Daily Fantasy Diagnosis: 3.16

Beast of the Night: Joe Johnson busted out of his slump in a big way last night, posting 36 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and six three-pointers. He shot 68 percent (13-19) from the field, 100 percent (4-4) from the charity stripe and had two turnovers. Johnson nearly matched his total points scored in his previous three games with last night’s line. Johnson’s fallen out of elite fantasy basketball status this season, but is still a solid guy to own in most leagues.

Lines for Discussion:
Landry Fields: 5-10 FG (50%), 4-6 FT (67%), 3 threes, 17 Pts, 3 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; Fields has been one of the biggest surprises of the season so far. He’s averaged top-60 numbers for 2010-11 so far and has been a relatively steady source of across-the-board production for his owners. He’ll be an intriguing player to monitor heading into next year’s drafts, especially in keeper leagues.

Darren Collison: 9-13 FG (69%), 5-5 FT (100%), 1 three, 24 Pts, 3 Reb, 9 Ast, 4 TO; He’s been steadily improving in his last three games, but we’ve seen this movie before from Collison this season. He’s been a frustrating tease for his owners after his did a bang-up job of filling in for Chris Paul last season. He should improve next season but the buzz about this kid has been dulled for now.

Roy Hibbert: 5-13 FG (39%), 5-6 FT (83%), 15 Pts, 12 reb, 5 Ast, 3 Blk, 3 TO; If Hibbert can find any sort of consistency next season, he’ll be a fantasy stud. In the meantime, Hibbert remains a starter who’s bound to turn in a clunker or two each week.

Tyler Hansbrough: 12-17 FG (71%), 6-8 FT (75%), 30 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Stl, 2 TO; This wasn’t his most dynamic line of the season, but Pyscho T is putting on quite a show to finish out the season, which is a big boon for owners who scooped him up in time for their playoff matchups. He’s worth starting in all but the shallowest of leagues right now.

JaVale McGee: 5-14 FG (36%), 1-3 FT (33%), 11 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast, 12 Blk, 2 TO; Apparently, this was the most blocks a player has amassed in a single game since Keon Clark had 12 blocks nearly 10 years ago on March 23, 2001. While that’s not exactly the most impressive company to be in, this was a sick line from the maddening McGee. If you started him this week, you can pretty much chalk up a victory in the blocks column.

Waiver-Wire Watch:
Shawne Williams: 10 Pts, 2 threes, 6 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl; Williams is on a nice little roll in his last three games and is worth a look if you need threes. Just don’t expect him to be the most consistent dude on your squad.

Toney Douglas: 17 Pts, 4 threes, 3 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO; Douglas continues to get a sufficient number of minutes even with Chauncey Billups back as the starting point guard for the Knicks. While he’ll struggle with stability, he’s a decent guy to round out your bench.

Jeff Foster: 3 Pts, 10 Reb; If you’re in dire need rebounds in a deep league, Foster’s worth a look.

Yi Jianlian: 14 Pts, 6 Reb, 2 Stl, 1 TO; With the Wizards’ frontline falling apart, Yi could have some opportunities to produce usable lines for owners in deeper leagues.

Jordan Crawford: 27 Pts, 3 threes, 3 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 TO; He shoots without conscience, which means he’s the second coming of Nick Young. Crawford’s worth a pickup if you don’t have to drop anyone too valuable to make room for him.

Kurt Thomas: 8 Pts, 1 three, 15 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk; Carlos Boozer‘s due back any day now and Joakim Noah sat out last night’s game with an illness, but Thomas has solid value in the meantime.

Taj Gibson: 9 Pts, 13 Reb, 1 Ast; He benefited from the absences of Boozer and Joakim Noah, so like Thomas, Gibson has some value until both those guys return.

Keith Bogans: 17 Pts, 5 threes, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO; Don’t make too much of this. Bogans isn’t worth a roster spot unless you’re in an extremely deep league.

Injuries:
Delonte West (wrist): plans to play tonight

Joakim Noah (illness): day-to-day

Carlos Boozer (ankle): should return any day now

Brendan Haywood (back): day-to-day

Arron Afflalo (hamstring): monitor his status

Luis Scola (knee): still being held out of practice

Marc Gasol (ankle): day-to-day

Zydrunas Ilgauskas (foot): doubtful for tonight

Andre Iguodala (knee): check his status for tonight

Channing Frye (shoulder): took about 100 mid-range shots before Monday’s game; monitor his status

Steve Nash (pelvis): expects to play tonight

Amir Johnson (ankle): out tonight

Paul Millsap (knee): game-time decision tonight

Devin Harris (hamstring): ditto

Dirk Nowitzki (shoulder): check his status

For Tonight:
Shawn Marion should keep up his hot streak as the Mavs visit the Warriors.

If Andre Iguodala misses the Sixers’ game against the Clippers, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young could see extra minutes.

Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.

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