How was your 2010, Paul?

Honorable Mentions: Jason Kidd (2.38) did not record is 107th career triple-double last night, but he came close with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 6 steals in a loss to the Bucks. The Mavs are leaning heavy on Kidd right now with all their injuries. It isn’t good news in real life, but Kidd has been killing it lately for fantasy purposes.

Not to be out done by Kidd, Chris Paul (1.98) had 7 steals against John Wall and the Wizards, adding 13 points and 11 assists; Also for the Hornets Trevor Ariza (1.58) played his first good game in about a week, finishing with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals. For the Wizards, JaVale McGee (1.66) finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. He’s currently second in the league with 2.6 blocks per game this season. Nick Young (1.36) led Washington with 24 points, adding 5 boards.

Dorell Wright (2.31) – the official fantasy draft day steal of the season – led the Warriors with 30 points while hitting 6-13 from three. Best of all, his FG% (currently 42%) is starting to creep into a non-embarrassing place.

The Timberwolves ran over the Nets 103-88, led by Kevin Love (1.76), who had 23 points, with 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Love double-doubled in every single game in December. After one game, he’s on pace to do it in January too.

***

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: We’ve got to go down to the 19th best line of yesterday before we hit a guy available in more than 50% of leagues. And that guy is Jose Juan Barea (1.16), who saw 36 minutes off the bench for Dallas thanks to a Caron Butler injury at the beginning of last night’s game (not to mention Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion also being out).

Barea was not afraid to come out firing in this one, going 11-21 from the field and scoring a career-high 29 points. If Butler were to miss some significant time (and that is the way it’s looking right now) the Mavs may be forced to give Barea some extra run and he’s worth a speculative add in deep leagues, but Jason Terry and Shawn Marion are really the guys who should benefit the most from Butler’s absence.

Pick Up Lines: After missing most of November and December with injuries, the Chris Andersen (1.01) we know and love is back for Denver. The Birdman grabbed 11 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench for the Nuggets last night and has double-digit rebounding performances in 3 of his last 4 games. Add him if you’re looking for rebounds, blocks and a healthy dose of personality in your lineup.

Earl Boykins (0.92) had a great game off the bench for the Bucks, scoring 26 points while shooting 9-16 from the floor. He’s gotten some decent run while Brandon Jennings has been out and is worth a look in deeper leagues if you’re desperate for a PG.

Injury of the Night:: Caron Butler left last night’s game in the first quarter after injuring his knee and he did not return. Turning to my favorite news outlet, Art Garcia of NBA.com tweeted that Butler may have a torn patella tendon, which if true, could result in season-ending surgery. With the Mavs racking up more injuries than the cast of Spider-Man the musical, Jose Juan Barea has worked his way into the rotation. Jason Terry should also see extra minutes and a bump in value.

Biggest Loser: Michael Beasley (-1.10) put up 10 points, 6 turnovers and not much else in 33 minutes on the court. It simply looks like a bad game for the Beas after he put up two 30+ point games earlier in the week.

Caron Butler’s absence may mean more opportunity for Jason Terry (-0.91), but last night it just meant more opportunity for him to miss shots. Terry was 3-15 from the field, scoring 7 points, with 0 rebounds and 2 assists in 32 minutes. Terry is 6-31 from the field over his last two games.

On Tap: A lot of ugliness on the court today. Memphis (14-19) at LA Lakers (23-10) is the game that features the teams with the best combined record. At least we’ll get to watch the dream PG matchup of Mike Conley vs. Derek Fisher.

***

Daily rankings and stats come from the GMTR H2H Player Rater (beta version).

Do not miss a day of the Fantasy NBA. Subscribe to Give Me The Rock right now. You can also get bonus (and easily digestible) content by following GMTR on Twitter, or become a fan of GMTR on Facebook! We’re so social!

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Honorable Mentions: A couple double-doubles from JaVale McGee (2.39): 24 points, 18 rebounds, plus 2 steals and 4 blocks; and Joakim Noah (1.94): 19 points, 13 rebounds, plus 4 steals and 3 blocks.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Shannon Brown (1.56) popped another 5 threes last night en route to 21 points. It looks like that’s something he does about every 5 games, averaging 1.9 threes on the season. That may sound like a little inconsistency, but in roto leagues, you can take it and put him at #97 on the player rater. If he’s up that high, he’s worth owning in more than the 31% of leagues that currently have him.

