fBasketballBlog

Curry's owners can hold their chins high this morning. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Beast of the Night: Stephen Curry finished with 32 points, six rebounds, seven assists, four steals and six three-pointers last night. He shot 63 percent (12-19) from the field, 67 percent (2-3) from the free-throw line and had just one turnover in 38 minutes of play. Curry has racked up 74 minutes of run in his last two games, which is a good sign that his ankle is fine for the time being. Barring any further setbacks, he’ll handsomely reward owners who bought low or exercised patience on him.

Lines for Discussion:
Anthony Morrow: 5-11 FG (46%), 4-4 FT (100%), 2 threes, 16 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; his owners should shop him now

Anderson Varejao: 4-8 FG (50%), 2-4 FT (50%), 10 Pts, 16 Reb, 4 Ast, 4 Stl, 2 Blk, 5 TO; Varejao is averaging 9.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks this season, making him a top 75 fantasy basketball player

Joakim Noah: 5-9 FG (56%), 10 Pts, 13 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1  Blk, 1 TO; his production has stabilized lately, and since Jan. 13, Noah has averaged 9.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game (continue reading…)

Howard and his fantasy owners were all smiles last night. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Beast of the Night: Dwight Howard was truly a beast last night, posting 45 points, 23 rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks against the Warriors. He shot 57 percent (12-21) from the field, 54 percent (21-39 – the 39 attempts broke Wilt Chamberlain’s 50-year-old record of 34) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. Not much needs to be said here. Howard’s averages this season nearly match his output from 2010-11, except that he’s dishing out more assists (2.3 vs. 1.4) and turning the ball over less (3.1 vs. 3.6). The Magic only had two games this week, which means owners who unwisely benched the guy in weekly update leagues are kicking themselves this morning.

Lines for Discussion:
Josh Smith: 14-22 FG (64%), 2-6 FT (33%), 30 Pts, 13 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; since Jan. 3, Smith has been posting top 10 averages

Joe Johnson: 7-18 FG (39%), 7-8 FT (88%), 2 threes, 23 Pts, 7 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; his appeal remains limited, mostly due to his inconsistent shooting from the field

Rudy Gay: 11-16 FG (69%), 3-4 FT (75%), 1 three, 26 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; his lackluster shooting from the free-throw line (65 percent) and his lack of threes (0.5 per game) are weighing his fantasy value down (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…)

Jennings has been active this offseason, but will it help him lift his FG% above the 40 mark? (Flickr/GAMEFACE-PHOTOS)

Depth chart:
PG: Brandon Jennings, Beno Udrih, Shaun Livingston, Keyon Dooling, Earl Boykins*
SG: Stephen Jackson, Chris Douglas-Roberts*^, Michael Redd*
SF: Carlos Delfino, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute**, Tobias Harris
PF: Drew Gooden, Ersan Ilyasova^, Jon Leuer
C: Andrew Bogut, Larry Sanders, Jon Brockman

* unrestricted free agent
** restricted free agent
^ locked into overseas contract with no opt-out clause/desire to return after the lockout (continue reading…)

This might make sense if you read this post.

Around this time last year this blog was kicking it with mock drafts and updates about the realm of fantasy basketball. This summer is different, for obvious reasons.

With the lockout in full swing and the fount of NBA news slowed to a muddy trickle by inane updates about which players are “considering” playing overseas, I’ve had more time to keep abreast of non-NBA news. One story that recently caught my eye was about Abercrombie & Fitch paying Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino not to wear its merchandise.

Before I proceed, I’ll admit that I’ve never been drunk enough mustered up enough courage to sit down and watch a single minute of a single episode of “Jersey Shore.” This means my low regard for Mr. Sorrentino is fueled by snippets I’ve seen on TV or read on the Internet, and by his awful delivery.

That said, this news story compelled me to ask myself a question: Which players would I (figuratively) pay to not be on my fantasy basketball team?

Thus, a blog post was born.

Assuming an act of God forced me to miss my next fantasy basketball draft, here are 10 players I’d “pay” to leave my team if the dreaded auto-draft pooped them onto my roster. Following each player’s blurb is a series of “Situations” reflecting how badly I’d want these players off my team. (continue reading…)