With March in the books, it's time for another game of fun with numbers, this time focusing on trends since the All-Star break and splits for the month of March.
Numbers to love
The Top 130
Note: Brian McKitish's top 130 players are ranked for their fantasy value from this point forward in the 2011-12 NBA season. Previous rank is indicated in parentheses.
1. Kevin Durant, SF, OKC (1)
2. LeBron James, SF, MIA (2)
3. Chris Paul, PG, LAC (3)
4. Kevin Love, PF, MIN (4)
5. Dwyane Wade, SG, MIA (5)
6. Russell Westbrook, PG, OKC (6)
7. Dwight Howard, C, ORL (7)
8. Deron Williams, PG, NJ (8)
9. Josh Smith, PF/SF, ATL (9)
10. Al Jefferson, C/PF, UTAH (11)
11. DeMarcus Cousins, PF/C, SAC (19)
12. Pau Gasol, PF/C, LAL (13)
13. Paul Millsap, PF, UTAH (20)
14. LaMarcus Aldridge, PF/C, POR (14)
15. Kobe Bryant, SG, LAL (10)
16. Dirk Nowitzki, PF, DAL (15)
17. David Lee, PF/C, GS (22)
18. Marc Gasol, C, MEM (17)
19. Andrew Bynum, C, LAL (16)
20. Kyrie Irving, PG, CLE (26)
21. Blake Griffin, PF, LAC (21)
22. Marcin Gortat, C, PHO (24)
23. Rudy Gay, SF, MEM (23)
24. Rajon Rondo, PG, BOS (25)
25. James Harden, SG, OKC (27)
26. John Wall, PG, WSH (18)
27. Ty Lawson, PG/SG, DEN (29)
28. Paul Pierce, SF/SG, BOS (31)
29. Kevin Garnett, PF/C, BOS (36)
30. Marcus Thornton, SG, SAC (32)
31. Ryan Anderson, PF, ORL (34)
32. Greg Monroe, PF/C, DET (28)
33. Steve Nash, PG, PHO (30)
34. Serge Ibaka, C/PF, OKC (38)
35. Goran Dragic, PG, HOU (66)
36. Carmelo Anthony, SF, NY (52)
37. Joe Johnson, SG/SF, ATL (39)
38. Tony Parker, PG, SA (35)
39. Danny Granger, SF, IND (40)
40. Derrick Rose, PG, CHI (12)
41. Gerald Wallace, SF/PF, NJ (44)
42. Klay Thompson, SG, GS (41)
43.Nene Hilario, C/PF, WSH (42)
44. Andre Iguodala, SF/SG, PHI (43)
45. Roy Hibbert, C, IND (46)
46. Brandon Jennings, PG, MIL (48)
47. Nicolas Batum, SF/SG, POR (49)
48. Joakim Noah, C/PF, CHI (45)
49. Jordan Crawford, SG, WSH (51)
50. JaVale McGee, C, DEN (50)
51. Carlos Boozer, PF, CHI (56)
52. Kris Humphries, PF, NJ (55)
53. Monta Ellis, PG/SG, GS (33)
54. Tyreke Evans, PG/SG/SF, SAC (53)
55. Mike Conley, PG, MEM (54)
56. Chris Bosh, PF/C, MIA (58)
57. Jose Calderon, PG, TOR (67)
58. Luol Deng, SF, CHI (59)
59. Manu Ginobili, SG, SA (61)
60. Ersan Ilyasova, SF/PF, MIL (70)
61. Ramon Sessions, PG, LAL (60)
62. Tyson Chandler, C, NY (62)
63. Andrea Bargnani, C/PF, TOR (68)
64. Jarrett Jack, PG/SG, NO (74)
65. Paul George, SF/SG, IND (65)
66. Wesley Matthews, SG/SF, POR (78)
67. Drew Gooden, PF, MIL (64)
68. Luke Ridnour, PG, MIN (75)
69. Zach Randolph, PF, MEM (37)
70. Jason Terry, SG, DAL (71)
71. Tim Duncan, PF/C, SA (77)
72. Jrue Holiday, PG, PHI (72)
73. Raymond Felton, PG, POR (84)
74. Eric Gordon, SG, NO (122)
75. Jeff Teague, PG, ATL (88)
76. Isaiah Thomas, PG, SAC (86)
77. Gordon Hayward, SG/SF, UTAH (106)
78. Arron Afflalo, SG, DEN (87)
79. Antawn Jamison, PF, CLE (69)
80. Wilson Chandler, SF/SG, DEN (73)
81. Channing Frye, PF/C, PHO (82)
82. Ray Allen, SG, BOS (79)
83. Luis Scola, PF, HOU (85)
84. Chris Kaman, C, NO (63)
85. Evan Turner, SG, PHI (89)
86. Jared Dudley, SF/SG, PHO (81)
87. Nikola Pekovic, C, MIN (80)
88. DeMar DeRozan, SG/SF, TOR (93)
89. Brandon Knight, PG/SG, DET (91)
90. Al Harrington, PF, DEN (94)
91. Elton Brand, PF, PHI (96)
92. Rodney Stuckey, PG/SG, DET (92)
93. Lou Williams, PG/SG, PHI (83)
94. Jameer Nelson, PG, ORL (104)
95. Amare Stoudemire, C/PF, NY (57)
96. David West, PF, IND (103)
97. DeAndre Jordan, C, LAC (90)
98. Alonzo Gee, SG/SF, CLE (97)
99. Devin Harris, PG, UTAH (99)
100. Gerald Henderson, SG, CHA (101)
101. Iman Shumpert, PG/SG, NY (NR)
102. Jason Kidd, PG, DAL (109)
103. Jason Thompson, PF, SAC (117)
104. Mike Dunleavy, SG/SF, MIL (NR)
105. Chandler Parsons, SF, HOU (NR)
106. D.J. Augustin, PG, CHA (108)
107. Kevin Martin, SG, HOU (98)
108. Nick Young, SG, LAC (107)
109. Tristan Thompson, PF, CLE (105)
110. Kenneth Faried, PF, DEN (118)
111. Thaddeus Young, SF/PF, PHI (110)
112. Andre Miller, PG, DEN (114)
113. Kyle Lowry, PG, HOU (95)
114. James Johnson, SF/PF, TOR (126)
115. Brandon Rush, SG, GS (NR)
116. Kawhi Leonard, PF, SA (NR)
117. Mario Chalmers, PG, MIA (116)
118. Carlos Delfino, SF/SG, MIL (115)
119. Jose Juan Barea, PG, MIN (111)
120. Zaza Pachulia, C, ATL (124)
121. Spencer Hawes, C, PHI (119)
122. Nate Robinson, PG/SG, GS (76)
123. Baron Davis, PG, NY (NR)
124. Shawn Marion, SF/PF, DAL (128)
125. Tony Allen, SG, MEM (129)
126. Derrick Williams, PF, MIN (120)
127. J.J. Hickson, PF/C, POR (NR)
128. Samuel Dalembert, C, HOU (127)
129. Carl Landry, PF, NO (NR)
130. Darren Collison, PG, IND (130)
3.04: Steals per 48 minutes for Iman Shumpert, good for fifth in the league. Baron Davis might have replaced Jeremy Lin (knee) in the starting lineup, but it's Shumpert who has elevated his play in recent action. With 15.4 points, 2.4 steals and 2.4 3-pointers in 33.4 minutes over his past five games, Shump is a must-add now that Lin is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season. The Knicks are a much better team when Shumpert is harassing opponents with his in-your-face-style defense, and that should ensure that he plays 32-34 minutes per game the rest of the way.