Pick Up Lines: After everyone (or maybe it was just us) was all over Toney Douglas (1.53) he went through kind of a rough patch like Natalie Portman and her father. But Toney returned to the free agent scene with 22 points on 5 threes and 8-12 from the field with 3 steals. And I’m sure Miss Nat P will be hotter than that in Black Swan.

Josh McRoberts (1.45) had 9 points, but he doesn’t score much. What you’re looking for is the 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Certainly a better pick up in deep leagues, Josh is worth a look if you need rebounds and defense categories.

Biggest Loser: I guess technically it’s Tyson Chandler (-0.60), but honestly, I consider him a winner just for getting 26 minutes a game this season and holding down a ranking of 71 on the Player Rater.

On Tap: It’s Party Time in ORL because the Heat are there and if they’re not going out to some clubs, then they’re not doing their jobs as the South Beach Party Monsters.

Utah will host New Orleans, giving them their first real challenge in 4 games, and giving us the first Chris Paul / Deron Williams battle of the season.

The Golden Rule: Golden State rockets into Houston like a rocket that got turned on its side on the launch pad and is headed straight for Houston. Or maybe like if you strapped a rocket to that unstoppable train with those two actors on it.

***

Daily rankings and stats come from the GMTR H2H Player Rater (beta version).

Do not miss a day of the Fantasy NBA. Subscribe to Give Me The Rock right now. You can also get bonus (and easily digestible) content by following GMTR on Twitter, or become a fan of GMTR on Facebook! We’re so social!

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From a fantasy perspective, the fact that the Mavs are both old and established makes them a fairly boring team to review. GMTR EXPERT ANALYSIS – that Dirk fellow is going to be a talented basketball player!!! Jason Kidd is old!!! Jason Terry is one of the best 6th men in the league!!!

Unless Chris Paul magically finds his way into a Dallas uniform, Rodrigue Beaubois is the only young guy with a good chance of making some noise in this veteran lineup:

The Depth Chart

PG Jason Kidd, Rodrigue Beaubois, Jose Juan Barea
SG Caron Butler, Jason Terry, Dominique Jones
SF Shawn Marion, DeShawn Stevenson
PF Dirk Nowitzki, Alexis Ajinca
C Brendan Haywood, Tyson Chandler, Ian Mahinmi

***

In looking for any sign of age-related decline in the 32-year old Dirk Nowitzki, the only two negative things  about his game is that his rebounding rate and threes have been on the decline for a few years now. The rest of his stats remain as strong as ever – including 25 ppg with great percentages, low turnovers and still decent rebounding and block numbers. We seen at this point that Dirk is not the type of player who can lead an NBA team to a championship, but he will grow an evil goatee and continue to be one of the great regular season players and a mid first round fantasy guy.

What the hell do you do with Jason Kidd in fantasy leagues? We could just run the same prediction as the past 4 years:

“Kidd is old and this will finally be the year that his decrepit body falls apart”

Ok, lets look at Kidd’s numbers more objectively. While his overall fantasy game is as strong as ever, his game has had some minor age-related decline over the past couple of seasons (although he’s held up amazingly for his age). His rebound, assist and steal rates are now below his career averages and they all saw a small, but distinct drop off starting around 2008-09. However, Kidd has been able to maintain his fantasy value despite this decline by becoming one of the best three-point shooters in the league (43% from behind the arc last season). So as long as Kidd continues to hit 2+ threes a game at a 40% clip, he’ll be no worse than a second or third round player even if the rest of counting stats decline again this season (which is likely). But if he has a bad three point shooting season, or if he takes lesser role due to the rise of Rodrigue Beaubois (or arrival Chris Paul), then the gradual decline is going to turn into a cliff.

Caron Butler started the season on a disappointing note with the Wizards. Then he was traded to the Mavs and fared even worse statistically – averaging 15 points, 5.4 boards, and 1.8 assists in 35 minutes a game for Dallas. The problem for Butler is that Dallas is a fairly deep team at the SG/SF positions, so while he was pushing 40 minutes a game on a shallow Wizards team, 35 is the ceiling for him on the Mavs. Overall, don’t expect Butler to return to his second-round fantasy value days, but a full season in Dallas’ offense should help him mesh better with his teammates and improve his scoring numbers slightly.

