Rajon Rondo
When it comes to steals, Rajon Rondo is elite. He’s a rugged defender with long arms and a mean streak. He has no problem going after your ball.

Monta Ellis
Currently the league leader in steals, he has free reign to go after as many steals as he wants since Golden State doesn’t care much about the defensive end.

Trevor Ariza
On the basketball court, few players have as much defensive range as Trevor Ariza. If you pass it, he will come into the picture.

Corey Brewer
At Florida, we remember Corey Brewer as a defensive ace who racked up a lot of steals. He’s starting to do that on the NBA level now.

Rudy Fernandez
If Rudy Fernandez starts getting more minutes — watch out! He doesn’t play much defense but he’s great at anticipating and stacking steals in a hurry.

Monta Ellis likes to score ... and get steals (Image: Zuma Press)

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Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets (Image: Newcom)

Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets
During the regular season, Billups was very good. In the postseason, he’s taken his game up another level. He’s been simply amazing in his first two outings as a Nugget during the playoffs.

Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
Filling the void left by an injured Kevin Garnett is point guard Rajon Rondo. He’s a certifiable star at this point and his numbers in the fantasy world are just sick.

Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
Quietly, the Spurs have shifted to become Parker’s team. On a night to night basis, whether or not San Antonio has success is tied to Parker’s play.

Deron Williams, Utah Jazz
Williams has a difficult matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers but he’s done well in his first two outings. Returning to Utah for Game 3 and Game 4, he should be even better.

Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Usually Paul is easily the best fantasy point guard in the NBA. In the playoffs he is struggling a little bit relatively speaking but his stats are still very, very good.

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Deron Williams, Utah Jazz
Early in the season, Deron Williams missed time due to an ankle injury. Even when he got back on the court, he wasn’t playing that well. But now he seems like he’s close to 100% and he’s back to be a very good fantasy option. His assists per game is up over 10 for the month of January.

Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
For a player who is averaging 11 assists on the season, it’s no surprise that he’s one of the best passers in the month of January. That said, his assists per game this month is slightly under 10, which means he’s in a slump, relatively of course.

Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
For those who drafted Rajon Rondo, they have to be pleasantly surprised by the number of assists he’s averaging this season. In January alone, he’s averaging 8.8 assists per game. Combine that with his shooting percentage, rebounds and steals and Rondo is a very solid fantasy contributor.

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For the Celtics, Marbury would give the team another scorer off the bench. While the bench is solid, it doesn’t have many true scorers outside of Eddie Houston. Marbury could also potentially fill part of the role Sam Cassell filled last season as a guy who comes into the game to put points on the board.

Although he may be useful for the Celtics, there’s not much of a chance that he’d be useful for your fantasy basketball team. First of all, the minutes likely won’t be there for him to do much. Second of all, he didn’t look very good last year and he might not have anything left in the tank.

The only way to even consider adding Marbury to your fantasy basketball team is if Rajon Rondo went down. Even then, it’d be hard to imagine Marbury playing more than 25 minutes per game.

The only way to rush and pick up Marbury is if he ends up signing with a team that will hand him a starting gig and 30+ minutes. He might be worthwhile at that point — but don’t count on that happening.

Photo credit: Newscom

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Watch the complete video of Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao with the Celtics here:

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Kendrick Perkins
Kendrick Perkins hurt his shoulder in Game 4 and his status for Game 5 is in doubt. The Celtics are saying that he has less than a 50/50 chance of playing. Perkins, who has been banged up a number of times during the playoffs, would likely be limited if he did play. If he can’t go, expect PJ Brown or Leon Powe to get the start at center for the Celtics.

Rajon Rondo
The Celtics’ starting point guard has an injured ankle that kept him out for much of the second half of Game 4. His ankle injury is being classified as a bone bruise. If he can’t go in Game 5, expect Sam Cassell or Eddie House to get the start in his place.

Paul Pierce
After injuring his knee in Game 1, Pierce suffered another injury in Game 4. Thankfully for Celtics fans, this injury was deemed minor. Pierce will be ready to go in Game 5.

Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics will try to win the 2008 NBA championship in Game 5.

Photo: Newscom

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The good news for Boston is that Rondo sounds like he’s going to play in Game 4. Rondo is a defensive minded point guard who can also rack up assists in a hurry. Without Rondo, the Celtics would really be hurting at the point guard position. The only other options are Sam Cassell and Eddie House. That pair combined to shoot 3-for-12 in Game 3.

While a bone bruise doesn’t sound too serious, it is the same injury that limited Manu Ginobili against the Los Angeles Lakers during the Western Conference Finals. If Rondo is ineffective in Game 4, that will help the Lakers in their attempt to tie the series at two games apiece.

During the playoffs, Rondo has averaged 10.3 points and 6.9 assists per game.

Rajon Rondo getting helped off the court.

Photo: Newscom

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Kevin Garnett
Their anchor in the middle, Kevin Garnett is immensely important to the Celtics. While he has been hesitant to look for his shot at times, there is no denying his overall impact on the team. The 2008 NBA Defensive Player of the Year is averaging 21.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in the playoffs.

Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce has been with the Pistons the longest and he’s had a few amazing games in the playoffs. His Game 7 showing versus the Cleveland Cavaliers was one of the best performances of the postseason. In the playoffs, he’s averaging 19 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

Ray Allen
Although he has been struggling with his jumper, Ray Allen is still a major threat for Boston. He’s one of the best shooters in the history of the game and other teams respect his every shot. He’s averaging 14.2 points on 40.3% shooting from the field.

Rajon Rondo
Although his lack of a consistent outside jumper has allowed teams to stay off of him, Rajon Rondo has been impressive during the playoffs, for the most part. He’s young and still learning but he’s good enough. During the postseason, he’s posting averages of 10.5 points and 6.6 assists.

Photo: Newscom

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While the move will definitely be an upgrade for Cassell in the NBA, how is the move going to affect his value in fantasy basketball?

Surprisingly enough, it’d likely be bad news for Cassell owners. With the Clippers, Cassell gets to shoot and handle the ball as much as he wants. The Clips don’t have many scorers so Cassell has free rein to do whatever he pleases.

With the Celtics, he’ll have three superstars next to him. He’ll still be looked at to score now and then but he’ll at best be the fourth option on the team. On top of that, Rajon Rondo will likely continue starting. Cassell should still see around 20 minutes off the bench but that won’t be enough to keep up his current production.

If you can trade Cassell, do so now. Some fantasy owners may be excited about the fact that he’s going to end up in Boston. Don’t make that mistake.

Sam Cassell Flagrant 2 Foul on Rajon Rondo

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Stoudamire was having a decent season in Memphis until they gave the job to rookie Mike Conley. Now Stoudamire doesn’t have a role, as the backup to Conley is second-year player Kyle Lowry.

If Stoudamire is bought out and becomes a free agent, one exciting prospect is he joins the Phoenix Suns. The Suns need a backup point guard who can spell Steve Nash. In the fantasy world, this would be a very nice situation for Stoudamire. As a Sun, his stats would likely improve – especially if he sees minutes next to Nash.

Another interesting scenario would be if he signed with the Boston Celtics. On the Celtics, he’d begin as the backup to Rajon Rondo. However, if Rondo were to struggle in the second half of the year, it’s not unimaginable that Stoudamire could take over the reins in Boston.

If you are in a larger fantasy league, consider picking up Stoudamire now with the hopes that he’d land with either the Suns or the Celtics.

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