Consensus NBA Power Rankings, Week 21

At the end of the 2013 (calendar) year, the Eastern Conference Finals seemed destined to be a rematch of last year's matchup between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers.

Two and a half months later, the Heat (5/6) and Pacers (13/10) are clearly the favorites to represent the conference in the NBA Finals (based on odds from Sportsbook.com).

Two teams have the potential to make it more interesting than it appeared in December.

The Bulls and Joakim Noah, Mr. Triple-Double lately, have a ton of heart and could play spoiler in the second round of the playoffs. Based on standings through Sunday's games, the Bulls would be the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.

While the Bulls have the fourth-best odds (25/1) to win the Eastern Conference, the team with the third-lowest odds (20/1) currently occupies the No. 6 seed, the Brooklyn Nets.

They have certainly come a long way since this moment:



Even though they are 3.5 games behind the Raptors, the Nets have been extremely good since the calendar turned to 2014. After a 10-21 start in 2013, the Nets have won 23 of 33 games since the start of 2014 without Jason Kidd spilling any more drinks on the court.

Here is this week's roundtable question for our experts: Fill in the blank: The Brooklyn Nets have a ____ percent chance of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.

Kevin Hanson: 15 percent

First off, I expect a Pacers-versus-Heat matchup just like the majority of the planet, but the Nets (and Bulls) have made it more interesting with a month to go in the regular season. Although they have turned their season around without him, the loss of Brook Lopez for the season hurts. Granted, Deron Williams is one of the better point guards in the league and Shaun Livingston has been an excellent story this season. But it's hard to get excited about guys like Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett helping this team make a deep playoff run. In fact, I think the Bulls have a greater chance of getting to the Conference Finals than the Nets.

John Trifone: 10 percent

The Nets have a 10-percent chance of reaching the Conference Finals. They are looking like they will be either the fifth or sixth seed in the East, so where they ultimately finish could play a role in their chances. If they finish as the fifth seed, they'll play at Chicago, which could be a one-and-done for them. I don't like their chances of winning two series if the first one starts in Chicago. If they finish sixth, I think they will get by Toronto, but I still only give them a puncher's chance of knocking off one of the two Titans in the East. They certainly are playing much better in the second half of the season, but there is still a pretty big gap between the top two and the rest of the East.

Sean Beazley: 0.00001 percent

Brooklyn's roster is filled with NBA veterans, but it's a three-team race in the East with the Pacers, Heat, and Bulls as the elite teams. I think the Nets will struggle to make it out of the 1st round.

Dan Yanotchko: 0 percent

The Brooklyn Nets have a zero-percent chance of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals this year. This year, it will be Miami vs. Indiana for the third straight time, as there is no one even close to those two teams in the East. The Nets started horribly this year, and have managed to right the ship at 33-31, so they are two games over .500. The problem is that the Nets are challenged offensively, as they only average 97.4 points per game, and they are ranked 29th overall in rebounds per game. The Nets will just be a warm-up for either Miami or Indiana depending on their seed.

Moving up only slightly from last week (16th), the Nets are currently the 14th team in our Week 21 NBA consensus power rankings.

- See our full 2013-14 NBA Power Rankings

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Daily Fantasy Basketball: FanDuel Values for March 17th

If you play daily fantasy sports (and who doesn't these days?!), you know that one of the keys to success is uncovering undervalued players to allow you to load up on studs elsewhere.

In case you've never played daily fantasy basketball, every player has a salary and your roster cannot exceed the game's salary-cap maximum.

For FanDuel leagues, rosters consist of nine players and the salary cap is $60,000, which averages to roughly $6,667 per player. To give you an idea of the range for Monday's games, Thunder SF Kevin Durant ($11,800) has the contest's highest salary while many are tied for the lowest at the game-minimum salary ($3,500).

There are a number of benefits compared to traditional full-season re-draft leagues, such as:

• you don't have to worry about being saddled by players sidelined by injury;
• having a late pick doesn't rule out owning studs like Kevin Durant or LeBron James;
• you get the instant gratification of winning your league(s) that night.

And you know that enthusiasm you have after drafting your fantasy team(s)? Well, you get to experience that feeling on a nightly basis with daily fantasy basketball.