Jason Terry has made a career out of being an underrated fantasy guy because he’s merely good in a lot of categories. And ‘good’ is a pretty boring thing in fantasy drafts. Not much will change for Terry this season, he is still going to be the team’s 6th man and net you some points, threes, steals with a great free throw percentage. He’ll also continue to inexplicably have PG eligibility in Yahoo leagues. One thing not to worry about: Terry’s numbers were exactly the same pre and post Caron Butler trade (I checked), which means that the team did not alter the way that they used him after acquiring Butler. Instead, the most likely scenario that could bring down Terry’s numbers is the emergence of Beaubois this season, but that is a big ‘if’ at the moment.

At this point, there are no illusions that Shawn Marion is anywhere close to the multi-category beast that he was in his heyday with the Suns. His rebounding and blocks are way down from their peak in the mid-aughts; and for a guy who use to average well over a three a game, the fact that he was only 3-19 from three all last season is the strongest sign that he’s in the Matrix Revolutions point in his career. But Marion is still worth picking up at the end of drafts and can contribute to teams as a passable rebounder and shot blocker who is running on the fumes of greatness.

Brendan Haywood was getting some fantasy attention at the beginning of last season, thanks to the fact that he was averaging a double-double on the Wizards. Then he was traded to the Mavs, split time with the succubus known as Erick Dampier, saw his minutes drop by 6 per game and his stats drop by 20% across the board.

The Damps departure could have meant good things for Haywood this year, but the Mavs used Dampier’s non-guaranteed contract to pick up Tyson Chandler (because there is nothing Mark Cuban loves more than a good center platoon). Chandler is coming off an injury plagued life, but has already expressed his willingness to come off the bench for the Mavs in a backup role. So while Chandler won’t get enough minutes to have any fantasy value this season, he’ll also take a good chunk out of Haywood’s value as well. Haywood should at least put up similar numbers to what he did last season with the Mavs – and his 8 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks a game will play as a low-end starting center.

Rodrigue Beaubois is the Mavs best sleeper candidate. The speedy 22-year old combo guard has already shown he can score in bunches (witness his 40 point game against the Warriors last March), but for now he slots in as the teams 4th guard. Or it’s possible that Marion moves to the bench, Butler to the 3 and Beaubois could start at SG. Keep an eye on the situation as we get closer to the season. If Beaubois is the starter, you are going to want to draft him.

The rest of Dallas’ bench isn’t going to have any fantasy relevance. Jose Juan Barea will play minimal minutes behind Kidd; DeShawn Stevenson averaged 11 minutes of run with the team last season; rookie Dominique Jones will have a tough time getting minutes this season at SG; and Alexis Ajinca and Ian Mahinmi are both tall.

So, for the guys we want to draft… Here’s your official GMTR Guidance (for a 12 team league):

Dirk Nowitzki: Mid 1st
Jason Kidd: 2nd if you believe/3rd would be better value
Jason Terry: 5th/6th
Caron Butler: 6th
Brendan Haywood: 8th/9th
Shawn Marion: 10+
Rodrigue Beaubois: 10+

Additional Links:

Mavs Moneyball takes a look at the Mavericks rotation and projects Beaubois to be the starter at SG, Butler at SF, and Marion pushed to the bench.

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The rumors about Chris Paul and his trade demands have spread across the internet with the speed and veracity of a California wildfire. As reported by The Associated Press, “Chris Paul has requested to be traded and the New Orleans Hornets have scheduled a meeting with the star guard on Monday, according to a person familiar with the situation.”

Paul has provided the team a short list of teams that he would prefer to be traded to, including the Knicks, Magic, Dallas, Portland and possibly the Lakers.

So, how would each of those trade scenarios work? And what are the fantasy implications of a Chris Paul move out of New Orleans? Keep in mind that almost any deal from the Hornets perspective would have to include Emeka Okafor and his $52 million contract. One of the main points of moving Paul would be to clear cap space and give the Hornets financial flexibility for 2011-2012.**

***

New York Knicks

CP3 to the Knicks would be the easiest trade to accomplish financially. Since the Knicks are still under the cap, the trade does not have to match dollar-for-dollar. Donny Walsh has publicly stated that everyone on the team except for Amare is available (that must be great for team morale), however, most trade scenarios involve some combination of Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Anthony Randolph and the walking expiring contract known as Eddy Curry. On the other side, the Knicks could take on Emeka Okafor’s long term contract. The only constraints the Knicks have is that per league rules new addition Raymond Felton can’t be traded until December 15th and they cannot include more than one of their recent Warriors’ acquisitions in any single trade until December 15th.

