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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In the fantasy basketball world, this is a unique situation in that it’d be good for his fantasy value to go elsewhere. On the Lakers, he’s destined for a sixth man role. As Andrew Bynum grows as a player, Odom will see his time dip more and more.

However, if Odom signs elsewhere (or is traded), he would likely start and play a significant role. On the Lakers, he’s the third or fourth best player. On most every other team, he’d be the second best player.

If you want Odom to maximize his fantasy basketball value, you should be hoping that his argument with the Lakers causes a divorce.

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Thankfully, reports after the game indicate that Fernandez wasn’t seriously injured. All X-Rays were negative and he was basically just battered and bruised. At the most, Fernandez could miss a couple of games.

As for Ariza, he got a flagrant foul penalty two and was thrown out of the contest. Though Fernandez took a vicious fall, Ariza wasn’t further penalized by the NBA. He not only avoided a suspension, he won’t be fined any additional amount of money.

Lamar Odom, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky. For coming off the bench during the subsequent scuffles that broke out along the sideline, Odom was given a one-game suspension.

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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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Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers
With Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol up front, expect the Lakers to try Lamar Odom at small forward. Odom has been pretty decent at small forward in the past but he could very well struggle this season. He’s the type of player who needs the ball a lot to remain effective and consistent. This season, he will likely see the ball less than ever if all the Lakers remain healthy. That, combined with his position change (he was mostly a power forward last year), will likely cause Odom to struggle for portions of the season.

Jamario Moon, Toronto Raptors
Last season, Jamario Moon came out of nowhere and was one of the better stories in all of the NBA. This year, fantasy basketball owners have taken note and are now drafting him relatively high in fantasy drafts. While he may continue his play from last year, that isn’t set in stone. Head coach Sam Mitchell has proved time and again that he isn’t afraid to shakeup his lineup. If Moon is moved to the bench, he could very well become all but worthless in the fantasy world. Moon is a good prospect but still too unproven to bank on.

Shane Battier, Houston Rockets
In the last few seasons, Shane Battier has been a pretty good fantasy basketball player. However, take a closer look at his numbers and you’ll realize that a lot of his production was due to the fact that he played so many minutes. With stars such as Ron Artest and Tracy McGrady at the wing positions, Battier could see his minutes dip — which would make him much less of a fantasy commodity.

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With free agent money dried up around the NBA, Smith appears likely to either re-sign with the Hawks or be traded in a sign-and-trade deal. If Smith is indeed involved in a sign-and-trade deal, where would he end up? Here are the leading possibilities:

Detroit Pistons – The Pistons have a lot of veteran player who they are willing to offer to bring in a superstar. While Smith isn’t a superstar quite yet, he’s well on his way of becoming a superstar. Chauncey Bilulps and Tayshaun Prince may be involved in a deal that would bring back Smith.

Los Angeles Lakers – With Lamar Odom as trade bait, the Lakers definitely could be a factor in the Josh Smith talks. If the Lakers were to offer Odom and a few young players, the Hawks would likely have to consider their offer if talks with Smith stall.

Dallas Mavericks – The Mavericks have long had interest in Smith and could use Josh Howard as a piece to bring in Smith. The Hawks would obviously want more than just Howard but Howard would allow the Hawks to replace Smith with a proven winner who could keep Atlanta competitive.

Houston Rockets – If the rumors are true that Tracy McGrady may be traded, a TMac for Smith deal makes sense for both sides. The Rockets get a defensive oriented player who they can use to build around. The Hawks get a big name superstar to compensate for the loss of Smith.

Here is a video discussing more Josh Smith rumors:

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Turiaf isn’t an overly skilled player and he doesn’t have great size, however he hustles and he brings boundless energy to the court. He’s also a good shotblocker and has an emerging jump shot.

While Turiaf likely won’t start for the Warriors, he’ll be one of the first bigs off the bench. And with the way Don Nelson likes to run the ball up and down the court, Turiaf should see his number improve a little bit. That said, Turiaf isn’t quite at the level of being a solid fantasy basketball option. He’d have to win a 25 to 30 minute role, which doesn’t look likely at the moment.

For the Lakers, they won’t miss Turiaf too much — as long as they can stay healthy. In the middle, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum will see most of the minutes. Lamar Odom can also slide over and play as a big. Those three players should eat up most of the minutes at power forward and center.

Photo: Newscom

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Shooting Guard
Boston – Ray Allen
Lakers – Kobe Bryant
ADVANTAGE: Lakers. As long as he can steer clear of Vanessa Curry or any other Laker Girl, Kobe should dominate.

Small Forward
Boston – Paul Pierce
Lakers – Vladimir Radmanovic
ADVANTAGE: Celtics. Pierce has to play great for Boston to win this series.

Power Forward
Boston – Kevin Garnett
Lakers – Lamar Odom
ADVANTAGE: Celtics. Odom can do a lot but he’s no KG.

Center
Boston – Kendrick Perkins
Lakers – Pau Gasol
ADVANTAGE: Lakers. As long as Gasol doesn’t choke, he should dominate this matchup.

Bench
Boston – Cassell, House, Posey, Brown, Davis, Powe
Lakers – Farmar, Vujacic, Walton, Turiaf
ADVANTAGE: Lakers. Their bench is young but powerful.

Coach
Boston – Doc Rivers
Lakers – Phil Jackson
ADVANTAGE: Lakers. Nine championships against zero championships.

Overall
Lakers in five.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers will be lifting the 2008 NBA championship trophy.

Photo: Newscom

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Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant hasn’t only been the best player on the Lakers all season, he’s been the best player in the NBA. He was named 2008 NBA MVP for a reason and he has repeatedly shown that reason throughout the playoffs. He’s averaging more than 30 points and approximately six rebounds and six assists per game in the playoffs.

Pau Gasol
In the steal of the century, the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for a bunch of spare parts. Gasol has come to Los Angeles and has proven to be the missing piece. During the playoffs, he’s averaging 17.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

Lamar Odom
Lamar Odom has never been the world’s most consistent player player but he has been quite consistent during the playoffs. He’s playing the best basketball of his career and seems to be thriving in the triangle offense. He’s averaging 14.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.

Derek Fisher
The Lakers needed a veteran point guard to run their ship and this past offseason they re-acquired Derek Fisher to do just that. Fisher has proven to be a steady hand who can play defense, hit the open shot and provide toughness. During the playoffs, he’s averaging ten points per game and is hitting 55.9% on three-pointers.

Photo: Newscom

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Both teams entered the playoffs as the number one seed in their conference. The Lakers came out of the Western Conference by leaning on Kobe Bryant’s MVP skills. The Celtics are led by the trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

Boston’s biggest advantage in the Finals will be their homecourt advantage. It will be difficult for the Lakers to win a game in Boston — especially with their rowdy fans doing all they can to bring another championship to Boston. Garnett, Pierce and Allen are now all play very well and the young players on the team have grown up in a hurry.

The Lakers, on the other hand, have the best player in the planet. Bryant will be tough for anyone to stop. On top of that, their team is amazingly deep. From Pau Gasol to Lamar Odom to their young and explosive bench, it’ll be difficult to keep the Lakers from scoring. Defensively, the Lakers are also very underrated.

My prediction on the 2008 NBA Finals? The Celtics will win Game 1 but then the Lakers will reel off four straight wins to win the championship.

Photo: Newscom

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