Posted by Josh Whitling, Special to ESPN.com
The Toronto frontcourt is becoming an intriguing fantasy story, and Sunday's box score provides an interesting glimpse of what we might expect from the key players involved.
Shawn Marion played a team-high 43 minutes and attempted 20 shots, which provides an indication that he'll be more involved in Toronto than he was in Miami, even with
Chris Bosh on the floor. Good news for Marion, not so good news for Bosh, who is coming off an injury and now must share the glory with two other forwards.
Bosh had 11 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and a block Sunday, and even if he's back at full strength, he'll undoubtedly see some sort of hit in value with the addition of Marion. If Bosh owners can still get top-15 value in return, it might be a good idea to shop him around. Andrea Bargnani is the other player involved in the points sharing, and he had no problem jelling with Marion, scoring 28 points with 10 rebounds, three blocks, one steal and three 3-pointers. This situation has forced us to re-evaluate these three players, and the immediate conclusion is to upgrade Marion, downgrade Bosh, and remain neutral on Bargnani.
Under the boards
| SUNDAY, FEB. 22 |
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HIGHLIGHTS
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• Dwyane Wade, Heat: 50 points (17-for-30 shooting, 14-for-15 free throws), 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 3s, 1 steal, 1 block at Orlando.
• Charlie Villanueva, Bucks: 36 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 3-pointers versus Denver.
• Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets: 33 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal at Milwaukee.
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LOWLIGHTS
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• D.J. Augustin, Hornets: 1 point, 3 assists at Houston.
• Wilson Chandler, Knicks: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists at Toronto.
• Derrick Rose, Bulls: 3 points on 1-for-9 shooting at Indiana.
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Charlie Villanueva's "awesomeness" continued Sunday, as he scored a season-high 36 points with seven 3-pointers, including one half-court shot. He should be able to continue his dominance for the rest of this season, and it'll be interesting to see if he can carry over his numbers to next season with a fully healthy Bucks roster. … Speaking of the Bucks,
Ramon Sessions isn't allowing
Luke Ridnour's return to spoil his party, as he scored 27 points with eight assists and three steals. …
John Salmons and
Brad Miller both came off the bench for the Bulls, with Salmons scoring 12 points and Miller snagging 10 rebounds. Both players' values take a definite hit until they're fully incorporated into the Bulls' rotation, especially Salmons, who was a key offensive force for the Kings. Now that he's being worked in instead of incorporated, and with fellow sharp-shooter
Ben Gordon having a hot hand, it's nearly impossible for Salmons to regain the value he had in Sacramento. Miller, meanwhile, likely will play 20-25 effective minutes off the bench and have value only in deeper leagues. …
Delonte West is back with a vengeance for the Cavs, scoring 25 points with five rebounds, four assists, a steal and 5-for-5 from 3-point land. We love his versatility, and he immediately becomes fantasy-viable again, though his return should harm
Mo Williams' stats. Williams has had to do almost everything in the backcourt with West sidelined, but he was overshadowed by West's big game Sunday, tallying just 11 points, four assists and two 3s. … The Suns failed to scored 140 points for the first time in four contests but allowed a
Kevin Garnett-less Celtics to score 128 points, including 32 points from
Rajon Rondo, 31 from
Ray Allen and 26 from
Paul Pierce. The most noteworthy part about the Celtics' box score is that
Brian Scalabrine replaced Kevin Garnett in the lineup and played 37 minutes, scoring 14 points with two 3s. He won't win any slam dunk contests, but Scalabrine can shoot 3s and might have some short-term value in deep formats. … Don't give too much credence to
DeAndre Jordan's 15 points and 12 rebounds, as
Zach Randolph was sitting due to suspension and
Marcus Camby is out with an ear infection, both short-term issues. …
Rafer Alston's second game for the Magic was encouraging; he started and had 12 points, nine assists and two 3s. Alston's stats shouldn't change much following his move to Orlando, which is good news to fantasy owners banking on his 3s, assists and steals. …
Steve Blake started his third consecutive game since returning from injury, and he turned heads with 17 assists Sunday night, including 14 in the first quarter! He is primarily helpful for his assists and 3s (he won't score gobs of points), but it's looking like Blake will regain the value he had before his injury. …
Kevin Love continues to start at center for Minnesota and rack up double-doubles on a near-nightly basis. In Sunday's game, though, he barely made it, scoring 11 points with 10 rebounds in 22 foul-plagued minutes. He's averaging 11.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in February, and I could see that number consistently improving for the rest of the season. …
D.J. Augustin had another bad night off the bench, and it's clear that he needs to be in the starting lineup to find his groove. Bench him until further notice.
Josh Whitling is a fantasy basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
