NBA Fantasy Basketball-Starting 5-January 31

Monday night featured 9 NBA games and was loaded with plenty of goodness for most fantasy owners. Some teams and players were definitely on their game (TWolves and Beasley for example) while others definitely were not (sorry Grizz and Rudy Gay).

You can catch up on all last night’s action with these 8 lists of 5.

Derrick Rose earned our MVP-for-a-day with a stellar night against Washington. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

5 star scorers 

1. Derrick Rose-Chi: Rose bounced back from a night in Miami where he felt that he could’ve won the game but failed to convert from the free through line. He took out his frustration on the defenseless Wizards as he scored 35 points on 10-20 shooting with 1 3-pointer, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.

2. Kevin Durant-OKC: Durant had a good game on the stat-sheet but said that he shot too much (14-23) on his way to 36 points (the highest total last night), 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, and an assist. Despite Durant’s big night the Thunder couldn’t overcome the hot-shooting Clippers as they fell to 16-4.

3. Michael Beasley-Min: Beasley showed no sign of the foot injury that he recently returned from while scoring a season-high 34 points off the bench for the Wolves in just 32 minutes. He shot 10-14 from the field and 2-3 from long-range. He added 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Whether he’ll return to the lineup is unclear but he showcased his fantasy value even if he remains a dynamic 6th-man for Minnesota

4. LeBron James-Mia: James had 22 point, 11 boards, and 8 assists as well as a steal as he led the Heat past the Hornets to get to 16-5 on the year.

5.Chris Paul-LAC: Paul led the Clippers to another huge win as they beat the Thunder, the team with the best record in the Western Conference, just one night after beating Denver, who is right behind OKC. Paul had 26 points and 14 assists while adding 2 steals and 2 3PM. The big win gets the Clippers to 12-6 and continues to show their maturation into one of the best in the West.

This wasn't THE dunk but it is Blake Griffin dunking. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

5 solid starters

1. Blake Griffin-LAC: Griffin had the dunk of the season (here on youtube); but unless your league awards style points, it still just counts for 2. It was definitely the most exciting 2 of his 22 points that he added to 2 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists, and 7 rebounds. A solid night statistically to be sure, but it was a spectacular night that will live on in highlights for a very long time. (Sorry, Perk)

2. Russell Westbrook-OKC: Westbrok took 26 shots (3 more than Kevin Durant who said he shot too much) while scoring 31 points to go with 5 steals, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. Westbrook did have 6 of the Thunder’s 17 turnovers as well.

3. Kevin Love-Min: Love had 29 points with 7 rebounds and 2 steals as he contributed to Minnesota’s road-win in Houston which got the Wolves to 10-11 on the year.

4. LaMarcus Aldridge-Por: Aldridge shot 11-20 from the field while scoring 25 points to go with 7 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, a steal, and an assist. The Jazz stormed back in the second half to beat the Blazers, though, and drop them to 12-9 on the year. After a hot start, Portland has cooled down going 5-7 over their last 12.

5. Caron Butler-LAC: Butler finished with 22 points and 4 boards, to go with a steal and a block while going 4-8 from long-distance.

5 giving assistance

1. Tony Parker-SA: Parker had 12 dimes to go with his 5 points. The low point total was due to shooting just 2-9 from the field, but Parker did a good job creating for others and helped the Spurs get to  13-9 with the win in Memphis.

2. Ricky Rubio-Min: Rubio had 11 assists while scoring 18 points on 6-10 shooting with 2 3PM, 8 rebounds, and a steal. Rubio has made the Wolves offense run smoothly and has a big role in the team’s turnaround.

3. Trevor Ariza-NO: Ariza led the Hornets with 8 assists but struggled shooting (4-12) on his way to 9 points to go with 1 steal and 3 rebounds.

4. Goran Dragic-Hou: Dragic came off the bench and shot 2-10. Despite his offensive struggles, he had 9 assists, a steal, 2 boards, and 7 points.

5. Raymond Felton-Por: Felton played 30 minutes and although he only shot 2-9 was able to dish 7 assists while swiping 2 steals and grabbing 4 rebounds.

5 bangin’ the boards

1. Ryan Anderson-Orl: Anderson had 20 rebounds, 11 offensive, whole shooting 6-13 from the field and scoring 14 points. He didn’t have as many points as usual but the 20 boards were a career high.

2. Paul Millsap-Uta: Millsap had 19 points to go with his 15 rebounds and 2 blocks as he helped fuel the Jazz comeback to beat the Blazers and get to 12-7 on the year and 10-3 at home.

3. Joakim Noah-Chi: Noah had 13 rebounds, 14 points, and 7 assists against the Wizards last night as he helped the Bulls get to 18-5 on the year.

4. Andre Iguodala-Phi: Iguodala had a team-high 14 points as the Sixers won the game with defense as they held the magic to 33.3% from the field. Iguodala had 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals to fill out the rest of his line as he helped Philadelphia run their record to 11-2 at home and 15-6 overall.

5. Dwight Howard-Orl: Howard had a rough night shooting just 6-17 from the field and 5-13 from the line. He finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal.

