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With Christmas time and the holidays fast approaching, Mr. Fantasy implores owners not to look gift horses in the mouth. Don't take what you've been given by the grace of God and Isaiah Thomas and flush it down the toilet.
Don't follow? I'm talking, of course, about the curious case of the New York Knicks and their magical Fantasy point-producing offense under coach Mike D'Antoni. The Knicks have been the source of a number of Fantasy breakouts this season. Nobody could have predicted Chris Duhon's emergence as a top Fantasy point guard. Who ever thought Al Harrington would average 27 points per game? It would have taken a Fantasy clairvoyant to forecast the incredible leap in value made by Wilson Chandler, Tim Thomas, Quentin Richardson and Nate Robinson this year.
But with all those guys above, right now there is one Knick who is standing out from all the rest and taking the league by storm. With 16 double-doubles in his first 25 games, David Lee is third in the NBA behind only Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, which is some pretty sweet Fantasy company.
David Lee has been great lately but I keep hearing pundits express concern that playing, more specifically defending, bigger centers every night will wear on him as the season goes along -- it was unnerving to see Shaq knock him around Monday night. Is now the time to move him? Is his value is as high as it will ever get? -- Chilibon Karakachanov, New York
JL: The "pundits" you are talking about are worried because the ambidextrous Lee has been suffering from a bad back in recent days. That back problem forced Lee to finish with just 10 points and one rebound in 24 minutes on Dec. 10 at the Nets, snapping his 10-game double-double streak in the process. All Lee has done since is average almost 17 points and 15 rebounds in his last three games. Plus, in 31 minutes banging against Shaq, you say he got tossed around, we say he still recorded 15 points and 12 boards and shot 7-of-9 from the floor.
Lee is a pretty tough character and we think, for better or worse, he'll be able to stay healthy throughout this season. That said, his value is not going anywhere. He's only getting better and better in his fourth year in the league out of the University of Florida. You could certainly trade him and expect to get very good value in return, but if his unexpected value has helped you thus far there is no need to worry about it dropping off anytime soon.
If you had to make a choice between Larry Hughes or Quentin Richardson going into the new year in Fantasy, which would be the better choice? -- Lenior Ranier, Pittsburgh
JL: These two players are so similar they are even suffering from the same ailment that caused each to have poor games recently. Hughes missed Monday's practice with the flu and then came out on Tuesday and shot 1-of-7 for just two points while Richardson missed last Saturday's game with the flu and returned Monday with just four points on 1-of-4 shooting.
Here's the deal with these guys. They are both dropping around 12 points per game and playing about 25 minutes per night. Either would be a worthy choice; Richardson's value stemming from playing for the Knicks and Hughes' from the fact that he's the captain of the second team in Cleveland. But with Nate Robinson returning from injury -- and doing so quite successfully averaging 26 points in three games since his return -- that means less minutes for Q while Hughes is locked into a bench role. That specific role for Hughes makes him the better Fantasy option going forward. He'll be far more consistent and worth using more frequently since you won't often be left wondering why he'd done nothing on a given night as you may with Richardson.
I'm lacking in three-point shooting. Somebody in my league offered to trade me Michael Redd for Brandon Roy. Should I do it or hold out for something better? My guards are Tracy McGrady, Raymond Felton, Jason Terry, Andre Miller and, of course, Roy. What to do? -- Freddie Hernandez, Stamford, Conn.
JL: While I do agree that you are definitely lacking when it comes to guards who can shoot threes, you may be overvaluing that ability just a tad. Especially considering that Roy has been nothing short of phenomenal in just his third NBA season, averaging 29 points, 5.6 boards and 5.2 assists over his last five games. Redd, who is still working his way back from an injury that kept him out for much of the early part of the year, is dropping 20 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists over his last five. Sure, he's getting 2.2 threes per game, too, which would surely help your cause, but couldn't you just keep Roy and get those threes elsewhere for cheaper?
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Tyson Chandler's production to date has been a pain in the neck for owners.
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You can certainly get away with keeping T-Mac, Felton or Miller on the bench in certain weeks where the matchups may stack against them in favor of a guy like
James Posey -- available in 74 percent of CBSSports.com Fantasy leagues -- who is averaging 2.6 threes per game over his last five. Posey can rebound and score, too, so he's a nice option off waivers. Some other relatively cheap sources of threes are San Antonio's
Roger Mason, Jr., Washington's
Juan Dixon and Miami's
Daequan Cook.
What in the world is wrong with Tyson Chandler this year? I'm in a points league and he was a stud for me last year. I draft him again this year and he's not even worthy of a No. 2 Fantasy center. And now I hear he's complaining about a stiff neck? What gives? -- Yasar Carreras, Tampa, Fla.
JL: Chandler is averaging 8.4 points and almost eight boards per night and has only recently begun to complain about this neck problem so let's not get carried away. His career-high of 11.8 points and the 11.8 boards that went with it last year aren't so far off from this season's numbers that you should be freaking out. Still, they are a downgrade from the production you likely expected out of Chandler and you have a right to be disappointed. The bad news is his neck is definitely bothering him and that could keep him at less than full strength for little while longer. More bad news is that with his stock so low right now, you probably can't get anything of value in return for him. The only real remedy to this situation is to wait patiently and hope for an upswing in statistics. Chandler has been working on his mid-range game more this season and has recently realized that may be the reason for his lower rebounding totals. He's made a commitment to getting back to basics and hopefully that translates into bigger numbers soon.
