Month: March 2008

Pau Gasol Turns Left Ankle

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Lakers Center Pau Gasol rolled his left ankle at the 9:45 mark of the 1st quarter of the Lakers-Hornets game. He was immediately taken to the locker room and I will be updating this post as I receive new information from KCAL9 sideline reporter John Ireland.

UPDATE from John Ireland at 5:25 PST: Gasol has a sprained left ankle and he will not return tonight. X-rays are pending.

UPDATE (2) from Odenized at 5:30 PST: Video of Pau Gasol’s ankle injury can be found here.

If Gasol does go down and misses some games it would be a huge loss for the Lakers. Ronny Turiaf (RT 21 as I so fondly call him) would be the best pickup on the Lakers fantasy-wise to capitalize on the injury. I wrote a post on him back in the day–it can be found here.

As a Lakers fan, here’s to hoping for a strong recovery! Sign up for our RSS feed for other fantasy alerts and advice.

To hoops,
Farid

Pickup of the Night: March 13

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Introducing the newest Fantasy Basketball Pros daily installment, Pickup of the Night, which will sort through the countless stats of the previous night and will find the pickup(s) that will help bring your team to the top. This is not just the best statline of the night by a player who is not generally owned, but it is the best pickup from the previous night’s performances.

SASHA PAVLOVIC (Cle, G-F)
Pavlovic scored 24 points on 9-15 shooting with 5 three-pointers in the Cavs 101-99 loss to the Washington Wizards. Although his peripherals were lousy (1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 0 blocks), he did not turn the ball over at all. It seems like the addition that Danny Ferry needed before the deadline was actually for Pavlovic to return from injury, as Wally’s World has underperformed with Lebron. Pavlovic has sharpshooting abilities and will help a team in need of points and threes.


Second Best: MICHAEL PIETRUS (GS, G-F)
Pietrus scored 16 points on a less than spectacular 6-13 shooting from the field (and 3-4 from the line), but contributed with 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, and no turnovers. Pietrus may be available in some leagues, and with the style that the Warriors play, would be an excellent pickup.

Mike
Senior Writer

Important Fantasy Lines: March 12

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If each night one had the time, energy and will to look through every NBA stat line, one might be very successful at fantasy basketball. One would be able to pick up emerging studs, drop eventual duds and monitor those ify suds. Unfortunately, a manager rarely has the time to do this, but here at Fantasy Basketball Pros we care about you, so we look through all the lines and tell you in summary form what you really need to know. Here are the most telling fantasy lines from Wednesday. Let us know what you agree with or think is absolutely wrong in the comments above.

  1. Dikembe Mutombo (Hou, C) | 2 pts, 6 reb, 0 blk, 15 min
    I’m sure you have Mutombo on your watch list. Get him off it now. He will have no fantasy impact ever again.
  2. Chuck Hayes (Hou, PF) | 8 pts, 12 reb, 1 stl, 33 min
    Averaging 9 boards, a stl and a blk a game the last 5 games. His minutes are also steadily rising. Monitor this guy.
  3. Josh Childress (Atl, SF) | 0 pts, 1 reb, 2 TO, 8 min
    Drop this guy. The Hawks don’t trust their bench. Childress won’t get you anything the rest of the year. Don’t even come close to looking at Zaza either.

