fBasketballBlog

Thank God the season wasn't killed. (Flickr/ShuttrKing|KT)

Beast of the Night: Kevin Durant was big again Monday night, finishing with 31 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block and three three-pointers. He shot 53 percent (10-19) from the floor, 89 percent (8-9) from the free-throw line and had just one turnover. Durant is averaging a sick 29.3 points, 8.7 boards, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.3 blocks and 1.8 threes in 12 games so far this month, making him the runaway No. 1 fantasy player in February.

Lines for Discussion:
Derrick Rose: 8-18 FG (44%), 5-9 FT (56%), 2 threes, 23 Pts, 5 Reb, 6 Ast, 4 TO; the All-Star break should give his body even more time to fully heal, so even if his owners missed out on him this week, they have good reason to be excited for his second half of the season

Deron Williams: 10-22 FG (46%), 10-12 FT (83%), 8 threes, 38 Pts, 4 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; since Feb. 11, Williams has been a top 10 fantasy beast

Jeremy Lin: 7-18 FG (39%), 5-6 FT (83%), 2 threes, 21 Pts, 7 Reb, 9 Ast, 4 Stl, 3 TO; the stat line was impressive, but if you watched the game you know Lin didn’t have that same quickness and pop in his step; Lin’s owners should hope Baron Davis stays healthy enough to give Lin ample time each game for rest going forward (continue reading…)

KD was No. 1 this past weekend. (AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson)

Weekend Wonder: Kevin Durant averaged 37.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 4.0 threes in his two games over the weekend. He shot 67 percent from the floor, 83 percent from the free-throw line and turned the ball over a total of 10 games in this stretch. Durant scored a career-high 51 points Sunday night. For the season, Durant is second only to LeBron James on the fantasy basketball totem pole.

Lines for Discussion:
Rodney Stuckey (2/17): 12-20 FG (60%), 11-12 FT (92%), 1 three, 36 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Stuckey has been scoring in bunches and has shot well from the field and the free-throw line (84 percent on 7.7 attempts this month) lately

Chris Kaman (2/17): 3-12 FG (25%), 6-6- FT (100%), 12 Pts, 8 Reb, 6 Ast, 2 TO; Kaman’s been solid lately, but his owners should definitely be looking to sell him off sooner than later

Marc Gasol (2/17): 5-11 FG (46%), 6-7 FT (86%), 16 Pts, 14 Reb, 8 Ast, 3 Blk, 7 TO; he continues to be a top 12 stud, but his owners have to wonder what the return of Zach Randolph in early March could mean for the Spaniard’s value (continue reading…)

Yes, let Deng bring those unwise buyers here. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Buy Low:
Stephen Curry

Stephen Jackson

Manu Ginobili

Kevin Martin

Joe Johnson

Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, LaMarcus Aldridge and any other productive fantasy players who are injured should be considered buy-low candidates. (continue reading…)

Granger's ankle seems to be fine. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: Danny Granger returned from a one-game absence with a bum ankle to put up 32 points, five rebounds, an assist, a steal, a block and four made three-pointers last night against the Nets. He shot 50 percent (10-20) from the field, 89 percent (8-9) from the floor and had two turnovers. Granger is having a great month, averaging 20.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.7 threes through nine games. He’s pulled his value up into the realm of the top 35.

Lines for Discussion:
Paul George: 4-8 FG (50%), 2-2 FT (100%), 1 three, 11 Pts, 5 Reb, 5 Ast, 4 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; he’s struggling with his shooting percentages in February, connecting on just 41 percent of his attempts from the field and 68 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe

Carlos Boozer: 11-15 FG (73%), 1-3 FT (33%), 23 Pts, 15 Reb, 5 Ast, 3 TO; he’s averaging top 50 numbers this season, partly thanks to his 1.6 turnovers per game, his best mark since his 1.3 average in his rookie season

Luol Deng: 7-15 FG (47%), 3-4 FT (75%), 6 threes, 23 Pts, 4 Reb, 10 Ast, 1 Blk, 4 TO; Deng has dished out 21 assists in his last two games and is clearly picking up the slack in ball distribution in Derrick Rose’s absence (continue reading…)

Smith did just about everything last night. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: Josh Smith exploded for 30 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, four steals, three blocks and two three-pointers last night. He shot 52 percent (12-23) from the field and 67 percent (4-6) from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over four times. Smith is improving his averages from month to month and continues to be a dominant fantasy asset on most nights.

Lines for Discussion:
Kevin Martin: 10-18 FG (56%), 8-8 FT (100%), 4 threes, 32 Pts, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO; he’s a crapshoot for the time being

Ryan Anderson: 9-12 FG (75%), 2-2 FT (100%), 7 threes, 27 Pts, 2 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 TO; he’s hitting 3.2 threes per game through nine games this month

Ben Gordon: 8-15 FG (53%), 2-2 FT (100%), 4 threes, 22 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; he’s still coming off the bench but should eventually find some sort of consistency (continue reading…)