fBasketballBlog

Ellis was a professional thief last night. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Beast of the Night: Monta Ellis put up 30 points, one rebound, five assists, six steals and a block, and hit two three-pointers last night against the Nets. He shot 55 percent (11-20) from the field, 86 percent (6-7) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. Ellis is having a solid season for the most part, especially if your league doesn’t count field-goal percentage (41 percent) and turnovers (3.9 per game). Even when Stephen Curry returns, Ellis’ value should remain intact.

Lines for Discussion:
Dwight Howard: 9-15 FG (60%), 6-10 FT (60%), 24 Pts, 25 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 Blk, 2 TO; his fantasy value is improved from last season, mostly thanks to more assists (2.4 per game versus 1.4 last season) and fewer turnovers (3.3 per game versus 3.6 last season)

Andre Miller: 12-20 FG (60%), 1-2 FT (50%), 3 threes, 28 Pts, 8 Reb, 10 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 TO; he’s averaging 10.5 points, 3.5 ‘bounds, 6.4 dimes, 1.3 thefts and 0.5 treys

Serge Ibaka: 3-5 FG (60%), 6 Pts, 10 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 3 TO;this was Ibaka’s first time grabbing double-digit rebounds this season (continue reading…)

Howard and his fantasy owners were all smiles last night. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Beast of the Night: Dwight Howard was truly a beast last night, posting 45 points, 23 rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks against the Warriors. He shot 57 percent (12-21) from the field, 54 percent (21-39 – the 39 attempts broke Wilt Chamberlain’s 50-year-old record of 34) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. Not much needs to be said here. Howard’s averages this season nearly match his output from 2010-11, except that he’s dishing out more assists (2.3 vs. 1.4) and turning the ball over less (3.1 vs. 3.6). The Magic only had two games this week, which means owners who unwisely benched the guy in weekly update leagues are kicking themselves this morning.

Lines for Discussion:
Josh Smith: 14-22 FG (64%), 2-6 FT (33%), 30 Pts, 13 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; since Jan. 3, Smith has been posting top 10 averages

Joe Johnson: 7-18 FG (39%), 7-8 FT (88%), 2 threes, 23 Pts, 7 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; his appeal remains limited, mostly due to his inconsistent shooting from the field

Rudy Gay: 11-16 FG (69%), 3-4 FT (75%), 1 three, 26 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; his lackluster shooting from the free-throw line (65 percent) and his lack of threes (0.5 per game) are weighing his fantasy value down (continue reading…)

Lawson is a fantasy beast, through and through. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

Beast of the Night: Ty Lawson finished with 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, eight steals and two three-pointers last night in a loss to the Trail Blazers. He shot 63 percent (10-16) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Lawson is off to a very solid start in his first three games of the season. Though he’s not dishing out many assists (3.0 per game), he’s shooting like a center (62 percent from the field), hitting threes (1.7 per game) and thieving like Winona Ryder (4.0 per game). There’s little standing in his way to giving his owners top 30 value this season.

Lines for Discussion:
Deron Williams: 2-12 FG (17%), 6-8 FT (75%), 10 Pts, 4 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 6 TO; flawed lines could be the norm for D-Will this season

Dwight Howard: 7-9 FG (78%), 2-9 FT (22%), 16 Pts, 24 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 Blk, 3 TO; I don’t think he wants to play in Jersey anymore

DeJuan Blair: 8-17 FG (47%), 6-8 FT (75%), 22 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast; some steals and blocks (zero total so far this season) would be nice (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…)

On top of doing more impersonations of The Logo, Redick has a real shot at making an impression on fantasy owners next season. (J. Meric/Getty Images)

Depth chart:
PG: Jameer Nelson, Gilbert Arenas, Chris Duhon
SG: Jason Richardson*, J.J. Redick, DeAndre Liggins
SF: Hedo Turkoglu, Quentin Richardson
PF: Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, Earl Clark*, Justin Harper, Malik Allen*
C: Dwight Howard, Daniel Orton

* unrestricted free agent (continue reading…)