fBasketballBlog

Greg Monroe should break into double-double territory this season.

Depth chart:

Relevant fantasy players and their projected draft round (PDR) and per-game stats:

Pierce was standing tall last night. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Beast of the Night: Paul Pierce blew up for 43 points, two rebounds, three assists, two steals and four three-pointers. He shot 58 percent (11-19) from the floor and 94 percent (17-18) from the free-throw line, and had three turnovers. Pierce has been a pleasant surprise this season, giving his fantasy basketball owners top 24 value.

Lines for Discussion:
Roy Hibbert: 6-14 FG (43%), 3-3 FT (100%), 15 Pts, 13 Reb, 1 Blk, 1 TO; that’s five straight double-doubles for Hibbert, who looks like he’s getting a second wind after a sluggish March

Carmelo Anthony: 13-24 FG (54%), 7-8 FT (88%), 2 threes, 35 Pts, 12 Reb, 10 Ast, 2 Stl, 5 TO; in the past month, Anthony has averaged 26.2 points, 7.4 boards, 3.3 dimes, 1.6 steals, 0.6 blocks and 1.2 threes per game, while shooting 48 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line — top 12 numbers

J.J. Barea: 10-20 FG (50%), 3-4 FT (75%), 5 threes, 28 Pts, 5 threes, 5 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 5 TO; Barea’s probably propelling more than a few fantasy basketball teams toward championships, but with Luke Ridnour set to return this weekend, the ride might hit an untimely speed bump (continue reading…)

Good Guy Greg: Plays for the Pistons, still offers solid fantasy value. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Depth chart:
PG: Rodney Stuckey**, Brandon Knight, Will Bynum
SG: Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Tracy McGrady*, Terrico White
SF: Austin Daye, Tayshaun Prince*, Kyle Singler
PF: Charlie Villanueva, Chris Wilcox*, Jonas Jerebko**, Jason Maxiell, DaJuan Summers*
C: Greg Monroe, Ben Wallace, Vernon Macklin

* unrestricted free agent
** restricted free agent (continue reading…)

Rubio's assists are limited to clapping for a WNBA game. The NBA lockout: Where amazing happens. (AP Photo/Andy King)

Rookies are the sirens of fantasy basketball. Sirens are, of course, the dangerously seductive sea nymphs in Greek mythology who lured sailors to their deaths on rocky shores with their singing. When assessing the potential fantasy value of NBA rookies, it’s easy to get caught up with their ceilings while ignoring the basements of potential. This, along with the fact that most rookies can be had in the bottom half of drafts, makes them seem pretty alluring.

But consider this: Last season, in a draft class that was arguably more talented than the one we’ll see next season, only about six or seven rookies (Blake Griffin included) turned out to be worth drafting in 2010-11. There were a handful of others that had fantasy value for spurts of last season, but they didn’t turn out to be worth spending a draft pick for. Let this be a cautionary tale for fantasy owners licking their chops at the thought of drafting a rookie when fantasy basketball drafts roll around again. (continue reading…)