Fantasy Basketball-Starting 5-January 25

With tonight’s 13 games on tap in what will be a huge basketball extravaganza, last night there were just 5 games on the NBA schedule. There were still plenty of intriguing storylines to follow as the Magic bounced back from a historically ugly loss, the Heat stayed hot, the Blazers set up a 3-wins-in-3-days possibility tonight, the Raptors revived with a return, and the Knicks threw down (repeatedly) on the hapless Bobcats.

Mid-morning we’ll have our first update since the draft from the League of Extraordinary Bloggers and in the next few days we should have an exciting announcement about a new hoops challenge for all FantasyCPR readers. Stay tuned for that, but today we’ll look back at last night with these 5 lists of 5.

Andrea Bargnani's return made all the difference for Toronto, and his sweet stat-line also earned him our MVP-for-a-day award. (AP Photo/Matt York)

5 super superstars

1. Andrea Bargnani-Tor: Bargnani’s return proved to be triuphant as he carried the Raptors with 36 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Toronto is 5-13 on the year but is a far different team when their #1 pick overall is in the lineup.

2. Chris Bosh-Mia: Bosh was on fire and finished with 35 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, and a block. He led Miami to the W at home to get to 12-5 on the year and 7-2 at home.

3. LaMarcus Aldridge-Por: Aldridge led the Blazers past the Grizz to get to 8-1 at home for the year and 11-7 overall. The former Longhorn scored 23 points while grabbing 6 rebounds and adding 3 assists.

4. Ryan Anderson-Orl: Anderson bounced back from his scoreless outing agaist Boston by pouring in 24 points on 8-14 from the field and 5-7 from 3-point range. He added 8 rebounds, a steal, and a block as he helped Orlando get to 12-5.

5. Tyson Chandler-NY: Chandler was huge for the Knicks shooting 9-10 on his way to 20 points, 17 boards, 2 assists, and a block.

5 good guys to own

1. Steve Nash-Phx: Nash played well as he hosted the Raptors from his home-country of Canada. He had 14 assists to go with 7 rebounds and 17 points.

2. LeBron James-Mia: James had a pedestrian game by his loft standards shooting just 8-21 from teh feild and finishing with 18 points, 2 steals, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds. Fortunately Chris Bosh played big and carried LeBron’s new team past James’ former gang.

3. James Johnson-Tor: Johnson had 18 points and 10 boards to go with a steal while shooting 7-12 and helping the Raps finally grab that elusive 4th win.

4. Gerald Wallace-Por: Wallace had 11 boards, 2 steals, and an assist while scoring 7 points as the Blazers cruised to their 2nd win in 2 nights.

5. Carmelo Anthony-NY: Anthony had one of the most bizarre lines of his career in his 30 minutes in Charlotte. He shot 0-7 and scored 1 point but did contribute 11 boards and 4 assists.

5 big men playing big

1. Marcus Camby-Por: Camby only shot the ball twice and finished with 3 points but was everywhere on defense finishing with 5 blocks, 2 steals, and an incredible 22 rebounds. He finished with a +/- of +29,

2. Roy Hibbert-Ind: Hibbert had a double-double in the Pacers loss with 16 points, 12 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.

3. Dwight Howard-Orl: Howard became the all-time leading scorer for Orlando with his 14 points and added 0 boards, 2 steals, and a block.

4. Anderson Verejao-Cle: Verejao had 11 boards, 11 points, a block, and an assist.

5. Marcin Gortat-Phx: Gortat had 12 boards to go with his 21 points, 2 blocks, and an assist.

5 generous guards

1. O.J. Mayo-Mem: With the starters struggling is was Mayo off the bench who led the Grizzlies in scoring with 20 points while adding 1 steal, 1 assist, 2 rebounds and 2 three-pointers.

2. Jamal Crawford-Por: Crawford continued to spark the Blazers off the bench finishing with 15 points and 4 assists in just 22 minutes.

3. Mike Conley-Mem: Conley had 6 points on a woeful 3-13 shooting, but he still helped his team by dishing 7 assists and swiping 5 steals.

4. Jose Calderon-Tor: Calderon dished 11 assists for the Raps while adding a steal, 4 rebounds, and 6 points.

5. Kyrie Irving-Cle: Irving finished with 17 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists as the Cavs hung with the Heat but ultimately lost and fell to 6-10.

5 trending down

1. Rudy Gay-Mem: The Grizzlies seemed worn out by their recent stretch of games and their big comeback last night in Oakland. Gay shot just 5-15 and finished with 11 points, 2 steals, 4 rebounds, a block, and as assist. Memphis will be one of the few teams with the night off tomorrow before facing off with the Clippers in LA on Thursday.

2. Shane Battier-Mia: Getting a start with D-Wade out Battier was expecting big things. Instead, he finished ust 1-6 from the feild with 3 points but did have 4 steals.

3. Tyrus Thomas-Cha: Thomas has yet to find his rhythm and scored just 4 points while shooting 1-9 and adding just 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

4. George Hill-Ind: Hill has been a hot addition but still is coming off the bench and last night could only manage 2 points on 1-4 with a rebound, a block, and 2 points.

5. Jameer Nelson-Orl: Nelson shot just 1-5 and finished with 2 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. He continued his disappointing start to the year.

5 trending up

1. Kemba Walker-Cha: Walker has a bigger roll in the Bobcats offense without D.J. Augustin. He took 17 shots while making 7 and hitting 2-4 from outside. He finished with 22 points, 2 blocks, 2 assists, and 5 rebounds.

2. Leandro Barbosa-Tor: Barbosa had 19 points for the 2nd consecutive game and appears to be getting into a groove coming off the bench. He made all 3 triples he attempted and also had 2 boards, a steal, and a block.

3. Hakim Warrick-Phx: Warrick’s minutes have been inconsistent throughout the year but he’s looked good when given the chance. Last night he played 26 minutes and finished with 17 points, 4 assists, and a rebound. He’s worth monitoring especially with starter Markieff Morris ailing.

4. Samuardo Samuels-Cle: Samuels showed he can score in spurts and had a solid 22 minutes last night shooting 7-10 and scoring 15 points while adding 5 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block.

5. Derrick Brown-Cha: Brown got the start in place of D.J. Augustin as Gerald Henderson slid to the 2 and Brown manned the 3. He played 33 minutes and finished with 15 points (2nd game in a row with double-digits), 4 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 steals.