Beast of the Night: LeBron James stepped up to the plate and slammed the Lakers with 37 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and hit a three in the process. He shot 52 percent (13-25) from the field, 77 percent (10-13) from the line and had 4 turnovers. James is clearly the king of fantasy ball this season.

Noteworthy Lines:
Kobe Bryant – 12-31 FG (39%), 5-8 FT (63%), 2 3ptm, 31 Pts, 2 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 TO; Yes, the 31 points were nice, but it took just as many shots to get there. Kobe’s health is hindering his value at the moment, but he should recover his value by the end of the month.

Andrew Bynum – 3-5 FG (60%), 1-2 FT (50%), 7 Pts, 8 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Blk, 1 TO; He was in a bit of foul trouble, but if he doesn’t dig himself out of this rut in the very near future, Bynum should be sent to benches without a second thought.

Baron Davis – 2-13 FG (15%), 4-4 FT (100%), 8 Pts, 3 Reb, 9 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; His back is probably at least partly to blame for this clunker, which is legitimate cause for concern for his value going forward. Don’t be too surprised if he sits out a few games soon.

Kenyon Martin – 5-11 FG (46%), 1-2 FT (50%), 2 3ptm, 13 Pts, 14 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 3 TO; The threes were a bonus, but K-Mart’s been playing quite well since late December. However, he’s still likely to have a minor injury or two down the stretch.

Carmelo Anthony – 7-18 FG (39%), 12-16 FT (75%), 2 3ptm, 28 Pts, 10 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; As expected, he’s cooled off since his hot start to the season. He’s still producing like a top-25 player and should be fine going forward.

Chauncey Billups – 5-9 FG (56%), 6-6 FT (100%), 4 3ptm, 20 Pts, 3 Reb, 6 Ast, 3 TO; Billups has scored 20+ points in six of his seven games since returning from a groin injury. He’s scoring more this season compared to 2008-09 and is handing out fewer assists but remains an elite fantasy point guard.

Waiver Wire Appeal:
J.J. Hickson – 11 Pts, 14 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 TO; He’s been pretty quiet since his strong showing in the middle of November and should only be considered in deep leagues.

Delonte West – 3 Pts, 1 3ptm, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Blk, 1 TO; With Mo Williams out for at least a month, West, who played 43 minutes last night, should see a nice boost in value.

Craig Smith – 21 Pts, 6 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; He’s good for points and some rebounds, but not much else.

Ty Lawson – 11 Pts, 2 3ptm, 6 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl; With Billups playing like a monster, Lawson’s value is very limited, but he’s capable of doing a lot with small minutes.

Injuries:
Mo Williams (shoulder): out four to six weeks

Eric Gordon (toe): day-to-day

Joe Johnson (foot): sat out practice Thursday, check his status

Josh Smith (thigh): ditto

Ben Gordon (groin): game-time decision tonight

Tayshaun Prince (knee): ditto

Will Bynum (ankle): out again tonight

Brandon Roy (hamstring): likely out for at least two games

Kevin Garnett (knee): should return tonight

Tyler Hansbrough (ear infection): out again tonight

For Tonight:
Kobe should put on something of a show in New York tonight.

For Next Week:
4 games: ATL, BOS, CHA, CLE, DEN, GS, HOU, IND, LAC, LAL, MEM, MIA, MIN, NO, NY, ORL, PHI, PHO, POR, SA
3 games: CHI, DAL, DET, MIL, NJ, OKC, SAC, TOR, UTA, WAS

Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.

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