Stat’s All Folks will be a week-to-week stock market look at the standard cumulative categories – points, assists, rebounds, three-pointers made, steals, and blocks.  I’ll be calling out the “bulls” and “bears” in each category, in order to help you assess your portfolio of players on your fantasy basketball team(s) and whether you should sell, hold, and/or diversify your assets.

Statistics are through November 23nd – 29th.

BULLISH

Allen Iverson, PG, Philadelphia 76ers
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 40.7 PPG; 44.2 FG%; 90.2 FT%

How does Iverson come back from sitting out two games because of injury?  Here’s the “answer” – AI drops 46 points on the Chicago Bulls in a 123-108 Sixers win his first game back.  The next night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Iverson scores 31 points, which made many wonder if he was still suffering from injury because he only scored 31 points (sarcasm fully intended).  However, AI dispelled any worries about his scoring deficiencies by hanging 45 points on the Miami Heat the following game.  Iverson is just plain getting sick with it!

Carmelo Anthony, SF, Denver Nuggets
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 33.3 PPG; 55.3 FG%; 69.6 FT%

Anthony is proving to be as consistent a scorer as they come this season.  In his thirteen games thus far, he’s scored at least 30 points in every game, but three and two of those games he scored 28 and 29 points, respectively.  His first couple of seasons in the League, you could have made a case that Melo couldn’t hang with the prestige of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade because Anthony didn’t seem as disciplined on and off the court.  Now?  The case is closed.  He can.

Other Blue-Chippers for the Week
Michael Redd, SG, Milwaukee Bucks – 2 G; 34.5 PPG
Dwyane Wade, PG/SG, Miami Heat – 3 G; 33.7 PPG
Joe Johnson, PG/SG, Atlanta Hawks – 4 G; 28.0 PPG

Keep An Eye On
Lamar Odom, SF/PF, Los Angeles Lakers – 3 G; 22.7 PPG
J.R. Smith, SG, Denver Nuggets – 3 G; 19.7 PPG

BEARISH

Stephon Marbury, PG, New York Knicks
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 4 G; 5.5 PPG; 29.6 FG%; 62.5 FT%

Fallin’ Starbury is having one ugly season.  It’s getting so ugly he isn’t even getting any love from his head coach and sitting on the pine during critical moments in the game.  Sound familiar?  The difference is that Larry Brown isn’t calling the shots on the floor, but supposed Marbury backer, Isiah Thomas.  Steph is a career 20-point scorer, but isn’t doing diddly squat as far as putting the ball in the basket.  It’s time to put some butter on Marbury because he’s just plain toasted.

Mike James, PG, Minnesota Timberwolves
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 4 G; 3.5 PPG; 28.6 FG%; 100.0 FT%

At this point of the season, James is proving to be the basketball equivalent of Dexy’s Midnight Runners of “Come On Eileen” fame – a one hit wonder, or in James’ case a one season wonder.  Wonder what James would look like in overalls… hmm.  Okay, nevermind that and, honestly, James’ performance in his career thus far really isn’t all that bad, but it’s obvious that James is just not acclimating himself to the T-Wolves offense.  James can’t dominate the ball as much as he did in Toronto last season and he is struggling big-time and it isn’t helping that rookie Randy Foye isn’t.

Other Duds for the Week
Andrei Kirilenko, SF/PF, Utah Jazz – 4 G; 7.0 PPG

Buyer Beware
Eddy Curry, C, New York Knicks – 4 G; 19.8 PPG
Raja Bell, SG, Phoenix Suns – 3 G; 22.0 PPG

BULLISH

Steve Nash, PG, Phoenix Suns
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 10.3 APG; 4.0 TO

I really didn’t want to talk about Nash at all this season in this category simply because to put Captain Canada in this section of the column is as obvious as saying that Manute Bol is one tall guy.  However, a month into the season, I just had to show my respect to the two-time MVP.  With Amare Stoudemire seemingly back to full strength, having Shawn Marion doing his usual run and finish on the break, and being surrounded with shooters such as Leandro Barbosa and Raja Bell, Nash should finish tops in this category when all is said and done.  Oh, and Manute Bol is one tall guy.

Tracy McGrady, SG/SF, Houston Rockets
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 9.0 APG; 4.0 TO

Right off the bat, I will say that you shouldn’t expect McGrady to average anything near nine dimes a game on the regular.  However, six isn’t out of the question as McGrady has the ability to penetrate and can pass off to shooters such as Luther Head, Rafer Alston, and rookie Steve Novak.  When T-Mac was with the Orlando Magic, he averaged about 5.5 assists per game, so don’t think that his assists totals are as fluky as the 5’9” Nate Robinson blocking 7’6” Yao Ming.  Did you see that last week?  Wow!  And guess who passed the ball to Yao?  Yup, T-Mac.  Yao totally messed up that assist for him. 