Fantasy Impact: Paul joining the Knicks and D’Antoni would be a fantasy boon to his stats, if is possible for something that’s already awesome to actually get awesomer. In fact I’d say it would make him the number 1 overall fantasy pick again this year. He wouldn’t have much to work with on the Knicks other than Amare and possibly Okafor, which actually sounds a lot like his life now on the Hornets. But the up tempo style of play would mesh will Paul perfectly and he’d have the chance to work the pick and roll to death with Amare.

GMTR Rates this trade: 5 out of 5 Van Horns

Orlando Magic

The Magic might now be Paul’s destination of choice because they have a better chance of winning a title than the Knicks. But think about the horrible repercussions of this trade: The NBA would have two superpowers in the state of Florida. And does Florida really deserve that?

Orlando is not as flexible as the New York in terms of salary, so most of trade scenarios revolve around trying to match salaries and salary cap relief rather than swapping young talent. Vince Carter and his expiring contract would probably be involved, along with Brandon Bass, Marcin Gortat and draft picks. The Magic would try to involve Jameer Nelson in a deal since he would become expendable with Paul around, but Nelson has 3 years left on his contract and the Hornets already have a PG who would likely be better than Nelson in Darren Collison.

While Paul may prefer the Magic, I really don’t see how this would be the best haul for the Hornets. Expiring contracts, Brandon Bass and crappy fist round picks? Come on Orlando, you’ll have to do better than that.

Fantasy Impact: Paul and Dwight Howard would be good for half a dozen alley-oops per night alone. Everyone else on the team – including Rashard Lewis, Mickael Pietrus, Q-Rich and Ryan Anderson – would benefit from Paul distributing the ball. It’s a lateral move for Paul in terms of his stats. He probably is asked to do a little less scoring and more distributing on the three-happy Magic.

GMTR Rates this trade: 3.5 out of 5 Van Horns

Dallas Mavericks

Mark Cuban is already all over this, not surprisingly. The Mavs unsuccessfully tried prying Paul away from the Hornets earlier this summer using Erick Dampier’s non-guaranteed contract. With that contract now gone in a trade for Tyson Chandler, Dallas is going to find it tougher to work out a trade. According to the Bleacher Report, the Magic still have “more than $20 million in expiring contracts, young talent, cash, trade exceptions, and first-round picks to offer.”

Those expiring contracts include Caron Butler, Tyson Chandler, DeShawn Stevenson, and JJ Barea. However, per NBA rules Chandler couldn’t be traded until December included in a multi-person trade until September 13. The only real young talent the Mavs have to offer is Rodrigue Beaubois. A trade involving these players would be an epic haul for the Mavs, but it would be pathetic for the Hornets. CP3 for Rodrigue Beaubois and cap space? Nice dream.

Fantasy Implications: I guess Jason Kidd is supposed to move to the bench in this scenario? I’m sure he’d love that. But Paul would have plenty of weapons to work with, including Dirk, Terry, Marion and Haywood. Paul would probably be asked to take less of a scoring role on the Mavs, but the assists would be great.

GMTR Rates this trade: 3 out of 5 Van Horns

Portland Trail Blazers

Before it fell apart at the last minute, the Blazers almost worked out a trade for Paul before the draft which included Joel Przybilla, Andre Miller, Nicolas Batum, Jerryd Bayless and the Blazers first round draft pick. Now with additional teams joining the bidding for Paul, the Blazers might have to sweeten the deal a little by including LaMarcus Aldridge or Greg Oden or Marcus Camby. The Blazers definitely have the young talent to make this trade happen; it’s just a matter of how much they are willing to give up for Paul.

Fantasy Impact: Paul running alongside Brandon Roy and possibly Aldridge, Batum, Camby and Oden? Yes please.

GMTR Rates this trade: 4 out of 5 Van Horns

LA Lakers

The Lakers are in a position to offer up some high quality talent in return for Paul. However, it would likely be a tough sell since they would have to fundamentally alter a team that just won a championship. But to quote the great movie Tommy Boy, “you’re either growing or you’re dying, there ain’t no third direction.”

A Laker trade for CP3 would most likely involve Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and Sasha Vujacic. Unforunately that means the Lakers would be trading away their great height advantage, which is a big reason they won the title this season. They also weaken their bench a good amount with the departure of Odom and to a lesser extent, Vujacic.