  4. Tim Thomas (LAC, PF) | 14 pts [5-14 FG, 2-8 3PT], 5 reb, 23 min
    The Clips are having some team troubles and it really doesn’t look like the organization wants to put Brand back on the floor this year at all, even though he’s begging to play, so keep Thomas on your watch list. I should note I personally don’t like him as a fantasy option.
  5. Cuttino Mobley (LAC, SG) | 17 pts [7-12 FT, 1-2 3PT], 7 reb, 2 stl, 43 min
    This guy’s been on fire the last 5 games. As stated above the Clips are having some team problems, so it’s probably a good bet to pick up the veteran guard. If you need help from the guard position, Mobley’s a great option.
  6. Brevin Knight/Dan Dickau (LAC, PG)| 12 pts, 7 asst collectively
    Don’t go near the Clippers point guards, they’ve been splitting minutes and not producing anything fantasy-wise.
  7. Maurice Evans (Orl, SG) | 13 pts, 4 reb, 1 stl
    He can put together a decent game every once in a while, but not consistently enough. He’s one of the few players that has the undesirable designation of being a starter that isn’t fantasy-worthy.
  8. Johan Petro (Sea, C) | 12 pts [6-15 FG], 10 reb, 1 blk, 32 min
    Starting to look like a very viable backup Center. Put together a very strong game against the Celtics last night, heaving up 15 shots against KG and company. Monitor him and be ready to pounce if you’re in need of a big man.
  9. Luke Ridnour (Sea, PG) | 8 pts, 3 reb, 2 asst
    Too inconsistent. Not getting the minutes like he used to last year. Don’t consider picking him up the rest of this season unless Watson goes down.
  10. Sam Cassell (Bos, PG) | 6 pts [3-8 FG], 2 asst, 1 reb, 1 blk, 14 min
    In his second game with Boston, Cassell played 14 min, albeit against the lowly Sonics. Since none of the starters (including Rondo) played more than 26 minutes, it’s hard to say how many minutes Sam will get against actual competition. Monitor from a FAR, but my advice is to forget about him.
  11. Thaddeus Young (Phi, SF) | 10 pts [5-8 FG], 1 reb, 1 asst, 26 min
    A lot of people like this young guy and I do as well. Sure he didn’t have a great night against the Pistons last night, but that was a particularly low-scoring affair. Expect him to put up the above-average numbers (15 pts, 6 reb) we saw him put up last week for the rest of the season. He’s a buy in most leagues.
  12. Nate Robinson (NY, PG) | 17 pts [6-15 FG], 4 reb, 1 asst, 40 min
    I’ll get to the point before I run off some stats: I don’t like Nate Robinson. He’s too volatile and as I’ve said before, I fear Knicks players fantasy-wise. And on to the stats: You know it’s bad when you follow up a 45 point career night with a 2-14 [5 pts] shooting night 2 days later. But that isn’t the most telling statistic for me. From a basketball fan’s perspective, I can’t believe Robinson as the starting PG for the Knicks has only averaged 3 assists the last 5 games. The Knicks are in trouble and its very clear Isiah knows this.

