B-Ball, B-Fast is a daily (9:00 a.m.) look at what happened last night in the NBA from a fantasy perspective. Visit early and often, or just save yourself the hassle and bookmark it.Cup of Coffee
I was high all pre-season on Craig Smith, ever since he closed out April of last year averaging 11.3 points and 8.2 boards per game, in just over 30 minutes. Factor in the Kevin Garnett trade, and it seemed naturally that Minnesota would slide Al Jefferson in at center, start Smith at the four and let Ryan Gomes, Corey Brewer and Rashard McCants fight for playing time at the three. Hasn't been the case, obviously, as Gomes has benefited most from the trade in terms of minutes. Production wise, he's been pretty worthless though, averaging just over nine points and four boards per game in 26 some minutes. Smith has had nearly identical stats in just under 19 minutes a game. Last night, he came off the bench to rack up 20 points and nine boards in 27 minutes while Gomes played only eight. Smith is a polished rebounder and scorer, and with the T-Wolves lacking in general talent, there's fantasy production to be had here. Grab him if you need rebounding or have bench space and we'll enjoy him taking the starting role together.
Hot Cakes
In more exciting Timberwolf (does that even work?) news, Marko Jaric returned to the floor. He played 39 minutes and flirted with a trip-dub, scoring 18 points and adding eight boards and nine assists. If he got dropped while hurt, grab him. And while we're here, it's worth mentioning that Corey Brewer started as well, and grabbed a ridiculous 18 boards, scoring six points with five dimes and four steals. If he's starting, he's worthwhile in fantasy, but he's a rookie so expect inconsistency.
Joe Johnson looked to get a little swagger back against Minny last night ... and came up "okay". He scored 21 but shot poorly again, and was again outdone by Josh Smith, who racked up this line: 28/7/2/2/7. I'm not sure there are many players I wouldn't give up for J-Smoove in a roto league right now. Johnson is a nice buy low.
Linas Kleiza scored 23 for Denver in a win, but he's still bench / low-end roster material unless Kenyon Martin gets hurt again, which certainly isn't a huge reach. Stash him if you can afford to -- he's still averaging 10 points a game.
The Travis Outlaw Watch continues, as he scored 20 points with 7 boards and two assists in 22 minutes. Same amount of time for Martell Webster. The result? Four points and one dime. Don't say I didn't tell you to grab him.
