at his averages in 26 games since November 29 – which include 9.3 points on 54 percent shooting, 1.6 threes, 5.5 boards, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks – and you can see that he’s definitely a fantasy asset, albeit a specialized one. Given the fact that the Spurs are 19-6 since Bonner joined the starting lineup, you can bet that his role is set (as is Kurt Thomas‘ as a reserve) and his long-term prospects are fairly solid.

• Jason Thompson – 5,999 adds
Thompson has established that he deserves widespread fantasy consideration when he’s in the starting five. His numbers in 16 starts include 11.6 points on 52 percent shooting, 7.3 boards, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks in 29 minutes, very close to the numbers he’s posted in six games since rejoining the Kings’ lineup. Feel free to plan accordingly, and keep in mind that a Brad Miller trade would also work in his favor in terms of expected playing time.

• Luke Ridnour – 5,965 adds
I’ve wanted to see Ramon Sessions let loose as much as anyone, but it’s been perfectly clear for a while now that Ridnour was Scott Skiles’ guy at PG. Despite averages of 11.9 points on 47 percent shooting, 0.8 threes, 3.5 boards, 5.8 assists (versus just 1.8 turnovers), and 1.7 steals over his past 26 games – and a per-game rank of 46th over that stretch – he’s still only making slow, steady progress in terms of percent-owned numbers (he’s currently at 60 percent in Yahoo! leagues). There’s little reason to expect a drop-off in production over the remainder of the season, although h2h owners should note that the Bucks have the fewest games remaining to be played in the league.

(more…)

• Greg Oden abused the likes of Dan Gadzuric and Malik Allen to the tune of 24 points, 15 boards, two steals, and two blocks on Monday. Sure this a “good sign” for Oden, his fantasy owners, and the Blazers, but you’ll have to forgive me if I’m not going to call this yet another potential coming out party for the (very) early ROY favorite – in his previous three games, Oden had totaled 12 points, seven boards, and one block in 49 minutes.

• Chris Paul made eight field goals and dished nine assists on Monday, having a direct hand in 17 of the Hornets’ 32 field goals. That percentage (.531) is just above his season average (.522), easily best in the league. The top 20:

1. Chris Paul (.522), 2. Dwyane Wade (.486), 3. LeBron James (.441), 4. Joe Johnson (.396), 5. Kobe Bryant (.373), 6. Derrick Rose (.359), 7. Vince Carter (.342), 8. Andre Miller (.337), 9. Rajon Rondo (.332), 10. Brandon Roy (.329)

11. Steve Nash (.324), 12. Devin Harris (.320), 13. Allen Iverson (.320), 14. Chris Duhon (.319), 15. Tony Parker (.316), 16. Chauncey Billups (.316), 17. Mike Bibby (.315), 18. Andre Iguodala (.314), 19. Tim Duncan (.312), and 20. Dirk Nowitzki (.310)

• Randy Foye continues to play very well (17 points, 3 treys, 4 assists, 2 steals on Monday), and I’m convinced it’s because he’s getting consistent starts at SG, his natural position. I’m not going to call Sebastian Telfair or Kevin Ollie the answer at PG, but look at the difference in Foye’s numbers this season when he’s started at one position versus the other – the drop in assists is clearly made up for elsewhere:

at PG (18 G): 13.7 points, .403 FG%, 2.2 FTA, 0.9 threes, 2.9 boards, 5.4 assists, 2.4 turnovers, 0.9 steals
at SG (16 G): 18.8 points, .459 FG%, 4.8 FTA, 1.9 threes, 3.9 boards, 3.9 assists, 2.3 turnovers, 1.4 steals

• Take a look at these averages: 18.5 points on 45 percent shooting, 1.6 threes, 3.3 boards, 2.5 assists, 1 steal, 0.4 blocks, and 87 percent free throw shooting (90 of 103). That’s Eric Gordon over his past 19 games, yet he remains unrostered in nearly 40 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

• Like my buddies at RotoWorld suggested, there’s a definite possibility that DeAndre Jordan peaked in value on Monday (8 points, 10 boards, 6 blocks). With the potential for trades and the spectre of injury hanging over their veteran bigs, however, he’s a prime candidate for your Watch List.

The Eddy Curry Line was originally established to put a spotlight on how truly anemic Curry’s overall fantasy line is. It can be used to help establish which players are among the best and worst, in terms of efficiency of production, for fantasy basketball. The standard: a player’s Curry Line ratio is his combined assists, steals, and blocks totals divided by his total turnovers – in order to qualify for the leaderboard, a player must have appeared in at least half of his team’s games and averaged at least 25 minutes of playing time.

