fBasketballBlog

Everybody loves Kevin. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Beast of the Night: Kevin Love finished with 39 points, 12 boards, one assist, one steal and five three-pointers last night. He shot 68 percent (13-19) from the field, 80 percent (8-10) from the free-throw line and had five turnovers. While Love’s rebounding, assists and shooting percentages are down from last season, he’s improved his three-point making, scoring and stealing. There’s not much else to say about this top 10 stud.

Lines for Discussion:
Kevin Garnett: 5-9 FG (56%), 4-4 FT (100%), 14 Pts, 10 Reb, 2 Ast, 5 Stl, 2 Blk, 3 TO; he’s putting up top 85 numbers so far this season, which is about what owners should have expected

James Harden: 8-11 FG (73%), 3-3 FT (100%), 5 threes, 24 Pts, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 TO; though he continues to come off the bench, Harden’s minutes are up from last season, along with his field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, threes, points, rebounds and assists

Kyle Lowry: 4-13 FG (31%), 7-8 FT (88%), 1 three, 16 Pts, 10 Reb, 10 Ast, 3 Stl, 4 TO; his poor field-goal percentage and frequent turnovers have been the only knocks on his top five fantasy value so far (continue reading…)

Jack is in for big things this season. (Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: Jarrett Jack posted 27 points, five rebounds, 11 assists, a steal, two blocks and a three-pointer last night against the Jazz. He shot 65 percent (11-17) from the field, 100 percent (4-4) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. This was a nice bounce-back game after putting up mediocre lines in his previous two games. Jack remains a strong fantasy starter in most leagues, as he’ll rack up plenty of minutes and numbers for the Hornets this season.

Lines for Discussion:
Jared Dudley: 6-14 FG (43%), 1-2 FT (50%), 2 threes, 15 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 TO; he’s starting to find his way

DeMar DeRozan: 7-13 FG (54%), 5-6 FT (83%), 2 threes, 21 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 4 TO; reports of an improved three-point shot were no joke

Andray Blatche: 10-20 FG (50%), 8-10 FT (80%), 28 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 1 TO; inconsistency will plague him (continue reading…)

You got a problem with LeBron's zero three-point attempts so far this season? (Flickr/Keith Allison)

Beast of the Night: LeBron James had himself a typically big line to the tune of 35 points, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. He shot 57 percent (13-23) from the field, 100 percent (9-9) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Through three games, James is averaging 32.7 points on 59 percent shooting from the field and 87 percent shooting from the charity stripe. The odd thing is that he has yet to attempt a single three-pointer. The fact that he’s been such a stud without a three-pointer says volumes about his fantasy value. It’s early, but James looks primed to make a run at top-dog honors this season.

Lines for Discussion:
Paul George: 5-11 FG (46%), 4-4 FT (100%), 4 threes, 18 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 TO; no surprise about his solid start

Andrea Bargnani: 9-17 FG (53%), 2-5 FT (40%), 1 three, 21 Pts, 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 4 TO; lack of rebounding is wretched, but he has other places of value

Boris Diaw: 7-14 FG (50%), 2 threes, 16 Pts, 16 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 6 TO; he’s dialing it up a notch and will reward his owners this season, but this hot start won’t be maintained (continue reading…)

Thompson could see heavy minutes early in his rookie season, thanks to Curry's tender ankle. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Suspensions and injuries will play the roles of spoilers for some fantasy owners at the outset of the 2011-12 NBA season. To that end, below is a quick list of players who will start the season serving suspensions or injured, and the players who stand to benefit because of those unfortunate circumstances.

You can read the full post on DimeMag.com.

Andrew Bynum (suspended for the first five games of the season for his cheap shot on J.J. Barea): Josh McRoberts, Troy Murphy

Charlie Villanueva (suspended for the first five games of the season for a scuffle with Ryan Hollins): Jonas Jerebko, Austin Daye, Tayshaun Prince

Jarrett Jack (suspended for the first game of the season for a reckless-driving violation): n/a

Jeff Green (heart surgery, out for the season): Marquis Daniels, Sasha Pavlovic (continue reading…)

Chris Paul + Blake Griffin = alley-oop heaven

It finally happened: Chris Paul is traded away from the Hornets.

The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed in principle to a deal with the New Orleans Hornets. Here’s the breakdown:

Los Angeles Clippers get: CP3, two future second-round picks

New Orleans Hornets get: Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 first-round draft pick

Here’s a quick list of fantasy implications:

• This is good news for Paul. Sure, he was a surefire top four pick before the trade, but CP3 is going from playing point guard for a hollow Hornets squad that lost David West to passing and lobbing it to Blake Griffin, who isn’t a bad finisher at the rim. I’d still take CP3 at No. 3 or 4 overall, but this trade is good for him, mentally and for — wait for it — basketball reasons. Griffin should benefit a bit from having Paul feed him the rock, but it’s not a significant bump to his fantasy value. (continue reading…)