fBasketballBlog

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…)

Don't worry: KD is in full control of his fantasy value. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

Beast of the Night: Kevin Durant finished his big night with 29 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal, four blocks and three three-pointers. He shot 65 percent (11-17) from the field, 67 percent (4-6) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. This was his third consecutive double-double. After a “slow” start, Durant is back on track, notching more rebounds, assist and blocks than he did last season, while shooting an improved 49 percent (up from 46 percent last season) from the floor.

Lines for Discussion:
Danny Granger: 9-16 FG (56%), 3-3 FT (100%), 3 threes, 24 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 TO; his points, rebounds, assists, three-pointers made, field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage are all down from their marks last season

DeMarcus Cousins: 6-11 FG (55%), 9-11 FT (82%), 21 Pts, 19 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 5 TO; his assists-to-turnovers ratio (0.6:3.3) is laughable, but he’s averaging 15.5 points, 11.0 boards, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks, good for top 60 value

Tyreke Evans: 7-22 FG (32%), 14-14 FT (100%), 1 three, 29 Pts, 7 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO; weak FG%, 3PTM and fewer assists per game than last season hamper his fantasy appeal (continue reading…)

That about sums up Diaw's monstrous start to the 2011-12 NBA season. (Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)

This will be a new weekly series of posts that differs from the “Buy Low, Sell High” posts from last season. The “buy, sell, hold” ratings should be approximately interpreted as follows:

• Buy: the player is a solid trade target because his value is underappreciated yet reliable, or because he’s in a slump
• Hold: if you own the player, try to hold onto him, either because he’ll maintain solid value or to see how his value stabilizes before dealing him away; if you don’t own the player, wait until his stock drops a bit or until his uncertain value is clearer before trying to get him in a trade
• Sell: don’t believe the player’s recent production and sell high if you own him

With that, here’s the stock watch for Week 1: (continue reading…)

J. Shuttlesworth made it rain Tuesday night. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

Beast of the Night: Ray Allen was in beast mode last night, finishing with 28 points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals and six threes. He shot 67 percent (8-12) from the floor, 100 percent (6-6) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. The dude stayed in good shape during the extended offseason and it’s shown in the first two games of the season. Through two games, Allen is averaging 39 minutes per outing, which isn’t sustainable. Expect his minutes (and production) to be capped soon.

Lines for Discussion:
Kevin Love: 6-18 FG (33%), 19-24 FT (79%), 31 Pts, 20 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 TO; imperfect, but the 31/20 is monstrous

Gerald Wallace: 8-11 FG (73%), 8-9 FT (89%), 1 three, 25 Pts, 8 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 Blk, 1 TO; Crash is off to a strong start and will be a stud this season

Paul Millsap: 7-15 FG (47%), 4-6 FT (67%), 18 Pts, 8 Reb, 1 Blk, 1 TO; came off the bench, but no need to panic yet (continue reading…)

You're not one of those people who still drafts Kobe in the first round, are you? (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

It’s time to get grinchy, which is a good thing.

We need some salt to cut through all the sweetness of discussions about sleepers, up-and-comers and late-round steals. So, to that end, below is a quick list of the five NBA players most likely to fall short of meeting their expected values heading into this season, the inherent value of their name or whatever residual impressions of value they’ve carried over from last season in some owners’ minds.

You can read the full article about the top five underperformers over at DimeMag.com. Below is just a list of the names with brief explanations — along with five bonus names, just for this blog’s readers.

See, even the Grinch values its audience. (continue reading…)