Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Although he wasn’t much of a shot blocker until this season, Dwight Howard is suddenly the best in the business of blocking shots. Using his strength, length and athleticism, he’s become a terror around the rim.

Marcus Camby, Los Angeles Clippers
Over the last few seasons, Marcus Camby has been the player who many fantasy owners turned to for blocked shots. This season is no different as Camby ranks second in the league in blocked shots. However, keep an eye on his playing time now that Zach Randolph has arrived.

Chris Andersen, Denver Nuggets
Even though he’s playing under 17 minutes a game, Chris Andersen is third in the NBA in blocked shots. He has thrived in his role of backup bigman behind Nene and Kenyon Martin. If an injury occurs and Andersen starts playing big minutes, he could really become a shot blocking monster.

Ronny Turiaf, Golden State Warriors
Like Andersen, Ronny Turiaf is getting a lot of blocked shots in a little bit of playing time. And also like Andersen, if he gets more playing time, Turiaf would help any fantasy team with his shot blocking. He was recently named a team captain, so perhaps there’s a bigger role for him in the future.

Photo credit: Newscom

Post from: Expert Fantasy

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

Post from: Expert Fantasy

The best case scenarios coming out of Los Angeles have Bynum returning for the last few games. Even if he does so, Bynum will have to slowly work back into his groove. It’s likely that he’ll come off the bench at first and play limited minutes. Bynum, even if he returns to the court, won’t hold near the fantasy value he held before the injury.

The Lakers need Bynum to win a championship but they may use the first round of the playoffs as the time to up Bynum’s playing time. He’s too young and too important to their future to rush back.

If Bynum sidelined, a few Lakers should continue to have more value than usual. Ronny Turiaf has proven to be a reliable bigman. Vladimir Radmanovic is getting more minutes and is doing well in those minutes. Even Pau Gasol would likely be negatively affected once Bynum returns due to having to share inside touches and rebounds.

Do you have Bynum on your fantasy basketball team? If you can’t stash him away on the injury list, it’s time to waive him.

Post from: Expert Fantasy