Consensus NBA Power Rankings, Week 20

As a coach, Phil Jackson has won a total of 11 NBA Championships with the Bulls and Lakers.

Of course, many will argue that he has had the all-time greats as players on those teams. After all, he had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen with the Bulls and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant with the Lakers.

Either way, 11 championships is 11 championships regardless of how much talent is on the roster.

11 champ;ipnsikp[ ringhs
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) March 27, 2013

But now Jackson is about to join the Knicks as part of the front office, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard.

"The Knicks have a sense of what's going to happen," the source said. "And as of right now, it looks like Phil's taking the job. There's always the possibility of something falling apart at the last minute, but the Knicks' sense is that he's joining them."

While he will be more than a consultant, the exact role is unclear except that he won't coach the team.

Broussard writes, "Whatever his title, the source said, Jackson will be an integral part of the club's basketball operations, although he will definitely not coach the team."

One year after securing the No. 2 seed and winning 54 games, the Knicks are 24-40 (.375). That said, they are on a three-game winning streak and only 3.5 games out of the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, which reminds us of how bad the conference is.

The Knicks are the 22nd-ranked team in our updated NBA power rankings.

- See our full 2013-14 NBA Power Rankings

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Knicks C Tyson Chandler won't play Monday

When the Knicks host the Sixers tonight, they will be without center Tyson Chandler due to personal reasons.

It's unclear if Chandler will be available for Wednesday's game against the Celtics.

Over his past 10 games, Chandler has averaged 15.0 rebounds, 12.3 points and 1.1 blocks per game.

With Chandler out, Amar'e Stoudemire should see more minutes.  Over his past four games, Stoudemire is averaging 16.2 points, 6.75 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

For those that play daily fantasy basketball, Stoudemire is a nice value in both FanDuel leagues at $4,200 (at PF) and DraftKings leagues at $4,500 (at PF/C).

Daily Fantasy Basketball: DraftKings Values for March 10th

If you play daily fantasy sports (and who isn'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, you select your team based on a player's salary and your team's salary cannot exceed the game salary-cap maximum.

For DraftKings leagues, rosters consist of eight players and the salary cap is $50,000, which averages to roughly $6,250 per player. To give you an idea of the range for Monday's games, Heat SF/PF LeBron James ($10,600) has the contest's highest salary while many are tied for the lowest at the game-minimum salary ($3,000).

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 10th) DraftKings leagues:

PG/SG - Raymond Felton, New York Knicks (vs. PHI), $5,600: Felton's fantasy production has varied wildly with 43.75, 12.0 and 30.25 fantasy points in his past three games. With the Sixers coming to MSG, however, it's certainly possible that Felton has one of his better games. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing point guards this season than the Sixers.

SG - Marcus Thornton, Brooklyn Nets (vs. TOR), $3,700: If you have started Thornton in your DraftKings leagues, it's been a hit-or-miss proposition. Here are his last five point totals: 29.0, 4.0, 31.0, 16.0 and 38.25, respectively. Coming off his best fantasy outing, Thornton scored 27 points and added three rebounds, two steals and an assist. Hopefully, he finally puts together solid back-to-back games tonight.

SG/SF - Joe Johnson, Brooklyn Nets (vs. TOR), $5,300: Nearly $1,000 cheaper than the average of a DraftKings starter, Johnson has been on a roll recently with three consecutive games of 32.5-plus fantasy points. During that three-game stretch, Johnson has averaged 20.0 points, 3.67 rebounds, 3.67 assists and 1.33 steals per game.

SG/SF - P.J. Tucker, Phoenix Suns (at LAC), $4,500: Tucker has scored at least 23.5 fantasy points in four consecutive games. Against the Clippers last Tuesday, Tucker had 18 points, 10 rebounds and two steals and scored 39.0 fantasy points.

SF - Matt Barnes, Los Angeles Clippers (vs. PHO), $5,400: Barnes is averaging nearly twice as many fantasy points per game in March (38.75) than his season average (19.817). Based on salary cost per average fantasy point produced this month, no player has a lower cost than Barnes (139.35) among active players tonight. In his four games this month, Barnes has averaged 19.0 poins, 3.5 treys, 7.0 rebounds, 3.25 assists and 1.75 steals per game.

