C Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons
It seemed like Ben Wallace’s career was over. In the last few seasons, he did next to nothing. But he’s starting for the Pistons at center and he’s putting up stats. It might not last but he’s valuable for the time being.

PF Marreese Speights, Philadelphia 76ers
Although Marreese Speights might not get many minutes on a consistent basis, his per-minute numbers have been very good so far in his NBA career. If there’s an injury to the front line, his value would skyrocket. As it is, he holds a decent amount of value.

SF Danilo Gallinari, New York Knicks
If you are in a league that values three-point shooting, Danilo Gallinari is a player you should get on your team. Playing for Mike D’Antoni in New York, Gallinari is sure to hoist a ton of threes this season.

Danilo Gallinari - New York Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

SG Rasual Butler, Los Angeles Clippers
Although he’s coming off the bench, Rasual Butler has a steady role so far for the Clippers. He’ll help you in three-pointers made and he can pick up stats in a variety of categories. Not a great fantasy option but he’s a solid filler with upside.

PG Jason Williams, Orlando Magic
It’s difficult to roster a backup point guard in most fantasy basketball formats, but if it makes sense in your situation, go ahead and pickup Jason Williams. He could put up very good per-minute stats playing with a talented Orlando squad. He’s averaging nearly ten points and seven assists in his first two games of the 2009-10 NBA season.

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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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This would be a big blow to the Cavs. Wallace isn’t the dominant defensive force he used to be but he’s still a very good defender who doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective. With LeBron James doing most of the offensive work, Wallace has been free to concentrate on defense and rebounding — a role he does very well.

Obviously, take Wallace out of your lineup for the rest of the regular season. If you are participating in playoffs fantasy basketball, even a healthy Wallace only holds a little bit amount of value. His inability to score and his low free throw shooting percentage negates a lot of his positives.

If Wallace is out for an extended amount of time, expect Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao to eat up most of the bigman minutes. Joe Smith will also see a healthy uptick in minutes.

Here is a Ben Wallace highlight reel video:

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The time table for Wallace’s return is reportedly 4-to-6 weeks. Although he wasn’t much of a fantasy basketball player these days, his defense, rebounding and championship experience definitely was helping the Cavs on the basketball court.

In his absence, expect more playing time for bigmen Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Those two bigs will start and could see their role’s grow without the presence of Wallace.

The fantasy basketball sleeper is JJ Hickson. The rookie out of North Carolina State has good per-minute numbers and could become fantasy viable if given a larger role. Recently, he had a game with ten points and nine rebounds against the Memphis Grizzlies. For the season, he’s shooting better than 54% from the field.

If you want to role the dice on a sleeper, look in Hickson’s direction. If you want to buy low on a big who could start producing more as the season winds down, Varejao and Ilgauskas would be good targets.

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Delonte West, who was one of the best players for the Cleveland Cavaliers last year in the NBA playoffs, has re-signed with the Cavs. The Cavs acquired West from the Seattle Supersonics in the three-team mega deal that also brought Ben Wallace to Cleveland.

Last year in the playoffs, West started at point guard. This year, things will be different. The Cavs traded for Mo Williams and he will be the team’s starting point guard. However, that doesn’t mean West won’t play. He should see many minutes behind Williams and even next to Williams.

As far as fantasy basketball is concerned, West is still an intriguing fantasy prospect. He can score a bit, pass adequately, get some steals and he’s a pretty good rebounder for his size. If he gets enough minutes, he could be a player that helps you out in a lot of statistical categories. The main question will be how much he’s going to play.

Look for Williams, West and Daniel Gibson to vie for minutes next to LeBron James in the 2008-09 NBA season for the Cavs.

Photo: Newscom

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Billups tried to give it a go but wasn’t able to play in Game 4 for the Detroit Pistons. As it turns out, the Pistons didn’t need him. After almost getting blown out of the water at one point in the second half, the Pistons rebounded and ended up winning the game 90-89. Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 32 points and Tayshaun Prince hit the game winner with less than ten seconds to go in the game. The Pistons now lead their best of seven series against the Magic 3-1.

The news was better for Wallace. Despite being listed as doubtful, Wallace was able to start for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs used a big first quarter to easily dispose of the Boston Celtics. Wallace led the Cavs with nine rebounds and was also very active on the defensive end of the court. Even though the Celtics lost, they lead the series 2-1.

Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace on the Detroit Pistons.

