The Daily finds what’s shiny each night, brushes off the dirt to reveal any blemishes and then makes a fair assesment in regards to certain players’ fantasy values.

Look at that man on the right. He looks like a natural. He’s so tall, so athletic and oozes potential the way Gilbert Arenas oozes cockiness. He dropped 24 points in 24 minutes last night and he’s center eligible. Sounds like you should act swiftly, right? Not if you know how Swift acts. Only a sucka would pick him up. And you’re not a sucka.

The Fig Cap: “I’m 100 Percent Pure Fool’s Gold”

Another day, another dominant inside performance by Dwight Howard. The youngster placed the Magic squarely on his broad shoulders as he delivered 24 points, 15 boards, 2 blocks and another victory. A big reason the Magic are now 10-2 on the year is the way they’ve been able to create room for Howard by spreading the floor with Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Keith Bogans accurately bombing away from outside. ’Shard hit 5 more triples last night finishing with 19 points.

The Hornets also entered the game with a 9-2 record but they were short their full complement of players because Chris Paul’s sprained ankle hasn’t finished healing yet. Janerro Pargo filled in with 19 points and 7 dimes, however, he missed all 4 3-point attempts and had 4 turnovers. A bigger casualty than the Hornets loss was the loss of starting center Tyson Chandler to a hyperextended right knee in the second quarter. Thankfully post-game X-rays were negative and, though he’s on crutches, he hopes to return in days not weeks. We’re a little less optimistic and think a minimum of one week is a safer estimate. If last night’s game is any indication, the minutes will be split between Melvin Ely and Hilton Armstrong. Armstrong is the more intriguing option considering he’s last year’s lottery pick and he led the team in preseason minutes and scoring.

Plagued by foul trouble all game, LaMarcus Aldridge had his worst game of the season with just 7 points and 1 rebound in 20 minutes. No one really picked up the slack and the Blazers went down to the Charlotte Bobcats. Don’t blame Brandon Roy though – the reigning ROY had 17, 5 and 5.

Ray Felton ended the night with a double-dip of 24 points and 10 dimes. Even more telling of this impressive effort was his strong shooting stats: 7-12 FG, 1-2 3PT, and 9-10 FT. Gerald Wallace led the defensive effort with 6 steals resulting in some fast break dunks on the way to a team-high 27 points.

Rookie Jeff Green received his first start of the season and didn’t disappoint notching a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds. Alas, no one stood out for Seattle as an amazing six players scored 11 points each and two more were in double figures for the evening.

A couple of names stood out for the Grizzlies though. Pau Gasol is heading in the right direction to shed that early season bust label with a line of 14 points, 7 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal and 7 blocks. Yep, seven swatations. But the man of the evening in what will undoubtedly be his best game of the year was Stromile Swift. Yes sir, the Stro Show was in full effect in the way only he can – you know, a monster game once every three months or year or so. With Darko Milicic still sidelined by a minor thumb injury, Slomile sped things up with 24 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. Swift is the top player on my personal banned list and I wouldn’t even wish him upon my second-worst enemy, so please do yourself a favor and ignore this line. Trust me.

In the night’s final game, New Jersey continues to embarrass themselves without Vince Carter failing to register a single win since he got hurt six games ago. Ason Kidd was out last night as his J went AWOL on the way to a 1-9 FG, 0-4 3PT evening with 6 turnovers. Nenad Krstic’s fantasy value is nil, thanks to a combination of his knee not being 100 percent yet and Sean Williams with his defensive presence (another 3 blocks tonight). Deron Williams was the ringleader for Utah in the victory. He registered 20 points (8-11 FG, 2-3 3PT), 4 boards, 6 dishes and 2 steals while harassing Kidd into his awful night.