Other Blue-Chippers For The Week
Dwyane Wade, PG/SG, Miami Heat – 3 G; 13.3 APG
Andre Miller, PG, Denver Nuggets – 3 G; 10.0 APG
Jason Kidd, PG, New Jersey Nets – 4 G; 9.8 APG

Keep An Eye On
LeBron James, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers – 3 G; 7.3 APG
Eric Snow, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers – 3 G; 7.0 APG

BEARISH

Randy Foye, PG, Minnesota Timberwolves
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 4 G; 1.0 APG; 2.5 TO

Foye will be getting more burn on the hardwood with Mike James stinking like unwashed ten day old socks.  However, as much as he has the ability to score from the point guard spot, he doesn’t get the assists one would like from their lead guard.  But, he is lights out as a scorer… just nothing else.  That should have been clear from his play at the Vegas Summer League where he scored like points were going out of stock.

Jason Williams, PG, Miami Heat
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 2 G; 2.5 APG; 0.5 TO

Williams is a career 6.6 assists guy, but if White Chocolate isn’t on the floor because of injury, then he is nothing sweet for fantasy owners.  Williams is still having problems with his knee and when he returns?  Well, it’s up like teammate Shaquille O’Neal’s free throws, in the air.

Other Duds For The Week
Speedy Claxton, PG, Atlanta Hawks – 3 G; 2.7 APG
Gary Payton, PG, Miami Heat – 3 G; 0.7 APG

Buyer Beware
Dwyane Wade, PG/SG, Miami Heat – 3 G; 13.3 APG
Mike Miller, SG, Memphis Grizzlies – 4 G; 6.3 APG

BULLISH

Dwight Howard, PF/C, Orlando Magic
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 4 G; 12.8 RPG

Howard is a straight up monster on the boards, having already achieved at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game three times this season.  Instead of calling him the Man-Child can we just call him the Man-Man already?  It’s amazing that he isn’t even 21 years old yet (that changes next week on December 8th though).  Whatever the age, Howard is and will be a beast down in the box for a long time to come.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, C, Cleveland Cavaliers
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 12.3 RPG

Ilgauskas’ play has been improving as the season has gone along and is doing what he needs to do, which is to block shots and clean the glass, which is good because he is starting to look like Mr. Clean up top.  Big Z is still is one of the better centers in the league, but he’ll never be as big of a scoring threat as he once was.  If he only gets you rebounds and rejections, be happy and take anything else as gravy on the meat.

Other Blue-Chippers For The Week
Carlos Boozer, PF/C, Utah Jazz – 4 G; 12.8 RPG
Kevin Garnett, SF/PF, Minnesota Timberwolves – 4 G; 12.3 RPG
Tim Duncan, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs – 4 G; 12.0 RPG

Keep An Eye On
Amare Stoudemire, PF/C, Phoenix Suns – 3 G; 12.0 RPG
Andris Biedrins, PF/C, Golden State Warriors – 4 G; 11.8 RPG
Kenny Thomas, PF, Sacramento Kings – 3 G; 10.7 RPG
David Lee, SF/PF, New York Knicks – 4 G; 10.3 RPG

BEARISH

Ben Wallace, C, Chicago Bulls
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 6.3 RPG

Is Wallace’s headband the equivalent of Samson’s ponytail?  I think we’ve all heard about Headband-Gate where Wallace defied head coach Scott Skiles’ ban on wearing headbands, but seriously, what’s all the drama about?  If anything, it should be the fact that Big Ben isn’t performing well by averaging only a “measly” 6.3 boards a game this past week!

Other Duds For The Week
Emeka Okafor, PF/C, Charlotte Bobcats – 4 G; 7.5 RPG
Troy Murphy, PF/C, Golden State Warriors – 4 G; 6.3 RPG

Buyer Beware
Dorrell Wright, SG/SF, Miami Heat – 3 G; 11.3 RPG
Baron Davis, PG, Golden State Warrios – 1 G; 9.0 RPG

BULLISH

Raja Bell, SG, Phoenix Suns
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 5.0 3PTM

Since Leandro Barbosa seems to be passing the ball off more and doing it effectively, and the fact that Steve Nash is his point guard, there’s really only two things Bell needs to do.  Number one, set up behind the arch.  Number two, stroke the ball.  No one has had it this good since Kevin Federline did milking off of Britney Spears when they were together.

Kobe Bryant, SG, Los Angeles Lakers
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 3.0 3PTM

Finally!  For a while there, Bryant wasn’t hitting triples the way we all knew he could.  In fact, he really wasn’t attempting as many treys as he had in the past, but hopefully his 6-for-14 performance from beyond the arch the other night against the Milwaukee Bucks will have Kobe looking from downtown a bit more.  Fantasy owners want it all!

