NBA Fantasy Basketball-Starting 5-February 1

The NBA had featured 7 games last night. Three turned into blowouts but the other 4 were both compelling and competitive. Find out what happened here as you start your day with these 6 lists of 5, and we’re also debuting our biggest winner/toughest loss segment.

Biggest Winner-Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizz had been scuffling and had lost 4 in a row. They were down 12 at half but fought back to force overtime and get a big win at home to get to 11-10 which had them just 1 game behind the final playoff spot with plenty of time left in the season and Zach Randolph’s return drawing nearer.

Toughest Loss-Sacramento Kings: Kings coach Keith Smart appeared to have his old team on the ropes in Oakland until a 9-0 run to start the 4th quarter put the Warriors ahead to stay. It was Smart’s replacement, Mark Jackson, who made the unconventional decision to stick with his bench even through the closing minutes rather than reinsert his starters. Jackson’s call paid off as the Kinda fell to 4-10 under Smart and 6-15 overall.

Anderson Varejao grabs one of his 20 rebounds in last night's game against Boston. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE

5 star players

1. Deron Williams-NJ: Williams was the high-scorer in the league last night with 34 points on 10-20 shooting while hitting 4-9 from downtown in his 40 minutes. He added in 7 assists, a block, and 2 rebounds but the Nets still fell to the Pacers in Indiana and are now 7-15

2. Joe Johnson-Atl: Johnson scored 30 points in just 30 minutes on 13-18 shooting while dishing 4 assists and grabbing 2 boards. He led the Hawks to a run-out win over Toronto to get their record to 16-6, 3rd best in the East as of today.

3. Anderson Varejao-Cle: Varejao dominated down low for the Cavs scoring 20 points while grabbing a matching 20 rebounds. 10 of his boards were on the offensive end as he added a block and 2 assists to his filled-up stat line. The Cavs couldn’t beat the Celtics for the 2nd game in a row despite scoring 15 more points than Boston in the 4th quarter. The comeback fell just short and the Cavs dropped to 8-12 on the year.

4. Andrew Bynum-LAL: Bynum had 20 points and 11 rebounds to go with his 2 blocks and an assist in his 32 minutes as he led the Lakers past the Bobcats to get to 13-9 on the year.

5. Paul George-Ind: George had 24 points, 4 boards, an assist, 2 steals, and a block to lead a balanced Pacer attack to the 106-99 home victory over the Nets. The Pacers move to 14-6 on the year which currently places them 5th in the Eastern Conference.

Carmelo Anthony played effectively against Detroit last night. The question is, "Was it more Melo, or Detroit?"Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

5 solid starters

1. Paul Pierce-Bos: Pierce scored 20 points on 7-14 shooting with 6 assists, 3 steals, and 4 rebounds.

2. Carmelo Anthony-NY: Anthony had 25 points on 9-14 shooting and 2-3 3-pointers. He added 6 assists and a rebound as the Knicks cruised past the hapless Pistons to get to 8-13 on the season.

3. Kobe Bryant-LAL: Bryant had 24 despite shooting just 2-11 from 3-point distance and 9-21 overall. He added 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

4. Rudy Gay-Mem: Gay struggled shooting (7-20) but managed to score 20 while pulling in 13 rebounds as well as 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He was one of the Grizzlies that fought hard and was able to wrest the game away from Denver in the closing minutes of the game.

5. Al Harrington-Den: Harrington had 23 points coming off the bench while add ing 10 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals. The Nuggets couldn’t overcome a poor shooting night as a team (30%) to hold on against Memphis as they slid to 14-7.

5 trending upwards

1. Kyrie Irving-Cle: Irving scored a team-high 21 points in his 37 minutes while dealing 6 assists compared to just 2 TO’s. Irving continues to have an exceptional rookie season.

2. Ray Allen-Bos: Allen looked much better in his second game back from injury playing 38 minutes while scoring 12 points, hitting 2 3′s, adding 2 rebounds and 2 asssists, and dishing a season-high 8 assists.

3. Anthony Morrow-NJ: Morrow scored 28 points in last night’s loss to Indiana on 10-17 from the field and 5-8 from outside. He added 4 rebounds and a steal as he continues to see increased minutes (38 last night) due to the injury to MarShon Brooks. Until Brooks returns, Morrow makes a good start for points and 3′s as he demonstrated last night.