SF - Maurice Harkless, Orlando Magic (at MIL), $4,600: Harkless has scored a minimum of 23.75 fantasy points in six consecutive games and he has at least 30.5 fantasy points in each of his past three games. Over his past six games, Harkless has averaged 14.33 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.83 steals and 1.16 blocks in 36.17 minutes per game.

SF/PF - Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. ORL), $5,200: Ilyasova was 13-for-14 from the field on March 3rd for 31 points, but he is a combined 10-for-27 for 33 points in his other three games played this month. That said, he has scored at least 26.5 fantasy points in three of the four games he has played this month. Among active PF-eligible players tonight with salaries below $7,000, only Tobias Harris (34.00 PPG, $6,700) has averaged more fantasy points per game this month than Ilyasova (29.06).

SF/PF - Jeff Adrien, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. ORL), $4,000: Based on his salary of $4,000 and average fantasy points (27.1) this month, Adrien's salary per average fantasy point produced is 147.6, which ranks second among all PF-eligible players tonight. (The next guy is first in that category among PF-eligible players.)

PF/C - Kyle O'Quinn, Orlando Magic (at MIL), $4,100: Even though he has played less than 20 minutes in three consecutive games, O'Quinn has scored 20-plus fantasy points in four consecutive games. Only two players active tonight have a lower salary cost per average fantasy point produced in March than O'Quinn. In his last game against the Bucks (Feb. 18th), O'Quinn didn't score in the game, but still managed to finish with 25.25 fantasy points in 21 minutes. The Bucks have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing centers.

C - Tyson Chandler, New York Knicks (vs. PHI), $6,500: While the Bucks have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing centers, the Sixers have allowed the second-most. Over his past 10 games, Chandler has scored a minimum of 31.25 fantasy points in his past five games. An absolute beast on the boards, Chandler has averaged 15.0 rebounds, 12.3 points and 1.1 blocks during that stretch.

[Update: Chandler will miss tonight's game due to personal reasons.  Amar'e Stoudemire is an excellent value at $4,500.]

C - Enes Kanter, Utah Jazz (vs. ATL), $5,600: With at least 23 minutes in five consecutive games, Kanter has four consecutive games with at least 21 fantasy points. The Hawks have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season. Over his past four games, Kanter is averaging 15.0 points and 10.25 rebounds per game.

* Sign up with DraftKings and double your money: Get a 100-percent bonus (up to $600) on your initial deposit with DraftKings.

For those interested in FanDuel leagues, I posted some FanDuel values earlier this morning here.

If you play in full-season leagues, check out my rest-of-season Fantasy NBA rankings.

Keep track of our Fantasy NBA updates by following us on Twitter, "liking" us on Facebook and/or adding us to your Google+ circle.

Daily Fantasy Basketball: FanDuel Values for March 10th

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, Miami SF LeBron James ($11,200) 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 10th) FanDuel leagues:

PG - Raymond Felton, New York Knicks (vs. PHI), $5,600: Felton has been inconsistent with 41.6, 11.9 and 29.0 fantasy points in his past three games, respectively. With the Sixers coming to MSG, however, it's certainly possible that Felton has one of his better games. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing point guards this season than the Sixers.

PG - Greivis Vasquez, Toronto Raptors (at BKN), $3,900: An even cheaper option is Vasquez, who scored 23.7 fantasy points against the T'Wolves last night with 12 points, six boards and three assists. In his past five games, Vasquez has scored 20-plus fantasy points three times and even had 38.4 fantasy points once during that span.

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SG - Joe Johnson, Brooklyn Nets (vs. TOR), $5,400: More than $1,200 cheaper than the average starter cost, Johnson has been on a roll recently with three consecutive games with 30-plus fantasy points. During that three-game stretch, Johnson has averaged 20.0 points, 3.67 rebounds, 3.67 assists and 1.33 steals per game.

SG - Chris Douglas-Roberts, Charlotte Bobcats (vs. DEN), $4,000: Douglas-Roberts has scored 20-plus fantasy points in three consecutive games. During that span, CDR has averaged 13.67 points, 4.33 rebounds and 2.33 steals per game. The Nuggets have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season.

