NBA Fantasy Basketball-Starting 5-February 2

The NBA tipped off February with 11 games last night. Let’s take a swing from coast-to coast as we hit all the highlights and lowlights from a full first day of February. Here’s all the fantasy-relevant news in 9 lists of 5 as well as who I think was the biggest winner and the team that suffered the toughest loss:

Biggest Winner-Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers served notice to the league that they’re for real by beating the visiting Bulls quite handily. The East doesn’t look like the 2 team race that some predicted as both the Bulls and Heat struggle at times and teams like the Sixers, Hawks, and Pacers emerge as legitimate playoff contenders. other big wins: Spurs, Thunder, Suns, and Bucks.

Toughest Loss-Miami Heat: While the Sixers were getting a big home win, the Heat were dropping a game they should have had on the road. They got out to a hot start behind LeBron’s 24 point 1st-quarter, but then let up it appeared as the Bucks stormed back and out-hustled and out executed Miami down the stretch. Others tough losses: Rockets, Timberwolves, Bulls, and Wizards.

Chris Paul took over the 4th quarter in Salt Lake earning the Clippers the victory and him our MVP-for-a-day Award. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

5 Scoring Standouts

1. LeBron James-Mia: James’ huge game for the Heat went for naught as he erupted for 24 in the first quarter and helped the Heat to a big early lead only to see it vanish in the second half. James finished with 40 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals but also had 7 of the Heat’s 17 turnovers and had a +/- of -6. The loss drops Miami to 16-6 overall.

2. Chris Paul-LAC: Chris Paul dominated the 4th quarter in Utah as he continued to build on his reputation as a closer. He finished with 34 points, 11 assists, 3 steals, and 5 boards while hitting 15-24 shots and 3-7 three-pointers. The win was the 3rd big one in a row for LA following wins over the Nuggets and Thunder which got their record to a solid 13-6.

3. Steve Nash-Phx: Nash led the Suns past the Hornets in New Orleans as he scored a season-high 30 points to go with 10 assists, 2 rebounds, a steal, and a block in just 29 minutes as the Suns lifted their record to 8-13 on the season.

4. Brandon Jennings-Mil: Jennings hit 7 of 14 3-pointers and 9-25 overall while scoring 31 points with 8 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds. Jennings led the Bucks to their biggest W of the season and raising their overall record to 10-11.

5. Danny Granger-Ind: Granger had 36 points on 5-8 from downtown and 9-19 from the field to lead Indiana over the Timberwolves in Minnesota. He added 7 boards and 2 assists to his best scoring night of the year which helped the Pacers to 15-6.

Tim Duncan led a huge comeback in San Antonio. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

5 Flashy Forwards

1. Blake Griffin-LAC: Griffin had 31 points showing off a litany of moves down low and adding 14 boards, 3 blocks, 2 assists, and a steal. The Clippers will go as far as he and CP3 take them, which right now looks like pretty far.

2. Kevin Durant-OKC: Durant had 23 points in the Thunder’s win over the Mavs despite struggling shooting the ball. He added to those points 13 rebounds 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He took a back seat with his scoring but OKC still got to 17-4 after bouncing back from losing to LA.

3. Tim Duncan-SA: Duncan led the charge back against the Rockets and finished with 25 points, 7 boards, 1 asteal, and a block. He took over the game in the third with San Antonio down 18 and led a run that culminated in their 8 point win that ran the Spurs record to 11-1 at home and 14-9 overall.

4. Andre Iguodala-Phi: Iggy had 19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block in his 40 minutes on the floor for Philadelphia. He also keyed a pivotal run that put the game away for the Sixers in a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the game.

5. Paul Pierce-Bos: Pierce scored 17 points in just 26 minutes to go with 8 assists, 6 rebounds, a steal, and a block as Boston cruised over the Raptors to get to 11-10.

5 Dominating from Deep

1. Russell Westbrook-OKC: Westbrook didn’t shoot a lot from deep but had some daggers as the Mavs fought back to try and chase down the Thunder. He finished with 33 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Westbrook can hurt his real team by being to assertive, but in fantasy basketball the only thing it adversely  affects is shooting percentage. This was a great night for those owners as OKC won late in a great early game to watch on ESPN.

