Fantasy Sports

BY ADAM RONIS

Analysis, recommendations and waiver wire pickups

KNICKS 114, WIZARDS 108
Are the Knicks better? Yes. Can you count on them for consistent fantasy stats? No. The Knicks will put up big numbers against poor defensive teams such as the Wizards and Bobcats as they showed this week. Chris Duhon won't score much, but he will help in assists. He took just five shots, hit two three's for six points, 12 assists and seven rebounds.

Jamal Crawford had 23 points on 8-for-18, including four three's with three assists and one steal. Zach Randolph should be solid most nights. He had 22 points and 13 rebounds on 8-for-16. He doesn't block shots and really only helps in points and rebounds. Wilson Chandler got the start over David Lee and had 17 points, four rebounds, two assists, one three and shot 8 of 12. He's a good pickup, but still played 29 minutes, which is just three more than Lee, so don't look into him starting as a huge deal. Check the minutes played. Chandler is a good fit for this offense and has good upside. He should do well against the bad teams. Lee had 13 points and shot 1 of 4 from the foul line and had four fouls. Be patient and see his role the next few games. For those that signed Quentin Richardson this past week, you were disappointed. He had six points, four rebounds and four assists and took just five shots in 21 minutes. He'll be inconsistent. Nate Robinson is worth owning. He'll be able to jack up shots in this offense and is playing about 30 minutes. He had 17 points, six assists, three steals, one three and shot 8 of 15.

The Wizards aren't a good team and Antawn Jamison (24 points and 12 rebounds) and Caron Butler (30 points, seven rebounds and three assists) are the only guys that should be owned in most leagues. Nick Young is an option in deeper leagues. He had 16 points on 7 of 12.

BOBCATS 92, HORNETS 89
Chris Paul had 20 points, 10 assists, six steals and shot 8 of 13 from the field. Mo Peterson is just too inconsistent for me to own. He had 10 points and four rebounds. Tyson Chandler was in foul trouble and had a bad line with two points, seven rebounds and three blocks. David West fouled out and had 11 points, five rebounds, one assist and one block. Don't worry. I like him this season. Peja Stojakovic had 20 points, seven rebounds and hit six three's, so it looks like the ankle is better. I like James Posey in deeper leagues as I have mentioned before. He played 29 minutes and had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and hit two three's.

If you drafted Jason Richardson , you were looking for a lot of three's. He only averaged one in the first four games and has attempted less than four per game. He will come around. He hit two three's, had 20 points, five rebounds and two steals. Raymond Felton shot 7 of 9 from the field and yes, that's not a typo. Don't expect many of those good shooting nights. He's very erratic with his shot. He had 20 points, three assists and one steal. Emeka Okafor had 10 points and 10 rebounds on 4 of 5 from the field. With rumors that Gerald Wallace could be traded, he didn't have a good game. He went 1-for-5 from the field, but hit all six free throws, had eight points, seven rebounds, four steals and one block. Keep an eye on D.J. Augustin . He's very quick and could see an increase in minutes. He had 11 points, four assists and hit one three in 20:54.

CAVALIERS 111, PACERS 107
I was going to do a waiver wire story, but since I am writing extensive wraps, I'll mention certain guys throughout. While Mike Dunleavy is out, pickup Marquis Daniels. He'll be solid in the Pacers up-tempo offense and can help across the board. He had 17 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, one steal and shot 7 of 18. One of my favorite players, who I ranked extremely high and took in the second round of almost every draft is Danny Granger. He will put up huge numbers. He had 33 points on 13 of 21, including 5 of 10 from three-point range and had three rebounds, two assists and one steal. T.J. Ford had 13 points, five assists and four rebounds with one three. Troy Murphy just took five shots and had six points and nine rebounds. I like him this season. In deeper leagues, consider Roy Hibbert, who had 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 19 minutes, but he fouled out.

