fBasketballBlog

Thornton's been an outright stud this season. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)

Beast of the Night: Marcus Thornton finished with 31 points, seven boards, six assists, three steals and three three-pointers. He shot 55 percent (12-22) from the field and 67 percent (4-6) from the free-throw line, and had one turnover. Thornton has averaged 30.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.3 threes since a string of three consecutive bad showings earlier this month. For the season, he’s putting up top 25 numbers.

Lines for Discussion:
Nick Young: 5-13 FG (38%), 2-2 FT (100%), 1 three, 13 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 TO; Young has a sure grip on that starting SG gig, so expect him to to be a decent source of points and threes, along with a poor field-goal percentage, from here on out

Roy Hibbert: 4-8 FG (50%), 5-5 FT (100%), 13 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Blk, 3 TO; Hibbert’s habit of fading as a season progresses continues

Jeremy Lin: 6-10 FG (60%), 4-4 FT (100%), 2 threes, 18 Pts, 3 Reb, 10 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; since Carmelo Anthony returned to the lineup, Lin has been a top 50 fantasy asset (continue reading…)

CP3 feasted on opponents this past weekend. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Weekend Wonder: Chris Paul averaged 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 4.5 steals, 0.5 blocks and 1.0 three in two games over the weekend. He shot 50 percent from the field and 100 percent from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over once per game in that stretch. CP3′s scoring and threes made per game are up, though his rebounding and assists are down from their marks last season. If his owners are complaining, they should really get help.

Lines for Discussion:
Zach Randolph (3/16): 9-14 FG (64%), 7-14 FT (50%), 25 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl; it’s obvious that his owners should feel free to start him right away

Marcus Thornton (3/16): 13-24 FG (54%), 5-6 FT (83%), 5 threes, 36 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 5 Stl, 1 TO; Thornton is the most valuable fantasy asset on that Kings roster, which isn’t that big of a surprise

Joe Johnson (3/16): 12-19 FG (63%), 4-4 FT (100%), 6 threes, 34 Pts, 6 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; in his six games this month, Johnson is averaging 25.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 3.3 threes, while shooting 54 percent from the floor and 93 percent from the free-throw line — top five numbers for that stretch (continue reading…)

The Rock says, "It doesn't matter if Harden starts or not!" (Elsa/Getty Images)

Beast of the Night: James Harden posted 30 points, four rebounds, one assist, two steals, two blocks and four three-pointers last night. He shot 67 percent (8-12) from the field, 91 percent (10-11) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. Harden has been a top 25 fantasy stud so far this season, which is extra impressive given that he’s the non-starter in that bunch.

Lines for Discussion:
Blake Griffin: 9-15 FG (60%), 10-17 FT (59%), 28 Pts, 17 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; after a five-game drought of blocks, Griffin has blocked at least one shot in each of his last four games

John Wall: 1-8 FG (13%), 2-4 FT (50%), 4 Pts, 2 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 Blk, 5 TO; Wall has shown noticeable improvement as the season has worn on and has worked himself back into top 75 shape

DeMar DeRozan: 8-16 FG (50%), 7-8 (88%), 23 Pts, 3 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl; DeRozan is on a hot streak, averaging 23.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steal and 0.7 threes in his last three games (continue reading…)

George threw down some mean stuff this past weekend. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Weekend Wonder: Paul George averaged 21.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 4.0 steals, 1.5 blocks and 4.5 threes in two games over the weekend. He shot 48 percent from the field and 100 percent from the line, while averaging 1.5 turnovers in that stretch. For the season, George is averaging top 25 numbers. While none of his categorical averages are phenomenal, he’s an all-around helper who doesn’t hurt his owners anywhere. He’s far exceeding the sleeper tag placed on him heading into the 2011-12 NBA season.

Lines for Discussion:
Jared Dudley (2/3): 5-10 FG (50%), 3-4 FT (75%), 2 threes, 15 Pts, 5 Reb, 3 Stl; he was on a bit of a roll in his four games before his injury

Dirk Nowitzki (2/3): 12-17 FG (71%), 5-6 FT (83%), 1 three, 30 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Ast, 4 TO; he seems to be finding his bearings again

Trevor Ariza (2/4): 9-12 FG (75%), 6-6 FT (100%), 2 threes, 26 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 4 TO; Ariza’s been maddeningly inconsistent this season, but he does have solid all-around value for owners who don’t mind his terrible FG% (continue reading…)

Johnson is down, way down. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

Buy Low:
Carmelo Anthony

Amir Johnson

Andre Iguodala

Chauncey Billups

Gerald Wallace

Dwyane Wade, Al Jefferson, Marcus Thornton and any other productive fantasy players who are injured should be considered buy-low candidates. (continue reading…)