Last year with the Pacers, Jack teamed with T.J. Ford at the point guard position. With the Raptors, he will basically be replacing Ford.

Ford played with the Raptors and formed a powerful 1-2 punch with Jose Calderon. Last season, Calderon had the reins all to himself and his per-minute production dropped off. The Raptors hope that Jack can allow Calderon to rest a bit more and resume the successful role he played in the 2007-08 season.

In fantasy basketball, this signing is probably bad news for both Jack and Calderon. Although Jack can play some shooting guard, expect his minutes to be reduced to around 28 minutes per game. Calderon played more than 34 minutes per game last year — expect him to lose four or five minutes off of that average.

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On the Mavs, Marion would likely start alongside Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Dirk Nowtizki and Marcin Gortat. That would give the Mavs a deep starting lineup with capable players at each position.

Marion used to be one of the best all-around players in the game but he has slowed down the last few years. Since leaving the Phoenix Suns, his fantasy stats have suffered massively. Specifically, his scoring, rebounding and three-point shooting have gone way south.

With the Mavs, there a chance that his stats could recover. Playing with Jason Kidd would be a perfect fit for Marion, who is more of a finisher than a creator.

In terms of fantasy basketball, this would be good news for Marion. He’d have limited pressure and could go back to being an all-around assassin.

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With Amare Stoudemire out with an eye injury, it’s not too surprising that Shaq is more involved in the offense. He no longer has to share touches with Stoudemire down low and will be more involved in the pick-and-roll attack.

That said, don’t expect this type of outburst too often from Shaq. He was going up against the dreadful Raptors defense and was just too big and too strong for the Raptors to handle. Against most teams, Shaq doesn’t have much of a chance to score 30 points – much less 45 points.

Overall, Shaq’s fantasy basketball value is on the rise. If you can live with his free throw percentage and his turnovers, he’s a good player to have on your fantasy team. Here’s the Shaq video of him scoring 45 points against the Raptors:

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Courtney Lee, Orlando Magic
With news that Mickael Pietrus broke his rest and is out for an indefinite amount of time, Courtney Lee should see an upshoot in playing time as a result. The rookie shooting guard can shoot, score and provide decent complementary stats. If he can move into the starting lineup, that’d be a big boost for his fantasy worth.

Amir Johnson, Detroit Pistons
Amir Johnson is back into the starting lineup. He began the year as a starter before falling out of favor and falling out of the rotation. However, it should be noted that he’s starting mostly due to an injury to Richard Hamilton. Only start Johnson as long as Hamilton is sidelined.

Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors
The Great Tease is at it again. Filling in for an injured and sick Jermaine O’Neal, Andrea Bargnani had a big game. This followed a series of uninspired performances off the bench. When he’s going right, Bargnani is a center who can score, hit three pointers, block shots and chip in with a few rebounds.

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All that said, they have some interesting fantasy basketball options. First and foremost is Chris Bosh. At the beginning of the season, Bosh was one of the best fantasy bigmen in the NBA. But recently, he has been in a major slump. His shooting percentages have plummeted and he’s settling for too many jumpers. He’s also not rebounding or blocking shots as well as usual. The good news is that this is probably just a slump for Bosh and he should be able to return to his typical dominant self soon enough. One explanation for his recent poor play is fatigue due to his play in the Olympics. If that’s the case, he’ll come around once he catches his second wind.

Outside of Bosh, the best fantasy option on the team is Jose Calderon. He’s actually been shooting the ball very well as of late. On the season, he hasn’t missed a free throw yet — which always helps in the fantasy world. He’s also continuing his insanely high assist-to-turnover ratio from last season.

Outside of those two players, it’s difficult to find a very good fantasy option. Jermaine O’Neal is decent but he isn’t producing much. He’s somewhat valuable due to his blocks but he’s a far cry from his heyday. O’Neal has been struggling with a variety of injuries so there’s a chance that he could get healthy and become a better fantasy option down the line.

Andrea Bargnani is a player fantasy owners have been waiting on to erupt onto the scene but it simply doesn’t appear as if it’s going to happen. Bargnani is now coming off the bench and is struggling mightily. His shot is way off and he’s not helping in any other category. Avoid Bargnani until he shows some signs of life.

