C Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers
To begin the fantasy basketball season, Andrew Bynum has been amazing. He seems to be living up to his vast potential. That said, expect his numbers to come crashing back down to earth once Pau Gasol returns. Trade him now while he’s putting up superstar numbers.

PF Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
Yes, Chris Bosh is a great player. But he’s playing over his head at the moment. He’s averaging career-highs in points and points — and he hasn’t missed a three-pointer this season. Trade him before he cools off.

SF Richard Jefferson, San Antonio Spurs
In the last few games, Richard Jefferson has been very good. He’s putting up fantasy stats by the truck load. But once Tim Duncan and Tony Parker return from injury, expect Jefferson’s role to be diminished.

SG Ben Gordon, Detroit Pistons
Ben Gordon is yet another player that is seeing his stats boosted by missing stars. In Detroit, both Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince have been sidelined — which has allowed Gordon to get off to a very good start.

PG Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks
In future years, Brandon Jennings will be a fantasy basketball stud. But even though he’s off to a very good start this season, remember that he’s a very young player who doesn’t have many games under his belt. He’ll be hitting the rookie wall and his value in fantasy basketball will plummet. Trade him prior to that point.

Chris Bosh - Toronto Raptors (Image: Zuma Press)

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While Gasol is out, the fantasy basketball value of many of his teammates will be high. Andrew Bynum will get more touches in the low block with Gasol out, which makes him a better fantasy player. Lamar Odom will also get more playing time.

Once Gasol is able to get back on the court, he’ll continue to be a valuable fantasy basketball player. He’s a very efficient player who can help you in a variety of categories. While his minutes could be done this year, the big Spaniard won’t hurt your fantasy team at all.

Last season, Gasol played 81 out of 82 games and averaged nearly 19 points to go along with 9.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

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C Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers
In Game 7 against the Rockets, Bynum had his best game of the playoffs. He’ll be needed if the Lakers are to beat the Nuggets.

PF Ben Wallace, Cleveland Cavaliers
Wallace has struggled with injuries and he hasn’t done much in the playoffs so far. That said, he could see a lot of time in hopes of slowing Dwight Howard.

SF Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic
Over the last few games, Pietrus has been playing at a high level. Against the Cavs, he’s in line to see plenty of minutes.

SG Dahntay Jones, Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets will likely put Jones on Kobe Bryant early and often. In those extra minutes, Jones could emerge as a fantasy basketball sleeper.

PG Jordan Farmar, Los Angeles Lakers
Derek Fisher is struggling and Farmar is playing at his highest level of the last few months. It would surprise no one if he saw his minutes spike going forward.

Andrew Bynum, Fantasy Basketball Sleeper (Image: Newscom)

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According to Lakers coach Phil Jackson, Bynum looked strong in practice and was moving well. Jackson even called Bynum a “dominant force”.

With less than two weeks remaining prior to the beginning of the NBA playoffs, the Lakers need Bynum to get on the court as quickly as possible. It’d be tough to integrate him back into their system after the playoffs begin.

For fantasy basketball purposes, Bynum would be a high risk play at any point. However, he’s definitely capable of producing a big reward. There’s a possibility that the Lakers could give him extended minutes so that he can accelerate his acclimation back into their system.

Here’s an Andrew Bynum highlight video to remind you of what the bigman can do when he’s healthy:

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Bynum has been out of the Los Angeles Lakers lineup since tearing an MCL ligament in his knee. Earlier this month, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said that Bynum was likely out for the rest of the regular season. As of late, Bynum has indicated that he’s close to returning to the NBA hardwood.

For fantasy basketball purposes, Bynum would be a risky play. Unless your team is desperate, it’s best to ignore Bynum for the rest of the season. If he plays, it will likely be from off the bench. The Lakers will take it slow and hope that their young center can peak late in the playoffs.

In the meantime, the Lakers will likely keep starting Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Eventually, Bynum could return to the starting lineup but that will probably have to wait until the playoffs.

Here is the video of Andrew Bynum hula hooping with Playboy Playmates:

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For fantasy basketball owners who own Bynum, this isn’t very good news. If he misses the full 12 weeks, that means he’ll miss the rest of the regular season. Even if he misses only eight weeks, he’ll be back only for the last two weeks of the regular season. The only hope for Bynum owners is that he is able to recover quicker expected.

For the Lakers, Bynum out means that Lamar Odom will likely move back to the starting lineup. Odom will play power forward while Pau Gasol will shift to center. Backing up Odom and Gasol will likely be Josh Powell and Chris Mihm.

To pick up the slack, expect Gasol and Bryant to get more shots and more points. Odom should also see a sizable increase in production.

Last season, Bynum was injured at around the same point of the season and the Lakers announced that he’d be sidelined for a minimum of eight weeks. Although the Lakers made the Finals, Bynum never was able to return to the court.

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A knee sprain appears to be a big possibility at the moment. Typically, knee sprains take about six weeks to heal. If that is the case, Bynum would be out until the middle of March. Although that would be a big blow to fantasy owners, that would give him plenty of time to warm up for the NBA playoffs.

The best case scenario would be that Bynum simply suffered a slight hyperextension. If that’s the case, Bynum could miss as little as seven-to-ten days. While this might not be likely, it’s entirely possible that Bynum avoided major injury.

The worst case scenario is that Bynum tore his ACL. If Bynum suffered a torn ACL, he’d be out for the entire season. The only good news would be that he’d be ready for the beginning of next season.

According to sources on the Lakers, expect to hear a specific Bynum update at some point on Monday.

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The injury occurred when Kobe Bryant fell into Bynum’s knee. Bynum immediately grabbed his knee and stayed down while yelling out in agony.

If Bynum is out for a significant amount of time, this obviously isn’t good news for the Lakers or Bynum fantasy owners. Bynum has been fantastic lately, especially in his last five games. He had finally started to look like the beast we saw last season before he injured his knee.

Expect Pau Gasol and Bryant to get more shots as long as Bynum is out. Lamar Odom will likely replace Bynum in the starting lineup, with Josh Powell becoming a sleeper as a bigman role player for Los Angeles.

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Wallace laid on the ground for several minutes before he was taken off the court and transported to the hospital. He will remain hospitalized for at least another day. Although it is not known how much NBA action he will miss, it’s obvious that he’ll miss at least a few weeks worth of games.

For the elbow, Bynum was accessed a flagrant foul. The NBA has not yet ruled on whether Bynum will receive any further punishment.

Here is the video of Gerald Wallace getting injured by an Andrew Bynum elbow:

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While his numbers aren’t quite at the level they were last year, they are still good. Compared to last season, his field goal percentage is down, his points per minute are down, his rebounds per minute are down. However, his assists, block shots and free throw numbers are all either similar are up. He’s also turning the ball over less.

The good news for Bynum is that his stats should only get better. He’s learning how to play next to Pau Gasol and he’s just now getting back to 100% healthy. He’s not going to be a 20-point, 12-rebound monster this season, but he definitely has that potential down the line. But as long as the Lakers keep winning, Bynum is going to continue to be put in a role that has him averaging around 14 points, ten boards and a couple of blocks. For fantasy basketball purposes, consider him a good center prospect with a possibility of becoming very good.

Here is the Andrew Bynum video in which he finishes an alley-oop pass against the Toronto Raptors that few NBA players could have finished:

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