Top 20 (Worst)

(more…)

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

four-game teams: ATL, BOS, CHA, CHI, CLE, DAL, DET, GSW, HOU, IND, LAC, LAL, MEM, MIL, MIN, NYK, PHO, SAC, SAS, TOR, UTA, and WAS

three-game teams: DEN, NJN, NOR, and POR

two-game teams: MIA, OKC, ORL, and PHI

elsewhere on the web: NBA Schedule Analysis (RotoWire) and Basketball Monster ease rankings

PICKUPS/PLUG-INS

• Hakim Warrick – Warrick continues to play plenty with Darko Milicic sidelined and has scored in double figures in 13 consecutive games. He’s actually put together a very solid overall line in recent weeks – over the past eight games, his averages include 17.5 points on 51 percent shooting, 5.5 boards, 1.3 steals, and 1 block in 32 minutes per game. The Grizz have a reasonable four-game slate (DET, @CHA, @NYK, NJN) and Darko is out for at least a few more weeks, so he should continue to be a very good play.

• Jarrett Jack – Jack continues to start and play big while T.J. Ford works his way back to full health (Marquis Daniels‘ injury has also opened up extra time). Over the past 10 games, Jack has averaged 14.9 points on 49 percent shooting, 1 three, 3.6 boards, 5.2 assists, and 1 steal in 37 minutes, while making 91 percent of 32 free throws. Ford will continue to be brought along slowly and the Pacers play back-to-back on Monday/Tuesday, so there’s a good chance he’ll sit out one of those games entirely.

• Nenad Krstic – Krstic has jumped right into the fray for the Thunder (who are a surprising 5-4 since he officially joined the team’s roster) – he’s averaged 9.7 points, 5 boards, and 1.7 blocks in his first six games, which included a double-double (14 points, 11 boards on Wednesday) and a start (Friday, while Nick Collison missed the game with a stomach virus). While it remains to be seen if he’s already passed a healthy Collison on the depth chart, the Thunder are clearly invested in the 25-year-old as their center of the future, so either way the move is inevitable. The Thunder only play twice in Week 13, but it’s a fantasy-friendly pair of games (@GSW, @LAC).

• Kirk Hinrich – his Saturday performance won’t inspire confidence (4 points, 2-of-9 shooting, 1 assist), but the fact that he’s averaged 27 minutes in four games since returning from his thumb injury should. After averaging 28 minutes in 25 games from November 21 through January 10, Larry Hughes has logged three straight DNP-CD’s, clearly and decisively removed from the Bulls’ plans. Hinrich doesn’t have extraordinary upside off the bench, but his career per-25 minute averages include 10.2 points, 1.2 threes, 4.5 assists, and 0.9 steals.

• Ramon Sessions – pay close attention to the results of the voting for the fourth participant in the dunk contest, which will be announced Monday. Rumblings are that the Bucks could be ready to pull the trigger on the Sessions/Mike Conley cap-relief deal if Joe Alexander is not the winner.

(more…)

• Great news for Andrea Bargnani‘s fantasy owners – Jermaine O’Neal has volunteered to come off the bench (for now, at least), saying that Bargnani has “earned the right” to continue starting with his strong play. Over the past 10 games, Bargnani has averaged 22.1 points on 53 percent shooting, 2.9 threes, 6.9 boards, 0.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks, while making 85 percent of 47 free throws.

What could also bode well for Bargnani is the possible swap of O’Neal for Shawn Marion, which would in turn bode well for Marion and Michael Beasley. My guess is that Marion would start for the Raptors at SF, pushing Jamario Moon to the bench and allowing Bargnani to continue to start, while the Heat would start Beasley, Udonis Haslem, and O’Neal at the three-through-five. There are plenty of fantasy implications surrounding this one.

• Louis Williams is another player to keep an eye on as the trading deadline approaches. He’s currently rostered in just 25 percent of Yahoo! leagues, despite having scored in double figures in 19 of his past 20 games, posting very solid averages over that stretch: 15.5 points, 1 three, 4 boards, and 1.1 steals in 27 minutes. He’s also excelled at getting to the free throw line and is currently ninth in the league among players who are averaging at least 20 minutes per game in FTA/48 minutes (9.7, just ahead of the likes of Kobe Bryant and Amar’e Stoudemire).

What gives him a bit more upside than what we’re seeing now is Andre Miller‘s $10 million expiring contract. While the 76ers’ current six-game winning streak has lifted them into playoff consideration in the East, they have yet to reach .500 and conventional wisdom suggests that the team would be better served getting something in return than allowing him to simply walk this offseason. At the very least, it’s a situation (rumblings of an extension or a trade) to keep tabs on over the next few weeks.