  13. Daequan Cook (Mia, SG) | 6 pts [2-9 FG], 8 reb, 1 asst, 40 min
    Patrick over at Give Me The Rock correctly forecasted Cook’s game last night. But despite Daequan’s youth and inexperience at the NBA level, it’s unquestionable that the Heat have no one else to turn to at this stage of the year. Shaq is long gone. Wade is already undergoing treatment on his left knee. And Coach Riley is scouting talent for next year. I’m not saying Cook is the best option fantasy-wise, but if he continues to play 35+ minutes a game, it may even be hard for me not to be tempted to pick him up.
  14. Anderson Varejao (Cle, C) | 9 pts, 9 reb, 33 min
    With Ilgauskas out with a strained back and his timetable for return from injury uncertain, Varegjao seems to be a good pickup on the interior. In his last 5 games he has averaged 10 pts and 10 reb in 34 minutes a game. If he starts and gets 30+ minutes a game, I like Anderson a lot.
  15. Devin Brown (Cle, SF) | 19 pts [6-11 FG, 4-4 3PT], 7 reb, 4 asst, 2 stl
    Brown is another one of those guys that is benefiting from the injury bug. The Cavs are really banged up and he’s been getting quality minutes the last 3 games [32, 38, 38]. If you’re looking for help from beyond the arc, he’s been hitting the 3 with high accuracy. He’s also added 13 pts, 4 reb and 4 asst his last 5 games. Brown’s a more-than-suitable short-term 3pt option.
  16. Nenad Krstic (NJN, PF) | 10 pts [5-7 FG], 1 reb, 4 asst
    Out of all the players in this post, this is the one that I have been particularly high on. I was hoping he could back from his long-term injury better than ever, but it just doesn’t look like he wants to rebound anymore. For that reason, I have to keep him on hold now. Monitor him.
  17. Bostjan Nachbar (NJN, SF) | 21 pts [7-11 FG], 4 reb, 2 asst, 1 stl, 1 blk, 27 min
    Has played well the last 3 games averaging 13 and 6 in only 25 minutes a game. Doesn’t look like he’ll be creeping into the starting lineup, so I’ll probably pass on him this time. Maybe next year, Bostjan?
  18. Kurt Thomas (SAN, C) | 2 pts, 5 reb, 1 blk, 22 min
    As Mike said earlier this week, don’t pick up Thomas! He hasn’t found his way into the paint much while in San Antonio and that has severely hampered his rebounding and scoring numbers. Don’t be deceived by what he did in Seattle! Pass on Kurt.
  19. Morris Peterson (NOH, SG) | 5 pts [2-4 FG, 1-3 3PT] 3 reb, 24 min
    Sure he can hit the 3 when Paul finds him in the corner, but other than that, Peterson’s numbers have dwindled the last 5 outings. If you still have him on your team, consider spring cleaning your roster and ridding yourself of him, there are other options out there. Look at Bell below.
  20. Kyle Korver (Uta, SF) | 3 pts, 1 reb, 15 min
    Drop Kyle Korver if you still have him. He hasn’t done much in Utah in his 17 minutes a game and like I said there are better 3 point options. Look at Bell below.
  21. Charlie Villanueva (Mil, PF) | 26 pts, 9 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 38 min
    If you’re in one of those leagues where NOBODY plays, Villanueva might be available. Chances are he’s definitely not. This guy has been sick (in the good way) the last week and a half, averaging 25 points, 10 boards, a steal and a block each game. And he shoots both the FG and the 3PTR at a very high percentages. I’ll be looking at Charlie V in next year’s draft, that’s for sure.
  22. Charlie Bell (Mil, SG) | 24 pts [8-16 FG, 5-7 3PT], 5 asst
    Bell has likewise been very ill the last week. In his last 5 games he is averaging 15 points per game on 13-29 from beyond the arc. Most important his minutes are over 30 now. I think Bell is a buy right now.
  23. Jared Dudley (Cha, SF) | 9 pts, 4 reb, 4 asst, 1 blk, 1 stl, 31 min
    Gerald Wallace has returned from injury and because he’s a SF like Dudley, there have been reports that Jared’s minutes are going to be cut. That didn’t start last night, as Dudley played 31 minutes alongside Wallace off the bench. I really like this young Charlotte team, if you couldn’t already tell. My guess is Dudley will continue to produce, but in fewer minutes. Oh and Matt Carroll should be unaffected by the return of Wallace, for those that may be worried.

  24. Erick Dampier (Dal, C) | 11 pts, 8 reb, 2 asst, 5 blk
    Played 30 minutes against Charlotte last night and put up a pretty good stat line. If you are desperate for rebounds and blocks, Dampier might be the way to go, but I refused to recommend you actually pick him or Bass up.
  25. Linas Kleiza (Den, SF) | 19 pts, 6 reb, 1 asst
    Don’t be fooled by last night’s outbreak–Kleiza is still a sell. The Nuggets blew out the Grizzlies last night and Kleiza got a few extra minutes. I think he’s a sell because not only has he been banged up recently, but he’s literally the 4th or 5th scoring option on his team. That doesn’t sit well with me as a fantasy manager.
  26. Mike Conley (PG), Darko Milicic (C), Juan Carlos Navarro (SG) | Memphis Bums
    These guys all have the potential to be great talents. Just not this year. Pass for now.
  27. JR Smith (Den, SG) | 6 pts, 1 reb, 2 asst, 14 min
    Sure, the Nuggets blew out the Grizzlies last night and that’s why Smith’s minutes were low, but if you’ve been reading FBP’s you know I don’t like JR. He’s been scoring a lot recently by hitting the 3 ball consistently so he’s making me look stupid, but I’ll never recommend him myself.
  28. Mickael Pietrus (GS, SF) | 14 pts, 8 reb, 2 asst, 1 stl
    Has been all over the place the last 5 games. Besides his below-average percentages, there is nothing he cannot do on the basketball court. Consider picking him up if you need a strong SF going into the playoffs.

