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Ellis was one smooth operater last night. (Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: Monta Ellis finished his big night with 35 points, six rebounds, 10 assists, four steals and three three-pointers. He shot 56 percent (14-25) from the floor and 80 percent (4-5) from the free-throw line, and had five turnovers. This was a nice bounce-back game from his 9/1/7 clunker on Monday. Ellis’ fantasy value has dropped since he arrived in Milwaukee, but he’s still a solid source of points, assists and steals.

Lines for Discussion:
David West: 6-9 FG (67%), 7-8 FT (88%), 19 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 3 TO; he’s been a top 100 player this season, which is fine except for the fact that he was drafted in the fifth round of most drafts

Gordon Hayward: 9-14 FG (64%), 7-7 FT (100%), 4 threes, 29 Pts, 2 Reb, 6 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; since re-entering the starting lineup for the Jazz, Hayward has put up top 30 numbers

Andrew Bynum: 7-20 FG (35%), 2-4 FT (50%), 16 Pts, 30 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk; Bynum continues to steamroll the competition and is making us all wonder how high his ceiling would be without Kobe Bryant around (continue reading…)

Both of these guys were great last night, but Bynum was the beast. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: Andrew Bynum finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and three blocks last night. He shot 72 percent (13-18) from the field, 80 percent (4-5) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. Bynum is currently on a 10-game streak of double-doubles and has produced top 20 averages this season, making him one of the bigger exceeder of fantasy expectations in the 2011-12 NBA season.

Lines for Discussion:
David West: 10-13 FG (77%), 4-5 FT (80%), 24 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; the points were a season high for West, who has rounded into form after a slow start to the 2011-12 NBA season

Corey Maggette: 9-17 FG (53%), 10-11 FT (91%), 1 three, 29 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 TO; Maggette remains a one-dimensional player who’s only somewhat valuable in points leagues

Rodney Stuckey: 13-20 FG (65%), 7-7 FT (100%), 1 three, 34 Pts, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 TO; Stuckey scores and shoots from the free-throw line well, but doesn’t do much elsewhere (continue reading…)

Love was the weekend's best player, just in time for Valentine's Day. (David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Weekend Wonder: Kevin Love came up big this past weekend, averaging 32.0 points, 16.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.5 blocks and a three in two games. He shot 49 percent from the field, 100 percent from the line and averaged 4.0 turnovers in that stretch. For the season, Love is averaging top five numbers, which is exactly where he was pegged by most fantasy owners in this season’s drafts.

Lines for Discussion:
Jeff Teague (2/10): 6-11 FG (55%), 1 three, 13 Pts, 2 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 TO; after a strong start to the season and a hot stretch in January, Teague has looked pedestrian so far in February

Jeremy Lin (2/10): 13-23 FG (57%), 10-13 FT (77%), 2 threes, 38 Pts, 4 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 6 TO; since Feb. 4, Lin has put up top 30 averages in leagues that count turnovers; in leagues that don’t count turnovers, Lin has been a top 15 stud

Dirk Nowitzki (2/10): 11-19 FG (58%), 7-10 FT (70%), 4 threes, 33 Pts, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 Blk, 1 TO; since Feb. 3, Nowitzki’s averaging top 10 numbers (continue reading…)

By now you’ve surely heard or read that the NBA lockout is all but over. This is, of course, fantastic news.

Now the question is: What does this mean for fantasy basketball this season? (Boy, does it feel good to be able to write “this season” without a cynical smirk plastered on my face and a bitter tear in my eye.) We’ll delve deeper into the fallout through the coming weeks, but here’s a quick rundown of some of the important things to keep in mind for now: (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…)