Fantasy Basketball-Starting 5-January 17

It was an extremely busy NBA-day yesterday as the league commemorated Martin Luther King, Jr. by filling up the day and night with 11 games. King played hoops and football in High School. Basketballelite had a great column paying tribute to the “Martin Luther King Effect.” Check it out if you’re not sure who MLK was or what the big deal is about what he accomplished.

On the court, we had the usual mixture of some teams lookin’ great and others lookin’ bad. As we’ve become accustom to in the compressed schedule, some good teams looked bad (Bulls), some bad teams looked bad (Hornets), and some teams won ugly and late (Lakers).

The games were more spaced out then normal with hoops from early afternoon until well after midnight EST. In case you missed anything, here’s 9 lists of 5 to get you all caught up on the numbers from yesterday’s NBA action.

Derek Fisher earned our "MVP-for-a-day award" not for his stat line (13 pts, 3 reb, 3 stl) but for his clutch 4th quarter play, including this game-winning 3 over Dirk. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

5 All-stars

1. John Wall-Was: Wall had by far his best game of the season but couldn’t keep his Wizards from falling to 1-12. He went off for 38 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, and even a block. He played a monstrous 44 minutes and looked to be the PG everyone thought he would be last season but hasn’t been very much this season.

2. Carmelo Anthony-NY:  Melo shot just 9-27 in his return as the Knicks fell to 6-7 by losing Orlando. He finished with 33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Expect better shooting from him as he recovers fully from his ankle injury.

3. Josh Smith-Atl: Smith had another monster game to help the Hawks get to 10-4. He finished with 28 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block as Atlanta rolled the Raps.

4. Kevin Love-Min: Love led the Wolves over the Kings with 33 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, and a pair of steals. Minnesota’s record is 5-8.

5. Kevin Durant-OKC: The Thunder left Boston 12-2 after defeating the Celtics last night. Durant had 28 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block while hitting some clutch shots coming down the stretch for O-K-C.

5 Also-stars

1. Russell Westbrook-OKC: Westbrook also hit back-breaking 3′s against the Celtics finishing with 3 3-pointers, 26 points, 3 steals, 4 assists, and 7 boards.

2. Blake Griffin-LAC: Even without Chris Paul (hamstring injury), Griffin helped the Clippers get to 7-3 by finishing with 23 points, 14 boards, 3 assists, a steal, and a block as they won at home against New Jersey.

3. Andre Iguodala-Phi: Iguodala helped the Sixers stay perfect at home by scoring 21 points with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.

4. Joe Johnson-Atl: Johnson hit 3 3-pointers and 9-20 overall while scoring 27 points to go with 3 blocks, 3 steals, 6 assists, anf 5 rebounds.

5. Rudy Gay-Mem: Gay led the Grizz to .500 record (5-2 at home) by scoring a team-high 24 points to go with 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block.

5 Solid Starts

1. LaMarcus Aldrige-Por: Aldridge had 22 points, 9 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, and a block. He continues to play monster minutes with 40 last night after 47 Saturday at Houston, 33 Friday at San Antonio, and 40 Wednesday against Orlando.

2. Paul Pierce-Bos: Pierce had 24 points, 5 boards, a steal, a block, and an assist against OKC but his Celtics fell to 4-8 with the loss.

3. Antawn Jamison-Cle: Jamison had 20 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block as the Cavs got back to .500 with a win in Charlotte getting them to 6-6 on the season.

4. Jarrett Jack-NO: Jack had 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He continues to be the only viable fantasy option from the Hornets who fell to 3-10 after their loss to the Blazers.

5. Luol Deng-Chi: Deng had 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. It wasn’t enough to keept the Bulls from dropping to 12-3 with a road loss in Memphis.

5 Sharp Shooters

1. Ryan Anderson-Orl: Anderson hit 7 3′s from his PF position finishing with 30 points, 7 boards and a steal as he led the Magic to a 9-3 start with a road victory Monday afternoon in Madison Square Garden.

2. Luke Ridnour-Min: While Ricky Rubio’s move to the starting lineup has gotten the focus, and rightly so, it was Ridnour who shot the lights out last night. He finished 10-14 from the field and 4-4 on 3′s for 25 points to go with 9 assists, 3 rebounds, a steal, and a block.

3. JJ Redick-Orl: Redick started for Jason Richardson and hit 8-12 shots (3 3′s) while scoring 21 points with 3 rebounds and an assist.

4. Chauncey Billups-LAC: Billups hit 3 3′s and all 7 of his FT’s while chipping in 20 points, 4 assits, and 2 boards to help the Clippers beat the Nets.

