FanHouse Josh Boone

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

Rod Thorn's rebuild officially started when he hijacked traded for Devin Harris and the 21st pick from the Mavericks for Jason Kidd, but this draft, with two first rounders, has the potential to be a tremendous springboard for any improvement the Nets make in the immediate and longterm future.

Picks: #10, #21, #40

Needs: The Nets have Harris, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter as their core. So, the big three, only a little younger. Josh Boone has flashed low post potential, but you have to think they're looking a big man that can provide them with a consistent offensive threat in the post, although a scoring point guard or combo wouldn't be a bad fit here either.

Best case scenario: Brook Lopez or Anthony Randolph falls in their lap. Unfortunately, that's probably not going to happen. Charlotte will likely snag Lopez if he drops and Randolph is primarily projected as a top 7 pick. So instead, they decide to take one of the better players in the draft, and scoop up Randolph to run/gun with their squad at the four.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
Someone run out front of US Airways Arena and welcome Boris Diaw's exhumed corpse home. Diaw recorded only his third double double of the season last night (two coming in January). He also recorded his fourth double digit scoring night of 2008, after producing only five in November and December combined. His assists are on the rise (4.8 up from 2.7 in December) and so are his minutes (34.4 in January compared to 21.5 in December). Yes, Grant Hill is returning soon, but when Diaw becomes involved in the passing game like this, the Suns are a very, very dangerous team; witness their 6-1 record in January. Buy low now if you can, or wait until Hill's return and see if Diaw's value dips again (my guess is it will not).

Hot Cakes
If you have drafted Raja Bell over the last few years, you have done so tentatively. And why should you have? After all, he did tie for the NBA lead in three pointers made last year at 205. Well, for starters, Leandro Barbosa has emerged, but still continues to come off the bench. Now Hill is out until some time next week, and Bell is heating up. Over his last seven games he is averaging 17 points, three three's a game and over a steal and a block per as well. Some would say sell high with Hill coming back. I say buy (kind of) low, because it's Grant Hill. He gets hurt. It's what he does.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.
Cup of Coffee
Yao Ming owners have mixed emotions about Tracy McGrady being injured. On the one hand, you get games from Yao like last night, where he puts up 26 points, 19 rebounds and two blocks. On the other hand, you get games from Yao like last night, where he shoots nine of 22 from the field. (And props to Sarge from First and 10 Inches for noting this in the comments previously.) When you are 7'6", you should not be missing half your shots on a ten foot goal. Under any circumstances. Still, these are the facts. Yao's raw numbers will go up and his percentages will go down for as long as T-Mac is hurt. If you're worried about your percentages and have enough boards and blocks, sell high after his next monster game. If you can take the hit but need the big man cats, hold onto and hope he can figure out how to score more efficiently (it should have happened at this point).

Hot Cakes
While we're on the Rockets, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that Luther Head got the starting nod and 45 minutes of playing time last night. Bonzi Wells, the usual favorite ride in Adelman-land, saw 30 coming off the bench. I'm chalking it up to the Allen Iverson-at-the-two matchup that Houston was dealing with; Head is better equipped to defend the speedy Iverson there than Wells. Don't go dropping Bonzi but definitely add Head if he's available and your league is deep enough -- his three point shooting prowess alone makes him valuable if he's getting PT. T-Mac is still "questionable" or "day-to-day" for Saturday, depending on who you listen to, so both are decent to strong plays.

Kind of like my boy Josh Boone. Boone got another start at center for the Nets, and I'm going to call 11 points, eight boards and two blocks in 33 minutes against Shaquille O'Neal a pretty nice outing, regardless of how old he is. If you're just "keeping an eye on" Boone, you're probably not doing enough.

Just like Dywane Wade. What does he think? That a 41/5/6/3/3 line is enough to get a team a win? Come on! Just plain lazy. Don't be surprised to see Miami try and make a move on the trading market soon -- he needs some help, badly. Especially when his starting point guard, Chris Quinn, goes down. 13 minutes, three dimes and no points wasn't a result of Jason Williams being young and pressing him for time. The roles will be funky all season long based on whose healthy and getting White Chocolate some rest, but J-Dub should still see the lion's share of minutes and stats.

Spicy little dub-dub for Anderson Varejao, picking up 11 points and 15 boards in 30 plus minutes. Zydrunas Ilgauskas got a shade under 30 and did much less, only recording five boards. Varejao is younger and Big Z was worn down last year so there could be a shift in the minutes coming. Or the Cavs could just go big when they face teams that are stronger in the paint. Either way, Varejao should be rostered in deeper leagues and at least considered in shallow ones.

B-Ball, B-Fast covers last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.
Cup of Coffee

Who the mess is Richie Frahm (you might ask)? And more importantly, why are the Los Angeles Clippers starting a "sausage king of Chicago" at the two guard? Riche's a Zagger product that's averaged a not-so-beasty 10.3 minutes per game over his career, having scored in double figures six times in his professional basketball playing life. Until last night. When he made it seven. (Yeah, that's me, desperately looking for drama.) Frahm has now played 55 minutes in his last two games and taken nine three pointers in that time. Is he this year's Jason Kapono? I'm not saying that for sure. But I am saying that the Clippers have two and half healthy bodies on their team right now and people are going to emerge. If I was in a deep league, I'd snatch him up in a heartbeat, especially if I needed the treys.

Cup of Coffee

For the third straight night, Josh Boone got more playing time at center than Jason Collins. Last night, though, he actually started. Boone's stats -- five points, five boards, four dimes and a steal in 31 minutes -- weren't overwhelming, but that's now five straight games dating back to December 9 where he's gotten 25 plus minutes. And if fantasy, as we all know by now, minutes equal production. Boone isn't going to average a double double (his per 40 numbers last year were just 15 and 10) but he could be a nice C eligible contributor in blocks and rebounds for teams hurting in those areas.

And Kirk Hinrich's buy low period has officially ended. He's averaging nearly a double double over his last five games (8.8 assists is close, right?) and while he's not really shooting well yet, at least he's starting to come around. About freaking time, brah. The Bull you can target though is Ben Gordon, who is scoring 17 a game this year. That's right in line with his career average, but his field goal percentage is down over five full percentage points. In other words, with his point man struggling all year, he's been forced to create his own shot; with Hinrich starting to come around, Lil' Ben's (can we call him that?) field goal numbers should go up.

T.J. Ford is hurt (again) and Jose Calderon is starting (again). The Spaniard is like the Michael Turner of the NBA, only he is secretly better than the guy starting (not true about Turner and LaDanian Tomlinson). Ford was balling before he went back down, busting out for 26 points and eight dimes on December 11. Calderon is just straight steady though, posting a 12/6/9 line against a tough defensive point man in Brevin Knight. If/when Ford comes back, Calderon will go back to the backup role and you should start shopping for him immediately ... in fact, go ahead and start now. Seriously, go on. Get.