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Is this what a two-time bust looks like? (AP Photo/Claudio Scaccini)

We’re hours away from the start of what should be an indelible 2010-11 NBA season. I hope you’re as excited as I am.

I’ve posted my top five fantasy basketball storylines to watch this season. Head over to DimeMag.com to read the full post. Below is a teaser:

1. Sleepers or Busts: Anthony Randolph, J.J. Hickson, Nicolas Batum, Austin Daye, Jeff Teague, Leandro Barbosa and Rodrigue Beaubois – these are some of the names that have been tagged with “sleeper” for 2010-11. Who will fulfill that label? Who will continue to slumber? And how forgiving will we be of the latter group?… (continue reading…)

Big numbers (and the DeNiro face) will come easy for Gallo this season. (AP)

Depth chart:
PG: Raymond Felton, Toney Douglas
SG: Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Roger Mason, Andy Rautins, Kelenna Azubuike
SF: Anthony Randolph, Bill Walker, Landry Fields
PF: Amar’e Stoudemire, Patrick Ewing Jr.
C: Ronny Turiaf, Timofey Mozgov, Eddy Curry

Relevant fantasy players and projected draft positions/per-game stats:
Amar’e  Stoudemire – F/C (Rd. 1-2): 28 Pts, 9 Reb, 1.5 Blk
Danilo Gallinari – G/F (Rd. 3-5): 17.5 Pts, 3 threes, 5.5 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk
Raymond Felton – PG (Rd. 4-6): 14 Pts, 1 threes, 3 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl
Anthony Randolph – SF/PF/C (Rd. 5-7): 12 Pts, 7.5 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 Blk
Wilson Chandler – G/F (Rd. 10-12): 12.5 Pts, 1 three, 5 Reb, 1 Stl
Ronny Turiaf – F/C (Rd. 13+): 7 Pts, 6 Reb, 2 Blk
Kelenna Azubuike – G/F (Rd. 13+): 10.5 Pts, 1 three, 3.5 Reb (continue reading…)

What does Yaouch Ming have to do with Dolph Lundgren? Probably nothing, but whatever. (Keith Allison/Flickr)

With every new season there’s a fresh list of fantasy basketball players that are on the verge of being given up on. Some of these players are walking DNPs that have one more shot to prove that they can play a full season, or something close to it; others are players who have coyly toed the line between fantasy goodness and fantasy greatness for a few seasons and are testing our collective patience; others have failed to fulfill past “sleeper” labels; still others are former studs who have regressed into duds in recent seasons and have one last shot at a redemptive comeback season before they’re permanently locked in the cellar.

Here’s a list of nine such players teetering on the edge of utter hopelessness this season (from a nine-category perspective), along with a rating of how close they are to being lost causes. We’ll use an uber-macho scale of Dolph Lundgrens (1 = not that close from final doom, 5 = direly close). Why nine, and why Dolphs? Look no further than here for a visual explanation.

It’s go time. (continue reading…)

What do Hedo Turkoglu and one of the summer's Hollywood blockbusters have in common? (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Round five already? This is going faster than Rick Pitino’s –

Nevermind. You get my point — each round of this mock draft is flying by. Henry at Weakside Help and I have already tag-teamed to knock down four rounds of this mock draft (head-to-head, nine categories, 12 teams, 13 rounds), with pretty solid results thus far, if I may say so myself. (That’s more of a nod to Henry’s work so far, given that he’s always taking a later round than I am.)

If you need to catch up, here are round one, round two, round three and round four.

While drafting a single rock-solid fantasy basketball team is a tough task in and of itself, trying to build 12 solid teams at the same time is much more insane. For each round I find myself attempting to see things from 12 different angles — the closest thing to schizophrenia that someone can experience in the realm of fantasy ball.

Regardless, I’m thoroughly enjoying the process and am eager to tackle this fifth round, the most difficult (and probably the most questionable) one for me so far: (continue reading…)

Howard was his typical beastly self last night. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

[Read the full, original post at Dimemag.com]

Beast of the Night: Dwight Howard put up 13 points, 20 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks and 3 turnovers in 33 minutes of an easy victory over the Rockets last night. He shot 71 percent (5-7) from the floor and 75 percent (3-4) from the free throw line. His scoring, rebounding and blocks are down this year, and his turnovers are up from last season, but you know what you’re getting with Howard.

Notable lines:
Trevor Ariza – 1-10 FG (10%), 4-4 FT (100%), 6 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO

Jameer Nelson – 6-11 FG (55%), 1-2 FT (50%), 2 3ptm, 15 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 4 TO

Anthony Randolph – 5-14 FG (36%), 2-2 FT (100%), 12 Pts, 8 Reb, 2 Ast, 8 Blk, 1 TO

Stephen Curry – 6-13 FG (46%), 2-2 FT (100%), 3 3ptm, 17 Pts, 10 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO (continue reading…)