‘Melo

The big fantasy news is that Carmelo Anthony looks to have possibly broken his hand in last night’s game against Indiana. Amazingly, Karl put him BACK in the game in the 4th with a pretty decent Nuggets lead (he actually had a sick move to the hoop). It isn’t clear how long Carmelo will be out but obviously this is going to effect JR Smith and Linas Kleiza the most. Both players should be picked up in deep leagues, and although Smith seems like the obvious pick up in 12 team and under leagues, I’m not so sure that Melo’s injury will make Karl like Smith any more than he does now. It really could be Kleiza that picks up the most value. Here are some of the other players we’re talking about today.

Ty Thomas/Drew Gooden – Now it looks like Gooden will return to action this week, moving Ty Thomas back another notch into the extremely crowded and inconsistent Bulls front court rotation. Either Noah or Thomas really needs a new team. Is there a team that more to trade than the Bulls? A Bulls deal would have big fantasy implications.

Corey Maggette – Last night is exactly why I’ve always loved what Corey Maggette can do for a fantasy team. In his return from a hamstring injury, Maggette had 23 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists, but that only tells part of the story. He went to the line 16 times and hit 13 of his shots. He’s always had the ability to get to the line like this. The problem with Maggette is the hammy injury wasn’t exactly an aberration. He’s played more than 70 games twice in his previous 9 seasons. Stephen Jackson hurt his hammy last night and Maggette is certainly worth owning, but counting on him for the entire season is not something you should do.

Andrea Bargnani – Here’s the deal – Bargnani has to play the 4 or 5. Not only can he not play with both JO and Bosh on the floor, but a small forward can keep up with Bargnani and guard him on the outside, a power forward or center can’t. He’s KILLING without a healthy JO and should be owned right now just to see how the Raptors deal with the situation after O’Neal comes back (trade?).

Yi Jianlian – A Yi sighting! Yi had a great game last night going fo4 22 points, 13 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. It’s his first 20 point game since November 22 so don’t rush out and make a move.

Charlie Villanueva – I can’t tell how you happy I am that I don’t own Charlie Villanueva. Chuck V. had 25 points (2 threes), 6 boards, and 4 assists last night. I can’t wait to see what he does in his next game.

Troy Murphy – I used to be the guy that drafted Murphy every single year, then he let me down a little bit and his name got a little better than his value. This year, I somewhat trashed the dude in our league (Dime Editor Pat Cassidy) when he drafted him. Here it is (by special request from Pat)… I’m sorry. I was wrong. T-Murph is definitely back. He still has his shortcomings, but his 15 and 12 last night (3 threes) are a regular thing for Murphy.