Fantasy Basketball-Starting 5-January 22

Yesterday’s NBA action had the usual mix of ugly games, poor shooting, and tired teams that has become the norm in this compressed scheduled environment. It also had a star (Dirk) bowing out for a couple weeks to get in better shape, and some people wishing the whole NBA would follow his lead… Hidden amidst the wrecks of ugly losses and low-scoring games were a few great games though that remind us why we love the NBA. The double-OT Knicks-Nuggs game, the Hornets trying to knock off the Champs sans Dirk, and another Texas-sized showdown in Houston were some of the best from a busy (10 game) night last night.

As we all get ready for some football, let’s take a look at last night’s NBA action with a decidedly NFL-Conference-championship-weekend feeling 8 lists of 5.

Danilo Gallinari earns our MVP-for-a-day award today for leading the Nuggs to a 2 OT win in his old stomping grounds, MSG. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

5 MVP’s like Aaron Rodgers (SB MVP last year)

1. Danilo Gallinari-Den: Gallinari returned to the Garden and had a great game playing an incredible 52 minutes and scoring 37 points on 9-19 shooting and making 18-20 from the line. He added 11 boards, 2 assists, and a steal to his final line as the Nuggets outlasted the Knicks in double-OT and ran their record to an impressive 119-114.

2. LeBron James-Mia: James had another great stat-line in Dwyane Wade’s continued absence. James finished with 28 points, 9 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks as the Heat cruised past the Sixers to move to 11-4.

3. Chris Bosh-Mia: Bosh had 30 points on 11-19 from the firld with 7 boards, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. He was a nice running mate for James with Wade still sidelined.

4. Tony Parker-SA: Parker was the only one of the Spurs big 3 on the court last night with Ginobili still out and Duncan resting. He scored 24 points and gave out 13 assists while aslo grabbing 4 rebounds and a steal. He fell just short of gettin a W in Houston though as the Spurs fell to 1-6 on the road and 10-7 overall.

5. Carmelo Anthony-NY: Melo again did all he could, but the Knicks fell short and fell to 6-10 after losing in double-OT. Anthony played 45 minutes and scored 25 points to go with 10 boards, 5 assists, and a steal. He hoisted 30 shots making only 10, but it’s hard to blame him for the Knick woes since he’s the only one scoring with consistency. 

5 borderline elites like Eli

1. Paul Millsap-Uta: Millsap had 26 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, and a steal ad the Jazz handled the visiting TWolves and moved to 10-5 on the year.

2. LaMarcus Aldridge-Por: Aldridge finished with 25 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists, but Portlan fell to 9-7 after losing on the road in Detroit.

3. Kris Humphries-NJ: Humphries had 16 boards and 12 points last night while also adding 2 steals and 3 blocks. He didn’t bet much help from a poor-shooting backcourt all night though and the Nets fell to 4-12 as they were beat by OKC.

4. Luol Deng-Chi: Deng had 22 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, and a steal to lead the Rose-less Bulls to an incredible 15-3 record.

5. Gerald Henderson-Cha: Henderson led the Bobcats in scoring with 22 points to go with his 9 rebounds, an assist, and a block

5 tandems like Gronk/Hernandez

1. Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook-OKC: After Westbrook’s recent extension these two will be the heart of the Thunder lineup for years to come. Last night they both were a little off their shots but still managed 20+ points and got the win in Jersey to get their record to 13-3. Durant had 20 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block on 9-22 shooting. Westbrook shot 9-21 but scored 21 points to go with 6 assists, 2 steals, 3 rebounds, and a block.

2. Rudy Gay/Mike Conley-Mem: Gay and Conley let a Grizz offense that lit up the Kings for 128 points and moved Memphis to 9-6. Gay had 23 points, 3 rebouds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and a block. Conley contributed 22 points of his own to go with 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds.

3. Kevin Martin/Kyle Lowry-Hou: The Rockets backcourt K’s have been excellent lately as the Rockets have gotten their record up to 9-7 after beating the Spurs in Houston last night. Martin scored 25 points with 3 assists and 2 steals while Lowry scored just 14 but added in more peripherals with 8 assists and 5 boards.

4.Nene/Al Harrington-Den: Both of these Nuggets bigs had double-double’s in their double OT win. Nene had 12 points, 13 boards, 3 steals, 5 assists, and a block. Harrington came off the bench against his former team but shot decently (10-24) and had 24 points with 11 rebounds, and an assist.

5. Kyrie Irving/Tristan Thompson-Cle: The Cavs rookies will always be linked as the #1/#4 picks in last  year’s draft. Last night they couldn’t lead Cleveland into Atlanta and win, falling to the Hawks and dropping their record to 6-9.  The 2 rookies continue to look promising though. Irving played 27 minutes while shooting 8-10 and scoring 18 points and adding 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block. His struggle though was with turnovers as he committed 7 and finished with a +/- of -28. Thompson also played a good chunk of time off the bench as he finished with 16 points on 6-7 from the field while adding 5 boards and a steal.

5 emerging like Alex Smith

1. DeMarcus Cousins-Sac: Cousins had 19 points, 11 rebouds, an assist, and a block. It was his 3rd double-double in a row and he’s averaging 15.5 pts and 10.6 boards in his last 10 games.

2. Iman Shumpert-NY: Still inconsistent at times, this rookie has looked good in his last few games including this one where he had 19 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 4 boards. He hit 2 3-pointers and made both FT’s he attempted.

3. Omar Asik-Chi: Asik started for the ailing Joakim Noah and finished with 6 points and 15 rebounds with 3 steals and 2 blocks in 39 minutes.

