fBasketballBlog

The smirk of a man who knows he hasn't yet reached his ceiling. (Flickr/adifansnet)

Depth chart:
PG: Derrick Rose, C.J. Watson, Jannero Pargo, John Lucas
SG: Keith Bogans, Ronnie Brewer
SF: Luol Deng, Kyle Korver, Jimmy Butler, Rasual Butler*^
PF: Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, Brian Scalabrine*
C: Joakim Noah, Omer Asik, Kurt Thomas*

* unrestricted free agent
^ locked into overseas contract with no opt-out clause (continue reading…)

Gasol has turned in one helluva season. (Harry How/Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: Pau Gasol put up 17 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and a block last night. He shot 58 percent (7-12) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line and had no turnovers. Gasol averaged top-five numbers throughout the season, despite many of his statistics dropping a bit from their marks in 2009-10. He should have a few more years of elite fantasy basketball in him.

Lines for Discussion:
Luol Deng: 9-16 FG (56%), 3-4 FT (75%), 2 threes, 23 Pts, 10 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 TO

Lamar Odom: 9-18 FG (50%), 4-5 FT (80%), 1 three, 23 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 TO (continue reading…)

That pose should say it all. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

[Read the full post at DimeMag.com]

Buy Low:
Joakim Noah

Luol Deng

Roy Hibbert

Raymond Felton

David West (continue reading…)

Get out of his way. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

[Read the full post at DimeMag.com]

Beast of the Night: LeBron James showed Chicago the talents he took elsewhere by posting 29 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block.  He shot 57 percent (12-21) from the field, 83 percent (5-6) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Despite what the real-life MVP race (and Chris Bosh) says, James was the best fantasy player for at least one night.

Lines for Discussion:
Luol Deng: 7-12 FG (58%), 5-5 FT (100%), 1 three, 20 Pts, 10 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO

Derrick Rose: 9-24 FG (38%), 7-8 FT (88%), 1 three, 26 Pts, 5 Reb, 6 Ast, 4 TO (continue reading…)

Love has been a beast this season, but his weak playoff schedule kind of makes him a scumbag.

[Read the full post at DimeMag.com]

Fantasy playoffs are right around the corner, with most playoff matchups beginning in Week 21 (3/14) or Week 22 (3/21). This means most fantasy owners who are still in contention for a playoff spot in their leagues should start pondering whether or not they want to swing some deals to bulk up their teams’ schedules during that all-important stretch of the season. In essence, fantasy owners should see this as another way of buying low (on players whose teams have favorable fantasy playoff schedules) and selling high (on players whose teams have weak fantasy playoff schedules).

Below is a quick rundown of how many games each team plays in Weeks 21-25 (Week 25 might be combined with Week 24 in leagues that play to the very end of the NBA regular season). (continue reading…)