OK, with the preliminary stuff out of the way, here are some value plays to consider for Monday (March 17th) FanDuel leagues:

PG - George Hill, Indiana Pacers (vs. PHI), $5,100: For the second time in three games, Hill will face the 76ers, who have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season. On the 14th against the Sixers, Hill finished with 14 points, nine assists, six rebounds and two steals for 35.7 fantasy points.

PG - Shaun Livingston, Brooklyn Nets (vs. PHO), $4,300: Livingston has scored 20-plus fantasy points in four consecutive games. The Suns have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing point guards this season.

PG - Phil Pressey, Boston Celtics (at DAL), $3,500: With Rajon Rondo not ready to play back-to-backs, Rondo will sit tonight after playing yesterday. That means, Pressey should get another start. In his last start (Mar. 12th vs. NYK), Pressey had 21.5 fantasy points (nine points, five assists and five rebounds).

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SG - Gary Neal, Charlotte Bobcats (vs. ATL), $3,900: In three consecutive games played, Neal has scored at least 18 points and more than 21 fantasy points. The Hawks have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season.

SG - Willie Green, Los Angeles Clippers (at DEN), $3,600: If Darren Collison and Jamal Crawford both sit tonight, Green could be a sneaky start. With both out last night, Green played 36 minutes and scored 16.8 fantasy points. He has scored in double digits in three consecutive games and the Nuggets have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards.

SF - Matt Barnes, Los Angeles Clippers (at DEN), $5,600: In seven of his past eight games, Barnes has scored more than 20 fantasy points and he has a nice matchup on Monday. The Nuggets have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards this season.

SF - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats (vs. ATL), $3,900: Kidd-Gilchrist had a three-game low of 18.3 fantasy points yesterday, but he had scored 24-plus fantasy points in his previous two games. MKG has played at least 25 minutes in three straight games. The Hawks have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards.

PF - Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets (vs. LAC), $7,200: In nine games this month, The Manimal has averaged 37.34 fantasy points per game and has scored at least 29.6 fantasy points in eight of those games. Faried is averaging 21.89 points, 9.78 boards and a steal per game this month. The Clips have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards.

PF - David West, Indiana Pacers (vs. PHI), $6,800: Like Hill, West gets his second Philly matchup in three games. In their first matchup, West had 31.9 fantasy points and he has averaged 32.83 fantasy points per game over his past three.

PF - Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz (at HOU), $6,200: Against the Spurs yesterday, Favors had a double-double (career-high 28 points, 10 rebounds), three steals and scored 47.5 fantasy points. Favors has now scored at least 25 fantasy points in five consecutive games. The Rockets have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season.

PF - Kris Humphries, Boston Celtics (at DAL), $5,000: Over his past five games, Humphries has scored a minimum of 26 fantasy points in each game and has two games with 42-plus fantasy points including yesterday's game. With three double-doubles in that span, he has averaged 15.4 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.

PF - Josh McRoberts, Charlotte Bobcats (vs. ATL), $4,900: Like Humphries, McBob was on yesterday's list and he scored 25.2 fantasy points against the Bucks with nine points, six boards and six assists. He has now scored 20-plus fantasy points in four straight games and in six of his past seven. The Hawks have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season.

C - J.J. Hickson, Denver Nuggets (vs. LAC), $5,500: Over his past three games, Hickson has averaged 14.0 points, 9.33 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. The Clippers have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to centers this season.

C - Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers (vs. PHI), $5,000: Tonight's matchup is great and Hibbert is worth consideration due to it. That said,Hibbert had only four points and three rebounds against the Sixers on Friday, but he blocked five shots. In his past five games, Hibbert has scored 18.0 to 23.8 fantasy points.

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Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire (January 12th Update)

The fourth overall pick in the NBA Draft 10 years ago, Shaun Livingston has never lived up to his potential and hype in large part due to injuries.

Since being drafted straight out of high school in 2004, Livingston has bounced around from franchise to franchise as the Brooklyn Nets are his eighth team.

While he has averaged just 6.8 points and 3.4 assists per game over his career, he has been a major contributor recently with Deron Williams (ankles) out of the Nets' lineup.

“I’ve been in some rough places, especially after my injury [in 2007], but that’s a long time ago. And there were a lot of different thoughts, but those doubts kind of turned to faith. My family, everybody that’s been in my corner, God, it’s brought me a long way,” Livingston said per Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York.

