fBasketballBlog

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  Could this be the face of this year's biggest fantasy sleeper? (It's Rodrigue Beaubois, by the way.) (Keith Allison/Flickr)

  Having a hard time keeping tabs on all the player movement in the NBA this summer? ESPN.com has you covered with this helpful chart.
• Matt Buser at Yahoo! Sports has an updated fantasy basketball Big Board. See how it compares with my top-25 list.
• If you want to see how players are doing during this year’s NBA Summer League games, head on over to NBA.com for a list of statistics. So far, DeMarcus Cousins (16.5 points, 11 rebounds per game), John Wall (21.0 points, 9.0 assists, 3.5 steals per game) and Reggie Williams (23.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game) are faring well. We’ll break down the potential ramifications of Summer League once all the games are played.
• David Lee vs. Amar’e Stoudemire: who ya got? Tom Lorenzo at FanHouse mulls this question over and comes to a tough call. (I’m taking David Lee, though as Lorenzo astutely points out, that will hinge on how well Andris Biedrins plays this season.)
• It’s looking more and more like Shawn Marion will be coming off the pine in Dallas this season, making way for Roddy Beaubois to start at SG for the Mavs. While this is bad news for Marion’s already tanking fantasy value, Beaubois immediately becomes a sexy sleeper pick.
• Nels at Give Me The Rock has posted his preview of the Oklahoma City Thunder, armed with a song parody and guidance on where to take Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook.

Stoudemire's wallet is now this big -- but his fantasy value has shrunk. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

Amar’e Stoudemire is (almost officially) a New York Knick. The coveted big man is ready to put his signature on a five-year contract that will net him nearly $100 million. This clearly has implications for his fantasy value, which surged in the latter part of last season. While his wallet might have gotten a lot fatter, his fantasy value has done the opposite.

More in-depth analysis of this and other big free agency signings will come once contracts are made official after Thursday, but for now, here’s a quick rundown of why STAT will have a down fantasy season, with the current Knicks roster:

• he won’t have a point guard who plays anywhere near the level of Steve Nash
• he’ll have to adjust to playing with another point guard
• defenses will be able to hone in on shutting him down on a thinner team than his former Suns
• the clock continues to tick until his next serious injury
• the looming threat of post-contract blues

What do you think? Is Stoudemire guaranteed to take a step back for fantasy owners this season, or is he set to finally take off in an offense that’s more centered around him? Let us know in the poll below. (continue reading…)

It's almost the hour that LeBron's been dreaming of for years. New York: get ready to be disappointed! (Flickr/david_shankbone)

It’s almost here. No, not Justin Bieber’s 18th birthday – the official start of this summer’s NBA free agency season, of course.

While many of us are probably ready to just get it all over with already, if you’re a fantasy addict you’re already thinking about how decisions made in the next few days will affect their draft positions in the fall.

Here’s a quick look at this blog’s very first and very own “Volatility Index.” Taking into account factors like probability of landing with certain teams and potential teammates next season, this is a list of projections about how volatile each of these key fantasy players are on the eve of free agency, along with a quick and dirty prediction of where each player will actually land. We’ll use a scale of 0 (fantasy value totally stable) to 10 (fantasy value totally unpredictable). (continue reading…)

No one stood in the way of Ellis this weekend. (AP Photo/Bahram Mark Sobhani)

Weekend Wonder: Monta Ellis averaged 33.5 points, 3.5 threes, 2.5 boards, 3.5 assists, 3 steals and 1.5 turnovers in two games. He shot 56 percent from the floor and 100 percent from the line during that stretch.

Noteworthy Lines:
Danilo Gallinari (3/19) – 6-12 FG (50%), 11-14 FT (79%), 2 3ptm, 25 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO

Brandon Jennings (3/19) – 12-28 FG (43%), 3-4 FT (75%), 8 3ptm, 35 Pts, 5 Reb, 8 Ast, 2 Stl, 4 TO

Amar’e Stoudemire (3/19) – 14-16 FG (88%), 16-18 FT (89%), 44 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 5 TO (continue reading…)

Curry bakes dinosaurs, too. (NBAE via Getty Images/Jack Arent)

Weekend Wonder: Stephen Curry ravaged the Raptors on Saturday with 35 points, 5 threes, 6 rebound, 10 assists, 4 steals and 1 block. He shot 62 percent (13-21) from the floor, 100 percent (4-4) from the line and had 2 turnovers. In fantasy terms, Curry is clearly the rookie of the year.

Noteworthy Lines:
Andre Iguodala (3/12) – 12-24 FG (50%), 5-9 FT (565), 1 3ptm, 30 Pts, 7 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO

Mike Miller (3/13) – 2-3 FG (67%), 4 Pts, 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 TO

J.R. Smith (3/13) – 11-16 FG (69%), 1-2 FT (50%), 7 3ptm, 30 Pts, 2 Reb, 2 Ast (continue reading…)