fBasketballBlog

It’s Josh Smith’s time to shine for Atlanta this season, so long as he can keep himself from jacking up terrible shots. (Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)

Depth chart:

Relevant fantasy players and their projected draft round (PDR) and per-game stats:

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Timmy (and his fantasy owners) are excited. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Beast of the Night: Tim Duncan finished with 19 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, two steals and five blocks. He shot 64 percent (9-14) from the floor, 100 percent (1-1) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. Truth be told, Duncan’s having himself a fine season so far, giving his owners about the value that was expected of him heading into the season. Nevertheless, whenever Duncan has a strong string of games, he’s a good sell-high candidate.

Lines for Discussion:
Andrew Bynum: 8-13 FG (62%), 4-6 FT (67%), 20 Pts, 20 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Blk, 5 TO; he’s a top 40 stud and will remain that so long as he’s healthy

Lou Williams: 7-12 FG (58%), 7-8 FT (88%), 3 threes, 24 Pts, 2 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; though his low field-goal percentage is a downer, Williams has been a mostly reliable fantasy player this season

Dwight Howard: 15-21 FG (71%), 3-8 FT (38%), 33 Pts, 14 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 4 TO; if you exclude his 48.3 percent accuracy from the free-throw line, Howard is just as valuable a fantasy asset at LeBron James this season (continue reading…)

Rose is back in beast mode. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Weekend Wonder: Derrick Rose averaged 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 11.0 assists, 1.5 steals, a block and 1.5 threes in two games over the weekend. He shot 50 percent from the field, 95 percent from the free-throw line and turned the ball over three times per game. These averages include his somewhat mediocre line from Sunday in a 40-point blowout victory over the Grizzlies. After a rocky start, Rose is calming the nerves of his insecure owners.

Lines for Discussion:
Ricky Rubio (12/30): 4-7 FG (57%), 2-3 FT (67%), 2 threes, 12 Pts, 6 Reb, 12 Ast, 1 Stl, 5 TO; he’s worth starting for now

Carlos Delfino (12/30): 6-11 FG (55%), 3 threes, 15 Pts, 6 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl; he’s finally back and will be a solid source of threes

Spencer Hawes (12/30): 7-9 FG (78%), 1-1 FT (100%), 15 Pts, 13 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 Blk, 3 TO; I’m almost a believer (continue reading…)

Maybe this will even the field. (Marc Serota/Getty Images)

[Read the full post at DimeMag.com]

Beast of the Night: LeBron James finished with 41 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, three steals, one block and two three-pointers made.  He shot 65 percent (15-23) from the field, 69 percent (9-13) from the line and had four turnovers. This was a nice “bounce-back” game after having two relatively quiet games after his 51/11/8 game on Feb. 3. James has been a top-five fantasy player during the past month.

Lines for Discussion:
Lou Williams: 8-13 FG (62%), 3-4 FT (75%), 1 three, 20 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 1 TO

Baron Davis: 8-16 FG (50%), 5-5 FT (100%), 4 threes, 25 Pts, 8 Reb, 8 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 TO (continue reading…)

Meeks should be owned in your league by now. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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

Waiver-wire watch:

• DeJuan Blair: trending upward, double-dipped in two straight games
• Omri Casspi: flavor of the week in Sacramento, hot now but will cool off soon
• Matt Bonner: worth owning in deep leagues if you desperately need threes
• Luke Ridnour: he’s playing well and though he’ll be in a timeshare soon, he’s still worth a look
• Nick Young: if you like streaks, give Young a look
• Nazr Mohammed: decent source of blocks and boards in deep leagues (continue reading…)