LeBron James had 27 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, four blocks, one steal and one three. Just need to see an improvement in free throws. He was showing progress the last two games and went 4 of 7 tonight. Mo Williams had 21 points, four assists and two three's. Anderson Varejao had his best game so far with 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals on 8 of 12. He's an option in deeper leagues. Keep in mind he's prone to foul trouble.

NETS 103, PISTONS 96
Did Allen Iverson make his Pistons debut tonight? That may be the case, but Devin Harris stole the spotlight with a career-high 38 points. He shot 9-for-15 and 20 of 24 from the foul line. He had five rebounds and two assists. I like him for this season and own him in a couple of leagues. There's not a lot of consistent offensive weapons on the Nets and Harris will put up good numbers. So will Vince Carter, who had 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Josh Boone is too inconsistent and one of the worst free throw shooters in the league. He had 18 points and 14 rebounds on 9-for-12. Next game could be two points and four rebounds. Yi Jianlian can shoot and had 12 points and nine rebounds.

As for Iverson, he had 24 points, six assists, three rebounds and one steal on 6-for-12. Richard Hamilton had 22 points, four rebounds and four three's.

CELTICS 101, BUCKS 89
Rajon Rondo won't score much, but he will get assists, steals and rebound well for a guard. He shot 3 of 5 and had eight points, eight assists, two rebounds and three steals. Paul Pierce had 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Kevin Garnett had 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

Luke Ridnour is the starter for the Bucks. He had 12 points, four assists and one steal. Charlie Villanueva played 34 minutes and had 13 points and 12 rebounds on 6-for-17. Hang on to him. Richard Jefferson had 20 points and five rebounds. Ramon Sessions had 11 points, two steals and five turnovers. He remains the backup to Ridnour. Michael Redd didn't play and could miss Saturday, too.

HAWKS 110, RAPTORS 92
Josh Smith sprained his ankle and is out 2 to 4 weeks. Look for Marvin Williams to benefit. Pick him up. He had 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals on 7-for-14. It also means more shots for Joe Johnson, who I love this season. He shot 6-for-10 with two three's for 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. I was surprised how far Mike Bibby fell in some drafts. He'll have some poor shooting games, but I like him. He had 19 points, 12 assists and hit five three's with just one turnover.

Jose Calderon shot just 2-for-12, both three's, but had 12 assists to go with six points. Chris Bosh will have a great season and had 26 points, eight rebounds and went 8 of 15 from the field and 10 of 12 from the foul line. Stay patient with Jermaine O'Neal. He had 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks on 7-for-10.

HEAT 99, SPURS 83
I got Dwyane Wade in one draft at No. 9 and I am feeling very good about that. Check back with me if he gets injured. He's looking phenomenal. He had 33 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and shot 14 of 25. Mario Chalmers will be inconsistent, but he should be owned. He had just two points with four rebounds and seven assists. Already said this about Udonis Haslem, but if you can move him, do it. I know centers are hard to find. Still, he doesn't block shots. I think you could get something more useful for him. Find a team desperate for a center. He had 15 points and 10 rebounds on 5-for-8. I stayed away from Shawn Marion this season and if you took him in the first round, you will be disappointed. He'll be solid, but not what he was in the past. He had four points, seven rebounds and four steals. Michael Beasley had 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

What is up with all these point guards and ankle injuries? Tony Parker is the latest and he will miss two weeks. That means get Roger Mason!!! Someone besides Tim Duncan (22 points and 11 rebounds) needs to score and it will be Mason. He had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds and hit five three's.

BULLS 100, SUNS 83
Derrick Rose had 18 points, six assists and two steals on 8-for-11. He's looking good. The Bulls shuffled their starting lineup, but look at minutes played. Kirk Hinrich started and played just 15:12 and had five points, five steals and five assists before leaving with a thumb injury. He will have an MRI Saturday. Aaron Gray started and played 14:45 and had two points and four rebounds. Luol Deng had 14 points and Drew Gooden had 11 points and seven rebounds. Ben Gordon came off the bench and played 32:53 and had 23 points, six assists, four rebounds and four three's. He will get his minutes. Tyrus Thomas came off the bench and played 26:21 and had 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks on 6-for-12. He had four fouls. Stick with him and see how his role pans out. Joakim Noah played 30:33, but a lot of the team was in foul trouble. He had nine points and 14 rebounds.