The Fantasy Implications: A lot of unknowns here. Paul doesn’t seem to be a great fit with the triangle offense and how much would Kobe be willing to play off the ball and let Paul control the game? The Lakers’ offensive scheme doesn’t seem like it would do Paul any favors, but people who know things think it would work.

GMTR Rates this trade: 1.5 out of 5 Van Horns

***

Just because your team is not on Chris Paul’s short list does not mean you can’t have some fun. Cue insane trade scenarios (c/o At the Hive for compiling much of this list)

Atlanta Hawks – Josh Smith, Jamal Crawford, Jordan Crawford and Jeff Teague for Paul and Okafor?

Boston Celtics – Rajon Rondo straight up?

Cleveland Cavaliers – JJ Hickson, Mo Williams and picks for Paul and Okafor? Cavs fans are so defeated right now, they can’t even imagine it.

Charlotte Bobcats – Erick Dampier’s contract, Gerald Wallace, a bunch of draft picks and whatever else the Hornets want?

New Jersey Nets – Derek Favors for Paul and Okafor?

Los Angeles Clippers – In true Clippers’ spirit, Baron Davis for Paul, straight-up.

Minnesota Timberwolves – Ricky Rubio, Corey Brewer and picks? David Kahn would never do that, he probably thinks Rubio is better than Paul.

Memphis Grizzlies – Three-way deal with the Pacers where the Hornets get Zach Randolph, O.J. Mayo, Hasheem Thabeet, Darrell Arthur, Brandon Rush?

The craziest trade possible involving 4 teams that sees Paul end up on the Rockets and moves Yao to the Warriors?

***

* Remember shortly after Katrina when Chris Paul and the Hornets were the feel good story of the NBA? Yeah, that love faded quickly.

** About a year after acquiring Okafor and the team is already trying to desperately move him. Well done Hornets.

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Line of the Night: Jason Kidd (1.12) celebrated what I believe to be his 37th birthday with the Line of the Night, tallying 26 points including 6 threes, 6 rebounds, and 12 assists. And if you read on, I’ve got a birthday present for you.

Honorable Mentions: Drew Gooden (1.00) put up 26 and 20. Carmelo Anthony (0.86) ran around with Knicks and ended up with 36 points in a somewhat shameful Nuggets loss.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Brandon Rush (1.01) is owned in 38% of leagues, which probably means he’s already been picked up by anyone still paying attention. But, if you’re still looking for a SG to have an impact in your playoffs, see if Rush is available.

The Biggest Loser: Well, since Roy Hibbert (-0.71) has played well enough to boost his ownership to 60%, but a performance like last night might temper people’s expectations for next season. Hibbert spent 30 minutes on the court, going 2-6 from the field and 1-6 from the line for 5 points and 5 rebounds. He did have 2 blocks, so there’s that for your big man stats.

All Eyez On Me: Wednesday is the night when we load up on NBA games, and tonight is no exception. There’s Orlando in Atlanta, who is trying to usurp Boston’s place at the #3 seed. And speaking of Boston, they play Denver tonight, so that’s not exactly going to be easy pickins.

The Lakers are in San Antonio in a game that could mean quite a lot to San Antonio. And for once, it means that Tim Duncan will have to keep playing through the end of the fantasy playoffs.

Finally, Utah @ Toronto is another game that could influence where those teams end up in the standings.

The Golden Ticket: I’m going to count Sacramento @ New Jersey because the Nets’ opponents are hitting triple-digits in almost every game. Memphis @ Golden State is the true Golden Ticket, so keep that in mind when you’re looking at the choices for the GMTR Weekly FreeRoll.

Hump Day Girl: I could have sworn I put up a bunch of pics of birthday boy Jason Kidd’s lady-friend Hope Dworaczyk before, but perhaps I balked at the last minute. Or maybe I just got distracted by the pictures… Oh, and since we’re all now celebrating Kidd’s birthday, I’ll point out that Wikipedia says Hope is only 25.

—–

Dont miss a day of the Fantasy NBA. Subscribe to Give Me The Rock  right now. You can also get bonus (and easily digestible) content by following GMTR on Twitter.

