Fantasy Notes - 1/13

-I'm torn on Baron Davis. On one hand, he dunked last night and has looked like the GSW Baron Davis over the past month, averaging 13-8 and shooting 45% from the field. Davis and the Clips are hot right now, having won 8 of their last 11 with a statement victory against the Heat last night. What concerns me is the Clipper's 11 game road trip coming up in February. Davis is a well known front-runner and when the Clipper's schedule gets tougher, he might not produce as well. And then there's always the injury concern.

-Larry Brown is a PG killer (see Raymond Felton). After Brown left the Bobcats, D.J. Augustin has been filling it up (18-8 w/ a few 3's) under interim head coach Paul Silas, who has implemented an up-tempo offense. These numbers should remain steady, as Augustin's confidence is at an all-time high and is the clear-cut starting PG.

-It's hard to know what to make of Gilbert Arenas. It doesn't look like he's going to be starting anytime soon and is only playing 20 mpg. Considering his salary and talent, it's hard to believe he will be warming the bench forever.... Buy low or drop.

-I'm trying to stay away from every Cavs player, including Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison. Cavs are horrible. Either move them now or pray that they're traded IRL. If they remain in Cleveland, I could see a convenient season ending injury on the horizon.

David Lee Out on Monday

David Lee will sit out Monday's game against Orlando with a lower back bruise as Golden State's injury riddled season continues. Their already depleted front line will feature Ekpe Udoh, Dan Gadzuric, and Brandan Wright against DH12 and the Magic. Yikes.

Crash Wallace Injures Ankle

Bobcats F Gerald Wallace suffered a bone bruise in his ankle at practice over the weekend and is expected to miss a few games. Tyrus Thomas is slated to return on Monday against the Heat, and could see big minutes and develop some permanent (don't hold your breath) fantasy value with Wallace being injured. Gerald Henderson is expected to start in place of Wallace, but I would expect that Augustin, S-Jax, Ty Thomas, Diaw, and Mohammad get the majority of playing time.

Caron Butler Injury

Caron Butler suffered a potentially serious knee injury this past weekend, that, if Dirk remains sidelined with a bad kneed, could send the Mavs into a further tailspin. With Butler out, the following players could see a boost in fantasy value:

Shawn Marion - Marion can slide over and play the 3 while Butler is sidelined. While he probably won't relive his fantasy glory days of the mid 2000's, he will be a strong contributor in blocks, steals, and rebounds if given more playing time.

DeShawn Stevenson - DeShawn has been starting at SG for the Mavs but only plays 15 minutes a game. Against the Cavs yesterday, he played 33 minutes and put up 21-3-4 with 5 3's. We'll see how the Mavs rotation plays out in the next few weeks, but Stevenson could be shooting a lot of 3's.

Dominique Jones - Jones was recalled from the D-League right after Butler went down. and should see a solid amount of playing time. He played 21 minutes last night and was able to take 10 shots. While there won't be as many shots for Marion, Stevenson, and Jones when Dirk comes back, all 3 should see an uptick in fantasy value.