fBasketballBlog

The Rock says, "It doesn't matter if Harden starts or not!" (Elsa/Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: James Harden posted 30 points, four rebounds, one assist, two steals, two blocks and four three-pointers last night. He shot 67 percent (8-12) from the field, 91 percent (10-11) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. Harden has been a top 25 fantasy stud so far this season, which is extra impressive given that he’s the non-starter in that bunch.

Lines for Discussion:
Blake Griffin: 9-15 FG (60%), 10-17 FT (59%), 28 Pts, 17 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; after a five-game drought of blocks, Griffin has blocked at least one shot in each of his last four games

John Wall: 1-8 FG (13%), 2-4 FT (50%), 4 Pts, 2 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 Blk, 5 TO; Wall has shown noticeable improvement as the season has worn on and has worked himself back into top 75 shape

DeMar DeRozan: 8-16 FG (50%), 7-8 (88%), 23 Pts, 3 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl; DeRozan is on a hot streak, averaging 23.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steal and 0.7 threes in his last three games (continue reading…)

It's been a fun, wild ride, but Lin's fantasy prospects have a tough road ahead. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Buy Low:
Derrick Rose

Chris Bosh

Kevin Martin

Brandon Jennings

Mo Williams

Carmelo Anthony, Danilo Gallinari, Kyrie Irving and any other productive fantasy players who are injured should be considered buy-low candidates. (continue reading…)

Howard got the best of James (and everyone else) last night. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: Dwight Howard posted 25 points, 24 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks last night, his sixth 20/20 game of the season. He shot 64 percent (9-14) from the field, 70 percent (7-10) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. Howard’s averaging 25.4 points, 16.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.8 blocks in his five games so far this month.

Lines for Discussion:
Ryan Anderson: 8-19 FG (42%), 6-9 FT (67%), 5 threes, 27 Pts, 11 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 TO; he still leads the NBA with 3.0 three-pointers made per game

Carlos Delfino: 7-12 FG (58%), 5-6 FT (83%), 6 threes, 25 Pts, 9 Reb, 2 Ast, 4 Stl, 3 TO; this was easily his best game of the season, so maybe coach Scott Skiles will be inclined to give him more minutes going forward

DeMar DeRozan: 9-18 FG (50%), 3-3 FT (100%), 4 threes, 25 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; to put things into perspective, DeRozan connected on only three three-pointers in the 20 games before last night (continue reading…)

The one in the front might look awesome in this photo, but he should be sold high; the one in the back should be bought low. (AP Photo/Bahram Mark Sobhani)

We’re going back to the tried-and-true “Buy Low, Sell High” posts for Fridays. Cheers!

Buy Low:
Dirk Nowitzki

Paul Pierce

Serge Ibaka

DeMar DeRozan

Carlos Delfino

Zach Randolph, Marcus Thornton, Jason Kidd and any other productive fantasy players who are injured should be considered buy-low candidates. (continue reading…)

All this fantasy value without a single three-pointer made. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Beast of the Night: LeBron James was big again last night, finishing 33 points, eight rebounds, 13 assists and two steals. He shot 57 percent (12-21) from the floor, 82 percent (9-11) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. The man has yet to make a three-pointer and has only attempted one this season, but that has done nothing to drag down his fantasy value. King James remains far and away the best fantasy basketball player in the land.

Lines for Discussion:
Ryan Anderson: 7-16 FG (44%), 6-6 FT (100%), 3 threes, 23 Pts, 15 Reb; he’s averaging 19.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.6 threes per game, while shooting 48 percent from the field and 94 percent from the free-throw line — top five numbers

DeMar DeRozan: 9-18 FG (50%), 2-2 FT (100%), 5 threes, 25 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 TO; the three-point shooting is key to his otherwise yawn-worthy fantasy value

Boris Diaw: 12-15 FG (80%), 3 threes, 27 Pts, 3 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl, 5 TO; he remains a must-start player (continue reading…)