fBasketballBlog

That anonymous hand on the right represents the hand of all Lowry's owners this season. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Beast of the Night: Kyle Lowry lit up the Lakers for 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and four three-pointers. He shot 42 percent (8-19) from the field, 100 percent from the free-throw line (2-2) and turned the ball over twice. Believe it or not, Lowry is putting up top three overall averages so far this NBA season.

Lines for Discussion:
D.J. Augustin: 10-18 FG (56%), 2-2 FT (100%), 4 threes, 26 Pts, 4 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; so far, he’s putting up better numbers than he did last season

Boris Diaw: 0-5 FG (0%), 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk; scorching start was unsustainable, but he’ll get back on track

Kyrie Irving: 8-10 FG (80%), 2-2 FT (100%), 2 threes, 20 Pts, 3 Reb, 6 Ast, 2 Blk; he’s averaging 14.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.8 steals, a block and 1.2 threes through the first five games of his NBA career (continue reading…)

That about sums up Diaw's monstrous start to the 2011-12 NBA season. (Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)

This will be a new weekly series of posts that differs from the “Buy Low, Sell High” posts from last season. The “buy, sell, hold” ratings should be approximately interpreted as follows:

• Buy: the player is a solid trade target because his value is underappreciated yet reliable, or because he’s in a slump
• Hold: if you own the player, try to hold onto him, either because he’ll maintain solid value or to see how his value stabilizes before dealing him away; if you don’t own the player, wait until his stock drops a bit or until his uncertain value is clearer before trying to get him in a trade
• Sell: don’t believe the player’s recent production and sell high if you own him

With that, here’s the stock watch for Week 1: (continue reading…)

You got a problem with LeBron's zero three-point attempts so far this season? (Flickr/Keith Allison)

Beast of the Night: LeBron James had himself a typically big line to the tune of 35 points, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. He shot 57 percent (13-23) from the field, 100 percent (9-9) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Through three games, James is averaging 32.7 points on 59 percent shooting from the field and 87 percent shooting from the charity stripe. The odd thing is that he has yet to attempt a single three-pointer. The fact that he’s been such a stud without a three-pointer says volumes about his fantasy value. It’s early, but James looks primed to make a run at top-dog honors this season.

Lines for Discussion:
Paul George: 5-11 FG (46%), 4-4 FT (100%), 4 threes, 18 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 TO; no surprise about his solid start

Andrea Bargnani: 9-17 FG (53%), 2-5 FT (40%), 1 three, 21 Pts, 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 4 TO; lack of rebounding is wretched, but he has other places of value

Boris Diaw: 7-14 FG (50%), 2 threes, 16 Pts, 16 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 6 TO; he’s dialing it up a notch and will reward his owners this season, but this hot start won’t be maintained (continue reading…)

Curry was a beast -- a beast who reinjured a bothersome ankle. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Beast of the Night: Stephen Curry followed up his forgettable opening night with 21 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists, six steals and a three-pointer. He shot 58 percent (7-12) from the field, 86 percent (6-7) from the free-throw line and had four turnovers. Sadly, Curry’s big night ended on a sour note when the guard landed on Kyle Korver’s foot and reinjured that balky right ankle. Keep an eye on his status.

Lines for Discussion:
Jose Calderon: 5-9 FG (56%), 2-2 FT (100%), 3 threes, 15 Pts, 6 Reb, 11 Ast, 1 TO; vintage Calderon, probably not a trend

Roy Hibbert: 6-11 FG (55%), 4-5 FT (80%), 16 Pts, 14 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 Blk, 1 TO; great start, but is another burnout season in the cards?

Tyler Hansbrough: 6-14 FG (43%), 3-4 FT (75%), 15 Pts, 13 Reb, 1 Stl; probably not the norm for him this season (continue reading…)

Can Tyrus the Tease finally become a reliable fantasy beast? (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Depth chart:
PG: D.J. Augustin, Kemba Walker
SG: Gerald Henderson, Matt Carroll, Garrett Temple*^
SF: Corey Maggette, Dante Cunningham**, Dominic McGuire*
PF: Boris Diaw, Tyrus Thomas, Bismack Biyombo, D.J. White, Eduardo Najera
C: Kwame Brown*, Joel Przybilla*, DeSagana Diop

* unrestricted free agent
** restricted free agent
^ locked into overseas contract with no opt-out clause (continue reading…)