fBasketballBlog

Wall could have happier time ahead with his new-look team. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

Beast of the Night: John Wall finished with 26 points, four rebounds, 12 assists, three steals and a block last night. He shot 69 percent (11-16) from the floor and 100 percent (4-4) from the free-throw line, and had five turnovers. Maybe that new Wizards roster will do Wall some good.

Lines for Discussion:
Jordan Crawford: 6-16 FG (38%), 4-6 FT (67%), 1 three, 17 Pts, 1 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; don’t be fooled by the mediocre line — the departure of Nick Young is great news for Crawford’s fantasy value going forward

Chris Kaman: 9-15 FG (60%), 2-4 FT (50%), 20 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO; Kaman is still with the Hornets, and Emeka Okafor’s return is still nowhere in sight, which means Kaman’s fantasy value should remain intact

Paul Millsap: 7-17 FG (41%), 2-3 FT (67%), 16 Pts, 11 Reb, 4 Ast, 8 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; he’s currently on a three-game streak of double-doubles, his longest of the season (continue reading…)

Frye, Suns, hot -- you make the funny caption. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Beast of the Night: Channing Frye posted 26 points, nine rebounds, two assists, one steal, four blocks and five three-pointers last night. He shot 56 percent (10-18) from the floor and 100 percent (1-1) from the free-throw line, and had two turnovers. After a poor start to the season, Frye has picked things up since February. He’s been a top 70 asset so far this season, which is about in line with expectations.

Lines for Discussion:
Evan Turner: 9-11 FG (82%), 2-4 FT (50%), 1 three, 21 Pts, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 Blk; in his last four games, Turner is averaging 21.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.8 blocks and 0.5 threes, while shooting 64 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free-throw line

Kris Humphries: 7-18 FG (39%), 2-2 FT (100%), 16 Pts, 21 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 Blk, 3 TO; Hump seems pretty happy without Deron Williams and Brook Lopez around

Jeremy Lin: 2-4 FG (50%), 2-2 FT (100%), 6 Pts, 4 Reb, 6 Ast, 2 Stl, 6 TO; this was just one game, and it was a blowout victory — give this a few more games before making any conclusions (continue reading…)

If you have a problem with Smith's monster line from last night, then you have a problem. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Beast of the Night: Josh Smith busted out something nasty last night, to the tune of 33 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, one steal, two blocks and two three-pointers. He shot 57 percent (13-23) from the floor and 100 percent (5-5) from the free-throw line, and had one turnover. After shooting a miserable 41 percent from the field in February, Smith is hitting 51 percent of his shots to go along with his 26.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.9 blocks and 1.1 threes per game through the first seven games of March.

Lines for Discussion:
Dwight Howard: 9-13 FG (69%), 6-18 FT (33%), 24 Pts, 25 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; Howard is averaging 27.9 points, 15.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.7 blocks so far this month, while shooting 67 percent from the field

Jameer Nelson: 10-16 FG (63%), 1-2 FT (50%), 4 threes, 25 Pts, 1 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 4 TO; he’s been better this month, as he’s managed to hit 48 percent of his shots from the floor while averaging 11.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.9 threes per game

Andrew Bynum: 15-18 FG (83%), 7-8 FT (88%), 37 Pts, 16 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; through the first seven games of March, he’s averaging 14.1 shot attempts per game, 2.4 more attempts per game than his 11.7 averages in January and February (continue reading…)

Jennings is hot again. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Beast of the Night: Brandon Jennings finished with 34 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and six three-pointers last night. He shot 52 percent (12-23) from the floor, 80 percent (4-5) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. After struggling through February, Jennings is averaging 25.0 points, 4.0 boards, 7.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 3.0 threes in his first seven games this month. He’s been a top 30 stud so far this season.

Lines for Discussion:
Carlos Delfino: 1-8 FG (13%), 2 Pts, 6 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; he continues to start and play plenty of minutes, but he’s proving himself worthy of nothing more than a bench spot right now

Kris Humphries: 11-15 FG (73%), 9-12 FT (75%), 31 Pts, 18 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 Blk, 1 TO; Humphries has improved his production in nearly every category from their marks last season and has been a top 60 fantasy asset thus far in the 2011-12 NBA season

Rodney Stuckey: 10-17 FG (59%), 9-11 FT (82%), 29 Pts, 4 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO; in his last five games, Stuckey is averaging 22.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.6 threes, while shooting 53 percent from the floor and 81 percent from the free-throw line (continue reading…)

Illyasova. (See what I did there?) (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Pawel Dwulit)

Weekend Wonder: Ersan Ilyasova makes his debut here after averaging 28.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.5 threes in two games over the weekend. In that stretch, he shot 69 percent from the field, 92 percent from the free-throw line and averaged turned the ball over just once. In his last 13 games, Ilyasova has averaged top five numbers, making him a serious contender for pickup of the year.

Lines for Discussion:
Nikola Pekovic (3/9): 8-14 FG (57%), 9-10 FT (90%), 25 Pts, 13 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl; Pekovic followed this up with a 21/11 line the next night, indicating a return to form

Andrea Bargnani (3/10): 2-8 FG (25%), 4-4 FT (100%), 8 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; he put up 11/8/2 on Sunday, and will require some time to work some rust off

Jared Dudley (3/10): 9-16 FG (56%), 1 three, 19 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 4 TO; so far in March, Dudley is averaging 17.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.0 block and 1.3 threes per game, while shooting 53 percent from the field and 63 percent from the free-throw line (continue reading…)