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Since it’s New Year’s Eve, I’ll go out by saying that there are some subtle nuances to fantasy basketball that I still don’t understand. I believe that these aspects are mostly mental and emotional, though, which again shows why if you want to be a true winner in fantasy sports, you must set aside any sort emotion and leave your ruths at the door.

Line of the Night: Jason Kidd (1.29) getting Line of the Night last night is a small example of what I described above. Kidd had 16 assists, yes, but paired that with 14 points on merely decent 45% shooting. He did also have 7 rebounds, 2 threes, 4 steals, and a block, while only turning the ball over 2 times, so with that kind of line, I know I shouldn’t be so surprised that he was the best of 174 players last night. But I have this notion of Kidd as washed up and past his prime, which is, actually, a more apt description for Steve Nash, who currently sits at #95 on the 9-category Player Rater, compared to Kidd, who is indeed a Top 20 player (#17). If you look at the 8-category rater, Nash jumps to 38, but Kidd also moves up to #11.

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.

- The Jedi Code (Based on the meditations of Odan-Urr)

Honorable Mentions: Mario Chalmers (1.27) had a line that looks more like a LotN to my emotions: 21 points with 6 threes, shooting 78%; 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 0 turnovers.

Marcus Camby (1.09) pulled down 24 rebounds to go with 15 points, 3 blocks, and a steal.

Jason Terry (1.06) makes the list since he topped 1.0, but his 29 points on 5 threes and 52% shooting isn’t as appealing to my emotions as much since it comes with only 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal.

Andrew Bogut (0.99) was pretty close to the 1.0 mark with his 20 and 14 and 3 blocks.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Grant Hill (0.93) played 39 minutes to Matt Barnes’ 27. In those 39 minutes Hill (who is owned in 49% of Yahoo leagues, thus barely making the cutoff) had 15 and 7 with 6 steals. If you’re in a league with more than 12 teams that also happens to be in the 51% of leagues where Hill is available, he’s probably worth a pickup. Especially recommended for H2H leagues with daily lineup changes because of his inconsistency.

Michael Finley (0.80) had 4 threes, but I wouldn’t expect him to be near the top of the charts on a regular basis.

Luke Ridnour (0.79) who was one of the top players of December who might still be available in your league, is still only taken in 40% of Yahoo leagues. Last night he had 21 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 threes, a steal, and even 2 blocks. He made 60% of his 15 shots, so he’s helping you out in every category except Turnovers (he had 3).

The Biggest Loser: Francisco Garcia (-0.45) has been back since the end of November without making it onto my fantasy radar (even though I drafted him in one league). He’s owned in 54% of leagues, though, which makes him significant enough to point out this line: 23 minutes, 3 points (1/5 from the field, 1/2 from the line), 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover.

All Eyez On Me: It appears that the good holiday games were all used up on Christmas, but with Drew Gooden out, expect good things from Dwight Howard today as Orlando destroys the Bulls.

Golden State Plays: Oklahoma City. Not sure what to say about that, except if you’ve got daily changes, the Thunder players are probably good ones to make sure you’ve got in your lineup. If they had more quality run-n-gun type players I’d list some names for you. Side note: Golden Stats is only 4-16 on the road, while the Thunder are 2-14 at home, so this should be a real Battle Royale.

Dont miss a day of the Fantasy NBA. Subscribe to Give Me The Rock  right now. You can also get bonus (and easily digestible) content by following GMTR on Twitter.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall set me free.

- The Sith Code

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So, today we will be using ESPN’s daily leader board which has a formula at the bottom that seems to vaguely resemble John Hollinger’s Back of the Napkin Game Score calculation. I can’t be sure that these stats are absolute fantasy rating numbers, but from a quick overview, they seem to be close enough for a Sunday evening.

Line of the Night: Dirk Nowitzki (69.0) secures what I believe is at least his 2nd LotN by scoring 46 points including 10/10 from the charity stripe.

Honorable Mentions: LeBron James (62.1) just did what he does, scoring 33 to go with 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 steals. He was 11/12 from the line, and is at 80% on the season, which is well above his career average of 73%. If he can maintain that 80% for the entire season, he might get back in front of Kobe and Amare in next season’s mock drafts.

It was a good day for Free Throws as Vince Carter (59.5) made 14 of 14 en route to 39 points. Zach Randolph (51.7) had 30 and 13 including 2 three-pointers and 3 steals to lead the Clippers over the Rockets. Carmelo Anthony (51.7) had 27/9/6 with 3 threes. Al Harrington (51.1) is probably going to end up as the unintentional sleeper of the decade this season. Last night he had 33/6/4 with 5 threes. Could you ask for a better small ball Center?

