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 Hypothetically, he should have an even better season that last season due to the fact that Allen Iverson has been replaced by Chauncey Billups — which should mean more shots for him.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:

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4. Sacramento Kings
With Kevin Martin struggling with an ankle injury, the Kings simply aren’t a good basketball team. They don’t have many quality scorers and the overall skill on the team isn’t very high. The good news is that the team has a couple of solid bigman prospects to hopefully build around.

3. Washington Wizards
Having lost seven in a row, the Wizards look totally lost. Gilbert Arenas is out and this year, the team is unable to stay afloat without him. While there’s veteran talent on this team, the Wizards’ guards are playing at a horribly low level right now.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves
Losers of 12 straight games, the T’Wolves are headed to another high lottery pick. Worse than even their record is the fact that the young players on the team — outside of Al Jefferson — don’t look overly promising. Minnesota appears to be in trouble for years to come.

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
While the Thunder are definitely the worst team in the league, their future actually looks somewhat bright. The young trio of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook looks like a solid base. If they can add Nenad Krstic in the middle, they should be able to move up this list.

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The big two on the team are obviously Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. They are somewhat similar players — long, athletic and dripping with talent. Right now, Durant is the better fantasy player but Green isn’t too far behind. Durant is the better scorer and has better percentage but Green gets more rebounds, assists and steals.

Other than Durant and Green, there aren’t too many players to be excited about in the fantasy world. Russell Westbrook is starting now and he has shown some glimpses — although he’s extremely streaky at this point. His low shooting percentages and relatively high amount of turnovers aren’t very good for fantasy basketball.

The remaining players on the team are almost all underperforming. There used to be a time when players like Chris Wilcox, Earl Watson, Nick Collison and Damien Wilkins were worthwhile fantasy players, but right now that simply isn’t the case. Of those players, Only Collison is showing life as of right now. However, keep a close eye on the Thunder because players can come out of nowhere and go under the radar when they are playing for the worst team in the NBA.

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Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
In the month of December, Dirk Nowitzki has been on fire. He’s averaging more than 30 points and his rebounding numbers and shooting percentages are way up. Nowitzki had a slow start to the season but has recently regained his MVP form.

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder are a horrible basketball team but Kevin Durant has been very good as of late. He’s averaging more than 25 points and six rebounds in his last five games. His field goal percentage isn’t the best but he’s sizzling from beyond the three-point arc.

Zach Randolph, Los Angeles Clippers
Since being traded to the Clippers, Zach Randolph has played very good basketball. In fact, he’s doing a good Elton Brand imitation. In the last five games, he has five straight games in which he has scored at least 20 point. In his latest outing, Randolph had 38 points in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Photo credit: Newscom

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Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat
At Kansas, Mario Chalmers was known as a player who could swipe steals at a stunning rate. While he’s been on and off in the steals department in the NBA, his overall rate is very encouraging. In a game earlier in the season, he had nine steals.

Trevor Ariza, Los Angeles Lakers
Trevor Ariza has been turning a lot of heads this season. One overlooked aspect regarding his production is his steals. He’s stealing the ball at a very good rate. If his minutes jump, as they very well could, he could very well be a challenger for the league lead.

Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
One of the biggest reasons why the Thunder drafted Westbrook was his defense. He’s an aggressive defender who can rack up steals in a hurry. Now that he’s starting for Oklahoma City, expect his steals numbers to be very good for the foreseeable future.

CJ Watson, Golden State Warriors
CJ Watson is a short-term solution for steals. He has started some games recently for the Warriors but that will change once Monta Ellis is healthy. However, in the meantime, Watson uses his long arms and quick reflexes to pick up a lot of steals.

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A few stories around the team indicate that the players had quit on Carlesimo and weren’t giving a good enough effort. New coach Scott Brooks will try to turn that around and make the Thunder at least a respectable basketball team.

As far as fantasy basketball is concerned, there were a few subtle difference right away with Brooks in charge. First of all, Damien Wilkins got his first start of the season as Brooks decided to go small. Wilkins was put in at shooting guard with Kevin Durant moving to small forward, Jeff Green moving to power forward and Nick Collison moving to center. Previously, Carlesimo had been using Johan Petro and Robert Swift at center. Under Brooks, neither Petro nor Swift played.