What are the prospects for a return this season for injured Pacers forward Mike Dunleavy, Jr.? What is the latest word on his recovery and is he worth still holding onto in Fantasy at this point? -- Jeffrey Hall, Albuquerque, N.M.
JL: You're in luck! Well, OK actually you're in luck because we've got current news on Dunleavy's progress. The reality for owners of Dunleavy is not as rosy, however. In his weekly radio show on Tuesday, reports the Indianapolis Star, Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said the earliest Dunleavy would return to the lineup is January, and even that is best case scenario.
The bone spurs in his right knee have taken way longer than expected to heal and he continues to participate in limited court workouts while the Indiana medical staff attempts to determine when and if he'll be able to get into some heavier practice.
What this means to Fantasy owners is that Dunleavy isn't returning anytime soon and is still weeks away from even being allowed to attempt to get back into game shape. With over a quarter of the season already gone, it may be time to cut ties with the Pacers' second-leading scorer from a season ago.
We have a trade dispute in our league that I was hoping you might weigh in on: Team A traded T.J. Ford and Greg Oden to Team B for Jason Richardson. I believe the trade was fair but a few owners in my league have indicated that it was lopsided in favor of Team B getting Richardson. What do you think? -- Brian C. Eades, Salem, Mass.
JL: While Richardson is surely the best Fantasy option of the three, especially as he's now a member of the Phoenix Suns, I'm not sure why owners in your league believe this trade to be lopsided. If anything, getting a two-for-one with a guy with the upside of Oden almost sounds in favor of Team A.
Richardson debuted with the Suns for 21 points and three boards and followed that with 16 points and seven rebounds on Monday. Oden has 23 points and 25 rebounds over his last two games and Ford is averaging 21.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists in his latest two-game span. So you can see that while Richardson does have more value, it isn't earth shattering and the team trading the newest Sun is certainly gaining a plethora of stats in other important categories in return. This is as fair a trade as there can be and there shouldn't be any dissention with the transaction.
I am playing in a 10-team head-to-head league with Andris Biedrins as my No. 1 center and Rasheed Wallace as my No. 2 thus far. Wallace has been solid after a very good start to the year but I've also seen Spencer Hawes putting up solid numbers on my bench -- even with Brad Miller back. Should I start Hawes over Wallace at this time? -- Corey Rothenberg, Little Neck, N.Y.
JL: These two players are very similar, especially over the last five games for their respective teams. Wallace has certainly been struggling since his fast start to the season and his scoring and rebounding averages continue to plummet from a once lofty plateau. Hawes, however, is only improving in his second season out of Washington and since he plays for a really bad team in Sacramento, he should get plenty of opportunity to grow.
Wallace was never expected to do big things this season so the near 10 points and 6.2 rebounds he's averaged over his last five are a good gauge on what to expect from him the rest of the season. That being the case, Hawes has averaged a slightly higher scoring pace and over one more rebound per game over his last five and also blocks more shots and contributes more assists. Wallace hits more threes but the grizzled veteran has been far less consistent than the youngster of late and certainly belongs to be replaced by the Kings center right now. They'll be interchangeable for you over the course of the season and both are still solid No. 2 centers, but right now Hawes is simply playing a bit better.
Would a trade consisting of Caron Butler for Josh Howard and Steve Nash be one worth making? I'm also stuck with Lamar Odom. What kind of value can I get for him? -- Jay Thomas, Berkeley, Calif.
JL: Right now that trade would be a bit questionable since Josh Howard is just coming back from an ankle injury and has yet to play a full game. In two games he's played a total of 15 minutes and connected on just 2-of-6 shots for nine points, two rebounds and two assists. Until he shows he's healthy again, it would be tough to justify giving up a Rotisserie stud and No. 1 forward like Butler. Of course, should Howard become healthy, this trade is more than worth making. Howard is also a Rotisserie player who won't score as much as Butler but will get more rebounds and Nash bests both players with far greater assist numbers and decent scoring to go with, not to mention more three-point shooting. This two-for-one deal would certainly be beneficial to both parties in the right situation, but we cannot give it the go ahead until Howard can return to 100 percent.
As far as Odom, sorry. You, like many other Fantasy owners who selected him as a No. 2 Fantasy power forward in drafts, just have to suffer with his poor production. Over the course of the season he's played like nothing more than a No. 3 Fantasy forward and over the last two weeks he's been even worse than that with the Lakers. Obviously his demotion to the bench has hurt him as in the Lakers last game, with Pau Gasol hurt, Odom started and registered 17 points and 12 boards. Still, once he goes back to the bench it will be more of the same. He's got very little bargaining power and you'll either have to cut him or deal with lower than expected production.
Do you have a question? Send your thoughts to DMFantasyHoops@cbs.com and we'll address as many as we can. Put Attn: Dear Mr. Fantasy in the subject field. Include your name, hometown and state.