4. O.J. Mayo-Mem: Mayo continues to come off the bench for Memphis and split time with Tony Allen. He’s been very effective in that roll as he demonstrated last night scoring 18 points to go with 2 assists and 2 rebounds while hitting 3 3-pointers one right towards the end of OT that helped the Grizz get the W.

5. Troy Murphy-LAL: Don’t read too much into it since it was a blowout, but the Lakers PF played  his 2nd highest minutes total of the season last night while scoring 12 points on a perfect 4-4 from deep while adding 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. If he can rebound and hit his shots, he could have value going forward but take a wait and see approach on Murphy.

DeMarcus Cousins had a double-double against the Warriors in Oakland last night. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

5 crashing the boards

1. DeMarcus Cousins-Sac: Cousins had 21 points and 14 boards in 36 minutes for Sacramento. He added a block, assist, and 2 steals but the Kings continued to struggle especially on the road.

2. Roy Hibbert-Ind: Hibbert had 18 points on 7-12 from the field, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 blocks for the Pacers last night. He’s emerged as an excellent option in the middle both for Indiana and for fantasy owners.

3. Marc Gasol-Mem: Gasol had 20 points and 13 rebounds to go with 3 blocks, 2 steals, and an assist. He played an incredible 50 minutes against Denver as the Grizzlies won in OT.

4. Greg Monroe-Det: Monroe had 13 points and 12 boards along with 4 steals and 6 turnovers as he played 32 minutes in the Pistons 19th loss of the season, this one coming at Madison Square Garden.

5. Ed Davis-Tor: Davis had 11 points and 11 boards off the bench for the Raptors in their loss to Atlanta. The starters didn’t play long since it was a blowout and Davis got 26 minutes in relief of Amir Johnson (14).

5 crashing and burning

1. Danilo Gallinari-Den: Denver’s leading scorer had just 8 points on 1-10 shooting with 7 rebounds.

2. Stephen Curry-GS: Curry shot 1-7 from the field and scored just 3 points although he was able to contribute 3 rebounds, 8 assists, a steal, and a block to Golden Stat’s win.

3. Tyrus Thomas-Cha: Thomas scored 6 points on just 2-9 shooting against LA. Charlotte got destroyed out west and their record fell to 3-19 on the year.

4. Kirk Hinrich-Atl: Hinrich shot just 1-6 from the field while scoring 2 points and adding assists and 2 rebounds. Jeff Teauge is still solidly the starter in the A-T-L.

5. Leandro Barbosa-Tor: Barbosa had been heating up before going down with an ankle injury. His return last night didn’t look promising as he shot just 2-8 overall and 0-4 from deep. He added 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers, and just 4 points for Toronto.

Brandon Rush knocked down 4 of 5 from beyond the arc last night to help the Warriors get the win. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

5 to consider picking up 

1. Brandon Rush-GS: Rush was the hero last night scoring 20 off the bench including hitting 4-5 from downtown. He added 6 rebounds and 2 assists and should continue his shooter/scorer roll of the bench making his worth a look since he’s owned in just 3.8 percent of leagues.

2. Landry Fields-NY: Fields is in the starting lineup and starting to find a rhythm for the Knicks. He’s scored double-digits in 7 of his last 8 (a scoreless outing Saturday being his only game under 10). Last night he had 18 points on 7-10 shooting and 4-6 from 3-point territory. He added his usual hustle stats with 5 steals, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and even a block. He’s only owned in 22 percent of leagues but that will sky-rocket if he keeps getting minutes and production like this.

3. Jerryd Bayless-Tor: Bayless looks to be getting starters minutes for the short term at least as last night he played 26 even in a rout. He finished with a team-high 14 points, 2 assists, and a steal. and has been a contributor over his last 3 games. He’s owned in just 7 percent of leagues and makes a speculative add if you think he can grow into the consistent scorer the Raptors are desperately searching for.

4. Jason Thompson-Sac: Thompson continued to start for the Kings despite the return of Chuck Hayes. Last night had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. He added a steal and an assist. Currently, Thompson is available in over 99 percent of leagues and is worth a look if you need rebounds.

5. Chuck Hayes-Sac: The other side of the Jason Thompson equation is the return of Chuck Hayes to the Kings. If he can recover and get back in the lineup, his ownership (2.3 percent) should jump as he contributes the boards and points he normally has over the course of his career.

Tags: Anderson Varejao, Deron Williams, fantasy basketball advice, Joe Johnson, Memphis Grizzlies, NBA Recap, popular, Starting 5, Waiver Wire