fBasketballBlog

Jennings has been proving this doubter wrong. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Beast of the Night: Brandon Jennings finished with 31 points, four rebounds, eight assists, four steals and seven three-pointers last night. He shot 36 percent (9-25) from the floor, 75 percent (6-8) from the free-throw line and had zero turnovers. Since Jan. 17, Jennings is averaging 24.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.9 steals and 3.6 threes per game, while shooting 45 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free-throw line. For the season, he’s putting up top 10 averages.

Lines for Discussion:
Hedo Turkoglu: 5-16 FG (31%), 4-6 FT (67%), 2 threes, 16 Pts, 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; Turkoglu’s hot start to the season is a faint memory, but he’s still a decent bet for all-around production on a week-to-week basis

Channing Frye: 5-9 FG (56%), 5-5 FT (100%), 1 three, 16 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 Blk; this was the first time Frye has cracked double-digit points since Jan. 13, which basically sums up his season

Darren Collison: 7-12 FG (58%), 5-5 FT (100%), 1 three, 20 Pts, 6 Reb, 9 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; it’s probably no coincidence that this line came with George Hill out of the lineup (continue reading…)

Nope, ain't no one taking this man's "Beast" honors. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Beast of the Night: Derrick Rose put up 31 points, three boards, 11 assists, a steal, two blocks and four three-pointers last night against the Timberwolves. He shot 55 percent (12-22) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. For the season, Rose is scoring less than he did in 2010-11, but he’s dishing out 8.6 assists per outing, an improvement of nearly a full assist per game. Rose has put up top 15 averages so far, a bit disappointing given his first-round expectations heading into the season.

Lines for Discussion:
John Wall: 3-12 FG (25%), 2-3 FT (67%), 8 Pts, 2 Reb, 9 Ast, 3 Blk, 2 TO; Wall has been straight-up terrible this season

Elton Brand: 10-14 FG (71%), 1-4 FT (25%), 21 Pts, 10 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 Blk; most of his numbers are down from last season, but he’s still a top 75 player

Russell Westbrook: 12-20 FG (60%), 6-10 FT (60%), 30 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO; he’s averaging 20.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, a steal and 0.5 threes in January, while shooting 48 percent from the field and turning the ball over 2.5 times per game (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…)

Lawson is a fantasy beast, through and through. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

Beast of the Night: Ty Lawson finished with 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, eight steals and two three-pointers last night in a loss to the Trail Blazers. He shot 63 percent (10-16) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Lawson is off to a very solid start in his first three games of the season. Though he’s not dishing out many assists (3.0 per game), he’s shooting like a center (62 percent from the field), hitting threes (1.7 per game) and thieving like Winona Ryder (4.0 per game). There’s little standing in his way to giving his owners top 30 value this season.

Lines for Discussion:
Deron Williams: 2-12 FG (17%), 6-8 FT (75%), 10 Pts, 4 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 6 TO; flawed lines could be the norm for D-Will this season

Dwight Howard: 7-9 FG (78%), 2-9 FT (22%), 16 Pts, 24 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 Blk, 3 TO; I don’t think he wants to play in Jersey anymore

DeJuan Blair: 8-17 FG (47%), 6-8 FT (75%), 22 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast; some steals and blocks (zero total so far this season) would be nice (continue reading…)

You got a problem with LeBron's zero three-point attempts so far this season? (Flickr/Keith Allison)

Beast of the Night: LeBron James had himself a typically big line to the tune of 35 points, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. He shot 57 percent (13-23) from the field, 100 percent (9-9) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Through three games, James is averaging 32.7 points on 59 percent shooting from the field and 87 percent shooting from the charity stripe. The odd thing is that he has yet to attempt a single three-pointer. The fact that he’s been such a stud without a three-pointer says volumes about his fantasy value. It’s early, but James looks primed to make a run at top-dog honors this season.

Lines for Discussion:
Paul George: 5-11 FG (46%), 4-4 FT (100%), 4 threes, 18 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 TO; no surprise about his solid start

Andrea Bargnani: 9-17 FG (53%), 2-5 FT (40%), 1 three, 21 Pts, 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 4 TO; lack of rebounding is wretched, but he has other places of value

Boris Diaw: 7-14 FG (50%), 2 threes, 16 Pts, 16 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 6 TO; he’s dialing it up a notch and will reward his owners this season, but this hot start won’t be maintained (continue reading…)