The Denver Nuggets have set a firm return date for Carmelo Anthony. Their star small forward is set to return from injury on Friday in a game against the Charlotte Bobcats. Interestingly enough, the Bobcats will be without their star small forward after Gerald Wallace got injured by Andrew Bynum.

Anthony missed a total of ten games with his injury — a broken bone in his hand. During those ten games, the Nuggets were able to win six of the contests.

To make up for Anthony’s scoring, the Nuggets got help from a number of players. Chauncey Billups, JR Smith, Nene and Linas Kleiza have all added to their scoring lately. Once Carmelo returns, expect those players to get less shot attempts and less points.

The player whose fantasy value could rise with the return of Carmelo is Billups. With Carmelo sidelined, Billups’ assists plummeted. In his last five games, he’s only averaging around five assists per contest. With Anthony around, you can expect his assists numbers to rise to around seven or eight per game.

After Kevin Durant hit a clutch three-pointer to put the Oklahoma City Thunder up by a point with under three seconds to go, Carmelo Anthony drained a three-pointer to give the Denver Nuggets the win. Carmelo’s three-pointer made it 122-120 with .1 seconds left and the Thunder were unable to get off a shot. Video of Carmelo Anthony’s game-winner can be seen at the end of this entry.

Although recently missing time due to an elbow injury, Carmelo has played well since returning to the lineup. In his last four games, the Nuggets forward is averaging nearly 25 points and nearly seven rebounds per game.

For the season, Carmelo has been disappointing. Though some of his struggles can be attributed to his injured elbow, that doesn’t make fantasy basketball owners much happier. His overall stats are similar to last season’s stats except that he’s shooting worse from the field and average about five less points.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll see if Carmelo can get back to his rhythm. Hypothetically, he should have an even better season that last season due to the fact that Allen Iverson has been replaced by Chauncey Billups — which should mean more shots for him. However, that hasn’t been the case so far this season.

Here is the Carmelo Anthony video of his game winner against the Thunder:

Like the NBA, the best passers in fantasy basketball are the ones who rack up a lot of assists without turning the ball over a lot. Here’s a look at the top passers in fantasy basketball who can help you in the point guard statistics without hurting you in other aspects:

Chris Paul, New Orleans
Although he turns the ball over more than three times a game, he easily makes up for it by posting more than 11 assists per game. In fact, Paul is the only player in the NBA who is currently averaging double-digits in assists. At 11.8 assists per game, there’s little to suggest that Paul will slow down anytime soon.

Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors
Not only is Calderon second in the league in assists at 9.5, he amazingly turns the ball over only 1.9 times per game. Last year he put up a similar ratio for the entire season, so this stretch is definitely not a fluke for Calderon. The Raptors point guard knows how to create shots without turning the ball over.

Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets
Billups went to the run-and-gun Nuggets and has turned around their whole culture. Now Denver takes good shots each possession and they don’t make nearly as many mistakes. Billups averages 7.2 assists and only 1.6 turnovers to give him an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 4-to-1.

Chris Duhon, New York Knicks
Don’t look now but Chris Duhon is doing his best Steve Nash impersonation in New York. Playing for Mike D’Antoni, Duhon has been asked to create as many shot opportunities as possible. In his last five games, Duhon is averaging more than ten assists per game — including games of 23 assists and 13 assists in back-to-back affairs.

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After the Chauncey Billups trade in which the Denver Nuggets sent away Allen Iverson, the makeup and chemistry of the team has changed substantially. That has trickled down into the fantasy basketball world. Here is a look at the key players on the Nuggets and an analysis regarding their current stance in the fantasy basketball world:

Chauncey Billups
Although Chauncey Billups’ stats have slowly been going downhill in recent years, look for him to have a very good season this year for the Nuggets. Coach George Karl has given him complete control of the team and Billups is even more involved than he was with Detroit. Additionally, Karl is playing Billups a bit at shooting guard, which should help Billups’ scoring numbers. Overall, Billups looks like he’s going to have a great 2008 fantasy basketball campaign.