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Checking in at #22 overall (out of a possible 196) with a score of 37.1 is Rob Kurz. He evidently plays for the Golden State Warriors. Yeah. Really. He played 33 minutes last night, ending up with 20 points and 7 rebounds. He made 3 threes, and shot just poorly enough to pass Patrick’s FG% test (he shot 63%). He is currently owned in 2% of Yahoo leagues. And I am man enough to admit I had not heard of him before right now. The only thing I can offer in the way of fantasy analysis is that the Warriors were playing without Ronny Turiaf nor Brandan Wright. Kurz had a +/- of -19, but then when you’re down by 14 after the 1st and 2nd quarters, and then 26 after the 3rd quarter, it’s hard not to have a pretty ugly plus/minus (witness Jamal Crawford and Stephen Jackson’s -25 and -26 respectively). According to ESPN, Kurz was the starting SF. I guess we’ll just have to see where this goes when Wright and Turiaf recover from the flu they probably gave each other.

The Biggest Loser: Brad Miller scored a 7.2 on the ESPN scale, but then, he only played in 15 minutes of a blowout loss to the Knicks. For someone who’s owned in 87% of Yahoo leagues, though, 4 points and 3 rebounds on 33% shooting is not cutting the mustard (or whatever other antiquated phrase you want to throw in there).

All Eyez On Me: Well, since 2 of the 4 games today are already over, I can say I’m definitely surprised that Memphis was able to pull off a 16 point victory over Miami. Other than that, I’ll just let tomorrow’s post speak for me.

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Dallas Mavericks
Jake Kerr: Mavs Moneyball

Houston Rockets
grungedave and UofTOrange: The Dream Shake

Memphis Grizzlies
Joshua Coleman: 3 Shades of Blue

New Orleans Hornets
Rohan: At the Hive
ticktock6 & mW: Hornets Hype
Ryan Schwan & Ron Hitley: Hornets247.com

San Antonio Spurs
Graydon Gordian: 48 Minutes of Hell

Also see links to all the previews at CelticsBlog.com

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Nowitzki was playing defense against a driving Ime Udoka. The pair collided in midair and Nowitzki landed on his left leg, which buckled underneath him. He first grabbed his left ankle, then just below the knee. X-rays were negative, but he will have an MRI exam Monday.

As Cuban left the locker room toward his suite, he held up two fingers to indicate the weeks Nowitzki is expected to miss.

Ok. That note about Cuban seems kind of ridiculous, but if we go with it, what does that mean for the next couple weeks for Dallas? Malik Allen was the guy who replaced Dirk and he finished with a whopping 0 points and 4 fouls in 14 minutes. So, it seems safe to ignore Malik. Rather, it was Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse who got extra play in the game as the Mavs went small for much of the 4th quarter. Both should be better plays for the next couple weeks (assuming Cuban is correct), but unfortunately, the Mavs bench is so weak, I don’t see how anyone else will step up. But, kudos to those with Jason Terry.. he’s back.

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Line of the Night: Dirk Nowitzki came away with a 5.86 by scoring 35 points on 11/23 and 10/12 and 3 threes. He had 11 rebounds and 5 blocks (I’m still pretty sure NBA.com weights the defense categories more than other stuff, but I’m also pretty sure they’re right for doing so).

Honorable Mentions: Drew Gooden (5.12) helped Chicago bounce back from the loss to Chris Paul with 19 and 11 along with 3 steals and 4 blocks; Michael Redd (5.04) also made an argument for still mattering by scoring 27 points on 4 threes, and 11/12 from the FT line.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Vladimir Radmanovic (4.88) took advantage of Pau Gasol’s injured ankle by scoring 21 points off of 4 threes, and grabbing the 10 rebounds that Gasol probably would have had. After 5 points and 5 rebounds on the 16th, though, this game appears to be somewhat anomalous for Radmanovic. But, on the other hand, Gasol is supposed to be out for another week and a half or so.

The Biggest Loser: Monta Ellis (1.79) has established himself as a valuable fantasy player this season, but going 3/9 last night with only 2 rebounds and 1 assist while committing 2 turnovers tells you why he should only be a late 3rd rounder next season (yeah, some of us are looking to next season already).

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