2. Kevin Martin-Hou: Martin fired up 11 3-pointers and made 6 of them on his way to 29 points while adding 9 boards and 4 assists in Houston’s heart-breaker in San Antonio where they led much of the game before collapsing in the 4th quarter.

3. Ryan Anderson-Orl: Anderson tied with Dwight Howard with a team-high 23 points. Anderson got his on 6-9 from long distance and 7-12 overall. He added 7 rebounds, an assist, and a steal in his 33 minutes. Orlando moved to 13-9 after their 109-103 victory over the Wizards.

4. Jamal Crawford-Por: Crawford hit 4 of his 6 3 pointers on his way to 24 points in 21 minutes for Portland.

5.Nick Young-Was: Young had 24 points on 8-13 from the field and 4-5 beyond the arc. He added 3 boards, but it wasn’t enough as the Magic beat the Wizards and Washington’s record slid to 4-18.

Dwight Howard threw down on Washington last night. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

5 Rebounding Resources

1. Dwight Howard-Orl: Dwight Howard had 23 points and 18 boards to go with 4 steals and 3 assists shooting 6-10 from the field and 11-16 from the line. He played a monster-42 minutes but helped get the Magic plast the feisty Wizards.

2. Kevin Love-Min: Love had 21 points and 17 rebounds and continues to put up 20+ and 15+ with regularity. He added a block and 2 assists last night but the Wolves couldn’t shoot the ball well enough (37% as a team) to keep up with the Pacers and they fell to 10-12.

3. Marcin Gortat-Phx: Gortat dominated down low against New Orleans with 23 points and 11 boards to go with a steal and a block. Gortat’s been streaky this year, but he’s playing well as of late.

4. Ersan Ilyasova-Mil: Ilyasova played 33 minutes off the bench for the Bucks scoring 9 points on a tough 4-14 shooting but pulling in 14 rebounds (7 offensive) to help Milwaukee out-rebound Miami 40-34.

5. Al Jefferson-Uta: Jefferson returned with a big game scoring 27 points on 12-20 shooting and grabebed 12 boards to go with 4 assists and a steal. The Jazz fell to 12-8 after being beaten by CP3′s big 4th quarter and the Clippers.

5 Giving Guards

1. Greivis Vasquez-NO: Vasquez played 28 minutes off the bench for the Hornets scoring 20 points on 7-10 shooting and 3-3 from deep while also dishing out 12 assists and grabbing 6 boards. His performance wasn’t enough though for New Orleans as they stumbled to 4-18 on the season.

2. Deron Williams-NJ: Williams dealt 9 assists to go with his 26 points and 3 rebounds in 43 minutes against the Pistons as he led New Jersey to just their 8th win of the season

3. Darren Collison-Ind: Collison scored 20 points while giving 9 assists out and also grabbed 6 reoubdns and 2 steals to help the Pacers past the Wolves.

4. Raymond Felton-Por: Felton’s scoring numbers haven’t been huge, but he continues to dealed out the assists. Last night he dished 7 assists while scoring 11 and having an astounding +/- of +41.

5. Lou Williams-Phi: Williams had just 14 points off the bench in this one but did give out 6 assists to go with his 2 steals and a rebound in the Sixers victory.

Gerald Wallace and the Blazers crushed the Bobcats. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-US PRESSWIRE

5 Solid Starts

1. Dwyane Wade-Mia: Wade shot 8-17 from the field and added 23 points to LeBron’s 40 but the Heat couldn’t get past the Bucks. Wade added some nice peripherals with 8 boards, 6 assists, a steal, and a block.

2.Gerald Wallace-Por: Wallace had 23 points against his ex-team as the Bobcats visited his new home in Portland. He and the Blazers gave them a rude welcome and trounced them to get their to 13-9. “Crash” added 5 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, and a block.

3. Greg Monroe-Det: Monroe had 21 points on 8-11 shooting and added 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block as the Pistons fell just short of coming back against the Nets in Jersey. The loss drops Detroit to 4-20 on the year.

4. Derrick Rose-Chi: Rose scored 18 points and had 6 assists with a rebound and a block as the Bulls fell behind early and Rose only played 31 minutes as Chicago fell in Philly and their overall record slipped to 18-6.

5. LaMarcus Aldridge-Por: Aldridge shot 8-16 from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the stripe on his 2ay to 22 points to go with his 3 boards, 3 assists, and a block.

