fBasketballBlog

Westbrook was No. 1 for the night. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Beast of the Night: Russell Westbrook finished the 2011-12 NBA season with a bang, producing a pretty line of 30 points, six rebounds, nine assists, three steals, four blocks and a three-pointer. He shot 50 percent (10-20) from the field and 90 percent (9-10) from the free-throw line, and had two turnovers. Westbrook is finishing the season with top 20 value, which falls short of expectations. The most noticeable stat is his 5.5 assists per game this season, well below the 8.2 assists he dished out per game last season.

Lines for Discussion:
J.J. Redick: 9-19 FG (47%), 7-7 FT (100%), 6 threes, 31 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; Redick has averaged 14.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.7 steals and 2.4 threes in 22 games as a starter this season, with one game to go tonight

John Wall: 7-16 FG (44%), 7-8 FT (88%), 21 Pts, 7 Reb, 13 Ast, 7 Stl, 6 TO; he’s finishing the season with top 90 value, but that won’t stop owners from drafting him in the third or fourth round of next season’s drafts — he’d be a much more sensible pick in rounds five or six in nine-category leagues

Caron Butler: 3-8 FG (38%), 3 threes, 9 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 TO; Butler should be seen as a three-point specialist going forward (continue reading…)

Illyasova. (See what I did there?) (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Pawel Dwulit)

Weekend Wonder: Ersan Ilyasova makes his debut here after averaging 28.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.5 threes in two games over the weekend. In that stretch, he shot 69 percent from the field, 92 percent from the free-throw line and averaged turned the ball over just once. In his last 13 games, Ilyasova has averaged top five numbers, making him a serious contender for pickup of the year.

Lines for Discussion:
Nikola Pekovic (3/9): 8-14 FG (57%), 9-10 FT (90%), 25 Pts, 13 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl; Pekovic followed this up with a 21/11 line the next night, indicating a return to form

Andrea Bargnani (3/10): 2-8 FG (25%), 4-4 FT (100%), 8 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; he put up 11/8/2 on Sunday, and will require some time to work some rust off

Jared Dudley (3/10): 9-16 FG (56%), 1 three, 19 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 4 TO; so far in March, Dudley is averaging 17.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.0 block and 1.3 threes per game, while shooting 53 percent from the field and 63 percent from the free-throw line (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…)

Yep, you should've sold high on Manu. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Game watch:
2 games: ATL, CHA, CHI, DAL, DEN, DET, GS, HOU, IND, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIL, MIN, NJ, NO, PHI, PHO, POR, SAC, SA, UTA
1 game: BOS, CLE, MEM, NY, OKC, ORL, TOR, WAS

Waiver-wire watch:

• Rudy Fernandez: averaging 19.3 points, three three-pointers made, two rebounds, 3.3 assists and two steals in his last four games
• Chuck Hayes: he should really be owned in more leagues by now; good source of rebounds, steals and field-goal percentage
• Tony Allen: good for steals in deeper leagues
• Sasha Vujacic: averaging 16.7 points, 2.7 threes, 2.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals in his last three games (continue reading…)

Arenas is blowing up lately and making many owners regret passing on him in their drafts. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Game watch:
4 games: BOS, CLE, DAL, DET, HOU, MEM, MIA, NJ, NO, OKC, ORL, POR, SA, WAS
3 games: ATL, CHA, CHI, DEN, GS, IND, LAC, LAL, MIL, MIN, NY, PHI, PHO, SAC, TOR, UTA

Waiver-wire watch:

• Matt Barnes: decent source of threes and some other stats in deeper leagues
• Landry Fields: ownership has dropped off a bit, but still worth consideration
• J.J. Redick: he’s worth a look if Vince Carter continues to sit (continue reading…)