Fantasy Basketball: The Daily Box

The daily box will look at basketball box scores to inform fantasy basketballers of trends, injuries and lineup changes.

Wizards-Hawks

Washington

Javale McGee: 22 min (5 pts, 5 rbs)

Got his first start. Keep an eye on him, but he's not producing consistently enough to be owned in a shallow 10-team league.  Blatche and Thomas got the rest of the minutes at center, but neither is worth owning right now.

Dee Brown: 19 min (1 pt, 3 ast)

Got his first start, but Daniels is out.  The Wizard PG situation is worth monitoring, but I don't see a productive player emerging. Dixon (14 min, 2 pts, 3 rbs) was relegated to a bench role after starting the last two games.

Nick Young: 28 min (9 pts, 3 rbs)

Could take over at SG for Stevenson, but doesn't do enough outside of scoring to really threaten the top 75.

Atlanta

Maurice Evans: 32 min (5 pts, 5 rbs)

Getting minutes, but does not produce enough to warrant your attention.

Zaza Pachulia: 34 min (4 pts, 18 rbs)

Worth a look while Horford is out.  After that, he shouldn't get enough minutes.

Raptors-Heat

Toronto

Andrea Bargnani: 37 min (25 pts, 2 blk)

Started his third straight game.  If he is somehow available, pick him up.  If he's on your bench, wait one more game to make sure this one wasn't a fluke.  You can drop Moon, but pay attention to how this plays out as Jamario is the better defensive player.

Miami

Michael Beasley: 12 min (7 pts, 4 rbs)

Stay patient with Beasley—he's a rookie.  He has the talent; however, there will be growing pains and nights like this will happen.  Bench him for now until he pulls out of this funk.

Daequan Cook: 32 min (10 pts, 2 rbs)

If you really need threes, this guy can help you.  But be aware that he won't provide much else.

Mario Chalmers: 29 min (7 pts, 4 ast)

Rookie PGs are very tough for fantasy basketball, but he should get better as the season goes on.  He's definitely better than Quinn—he's just not as consistent yet.  Ideally, you should have him on your bench or watch list.

Pistons-Cavs

Detroit

Kwame Brown: 18 min (4 pts, 2 rbs)

Still not sure why he's starting over Maxiell or Amir. Keep an eye on the Pistons frontcourt, with McDyess most likely headed back to Motown.

Cleveland

Anderson Varejao: 33 min (5 pts, 11 rbs)

Keep an eye on him, but he's still not producing consistently.  If you're desperate for a big, then definitely take a flier.

Daniel Gibson: 32 min (2 pts, 3 rbs)

Got the minutes due to the starting backcourt's foul trouble, but didn't do anything with it.  Another guy to watch, but the Cavs' backcourt is too crowded for him to emerge right now.

76ers-Timberwolves

Philadelphia

Nothing worth mentioning.

Minnesota

Jason Collins: 13 min (1 pt, 2 rbs)

Did start for the second-straight game, but this is the last time his name should end up in my posts.

Craig Smith: 26 min (21 pts, 5 ast)

This is a flash in the pan.  Smith is not good enough defensively to get 30-plus minutes.  Watch the other guy pick him up.

Clippers-Thunder

Los Angeles

This must have been a terrible game to watch.

Oklahoma City

Russell Westbrook: 30 min (10 pts, 4 ast)

Might be highly valuable some day, and there's still speculation Watson could be traded.  For now pick him up, tell him to ease down on the shots, and I'll pray that you're not in a turnover league.

Frontcourt

Between Collison, Swift, Wilcox, and Petro, you would hope someone would develop into something relevant.  Unfortunately, only Swift has had enough playing time to give anyone hope.

Kings-Hornets

Sacramento

Spencer Hawes/Jason Thompson

Both still relevant, but if you're not in a keeper league selling for whatever's left may be your best bet.

Donte Greene: 34 min (15 pts, 3 ptm)

Not sure why he started. Keep an eye on him, but I don't think he'll be relevant once Martin and Garcia are back.

New Orleans

They can't be missing Mo' Pete this much.  Not sure how they lost this game.

Mavericks-Rockets

Dallas

Josh Howard

Gerald Green, Shawne Williams, and Brandon Bass just aren't good enough to be owned unless Howard has a serious injury. 

Houston

Luis Scola: 41 min (15 pts, 7 rbs)

When Yao is out, he's going to get enough minutes to produce.  If you have Yao, you should definitely have Luis as your handcuff.

Nuggets-Spurs

Denver

JR Smith

Keep JR on your bench and off the waiver wire.  He is worth waiting out a significant slump.

San Antonio

There's not a whole lot of consistency, so pick up any of these guys at your own risk.  I own Roger Mason and I will continue to play him, but I think he might produce more when Ginobli and Parker are creating looks for him.

Bucks-Jazz

Milwaukee

Keep an eye on Skiles' backcourt when Redd returns.  I see it being a committee that benefits no one. 

Utah

Paul Millsap: 22 min (8 pts, 5 bs)

Grab this guy if he's still available.  Kirilenko gets hurt often, and he's producing even with Kirilenko on the court.

Bulls-Blazers

Chicago

This game was an absolute blowout, so it's better to ignore most of the minutes and stats from this one.  Aaron Gray started at C, but it was probably just to match up with the Blazers size.

Portland

Greg Oden: 18 min (11 pts, 10 rbs, 3 bs)

The only player I listed three categories for.  That's because the hype is going to be high once again on this kid.  If you need production (and you aren't in a keeper league), you could do yourself a favor and sell high right now.  Otherwise, hang on and cross your fingers—because he's probably going to get hurt again.