Amare Stoudemire had 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. He shot 16 of 18 from the foul line. Wish I owned him. Steve Nash had just six points and five assists.

JAZZ 104, THUNDER 97
Deron who? Deron Williams missed another game and the Jazz are 5-0 without him. Carlos Boozer had 21 points, nine rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block and shot 7-for-14. Andrei Kirilenko had 16 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocls.

Get Kevin Durant now before he blows up. He had 24 points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal, one three and shot 9-for-15. Jeff Green had 22 points, five rebounds, three three's and three steals on 6-for-13. I like him, but in deeper leagues. He needs to show more consistency.

KINGS 121, TIMBERWOLVES 109
After a slow start, Kevin Martin is coming around. He had 26 points, six assists, five rebounds and two three's. Brad Miller returned from suspension and had 11 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Spencer Hawes came off the bench and played 21:47 since Miller had five fouls. Hawes also had five fouls and had 13 points and eight rebounds. John Salmons had 23 points, three rebounds and two assists. Francisco Garcia will be out an additional two to three weeks.

Mike Miller had 16 points, six rebounds, two assists and two three's. I think he will be good. Sebastian Telfair moved into the starting lineup. I covered him in high school and he didn't play college. He has the talent, but needs work on his outside shot. He can rack up the assists. He had 15 points, seven assists and shot 5 of 12. Pick him up if you need assists. Kevin Love also started and had 20 points and eight rebounds, but had five fouls. Randy Foye came off the bench and played 25:35. He had 11 points, three three's and four assists. Don't cut him.

NUGGETS 108, MAVERICKS 105
Chauncey Billups made his return to Denver and had 15 points, three assists, three steals, hit two three's and shot 5-for-17. Nene looked very good with 19 points, shot 8-for-12 and had seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. With Iverson gone, Carmelo Anthony could lead the league in scoring. He had 28 points, eight rebounds, six assists, shot 7-for-18 and 14-for-14 from the foul line.

Jason Kidd was given many open shots and hit them. He had 22 points, six three's, 10 rebounds, nine assists, two blocks and one steal. I keep saying he's not done yet. He won't score a lot, but he will help in other categories. Keep an eye on Gerald Green in deeper leagues. The Mavs may be forced to play him more. He had 13 points, two three's and shot 5-for-9 in 14:41 and played the final minutes of the game.

GRIZZLIES 109, WARRIORS 104
O.J. Mayo is looking good so far. He had 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists, one three and shot 8-for-19. Look for Rudy Gay to explode soon. He had 23 points, two three's, four rebounds, one steal and one block on 8-for-20. Darrell Arthur had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Marc Gasol fouled out and had just eight points and six rebounds in 17:15. Hakim Warrick had 19 points and 10 rebounds on 7-for-12.

Pick up Keleena Azubuike!!! Al Harrington is hurt and Azubuike started and had 21 points, two three's, six rebounds, one steal and one block and shot 8-for-16. He fouled out. Brandan Wright also started and had six points and three blocks in 20:46. Always tough to decipher things with Don Nelson. Corey Maggette missed the game with a hamstring injury.

ROCKETS 92, CLIPPERS 83
Rafer Alston is struggling, but played 39:33. He had 12 points and eight assists on 4-for-12. After looking great Thursday, Tracy McGrady was not good. He had two points, six rebounds and shot 0-for-5. I said it since day one; trade him before the injury arrives. Carl Landry shows flashes of brilliance and he had 20 points, nine rebounds and shot 7-for-14. Keep him on your radar.

Marcus Camby is working his way back slowly. He played 26:03 and had six points, 13 rebounds and one block. It has helped Chris Kaman, who had 23 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. He shot 11-for-18. Tim Thomas left in the first quarter with a sprained ankle.