Fantasy Basketball Nba Fantasy Last Night

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

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Rasho Nesterovic had a brilliant run in March, averaging nearly 14 points, seven boards and a block per game for the month. However, Chris Bosh is now back. And that means a) the end of Rasho's monster (relatively) fantasy run and b) the Raptors should stop being so awful. Not that it matters to you as much. However, Rasho should only be used as a number two center at best while owners in daily leagues should only start him for favorable matchups (see his 10 points, three boards and one turnover in 25 minutes off the bench against Denver last night).

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Jamario Moon is also benefiting from Bosh's return. He has three straight games with double digit rebounds and posted 15 points, 15 boards, three blocks and a steal last night. It's entirely possible that he's unowned if your league is shallow enough, so notice the resurgence.

Dirk Nowitzki will miss the next two weeks. If you own him, I'm sorry, but you may have just been booted from the playoffs. Brandon Bass is the best bench guy the Mavs have available, but it will probably end up being Malik Allen that fills in because of his size. Expect Jason Terry and Jason Kidd's scoring to go up while field goal percentages go down. Josh Howard will have to step up his game too, if the Mavericks want to think about making the playoffs.

Gilbert Arenas thought he was returning last night, but it wasn't to be. He could be back as early as Tuesday at Portland. In fact, he was so confident he was playing last night, that he showed up without a blazer to the game against the Pistons. It's risky to play him in his first game back, but if you're desperate, I'd take the gamble.

Brandon Wright scored six points and had three blocks last night ... in 11 minutes. That's ridiculous per 40 production, but it's also a decent lower end forward total. Wright's still not posting every day big numbers, so he can be had, and he's a nice source of blocks.

It would probably be worth giving a shout out to Lamar Odom for last night's line: 19 points, 22 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals. Disgusting. Playing the Warriors is good for fantasy production.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

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Ronald Murray got the starting nod for the Pacers last night. This is not shocking because he's been getting minutes. It is odd though, that a team in Indiana's position would rather give Flip run than let Travis Diener develop further; presumably this could also be a move to let Diener get more comfortable in the role he was used to. Or something. Regardless, Flip certainly has value as someone who will score points and pick up threes while hurting your percentages and not really giving you many assists from the PG position. If that's something you're interested in.

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Z-Bo represent! Zach Randolph scored 21 points and pulled down 14 boards while starting at center against the Pacers on St. Patty's Day, showing us what he should have been doing all along in the Eastern Conference. Were it not for that stupid Eddy Curry and those meddling kids. Randolph's shooting percentage was looked about as appeasing as a Guinness at 6 a.m., but that should improve some as he takes more shots in the post. Still, he's going to have a nice run to close out the season for fantasy owners.

Josh Powell put up a double-double last night against the defenseless Al Jefferson, going for 10 points, 12 boards and two blocks. Powell is a low end center, obviously, but you could do worse around playoff time. Of course, beware the insanely high rate with which he picks up personal fouls as those aren't always "great" for court time. He should see plenty of run until Chris Kaman returns.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

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I never wish injury on anyone. But just like Old Yeller, at least the Knicks had the sense to put Eddy Curry out to pasture for this season. But you know what that means? Well, not much in terms of real basketball, since the Knicks stink. But in fantasy terms it means a lot, especially since Isiah Thomas wasn't smart enough to stock a second center on his roster. Zach Randolph should be center eligible soon and that's a huge boon to fantasy owners looking for late season positional mobility. It also means that David Lee will be starting. Which is you-uge. Also, you can expect to see Randolph's field goal percentage bump up and his rebounds to increase as well without Curry clogging the lane.

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Ronny Turiaf might be able to backdoor some center eligibility as well, depending on Pau Gasol's injury length. He scored 13 points with eight boards, two dimes and three blocks on Sunday against the Rockets. Look to grab him immediately in smaller leagues with lower eligibility requirements.

