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Hottest NBA Rookies - Fantasy Basketball

OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies
He’s quietly been one of the most consistent scorers to come into the league in a long while. Although OJ Mayo still needs to work on his all-around game, he’s far ahead of where most scouts thought he’d be at this point in the season.

Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
Though Derrick Rose’s play has dropped off a little bit as of late, you can expect him to catch a second wind at some point. Once he fights through the rookie wall, Rose should once again claim his spot as the best rookie point guard in the league and fight for the Rookie of the Year award.

Eric Gordon, Los Angeles Clippers
Lately, with half the Clippers roster out due to some form of injury or suspension, Eric Gordon has been scoring the ball very well. Over his last five games, he’s averaging more than 21 points per game while shooting very good percentages from the field, from three and from the line.

Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Early on in the season, Russell Westbrook wasn’t very good offensively. As of late, however, he’s started to turn it around. He looks much more comfortable both looking for his own shots and running the show as Oklahoma City’s point guard.

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Tony Parker Video - Game Winner vs. Sixers

During the 2008-09 NBA season, Tony Parker has quietly been one of the league’s best clutch players. His clutchness was on display against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday when he hit a turnaround jumper as time expired to pull out the win for the Spurs. You can see the Tony Parker video of his game winning shot at the end of this entry.

For fantasy basketball owners, Tony Parker has been a bit better than expected. His stats are up across the board — especially in scoring and assists. Although he’s had a couple of poor games along the way, overall he’s having his best season to date in his NBA career.

Going forward, Parker should continue to produce. With his outside jumper improved from past seasons, he’s more of a weapon offensively. Additionally, the Spurs are putting the ball in his hands to win games more than ever. So far, that has resulted in a lot of positive outcomes so far this season.

Here is the video of the Tony Parker game winner against the 76ers:

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Carmelo Anthony Video - Game Winner vs. OKC

After Kevin Durant hit a clutch three-pointer to put the Oklahoma City Thunder up by a point with under three seconds to go, Carmelo Anthony drained a three-pointer to give the Denver Nuggets the win. Carmelo’s three-pointer made it 122-120 with .1 seconds left and the Thunder were unable to get off a shot. Video of Carmelo Anthony’s game-winner can be seen at the end of this entry.

Although recently missing time due to an elbow injury, Carmelo has played well since returning to the lineup. In his last four games, the Nuggets forward is averaging nearly 25 points and nearly seven rebounds per game.

For the season, Carmelo has been disappointing. Though some of his struggles can be attributed to his injured elbow, that doesn’t make fantasy basketball owners much happier. His overall stats are similar to last season’s stats except that he’s shooting worse from the field and average about five less points.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll see if Carmelo can get back to his rhythm. Hypothetically, he should have an even better season that last season due to the fact that Allen Iverson has been replaced by Chauncey Billups — which should mean more shots for him. However, that hasn’t been the case so far this season.

Here is the Carmelo Anthony video of his game winner against the Thunder:

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Stephon Marbury to Celtics - Fantasy Impact

As you’ve probably heard, rumors have Stephon Marbury heading to the Boston Celtics once he completes his buyout from the New York Knicks. Multiple league sources have privately agreed with this rumor.

For the Celtics, Marbury would give the team another scorer off the bench. While the bench is solid, it doesn’t have many true scorers outside of Eddie Houston. Marbury could also potentially fill part of the role Sam Cassell filled last season as a guy who comes into the game to put points on the board.

Although he may be useful for the Celtics, there’s not much of a chance that he’d be useful for your fantasy basketball team. First of all, the minutes likely won’t be there for him to do much. Second of all, he didn’t look very good last year and he might not have anything left in the tank.

The only way to even consider adding Marbury to your fantasy basketball team is if Rajon Rondo went down. Even then, it’d be hard to imagine Marbury playing more than 25 minutes per game.

The only way to rush and pick up Marbury is if he ends up signing with a team that will hand him a starting gig and 30+ minutes. He might be worthwhile at that point — but don’t count on that happening.

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Fantasy NBA Sleepers - January 2009 Edition

Brook Lopez, New Jersey Nets
Starting now for the Nets at center, Brook Lopez is starting to establish himself. While he’s still very much inconsistent, he’s scoring skills as both a scorer and a rebounder that should keep him in the starting lineup. It’s not out of the question that he could become a double-double machine sooner rather than later.

Courtney Lee, Orlando Magic
With news that Mickael Pietrus broke his rest and is out for an indefinite amount of time, Courtney Lee should see an upshoot in playing time as a result. The rookie shooting guard can shoot, score and provide decent complementary stats. If he can move into the starting lineup, that’d be a big boost for his fantasy worth.

Amir Johnson, Detroit Pistons
Amir Johnson is back into the starting lineup. He began the year as a starter before falling out of favor and falling out of the rotation. However, it should be noted that he’s starting mostly due to an injury to Richard Hamilton. Only start Johnson as long as Hamilton is sidelined.

Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors
The Great Tease is at it again. Filling in for an injured and sick Jermaine O’Neal, Andrea Bargnani had a big game. This followed a series of uninspired performances off the bench. When he’s going right, Bargnani is a center who can score, hit three pointers, block shots and chip in with a few rebounds.

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Baron Davis Rumors and News - Wants Trade?

According to Stephen Jackson of the Golden State Warriors, Baron Davis would more than welcome a trade back to the Warriors. Davis, who signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in the offseason, has reportedly had issues with head coach Mike Dunleavy’s offense.