Carmelo Anthony
With Iverson, Carmelo Anthony is once again the team’s number one scoring option. He should eventually be able to get his scoring average back up around 30 points per game. He’s also rebounding more and getting more assists, which should make fantasy basketball owners very happy. With Billups passing him the ball and a non-offensive player in Dahntay Jones replacing Iverson at shooting guard, Carmelo has a chance to have a monster season.

Nene
With Marcus Camby out of the picture, Nene has established himself as the center for the Nuggets. With Billups able to set him up, Nene should have a very good season. He seems to have overcome his injuries and illnesses and is now a full blown beast down low.

Kenyon Martin
Now one year removed from major knee surgery, Kenyon Martin looks even better athletically. He’s not going to do much more than he did last season but even at that production level, he’s a decent fantasy basketball option.

JR Smith
JR Smith might be the one player hurt by the loss of AI. The run and gun, shoot whenever you want days in Denver seem to have left with AI. Now with Billups in control, there are much fewer wild shots. Plus with Smith coming off the bench, it’s going to be hard for him to live up to the hype he was garnering in the preseason.

The fantasy basketball impact of the Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups trade is difficult to piece together. It’s such a drastic difference for both teams that it may take a few months to sort out. The trade, which was completed earlier in the week, sends Allen Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheick Samb.

First of all for the Nuggets, they finally have a star point guard to build around. Every since trading away Andre Miller, Denver has struggled to find a floor general. Although Billups isn’t as good as he was a couple seasons ago, he’s still an elite point guard. Expect his fantasy basketball numbers to remain relatively the same in Denver.

The biggest winner on the Nuggets roster is Carmelo Anthony. He’ll get a lot more shots now that he doesn’t have to share with Iverson. Anthony should once again challenge for the league lead in points per game. His percentages should also improve now that he has a player to set him up. The other big winner on the Nuggets is JR Smith. He should see way more time at shooting guard and could blossom into a big time scorer who could lead the league in three-pointers made. The big loser on the Nuggets is obviously Anthony Carter, who will go from starter to limited bench player.

For the Pistons, things aren’t nearly as cut and dry. Iverson likely will first begin as the team’s point guard. But throughout his career, Iverson has struggled running the show. With so many different pieces to feed, it’s questionable whether he’ll be able to be a full-time point guard. If he can’t survive at point guard, that opens the door for Rodney Stuckey to play even more. There’s even a chance that the Pistons could opt to start Stuckey and Iverson in the backcourt and then bring Richard Hamilton off the bench. Another option is for Tayshaun Prince to become a pseudo point guard and let Iverson play off the ball.

Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell should also see the fantasy stocks rise due to taking up more of McDyess’ minutes. However, rumor has it that McDyess may return to Detroit after a buyout - a la Brent Barry and the San Antonio Spurs last season.

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David Lee, New York Knicks
A lot of speculation points to David Lee being worth less in fantasy basketball with Mike D’Antoni named head coach. However, with the faster tempo Lee’s stats should rise naturally and he should be able to hoard a lot of rebounds — especially offensive rebounds.

Nene, Denver Nuggets
With Marcus Camby traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, the starting job in Denver falls to Nene. Although he’s been more promise than production in his career, he has the ability to be a player who averages close to a double-double with a healthy amount of blocks.

Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
If Love is given center eligibility in your fantasy basketball league, consider him a possible sleeper for the 2008 season. At UCLA, Love had a very varied game and could be helpful across the board. He should get time next to Al Jefferson in Minnesota.

Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
In his rookie season, Joakim Noah wasn’t too impressive. That said, he had spurts of good performance and should get a chance to win a full-time starting gig. If he does, look for him to put up solid numbers in points, rebounds, blocks and steals.

After losing Elton Brand to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Los Angeles Clippers used their available cap space to bring in Marcus Camby. The Denver Nuggets traded Camby to the Clippers for a future second round pick in a move that could end up saving the Nuggets approximately $40 million.

