Fantasy Basketball-Starting 5-January 24

Last night in the NBA was a busy one with 10 games on the schedule. Many of the big-name teams had the night off or easier games, but there were a few great games. The Spurs won at the buzzer in New Orleans; the Grizz roared back against the Warriors to pull a win out of nowhere; and the Rockets and Timberwolves played a gritty game with Kevin Love posting huge numbers only to lose to a better shooting Rockets team.

Our blogger-league update is on the schedule for tomorrow. Today you can catch up on all the action from yesterday with these 9 lists of 5 to start your morning off right.

Kyle Lowry helped Houston overcome Kevin Love's biggest night as he man-handled Ricky Rubio and finished with a triple-double to claim our MVP-for-a-day. (AP Photo/ Jim Mone)

5 super superstars

1. Kevin Love-Min: Love had a monster night with 39 points, 12 boards, an assist, and a steal. He made all 5 3-pointers he attempted and hit 13-19 from the field. Even with his great shooting the Wolves as a team were only 41% and fell to the Rockets to bring their record for the year to 7-10.

2. Joe Johnson-Atl: Johnson lit up the Bucks in Milwaukee last night finishing with 28 points, 2 steals, an assist, and 5 rebounds. The win gets the Hawks record to 13-5 on the year.

3. Tony Parker-SA: Parker had 20 points on 8-14 shooting to go with 17 assists and 2 rebounds as he led the Spurs past the Hornets and to a 11-7 record overall.

4. Kyle Lowry-Hou: Lowry had a triple-double last night with 16 points, 10 boards, and 10 assists and added 3 steals just for good measure. His stellar performance allowed the Rockets to overcome K-Love’s heroics and get to 10-7 for the year.

5. Russell Westbrook-OKC: Westbrook led the Thunder to their 14th win of the season as they improved to 7-1 by thumping the Pistons. Westbrook finished with 24 points on 11-17 shooting, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds.

5 fabulous forwards

1. Rudy Gay-Mem: Gay led a furious charge by the Grizzlies to close out the 4th quarter and catch Golden State and win their 7th in a row. They moved to 10-6 overall behing Gay’s 23 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.

2. Paul Pierce-Bos: Pierce is playing the point while Rondo is out and finished last night with 19 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. It wasn’t his best shooting night (6-14, 1-3) but he helped the Celtics beat Orlando and get to 7-9 overall and 5-5 at the Garden.

3. Kevin Durant-OKC: Durant only played 29 minutes against Detroit but still managed 20 points, 5 boards, 2 steals, and 2 assists.

4. Grant Hill-Phx: Hill had one of his best games of the year with a season-high 19 points to go with 2 steals, 2 assists, and 8 rebounds. He did turn the ball over 8 times as well and in the end the Suns couldn’t keep up with the Mavs in Dallas.

5. Elton Brand-Phi: Brand led Philly with 17 points, 9 boards, an assist, and a steal in their romp over Washington.

5 guards to get

1. Jarrett Jack-NO: Jack had 26 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds in 41 minutes. He couldn’t get the Hornets past the Spurs though as they fell at home to bring their record down to a pitiful 3-14.

2. Richard Hamilton-Chi: Rip welcomed D-Rose back to the lineup with his best game of the young season as he had 22 points, 10 asssits, and 4 rebounds to get the Bulls past the Nets. They stayed undefeated (8-0) at home and got to 16-3 overall.

3. Brandon Jennings-Mil: Jennings had 11 dimes and 21 points while grabbing 5 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in his 40 minutes on the floor last night. He still couldn’t stop the Bucks from falling to 6-10 as the lost to the visiting Hawks.

4. Mike Conley-Mem: Conley was a big part of the Memphis comeback and finished with 20 points, 9 assists, a rebound, and a steal.

5. Jamal Crawford-Por: Crawford led the Blazers with 26 points in his 32 minutes off the bench. He added 5 assists and 3 boards as Portland cruised to the win over Sacramento to get to 10-7 on the year and 7-1 at the Rose Garden.

5 multi-category centers

1. Tim Duncan-SA: Duncan returned from his break refreshed and ready to roll as he poured in 28 points including the game-winner to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, and a steal.

2. DeMarcus Cousins-Sac: Cousins doesn’t play much defense, but fills up the stat sheet. He finished with 18 points, 13 boards, 2 assists, and a block last night as his Kings slipped to 6-12.

3. Marc Gasol-Mem: Gasol shot 7-15 from the field and scored 15 points to go with 11 boards, an assist, a steal, and a block for Memphis.

4. Dwight Howard-Orl: Howard’s best and worst were on display against Boston last night. He went just 10-18 from the line and 4-15 from the field but did get 14 boards to go with his 18 points. He got off to a fast start, but with no perimeter shooting the Celtics were able to collapse effectively on him.

5. Joakim Noah-Chi: Noah finished with 10 boards, 4 assists, and 16 points in his 30 minutes while hitting 6-7 FT and 5-8 from the field.

5 Beasts on the boards

1. Marcin Gortat-Phx: Gortat had 17 boards and 19 points in just 37 minutes against the Mavs last night. He added 3 blocks and 2 assists but couldn’t keep the Sunds for sliding to 6-10 on the year.