4. Ricky Rubio-Min: Rubio had 4 steals and 3 rebounds to go with his 17 points and 11 assists in Utah last night.

5. Raymond Felton-Por: Had a rough start to the year, but his shooting is improving and his game is starting to come around. He shot 6-9 last night (identical to the previous night) while finishing with 20 points, 9 assists, 2 steals, and a rebound.

5 veterans who still got it like Ray Lewis

1. Joe Johnson-Atl: Johnson’s been in the league 10 years but is only 30 and still playing well. He finished last night with 25 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds as he helped the Hawks route the Cavs and get to 12-5.

2. Andre Miller-Den: 12 year veteran Andre Miller bounced back from a scoreless outing following his 28 point outburst in Philly by playing 49 minutes and finishing with 14 points, 12 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.

3. Carlos Boozer-Chi: Booze has played 9 years in the Pros and still brought 2e points, 9 boards, and 3 steals for the Bulls last night as they stayed undefeated at home.

4. Tayshaun Prince-Det: The 9-year veteran has been playing well and averaging 20 points in his last 5 games. Last night he had 17 in the Pistons win (4-13) while adding 3 blocks, 2 boards and a 3-pointer.

5.Emeka Okafor-NO: Okafor has only been around the NBA for 7 years but it seems like longer. He finished last night with one of his best lines in a Hornets uniform as he scored 16 points and had an assist and a block to go with 17 rebounds. New Orleans still fell short despite his best efforts and fell to 3-13

5 defensive beasts like Smith, Smith, and Willis (for SF)

1. Marc Gasol-Mem: Gasol finished with 11 boards, 5 assists, a steal, and an impressive 6 blocked shots to go with 20 points on just 11 shots from the field. He even added a 3-pointer as he continued his strong season for Memphis.

2. Samuel Dalembert-Hou: Dalembert is going to prove to be a great pick-up if you got him early. He’s carved out a great spot in the Rockets starting lineup and finished last night with just 12 points and 4 boards but contributed a hefty 6 blocks along with an assist and a steal.

3. Josh Smith-Atl: Josh (not to be confused with Jason, Aldon, or Alex who will all be playing for San Fran later today) Smith finished with 4 steals and a block to go with 11 rebounds and 8 points and 5 assists. Smith struggled shooting (2-9) but continues to be a successful fantasy option.

4. Serge Ibaka-OKC: Ibaka brought the D down low with 5 blocked shots to go with 6 points and 9 boards in just 28 minutes.

5. Tyson Chandler-NY: Chandler had 3 blocks and 10 boards to go with his 8 points in 36 minutes against Denver.

5 off-the-mark like last week’s Joe Flacco

1. Bobcats backcourt: D.J. Augustin shot 1-6 and finished with 3 points and 3 assists; Kemba Walker shot 1-5 and finished with 4 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, a steal, and a block. It’s not surprising with that production (or lack thereof) that Charlotte lost and fell to 3-13.

2. Jason Kidd-Dal: Kidd missed all 6 of his shots in 34 minutes of action but did manage 9 rebounds and 5 assists although he didn’t score a point.

3. Jrue Holiday-Phi: Holiday struggled from the field shooting just 4-12 in 32 minutes against the Heat. He finished with 10 points, 4 assits, and 2 rebounds as the Sixers fell to 11-5.

4. Anderson Verejao-Cle: The Brazilian rebounder had been on a tear but last night he struggled shooting just 1-6 from the field. He still corralled 9 boards and dished 3 assists but scored just 3 points and had a brutal +/- of -23.

5. Marco Belinelli-NO: Belinelli had 4 points and 3 rebounds with 2 assists and a steal on 1-7 shooting missing all 6 3′s that he took.

5 to think about adding like Josh McDaniels

1. Rodney Stuckey-Det: Stuckey owners have been jumping ship faster than people are jumping on the Giants superbowl bandwagon. Stuckey showed why he’s still worth owning as he played 38 minutes scoring 28 points on 8-15 shooting with 4 3PM, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. He’s available in 45% of leagues

2. Evan Turner-Phi: Turner still isn’t starting but his value seems to be unaffected. He’s averaged 12 points and 6 1/2 rebounds per game this month and even in sporadic time has shown vast signs of imrpovement. Last night in 29 minutes he scored 16 while grabbing 6 boards, dishing 4 assists, and swatting 1 shot. Turner’s a great add in the 63% of leagues that he’s available in.

3. CJ Miles-Uta: Miles had his third solid game in a row off the Utah bench. He finished with 18 points, 1 block, a steal, a rebound, and 2 assists. He’s getting increased time and is making the most of it. Raja Bell is the starter in front of him and he should continue to see plenty of floor time. He’s owned in only 11.2 percent of leagues so take a look if you need points or steals help.

4. Lamar Odom-Dal: Odom got the start for Dirk last night and should continue to for the next couple of weeks while Nowitzki works on “conditioning.” He finished with just 16 points with 1 3-pointer, 4 boards, and 2 assists, but the upside here is huge, make no mistake. If he can get in a nice rhythm he may have an expanded roll even when Dirk returns. He’s only owned in 42 percent of leagues.

5. Tiago Splitter-SA: I’ve pointed to Splitter several times as someone who would definitely be useful if he got more minutes. Well last night he did as Coach Popovich rested Tim Duncan. Splitter had a career high 25 points while adding 10 boards, 4 assists, and a steal. He’s owned in just 1.7 percent of leagues and his value it limited while his minutes are but the potential is definitely there for big numbers if minutes start coming his way.