If a player you were interested in wasn’t covered in this analysis, let us know in the comments above. Otherwise, please don’t forget to signup for our RSS feed.

To hoops,
Farid

Jewels and Fools: March 11

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It’s Tuesday of Week 20 and the season is quickly winding down. To help you finish strong in your league, consider picking up one of the following players listed as a “jewel” below and/or dropping one of the players listed as a “fool”. Good luck in the final stretch!

Jewels

  1. Charlie Villanueva, Milwaukee Bucks – Always a raw talent, Villanueva left UConn early and never really put it together. For some reason, I’ve always liked him, but he’s always been a disappointment. However, I think that Villanueva has begun to put it together. He has outplayed rookie Yi Jianlian and has averaged over 24 pts/game the past week with Mo Williams out with an injury. Although Williams will be back soon, Villanueva is still a great pickup for the stretch run.
  2. Craig Smith, Minnesota Timberwolves – I loved this guy in college but did not think his game would translate too well to the NBA. Still, I think Smith is a solid option. He has been averaging almost 14 pts/game with about 4 rebs/game while shooting over 70% from the field and the line over the past week. Keep him on your watch list, and with superstars like Dwyane Wade being shut down, considering scooping Smith up.
  3. Anderson Varejao, Cleveland Cavaliers – The energy guy playing with Lebron James, Varejao has been a rebounding machine recently. Although he has not been shooting particularly well, he has been averaging a double-double with Ilgauskas injured. Quickly scoop him up if he is available in your league.

Fools

  1. Joe Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers – I really think that Smith has diminished in value since he was traded to the Cavs. Lebron James controls too much of the ball on this team and Smith does not see too many touches. Ilgauskas and Varejao will get more rebounds and Smith has seen a dip in shooting percentages lately. He is still scoring double digits per game, but does not add too much more value beyond scoring and rebounds. Get rid of him as soon as possible.
  2. Julian Wright, New Orleans Hornets – Do not be fooled by Wright’s 14 pts/game and 5.7 rebs/game in the past week. When David West returns from injury (most likely this Wednesday), Wright will be once again relegated to the bench and will see little playing time. If you picked him up based on last week’s stats, drop him for one of the guys above.
  3. Kurt Thomas, San Antonio Spurs – I know that this guy is a grinder and adds a lot of defensive value for the Spurs, but that does not translate into fantasy value. Since being traded to the Spurs, Thomas has seen his touches diminish, and he is averaging almost 3 fewer points and rebounds per game. Thomas is a solid player, but with Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili, he has very little value.

Happy waiver wire-ing. And as always, be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed.

Mike
Senior Writer

Dwyane Wade Shut Down For Season

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Multiple sources (1, 2, 3) this morning have confirmed the inevitable: the Heat’s franchise player Dwyane Wade will be shut down for the rest of the season to undergo treatment on his left knee.

The next question for fantasy owners is who should one pick up on the Heat? I like Ricky Davis a lot because he can do just about everything. In addition to that, he has been playing 40+ minutes recently because of the all the injuries Miami has sustained. Here’s a look at his numbers the last couple of games, tell me he doesn’t look like a good pickup with Wade out:

Ricky Davis (G-F)
Mar 8: 27 points [11-16, 5-7], 4 reb, 2 asst, 41 min
Mar 7: 10 points, 12 reb, 4 asst, 2 stl, 2 blk, 47 min
Mar 5: 16 points, 3 reb, 3 asst, 2 stl, 37 min

Another player that you might consider on the Heat is Marcus Banks (but he’s been bagned up and only played 10 minutes last game). If his hamstring gets better, I’d definitely look at Banks as well. He played well and hit 20 points two games in a row last week.

Happy waiver wire-ing. And as always, be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed.

To hoops,
Farid

Studs and Duds: Monday Edition

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I blame daylight savings for the Lakers loss to the Kings last night. Kobe was obviously fatigued by the time the game reached the fourth quarter and could not play to his potential. One point in the fourth quarter Kobe? That’s abysmal. Well, at least daylight savings time hasn’t affected me, so here are some players you might want to consider adding or dropping, in a feature we’re calling “Studs and Duds”.

