Fantasy Basketball-Starting 5-January 18

Last night was a relatively light night in the compressed season, but still had plenty of drama to offer with the Heat storming back, the Bulls without Rose getting a win, the Clippers without Paul getting crushed, and the Magic amid all the D-Howard distraction finding a way to win.

Here’s 7 lists of 5 to recap all of last night’s action:

LeBron James had a huge night scoring and passing as he led the Heat on a huge comeback earning him MVP-for-a-day honors.(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

5 scoring stars

1. LeBron James-Mia: James led the Heat’s charge with 33 points, 10 assists, and 5 boards. He knocked in 4 of 6 3-pointers as he helped the Heat reach 9-4.

2. Carlos Boozer-Chi: Boozer stepped up and filled in for Derrick Rose who again rested with a toe ailment. He finished with 31 points, 6 rebounds, an assist, and 2 steals. while leading the Bulls to a 13-3 record and keeping them perfect (6-0) at the United Center.

3. Chris Bosh-Mia: Bosh poured in 30 points while adding 8 board, 5 assists, and 4 steals. He and LeBron stepped up while D-Wade spent another game on the bench. Until Wade’s return Bosh should see an increase in numbers across the board as he’s a bigger part of the Heat offense.

4. Brandon Jennings-Mil: Jennings had 30 points, but couldn’t stop the Bucks from losing their first game at home and falling to 4-9 overall. He rounded out his line with a very nice 6 assits, 3 steals, 3 rebounds, and a block.

5. David Lee-GS: Lee’s 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists helped the Warriors get their 2nd road win and raise their record to 5-8.

5 solid starts

1. Gerald Henderson-Cha: Henderson hit 7-10 from the field and finished with 22 points, 3 assists, and 4 rebounds. Charlotte couldn’t overcome the Magic though and fell to 3-12.

2. Daniel Green-SA: Green came off the bench for the Spurs and drained 6-7 3-pointers and added 2 rebounds to his quick 20 points.  The Spurs still fell in Miami, dropping their record to 9-5.

3. Kyrie Irving-Cle: Irving had 18 points, 5 assists, and 8 boards with a steal and a block. He continues his strong rookie campaign even though he couldn’t get the Cavs the victory in this one.

4. Samuel Dalembert-Hou: Dalembert had 14 points and 12 rebounds as his continued roll in Houston grows. He helped the Rockets get to .500 (7-7) by beating the visiting Pistons.

5. Paul Millsap-Uta: Millsap had 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist as the Jazz beat the Clippers in Salt Lake City to move to 9-4.

5 dealin’ dimes

1. Andre Miller-Den: Miller came off the bench for just 23 minutes but quickly dished 11 assists to go with his 8 points, 2 boards, and steal. He was part of a balanced attack that got the Nuggets the win over Milwaukee and ran their record to 9-5.

2. Nate Robinson-GS: Robinson played 35 minutes off the bench and finished with 17 points, 10 assists, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds while shooting 3-5 from behind the arc. As long as Steph Curry is out, Robinson maintains some value.

3. Steve Nash-Phx: Nash shot well (10-13, 3-3) and finished with 25 points, 9 assists, and a rebound. The Suns still couldn’t get past the Rose-less Bulls though, and dropped to 4-9 on the year.

4. Greg Monroe-Det: Monroe shot 2-9 from the field but still contributed in other categories. He finished with a game-high 6 assists and 11 rebounds while scoring 4 points to go with a steal and a block.

5. Ty Lawson-Den: Lawson wasn’t hitting from the field (3-10) but finished with 9 assists, 11 points, and 5 rebounds in the Nuggets victory.

5 bangin’ the boards

1. Dwight Howard-Orl: Howard continues to play through the distractions and put up 25 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, and an assist last night to lead the Magic to their 5th win in a row.

2. Marcin Gortat-Phx: Gortat grabbed 15 boards to go with his 14 points in the Suns loss to the Bulls. He only played 31 minutes but still managed to put up a solid line.

3. Al Jefferson-Uta: Jefferson had 13 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal to go with his 10 points to help the Jazz get the W.