5 Blocking Big-men

1. Serge Ibaka-OKC: Ibaka exploded for 10 blocks last night while playing 40 minutes and scoring just 4 points. He had a double-double thanks to 11 rebounds and also contributed an assist and a steal as the Thunder rolled in Dallas.

2. Marcus Camby-Por: Camby only played 26 minutes and took 3 shots but ended up with 5 blocks, 5 assists, 7 rebounds, a steal, and 4 points.

3. Roy Hibbert-Ind: Hibbert had 15 points, 9 boards, 2 assists, and a steal to go with his 3 blocks against the T-Wolves.

4. Jason Smith-NO: Smith had 3 blocks and shot the ball 8-9 from the field to score 16 points to go with 4 rebounds and 3 asssits in 34 minutes for the Hornets.

5.Yi Jianlian-Dal: Yi had  3 blocks, 3 rebounds, and a point in just 9 minutes.

5 Sad Shooters

1. John Wall-Was: Wall was just 1-12 in a game the Wizard could have won if he made half his shots. He finished with just 2 points but to his credit dished 10 assists whil adding 7 boards, 2 steals, and a block.

2. Dirk Nowitzki-Dal: Dirk struggled shooting just 2-15 from the field and contributing 8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He continues to search for his late-season form that he showed in the late 2011 season and the playoffs.

3. Kemba Walker-Cha: Walker shot just 1-11 from the field for Charlotte as he staggered to 4 points, 3 assists, a steal, and 2 rebounds as the hapless Bobcats fell to 3-20 on the year.

4. Chauncey Billups-LAC: Billups shot just 1-8 from the field and missed all 5 three’s he attempted. He finished with 8 points and hit late FTs that helped ice the game while grabbing 7 boards and handing out 3 assists.

5. Michael Beasley-Min: Beasley followed his monster game on Monday with a poor shooting performance last night (3-11). He still managed 11 points, a steal, and a rebound in his 21 minutes, but was not nearly as the level of his 34-point outburst in Houston

C.J. Miles plays an important roll off the bench for the Jazz. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

5 Possible Procurements

1. C. J. Miles-Uta: Miles has double-digits 8 of the Jazz last 10 games and is a huge spark off the bench. He’s been averaging almost 15 points with 1.5 rebounds and 1/2 steal per game over his last 5. Last night against the Clippers he had 16 points, 2 3PM, and 3 rebounds. He’s available in over 86 percent of leagues and makes a nice spot-start or fill-in if someone’s injured on your main roster.

2. Jerryd Bayless-Tor: Bayless remains unowned in 86 percent of leagues despite his expanding role and potential with Toronto. He did not start last night but still finished with a team-high 14 points on 5-12 shooting and 2 3PM. The Raptors are a horrible team without Andrea Bargnani, Bayless will have value moving forward but it will be limited due to his situation.

3. J.J. Redick-Orl: Redick is still available in over half of standard leagues and looks to play a bigger role since being put back in to the Magic lineup. If and when Dwight Howard heads for a different NBA team, Redick’s roll in the offense could increase even more. His percentages and ability to put up points are where his value lies. He demonstrated that last night by shooting 5-7 from the field, 3-4 from deep, and 8-8 from the line to score 21 points. He only had 2 boards and 2 assists in 28 minutes, but his other numbers will tend to be low. If you get Reddick you’re looking for points, 3′s, and percents.

4. C.J. Watson-Chi: Watson returned for Chicago coing off the bench to lead the Bulls with 20 points ahile hitting 4 three’s and adding 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block. Appropriately due to that line, he’s owned in just a scant 0.4 percent of leagues and should have some serious short term value as he fills in for the ailing guards of the Bulls and gets extended time (like this) in blowouts either direction.

5.Nikola Pekovic-Min: Pekovic came off the bench for Minnesota but played 30 minutes (compared to 18 for Darko Milicic) and finished with his 2nd double-double in the last 5 games with 13 points and 12 rebounds. He’s been over 6 points and 6 boards in each game since he starting getting increased PT 6 games ago. He won’t explode for 30 points, most likely, but can be a steady source of points and boards.

Tags: Chris Paul, fantasy basketball additions, fantasy basketball advice, LA Clippers, Miami Heat, NBA Recap, Philadelphia 76ers, Starting 5, Waiver Wire