SG - Marcus Thornton, Brooklyn Nets (vs. TOR), $3,700: It's been a roller-coaster ride for Thornton owners in FanDuel leagues. Here are his last five point totals: 26.4, 3.0, 28.4, 15.8 and 35.1. Coming off his best fantasy outing, Thornton scored 27 points and added three rebounds, two steals and an assist. Hopefully, he finally puts together solid back-to-back games tonight.

SG - Iman Shumpert, New York Knicks (vs. PHI), $3,600: Over his past four games, Shumpert's minutes have increased from 16 to 21 to 27 to 31 on Saturday. Since returning from injury, Shumpert not only had a high in minutes, but he had a high in fantasy production (20.5) as well. Only the Lakers have allowed more fantasy points to opposing SGs than the Sixers this season.

SF - Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks (vs. ORL), $4,900: Middleton has scored at least 23.3 fantasy points in five of his past six games including his last three games. The Magic have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards this season.

SF - Maurice Harkless, Orlando Magic (at MIL), $4,600: While I like Middleton, I like Harkless more — and he's $300 cheaper. Harkless has scored a minimum of 22.1 fantasy points in six consecutive games and he has at least 29.7 fantasy points in each of his past three games. Over his past six games, Harkless has averaged 14.33 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.83 steals and 1.16 blocks in 36.17 minutes per game.

PF - Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets (at CHA), $6,500: The Manimal. His price goes up, but I don't care. And technically, he's still cheaper (by $167) than the average cost of a FanDuel starter. Over his past five games, Faried has scored at least 29.6 fantasy points and averaged 38.92 per game. With three double-doubles in that stretch, he has averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks per game over the last five.

PF - Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz (vs. ATL), $5,900: As expected, Favors bounced back nicely with a double-double (15 points, 14 rebounds) against the league's worst defense in Philly on Saturday. The matchup isn't as favorable tonight, but Favors' modest cost makes him a solid option for tonight.

PF - Marcus Morris, Phoenix Suns (at LAC), $4,100: Cheaper than his twin, Morris has scored in double digits in five consecutive games and he has averaged 23.4 fantasy points per game during that span. The Clips have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season, but Morris had his five-game low (15.9 fantasy points) against them on March 4th.

C - Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic (at MIL), $7,400: Aside from stud center Al Jefferson, there are several other centers that I like tonight. Vucevic and Tyson Chandler and solid mid-priced options. Vucevic has posted double-doubles and scored 33-plus fantasy points six consecutive games. While barely averaging more than 30 minutes per game (30.33), Vucevic has averaged 18.33 points, 12.83 rebounds, 2.33 assists, 1.17 steals and 1.00 blocks per game during that span. Even better, the Bucks have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season.

C - Tyson Chandler, New York Knicks (vs. PHI), $7,000: While the Bucks have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing centers, the Sixers have allowed the second-most. Over his past 10 games, Chandler has averaged 34.45 fantasy points and scored a minimum of 26.9 in all 10 of those games. An absolute beast on the boards, Chandler has averaged 15.0 rebounds, 12.3 points and 1.1 blocks during that stretch.

[Update: Chandler will miss tonight's game due to personal reasons.  Amar'e Stoudemire is an excellent value at $4,200.]

C - Enes Kanter, Utah Jazz (vs. ATL), $5,600: With at least 23 minutes in five consecutive games, Kanter has four consecutive games with at least 20 fantasy points. The Hawks have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season. Over his past four games, Kanter is averaging 15.0 points and 10.25 rebounds per game.

C - Kyle O'Quinn, Orlando Magic (at MIL), $4,700: As noted above, the Magic's centers have a favorable matchup tonight. Even though he has played less than 20 minutes in three consecutive games, O'Quinn has scored 20-plus fantasy points in four consecutive games. In his last game against the Bucks (Feb. 18th), O'Quinn didn't score in the game, but still managed to finish with 24.3 fantasy points in 21 minutes.

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If you play in full-season leagues, check out my rest-of-season Fantasy NBA rankings.