• After further review, Delonte West is out for about six weeks with a broken right wrist. A shame for a guy who was putting up top 50 per-game numbers and having a(nother) dream roto season: 12.3 points on 47 percent shooting, 1.8 threes, 3.2 boards, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, just 1.1 turnovers, and 83 percent from the foul line. Sasha Pavlovic started and played 43 minutes on Friday, scoring 19 points with four threes, six boards, and 2 steals. He’s been up-and-down in his career but posted reasonable numbers as a starter in 2006 and it’s good to be a shooter (career 36% from three-point) on this installment of the Cavs. Daniel Gibson played 33 minutes Friday and will play plenty while West is out, as well – also consider him if you need threes in a deeper league.

(more…)

• The trade rumor du jour is the one that sends Ramon Sessions and Joe Alexander from Milwaukee to Memphis for Mike Conley. They are talking about it in both cities (check here and here) and it definitely appears to have legs despite the delay in coming to fruition. Before you wonder why the Bucks would give up two promising young players for one underachieving (albeit, still promising) young player, know that it’s almost entirely a cap-related move. An interesting quote from an unnamed executive in a recent Chris Sheridan column: “…as we get to the deadline, we’re going to see a ton of deals that are solely financially driven.” That could make for some very interesting moves in the NBA and in your respective fantasy leagues, so be forewarned.

As for the specifics of this deal: I can definitely see adding Sessions (down to 34 percent ownership in Yahoo! leagues) in a speculative move, and I’m as bullish on him for fantasy in an up-tempo system as anyone. Just be aware that, despite the low-volume numbers as a starter (9.3 points, 3 boards, 4.9 assists, 1 steal in 20 games), nobody in Memphis is down on Kyle Lowry‘s game – that’s just Conley. Sessions wouldn’t be handed anything, but you have to think being free from Scott Skiles’ oppression would do him nothing but good. Conley – who somehow has managed to stay rostered in 23 percent of Yahoo! leagues – would be even less impactful with the Bucks.

• Elton Brand is very close to returning, and it could be as soon as Friday. Try to contain your enthusiasm – he’s not likely to return as a starter and, according to Tony DiLeo, “When he does come back, it will be limited and in segments.” Andre Iguodala‘s fantasy owners are crossing their fingers. He’s been on a real roll and there’s a clear difference in his numbers since Brand went down:

w/ Brand (23 G) : 14.2 points, .430 FG%, 4.2 FTA, 0.5 threes, 1.6 steals
w/o Brand (15 G): 21.6 points, .507 FG%, 6.9 FTA, 1.2 threes, 1.9 steals

• While Paul Millsap‘s knee injury is probably going to keep him out for a few more games, it certainly could have been more serious than it turned out to be.

• Speaking of serious, Andrew Bogut owners may want to get him on the trade block, and fast. Check out this ominous quote from after Wednesday’s game:

“It’s still bothering me,” said Bogut. “Tonight was a struggle just to get through the game. We have to try and figure out what it is because it’s kind of scary. I thought I was over it, but it’s come back quicker than a freight train.”

• Deep leaguers who are interested in the fallout from the Steve Blake injury (out 7-10 days with a shoulder separation) will undoubtedly have noticed that Sergio Rodriguez got the start tonight – Nate McMillan said before the game: “This is his shot, this is his chance.” Rodriguez and Jerryd Bayless each played six minutes in the first quarter of tonight’s Blazers/Nets matchup. Count on at least four or five games with no Blake in the lineup.

For each installment of “Catching the Buzz”, I’ll pull the most notable names from Yahoo!’s Buzz Index over the past three days and discuss the circumstances surrounding their surplus transaction activity. To view the Buzz Index yourself, visit one of your league’s homepages and add “/buzzindex” to the end of the URL.  An example: http://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/nba/55915/buzzindex

STOCK RISING

Nick Collison – 7,725 adds
Collison is back as the Thunder’s starting center after missing time with a broken thumb – over his past four games, he’s averaged 13.5 points on 67 percent shooting, 8.5 boards, and 1 steal in 31 minutes. There’s little-to-no upside here, however, as he’s likely headed for a reserve role whether he stays with the Thunder (with Nenad Krstic displacing him) or is dealt to a contender at the trade deadline. Keep an eye on the wire for a better long-term option if you recently added Collison.