Gerald Wallace continues to come off the bench after his return from a concussion. The Bobcats want to make sure he's good and healthy, plus they have an interest in making sure he doesn't disrupt their recent run of chemistry. (Not shockingly coinciding with the release of Jeff McInnis.) Expect "Crash" to ease back into the rotation, but you should be starting him.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

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If you don't get the Bad Boys reference, I'm sorry. It appears my time has passed me by. Anywho, Kyle Lowry got the most run of the trio of young Memphis point guards last night, seeing 32 minutes and scoring 24 points with four assists and two steals. Javaris Crittenton had 30 minutes and scored 17 points with four assists and a steal, while Mike Conley, Jr., scored zero points (0 for six shooting) with one assist and a steal in 16 minutes. All of this is important, because for the rest of the season, the Grizzlies are essentially having a tryout for point guard. Whoever is playing well will keep getting the run. I love Conley, and he's legit, but I think people undervalue Lowry. Since it appears he's not going to have a tremendous leash, well, adjust accordingly.

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Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes are both starters now (do these guys have dirt on a slew of NBA coaches?). Hughes put up eight points with five assists and two steals in 25 minutes while Gooden went nuts, albeit against Memphis, for 21 points and 14 rebounds. It's classic sell high on either guy, although they're certainly doing their best to spite LeBron James at this point.

Mike Miller has been out almost the equivalent of a week in NBA games for the Grizzlies, but is expected to return tonight. Consider holding him out one more game because back injuries = bad field goal percentage.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

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There's just something wrong to me, that even with Zach Randolph nursing a sore foot and not playing, David Lee still doesn't get to start. What does the guy have to do? Grab 16 rebounds in 30 minutes? Oh right. He did that. He did shoot two of nine, but if my coach didn't let me on the floor, I'd be hoisting shots every time I got on the hardwood too. Usually Lee, is the king of the plus/minus, but there wasn't a single Knick in the plus last night, so solace is at least found in him being their leading rebounder.

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Andrei Kirilenko took a nasty little hit from Dirk Nowitzki last night and had to leave the game with only four minutes under his belt. The primary beneficiaries in terms of playing time would be a mix of Kyle Korver (who I think the Jazz actually like off the bench) and Matt Harpring. Harpring's worth an add and Korver is probably owned, although the latter would be must start material if he ended up in the starting lineup.

Tiny little tip of the cap to Deron Williams who decided to let Jason Kidd know who the elite in the L are, with a 17 point, 20 assist night that included five boards and two blocks. We'd like him to shoot a little bit better, but it's tough to be picky. Very nice.

Brevin Knight appears to be back at regular PG duties for the Clipjoint now that Sam Cassell is gone -- he's certainly always a nice add if you're looking for steals and assists. The guy that's worth keeping an eye on (because Knight tends to get hurt) is *shudder* Dan Dickau. He played 16 minutes last night and recorded four dimes in that span. A starter is a starter, folks.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

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Stephen A. Smith rolled over in his vocal-chord enhancing cyborg chamber last night as Rasho Nesterovic posted a very nice line -- 16 points, five boards and three blocks -- with Chris Bosh beginning to sit out a week with a knee issue. Nesterovic isn't going to set the world on fire, but he can be a nice option in deeper leagues for boards and blocks over the next week, and as long as Bosh stays injured, he's a cheap filler. Plus, he kind of looks like Dwight Schrute, so that's a bonus.

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It's safe to say Devin Harris is going to take that starter's job in New Jersey. He scored another 21 off the bench last night with five boards and two dimes in 35 minutes; Marcus Williams had eight points with three boards and two dimes, plus four turnovers in only 18 minutes. Get prepared to see Williams' minutes continue to dive.

Luis Scola went off for 18 points and 14 boards against the Nuggets. With Yao Ming done for the season, you could really see that Scola felt a need to carry the offensive load. Unlikely he's available in your league, but if he is, get ready for a boost in value for the remainder of the season.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

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With all due respect to TZ and the game the Kings played (more on that in a second), last night was precisely why the Atlanta Hawks traded for Mike Bibby. He finished the win against his old team with 24 points, 12 assists, five rebounds, one steal, one block, two threes, seven of 14 from the floor and only one turnover. That, folks, is a helluva game. And what we used to think he was capable of on a regular basis, although admittedly, this might have been particularly spite based, given how much it surpasses his "prime" numbers (arguably either his final season in Vancouver or three-four years ago in Sactown). Meaning, Bibby will be good, and you should start him, but this is the exception I think. Not the rule.