Keep track of our Fantasy NBA updates by following us on Twitter, "liking" us on Facebook and/or adding us to your Google+ circle.

Andre Drummond grabs 22 rebounds, scores 18 points

After a couple of quiet games, Detroit's Andre Drummond had a big night against the Celtics.

Drummond scored 18 points and added 22 rebounds.

It was the third time that Drummond grabbed 22-plus rebounds in his past 11 games and he has at least 17 rebounds in six of his past 12 games.

The only player with more games of 20-plus rebounds than Drummond (five) this season is Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (six).  Houston's Dwight Howard also has five games with 20-plus rebounds.

On the season, Drummond is averaging 13.21 points, 13.06 rebounds and 1.79 blocked shots per game.

DeMarcus Cousins posts 28/20 line in loss to Nets

Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins scored 28 points and added a season-high 20 rebounds in today's loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

It was the fourth time in his career that Cousins has finished with a 20/20 game.

Cousins is the 11th player this season with a 20/20 game and only player has multiple 20/20 games this year: Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge (three).

Since missing the Lakers game on Feb. 28th, Cousins has scored 20-plus points in all five games this month

On the season, Cousins is averaging 22.41 points and 11.63 rebounds per game.

Kevin Durant posts triple-double in loss to Lakers

Before today, there were 28 triple-doubles this season in the NBA and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant was one of six players to have multiple triple-doubles this season.

Against the Lakers today, Durant posted his third triple-double of the season by scoring 27 points and adding 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

In addition to Durant, Serge Ibaka (21 points and 15 rebounds) and Russell Westbrook (20 points), but it wasn't enough as they lost to the Lakers by four points, 114-110.

Westbrook (eight) and Durant (five) combined to commit 13 turnovers in today's loss and Lakers shooting guard Jodie Meeks scored a career-high 42 points today.

The Thunder will face ex-teammate James Harden, Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

Jodie Meeks scores career-high 42 points in upset over Thunder

In an upset over the Thunder, Lakers guard Jodie Meeks led all players with 42 points, which also sets a career high.

To demonstrate Meeks' shooting efficiency today, he scored 22 more points than teammate Pau Gasol (20 points) despite having only one more field-goal attempt than Gasol, who was eight of 17 from the field.

Meeks was 11-for-18 from the field including six three-pointers (on 11 attempts) and a perfect 14-for-14 at the free-throw line.

Not only was it a career high for Meeks, but it was only the second time in his career that he scored more than 30 points in a game.  His previous career high was 31 points set back in 2012 when he was with the Sixers.

In addition to his 42 points, Meeks added four steals and two rebounds.

Kansas center Joel Embiid headed to CA to see back specialist

Kansas freshman center Joel Embiid is heading to California today to visit with a back specialist on Monday, per Gary Bedore of KUSports.com.

"We wanted to get a second opinion and wanted to send him to the very best authority," [coach Bill] Self said, not identifying the name of the doctor. "He’ll leave on Sunday and see him (doctor) Monday morning."

Even though Embiid has missed the team's previous two games, Self doesn't expect his absence to be much longer.

"Hopefully we get real positive news," Self said. "Hopefully he can be on the practice floor very very soon. We will not put him out there just because he feels better but because the doctors says it’s time to get back out there. Hopefully it will be real soon, if not we’ll sit him a little longer. We still don’t think it will affect (his participation in) the NCAA Tournament in any way."

As Fran Fraschilla tweeted this morning, however, it "[c]an't be great news even if precautionary."

Embiid and fellow KU freshman Andrew Wiggins were 1-2 in my initial 2014 NBA mock draft posted a couple of weeks ago.

On the season, Embiid is averaging 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game.

Daily Fantasy Basketball: Some DraftKings Values for March 9th

If you play daily fantasy sports (and who isn'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, you select your team based on a player's salary and your team's salary cannot exceed the game salary-cap maximum.

For DraftKings leagues, rosters consist of eight players and the salary cap is $50,000, which averages to roughly $6,250 per player. To give you an idea of the range for Sunday's games, Thunder SF/PF Kevin Durant ($11,200) has the contest's highest salary while many are tied for the lowest at the game-minimum salary ($3,000).

