With another month nearly in the books, it's time for another game of fun with numbers, this time focusing on recent trends and splits for the month of February.
60: 3-point field goal percentage for Dirk Nowitzki after 8 games in the month of February. The window to buy low on Dirk has officially closed after he's blown up for 21.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 3-pointers over his past five games. Look for Dirk to be a top-20 fantasy performer the rest of the way, as he'll be doing everything he can to contribute to a Mavericks' run at the final playoff spot in the West.
The Top 130
Note: Brian McKitish's top 130 players are ranked for their fantasy value from this point forward in the 2012-13 NBA season. Previous rank is indicated in parentheses.
1. Kevin Durant, OKC (1)
2. LeBron James, MIA (2)
3. Chris Paul, LAC (3)
4. Russell Westbrook, OKC (4)
5. James Harden, HOU (5)
6. Stephen Curry, GS (6)
7. Kyrie Irving, CLE (7)
8. Nicolas Batum, POR (8)
9. Kobe Bryant, LAL (9)
10. Carmelo Anthony, NY (10)
11. Dwyane Wade, MIA (13)
12. Serge Ibaka, OKC (11)
13. Paul George, IND (12)
14. Marc Gasol, MEM (14)
15. Rudy Gay, TOR (21)
16. Ty Lawson, DEN (22)
17. Josh Smith, ATL (15)
18. Dirk Nowitzki, DAL (31)
19. Brook Lopez, BKN (17)
20. Jrue Holiday, PHI (16)
21. Brandon Jennings, MIL (19)
22. David Lee, GS (25)
23. Paul Pierce, BOS (18)
24. LaMarcus Aldridge, POR (20)
25. Tony Parker, SA (27)
26. Jeff Teague, ATL (30)
27. Blake Griffin, LAC (28)
28. Al Jefferson, UTAH (26)
29. Damian Lillard, POR (23)
30. John Wall, WSH (29)
31. Greg Monroe, DET (24)
32. Ersan Ilyasova, MIL (37)
33. DeMarcus Cousins, SAC (34)
34. Joakim Noah, CHI (39)
35. Deron Williams, BKN (33)
36. Mike Conley, MEM (35)
37. Anthony Davis, NO (36)
38. Kemba Walker, CHA (42)
39. Kevin Garnett, BOS (41)
40. Larry Sanders, MIL (47)
41. Ricky Rubio, MIN (50)
42. Al Horford, ATL (46)
43. Greivis Vasquez, NO (32)
44. Danilo Gallinari, DEN (38)
45. Chris Bosh, MIA (43)
46. Jose Calderon, DET (40)
47. Zach Randolph, MEM (44)
48. Ryan Anderson, NO (45)
49. Dwight Howard, LAL (59)
50. Kyle Lowry, TOR (48)
51. J.R. Smith, NY (49)
52. Kenneth Faried, DEN (51)
53. Nikola Vucevic, ORL (52)
54. Klay Thompson, GS (53)
55. George Hill, IND (55)
56. Tim Duncan, SA (56)
57. Paul Millsap, UTAH (58)
58. Goran Dragic, PHO (66)
59. Jarrett Jack, GS (78)
60. Monta Ellis, MIL (57)
61. O.J. Mayo, DAL (62)
62. Luol Deng, CHI (67)
63. Jameer Nelson, ORL (54)
64. Andrei Kirilenko, MIN (68)
65. Roy Hibbert, IND (65)
66. Wesley Matthews, POR (60)
67. Nikola Pekovic, MIN (69)
68. Tyreke Evans, SAC (70)
69. Bradley Beal, WSH (111)
70. Steve Nash, LAL (64)
71. Jeremy Lin, HOU (71)
72. Isaiah Thomas, SAC (93)
73. David West, IND (72)
74. Kevin Martin, OKC (73)
75. Andre Iguodala, DEN (61)
76. Tyson Chandler, NY (74)
77. Carlos Boozer, CHI (75)
78. Omer Asik, HOU (76)
79. Tristan Thompson, CLE (77)
80. Jamal Crawford, LAC (80)
81. Joe Johnson, BKN (81)
82. J.J. Hickson, POR (86)
83. Chandler Parsons, HOU (89)
84. Danny Granger, IND (91)
85. Amare Stoudemire, NY (63)
86. Raymond Felton, NY (83)
87. Kawhi Leonard, SA (82)
88. Darren Collison, DAL (88)
89. Evan Turner, PHI (90)
90. Earl Clark, LAL (92)
91. Nene Hilario, WSH (84)
92. Byron Mullens, CHA (95)
93. Amir Johnson, TOR (85)
94. Manu Ginobili, SA (99)
95. Jeff Green, BOS (117)
96. Thaddeus Young, PHI (114)
97. Emeka Okafor, WSH (108)
98. Daniel Green, SA (116)
99. DeMar DeRozan, TOR (97)
100. Eric Gordon, NO (101)
101. Jason Terry, BOS (103)
102. Shawn Marion, DAL (104)
103. Ramon Sessions, CHA (94)
104. Kyle Korver, ATL (87)
105. Arron Afflalo, ORL (106)
106. Metta World Peace, LAL (107)
107. Tiago Splitter, SA (98)
108. Kevin Love, MIN (109)
109. Nate Robinson, CHI (105)
110. Marcin Gortat, PHO (100)
111. Dion Waiters, CLE (115)
112. Gordon Hayward, UTAH (NR)
113. Gerald Henderson, CHA (118)
114. Moe Harkless, ORL (NR)
115. Gerald Wallace, BKN (119)
116. Carlos Delfino, HOU (NR)
117. Jason Thompson, SAC (NR)
118. Derrick Rose, CHI (122)
119. Vince Carter, DAL (125)
120. Thomas Robinson, HOU (NR)
121. Derrick Favors, UTAH (110)
122. Luke Ridnour, MIN (126)
123. Chauncey Billups, LAC (NR)
124. Tony Allen, MEM (NR)
125. Andre Drummond, DET (NR)
126. J.J. Redick, MIL (79)
127. Luis Scola, PHO (121)
128. JaVale McGee, DEN (129)
129. Rodney Stuckey, DET (NR)
130. Andrew Bynum, PHI (130)
14.1: Rebounds per 48 minutes for the Rockets' newly acquired rookie Thomas Robinson. That puts him in the same category as players like David Lee (14.2), Joakim Noah (14.2), Greg Monroe (14.0) and Al Jefferson (13.6) as a rebounder on a per-minute basis. Granted, Robinson is still far too raw to be mentioned in the same sentence as the aforementioned players, but it is clear that he has a ton of upside, particularly as a rebounder. Robinson didn't really get a fair shake in Sacramento with 4.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 0.4 rebounds in only 15.9 minutes per game, and although he hasn't been the most efficient player, fantasy owners should be encouraged by his per-minute numbers given that he'll see a big increase in minutes in the Rockets' rotations.
