Off the Glass

Artest leads list of midseason sleepers

Michael Jordan's influence is rubbing off on Ron Artest. Mitchell Layton/NBAEAllsport

By Paul Forrester, Special to CNNSI.com

Damn that Ron Artest! Nothing against the Chicago Bulls starting forward, but where was he when OTG tabbed him to lead our fantasy team to the Promised Land?

Granted, this was a year back and the Bulls were just embarking on the journey of confusion and madness head coach Tim Floyd led in pursuing the white whale known as an NBA win. But we had faith. We knew that the player who had helped St. John's deep into the NCAA Tournament had an NBA-quality game. But we just didn't have enough patience and, like the volleyball named Wilson in Cast Away,, Artest drifted off our radar screen.

Now, with a new captain named Bill Cartwright, Artest is Chicago's best player, which in and of itself doesn't sound like much, but the 16 points, six boards, one block and 50-percent field-goal shooting are numbers any team in the league -- real or fantasy -- would love. But we have no love for them, not when they are the property of rival GM Commissioner Hashimoto, a man whose dedication to Hakeem Olajuwon is matched only by his love for rotisserie sports. Still, we have to give the commish, and every other fantasy owner with the patience to stick with Artest, credit. Artest has emerged as one of the top commodities still available in many a roto league.

Midseason sleepers

By this point in the season, the free-agent talent pool usually is as barren as the stands at a Hawks game. But if you wait long enough, there are always a few flyers selected in the late rounds of the draft who, because of injury or a change in coaches, provide your club that extra boost that will fill out your stats or provide some tasty bait in the trade waters.

Eddie Griffin, for instance. Given plenty of PT during Steve Francis' injury, Griffin has been going nuts of late, notching almost 17 ppg, 10 rpg and a pair of 3s over each of the past eight games. He's also blocking shots like Dikembe Mutombo, as his six swats on the New York Knickerbockers attest.

Contrary to what OTG said last week (hey, it was right after the holidays; we were still in a food coma from all of the turkey and mocha cheesecake our girlfriend's mother served), DerMarr Johnson might be worth a long look-see. Atlanta head coach Lon Kruger has been shuffling lineups all season in an effort to save the Hawks' season, and his latest version has Johnson starting at the small forward spot -- and producing at a 13-point, four-rebound, two-trey clip. The risk lies in the still-teetering Hawks season, which hasn't exactly righted itself, a predicament that could spell more lineup shuffling. Of course, the return of a healthy Theo Ratliff (who reportedly returned to practice this week) might calm Kruger down a bit.

In and out of the doghouse for months, Corliss Williamson seems to have won head coach Rick Carlisle's heart -- for now -- in Detroit. While the former Razorback won't fill up a box score, he puts up some respectable power forward-like numbers with 13 ppg, 4 rpg and a 54 percent shooting percentage. With the Pistons skidding downhill, though, his playing time has been, and probably will remain, as dicey as a night in the city's Greektown neighborhood.

There may be no better team for a North Carolina alum to play for then the Wizards. Just ask Brendan Haywood, who has returned from an early-season injury into the welcoming arms of fellow Tar Heel alum Michael Jordan. Haywood hasn't yet made anyone forget about Wes Unseld, but his seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks off of the bench have relegated first overall NBA draft pick Kwame Brown to trade bait. With Doug Collins' club on a roll, Haywood figures to get steady work off the bench for the rest of the season.

When all the coaching changes and alumni contacts have dried up, there's nothing like a major injury to jump-start a player's season. Isn't that right, Chauncey Billups? Billups broke out a bit last year for Minnesota in the season's first half before being swallowed by the season's latter stages. This year began quietly, too, until starting point Terrell Brandon went under the knife, catapulting Billups into the floor general's rank. Billups has taken advantage of a blossoming Wally Szczerbiak and the always-potent Kevin Garnett to post more than seven dimes a night to go along with his 15 points and two 3s.

While the odds are that most of these midseason bloomers have been languishing on many a bench this year, their play of late hints at better things to come over the rest of the NBA campaign. Take the hint.

Mailbag

Mike Bibby has caused me no small amount of grief this season, what with his five-assist average being a full three dimes behind his career net. Early in the season, I thought the problem might be the absence of Chris Webber, a hole Bibby filled by scoring more and letting Vlade Divac distribute from the lane. But with Webber's return, Bibby's scoring dropped and his assists average rose ever so slightly.

What happened to the burst of production we all expected? According to one roto colleague of OTG known as the Mad Dawg, Bibby's lack of production dates to the second half of last season, when his assist totals with Vancouver went south long before his former team did. But with a new team full of plenty of scorers, Bibby should be the leading distributor in the league. But he isn't, a fact column supporter The Swami attributes to the style of ball Sacto plays. His theory holds that the Kings run their offense largely from the inside out, with a great many of their baskets coming on interior passes from Sacto's big men to teammates cutting into the lane. In addition, when the ball does find its way into the hands of an outside threat such as Peja Stojakovic, there's no immediate shot. Rather, Stojakovic will pump-fake, dribble once, stop, look and then shoot, thereby holding onto the ball so long that not even an official scorer in Utah could credit an assist.

As to the comebacks of the big men in Atlanta and Denver, we have more faith in McDyess, who doesn't have the injury history that Ratliff does. Of course, McDyess won't be back for another month, which may be too late for many teams.

Given Tim Hardaway's recent surge, is he worth playing with Michael Finley hurt, considering that he is finally playing something like the Hardaway of old?
-- Scott Mackey, Van, Texas

He may be playing something like the old Tim Hardaway, but make no mistake, he isn't the old Tim Hardaway. That doesn't mean he isn't worth a run if your team is short on 3s and could use a few more assists a night. But this is Steve Nash's team. Hardaway is good for that instant production off the bench and is a nice complement in deep rotations or if you're starting point is out (a la Mike Bibby). But barring an injury to the moppy-haired Nash, the Bug seems destined to play out his days off the bench.

Why are people overlooking Jason Kidd's low field-goal percentage? No one shooting under .400 should be applicable for the MVP!
-- Tony, Woodbridge, Va.

Unless he turns one of the league's perennial doormats into an Eastern Conference title contender, which is what Kidd has done with New Jersey. Outside of a soon-to-be-divorced forward in Washington, no one has had a bigger impact on his team than Kidd (Stephon who?). But your point has merit -- in a fantasy sense. As valuable as his assists are, Kidd has never quite cracked the untouchable category because of a career field-goal percentage that hovers around 40 and a pedestrian 14-point scoring average. Still, he is a regular in the first round and is welcome on my team anytime.

Related information
Stories
Off the Glass: Diving into the mailbag
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.