Dwyane Wade (3) dribbles while being guarded by Marco Belinelli. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

5 gamin’ guards

1. Dwyane Wade-Mia: Wade scored 22 points on 8-15, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 3 rebounds and appears to be getting back into the groove after returning from his recent ankle injury.

2. Kevin Martin-Hou: Martin had a team-high 29 points for Houston on 9-15 shooting with 4 3-pointers. He added 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and an assist. It wasn’t enough for the Rockets however as they allowed 120 to the visiting Wolves and fell to 12-9 on the year.

3. Brandon Jennings-Mil: Jennings had 4 boards, 5 assists, and a team-high 21 points to lead the Bucks past the Pistons in order to run their record to 9-11 overall and an impressive 6-2 at home.

4. John Wall-Was: Wall had 20 points to lead the Wizards and added 2 steals, 2 rebounds, and 6 assists but couldn’t keep Washington in the game with Chicago as they fell to 4-17 on the year.

5. Rodney Stuckey-Det: Stuckey had a team high 19 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals as he did all he could to keep the Pistons with the Bucks. He’ll continue to start for the injured Ben Gordon and Stuckey is one of the few offensive options that Detroit has which means he’ll have value as long as he starts.

5 playing big bench roles

1. Delonte West-Dal: West came off the Mavs bench with a season-high 25 points on 9-12 from the field and an electric 5-6 from beyond the arc. He added 6 assists, 2 steals, and 3 rebounds to his great night. He’s owned in just 4.5 percent of leagues but this is probably an outlier more than a normality for West.

2.O.J. Mayo-Mem: Mayo had a team-high 17 to go with 3 boards and 2 assists for Memphis.

3. Carl Landry-NO: Landry had a team-high 14 points to go with 3 rebounds on an efficient 6-8 from the field as the Horets hung with the Heat for the first half before falling to 4-17.

4. Evan Turner-Phi: Turner scored 12 points to go with 4 boards and an assists for the Sixers.

5. Nicolas Batum-Por: Batum came off the bench with 15 points in 31 minutes while making 4-5 from deep and adding a block, a steal, and 3 rebounds.

5 sub-par outings

1. Rudy Gay-Mem: Gay missed all 7 shots he attempted against San Antonio in his 35 minutes on the floor. He finished with 1 point, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 6 rebounds. The loss in Memphis dropped the Grizz to  10-10 for the season.

2. Hedo Turkoglu-Orl: Turkoglu shot a woeful 1-9 from the field finishing with as many fouls (3) as he did points and rebounds. Turkoglu started the season well, but has been slumping a bit lately.

3. Channing Frye-Phx: Without Steve Nash, the whole Suns offense struggled but Frye is a good example as he went just 1-5 for 7 points with an assist, steal, and block.

4. Marc Gasol-Mem: Gasol had 12 rebounds and a block, but struggled shooting 3-11 from the field with 3 turnovers to go with his 7 points.

5. Dirk Nowitzki-Dal: Nowitzki hasn’t exactly lit it up since his return from a week off and last night made just 4-10 shots from the field and 0 of 3 from long-rande. He did get 10 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds, but his owners are hoping for way more going forward.

Mike Dunleavy (17) drives for the basket during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

5 to consider adding

1. Mike Dunleavy-Mil: Dunleavy had his second solid game in a row as the Bucks decided to leave Stephen Jackson on the bench in his return from suspension. Dunleavy had 20 points of the Bucks bench while shooting 8-10 and a perfect 2-2 from behind the arc. He added 3 boards, 3 assists, and a steal. He’s only owned in 1 percent of leagues so monitor his progress and go ahead and grab him early if you need points, threes, and a good shooting percentage.

2.C.J. Miles-Uta: Miles scored 15 off the Jazz bench while adding 2 boards, an assist, and a block. His shot was off from outside (0-5) but he continues to get significant minutes for Utah and has become their best scoring option on the wing. He’s got the freedom to shoot and when he get’s dialed in he can have a huge night. He’s available in 87 percent of leagues so he could definitely be an option if you need 3′s and scoring.

3. Vince Carter-Dal: Carter has returned from his foot injury which kept him out 5 games with 3 consecutive games in double-digits scoring with 3+ rebounds and assists in all 3 games. Last night he had his second consecutive 21 point performants while hitting 5 from 3-point range and adding 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. If the veteran can bring those kinds of stats to the table, he’ll be owned in way more than just the 9.2% of leagues in which he’s owned now.

4. Trevor Booker-Was: Booker had 14 off the bench on 7-9 shooting while grabbing 9 boards and added 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 steals. Booker had 16 on Saturday and appears to be taking up a much bigger role at least until Andray Blatche returns. He’s owned in 0.0 percent of leagues.

5. Daequan Cook-OKC: Cook had a nice game hitting 4 3-pointers for 12 points and adding 2 rebounds and a steal. He normally doesn’t get this much run, but with the injury to Thabo Sefolosha he was given the opportunity and stepped up nicely in added time. He’s available in virtually all leagues so keep an eye on his role going forward and see what value (if any) he has.

Tags: Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, fantasy basketball additions, fantasy basketball advice, LA Clippers, NBA Recap, Oklahoma City Thunder, popular, Starting 5