Other Blue-Chippers For The Week
Luther Head, PG/SG, Houston Rockets – 3 G; 3.3 3PTM
Paul Pierce, SG/SF, Boston Celtics – 3 G; 3.0 3PTM
Michael Redd, SG/SF, Milwaukee Bucks – 2 G; 3.0 3PTM

Keep An Eye On
Rasheed Wallace, PF, Detroit Pistons – 2 G; 2.5 3PTM
Al Harrington, SF/PF/C, Indiana Pacers – 4 G; 2.5 3PTM
Deron Williams, PG, Utah Jazz – 4 G; 2.3 3PTM

BEARISH

Dwyane Wade, PG, Miami Heat
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 0.0 3PTM

With everything that Wade did last week in averaging about 34 points, grabbing six boards, passing for about 13 dimes, and getting over one block and steal in three games last week, of course Wade couldn’t hit any treys as well, right?  I mean, that would make him a special player or something.  Okay, he’s still a special player, but don’t expect to see many three-pointers made from Flash.

Baron Davis, PG, Golden State Warriors
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 1 G; 0.0 3PTM

Davis has to be mentioned here even though he only played one game in the last week.  The fact that he didn’t make any three-pointers in a game is nothing noteworthy as we all know he likes to chuck ‘em up, but what is noteworthy is the fact that he only took two shots from three-point range in the one game he played.  Is this the same Boom Dizzle that we all know and have grown (and groan) to love?  Davis has limited his shots from the Land of Triples, which explains why he’s shooting 44.6% from the field and not the 38.9% from last season.

Buyer Beware
Jordan Farmar, PG/SG, Los Angeles Lakers – 2 G; 2.5 3PTM

BULLISH

Andre Iguodala, SG/SF, Philadelphia 76ers
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 3.7 SPG

Can we already start the Iguodala Era in Philly?  I know that many people love Allen Iverson, but the Sixers aren’t going anywhere this season and I think it’s time to trade AI while he still has fairly very high value and hand the reins over to the “other” AI because he’s ready.

Chris Paul, PG, New Orleans Hornets
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 3.7 SPG

Umm, Manute Bol is one tall guy… can I still use this joke?

Other Blue-Chippers For The Week
Allen Iverson, PG, Philadelphia 76ers – 3 G; 2.7 SPG
Michael Redd, SG/SF, Milwaukee Bucks – 2 G; 2.5 SPG
Vince Carter, SG/SF, New Jersey Nets – 4 G; 2.3 SPG

Keep An Eye On
Raymond Felton, PG/SG, Charlotte Bobcats – 4 G; 2.3 SPG
Chris Duhon, PG, Chicago Bulls – 3 G; 2.0 SPG

BEARISH

LeBron James, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 0.3 SPG

James is a career 1.8 steals per game thief and for the season Bron is at 1.6 rock rips per contest.  So, for him to only get fractions less is unacceptable!  What, does he think that steals are bourgeois as well?

Other Duds For The Week
Steve Nash, PG, Phoenix Suns – 3 G; 0.3 SPG
Tracy McGrady, SG/SF, Houston Rockets – 3G; 0.3 SPG

Buyer Beware
Johan Petro, C, Seattle Supersonics – 3 G; 2.3 SPG
Troy Murphy, PF/C, Golden State Warriors – 4 G; 1.8 SPG

BULLISH

Marcus Camby, C, Denver Nuggets
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 3 G; 4.0 BPG

Who can take a b-ball (who can take a b-ball), reject it with some verve (reject it with some verve), cover it with his palm and a finger or two, the Camby Man (the Camby Man), the Camby Man can (the Camby man can).  Much respect to Sammy Davis, Jr.

Other Blue-Chippers For The Week
Alonzo Mourning, C, Miami Heat – 3 G; 5.0 BPG
Andris Biedrins, PF/C, Golden State Warriors – 4 G; 3.5 BPG
Jermaine O’Neal, PF/C, Indiana Pacers – 4 G; 3.5 BPG
Andrei Kirilenko, SF/PF, Utah Jazz – 4 G; 3.5 BPG

Keep An Eye On
Kendrick Perkins, PF/C, Boston Celtics – 3 G; 2.3 BPG
Amare Stoudemire, PF/C, Phoenix Suns – 3 G; 2.3 BPG

BEARISH

Gerald Wallace, SG/SF/PF, Charlotte Bobcats
Last Week’s Numbers of Note: 4 G; 0.0 BPG

Huh?  Is this the same Gerald Wallace that averaged over a deuce in blocks last season?  I don’t think so!  Wallace’s nickname of “Crash” is apropos because that’s what happened to many of Wallace’s owners’ chances in winning the blocks category in head-to-head leagues.  Consider this an anomaly, however.   

Buyer Beware
Solomon Jones, PF/C, Atlanta Hawks – 3 G; 2.0 BPG
Rafer Alston, PG, Houston Rockets – 3 G; 1.7 BPG

I’ll be here every week during the regular season, trying to become the Gordon Gekko of fantasy basketball.  Be my Bud Fox.