With or without Williams in the lineup, however, Livingston has played at least 30 minutes in every game this month. Livingston has been a solid contributor in multiple categories, especially on defense: 10.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.2 blocks per game this month.

According to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post, it appears likely that Williams will not make the team's trip to London and miss another week.

Even when Williams returns to the starting lineup, Livingston should continue to be involved in the team's rotation and he's currently available in nearly 90 percent of Yahoo! leagues. With a rash of injuries at the point guard spot this year (Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Jrue Holiday, etc.), Livingston can probably help many fantasy owners in need.

That said, if you play in leagues that allow lineup changes only weekly, please note that Livingston and the Nets play only one game this week.

Here are some players to consider adding and all are available in at least 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues:

PG - Kendall Marshall, Los Angeles Lakers (owned in 48 percent of Yahoo! leagues): With multiple injuries in the Lakers' backcourt, Marshall has run with his opportunity. So far this month, Marshall is averaging 13.6 points, 11.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.

PG - Brian Roberts, New Orleans Pelicans (16 percent): The injury to Jrue Holiday (stress fracture) means starter minutes for Roberts at the point for at least a month's time, if not longer. Roberts shot only 2-of-10 from the field Saturday night, but he added eight assists and two steals in 31 minutes as well.

PG/SG - Randy Foye, Denver Nuggets (46 percent): Foye has averaged 17.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this month. In addition, Foye has knocked down 20 three-pointers in his past five games.

PG/SG - Shaun Livingston, Brooklyn Nets (11 percent): See above.

SG - Jodie Meeks, Los Angeles Lakers (44 percent): Meeks is averaging nearly 20 points (19.7) per game this month. Launching a career-high 5.3 treys per game this season, Meeks ranks 14th in the Association in three-pointers made (76).

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SG/SF - Gerald Green, Phoenix Suns (50 percent): Green is averaging 14.8 points, 2.2 treys and 1.7 steals per game this month. With Eric Bledsoe (knee) sidelined for a while (and possibly the rest of the season), Green will continue to get starter's minutes.

SG/SF - Iman Shumpert, New York Knicks (30 percent): After scoring more than 25 points in back-to-back games to start the month, Shumpert has averaged only 8.25 PPG over his past four games. Even so, he has also averaged 1.75 three-pointers, 7.0 rebounds and 2.25 steals per game during that four-game stretch as well.

SG/SF - Mike Dunleavy, Chicago Bulls (27 percent): With Luol Deng now in Cleveland, Dunleavy should get plenty of opportunities to contribute for fantasy owners. Dunleavy has averaged 17.5 points, 2.0 three-pointers and 5.0 rebounds in his past two games.

SG/SF - Terrence Ross, Toronto Raptors (26 percent): Ross is currently averaging 12.3 points, 2.8 three-pointers, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game this month.

SG/SF - Jeremy Lamb, Oklahoma City Thunder (15 percent): The 12th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, Lamb is getting many more minutes this year (21.7 per game) than he got as a rookie (6.4 MPG). In addition, his playing time has increased each month from 20.2 MPG (Nov.) to 21.9 MPG (Dec.) to 25.2 MPG (Jan.). Not great in any category, Lamb has contributed across the board with the following averages this month: 10.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 three-pointers, 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks.

SG/SF - James Anderson, Philadelphia 76ers (eight percent): Someone to consider in deeper leagues, Anderson has returned to the Sixers' starting lineup. Over his past four games, he is averaging 14.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 0.75 blocks per game.

SF/PF - Terrence Jones, Houston Rockets (47 percent): In four games this month, Jones is averaging nearly 30 minutes per game and a double-double: 11.5 points and 11.75 rebounds per game.

PF - Kris Humphries, Boston Celtics (38 percent): If you need rebounding or blocks, Humphries is averaging 10.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 2.3 blocks per game this month.

PF/C - Jared Sullinger, Boston Celtics (40 percent): After playing less than 20 minutes in three consecutive games, Sullinger has posted back-to-back double-doubles with 32 and 28 minutes, respectively. He now has double-doubles in all four games this month that he has played more than 20 minutes.

PF/C - Patrick Patterson, Toronto Raptors (seven percent): Patterson's minutes have fluctuated a bit this month, but he is averaging 14.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 three's and 1.0 blocks per game over his past five games played.

For more assistance with waiver-wire decisions, check out my rest-of-season fantasy basketball rankings.

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