Way back in 2004-05 all the Atlanta Hawks and their fans wanted for Christmas was to field a team that wouldn't embarrass a city rich in basketball tradition. That team finished with just 13 wins. A few seasons and some solid draft choices later, Georgians were asking for the playoffs from their 15-13 team entering January. They got their wish.
Now, as the new year approaches with Christmas now an afterthought, some bold fans of Atlanta's 19-10 Hawks are wishing for a whole lot more than just making the playoffs. Some are thinking NBA title and the reasons are clear. As a team, the Hawks are flying high with superstar Joe Johnson leading the way. Individually, though, they are getting a boost from two places that is making all the difference.
Mike Bibby/Josh Smith, PG/SF, Atlanta While Johnson continues to play like no ordinary Joe, Bibby and Smith are playing at a level above from what Fantasy owners have been expecting of late and could be the biggest reason the team is playing so well of late. Bibby is scoring per usual and assisting at a slightly greater pace over the current win streak, but it has been his rebounding that gives him an up arrow. Bibby rebounds at around 3.6 per game over the season but is over five lately. He's also hit 11 threes over his last three games and his percentages have been great. Smith is picking up his production across the board and he's really developing into a major Rotisserie weapon. Over his last five games, Smith is averaging 16.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists, almost two steals and one block. He also hits a few threes. His scoring continues to rise and he's hit season highs in back-to-back games with 19 points followed by 24 on Saturday. With both players playing well and the Johnson his normal self, it is no wonder why Atlanta is sitting with the No. 4 seed in the East and rising.
Tracy McGrady, SG, Houston T-Mac's stock report reads like a failed lie detector test and the valleys may be more prevalent than the peaks going forward. After returning, once again, from a seven-game absence because of soreness in his left knee, McGrady exploded with a near triple-double followed by an actual triple-double and looked like he could sustain that high level of play, if he could just stay healthy. But all it took was five solid games before that knee was giving him fits again. Since scoring 23 points at Minnesota four games ago, McGrady played 30 minutes in three games and averaged just nine points, three assists and four rebounds and was clearly bothered by the knee. In fact, the bothered him so much that he decided it didn't make sense to keep playing on and now he could miss another extended chunk of time. He's day to day but the Rockets might want to keep him healthy for a playoff run and choose to rest him until he's 100 percent. Of course, that may never happen again this season meaning he'll be an injury risk pretty much from here on out.
Jermaine O'Neal, PF/C, Toronto The Raptors, the NBA and Fantasy owners everywhere had seemingly given up on O'Neal ever having a four-game span like the one he's currently on. There was so much positivity about his Fantasy prowess before the season as he became Toronto's center with Chris Bosh at the power forward spot. But O'Neal is only averaging 14 points and seven boards this season. Respectable numbers, but we'd hoped for more from the former All-Star. More is what he's giving us for the holidays as he's averaging 25 points and eight rebounds over his last four. He's also getting almost three blocks and is finally getting his field goal percentage back near 50 percent. Don't forget that he's even contributing steals. O'Neal is playing like an All-Star lately but owners need it for greater than a four-game period. Hopefully, O'Neal can keep this going over the rest of the year under new head coach Jay Triano and re-develop into the big-time Fantasy talent he once was.
Richard Jefferson, SF, Milwaukee Not much is going right currently for the former New Jersey star in his new digs. Jefferson is averaging 17.6 points per game this season but has only scored above that plateau once in his last five games. Instead, RJ has had a few stinkers and is dropping just under 14 points over that span -- and that is with a 22-point effort thrown in. But Jefferson has also come in below his averages in rebounding by one full board per night and his field goal percentage has been under 40 percent. Jefferson has really been scuffling of late but we do expect him to turn it around. He's always been solid and it appears just an off shooting touch is the only thing bothering him right now. He remains someone to use at all times in Fantasy but owners could really use that turnaround soon.
Gerald Wallace, SF, Charlotte Wallace was always going to be a Rotisserie stud this season. We knew he'd have great sleeper potential. He's definitely woken up since the Bobcats dealt Jason Richardson to Phoenix, though, as he's become Charlotte's best scoring option, hands down. Wallace dropped 32 points, with 16 coming in the fourth quarter, on Saturday and is averaging 22.4 points over his last five games. He's also raised his season's rebounding and assist numbers and has connected on five of his 14 threes in the last five games. His shooting percentages are up as much as his numbers and the Bobcats are actually beginning to win. His confidence is rising as high as his numbers and that makes him a dangerously good Fantasy option heading into 2009.
