ESPN Fantasy Basketball Blog

Posted by Adam Madison, Special to ESPN.com

I found Rodney Stuckey's 40-point outburst to be coincidental timing, because earlier in the day I was checking Stuckey's splits for December and was puzzled as to why he was attempting only 9.3 shots per game. Stuckey's game seems more like that of a pure scorer than a guard who specializes in distribution, which is what makes his 7.3 assists per game (against just 1.8 turnovers) this month so impressive. If Stuckey could be thrust into the starting lineup as a point guard, a position which normally has an extremely steep learning curve, and succeed so easily, then what would happen when he combined his scoring and playmaking?

We'll likely have to wait a year or two to see exactly how Stuckey's potential pans out, but just in case you forgot, Stuckey reminded everyone that he can light the scoreboard on fire, too. Stuckey dropped 40 on 15-of-24 shooting against the Bulls, getting to the line 11 times and converting nine of them. Allen Iverson missed most of the second half with a strained groin, but you only have to look at his seven field goal attempts -- and 5-of-6 mark from the line -- in 24 minutes to see just how much he dominates the ball. If Stuckey can retain his plus shooting from the field -- 47 percent for the season, nearly seven percentage points higher than his rookie season's 40.1 percent -- then there's no reason he can't lead the Pistons in scoring. Well, except for that Iverson guy.

Stuckey's shooting percentage may seem high -- boosted by an insane 58.3 percent mark in December -- and my natural inclination to that is to assume it's just hot jump shooting. Looking on 82games.com, though, I saw that only 52 percent of his shots have been jumpers, while the other 48 percent have all been inside the paint. Browsing other top wing players' stats helps you see just how impressive that mark is. Forty-one percent of LeBron James' shots are inside, for example. Dwyane Wade is at 36 percent, Paul Pierce at 28 percent, and Kobe Bryant at 23 percent. If you can get into the lane at will, and have a respectable enough jump shot to keep defenses honest, then not much is preventing you from being an offensive juggernaut. By the way, it's not much of a sample size, but Stuckey is shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc this season.

To that end, don't be surprised to see Stuckey's role gradually grow in the offense, even if it means a decrease in shot attempts from A.I. That is especially true if the Pistons remain mediocre with Iverson; they are just 11-11 since the trade. Considering how proficient a thief Stuckey is -- he had four steals to boost his per-game average to 1.9 this month -- it's hard not to get excited at the fantasy gold mine that is Stuckey.

Under the Boards

Rasual Butler is quietly making a name for himself in deeper leagues, scoring 17 points against a fairly stingy Lakers D and pouring in three 3s, two blocks and a steal to boot. He looks good for about 1.5 3-pointers per game and, surprisingly, around a block and steal per game. Who knows how long it'll last, but can you really complain about production from Rasual Butler? … Whenever Carmelo Anthony is out, the first player I look to for some cheap value is Linas Kleiza. Lo and behold, Kleiza poured in 20 points off the bench against Portland, going 6-of-10 from the field and 5-of-7 from long distance. He had 17 points and two 3s in his previous game, as well, so you streamers should take note. … Five fouls in eight minutes? Are you serious? That right there is why Joel Przybilla (10 points and 19 rebounds in 40 minutes) will continue to retain his improbable value. Greg Oden's foul problem won't go away, and very rarely do rookie big men suddenly stop fouling. … The Wizards' defense turned Emeka Okafor into Shaq for a night, as Okafor put together 29 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, including 10-of-15 from the floor, as well as a Shaq-like 9-of-17 from the line. The Wizards are last in defensive efficiency, making most teams look better than they are; remember that the next time you are debating between players to start (or stream) and one of them has a "WAS" next to his name on the schedule. … For all the talk about Brandon Roy, has there been a better player than Kevin Durant this month? Durant dropped 28 points, 6 boards, 4 dimes and 2 3-pointers on 10-of-19 from the field and 6-of-7 from the line; for the month, he's been above average in every single category, from his 1.7 steals and 1.2 blocks to his 80 percent shooting from the line and 51.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc. In other words, it took Durant seven months of NBA game action to go from college superstar to NBA superstar; it took Carmelo Anthony two years. Maybe it's jumping the gun a little bit, and it doesn't have a ton of fantasy applications, but you're just a little bit impressed, aren't you?

Adam Madison is a fantasy basketball analyst for ESPN.com.