Basketball demands we break down its players not just by stats, but by the time and place they occur. That’s not the case in NBA fantasy hoops, though, where cold calculations rule the day and the matchup. Who are the Fantasy Doctor‘s choices for this week’s best pickups? Hit the jump to find out. Read More »

If you made Carmelo Anthony into a Mortal Kombat character, he’d have it all. You could give him some knives, a couple of devastating 360 kicks, maybe even fire-breathing capabilities. But as all gamers know, no matter how nasty you are at putting characters on their asses, you still have to save your energy… can’t be in there button mashing. That’s the only thing New Yorkers are worried about right now. Read More »

Want to know a great way to follow up getting elbowed in the head in a basketball game? About a minute later, find yourself backpedaling on defense in the face of a 2-on-1 fast break where one of the “2″ is LeBron James. Then do the only thing you can think of doing to save your life: cover up and hope for the best.

Stay alive Beni Udrih,just stay alive: Read More »

Without drama, how can you even get excited? That’s how we felt watching the Heat roll over Philly last night, doing it so effortlessly in the second half that not even Andrew Bynum‘s new haircut could get us going. In the Heat’s 114-90 win, the third quarter wasn’t even fair. Miami hit the hosts with a 15-3 run, and had LeBron (16 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) and Dwyane Wade (33 points) rolling: making the extra pass, hitting from midrange, the entire offense flowed like water. Read More »

The NBA trade deadline can make or break your fantasy team. Deadline deals not only change the value of existing fantasy studs, but also rearranges depth charts, opening the door for tons of players sitting on the waiver wire. I was a little disappointed by this year’s deadline, which was one of the slower ones in recent memory, but it still opened the door for many. Read More »

Two players expected to be dealt before the deadline were Orlando’s J.J. Redick and Atlanta’s Josh Smith. At one point Thursday before the 3 p.m. deadline the two were in a proposed trade package for one another. Only Redick will be traded, however: The shooting guard will be traded to Milwaukee as part of a three-way deal between Orlando, Milwaukee and Charlotte. Read More »

David Stern dropped a $250,000 fine on San Antonio on Friday afternoon, then said he doesn’t want to talk about it any more. Good luck with that – the topic of what a coach can and can’t do with his team will be white-hot because of mistakes both the league and the Spurs made with Starter-Gate. It’s wrong to meddle with a coach’s team but Gregg Popovich had ways to achieve the same result (resting his four best players) without sending them home on Southwest Airlines without telling the NBA, too. Read More »

The Warriors don’t expect anyone to simply run through them this year. Defensively, they plan on being playoff-worthy, and once Andrew Bogut gets back into the lineup, they should have the personnel to do it. We’re still in the preseason, so you have to take everything with a grain of “This doesn’t really matter,” but going into last night, Golden State had held opponents to 39 percent from the field (No. 1 in the league), and only 92 points a night (No. 6). Read More »

Beast of the Night: Brandon Jennings finished with 34 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and six three-pointers last night. He shot 52 percent (12-23) from the floor, 80 percent (4-5) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. After struggling through February, Jennings is averaging 25.0 points, 4.0 boards, 7.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 3.0 threes in his first seven games this month. He’s been a top 30 stud so far this season. Read More »

Beast of the Night: James Harden posted 30 points, four rebounds, one assist, two steals, two blocks and four three-pointers last night. He shot 67 percent (8-12) from the field, 91 percent (10-11) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. Harden has been a top 25 fantasy stud so far this season, which is extra impressive given that he’s the non-starter in that bunch. Read More »