Photo: Newscom

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In Game 1 of the series, Wallace played 31 minutes and had four points, nine rebounds and two assists. Against the Washington Wizards in the first round, Wallace averaged 3.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

If Wallace does indeed miss Game 3, Anderson Varejao will start and get a lot more minutes. Varejao is averaging 2.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in the playoffs.

The Cavaliers find themselves down 2-0 in their best of seven series against the Boston Celtics. The Celtics won Game 1 by a final score of 76-72 and Game 2 by a final score of 89-73. LeBron James has struggled for the Cavs, averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 turnovers on 19% shooting in the first two games.

Game 3 will be played on Saturday in Cleveland.

Photo: Newscom

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Dorsey is a bit of an odd prospect because he isn’t much of an offensive player. In fact, he is averaging less than seven points per game. However, Dorsey makes his name on the defensive end of the court. At 6-foot-9 and 265 pounds, Dorsey is a great rebounder and is very good at blocking shots.

While he’s a long shot at this point to be drafted in the first round, this senior out of Baltimore should get drafted in the top of the second round. NBA teams can always use defensive minded bigmen and Dorsey definitely fits that bill. He has the tools to be a Ben Wallace type player on the professional level.

He’ll obviously need to work on his offensive game, especially his free throw shooting. He’s shooting less than 40% at the free throw line, which doesn’t exactly help his draft stock. He has a couple of decent post moves but he’ll need to finish on a consistent basis to survive in the NBA.

Overall, Dorsey will be a safe pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He’ll likely be able to carve out a career for himself as an energetic defensive minded bigman off the bench for an NBA team.

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In the fantasy basketball world, this trade will make a big splash. All four of the players the Cavs received should see at least a short-term raise in their value. Wallace should start at power forward. Szczerbiak has a good chance at starting at a guard position. West has a chance to start at point guard. Smith likely won’t start but he’ll play a lot.

The biggest winner of those four players is likely Szczerbiak who seems to be the perfect piece next to LeBron James. He’ll get tons of open shots in that system. West could also be a big winner if he becomes the full-time starting point guard. Wallace could possibly start producing more now that he’s on a winner. Smith’s production should close to his previous levels.

Of the new Bulls, Larry Hughes is the player to watch. He could never play well next to LeBron, however he was a fantasy stud back before he went to Cleveland. Now that he’s on a new team, there’s a chance he could flourish. Gooden’s production should be about the same, while Simmons and Brown likely won’t make a dent.

In Seattle, none of those three players will be fantasy relevant. Marshall might intrigue some with his three-point shooting, but he’d need to play big minutes to become worthwhile in the fantasy world.

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PG Baron Davis, Golden State Warriors
Davis was the playoff hero for the Warriors last season. He was amazing during the postseason, playing at a level we hadn’t seen from the point guard out of UCLA. That said, he’s being drafted too high in fantasy drafts. First of all, Davis is a huge injury risk. Davis misses games in bunches and playing in Don Nelson’s fast paced offense won’t help keep him healthy. On top of that, Davis isn’t an overly consistent player. Players such as Deron Williams and Mo Williams produce at a similar level and are each much safer picks.

SG Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets
Iverson is still a very good player but fantasy owners have been slow to react to the fact that Iverson is no longer the number one option on his team. Playing next to Carmelo Anthony, Iverson is going to be the second option on most nights for the Nuggets. Since Iverson’s value mostly comes from his scoring, the fact that he’s second on the totem pole hurts. He’s still a good player to have but not as high as he’s being drafted.

SF Tayshaun Prince, Detroit Pistons
Prince is an example of a good NBA player doesn’t always make a good fantasy player. Prince is a fine player in real life but his contributions simply don’t translate very well to fantasy basketball. He doesn’t do anything that great and he’s prone to disappearing for games at a time. Name recognition, rather than fantasy potential, is the reason he’s drafted as high as he’s drafted.

PF Al Harrington, Golden State Warriors
Harrington is being picked relatively high in fantasy drafts. And honestly, I’m not exactly sure why. Harrington is a solid player but he’s not a great fit for Don Nelson’s system. He struggled mightily at times in the playoffs last year when seemingly everyone else on the Warriors was playing well. Nelson has already sent Harrington to the bench, which is even further proof that should lead you away from drafting him this year.

C Ben Wallace, Chicago Bulls
Undersized centers don’t have a long shelf life in the NBA. Wallace is getting up there in age and could start to see his game fall off. He’s already not as good as he was on the Pistons and there’s no reason to believe he’s going to be able to find the fountain of youth and bounce back this season. With all the other center options out there, Wallace is a player you should just allow another owner to draft.

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