fBasketballBlog

Being a sell-high guy must be contagious. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Buy Low:
Wesley Matthews

Dirk Nowitzki

Josh Smith

Kyle Lowry

Channing Frye

Brook Lopez, Manu Ginobili, Luol Deng and any other productive fantasy players who are injured should be considered buy-low candidates. (continue reading…)

JJ is finally deciding to play at a level closer to what his contract would seem to demand. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: Joe Johnson posted 27 points, five rebounds, six assists, two steals, three blocks and three three-pointers last night. He shot 45 percent (9-20) from the field, 86 percent (6-7) from the free-throw line and turned the ball over once. Johnson has really turned things up a notch lately and is putting up top 40 numbers so far this season, a notable improvement from last year’s disappointing averages. There’s not much reason to think he can’t keep this up.

Lines for Discussion:
Mike Conley: 9-13 FG (69%), 1-1 FT (100%), 1 three, 20 Pts, 7 Reb, 8 Ast, 4 Stl, 5 TO; he’s shooting 92 percent from the charity stripe and is stealing 2.5 balls per game, which helps his top 30 value so far in 2011-12

Ryan Anderson: 11-19 FG (58%), 1-1 FT (100%), 7 threes, 30 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 TO; he leads the league with 3.6 threes made per game and maintains top 10 value

Kemba Walker: 6-21 FG (29%), 1-2 FT (50%), 1 three, 14 Pts, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, 4 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; the Bobcats need all the scoring help they can get, so Walker should continue to have the green light to launch shots (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…)

What else can J-Smoove do to convince you that he's back? (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Weekend Wonder: Josh Smith averaged 24.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.5 steals, 4.0 blocks and 0.5 threes in two games over the weekend. In that stretch, he shot 63 percent from the field, 60 percent from the free-throw line and turned the ball over twice a game. After a slow start to the season, J-Smoove has really found his groove lately. In his last four games, Smith is averaging 20.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.3 steals and 2.8 blocks.

Lines for Discussion:
Ray Allen (1/6): 7-11 FG (64%), 5-6 FT (83%), 4 threes, 23 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 TO; Mr. Shuttlesworth is averaging 20.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 3.7 threes per game, while shooting 58 percent from the field and 86 percent from the charity stripe

D.J. Augustin (1/6): 8-16 FG (50%), 3-4 FT (75%), 2 threes, 21 Pts, 2 Reb, 12 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; his poor shooting from the field holds him back from being a truly elite fantasy player

Chris Kaman (1/6): 3-9 FT (33%), 6 Pts, 12 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 4 TO; he has started the past two games at PF (continue reading…)

That anonymous hand on the right represents the hand of all Lowry's owners this season. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Beast of the Night: Kyle Lowry lit up the Lakers for 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and four three-pointers. He shot 42 percent (8-19) from the field, 100 percent from the free-throw line (2-2) and turned the ball over twice. Believe it or not, Lowry is putting up top three overall averages so far this NBA season.

Lines for Discussion:
D.J. Augustin: 10-18 FG (56%), 2-2 FT (100%), 4 threes, 26 Pts, 4 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; so far, he’s putting up better numbers than he did last season

Boris Diaw: 0-5 FG (0%), 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk; scorching start was unsustainable, but he’ll get back on track

Kyrie Irving: 8-10 FG (80%), 2-2 FT (100%), 2 threes, 20 Pts, 3 Reb, 6 Ast, 2 Blk; he’s averaging 14.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.8 steals, a block and 1.2 threes through the first five games of his NBA career (continue reading…)