NBA Fantasy Basketball-Starting 5-February 14

The NBA featured a big Western Conference showdown in Big D as the marquee matchup on the Monday slate as the Clippers visited the Mavericks. LA couldn’t quite pull it out in Dallas as they had a shot in the last minute to take the lead but fell to Dallas 96-92. In the 5 other games on the schedule most games went according to script with the Heat winning again, the Bobcats losing again, the Warriors beating the Suns at home, and the Magic beating the T-Wolves in Orlando. The only other mild upset was the Hornets beating the Jazz for just their 5th win of the year.

Here’s all the fantasy news from last night in 5 quick Valentin’s lists of 5:

5 stat lines owners can love

James earned our MVP-for-a-day once again as he powered Miami past Milwaukee. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

1. Lebron James-Mia: James was the only player over 30 last night as he finished with 35 points on a sizzling 16-21 shooting while adding 8 boards, 3 assists, and a steal.

2. David Lee-GS: Lee had his third double-double in his last 4 games while hitting 13-22 from the field for 28 points to go with his 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal. Lee’s Warriors reached .500 at home (8-8) while moving to 11-14 overall.

3. Chris Kaman-NO: Kaman exploded against Utah last night playing an impressive 42 minutes while scoring 27 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and adding 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. The Hornets got just their 5th win of the season and improved to 5-23. Kaman should see more minutes going forward but is still most likely the backup to Emeka Okafor. He’s available in 12 percent of leagues and may be worth adding short-term until he heads back to the bench.

4. Carlos Delfino-Mil: Delfino scored a team-high 24 points on 5-8 on three’s and 8-12 overall. He added 4 assists, 2 steals, and a rebound, but Milwaukee couldn’t keep up with Miami last night as they fell to 12-16.

5. Lou Williams-Phi: Williams led Phily with 23 points to go with 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He continues to have plenty of fantasy value even though he’s coming off the bench for the Sixers who raised their record to 10-9 by beating the hapless Bobcats.

5 finding love on the boards

Feb 13, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love (42) attempts a layup against the Orlando Magic during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

1. Kevin Love-Min: The Valentine’s starting 5 of course features Kevin Love. Not just because of his last name, but mostly because of his 19 points and 15 boards last night against Orlando. The hot-shooting Magic proved to be too much for Minnesota in the 2nd half as the Wolves slipped to 13-16.

2. Marcin Gortat-Phx: Gortat corralled 12 boards to go with his 25 points on 11-17 shooting and 2 blocks last night against Golden State. The Warriors were too tough for Phoenix though as the Suns fell to 12-16 on the year.

3. Nikola Pekovic-Min: Pekovic started and played 33 minutes last night even though Darko Milicic was active. Pekovic grabbed 13 boards and scored 15 points on 6-12 from the field while adding a block and a steal.

4. Al Jefferson-Uta: Jefferson led the Jazz with 14 points and 12 boards with 2 blocks, 2 steals, and an assist. The Jazz fell to the Hornets on the road as their road record fell to 3-8 while overall they remain above.500 at 14-13.

5. Caron Butler-LAC: Butler had 8 boards while scoring a team-high 23 points, but missed a key wide-open 3 that would’ve given LA the lead in the final minute. He still finished 7-18 from the field with 5 three’s, an assist, and a steal.

5 sharing the love

Kemba Walker faced a tall task leading the Bobcats against the Sixers. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

1. Steve Nash-Phx: Nash continues to rack up the assists finishing last night with 14 along with 2 steals, 3 rebounds, and 7 points. In his last 10 games he’s averaging 10 a game, his last 5 games 12.8, and for the year 10.3. He hasn’t had less than 9 assists in any game he’s played since January 28th.

2. Greivis Vasquez-NO: Vasquez is still available in 45% of leagues, and he’s a great addition with Jarrett Jack out for the rest of this week and possibly beyond. Last night he struggled scoring (4-12 shooting from the field) but still managed 12 points, 10 assists, 4 boards, and 3 steals in 38 minutes against the Jazz.