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Welcome to your new home, Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden. Hughes finished with 29 points, six assists and three steals while Gooden notched a dub-dub with 10 points and 15 boards. Two can play at this game, Mr. Wallace. They're probably not going to be starters, but they'll be fantasy start worthy. Spite is such a beautiful thing.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

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The whole Yao Ming out-for-the-season thing sure came on suddenly didn't it. The bad news? You're not going to replace his production. Yeah, I know, you needed that. The not-really-but-kinda good news? There's more fantasy love to go around. Witness Luther Head, Carl Landry, Rafer Alston, Luis Scola and, of course, Tracy McGrady all scoring in double figures last night. Expect point totals -- across the board for the most part -- to go up while percentages drop. Dikembe Mutumbo is *shudder* a very real and possible fantasy option at center. He won't wow you with scoring ... in fact, he won't wow you with anything, but he did block four shots last night. And blocks are rare, so he's got that going for him.

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Was that a Spencer Hawes sighting last night? The Kings rook had 16 points, two boards and two assists in 25 minutes. Hawes could be a surprise option going forward in terms of low-end fantasy production -- the Kings are out of the playoffs and need to see what they've got in the young guys, so consider him in deeper leagues. (And yeah, the fact that the Kings shot 42% as a team might have something to do with his bump in PT).

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

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T.J. Ford and Carlos Delfino both went off, off the bench, on Monday night. Ford finished with 16 points, seven dimes and five boards, while Delfino scored 23 points with a ridiculous six of seven threes, five boards and a dime. The importance? Jose Calderon, would-be All Star, is getting tired. At least that's the rumor floating down from the border. Which means that as the Raps prepare for a playoff run, Ford and Delfino will need to play bigger roles. Ergo, you should do what you can to get their services for the rest of the season.

DeShawn Stevenson scored a career high 33 points and hit a buzzer beater to sting the Hornets (sorry) as the Wizards got a much needed win. Antonio Daniels is still banged up and Gilbert Arenas' return has been delayed further; also, Caron Butler is still rehabbing, kind of, so Stevenson will likely be called on to score more in the foreseeable future. Do with that what you will.

Drew Gooden scored 17 points with eight boards and two steals off the bench for the Bulls last night; he apparently got word of Ben Wallace's decision to return to prominence. Seriously though, Chicago seems determined to not give Tyrus Thomas playing time, so don't be shocked to see Gooden get run in the Windy City. He's probably not auto-start worthy just quite yet, but it's worth monitoring, and he's worth grabbing if he got dropped during the move.

Erick Dampier pulled in 16 rebounds but more disconcertingly for the Mavs, picked up six fouls. They need someone that can "back him up" (meaning that said person wouldn't necessarily have to be "worse" than Dampier, just not as expensive and perhaps a situational shot blocker ... Either way, expect Damp's value to fluctuate greatly, and if you can still sell high, do.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

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I recently added Robert Swift for $25 in a really, really deep league. Woo, me. No, seriously, what a nightmare. The Supersonics promised to give him some run because he was going to be a restricted FA and they wanted to know what they had. Instead, Swift is likely out for the season. Taking his place? Johan Petro (who I dropped for him, of course). Petro scored seven points, grabbed 10 boards and blocked two shots last night and in he's gonna be available in most leagues. He's not a total gamer, but hey, it's late in the season and if you're in a deep league and need a center, you could do worse. (Rasho NEST-er-o-VIC, anyone?) The other guy to watch? Mickael Gelabale. He's a youngster out of France and he scored 12 points two games ago and 21 with eight boards, an assist and a steal against the Lakers last night. Look, the Sonics are punting on this season. That doesn't mean you can't take advantage. If Gelabale continues to get run, scoop him.

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Tyrus Thomas went for 18 points, six boards, five dimes, two blocks and a steal last night. Maybe we can stop calling him an "enigma" or some-such-honkey, and just admit that Scott Skiles didn't know how to use him. Everyone else fine with that? If your trade deadline hasn't passed, trade for him -- could be a monster second half.