FANTASY BASKETBALL STUDS

Thaddeus Young, SF, PHI
– Last 5 games (avg): 14 pts, 6 reb, 2 steals; 30-44 shooting
– Minutes have gone way up and this young guy can straight ball. It looks like he’ll see a lot of minutes the rest of the way

Charlie Bell, SG, MIL
– Last 5 games (avg): 12 pts, 4 asst, 3 reb, 1.4 stl; 9 3’s
– Minutes have gone up about 5 minutes a game

Joakim Noah, C, CHI
– Last 5 games (avg): 11 pts, 10 reb, 1 stl; 18-35 shooting
– Seems to have put his off court troubles with the team behind him and impressed in Week 19. I love 20 rebound games

FANTASY BASKETBALL DUDS

Michael Finley, G, SAN
– Last 5 games (avg): 6 pts, 2.4 reb; 9-41 FGs, 4-16 from 3PT
– Yesterday against Phoenix: 1 point, 0-6 shooting, 23 min
– Long seasons can wear you down–especially when you just turned 35

Antonio McDyess, C, DET
– Last 5 games (avg): 3.4 pts, 5 reb, 26 min; 6-27 shooting
– Minutes/game have decreased around 4 minutes from season average
– The man in the middle hasn’t been consistent for the Pistons lately

Brad Miller, C, SAC
– Last 5 games (avg): 7 pts, 8 reb, 2 TO’s; 14-36 shooting
– 0 and 2 points in his last two games (22 and 25 minutes respectively)
– Admits he is at a low point in the season
– Minutes have been cut drastically for the much improved Mikki Moore and Spencer Hawes

And as always, be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed.

To hoops,
Farid

Free Agent Jewels and Fools

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JEWELS

  1. Roger Mason, PG, WAS
    In his last five games he has averaged 14 pts, 2 boards, 2 assists, a block and a steal a game. Until Arenas is back (which is looking more and more questionable with each passing week), this guy may be a good substitute buy. Mason’s also been getting 5 more minutes a game than normal during this recent outburst.

  2. Joel Przybilla, C, POR
    IF you’re in need of rebounds and blocks, Joel is your man. Przybill has averaged 11 rebounds and 1.8 blocks this month (4 games) and has steadily increased his minutes from the low twenties to about thirty a game. Pick him up if you need help in these categories.
  3. Paul Millsap, SF, PF, C, UTAH
    This guy can normally get you 10 points, 6 boards, a block, a steal and decent percentages any given night. With extend minutes (like he got last night against Denver), he can probably produce more. I say monitor Millsap and see if Sloan actually gives him 25+ minutes a game. If he gets this the next couple of games, look at Millsap.
  4. Kyle Korver, SF, UTAH
    Korver has been shooting the ball lights out so far in March. In five games he’s 10-20 from beyond the 3 point arc and 21-38 from the floor overall. That’s equating to 14 points a game, along with a couple of assists. He also rarely misses a free throw. Monitor his situation as well and look to see how Sloan uses him the next couple of games. Utah has beaten Phoenix, Dallas and Denver recently and has done so with impressive offense attacks.

FOOLS

  1. Jason Williams, PG, MIA
    Only played 9 minutes in Miami’s last game. Marcus Banks and Chris Quinn have been getting more time as Riley begins his search for a marquee talent in next year’s draft. Drop him if you haven’t checked your roster for a month and you just realized he’s still on your team.
  2. Carlos Arroyo, PG, ORL
    Likewise, only played 9 minutes against the Warriors last night. With Jameer Nelson back in the starting lineup, don’t expect Arroyo to get more than 15-20 minutes a game at most the rest of the way. For fantasy managers this is killer. Drop him if you own him. Look at Nelson if he is available in your league.
  3. Sean Williams, C, NJN
    With Nenad Krstic back from injury and DeSagana Diop also getting 15+ minutes a game, not much time is left for the promising rookie. He’ll be a great sleeper next year, but for the rest of this year consider him as good as done fantasy wise.

