fBasketballBlog

George has fulfilled and maybe even exceeded the sleeper tag many put on him heading into the 2011-12 NBA season. (AP Photo/Tom Strickland)

Beast of the Night: Paul George finished with 24 points, four rebounds, one assist, two steals, a block and four threes last night against the Nets. He shot 73 percent (8-11) from the field, 100 percent (4-4) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. George has had clunkers every now and then this season but has still managed to average top 60 numbers. He’s an all-around producer who doesn’t drag any category down for his owners, making him a sleeper-turned-stud.

Lines for Discussion:
Anthony Morrow: 10-17 FG (59%), 3-3 FT (100%), 5 threes, 28 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 TO; with MarShon Brooks out with a bum toe, Morrow’s value looks like it will remain intact for a while longerr

Danny Granger: 6-15 FG (40%), 9-9 FT (100%), 21 Pts, 7 Reb, 5 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 TO; Granger appears to have found a groove since the middle of January, scoring 21+ points in six of his last eight games

Anderson Varejao: 10-17 FG (59%), 20 Pts, 20 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 4 TO; Sideshow Bob is averaging 10.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks for the season, good for top 60 value (continue reading…)

Johnson is down, way down. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

Buy Low:
Carmelo Anthony

Amir Johnson

Andre Iguodala

Chauncey Billups

Gerald Wallace

Dwyane Wade, Al Jefferson, Marcus Thornton and any other productive fantasy players who are injured should be considered buy-low candidates. (continue reading…)

Curry's owners can hold their chins high this morning. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Beast of the Night: Stephen Curry finished with 32 points, six rebounds, seven assists, four steals and six three-pointers last night. He shot 63 percent (12-19) from the field, 67 percent (2-3) from the free-throw line and had just one turnover in 38 minutes of play. Curry has racked up 74 minutes of run in his last two games, which is a good sign that his ankle is fine for the time being. Barring any further setbacks, he’ll handsomely reward owners who bought low or exercised patience on him.

Lines for Discussion:
Anthony Morrow: 5-11 FG (46%), 4-4 FT (100%), 2 threes, 16 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; his owners should shop him now

Anderson Varejao: 4-8 FG (50%), 2-4 FT (50%), 10 Pts, 16 Reb, 4 Ast, 4 Stl, 2 Blk, 5 TO; Varejao is averaging 9.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks this season, making him a top 75 fantasy basketball player

Joakim Noah: 5-9 FG (56%), 10 Pts, 13 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1  Blk, 1 TO; his production has stabilized lately, and since Jan. 13, Noah has averaged 9.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game (continue reading…)

Everybody loves Kevin. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Beast of the Night: Kevin Love finished with 39 points, 12 boards, one assist, one steal and five three-pointers last night. He shot 68 percent (13-19) from the field, 80 percent (8-10) from the free-throw line and had five turnovers. While Love’s rebounding, assists and shooting percentages are down from last season, he’s improved his three-point making, scoring and stealing. There’s not much else to say about this top 10 stud.

Lines for Discussion:
Kevin Garnett: 5-9 FG (56%), 4-4 FT (100%), 14 Pts, 10 Reb, 2 Ast, 5 Stl, 2 Blk, 3 TO; he’s putting up top 85 numbers so far this season, which is about what owners should have expected

James Harden: 8-11 FG (73%), 3-3 FT (100%), 5 threes, 24 Pts, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 TO; though he continues to come off the bench, Harden’s minutes are up from last season, along with his field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, threes, points, rebounds and assists

Kyle Lowry: 4-13 FG (31%), 7-8 FT (88%), 1 three, 16 Pts, 10 Reb, 10 Ast, 3 Stl, 4 TO; his poor field-goal percentage and frequent turnovers have been the only knocks on his top five fantasy value so far (continue reading…)

Yep, he's still No. 1. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Weekend Wonder: LeBron James averaged 28.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in two games over the weekend. He shot 57 percent from the floor, hit 94 percent of his free throws and turned the ball over 3.5 times per game. James is shooting 56 percent from the field so far this season, thanks to his apparently deliberate attempts to shoot fewer three-pointers and take shots closer to the rim.

Lines for Discussion:
LaMarcus Aldridge (1/20): 12-25 FG (48%), 9-14 FT (64%), 33 Pts, 23 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 Stl, 6 TO; he’s quietly putting together top 12 averages so far this season

Stephen Curry (1/20): 5-15 FG (33%), 2 threes, 12 Pts, 2 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 TO; his minutes will likely be limited for a few games, but his owners should feel bold enough to start him

Danilo Gallinari (1/21): 9-19 FG (47%), 18-20 FT (90%), 1 three, 37 Pts, 11 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; Gallinari is now shooting 46 percent from the field, his highest mark since arriving in the NBA and a big reason for his top 10 value so far this season (continue reading…)