While Davis was quick to shoot down Jackson’s remarks, there are a ton of fantasy basketball owners who would be all for the trade. With the Clippers, Davis hasn’t been much of a fantasy player this year. He’s averaging four less points, less steals, less rebounds and he’s shooting 36.1% from the field and 29.4% from beyond the three-point arc. The only good news is that his assists are slightly up while his turnovers are slightly down.

If you have Davis on your fantasy team, the best thing to do is wait it out. His field goal percentage is going to improve as he gets comfortable in Dunleavy’s offense. There’s also a chance that his assists will continue to improve if Davis becomes the distributor that Dunleavy wants him to be.

Obviously, a trade back to the Warriors would be great for his fantasy stats. However, that rumor appears to be dead and Davis appears locked into a Clippers uniform for the foreseeable future.

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Fantasy Basketball Sleepers - December Edition

Dominic McGuire, Washington Wizards
Now in the starting lineup, Dominic McGuire is putting up impressive all-around numbers. While he’s not much of a scorer, he can help you in a lot of other areas. In his last five games, he’s averaging 4.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steals in 30 minutes per game. If you need a little bit of help in a lot of areas, give McGuire a look.

Brandan Wright, Golden State Warriors
Currently, Brandan Wright is in the starting lineup for the Warriors. Though that can change at any moment, Wright has shown a high amount of talent. That talent in a run and gun offense could spell big fantasy value if he becomes a long term answer in Don Nelson’s starting lineup.

Kevin Ollie, Minnesota Timberwolves
Although Kevin Ollie isn’t exactly a name that enters many fantasy basketball owners minds, he’s starting now for the T’Wolves and he’s putting up pretty good numbers. If you need another point guard, going with Ollie is better than banking on a backup point guard.

Aaron Gray, Chicago Bulls
Starting three straight games at center, Aaron Gray has been impressive at times for the Bulls. He has the size and strength that the Bulls are lacking. Gray’s strong suit is rebounding and he’s not a bad scorer if he gets the touches.

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Hottest Shooters in the NBA - December

Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic
Simply put, Jameer Nelson has been on fire in the month of December. In the past, Nelson’s outside shot was never his strong suit. However, this month, he can’t miss. He’s shooting over 57% from the field and over 60% from three-point range for the month, while scoring more than 20 points per game.

Ray Allen, Boston Celtics
At points last year in the playoffs, Ray Allen looked like he may be headed to the end of his NBA career. This year, especially in the month of December, Allen has looked very good. For the month, he shooting 53.1% from the field, 44.9% from the three-point arc and 92.3% from the free throw line.

Rashard Lewis, Orlando Magic
To start off the 2008-09 NBA season, Rashard Lewis wasn’t shooting the ball very well. This month, he’s turned it around. Most impressively, he’s hitting 44.9% from three-point land on his 6.8 attempts per game. For the month, his scoring average is up to 21.2 points and he’s helping the Magic race up the standings.

Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats
In his first month under Larry Brown, Emeka Okafor looked lost on the offense end. Now he’s tearing it up offensively. For the month of December, Okafor is shooting better than 61% from the field and is averaging 18.1 points per game. To put that in perspective, he averaged only 10.3 points per game in November.

Photo credit: Newscom

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Gilbert Arenas Out for the Season?

Gilbert Arenas was first said to be targeting December for his return from knee surgery. December got pushed back to January. Now there are rumors that Gilbert Arenas is out for the season. While these rumors have been far from verified by Arenas or anyone with the Wizards, it’d make some sense.

The biggest reason why it’d make sense to keep Arenas out for the rest of the season is because the Washington Wizards are so horrible. The only teams in the NBA who have worse records are the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder. At 5-23, the Wizards are by far the worst team in the Eastern Conference.

Arenas coming back this season makes makes less and less sense as the playoffs become out of the realm of possibilities. If the Wizards are going to miss the playoffs, they might as well be as bad as possible to make sure they get the best chances of having a good draft pick.

At 26, Arenas is young enough to bounce back from this latest knee surgery. Even if he misses the rest of the season, as long as he enters 2009-10 healthy he will be a very intriguing fantasy basketball player. His surgery wasn’t deemed serious and there’s no indication that his career could be in jeopardy.

As for this season, Arenas’ fantasy basketball value is at an all-time new low. Unless you can stash him away on an injured list, there’s really not much reason to have him on your roster.

Photo credit: Newscom

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Fantasy Basketball Rookies - The Best 2008

Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
As a starting rookie point guard, Derrick Rose is playing very good basketball. He’s growing before our eyes into one of the best lead guards in the NBA. If you are in a fantasy basketball dynasty league, Rose is a player to hold on to.

OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies
Enjoying a rock solid fantasy basketball season, OJ Mayo will likely be a fantasy powerhouse for the next decade. He can score, shoot good percentages and the rest of his game is slowly but surely catching up. He could move as high as the second round of fantasy drafts next season.

Michael Beasley, Miami Heat
Although he’s not getting the consistent playing time Rose and Mayo are getting, Beasley has still be productive. He can score, rebound and he’s even blocking a few shots. Once he gets comfortable, he has a very high fantasy basketball ceiling.

Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers
He’s not great at any one category but Rudy Fernandez helps out in a multitude of areas. He can put the ball in the basket, help you with his three-point accuracy and in other traditional categories such as assists and rebounds.

Photo credit: Newscom

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