Chris Wilcox also appears to be part of Brooks’ plan. Wilcox played a season-high number of minutes of the bench. Joe Smith also had a healthy role as the team’s backup center. The point guard situation continues to be Earl Watson in the starting lineup backed up by Russell Westbrook.

All told, it appears as if Brooks will go smaller and faster than Carlesimo. That could lead to more shot attempts for Durant and should help the fantasy values of players such as Wilkins, Collison and Wilcox. Green should also be called upon to grab more rebounds and block a few shots.

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Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
During summer league, Russell Westbrook looked amazing. While he hasn’t looked as amazing in preseason, he still is showing a lot of promise. He might not start getting a huge amount of minutes early on but by late in the 2008-09 fantasy basketball season, expect Westbrook to play around 30 minutes per game.

DJ Augustin, Charlotte Bobcats
In Charlotte, Larry Brown will undoubtedly be extremely hard on his point guards. With starter Raymond Felton truly being more of a shooting guard, you can expect DJ Augustin to get plenty of minutes at point guard. If Brown puts Felton into the dog house, Augustin would be next in line to start.

Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat
Even though Mario Chalmers was a second round pick, he fell into a perfect situation in Miami. He has a chance to start at point guard and play next to Dwyane Wade. While he’s not going to be a bigtime scorer at the NBA level, he’ll be able to get a healthy amount of assists and steals. He should also be able to knock down the NBA three-pointer.

Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns
Another second round selection, the Suns are extremely high on Dragic. In fact, Suns management had him rated as one of the top handful of point guards in the entire 2008 NBA Draft. Although he’s playing behind Steve Nash, the fact that Phoenix runs a point guard oriented offense should help Dragic’s stats. Don’t expect points but Dragic should be able to do everything else.

George Hill, San Antonio Spurs
George Hill is the sleeper of the fantasy basketball rookie point guard prospects. Coming out of tiny IUPUI, Hill was drafted by the Spurs late in the first round. After struggling in summer league, Hill bounced back and played very well in preseason. He’s a guard in the Monta Ellis mold he can play the passing lanes on defense and knock down shots offensively. He’s currently dealing with an injured thumb but he could possibly be fantasy viable at some point during the 2008-09 fantasy basketball season.

Keep an eye on rookie point guard George Hill.

Photo: Newscom

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Francisco Garcia, Sacramento Kings
With Ron Artest now in Houston, Francisco Garcia should see a lot of starts during the upcoming season. When he gets time, he has proven to be a player that can help in a whole list of categories.

Marvin Williams, Atlanta Hawks
Josh Childress signing in Greece should help Marvin Williams stay on the court. Childress ate up some of his time in the past but this year, Williams could emerge as a very good fantasy basketball player. He’s definitely a sleeper small forward as of right now.

Wilson Chandler, New York Knicks
With Mike D’Antoni in town, everyone knows the Knicks will be running and gunning. While it’s far from a certainty that Wilson Chandler will start at small forward, he could put up really good stats if given the opportunity. During summer league, Chandler was oftentimes the best player on the court.

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On the other end of the spectrum, this has to be harsh reality for fans of the Seattle Supersonics. Their team is officially gone and they now they can see it with their own two eyes. The Sonics, at least for now, are dead.

Here is the NBA 2K9 video featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder and their jerseys:

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5. Charlotte Bobcats
Larry Brown will turn around the Bobcats. That said, it likely isn’t a one year project. Expect a few headaches this year until LB can get the team playing the way he wants.

4. Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are starting to assemble a nice amount of talent. If Pau Gasol’s brother pans out, the Grizzlies could surprise.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder
The former Seattle Supersonics still won’t be ready for the big time. However, with a future Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook, the future is bright in Oklahoma.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves are still reeling from the Kevin Garnett trade. Although they have good talent, that talent isn’t going to provide many wins this year.

1. New Jersey Nets
The Nets don’t seem too concerned with winning basketball games. The summer of 2010 and a shot at LeBron James can’t come soon enough for New Jersey.

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