Fantasy hoops Week 4 outlook

By Eric Wong, RotoEvil.com, Special to SI.com

Given a full game's worth of minutes each night, rookie JaVale McGee has the makings of a player who could average 16.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a night. AP

Is JaVale "Lemonhead" McGee the most athletic center prospect since Dwight "Superman" Howard? And will Howard become the first player since Dikembe Mutombo to block four shots per game?

The Outlook goes around the league, team by team, and examines which players are hot and cold, and which players you should keep an eye on. The outlook for Week 4 suggests 98 players who are safe starts and 50 players who are borderline, so if your league is much smaller or larger, adjust accordingly. As always, let's start with a look at the schedules for the coming week.Listed first are the of games played for each team, followed by five teams with poor and favorable schedules.

Four games: ATL, BOS, CHI, DEN, HOU, LAC, LAL, MIL, OKC, POR, SAC, TOR, UTA, WAS

Three games: CHA, CLE, DAL, DET, GSW, IND, MEM, MIA, MIN, NJN, NOR, NYK, ORL, PHI, PHO, SAS

5 poor schedules

1. Phoenix Suns (3 games: @Utah, LA Lakers, Portland)
2. Minnesota Timberwolves (3 games: Philadelphia, Boston, @Detroit)
3. Orlando Magic (3 games: Toronto, @Indiana, Houston)
4. Indiana Pacers (3 games: Atlanta, Orlando, @Miami)
5. Toronto Raptors (4 games: @Orlando, @Miami, New Jersey, Boston)

5 favorable schedules

1. Los Angeles Clippers (4 games: San Antonio, @Oklahoma City, @Philadelphia, @New Jersey)
2. Portland Trail Blazers (4 games: @Golden State, Chicago, @Sacramento, @Phoenix)
3. Houston Rockets (4 games: @Oklahoma City, Dallas, @Washington, @Orlando)
4. New Orleans Hornets (3 games: Sacramento, @Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City)
5. Philadelphia 76ers (3 games: @Minnesota, LA Clippers, Golden State)

Top 3 long-term pickups

1. JaVale McGee, Wizards

In my Outlook for Week 3, I said that "JaVale McGee is worth picking up in case he gets more minutes," and sure enough, he averaged 25.5 minutes in two games last week. A lot of people are raving about this kid, from All-Stars like Chris Paul and Carlos Boozer, to RotoEvil forum members like catman2051. Despite all the hype, he's still owned in just 3.7 percent of ESPN leagues (say what?!) and 43 percent of CBS Sportsline leagues.

"Lemonhead" has played just 120 NBA minutes thus far, but he's totaled 56 points, 38 rebounds, 7 blocks, and (this is key) just 11 fouls. That translates to a rock solid 16.8 points, 11.4 rebounds (3.9 offensive), 2.1 blocks and 3.3 fouls per 36 minutes. While he's not going to average 36 minutes this season, he could very well play 24-30 minutes from now till the All-Star break, and perhaps 30-plus minutes afterwards. The Wizards are going to fall out of the playoff race early this season, so their youngsters could see extra run in the second half. If you want to reap the rewards later, you must pick him up now, because a couple more double-doubles and he'll likely be gone. FYI: In case you're wondering about the nickname, here's Caron Butler's take:

"Just look at him. You see the box of lemonheads and you see the little smiley face on there and you put that up to JaVale and he looks just like him. I mean identical. We've got Stewie, we've got Lemonhead. Man, we've got a lot of stuff going on around here."

2. Anthony Morrow, Warriors

LSU rookie Anthony Randolph has shown flashes of talent early on, but Georgia Tech rookie Morrow has stolen the spotlight. Morrow was given a chance to start on Saturday, and he responded with 37 points, 11 rebounds and four threes on 15-20 shooting from the field. Remember, it was against the Clippers, and the Warriors attempted a whopping 94 shots from the field, but Morrow is no slouch.

Over the summer, he was the MVP of the Rocky Mountain Revue, he made 44.8 percent of his three-pointers last year in college, and Don Nelson says he's the best pure shooter on the team. The 11 boards were a fluke (he averaged just 4.1 per game last season), and I'm not sure if he'll do much else besides score, but Morrow can shoot the lights out and is worth owning if he continues to get 32-plus minutes. Will that happen? Only Don Nelson knows.

3. Ryan Gomes, Timberwolves

Something strange happened on Sunday. Jason Collins started at center, but Gomes also started and played a season-high 35 minutes. He had a solid all-around line of 12 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal and 1 three. Randy Wittman likely will give him more playing time as a result. Corey Brewer's minutes have plummeted, so he's no longer in the picture. With the defensive-minded Collins now in at center, the Wolves need a versatile small forward who can knock down shots. That man is Gomes.

In 74 starts last season, the former Providence star averaged 30.7 minutes, 13.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, .8 steals and .8 threes with solid shooting percentages. Not eye-popping numbers by any means, but solid fantasy stats for a reliable backup player. He was likely dropped in most leagues due to his slow start, but Gomes is worth picking up if you need another forward.

Top 5 short-term fill-ins

For points and assists: Flip Murray, Hawks

I thought that Maurice Evans was going to be solid as Atlanta's sixth man, but it looks like Murray is the man to own instead. Believe it or not, he's averaging more points per game than Marvin Williams, Josh Smith and Al Horford! His 2.6 assists in just 25.7 minutes per game is pretty solid, and his 1.2 steals and 1.2 threes per game are career-best marks. With four games this week, Murray is a nice fill-in if you need guard help.

For steals and field-goal shooting: Trevor Ariza, Lakers

Last week I believed Ariza wasn't getting enough minutes to count on him yet, but since then, his playing time has gone up while Vladimir Radmanovic's has gone down. Radman is in a 5-for-22 slump, so Ariza looks like a solid pickup right now. Despite coming off the bench, he's currently tied for 10th in steals with Ron Artest and LeBron James (not bad company), and he's shooting over 50 percent from the field for the third season in a row. I kind of soured on him when he lost the starting small forward job in preseason, but his current stats have reminded me why I chose him to break out this season.

For threes and free-throw percentage: Daequan Cook, Heat and Adam Morrison, Bobcats

If you need treys, look no further than Cook, who has made 25 of them in just 10 games thus far. In fact, he's clearly more comfortable outside the arc than he is inside, because he's made 25-of-64 threes (39.1 percent), but just 10-of-30 on twos (33.3 percent). As a rookie, he didn't contribute much else besides outside shooting, but in his sophomore season, he's become a much tougher defender, thus ensuring himself a key spot in Miami's rotation.

It took a long time for him to bounce back, but Morrison is finally looking comfortable on the court again. The injury to Jason Richardson has opened up more minutes for him, and he's responded with 45 points and 7 threes in 75 total minutes in his last three games. The rest of his stats are virtually non-existent, but there's no denying his shooting touch. The Bobcats play just three times in Week 4, but they play a max of four games in weeks 5 thru 8, making him a nice short-term pickup.

For boards and blocks: Rasho Nesterovic, Pacers

Since returning from an ankle injury, Rasho has scored 32 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots in three games for Indiana. Even more impressive to me is that he's averaging 2.4 assists this season, which currently ranks him third among all centers (behind Brad Miller and Al Horford). While that number may decline a bit, it's a sign that he's comfortable with his new system and teammates, which in turn suggests that he'll continue to get solid minutes as the Pacers starting center.