2.5: Steals plus blocks per game for Orlando Magic rookie Moe Harkless after 11 games in the month of February. Harkless is an intriguing fantasy pickup for the remainder of the season thanks to his defensive abilities and recent increase in minutes. He's quietly posted 11.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.0 blocks and 0.4 3-pointers in 35.4 minutes this month, and he should be locked into consistent minutes after the J.J. Redick trade.
35.6: Minutes per game for Wizards rookie Bradley Beal over his past five games. After averaging 15.1 points, 0.9 steals and 2.1 3-pointers in the month of January, Beal is proving to be an absolute fantasy stud in the making with 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 2.2 3-pointers over his past five contests. It is becoming more and more clear that Beal is going to have a monster seconld half if he continues to earn 35 minutes per night for the Wizards.
10.5: Field goal attempts per game for Jeff Green in the month of February. Green has slowly but surely become a major factor for the Celtics since Rajon Rondo's injury and is now a must-own fantasy player with 16.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.8 steals, 1.8 blocks and 1.1 3-pointers over his past 11 games. Green, who missed all of last season after undergoing heart surgery, was a terrific multi-category fantasy producer for the Oklahoma City Thunder just two years ago, so his recent outburst is not completely unexpected. Grab him now if he's still available in your league for any reason.
33.2: Minutes per game for Sacramento guard Isaiah Thomas in the month of February. Thomas was a popular selection on draft day but was unable to find consistent minutes in the Kings regular rotation until coming on strong at the end of January. Once his minutes stabilized, Thomas has shown us exactly why everyone was so excited about him coming into the season with 19.1 points, 4.7 assists and 1.7 3-pointers in the month of February.
40.5: 3-point field goal percentage for Ty Lawson after 10 games in the month of February. Lawson was making me look pretty silly for ranking him inside my top 20 at the start of the season, but he started to turn his season around in early January, and has been a top-5 player on our Player Rater over the past 30 days. Averaging 22.7 points, 8.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 3-pointers while shooting 50.7 percent from the floor and 82.7 percent from the line over his past 10 games, Lawson is primed to deliver a huge second half for his fantasy owners.
70.6: Blake Griffin's free throw percentage in the month of February, making this the second month in a row that he's shot better than 70 percent from the free throw line. Blake's points and rebounds may be slightly down this year, but his overall fantasy game is much improved thanks to his free throw percentage and increased effort on the defensive end. His 18.2 points, 9.1 boards, 3.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 57.1 percent shooting from the floor puts him 27th on our Player Rater over the past month.
9.2: Assists per game for Jeff Teague in the month of February. Teague's owners already know this, but he's been one of the top fantasy point guards in the league since Lou Williams' injury with 18.0 points, 9.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.4 3-pointers while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 89.7 percent from the line over his past 10 games. Teague is locked in at the moment, and he should be able to continue his hot streak for the rest of the season after the Hawks failed to make any moves at the trade deadline.
13: 3-point field goal attempts in 21 games for John Wall. Wall has played exceedingly well of late with 14.4 points, 8.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks over his past 10 games, and while he's a terrific free throw shooter at 81.2 percent on the season, he still has two big fantasy deficiencies in his lack of 3-point shooting and poor field goal percentage. What's strange about Wall is that the overwhelming majority of his field goal attempts come from within the 3-point line, but he's still shooting just 41.1 percent on the season. It's nice to see that he understands his limitations from behind the arc, but he'll remain just outside the list of elite fantasy point guards until he improves either his field goal percentage or 3-point shooting.
2.5: Steals per game for Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio over his last 10 games. Rubio finally looks like he's fully recovered from last season's knee surgery, posting 13.5 points, 9.1 assists and 2.8 steals per game this month. Like John Wall, Rubio still has some major deficiencies in his fantasy repertoire, but we'll gladly overlook poor field goal percentage and lack of 3-pointers to obtain his big assist and steal numbers.