Let us know in the comments above who you think are the real fantasy basketball “jewels” and “fools”. And be sure to sign up for our RSS feed on the way out, as well for updated fantasy basketball free agent advice.

To hoops,
Farid

End of Season Alert: Yahoo’s Max Games Played

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At the end of December, I did a comprehensive analysis of Yahoo’s Max Games Played rule. Well we’re at that time of year where if you are in a Rotisserie league, you should definitely be aware of your total games played to this point and whether you are projected to overshoot the alloted number of games in your league.

So consider this a reminder from someone who is currently tied for 1st place in a Standard Yahoo Rotisserie league, but is projected to far exceed the alloted number of games–check your max games played!

What to do if you’re reaching your max games played:

  1. Only insert a player into a roster slot if he is worthy of eating up an entire game
    This means, if you are running out of games in the Forward position, don’t start picking up sleepers in that same position from the Waiver Wires. If you have superstar Forwards already on your team, play them. The good thing about Yahoo is that if you have a player inserted into your lineup one day, but that player does not play a minute in his game, his mere presence on your roster will not count against your max games played. Unfortunately though, if a player plays even 1 min and doesn’t perform well, not only do you not accumulate fantasy stats, but a game is docked from your max games played.
  2. Be very strategic.
    So lets imagine a scenario where your quickly running out of games in the Guard position. Lets also imagine you have a team STACKED with 5 great guards. The logical response of a manager might be to keep all 5 guards on the team (because they are so good) and exceed the max games played rather early. This is terrible strategy. In this instance I would suggest DROPPING good guards for strong waiver candidates in other positions. A manager needs to keep his emotions and personal player preferences as far away from his team as he can so as to avoid making irrational decisions. So be strategic, if a player isn’t going to help you down the stretch, drop him for a player of another position and accumulate stats there.

That’s all I got for now, let me know what advice you might have for managers with max games played problems in the comments above.

And as always, be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed.

To hoops,
Farid

NBA Roto Interview

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NBA Roto Guest Video Post
Yesterday I did a guest interview with Jimmy from NBARoto.com and decided whether I wanted to buy or sell 5 fringe players on the waiver wires: Jameer Nelson, Jamario Moon, Dikembe Mutombo, Mikki Moore and JR Smith. I also gave Jimmy a couple sleepers that I thought would be strong pickups for the duration of the season. The video can be found here on the NBA Roto site. It was fun and I hope you’ll check it out.

NBARoto.com
Just in general, NBARoto.com has become one of the young leaders in fantasy basketball analysis. Not only does it offer great written content, but its video content it superb as well. I definitely have its RSS feed coming into my feed reader and if you are a competitive fantasy basketball manager, I recommend you do so as well.

Give Me The Rock Names 3 Excellent Rookie Blogs
A big shout out to Nels over at Give Me The Rock for linking FantasyBasketballPros.com as an excellent rookie blog yesterday. On the day that Fantasy Basketblog called it quits, Nels also recommended NBARoto.com, and HoopsFantasy.com as two other rookie blogs with excellent, dedicated bloggers. Thanks Nels, we hope to keep producing quality fantasy basketball analysis for our readers.

As always, before you leave be sure to add Fantasy Basketball Pros to your feed reader.

To hoops,
Farid

Fantasy Basketball Pickups By Position

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Fantasy Basketball can be hard. It’s a lot easier when you know who to pickup. It’s mid Week 19 and we thought all you tired, hard working managers would find a list of pickups by position useful. So take a break from your fantasy baseball draft and pick up some of these guys! Green is a great pickup, black is an average pickup and red is a DROP. In parenthesis is the player’s stats from last night, March 5th.