Josh Howard, SF, Dallas After averaging 20 points and seven rebounds last year, Howard was pegged as a major Rotisserie stud heading into this season. His season average of 17.9 points and 5.3 boards is slightly below those numbers but the Mavs have needed less of him with Jason Terry playing so well off the bench and Howard missed 11 games with an ankle sprain. All of that would be just fine and dandy and nobody would be concerned with the 15 points per game he's putting up over his last five if it weren't for the mysterious disappearance of his rebounding ability. Howard is pulling down 1.6 boards per over his last five and that number is almost five boards under his career average. Plus, he's getting less steals, assists and blocks than normal and his shooting percentage is just 41 percent. That ankle is still clearly giving him trouble and it might be causing a slight hesitation that is keeping him from crashing the boards. Howard's great Fantasy value was in the fact that he could contribute in all categories for your Fantasy team but right now he's only scoring and is not even doing that to the best of his ability.
Rashad McCants, SG, Minnesota It is no coincidence that you can track the beginning of McCants' current hot streak to the game in which Mike Miller injured his ankle. Miller went down four games ago against Houston and McCants got his extra playing time and immediately scored 16 points, grabbed five boards and dished out four assists in 39 minutes -- all those numbers above his season averages. McCants only managed four points in 20 minutes in his next game but scored 23 points in 21 minutes at New York on Friday and earned extended playing time on Saturday against Orlando. McCants used that time to put up 21 points and he's now got 11 threes in his last two games. That kind of production shows he's quite useful under coach Kevin McHale's up-tempo style of play and with starter Kevin Ollie playing limited minutes Saturday, McCants could begin to get starts if Miller needs more time to heal. The T-Wolves do expect Miller back shortly but McCants should continue to get minutes off the bench because of the way he's been playing of late.
Trevor Ariza, SF, L.A. Lakers People, by nature, are attracted to shiny objects regardless of actual value and that should be one theory as to why Ariza is still owned in 38 percent of Fantasy leagues. Ariza's game is certainly one played at an up-tempo above-the-rim pace and he's one of the game's most exciting players when he's on the court. That said, his Fantasy numbers leave a lot to be desired as he's averaging just nine points and almost five rebounds per game this season and outside of steals does little else of Fantasy significance. Ariza has been even worse than that lately -- 5.6 points and 3.8 boards over his past five games -- and he's really hardly worth owning in even deeper Fantasy leagues right now. He might be a sparkplug for the Lakers but Fantasy owners don't have any room for sparkplugs with mediocre stats on their rosters.
Tyson Chandler, PF, New Orleans Chandler has been a major disappointment this season after averaging almost 12 points and 12 rebounds per night last year. His current averages of 8.8 points and 8.2 boards are making his Fantasy owners quite ornery. But wait, the signs are aligning for him to begin his turnaround and he has definitely showcased a slight improvement over his last five contests. Chandler is averaging 10 points and 9.2 boards over that span and he pulled down double digits in boards in three of them. He's also beginning to block more shots and this all proves that his re-commitment to playing tough basketball underneath the rim has paid off. Hopefully he continues to build off the last few solid efforts and goes into the New Year more like the man owners expected to have on their rosters. The Hornets have some very favorable matchups coming up and Chandler's stock is definitely on the rise again.
Rudy Fernandez, SG, Portland We highly touted Fernandez this preseason for what he was able to accomplish in the Olympics for Spain and because we truly felt he'd be the type of guard who could end up starting and leading the Blazers. But with Steve Blake and the Blazers playing so well at the point and the fact that Fernandez still needs to grow his NBA game, Portland has had the luxury of bringing him along slowly. At this point in the season it is obvious that given playing time, Fernandez can light it up. Over his last five games, the two times he played over 20 minutes he scored in double figures in each. That said, he's still averaging just 8.6 points per over that span and doing little else but shoot threes worthy of Fantasy significance. The bottom line here is that until Fernandez can become a major part of the Trail Blazers rotation he'll be limited in his Fantasy appeal.
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