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 Tuesday (March 4th) DraftKings leagues:

PG - Will Bynum, Detroit Pistons (at BOS), $3,900: Despite the lack of playing time, Bynum has been productive. In his past five games, Bynum has scored at least 27 fantasy points in four of those outings despite playing 21 minutes or less in each of his past four games.

PG - Ray McCallum, Sacramento Kings (at BKN), $3,400: McCallum has seen an uptick in minutes and he has averaged nearly 20 fantasy points per game (19.38) in the month of March.

PG/SG - Randy Foye, Denver Nuggets (at NO), $4,900: Over his past 10 games, Foye has averaged 30.38 fantasy points per outing. During that 10-game stretch, he has averaged 16.8 points, 4.2 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.

PG/SG - Patrick Beverley, Houston Rockets (vs. POR), $4,700: After scoring 34-plus fantasy points in his first two outings of the month, Beverley has averaged only 15.25 fantasy points in his past two games. That said, he has an opportunity to bounce back on Sunday as only the 76ers have allowed more fantasy points to opposing point guards this season than the Blazers.

PG/SG - Jerryd Bayless, Boston Celtics (vs. DET), $4,300: Over his past six games, Bayless has averaged 31.5 minutes and 24.63 fantasy points per game. During that six-game span, he has averaged 15.5 points, 3.17 rebounds, 2.17 assists and 1.17 assists per game..

SG/SF - Gerald Green, Phoenix Suns (at GS), $6,000: Not only is Green coming off a monster outing where he scored 60.75 fantasy points (41 points, eight three-pointers, five boards and three steals), but Green has scored at least 40 fantasy points in three consecutive outings.

SG/SF - Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets (at NO), $5,800: Chandler extended his streak of games with more than 30 fantasy points to three games on Friday. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.67 points, 6.67 rebounds, 1.67 assists and 1.33 steals per game. Even though the Pelicans have been excellent at limiting fantasy points to opposing three's, Chandler is a solid option considering his still modest salary.

SG/SF - Terrence Ross, Toronto Raptors (at MIN), $4,000: After missing a game due to his ankle, Ross scored 18 points as he knocked down six of eight three-pointers on Friday night against the Kings to score 29.0 fantasy points.

SG/SF - P.J. Tucker, Phoenix Suns (at GS), $4,500: Tucker has scored at least 23.5 fantasy points in three consecutive games. In those three games, Tucker has averaged 11.67 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.67 steals per game.

SF - Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors (vs. PHO), $3,800: Green has played in 21-plus minutes and has scored 23-plus fantasy points in each of his past three games. During that stretch, he has averaged 8.33 points, 5.33 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.33 steals per game.

PF - Marcus Morris, Phoenix Suns (at GS), $4,300: Morris has averaged 15.0 points and 5.25 rebounds per game over his past four games. During that span, Morris has scored at least 23.25 fantasy points in three of those games and has more than 30 fantasy points twice.

PF/C - Reggie Evans, Sacramento Kings (at BKN), $3,600: A great effort guy, Evans' production primarily comes from his rebounding and he has double-digit boards in two of his past three games. Over his past three games, he has seen at least 26 minutes and has scored more than 20 fantasy points in all three outings.

PF/C - Patrick Patterson, Toronto Raptors (at MIN), $4,300: In his past two games, Patterson has averaged 13.5 points and converted on five of nine treys while adding 5.5 boards, 1.5 blocks and a steal per game.

C - Kelly Olynyk, Boston Celtics (vs. DET), $4,000: The Pistons have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing centers this season. That said, Olynyk's minutes are a bit of a concern as he played only 17 minutes with six turnovers on Friday. With 27 minutes on Wednesday, however, Olynyk scored 19 points and added five boards, three assists and a block for 32.5 fantasy points.

* Sign up with DraftKings and double your money: Get a 100-percent bonus (up to $600) on your initial deposit with DraftKings.

For those interested in FanDuel leagues, I posted some FanDuel values earlier this morning here.

If you play in full-season leagues, check out my rest-of-season Fantasy NBA rankings.

Keep track of our Fantasy NBA updates by following us on Twitter, "liking" us on Facebook and/or adding us to your Google+ circle.