Give Me The Rock
this is fantasy basketball
With Christmas only a couple of days away, here is an early edition of The Week In Trends (as I will be busy heckling carolers over the weekend). Stick a bow on it and give it as a gift to your loved ones.
Trending Up
| Name | Rank 12/22 | Rank 12/17 | Change in Rating |
| Alexander Johnson | 195 | 264 | 1.7 |
| Pau Gasol | 128 | 167 | 1.6 |
| John Salmons | 129 | 147 | 0.9 |
| Brad Miller | 164 | 195 | 0.9 |
| Speedy Claxton | 177 | 209 | 0.8 |
| Gerald Wallace | 112 | 132 | 0.7 |
| Earl Watson | 176 | 203 | 0.7 |
| Josh Howard | 31 | 36 | 0.7 |
| Channing Frye | 180 | 208 | 0.7 |
| Tony Allen | 172 | 199 | 0.6 |
At the 1:26 mark of the second quarter, Johnson entered the game. By the 1:12 mark, Johnson officially introduced himself to the home crowd with a thunderous dunk. Just seconds later, Johnson registered his first block of the game against Zach Randolph. Randolph proceeded to miss his final two shots of the half against the defense of Johnson. Not only did Johnson’s energy stabilize Randolph, but he continued to frustrate Randolph until finally fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Johnson finished the game with 6 points (4-4 FT), 7 rebounds (4 OFF), one blocked shot and one assist in less than 19 minutes of play.
Trending Down
| Name | Rank 12/22 | Rank 12/17 | Change in Rating |
| Kobe Bryant | 8 | 3 | -1.3 |
| Shareef Abdur-Rahim | 143 | 123 | -0.8 |
| Jason Richardson | 175 | 151 | -0.7 |
| Kevin Garnett | 4 | 2 | -0.6 |
| Al Harrington | 123 | 102 | -0.6 |
| Andres Nocioni | 73 | 60 | -0.5 |
| Carlos Boozer | 27 | 23 | -0.5 |
| Monta Ellis | 66 | 58 | -0.5 |
| Rasheed Wallace | 43 | 40 | -0.5 |
| Mike Bibby | 74 | 62 | -0.5 |
Jason Richardson is back in the lineup after struggling with knee problems, and Warriors coach Don Nelson had been using a three-guard lineup that included Baron Davis, Ellis, and Richardson as starters. But Nelson has made it clear that he won’t stick with it, saying “JR’s inability to rebound at the small forward kind of forces me to make that maybe a finishing team, not a team that I would play much.” Nelson added, “I would think that Monta would be coming off the bench and be my third guard.”
Of course, the Warriors backcourt is made of papier-mâché, so this situation will likely work itself out.
Happy Holiday’s everyone! I hope you all get that HDTV you’ve been waiting for.
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