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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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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OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies
Enjoying a rock solid fantasy basketball season, OJ Mayo will likely be a fantasy powerhouse for the next decade. He can score, shoot good percentages and the rest of his game is slowly but surely catching up. He could move as high as the second round of fantasy drafts next season.

Michael Beasley, Miami Heat
Although he’s not getting the consistent playing time Rose and Mayo are getting, Beasley has still be productive. He can score, rebound and he’s even blocking a few shots. Once he gets comfortable, he has a very high fantasy basketball ceiling.

Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers
He’s not great at any one category but Rudy Fernandez helps out in a multitude of areas. He can put the ball in the basket, help you with his three-point accuracy and in other traditional categories such as assists and rebounds.

Photo credit: Newscom

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Quentin Richardson, New York Knicks
Under Mike D’Antoni once again, Quentin Richardson is in line to have a huge year from beyond the three-point line. He already has made 35 threes and is shooting a very respectable 38%. If he stays healthy, there’s a good chance he could lead the league in three-pointers made.

Rashard Lewis, Orlando Magic
Although his touch isn’t quite there yet, Rashard Lewis is already shooting a ton of threes. He easily leads the league in three-pointers attempted and once he regains his touch, he will undoubtedly finish amongst the league leaders in three-pointers made. With Dwight Howard drawing a lot of attention, Lewis gets freed up for many good looks per game.

Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers knew Rudy Fernandez had a good jumper but they didn’t know he’d be among the league leaders in three-pointers made while shooting better than 43% from deep. If Fernandez gets more playing time, he’ll be able to drop even more long distance bombs.

Photo credit: Newscom

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2. OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies
While the Grizzlies aren’t that good, OJ Mayo is putting on a show. He’s proving to be a very good scorer on the NBA level. Surprisingly his shooting percentages are healthy and he’s doing a good job of not turning the ball over too much. Overall, Mayo is adjusting very quickly to the NBA level.

3. Michael Beasley, Miami Heat
The Heat coaching staff has been hard on Michael Beasley — benching him for poor play. But when he’s on the court, Beasley’s natural talent shines through. He can score and rebound effortlessly and he’s destined to get better as the season progresses.

4. Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers
After a slow start to the season, Greg Oden is coming into his own. He’s still not starting but that is only a matter of time. Once he does, he’ll be a double-double machine for the next 15 years — as long as he stays healthy.

5. Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers
Rudy Fernandez is the Blazers’ energy player off the bench. For your fantasy team, Fernandez can do a little bit of everything. If his minutes go up, he could really turn into a fantasy force by the end of his rookie campaign.

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Nick Young, Washington Wizards
In only 23.7 minutes per game, Nick Young is averaging 15.7 points. The Wizards knew he could score but he’s off to an unbelievable start. He is shooting 50% from the floor and has hit all 15 of his free throw attempts. While his other stats outside of the scoring column aren’t eye popping, Young is showing superstar level potential. If he can continue to produce at a high level, Washington will have to find even more minutes for him.

Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers
Rudy Fernandez isn’t quite a star in the NBA but he is definitely showing he’s very good on a per-minute basis. It’s only a matter of time that he’ll start playing 30+ minutes per game. When he does, he could quickly become a very valuable fantasy basketball option. He has a lot of competition on the Trail Blazers for playing time but he’s too good to sit long.

Trevor Ariza, Los Angeles Lakers
Although he comes off the bench and only plays 22 minutes per game, Trevor Ariza is already a decent fantasy basketball player. If his minutes rise, he has the potential to be a stud. His points, rebounding, blocks, steals and shooting percentages are all improved. In fact, Ariza has added a three-point shot to his repertoire which has made him an even more dangerous player.

Gerald Green, Dallas Mavericks
In summer league, Gerald Green was extremely impressive. He also mixed in a few impressive preseason games. Even though he’s played extremely limited minutes, his PER is extremely impressive. The Mavericks have tried a bunch of different players in their starting shooting guard position. If Green gets a shot and proves to be a starter, he has the talent to be a scoring machine.

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In preseason, Martin is averaging 20.5 points in only 26.3 minutes per game. He’s also shooting 60.9% from the floor, 37.5% from beyond the three-point arc and 88.6% from the free throw line.

If you are looking for a scorer on your fantasy basketball team, it’ll be tough to do much better than Martin. While his all-around game isn’t fabulous, he has the potential offensively to be in the top handful of scorers. He mixes a good outside shot with a crafty driving ability that lands him on the free throw line quite often.

While the Kings will probably be a bad team, Martin looks like he’ll be a fantasy stud. Here’s the Kevin Martin video of him flummoxing the duo of Rudy Fernandez and Greg Oden:

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4) Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
The number one pick of the 2008 NBA Draft doesn’t have the best chance of winning the award for the NBA’s best rookie. He’s playing on a team that has a lot of good players and he may not be forced into a large amount of minutes in his first season.

3) OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies
If there is one thing OJ Mayo can do it is score the basketball. And since Rookie of the Year voting a lot of times comes down to scoring average, Mayo has a decent shot to take home the award.

2) Michael Beasley, Miami Heat
Michael Beasley can score and rebound at a very high level. If he gets enough touches in the Miami Heat offense, he could run away with this award. However, with Dwyane Wade needing a lot of shots, Beasley might have to defer in his rookie season.

1) Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers
After missing his entire first season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee, Greg Oden is back and is eligible for the Rookie of the Year award. He’s one of the best center prospects to come out in a while and he’ll be in the spotlight all season long.

Can Derrick Rose surprise many and take home the ROY award?

Photo: Newscom

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With the outcome still in question, Kobe Bryant took over in the fourth quarter. He not only scored but he handed out a team-high number of assists. Helping Bryant close out the game for the USA was Dwyane Wade, who led the United States in scoring.

Spain put up a great fight and was led by Pau Gasol and Rudy Fernandez. Gasol’s fantasy basketball future seems very bright with the Los Angeles Lakers after being very good in the Olympics. Same can be said for Fernandez, who has a chance to star for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Ricky Rubio, the 17-year-old basketball phenom for Spain, started in place of the injured Jose Calderon. Rubio proved that he can more than hold his own and upped his already sky high NBA stock. He now seems to be a lock to be a top five NBA draft pick.

Here is a video talking about what the gold medal means to the players and United States on a whole:

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Will Michael Beasley become a beast for the Heat?

Photo: Newscom

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