4.Anderson Verejao-Cle: Verejao continued his recent rebound tear finishing with 13 boards, 10 points, 2 assists, a steal, and a block. If you need rebounds and some fool gave up on him too early (yes, I did in one league), go get him now.

5. Joakim Noah-Chi: Noah had his best game in quite a while finishing with 12 boards, 13 points, 3 assits, and a steal.

5 bashin’ blocks

1. Andrew Bogut-Mil: Bogut played just 19 minutes but did have 3 blocks to go with an otherwise disappointing linfe of 2 points, 2 steals, 2 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 turnovers.

2. Bismack Biyombo-Cha: Biyombo went 5-5 from the field and finished with 11 points, 10 boards, an assist, and 4 blocks. His name lends itself to so many great Fantasy team names that he’s almost worth adding already. The problem is that the minutes may not be there regularly enough.

3. Ben Wallace-Det: Wallace got the start for the Pistons in place of Jonas Jerebko. He only played 19 minutes but had a typical Ben-night with 4 boards, 3 blocks, and 0 points. He’s not really on the fantasy radar yet, but if he gets increased minutes he could be helpful in blocks and boards.

4. Aaron Afflalo-Den: Afflalo is known for his defense but doesn’t get a ton of blocks. He got 2 last night, and since there were only 7 games and not many blocks found himself among the block leaders of the night with 11 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds to complete his line.

5. Earl Watson-Uta: From the “most unexpected” block category…This might be the first time the diminutive Jazz PG been a good source of blocks, but he had 2 on a day where not many people had multiple blocks. His final line was 3 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

5 missin’ the mark

1. Monta Ellis-GS: Ellis hit just 2-12 from the field and finished with only 10 points to go with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

2. Ryan Anderson-Orl: Anderson’s shot was off the mark and he made only 4-13 from the field and 2-9 from deep. He still finished with 13 points but his rebounds were MIA too as he only grabbed 3 to go with 3 steals in last night’s game.

3. Stephen Jackson-Mil: Jackson missed all 6 of his shots in 17 minutes and added an assist to his glorious 2 points scored.

4. Markieff Morris-Phx: Morris hit just 1-7 from the field while playing 30 minutes and only getting 4 points, 4 rebounds, a steal, and an assist and committing 5 turnovers.

5. Chauncey Billups-LAC: Billups his just 3-12 and missed all 4 of his 3 point attempts but still managed to contribute 10 points, 6 assists, and 2 boards. His Clip-ship went down in a hurry against Utah and LA fell to 7-4

5 additions to think about

1. Kemba Walker-Cha: Walker started and again played major minutes (38). He finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. The potential is there for his scoring to come in bunches on any given night, but the other categories are pretty consistent. He’s still available in 15% of leagues, make sure yours isn’t one of them.

2. Corey Brewer-Den: Brewer was the leading scorer coming off the bench for the Nuggets. He played 34 minutes and scored 22 points to go with 4 boards, 2 steals, and a block. His minutes are inconsistent, but he’s shown some flashes and should have the opportunity for an expanded roll as the season goes on. He’s owned in less than 1 percent of leagues, but he’s still a “wait-and-watch” for now to see if his minutes and opportunities normalize.

3. C. J. Waston-Chi: Watson started in place of the injured Derrick Rose and played will hitting all 3 3′s he took and finishing with 23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. He’ll find a place in the rotation and may have limited long-term value due to limited minutes, but Watson’s a great add while Rose is out. He’s only owned in .5% of leagues.

4. Tobias Harris-Mil: Harris keeps getting PT when the Bucks are down (which is often lately) and last night he had 14 points on 5-10 shooting, 8 boards, 3 assists, and a steal. He’s available in 100.0% of leagues and if you need a spot starter with boards and points he’s a good choice.

5. Mike Miller-Mia: Miller made his season debut in splashy style hitting all 6 of his shots (all 3′s) in 15 minutes for 18 points and also grabbed 4 rebounds (2 offensive). He should have a chance to carve out a significant spot int he Heat rotation especially with D-Wade out. He’s owned in just 0.3 percent of leagues.