2. Samuel Dalembert-Hou: Dalembert struggled from the field (1-8) and only finished with 4 points, but he contributed in other ways with 15 boards and 2 blocks. Points from big Sam are a bonus when they come; as long as he blocks and board are consting, he’ll continue to have value.

3. LaMarcus Aldridge-Por: Aldridge only played 28 minutes as the game got out of hand but still managed 16 boards (9 offensive), 5 assists, and 13 points.

4. Zaza Pachulia-Atl: Pachulia played a large chunk of minutes (38) and excelled with 14 rebounds to go with an assists, a steal, and 9 points.

5. David Lee-GS: Lee had 12 rebounds to go with 13 points, 5 assists, a steal, and a block.

5 sharpshooters

1. James Harden-OKC: Harden shot 5-6 from long-range and finished with 24 points and a sick +/- of +32. He added in 4 assists and 5 rebounds in the Thunder’s victory over the Pistons.

2. Shawn Marion-Dal: Marion had 20 points on 11-21 shooting and 4-6 from dep. He added in 4 boards, 2 assists, and a steal as he helped the Mavs past the Suns to get to 11-7 on the year.

3. Jordan Farmar-NJ: Farmar his 7-9 from the field and all 3 3′s he attempted while finishing with 22 points, 4 assists, and 2 boards in his 32 minutes of work.

4. Kevin Martin-Hou: Martin took 21 shots from the field and made 10 as he led the Rockets with 31 points to go with 2 boards, an assist, and a steal.

5. Monta Ellis-GS:  Ellis hit 3 of 7 3-pointers while scoring 20 points to go with a block, 2 steals, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. The Warriors gave up 39 in the 4th to the charging Grizzlies and lost by 1 to fall to 5-11 on the season.

5 deadly defensively

1. Serge Ibaka-OKC: Ibaka rested with most of the Thunder starters but in his 26 minutes he had 5 blocks to go with 10 boards, 2 assists, and 6 points.

2. Josh Smith-Atl: Smith had 3 blocks and a steal to go with 4 assists, 13 rebounds and 19 points to help the Hawks to the W.

3. Tony Allen-Mem: Allen had 5 steals to go with a block, 8 boards, and 12 points in Memphis’s come from behind win over Golden State.

4. Emeka Okafor-NO: Okafor had 3 blocked shots to go with a steal, 2 assists, 8 rebounds, and 10 points.

5. Avery Bradley-Bos: Bradley harassed Jameer Nelson constantly all night and helped the Celtics defense hold the Magic to historic lows in FG made. He definitely has a role going forward as a defensive stopper for the C’s but his offensive numbers will come and go. Last night he had just 6 points but did add 4 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and a block

5 underwhelming lines

1. Kawhi Leonard-SA: Leonard posted nothing except a missed shot in his 7 minutes last night in the Big Easy which wasn’t so easy for Leonard.

2. Ryan Anderson-Orl: Anderson missed all 8 shots he took in 23 minutes finishing with a goose egg in points and rebounds and just 2 assists.

3. Delonte West-Dal: West shot just 1-6 from the field and finished with 2 points with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. The Dirkless Mavs need more from him offensively going forward.

4. Andray Blatche-Was: Blatche seems to be taking the heat for the Wizards early struggle, but it’s getting hard to defend him after another poor shooting night 4-11 with 13 points, 2 steals, 4 boards, and an assist.

5. Andrew Bogut-Mil: Bogut had 12 boards and 4 assists, but shot horribly from the field (3-10) and could only get 6 points in 25 minutes.

5 to think about adding

1. Carl Landry-NO: Owned in only 32 percent of leagues, Landry scored 18 off the bench after scoring 19 the previous game. He also added 8 boards, and 2 assists. His numbers look to be coming back and his starting spot could be close behind for the offense-starved Hornets.

2. Ian Mahinmi-Dal: Mahimni played 29 minutes against the Suns last night compared to just 19 for starting Center Brendan Haywook and 28 for starting PF Lamar Odom. Mahinmi finished with 17 points to go with 9 boards, 2 assists, and 3 blocked shots. His value could spike for the rest of this Dirk-less week and if he plays well he could start at Center sooner rather than later for the Mavs. He’s owned in 1.1 percent of leagues

3. Evan Turner-Phi: Turner only had 7 points to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, and 3 steals; but the most important stat was his 28 minutes off the bench. With the 6ers schedule the rest of the week there could be plenty of blowouts and therefore plenty of minutes for Turner to put up nice stat lines. He’s still availabe in 55 percent of leagues.

4. Tiago Splitter-SA: Splitter followed up his great game Saturday with 12 points 6 boards and a steal in 23 minutes of action proving he can put up numbers even off the bench. Tim Duncan will be sitting intermittently to keep him fresh and whever the game gets out of hand either way Splitter will be getting even more minutes. He’s worth a look since he’s only owned in 5.5 percent of leagues.

5. Derrick Williams-Min: Williams greatly helped his cause for a larger role in the Minnesota rotation in his first NBA start finishing with 7 boards and 11 points. He’ll probably head back to the bench, but he may see an increased role there going forward. He’s owned in just 36 percent of leagues and is worth monitoring going forward.

Tags: fantasy basketball advice, Houston Rockets, Kevin Love, Kyle Lowry, NBA Recap, San Antonio Spurs, Starting 5, Waiver Wire