Last season Jamario Moon was a useful player but he’s not playing nearly as well this season. Anthony Parker has been struggling shooting the ball and Jason Kapono just isn’t much of an all-around option. Joey Graham has had some decent outings but he’s not good enough to be a fantasy option.

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Kris Humphries, Toronto Raptors
With new coach Jay Triano now in charge of the Raptors after Sam Mitchell got fired, there’s some rumblings that Kris Humphries could see his minutes rise. Andre Bargnani isn’t defending well and Humphries could be the next in line for bigman minutes. His high PER suggests that he could do a good job if asked to take on a bigger load.

Matt Bonner, San Antonio Spurs
Matt Bonner has a good PER and is now starting at center for the Spurs. If he continues to get enough minutes, Bonner is helpful mostly due to his ability to make three-pointers from the center position. He’s also not a bad rebounder and he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes with the ball.

JJ Hickson, Cleveland Cavaliers
Although JJ Hickson is still a raw player, he has produced when the Cavs have put him on the floor. He’s a very good athlete at the power forward position who can score, rebound and block shots. If minutes open up due to injury or poor play, Hickson could step through the door and explode onto the scene.

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Chris Paul, New Orleans
Although he turns the ball over more than three times a game, he easily makes up for it by posting more than 11 assists per game. In fact, Paul is the only player in the NBA who is currently averaging double-digits in assists. At 11.8 assists per game, there’s little to suggest that Paul will slow down anytime soon.

Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors
Not only is Calderon second in the league in assists at 9.5, he amazingly turns the ball over only 1.9 times per game. Last year he put up a similar ratio for the entire season, so this stretch is definitely not a fluke for Calderon. The Raptors point guard knows how to create shots without turning the ball over.

Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets
Billups went to the run-and-gun Nuggets and has turned around their whole culture. Now Denver takes good shots each possession and they don’t make nearly as many mistakes. Billups averages 7.2 assists and only 1.6 turnovers to give him an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 4-to-1.

Chris Duhon, New York Knicks
Don’t look now but Chris Duhon is doing his best Steve Nash impersonation in New York. Playing for Mike D’Antoni, Duhon has been asked to create as many shot opportunities as possible. In his last five games, Duhon is averaging more than ten assists per game — including games of 23 assists and 13 assists in back-to-back affairs.

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Dirk Nowtizki, Dallas Mavericks
If you have Dirk Nowitzki on your fantasy team, you have to love what he does for you at the free throw line. Not only does he get there often, he also is hitting over 90% from the charity stripe. Since he’s the Mavericks’ number one option offensively, he’ll have no trouble getting to the line this season.

Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
Chris Bosh is second in the NBA in free throws mad and is currently hitting over 83% at the line. So far this season, Bosh has been arguably the best fantasy power forward in the game. A part of the reason is his ability to get to the line and convert.

Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
His free throw numbers are a lot like Bosh’s, although Stoudemire has more of a history of getting to the line. And with his public comments recently about wanting the ball more, that should lead to even more free throw attempts.

Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets
For a point guard, Devin Harris gets to the line an insane amount of times. He’s also connecting on his free throws this season — shooting higher than 80%. Of any guard in fantasy basketball, Harris will help you the most in the free throw category.

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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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Michael Beasley, Miami Heat
Most league pundits expect Michael Beasley to put up decent stats. But don’t forget that this sleeper was just a certified beast as a freshman in college. If he can adapt quickly to the NBA, he could end up the year as a top eight power forward in fantasy basketball.

Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats
Emeka Okafor is coming off of a season to forget. His progress seemed to stall and he just wasn’t as good as he was in previous years. With Larry Brown now in the fold to push him on a consistent basis, look for Okafor’s production to rise across the board.

Jermaine O’Neal, Toronto Raptors
Over the last few years, Jermaine O’Neal has been been slowed significantly by injuries and a bad environment. Now that he’s in a new situation, there’s a chance that he could return to his former self and be a fantasy basketball game changer.

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