Kirk Hinrich – 6,665 adds
Hinrich returned to the Bulls’ active roster even sooner than previous optimistic expectations, playing 21 minutes (4 points, 3 assists, 1 steal) in Monday’s 109-95 loss to the Blazers. Have no doubts that the Bulls want Hinrich to reclaim those surplus minutes that Larry Hughes has been seeing over the past two months – what he can do with them and if the Bulls can possibly find a taker for Hughes at the trade deadline are different matters, however. Hinrich’s career per-25 minute averages are 10.2 points, 1.2 threes, 4.5 assists, and 0.9 steals, so set expectations accordingly.

Raja Bell – 6,452 adds
Raja made some noise Saturday, scoring 19 points, hitting three treys, and dishing five assists in 38 minutes. But those numbers came against the Wizards and he followed it up with a stinker against the Pistons on Tuesday (6 points, no threes). If you are in a very deep league and desperate for threes, then Bell makes some sense – in standard leagues, his single-category contributions make him nothing more than a true fringe option at best (per-game rank of 164 since joining the Bobcats).

Andrea Bargnani – 6,422 adds
Let these numbers sink in: 21.3 points on 53 percent shooting, 3 treys, 6.8 boards, 0.6 steals, and 1.5 blocks in 36 minutes. Those are Bargnani’s numbers over the past eight games, while Jermaine O’Neal’s knee has kept him on the sidelines, and that’s the rub. Clearly Bargnani is feeling good right now, but things are going to get tricky when O’Neal is ready to return, and at the very least he won’t be able to sustain that level of playing time. I’ll just get right to the point – I’m selling while his value is at its peak. I can’t see someone taking on O’Neal’s contract this season (the offseason may be a different story) and assuming that Bargnani is finally ready to show some consistency is a gamble I’m not willing to take.

Mardy Collins – 5,939 adds
Filling in for the injured Baron Davis, Collins has averaged 13 points, 1.2 threes, 4.8 boards, 6.2 assists, 2 steals, and 0.6 blocks over the past five games. A solid short-term add here, as Davis is out for at least another week or so – Collins could be in for some very nice numbers in Week 13 if Davis is out a bit longer, as the Clips play the Thunder and Warriors as part of their four-game slate.

Von Wafer – 5,857 adds
Wafer has been giving the Rockets a much-needed boost – in seven January games, he’s averaged 16.1 points on 57 percent shooting, 2.3 threes, and 1.4 steals in 30 minutes per game. The low supporting stats (2.3 boards, 1.7 assists) have been helped by an almost complete lack of turnovers (0.6), and he’s certainly not going to be lacking for opportunity while Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest remain gimpy. His fantasy impact is directly tied to the overall health of the team’s roster – this is T-Mac we’re talking about, but don’t be looking at Wafer as a well with no chance to run dry.

(more…)

The Eddy Curry Line was originally established to put a spotlight on how truly anemic Curry’s overall fantasy line is. It can be used to help establish which players are among the best and worst, in terms of efficiency of production, for fantasy basketball. The standard: a player’s Curry Line ratio is his combined assists, steals, and blocks totals divided by his total turnovers – in order to qualify for the leaderboard, a player must have appeared in at least half of his team’s games and averaged at least 25 minutes of playing time.

Top 20 (Worst)

(more…)

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

four-game teams: CHI, DET, MIA, MIL, NJN, NOR, NYK, OKC, PHO, POR, TOR, and UTA

three-game teams: ATL, BOS, CLE, DAL, DEN, IND, LAL, ORL, PHI, SAC, SAS, and WAS

two-game teams: CHA, GSW, HOU, LAC, MEM, and MIN

elsewhere on the web: Fantasy Basketball SOS: Jan. 12-18 and Basketball Monster ease rankings

INJURY UPDATES

Carmelo Anthony – Melo is likely to return from a broken bone in his shooting hand sometime around February 1.

Gilbert Arenas – it’s becoming more likely with each passing week that Arenas isn’t going to come back this season.

Ron Artest – Artest’s ankle is getting anything but better and it’s now looking more and more likely that he’s going to require uninterrupted down time. He’s already been declared out for Tuesday and will undergo further tests to determine if he needs shut it down. The silver lining here is that he can’t kill your team’s field goal percentage from the bench.

D.J. Augustin – after suffering an abdominal strain on Tuesday, the rookie heard a “pop” while making a pass on Saturday and was in serious pain. We won’t know the extent of the injury until he undergoes tests, but his short-term availability is in serious doubt.

Carlos Boozer – Boozer had left knee surgery on Friday and will miss at least another month to rehabilitation.

Elton Brand – Brand hopes to return to practice soon and rejoin the team in about 10 days.

