Fantasy Basketball-Starting 5-January 23

With most of the sports world’s eyes focused on Foxboro, MA, and San Fran, CA, the NBA had itself a relatively quite day yesterday to close out week 4 of fantasy hoopin’ goodness. The Heat and the Lakers both went down at home while the Celtics, Clippers, and even the Nets won games they should have.

Lots of fantasy basketball comin’ your way here at FantasyCPR this week. In a little bit we’ll have the weekly injury ward and then later this morning we’ll debut a new post with the top 10 possible additions for the coming week. That feature will move to Saturday in the coming weeks but this week’s will run today. My goal is also to get a blogger league update posted later this week

Here’s 4 lists of 5 to get you up-to-speed from last night’s action

Paul Pierce got the Celtics the win without Rajon Rondo or Ray Allen earning him the MVP-for-a-day.(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

5 Sunday stars

1. Kobe Bryant-LAL: Kobe had 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists while taking 30 shots against the Pacers. The Lakers shot 42% from the field and dropped their 3rd in a row to fall to 10-8.

2. LeBron James-Mia: James had 28 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal, but the Heat had 21 turnovers and lost to Milwaukee to fall to 11-5

3. Paul Pierce-Bos: Pierce led the Celtics to a win in Washington getting their record to 6-9. He did it without Rajon Rondo and mostly without Ray Allen who played just 11 minutes. Pierce finished with 34 points, 8 boards, 10 assists, and 3 steals. He was on his game in every way as he helped the C’s get a W.

4. John Wall-Was: Wall played 42 minutes against Boston and scored 27 points to go with 7 assists, 10 rebounds, a steal, and a block. The Wizards still lost to the Celtics though and their record dropped to 2-14.

5. Deron Williams-NJ: Williams led the Nets over the Bobcats to get to 5-12. He finished just a rebound shy of a triple-double with 19 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals.

5 solid contributors

1. Brandon Jennings-Mil: Jennings had 23 points even though he shot just 5-20 (12-13 FT). He also added in 6 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals as the Bucks knocked off the Heat in Miami to move to 6-9.

2. DeAndre Jordan-LAC: Jordan played 25 minutes but had 16 points, 16 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal as the Clips cruised past the Raptors to run their record to 9-5. 

3. Roy Hibbert-Ind: Hibbert led a balanced Indiana attack despite his broken nose with 18 points, 8 baords, and 4 assists as they followed their big Golden State win with an even bigger win over the Lakers to get to 11-4 on the year.

4. MarShon Brooks-NJ: Brooks led New Jersey with 20 points on 9=17 from the field with 6 boards, a block, and an assist.

5. Kemba Walker-Cha: Walker played 32 minutes while scoring 16 points on 5-13 shooting with just 1 3-pointer. Walker also added 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal as Charlotte fell to 3-14. With DJ Augustin out for a few days (injury ward coming later today), look for Walker’s role in the offense to increase even more over the next few games.

5 disappearing acts

1. Byron Mullens-Cha: Mullens was a hot add coming into this week but struggled Sunday with 2 points, 1 block, 1 assists, and 3 rebounds on 1-5 shooting in just 21 minutes.

2. Jose Calderon-Tor: Calderon couldn’t shoot (1-8) and finished with just 3 points. He only played 24 minutes so he couldn’t collect peripheral stats either and finished with just 4 assists and 2 boards.

3. Pau Gasol-LAL: Gasol entered one of the most bizarre lines of the year last night finisheind 4-12 from the field with just 8 points but managing 8 board and a game-high 10 assists. He also added in a steal and 3 blocks so it wasn’t that he completely disappeared, just that he became a non-scoring, pass-happy big man. Will whoever has the real Pau please return him?

4. Mario Chalmers-Mia: Chalmers struggled from the field shooting 4-14 for 12 points but also turned the ball over 6 times. He had just 2 boards and 2 assists as the Heat offense struggled for the first time in a while.

5. Rashard Lewis-Was: Lewis played 17 minutes and shot just 1-4. He finished with no other peripheral stats and just 2 points. If he’s still on your roster, you need to give up and move on.

5 trending up

1. Mickael Pietrus-Bos: Pietrus continues to get big minutes off the bench for Boston. He finished last night with 35 minutes while hitting 2 3′s and 5-8 from the field. In total, he scored 14 points with 2 steals and a rebound. He’s still just owned in 1.2 precent of leagues but with Boston’s injuries mounting may be in for enough minutes to make him have significant value.

2. Shaun Livingston-Mil: Livingston had 39 minutes in his second consecutive start for Stephen Jackson who’s still in Scott Skiles doghouse. Livingston contributed 10 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals in 39 minutes. It’s unclear exactly what his role will be, but he’s proven that he can perform if he gets the minutes. He’s owned in just .1 percent of leagues right now.

3.  Leandro Barbosa-Tor: Barbosa hit 7 of his 12 shots and 3 3′s to finishwith 19 points, 3 steals, an assist, and a rebound. Barbosa had a +/- of +4 off the bench but the starters got crushed and the Raps fell to 4-13. Barbosa is only owned in 23 percent of leagues and if the Raps ever give him starters minutes will be quite the find.

4. George Hill-Ind: After his late-game kick-save heroics in Golden State, Hill again came off the bench with a profitable 11 points, 3 boards, and an assist with 3 3PM. The roles in Indy still vary from night-to-night, but Hill’s a big part of the emerging team’s rotation. He’s usable in some formats now and is a “watch and wait” in others. Right now, Hill is owned in 33 percent of leagues.

5. Bismack Biyombo-Cha: Biyombo is still raw, but definitely showing some of the potential that made him a high draft pick. He had 11 points, 4 blocks, 7 rebounds, an assist, and 2 steals in just 18 minutes. He will need to figure out how to avoid fouls (5 last night) before he can see an expanded role. He’s owned in 2.9 percent of leagues and could have value as his role grows.