3. Chris Paul-LAC: Paul dealt 9 assists while scoring 16 points and adding 2 steals and 5 boards for the Clippers in Dallas last night.

4. Hedo Turkoglu-Orl: Turkoglu had a team-high 6 assists as Orlando used a balanced attack with 6 in double-figures (high-scorer was J-Rich with 17) to improve their record to 18-11 overall and 10-6 at home. Hedo finished with 14 points and added 6 boards, 2 steals, and a block in 33 minutes as the Magic overcame Dwight Howard’s foul trouble.

5.Kemba Walker-Cha: Walker had 5 assists to go with 3 boards and 21 points in 39 minutes. Despite Kemba’s efforts, the Bobcats fell to the Sixers dropping their record to 3-25.

5 stat-lines that could use a pick up

1. Drew Gooden-Mil: Gooden shot just 2-14 from the field although solid FT shooting (8-8) helped him finish with 12 points to bo with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block. in the Bucks loss to the Heat.

2. Randy Foye-LAC: Foye had been a hot pickup since he stepped into Chauncey Billups’ starting spot. Last night his shooting wasn’t so hot as he missed all 7 shots he took from the field and finished with just 3 points, 3 assists, 2 stelas, and 5 rebounds.

3. Monta Ellis-GS: Ellis finished with 18 points but shot just 5-20 from the field. He did help with 7 boards and 3 assists, but it was David Lee who handled most of the scoring for the Warriors in this one.

4. Paul Millsap-Uta: Millsap shot just 2-9 while finishing with only 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist in Utah’s loss in the Big Easy.

5. Dwight Howard-Orl: Howard was limited to 28 minutes due to foul trouble and finished with 11 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, and a steal in just 28 minutes.

5 to think about starting a relationship with

C.J. Watson is expected to start again for the Bulls tonight. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

1. C.J. Watson-Chi: Watson’s long-term value is still murky, but he is expected to start tonight even with the news that there is no structural damage to Derrick Rose’s back. Watson has played well when he’s gotten extended run and it looks like he will continue to start for Chicago at least for another game. He’s currently available in 94 percent of leagues despite averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 6.4 assists in his last 5 games.

2. Corey Maggette-Cha: Maggette played 32 minuts last night and finished with 22 points on 8-16 shooting with 3 steals and 2 rebounds. Maggette will get plenty of offensive opportunities for the Bobcats lineup as it now stands and could be worth a look if you need scoring and steal over the next couple weeks. The 12-year vet is only owned in 18% of leagues.

3. Ersan Ilyasova-Mil: Ilyasova followed his huge game Saturday with 7 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks last night against the Heat in 25 minutes. He’s been over 6 points and 6 boards now in the last 4 games he’s played. He’s averaging 13 points and 10 boards with almost 2 assists and 1 1/2 blocks in those 4 and is only owned in 31% of leagues.

4. Kenyon Martin-LAC: While any big on a CP3 team is going to get good looks, I’ve been hesitant to jump on the K-Mart wagon until I saw something post-China from him. Last night qualifies as he played 26 mintues while scoring 10 points and getting 4 bocks to go with 3 boards and an assist. He’s owned in less than 3 percent of leagues and his ceiling will be limited playing behind Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. He can contribute though in blocks, points, and rebounds.

5. Klay Thompson-GS: Thompson continues to see solid time coming off the bench for Golden State. Last night he scored 10 points while grabbing 5 boards to go along with a steal and an assist. He hit 2 3′s and can help your team in 3PM and scoring on any given night. He’s only owned in .5% of leagues despite having double digits in 4 of his last 5 while averaging 21 points, 3 boards, and almost 3 three’s per game.

Tags: C.J. Watson, David Lee, Derrick Rose, fantasy basketball advice, Kevin Love, Lebron James, NBA Recap, popular, starting five