JOY & PAIN

By Si Korot, Staff Writer

You’ve no doubt experienced one or the other (maybe both) during the first week of the fantasy basketball season. Some unheralded players gave us an unexpected euphoria by lighting it up on the court. Some fantasy studs had us rubbing our temples in frustration. Let’s examine some of the joys and pains from the NBA’s premiere week.

Joys

While we expected good numbers in a comeback season from Carmelo Anthony, who knew that his stats would be so sick in week one? The mid-second round pick was a top-five fantasy guy in the period, averaging 37.5 points, 7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and a steal. No matter what scoring format you play in, those are sensational numbers. This is the year that Carmelo puts it all together.

Speights has been spectacular, in spite of Brand and Dalmebert.

You know what Andre Iguodala can do, but as a slow starter, it usually takes him a while to start doing it. After scoring only eight points in game one, fantasy owners were thinking, “Here we go again.” But in the six days, Iggy has appeared to be in midseason form, putting up 19 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6 assists and two steals per game over the three Philly games. Breathe a sigh of relief, “Little AI” owners.

Aaron Brooks was pegged as a seventh- to ninth-round draft pick this season, starting at the point for a Houston Rockets team that was counting on Trevor Ariza and Luis Scola to step up as offensive weapons this year. When Scola started out slow in three contests, not only did Brooks manage to pick up the slack, averaging 21.5 ppg, but he also found open teammates, including the surprising Trevor Ariza (23 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3 apg), to average 8 assists to go along with 3 rebounds and a steal.

Marreese Speights was expected to be a reserve F/C getting 20 mpg most nights. But… with ’09 Elton Brand still not playing like the ’07 Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert not providing many points in the post, Speights has played big minutes in two of three 76ers’ games and is putting up unexpected numbers, averaging 16.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, an assist and a block. The stats have been there in a big way in two games, putting the pivot man on a lot of fantasy owners’ rosters and radars.

Just when Chris Kaman was written off as a bust for the coming season, undrafted in many leagues of twelve teams or less, the dude played awesome ball in all four of the Clippers’ games, scoring no less than eighteen points in any game, putting up 22 ppg, 10 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1 spg and 1.75 bpg. The Kaveman has lit up the waiver wire in a huge way, taking full advantage of Blake Griffin’s absence.

Where the heck did Danilo Gallinari come from? (The answer is Italy.) He was expected to be a part of the New York Knick supporting bench cast, but Coach D’Antoni loves the way he fits into their system and is giving him big minutes. The Italian import has responded to the challenge, averaging 22.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in three games so far. With Nate Robinson out of action with an ankle injury, Gallinari is sure to get lots of playing time, and should be flying off the waiver wire in your league.

Channing Frye has finally found a team that fits his style of play—the Phoenix Suns. In this run-and-gun offense, the F/C has managed 20 ppg, 5.5 rpg an assist and two steals per game. He looks like he is in a rhythm and there is no reason to believe it won’t continue all season long. He is another popular add in most fantasy leagues and his two 20+ point games in three played has his value rapidly rising.

Milwaukee only played two games in the first week, but Brandon Jennings is giving the Bucks some amazing point-guard play. He was supposed to share PT with Luke Ridnour, but has played 30+ minutes in both games, going for a near triple-double in the first and offering up 20.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 6 apg and 1.5 spg. Could this be a second coming of Oscar Robertson in Wisconsin? Well, it may be a bit early for that comparison, but if you grabbed him late in your draft, he’ll be a big bargain and definitely a Rookie of the Year candidate.

Pains

OWNING FORD IS NO FIESTA: TJ Ford is already performing like a lemon.

The Indiana Pacers top the list for the way they handled injury info on Danny Granger for opening week. Granger did play in both of the team’s games, but every update they leaked to the Indy Star noted that he was highly doubtful for the week. So when Granger comes out and averages 26.5-4.5-2 in an unhealthy state and we’re not using him, it’s an extremely frustrating.

The Lakers called Pau Gasol doubtful for the first game of the season, but left fantasy owners with a glimmer of hope that he would overcome his hamstring injury to play part of the week. Many owners left Gasol in their lineups, only to find that not only would he miss the entire week, but the week ahead as well. You just have to be patient. He should come back with a vengeance.

TJ Ford is not only playing on gimpy legs, but seems to be in the Indy coaching staff’s doghouse. While braving it on a bad hamstring, Ford has managed only 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 20 mpg in two games. But despite his martyrdom, Jim O’Brien seems to be enamored with veteran PG Earl Watson, who is playing heavy minutes and in crunch time. Owners have to hope that as Ford’s health improves, so will his relationship with the powers that be in Indianapolis.

Ron Artest had numbers below expectations for his owners. He is only the fourth scoring option on the Lakers, but should create some opportunities for himself as a small forward who can handle the ball. Nonetheless, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, a block and a steal a game is not much considering his draft position. And it probably won’t get much better when Pau Gasol comes back and takes numbers from all Lakers starters other than Kobe.

When he signed as a free agent with the Portland Trailblazers, Andre Miller had no idea he was going to be used as a super-sub off the bench. He claims he never would have signed with them under those conditions. Can you blame a player who has average 15 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds over the past three seasons? There are no signs of aging or fading here. As the sixth man, with Steve Blake starting in Miller’s stead, Andre has managed 9 ppg, 3 rpg and 3.5 apg in 24 mpg in the season’s first four games. While his contributions may be helping the Portland’s efforts, it’s not doing much for fantasy owners. We’re talking Steve Blake, though, so eventually Miller’s role has to grow.

In a previous column where we named some sleepers and busts, it was noted that Jamal Crawford and Mike Bibby were going to be buzz kills on each other’s minutes, splitting one position for the most part. While his numbers are nothing to write home about, Bibby seems to be doing better than Crawford, thus getting a majority of the PT, leaving Crawford with averages of just 20 minutes, 12 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists per game. A bit more should be expected and owners should not give up on JC quite yet.

Hopefully, you’re first week was more sunshine than rain. But if not, you can start feeling the joy by improving your team through free-agent acquisitions and trades.