17.5: Points per game for Wizards shooting guard Jordan Crawford in 18 games since the All-Star break. Crawford has stepped up his play since Nick Young was shipped out of town, pouring in 20-plus points in seven of his past eight contests. Though he's not much of a rebounder or an assist man, Crawford isn't just a scorer, either. He has been a prototypical fantasy shooting guard as a starter, averaging 1.4 steals and 1.6 3-pointers to go along with his 17.5 points per game since the All-Star break.
38.7: Minutes per game for Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague in the month of March. Teague's production might not look impressive on a per-minute basis, but his counting stats get a big boost due to the amount of minutes he's able to log for the Hawks. Most valuable for his assists and steals, Teague suffered through a miserable month of February before turning it on with 12.6 points, 5.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.5 3-pointers in March.
2.3: Blocks per game for Celtics center Greg Stiemsma, which ranked second in the league (behind Serge Ibaka) in the month of March. Stiemsma is playing only 18.4 minutes per game during that time, so while he's incredibly productive as a shot-blocker, he's not able to offer much else for fantasy owners. Still, at this point in the season, Stiemsma makes for a fine one-category wonder for anyone in a tight race for blocks.
1.4: 3-pointers per game for Russell Westbrook in 17 games since the All-Star break. Impressively, he's not sacrificing field goal percentage either, shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 35.9 percent from downtown over the same span. Not too bad for a guy whose only fantasy deficiency coming into the year was his lack of 3-point shooting, huh? Averaging 24.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 3-pointers while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor and 81.9 percent from the line, Westbrook has certainly solidified his position as a first-round fantasy pick in next year's draft.
Numbers to hate
2.0: 3-point attempts per game for Monta Ellis since joining the Milwaukee Bucks, down from 4.2 attempts per game with the Warriors. It would be one thing if Ellis was simply in a shooting slump; he can break out of that, but not getting enough shot attempts? That's concerning. Brandon Jennings, meanwhile, has been able to retain his value with 19.4 points, 5.0 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.8 3-pointers over his past five games. We tolerated Monta's poor shooting from the floor when he was posting 21-plus points with 6.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 3-pointers, but not when he's averaging only 14.9 points, 5.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.3 3-pointers. Things should only get better from here, but fantasy owners should temper their expectations given his usage in the Bucks' offense.
10.3: Shots per game for Greg Monroe since the All-Star break, down from 13.1 in the first half. A highly efficient offensive player, Monroe dominated the Pistons' offense early in the year as Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince struggled. But Monroe hasn't been as assertive with Prince and Stuckey (when healthy) playing well over the past month. He's still a fantastic fantasy option with 14.1 points, 9.9 boards, 0.9 steals and terrific percentages, but his owners can't be happy after he posted 16.7 points, 9.8 boards and 1.4 steals in the first half. Fantasy owners should keep this in the back of their minds when drafting next season. Good players on bad teams always put up big-time numbers, but if Monroe gets some help in the offseason, he might not be as dominant next year.
26.8: Minutes per game for Zach Randolph in nine games since his return from a knee injury on March 16. Clearly suffering the effects of two months of inactivity, Randolph's conditioning has taken some time to get back up to speed. Z-Bo is still a productive fantasy player in limited minutes with 12.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals over his past nine games, but those expecting a return to his 20/10 ways will have to wait to see if his conditioning improves over the last few weeks of the season.
1.7: Steals plus 3-pointers for Blazers guard Jamal Crawford in the month of March. To say that Crawford has struggled since the Gerald Wallace trade would be an understatement. Averaging just 6.8 points, 0.4 3-pointers and 0.4 steals while shooting 28.3 percent from the floor over his past give games, Crawford has been in the midst of one of the worst slumps of his career. I'd like to say he'll break out soon, but fantasy owners can't risk waiting for it to happen at this point in the season. Feel free to drop Crawford if you haven't already.