fBasketballBlog

CP3 doing his thing. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: Chris Paul posted 26 points, 14 assists, two steals and two three-pointers last night. He shot 75 percent (12-16) from the field and had two turnovers. His hamstring injury was a bummer earlier this month, but CP3 is back to business as usual. His averages are second best to LeBron James this season.

Lines for Discussion:
Joakim Noah: 5-6 FG (83%), 4-4 FT (100%), 14 Pts, 13 Reb, 7 Ast, 3 TO; that’s five consecutive double-doubles for Noah, who’s also dishing out 4.6 assists per game in that stretch

Ryan Anderson: 6-13 FG (46%), 2-4 FT (50%), 14 Pts, 20 Reb, 1 TO; he’s maintaining first-round value so far this season

Michael Beasley: 10-14 FG (71%), 12-12 FT (100%), 2 threes, 34 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; sell high — he’s not the type of guy you take home for the rest of the season, if you catch my drift (continue reading…)

Don't worry: KD is in full control of his fantasy value. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

Beast of the Night: Kevin Durant finished his big night with 29 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal, four blocks and three three-pointers. He shot 65 percent (11-17) from the field, 67 percent (4-6) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. This was his third consecutive double-double. After a “slow” start, Durant is back on track, notching more rebounds, assist and blocks than he did last season, while shooting an improved 49 percent (up from 46 percent last season) from the floor.

Lines for Discussion:
Danny Granger: 9-16 FG (56%), 3-3 FT (100%), 3 threes, 24 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 TO; his points, rebounds, assists, three-pointers made, field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage are all down from their marks last season

DeMarcus Cousins: 6-11 FG (55%), 9-11 FT (82%), 21 Pts, 19 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 5 TO; his assists-to-turnovers ratio (0.6:3.3) is laughable, but he’s averaging 15.5 points, 11.0 boards, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks, good for top 60 value

Tyreke Evans: 7-22 FG (32%), 14-14 FT (100%), 1 three, 29 Pts, 7 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO; weak FG%, 3PTM and fewer assists per game than last season hamper his fantasy appeal (continue reading…)

Yep, this will be fun. (Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images)

The 2011-12 NBA season is finally within reach, ready to be ripped open by the childishly eager fingers of ravenous fans. For fantasy basketball owners, the joy comes with a bit of business. Once they cut through the excitement of seeing the first tip-off of the season, they’ll immediately wonder how their draft picks will pay off, what clues they can pick up in the early going and which players sitting in the free-agent pool might be worth a pickup.

While making heavy-handed conclusions after just the first day of games isn’t recommended, it doesn’t hurt to have a list of things to watch and hope for during the first official day of this unique NBA season. Below is a Christmas Day wish list for fantasy basketball owners who have players participating in the first day’s games. (continue reading…)

Chris Paul + Blake Griffin = alley-oop heaven

It finally happened: Chris Paul is traded away from the Hornets.

The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed in principle to a deal with the New Orleans Hornets. Here’s the breakdown:

Los Angeles Clippers get: CP3, two future second-round picks

New Orleans Hornets get: Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 first-round draft pick

Here’s a quick list of fantasy implications:

• This is good news for Paul. Sure, he was a surefire top four pick before the trade, but CP3 is going from playing point guard for a hollow Hornets squad that lost David West to passing and lobbing it to Blake Griffin, who isn’t a bad finisher at the rim. I’d still take CP3 at No. 3 or 4 overall, but this trade is good for him, mentally and for — wait for it — basketball reasons. Griffin should benefit a bit from having Paul feed him the rock, but it’s not a significant bump to his fantasy value. (continue reading…)

The Hornets' list of free agents is this long. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone)

Depth chart:
PG: Chris Paul, Jarrett Jack, Marcus Banks*
SG: Marco Belinelli**, Willie Green*
SF: Trevor Ariza, Quincy Pondexter, Patrick Ewing Jr.
PF: David West*, Carl Landry*, Jason Smith*, David Andersen
C: Emeka Okafor, Aaron Gray*, DJ Mbenga*

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