fBasketballBlog

Love strikes again. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: Kevin Love posted 28 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal, four blocks and four three-pointers in a losing effort against the Grizzlies. He shot 46 percent (10-22) from the floor and 100 percent (4-4) from the free-throw line, and had two turnovers. Love has racked up eight blocks in his last three games, which is completely out of character. If he can somehow lift his blocks per game next season, he’ll make a run for top three status.

Lines for Discussion:
Kyrie Irving: 4-13 FG (31%), 1-2 FT (50%), 3 threes, 12 Pts, 4 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 5 TO; in his last three games, Irving is shooting 39 percent from the floor, well below his season average of 47 percent

Jeff Teague: 6-8 FG (75%), 2-2 FT (100%), 1 three, 15 Pts, 1 Reb, 7 Ast, 1 Stl, 7 TO; Teague has been a top 70 fantasy asset this season, which is in line with expectations, though it’s clear his value has a ceiling

Monta Ellis: 15-24 FG (63%), 3-4 FT (75%), 33 Pts, 4 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; this could be the start of Ellis finding his comfort zone on that Bucks squad (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…)

Howard was magical last night. (Stop hating on the corny caption. It's Friday, my brain is fried and who knows how much longer we'll have to use "magic" jokes with D-Ho?) (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Beast of the Night: Dwight Howard finished with 29 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks against the Bulls last night. He shot 58 percent (11-19) from the field and 70 percent (7-10) from the charity stripe, and had four turnovers. If you take free-throw percentage out of the equation, Howard is the No. 2 fantasy basketball player this NBA season.

Lines for Discussion:
Joakim Noah: 3-7 FG (43%), 3-4 FT (75%), 9 Pts, 10 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 Blk; in his last nine games, Noah has averaged 10.9 points, 13.2 ‘bounds, 3.6 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.2 blocks, while shooting 53 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free-throw line

Hedo Turkoglu: 3-10 FG (30%), 5-5 FT (100%), 2 threes, 13 Pts, 6 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; in his last three games, Turkoglu has hit just five of his 26 attempts from the floor (19 percent accuracy)

Jared Dudley: 7-12 FG (58%), 2-4 FT (50%), 2 threes, 18 Pts, 8 Reb, 3 Blk, 1 TO; in his last six games, Dudley has averaged 16.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.8 blocks and 1.2 threes (continue reading…)

All hail the king of fantasy basketball. (AP photo/George Frey)

Weekend Wonder: LeBron James averaged 30.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 2.5 blocks and 0.5 threes in two huge games over the weekend. He shot 56 percent from the field, 50 percent from the free-throw line and averaged 1.5 turnovers in that stretch. It’s good to be king.

Lines for Discussion:
Jared Dudley (3/2): 7-14 FG (50%), 5-6 FT (83%), 3 threes, 22 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk; in his last four games, Dudley is averaging a healthy 16.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.5 blocks and 1.0 three, while shooting 54 percent from the field

Jordan Crawford (3/3): 13-22 FG (59%), 0-1 FT (0%), 5 threes, 31 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 TO; Crawford has been a top 25 stud since Valentine’s Day, but it should be noted that Nick Young sat this game out with a bruised knee

Jarrett Jack (3/3): 6-11 FG (55%), 5-6 FT (83%), 1 three, 18 Pts, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Blk, 3 TO; Jack is back in the starting lineup for the Hornets, but his knee remains a concern (continue reading…)

KD was No. 1 this past weekend. (AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson)

Weekend Wonder: Kevin Durant averaged 37.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 4.0 threes in his two games over the weekend. He shot 67 percent from the floor, 83 percent from the free-throw line and turned the ball over a total of 10 games in this stretch. Durant scored a career-high 51 points Sunday night. For the season, Durant is second only to LeBron James on the fantasy basketball totem pole.

Lines for Discussion:
Rodney Stuckey (2/17): 12-20 FG (60%), 11-12 FT (92%), 1 three, 36 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Stuckey has been scoring in bunches and has shot well from the field and the free-throw line (84 percent on 7.7 attempts this month) lately

Chris Kaman (2/17): 3-12 FG (25%), 6-6- FT (100%), 12 Pts, 8 Reb, 6 Ast, 2 TO; Kaman’s been solid lately, but his owners should definitely be looking to sell him off sooner than later

Marc Gasol (2/17): 5-11 FG (46%), 6-7 FT (86%), 16 Pts, 14 Reb, 8 Ast, 3 Blk, 7 TO; he continues to be a top 12 stud, but his owners have to wonder what the return of Zach Randolph in early March could mean for the Spaniard’s value (continue reading…)