How’d you all fare last week? I won 5-4 over a weak team, but I somehow managed to move up from 11th to 8th in the standings. If I can pull off my first 6-3 of the season this week I’ll be back to .500 and potentially back in the playoff picture. That’s been my problem this year… I haven’t beaten anyone badly. I’ve won more match ups than I’ve lost, but every win has been 5-4. I had one week where I went from a 9-0 on Friday to a 5-4 on Sunday… that’s really killing me right now.
All rankings are based on nine-category (FG%/FT%/3PT/PTS/REB/AST/STL/BLK/TO) totals and head-to-head format.
Paul George, IND: Who put up the best totals in fantasy basketball last week? None other than Paul George of the Indiana Pacers. Whilst averaging about 20 PPG, King George racked up 11 steals, 6 blocks, and 14 threes… those all-around digits that will simply devastate an opponent. In the process of dominating, he hung onto the ball (just 5 TOs in 4 games) and made pretty much everything he threw at the basket from both the field and the stripe (56%/90%). The Pacers play four playoff-caliber teams this week, making it an optimal time for George to continue to build on his mini-breakout.
Jeremy Lin, NYK: On Saturday night, Jeremy Lin became something of a hero. Now, can he contribute to your fantasy team? This may seem like a stupid question, but the man is set to be inserted into the starting lineup tonight against the Utah Jazz. Minutes and involvement are pretty much the key to fantasy success, and if Jeremy is gonna play over half the game at PG for a Mike D’Antoni team then he just might have a little value. Whether or not he’ll step up obviously remains to be seen, but he’s worth taking a chance on if you’ve got an open roster spot in a 12 or 14-team league. Baron Davis, you say? Pft. That dude ain’t never coming back.
Chris Paul, LAC: CP3 looks to have put that little hamstring issue behind him. Save for a laugher against Washington that didn’t require him to do anything, Paul played outstanding basketball last week. He closed out a Clipper victory over the Thunder with, what was it, 8 straight points in the fourth? He also took 24 shots and scored 34 points in a win over the Jazz, and even in a bad loss to Denver he was able to come up with 15 and 9 on 6-9 from the floor. The Clippers play another four games this week, and I think you should expect to see Paul in rare form. He’ll match up with Chris Duhon (LOL) against the Orlando Magic tonight, and then he’s got a couple youngins to take to school on Wednesday and Friday.
Trevor Booker, WAS: Booker has blocked a pair of shots in four of his last five games. He’s also scored in double figures twice and had 7+ rebounds three times. His minutes seem to be trending up lately (he started last game), Andray Blatche is still out, and the Wizards play three sh!tty teams this week. Consider Booker if you’re looking for cheap big man stats in a 12 to 14-team league.
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL: Well I’ll be damned… something positive to report about Dirk Nowitzki. F@cking finally, the Dirk we’ve all come to know and love showed up for two of the four games his Mavericks played last week. I could hardly believe my eyes when I checked February 3rd’s box score to find that he’d scored 30 points, and when I saw that he’d put up 24 the next night I couldn’t help but wonder… is he back? I’m not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt just yet–he’s been far too disappointing–but we’re gonna find out over the next two weeks. The struggling Mavs have six games between now and Friday the 17th. Those games are against Denver, Minnesota, Portland, LA (Clippers), Denver (again), and Philadelphia. If they want to be better than a .500 team coming out of that stretch then they’re going to need Dirk Nowitzki to play like Dirk Nowitzki. If he delivers, then I’ll say he’s back.
Kevin Garnett, BOS: KG has made one three-pointer in each of his last three games. That makes him 3-3 on the year and also makes this his most productive season from long distance since ’06/07, when he made 12. The last time he made three in a week? May of 2004, and that was in the playoffs. You have to go back to March of that same year to find a time where he did it in the regular season. So, if you had KG on your team last week and you won threes by fewer than 4… consider yourself insanely lucky. I happened to be playing against KG, but I won threes anyway.
Carmelo Anthony, NYK: In last Thursday’s loss to the Bulls, Carmelo attempted more shots than he’s made in his last three games combined. Melo has taken 25 shots or more six times this year but has failed to shoot 50% or better in any of those six games. I still regret passing on Anthony to draft Dirk Nowitzki, obviously, but when I consider his poor shooting along with the fact that my struggling team has been able to dominate the FG% category (5-1)… I don’t regret it quite so much. Carmelo is a one-man FG tank taking 19.6 shots per game while making less than 40% of them. GTFO Carmelo!
Anderson Varejao, CLE: This dude Andy V has his season averages up to nearly 11 points and 12 boards after coming up with a 20/20 and a 17/17 last week. The only problem with Varejao is that he isn’t even shooting 50%, and he doesn’t block any shots. What’s the deal with that, Andy?
Shawne Williams, NJN: Shawne Williams seemed like a potentially-rosterable fantasy player coming into the season, even if only because the Nets suck so bad. Turns out he’s hardly played–I think he has some sort of nagging injury or something–but I noticed that he’s getting minutes all of a sudden… like 30 a game over the last five. Then I realized that he’s actually started the last four. Who knew? It’s the f@cking Nets, I don’t know what the f@ck is going on with that team. He still hasn’t done jack sh!t, but keep your eye on him. Maybe he’ll get hot from three-point land… stranger sh!t has happened.
Reggie Williams, CHA: DJ Augustin is still out, and until he comes back you need to own Reggie Williams. He’s the dude from the Warriors, remember? The left-handed guard that can do that thing that no one else on the Bobcats can do–score. He started Charlotte’s last game and dropped 21 on the Suns. Pick him up now.