While the Nuggets certainly won’t improve by losing Camby, they do have a lot of bigman depth. Nene, who has shown glimpses in the past of being a very good player, will now likely start at center. Next to Nene will be Kenyon Martin. While Nene and Martin are both injury prone players, when healthy they can form a very formidable frontcourt. In terms of fantasy basketball, Nene is by far the biggest winner on the Nuggets.

The Clippers will use Camby next to Chris Kaman. Since Camby plays away from the basket offensively, there’s a good chance he’ll be listed at power forward and Kaman will be listed as the center. Camby’s skill should translate well to the Clippers. His stats should be similar and may even improve because the Clippers don’t have as many offensive weapons as the Nuggets do. As always, a big key for Camby will be remaining healthy.

Here is a video with more analysis on the Camby trade:

On Tuesday, Kobe Bryant officially won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award. It was Bryant’s first MVP award of his illustrious career. After a tumultuous summer, Bryant regrouped and played a stellar regular season while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference.

While Bryant deserved his MVP award, was he also the MVP of the fantasy basketball world? Here is my top-five list for most valuable fantasy basketball players of the 2007-08 season.

5) Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets
When it came to rebounding and blocking shots, Marcus Camby was a monster in this season. If you had him on your team, you had to be ecstatic with his production.

4) LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
If it wasn’t for his shaky shooting percentages and his penchant for turnovers, LeBron James would be a lot higher on this list.

3) Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
Amare Stoudemire entered the season with a lot of question marks. He came away from the season as the best fantasy bigman in the NBA.

2) Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
While Kobe Bryant was the rightful winner of the NBA’s MVP, the fantasy basketball world is all about numbers. Bryant wasn’t quite the MVP in this competition.

1) Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
From the opening tip of the season to the final buzzer in the middle of April, Chris Paul was a dominating force in fantasy basketball. It’s not a surprise that he finished second to Bryant for the NBA’s MVP.

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Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers have held out hope that Andrew Bynum would return at some point during the 2008 NBA playoffs. However, now even Bynum is saying that he doesn’t see that happening.

“I doubt there’s going to be a comeback this year,” Bynum told the LA Times. “I’ve got to get my knee straight. At this point, I’d have to train for a good month just to be able to go out there and play.”

“It’s frustrating because I can do everything but what pertains to basketball — running and jumping, defensive slides.”

It’s officially safe to give up on Bynum returning this season. At first he was schedule to return at some point in April, however now it’s all but certain that he won’t be playing basketball against until next year’s training camp.

Bynum’s Lakers will play the Utah Jazz in the second round of the playoffs. Fantasy basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and Lakers swept the Denver Nuggets, while the Jazz beat the Houston Rockets in six games. The Lakers won three of four games against the Jazz in the regular season.

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With the news that Dennis Rodman was arrested once again, now is as good a time as any to look at who the best rebounders were in the 2007-08 season. While none of them rebounded at a Dennis Rodman rate, they weren’t shabby in their own right.

1. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
With an average of 14.2 rebounds per game, Dwight Howard was far and away the best rebounder in the NBA. At 22, Howard’s rebounding numbers should continue to rise over the next few years.

2. Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets
Not only does Marcus Camby block shots, he’s an elite rebounder. He averaged 13.1 rebounds per game and consistently rebounded all season. Camby also stayed healthy, which in itself was very good to see.

3. Tyson Chandler, New Orleans Hornets
This former Baby Bull is now all grown up. As a member of the Hornets, Chandler is now playing great basketball. He can block shots, rebound and shoots for a high percentage offensively.

4. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
While Tim Duncan doesn’t play a huge amount of minutes anymore, he still is a great rebounder. Duncan is good at a lot things on the basketball court, however rebounding might be his most dominating aspect in the fantasy world.

5. Al Jefferson, Minnesota Timberwolves
When the Wolves traded for Al Jefferson, they knew they were getting a low post scorer and a very capable rebounder. Jefferson didn’t disappoint in either aspect. He has a chance to be a league-leader in rebounds for many years to come.

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