5. Thabo Sefolosha-OKC: Sefolosha’s shot was on last night in the Garden and he finished 7-9 from the field 2-2 from long-distance and 3-3 from the line. He had 19 points to go with 5 boards, 4 steals, and an assist.

5 Playing Big on the Boards

1. Andrew Bynum-LAL: Bynum had 17 points on 8-13 from the field, 15 boards, 2 assists, a steal, and a block.

2. Marc Gasol-Mem: Gasol has efficient with 19 points on 9-13 from the field while adding 10 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.

3. Anderson Verejao-Cle: Verejao had 12 boards giving him 7 games in a row with 10 or more. He added 14 points, a steal, a block, and an assist.

4. Spencer Hawes-Phi: Hawes finished with 11 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.  After battling back issues the last few games it’s good to see him back on the floor for 33 minutes. If he’s on the floord expect continued production across the board.

5. MarShon Brooks-NJ: Brooks had 19 points and tied for team high with 8 boards to go wtih 3 assists, a steal, and a block.

5 guards dishin’ assists

1. Raymond Felton-Por: Felton covered up a horrible 1-8 from the field with 12 assists to go with 3 steals, 4 rebounds, and his 2 points.

2. Jose Calderon-Tor: Calderon continues to put up assists on a low-scoring team finishing last night with 11 assists to go with 13 points and 3 boards.

3. Tyreke Evans-Sac:  Evans finished just 3-11 from the field but had 9 points, 8 boards, a steal, and 10 assists which proved him to be useful even though he wasn’t scoring.

4. Rajon Rondo-Bos: Rondo had 9 assists, 12 points, a steal, and 9 rebounds in the Celtics loss to the Thunder.

5. Randy Foye-LAC: Foye started at PG with Chris Paul and Mo Williams both out with injuries. He finished with a nice line of 10 assists, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. If either or both injuries turn out to be more serious than expected, he would make a nice add.

5 Other Guards of note

1. Kevin Martin-Hou: Martin hit all 10 FTs and 7-16 from the field to finish with 25 points, 4 boards, 8 assists, and 2 steals.

2. DJ Augustin-Cha: Augustin played a team-high 40 minutes and finished with 24 points, 9 assists, 4 boards, and 2 steals.

3. Kyrie Irving-Cle: Irving led the Cavs back against the Bobcats with 25 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, a steal, and a block.

4. Mike Conley-Mem: Conley helped Memphis avenger their previous loss to the Bulls with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals. It was a nice multi-category night for Conley.

5. Jrue Holiday-Phi: Holiday finished with 24 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals in a whopping 43 minutes of action against Milwaukee.

5 underwhelming lines

1. Carlos Boozer-Chi: In a game where the Bulls needed him to step up in Derrick Rose’s absence, Boozer could only manage 13 points on 5-12, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.

2. Dwight Howard-Orl: Howard played 38 minutes but only scored 8 points to go with 10 boards and shot a dismal 2-10 from the FT line.

3. Stephen Jackson-Mil: Jackson shot just 3-12 with 9 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals as the Bucks fell to 0-8 on the road and 4-8 overall.

4. Pau Gasol-LAL: Gasol was just one of the many Lakers with ugly percentages in this game, but he only made 3 of his 11 shots and finished with 8 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, and a block.

5. Anthony Morrow-NJ: Morrow came of the bench for just 17 minutes and missed both shots he took from the field. He had 2 points and no other stats to contribute. DeShawn Stevenson took his place in the starting lineup and it’s not clear what his or Morrow’s roll will be going forward.

5 to look for on Waivers

1. Kemba Walker-Cha: Walker looks like he’s in the starting lineup to stay and finished last night’s game against Cleveland with 38 minutes. He only made 6-21 and 1-4 from downtown but finished with 14 points, 2 blocks, 4 steals, 4 assists, and 5 rebounds. His value will be high even when his shot’s off if he plays a high number of minutes like last night. He’s still available in 27% of leagues

2. Samuel Dalembert-Hou: Dalembert had 20 points 7 boards and 3 blocks last nigth as he continued his recent run of good play. He’s solidly the starting C in Houston and should get you boards, blocks, and points. He’s owned in 79% of leagues and climbing fast.

3. Marreese Speights-Mem: Speights had 16 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block yesterday against the Bulls and will continue to see big minutes without Zach Randolph around. He’s owned in just 3.7% of leagues and if you need boards, points, and a decent FG%, he could  be your best add if Dalembert is off the table.

5. Tobias Harris-Mil: Harris again played effectively off the bench for the Bucks. His 22 minutes were the most of any bench player for Milwaukee and he finished with 12 points on 5-8 shooting and 3 rebounds (all offensive) and a block. Harris is still owned in just 0.1  % of leagues but keep an eye on him as the season goes along.