  • PG- Point Guards
    • Jameer Nelson, ORL, PG (9 pts [4-4, 1-1], 10 asst, 21 min)
      • Recovered from his bout with the flu, started on Mar 5
    • Carlos Arroyo, ORL, PG (11 pts [4-8, 1-2], 6 asst, 4 reb, 27 min)
      • Came off the bench, still seems to be productive while splitting minutes with Nelson
    • Kyle Lowry, PG, MEM (15 pts [5-12, 1-3], 7 asst, 4 reb, 1 stl)
      • Good pickup so long as Mike Conley isn’t 100%
    • Travis Diener, PG , IND (11 pts, 4 asst, 2 reb, 26 min)
      • Diener and Murray are splitting minutes in Indiana, pick one
    • Ronald Murray, PG, IND (14 pts, 5 reb, 2 asst, 1 stl, 22 min)
      • As stated above, pick either “Flip” Murray or Diener
    • Marcus Banks, PG, MIA (21 pts [7-11, 3-6], 5 reb, 4 asst)
      • Monitor his minutes–with the Heat struggling, J. Will not getting any younger, and Wade’s health always a concern, he could get a lot of minutes the rest of the way
    • Jannero Pargo, PG, NO (22 pts [9-18, 3-7], 3 reb, 3 asst, 1 stl)
      • Yeah, he plays behind Chris Paul, but the kid can straight shoot the ball and he showed it last night.
  • SG- Shooting Guards
    • Matt Carroll, CHA, SG (9 pts [2-10, 1-4], 11 reb, 4 stl)
      • Told you to pick him up earlier this week, if you did, you are happy, if you didn’t, you’re most likely regretting it
    • Luther Head, SG, HOU (14 pts [5-5, 4-4], 4 asst, 2 reb, 3 stl)
      • With Yao’s 22 points a game gone, everyone has gotten more looks
    • Maurice Evans, ORL, SG (17 pts [6-8, 2-3], 6 reb, 2 stl)
  • SF- Shooting Forwards
    • Jared Dudley, CHA, SF (10 pts [4-8, 1-2], 18 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk, 0 TO)
      • Pick this guy up if he is available in your league. That’s an order.
    • Jamario Moon, TOR, SF (14 pts [7-11], 9 reb, 4 stl, 3 blk)
      • Has been filling up the stat sheet recently
    • Ricky Davis, SF, MIA (16 pts [4-9, 1-3], 3 reb, 3 asst, 2 stl)
      • Eh, it’s Miami. Why not?
    • Mickael Pietrus, GSW, SF (3 pts [1-4, 1-3], 5 reb, 2 blk, 24 min, FO)
      • I thought he might be a good pickup, but for now, look at Dudley or Moon if they are available
  • PF- Power Forwards
    • Mikki Moore, PF, SAC (19 pts [7-9], 5 reb, 4 asst)
      • This guy is pure hustle. He can get you boards, assists, blocks and steals. Points if you’re lucky.
    • Nick Collison, PF, SEA (10 pts [3-7], 9 reb, 2 asst)
      • If you’re desperate for boards.
    • Carl Landry, PF, HOU (13 pts [5-10], 7 reb, 1 stl, 20 min)
      • Getting decent minutes and producing. Pick up Moore first though.
    • Nenad Krstic, PF, NJN (16 pts [8-13], 9 reb, 2 stl, 35 min)
      • Gambling pick. Has been injured most of the week, but could add some fantasy value if he’s consistent.
  • C- Centers
    • Andray Blatche, WAS, C (2 pts [1-10], 6 reb, 5 asst, 2 stl, 2 blk)
      • Can do a lot of things. I like him over any of these guys.
    • Kendrick Perkins, BOS, C (10 pts [4-9], 20 reb, 2 blk)
      • Perkins has gone off the last 2 games. If he’s available in your league and you need help in the position, he’s a no-brainer.
    • Rasho Nesterovic, TOR, C (16 pts [8-12], 10 reb, 2 asst)
      • Has moved into the starting lineup since Bosh has been out. Good pickup.
    • Nazr Mohammed, CHA, C (4 pts, 0 reb, 0 asst, 0 stl, 0 blk, 14 min)
      • Don’t pick this guy up yet. He hasn’t figured it out
    • Zaza Pachulia, ATL, C
      • Don’t pick this guy up ever. Mike was correct, he’s terrible.

Let me know in the comments above if you think these are wise picks. Mike and I appreciate your feedback.

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To hoops,
Farid