Posted by Brian McKitish, Special to ESPN.com
Michael Redd's 42-point effort was the performance of the night, but the most intriguing player in Milwaukee right now is none other than Charlie Villanueva. This was a move that should have happened a long time ago, but the Bucks have finally replaced Yi Jianlian in the starting lineup with Charlie V. Technically this news came out on Tuesday, but Charlie is still owned in just 21.9 percent of fantasy leagues so I have to figure that some must have missed the memo. Villanueva is a multi-category threat with the ability to contribute in points, rebounds, steals, blocks and 3-pointers and has averaged 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks in six starts this season. He's a bit of a risk/reward pickup, but there is major potential here, and he is well worth an acquisition off the wire at this point.
The Bobcats, who learned that they'd be without Gerald Wallace for two weeks following Friday's scary concussion, struggled without their star dropping a 110-95 contest to the Wizards. As expected, Jason Richardson picked up the scoring slack with 25 points, but it wasn't enough to hold off the Antawn Jamison (22 points, nine boards, two steals) and the Wizards.
Jared Dudley, who has been Sam Vincent's favorite replacement for Gerald Wallace, earned the start in Wallace's absence but failed to do much with his opportunity with just six points and three rebounds in 23 minutes. Even with the injury to Wallace, Dudley won't be able to offer much value to fantasy owners.
I know a lot of owners don't want to pick up a player who will only have fleeting value, but Andray Blatche is one player that deserves an addition despite his short-term value. Blatche (13 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal) is averaging 13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 2.1 blocks in 12 starts this season, and will continue to have a spot in the starting lineup for as long as it takes Caron Butler to heal.
Wow, is Richard Jefferson going off in Jason Kidd's absence or what? Jefferson has been a point scoring machine in three games since the trade averaging 31.3 points per game after his 36-point effort on Saturday. Clearly RJ is looking to take on a larger role in the offense with Kidd out of the picture.
If you're looking for assists, 3-pointers and steals off the wire, look no further than New Jersey's second year guard, Marcus Williams. Williams had shown promise in limited action last season, and will get a chance to be the starting point guard for the Nets, at least until Devin Harris recovers from his ankle injury. Williams may only be a short term pickup, but he figures to be a big part of the Nets future plans, so it wouldn't be a surprise if Lawrence Frank ends up starting him alongside Harris in the backcourt for the rest of the season.
Talk about a career night. Not only did Josh Boone score 19 points with 13 boards and two blocks, but he also connected on all five of his free throw attempts! Not bad for a 39.5 percent free throw shooter. Don't get used to it folks, Boone has been sliding ever since Nenad Krstic's return and should be dropped in all but the deepest of fantasy formats.
Speaking of Krstic, after last night's seven-point, three-rebound effort in 17 minutes, I'm slowly starting to lose faith that he'll have any value this season. And, even if he does, he'll still only be a mediocre fantasy center due to his light rebounding and block totals.
Why Andre Miller is still a Sixer after the trade deadline, I don't know, but I'm not going to complain as long as he keeps putting up lines like he did last night, 24 points, four rebounds, nine assists and two steals. I still think he's a great sell-high candidate, but he should have at least another month of value until the Sixers fall out of the playoff race, that is, if they fall out of the playoff race.
My boy Thaddeus Young had an off scoring night, but was able to grab five rebounds and create three steals in 25 minutes in Saturday's victory over the Heat. Young continues to impress in the steals department (1.8 per game over his past five games) and needs to be considered one of the top breakout candidates for the second half.
Dwyane Wade had a brilliant all-around night with 33 points, five assists, two steals, two blocks and two 3-pointers, but one has to wonder how much longer the 9-44 Heat will run him out on the court. If I'm a Wade owner right now, I'm starting to test the waters to see what he'll bring back in a trade.
After a nine-game layoff, Udonis Haslem returned to the court with a typical eight-point, nine-rebound effort in 29 minutes off the bench. Dorell Wright stayed in the starting lineup, and I didn't get a chance to see it, but apparently he lost "several" teeth after taking an elbow to the face in the third quarter. Several teeth? That had to hurt. He will likely miss a few games, but should regain his starting spot once he returns. Wright has been hot and cold on the scoring front, but is offering consistent value in the form of steals and blocks for fantasy owners.
Many were high on Marcus Banks after the Shaquille O'Neal trade, but he didn't give us much to talk about until last night. Banks scored 17 points with a steal and three 3-pointers in 23 minutes in Saturday's loss to the Sixers. He should earn more and more playing time as the season progresses, but he'll only be an option for points and 3s for those in deeper fantasy formats.
After getting his feet wet on Thursday in Minnesota, Tony Parker returned to the starting lineup for the Spurs on Saturday. Parker scored 10 points and handed out five assists in just 29 minutes while Manu Ginobili continued his torrid stretch with 30 points, six rebounds, 12 assists, a steal and four 3s. Gregg Popovich will likely play it safe and limit Parker's minutes for the next week or so, but he should be good to go after that. At the same time, we should also expect Ginobili to come back down to earth as he will undoubtedly take a hit in minutes as Pops will want to ensure his health going into the postseason.
Newly acquired Kurt Thomas was in uniform for the Spurs, but failed to get on the court in Saturday's victory over the Hornets. Let's wait another day or two before we pass judgment on this one, because I was thinking that Thomas could have a little value for boards and blocks in San Antonio.
Newcomers Mike James (15 minutes) and Bonzi Wells (19 minutes) didn't do much in their first game with the Hornets, but they did earn some quality time off the bench. Be sure to keep a close eye on their playing time going forward, as either could potentially replace Morris Peterson in the starting lineup. If I had to guess, Bonzi would be the likely candidate, and his rebounding and steals potential from the guard spot makes him a decent pickup candidate in deeper fantasy formats.
I know he's got that whole injury prone issue, but Kenyon Martin is putting up some serious stats for the Nuggets lately. After his 15-point, 14-rebound, three-steal, two-block effort on Saturday, K-Mart is now averaging 15.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.2 blocks per game over his past five. He's probably not available in your league anymore, but you should check just in case.
Linas Kleiza missed Saturday's contest with a sprained ankle, and in case you were wondering where J.R. Smith's recent increase in minutes came from, there's your answer. Smith followed his 43-point outburst on Friday with a 20-point effort on Saturday, but doesn't figure to have much long term value for the Nuggets. Even on his best night, George Karl blasted him for poor shot selection on Friday. As the Rocky Mountain News notes, Karl had this to say after Friday's contest: "I'm glad J.R. had a great game, but his shot selections in the last five minutes were fantasyland. He made some, but you're not going to win games doing that. It got kind of crazy there." Sorry folks, but that's not a ringing endorsement, and we can expect to see J.R. come back down to earth as soon as Kleiza is back at 100 percent.
Ronnie Brewer has lost a lot of his early season flair, but I still own the guy in a few leagues because he's still a dominant thief. Despite earning just 23.7 minutes per game Brewer has still averaged 10.9 points and 2.1 steals in the month of February. With 12 points and two steals in 24 minutes last night, Brewer continues to get it done for anyone in need of steals in deeper fantasy formats.
Brian McKitish is a fantasy baseball and basketball analyst for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Littlemac@TalentedMrRoto.com.
