Fantasy Catch-Up Week 5

• Ÿ Jose Calderon -- A not so sturdy Ford broke down in Toronto, which made way for this import to crack the starting lineup and become the driving force behind the Raptors. Calderon has led the Raptors to a 4-2 record in his six games as a starter, the last two of which Ford has been active for. Calderon has dished out 10+ assists in all but one of his six of his starts. With Ford back, the two will likely start splitting minutes again. I would imagine that Ford will eventually reclaim his starting spot, though there is a slight chance that it will be later rather than sooner. Give Calderon a look especially if you are in need of assists.

• Ÿ Dwight Howard -- Dwight is absolutely dominating this season to the tune of 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game, while converting on 61.8% of his field goals (his free throw shooting percentage of 60.7 can be a real killer if that’s a category in your league, though… not to mention his turnover woes). Last game he grabbed 23 rebounds; the game before, he scored 39 and blocked five shots.

• Ÿ Andrei Kirilenko -- Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer, Thank you! Due in large part to the both of you missing Friday night’s game, Andrei Kirilenko posted the nicest fantasy line of the season: 20 points, 11 assists, 11 rebounds, six steals, and four blocks. He had an infinite assist to turnover ratio (yes, that means zero turnovers) and hit a three to boot! Andrei probably won’t do this again with Okur and Booz back on the floor, though it was beautiful to check how my players did that night and see this gem. More on my team later…

• Ÿ Beno Udrih - There have been rumors circulating that as soon as Mike Bibby gets healthy, he will be dealt to Miami. This means that the Kings have a lot of faith in the former San Antonio Spur and he should have value for the entire season. At this point, Bibby is still two months away from returning from his finger injury, so at the very least Beno will give you 15 points, five assists, and four rebounds for another six to eight fantasy weeks.

• Ÿ Monta Ellis - After winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award last season, Ellis appeared to have backtracked this year, as if Space Jam’s Monstars had sucked away all of his talent. The return of Stephen Jackson has coincided with a gigantic boost in production for Monta. Little as he is, it was just too tough for him to score when defenses were focused on him. Jackson, a player that demands the respect of his oppositions’ defense, helps take pressure off Ellis.

Reader Question:

“After weeks and weeks of agonizing over coming up with potential deals to propose to league mates (all of which eventually got rejected), I had two straight trades that finally went through! Both were blockbuster deals. The first had me ship Corey Maggette, Mike Dunleavy, Ron Artest, and Antonio Daniels out in exchange for T.J. Ford, Josh Smith, and Manu Ginobili. In the second deal I traded away Rudy Gay, Marvin Williams, Udonis Haslem, and Richard Jefferson for Emeka Okafor, Chris Paul, and Kirk Hinrich. What do I think?” ~ Drew Wolin

Hey, I read my own article; aren‘t I entitled to ask the reader question every once in a while? First and foremost, in both deals I got rid of one more player than I got in return. This gave me room to pick up Jamario Moon and Beno Udrih, both of whom I am very on high on. Also, in trades, I like to look at the rare categories such as blocks, steals, threes, and assist:turnover ratio. With these categories, all you need is one guy to have a great week and they can win them for you singlehandedly. In the first deal, I traded all four players when they were playing very well and got back Ford, who is a decent buy low candidate, especially if you can explain to your trading partner that Calderon may eat into his minutes for the rest of the season. Manu gets a good assist:turnover ratio (a category by itself in my league in place of turnovers) and he is a solid source of threes. I have always been a huge fan of Josh Smith because his blocks and steals. Thanks to the second deal, I can eat Smith’s terrible FG% and A:TO ratio. Hinrich should eventually turn around his dismal season, Chris Paul is a top 5 player when healthy, and Okafor is a solid role player whose only big downfall is his A:TO ratio. Between Paul and Steve Nash (and Kirilenko on some nights), I still am in a position to win the ratio most weeks. Overall I still like both deals.