Jose Calderon – Calderon returned to the court on Sunday (today) but only managed 22 minutes and will miss Monday’s game (@BOS), as he’ll remain in Toronto for treatment instead. The Raptors have three other games this week (CHI, @IND, PHO) but Calderon is looking like a shaky play.

Baron Davis – first things first: the Clips only play twice this week, so you’d be benching B-Diddy even if his return from a tailbone injury were imminent (it looks like he needs another week). Things aren’t exactly going according to plan for LA-LA land’s other team, with Davis’ injuries and problems with the team’s system taking center stage. Last season’s 82 games and career per-game numbers are well in the rear-view mirror.

Luol Deng – Deng is still talking about not wanting to rush back despite the fact we’re already a few games past his previous expected return. The Bulls have four games on tap (POR, @TOR, CLE, SAS), but the front-loaded schedule (Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat) makes Deng that much more of a risk.

(more…)

At this point in the season, initial rankings and name values start to go out the window. Let’s break down the rankings for each position for expected impact over the remainder of the season, assuming nine categories and using Yahoo!’s position eligibility as the benchmark.

Point Guard
1. Chris Paul
2. Dwyane Wade
3. Chauncey Billups
4. Joe Johnson
5. Jose Calderon
6. Devin Harris
7. Deron Williams
8. Brandon Roy
9. Jason Kidd
10. Mike Bibby
11. Jason Terry
12. Rajon Rondo
13. Steve Nash
14. Mo Williams
15. Jameer Nelson
16. Rodney Stuckey
17. Randy Foye
18. Delonte West
19. Allen Iverson
20. Tony Parker
21. Chris Duhon
22. Andre Miller
23. Baron Davis
24. O.J. Mayo
25. T.J. Ford (more…)

The Eddy Curry Line was originally established to put a spotlight on how truly anemic Curry’s overall fantasy line is. It can be used to help establish which players are among the best and worst, in terms of efficiency of production, for fantasy basketball. The standard: a player’s Curry Line ratio is his combined assists, steals, and blocks totals divided by his total turnovers – in order to qualify for the leaderboard, a player must have appeared in at least half of his team’s games and averaged at least 25 minutes of playing time.

Top 10 (Worst)

Bottom 10 (Best)

(more…)

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

four-game teams: BOS, CHA, DAL, GSW, HOU, IND, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIL, OKC, ORL, PHI, SAC, TOR, and WAS

three-game teams: ATL, CHI, DEN, DET, MEM, MIN, NJN, NOR, NYK, PHO, SAS, and UTA

two-game teams: CLE and POR

elsewhere on the web: Fantasy Basketball SOS: Jan. 5-11 (RotoWire) and Basketball Monster ease rankings

INJURY UPDATES

• Ron Artest – Artest didn’t play Saturday and there’s a good chance that he’ll only play in two of the Rockets’ four games this week, with the team playing two sets of back-to-backs, so you’ll want to downgrade him significantly.

• Andrew Bogut – Bogut missed Saturday’s game due to back spasms and is day-to-day at this point. With the Bucks looking at a very favorable schedule (TOR, PHI, NJN, @MIN), he’s still looking like a solid play for the week, but be on the lookout for last-minute updates.

• Jose Calderon – Calderon’s hamstring kept him out of the lineup Sunday (today) and he’s also likely to miss the Raptors next two games, so plan accordingly.

• Baron Davis – Davis’ bruised tailbone kept him out Friday and Sunday (today) and his status for Week 11 is a bit cloudy at this point. He’s shot just 34 percent from the field in 16 games since originally suffering the injury (Nov 26), including just 27 percent over the past eight games, so he may deserve a benching on production alone at this point.

• Luol Deng – Deng has missed five games because of a sprained left ankle and remains at least a couple games away, so keep him benched.

• Drew Gooden – Gooden is still dealing with swelling in his right ankle and is now set for an MRI on Monday, so he’s not going to help anyone this week.

• Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace – neither Rip (groin) nor Sheed (foot) played Sunday (today) and both have to be considered questionable for Wednesday at this point. With the Pistons on a three-game week, it makes sense to use other options if at all possible.

• Devin Harris – Harris is likely headed for a game-time decision on Monday because of his sore right hamstring. Neither this update nor this one paints a pretty picture, so it makes sense to plan for two games, at best, from Harris this week.

• Zydrunas Ilgauskas – Big Z is expected to be out until around February 1 because of a bone chip in his left ankle.

• Chris Kaman – he’s still out.

• Corey Maggette – reports have been positive regarding Maggette’s initial workouts as he works his way back from a hamstring strain, but a timetable has yet to be set for his return to the lineup.

(more…)