Keith Puckett - AccuScore Analyst

I am back with this week’s High Five/Low Five. This week’s High Five is just that, the five hottest players in the league who are currently playing their best ball.  The Low Five focuses on those efficient players who have been flying under the radar because of injury, or are in their first year with a new team.

High Five

Jason Kidd - Jason Kidd is almost the perfect fantasy basketball point guard.  The only thing he does not help you in is field goal percentage. He is averaging 11 points, 8.8 rebounds and 10.7 assists to go along with 1.8 steals. 8.8 rebounds for a point guard is huge!  His scoring might be down a bit and he might be a step slower, but his numbers are still there and averaging a triple double is in his sights.

Kobe Bryant - Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player in the world. The only category he hurts you in is turnovers, but when you score as much a Kobe does turnovers are bound to happen.   He is averaging 26.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2 steals, 1.7 three pointers and .5 blocks. What else could you possibly ask from your 1st round pick?  All the talk of going to the Bulls has died down and Kobe is letting his game do the talking.

Lebron James - If you take Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant mix them together, you would have Lebron "Video Game" James. Drew Gooden gave him the nickname because when Lebron takes over a game, it's like me playing NBA Live on Playstation 3. He scores (More than Kobe), rebounds (more than Eddy Curry...haha..joke) and gets more assists than all but 7 point guards. He is a force in every category.  The only thing I can say bad about Lebron is his free throw shooting, but it is getting better.

Shawn Marion - Shawn Marion is so good it's boring. year in and year out, he is always the number one or number two fantasy player. His scoring and rebounds are down this year, but he still contributes across the board. He is averaging more than one steal, block and three pointer a game, and his free throw percentage will recover. There is only one other player that did that last year Rasheed Wallace being the other. I usually play head to head, but if I am playing a roto league Shawn Marion is always the first guy I take if available. This year, Lebron would have been my pick, but after him the Matrix is my guy.

Yao Ming - Yao Ming is the best center in the league this year.  He is a solid 20 points and 10 rebounds a night. In the beginning of the year all the talk was about how Yao assists were going to go up playing in Rick Adelman's system. His assists are slightly up, but his field goal percentage is down.  Yao is still hands down the best center in fantasy basketball but Amare is right on his heals. With Oden next year and Bynum improving the way he is, Yao's reign could be coming to a end very shortly. Ride him while you can and if you are in a keeper league now would be the time to shop him while he is hot.

Low Five

Jarret Jack - Jarrett Jack may be a little inconsistent but there is a little Ben Gordon/Chauncey Billups in him.  He is a sparkplug off the bench and he has the build that suggests he can take the pounding of the NBA game. He is not a 1st or 2nd option at point guard but he is a player you can plug in on a off night.  Once he gets comfortable with his roll (He is looking better and better everyday) he will be a fantasy force like other 6th men in the league (Manu, Leo and Ben).

John Salmons - Talk about being in the right place at the right time.  Ron Artest is suspended to start the year and John takes the starting spot averaging a shade less than 20 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while also helping out in steals, blocks the threes. Artest comes back and John goes to the bench and his numbers go down. Kevin Martin goes down with a injury and John is back in the starting line up. Then Artest goes out with a knee injury and the Kings are now John's team.  I do not see how they don't move Mike Bibby and Ron-Ron before the trading deadline.  John Salmons is for real. So do not give up on him when the Kings get healthy because Bibby and Artest already have one foot out the door.

Kyle Korver - A change of scenery was needed for Kyle Korver to get his groove back. A top tier point guard and a big man of Carlos Boozer's quality is what Kyle needed in his life.  Watching Korver space the floor so that Deron Williams and Boozer can work is a thing of beauty.  Watch his numbers rise.  He was getting 2.2 threes a game in Philly before the trade. He might cause CJ Miles and Paul Milsap minutes to go down as long as he can play a little defense. He was a roto beast when defenses were built around stopping Allen Iverson, I can’t wait to see Utah in the playoffs. Most likely he is a free agent in your league, if you need a productive and efficient small forward Korver is your man.

Nazr Mohammed - Sam Vincent has got to be the worst coach in the NBA.  He started Nazr for his 1st three games with the team and then sent him to the bench.  All Nazr did in the 1st three games was average a double-double. He is a great source of points, rebounds and blocks. All he needs is 30 minutes a game and he is a legit 10 & 10 guy.  He is one Emeka Okafor injury away from going higher than that.  Pick him up now and stash him away for the 2nd half of the season.  Once Vincent is fired Nazr and Raymond Felton can go back to playing their games. Until then he is still a solid 3rd center for your head to head rotations.

Kurt Thomas - Guess who is back in the fantasy world? Kurt Thomas is back and he is showing why the Suns traded for him. Of course the Phoenix experiment did not go as planned but Seattle got themselves a quality big man to go along with Kevin Durant this year.  Thomas is a great rebounder and he shoot the mid range jumper at a very high percentage. He is the perfect big for the pick and pop.  Getting 12 points and 11 rebounds is not a stretch from him. With Robert Swift out (again), Chris Wilcox playing on the low block and no other big to take away his minutes, Kurt Thomas has flourished in his new roll. It’s nice to see Kurt back as I like all players who shoot at a high percentage and do not turn the ball over a lot.

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