Drew’s weekly fantasy basketball recap

Players of Note:

Thaddeus Young (guard, Philadelphia) — The rookie has been on fire lately, shooting a scorching 80 percent from the field after four games in March. His point, rebound and steal numbers have been impressive in the month as well: 16, five and just under two, respectively. However, owners beware! Young Thaddeus will NOT convert on 80 percent of his shots for the rest of the season. As his offensive efficiency declines, so too will his playing time, points, rebounds … you name it.

Lebron James (Man-child/King, Cleveland) — You’ve probably never heard of this guy before, so I think it’s time that I gave him a little bit of exposure. Right before he informed reporters that he is now 6 foot 9 inches, 260 pounds (up from his already unfair listed dimensions of 6 foot 8 inches, 240 pounds), he scored 50 points in the World’s Most Famous Arena. The fans at the Garden gave him a standing ovation for his effort. Hey, they have to cheer for something.

Joe Johnson (guard, Atlanta) — JJ has not shot under 45 percent for a season since his 2003-04 campaign, his second to last in Phoenix. This season he’s shooting a dismal 41.6 percent. Thankfully, he finally seems to be rounding into form. After five games in March, he’s shooting 48.5 percent from the field, scoring 26 points, pulling down five boards and dishing out 5.6 assists per game. With the sort-of-recent acquisition of Mike Bibby — another veteran — Joe might feel a bit more inspired to play. Ask ‘Sheed: Not everyone tries their hardest every game of the regular season.

Nate Robinson (guard, New York) — Oowee! Nate Rob dropped a career high 45 points versus Portland on Saturday, and he only needed 28 shots to do so (extremely efficient performance from the career 42.3 percent field goal shooter). Did the Knicks win the game? No. But at least they pushed the barely-over-500-currently-out-of-the-playoffs Trailblazers to overtime. Side note: Eddy Curry may be out for the season with a knee injury. Stay tuned …

Mehmet Okur (center, Utah) — Okur has been battling injuries all season (and it had been affecting his play), though he finally seems to be feeling alright (to say the least). His averages over the past five games: 21 points, 12 rebounds, 2.2 3-pointers and 58 percent from the field.

Elton Brand (forward, L.A. Clippers) — Depending on whom you talk to, Elton will suit up for the Clippers next week (various reports), in a month (coach Dunleavy), or not at all (Sam Cassel). My guess is that he’ll play in his first game in two weeks. This is a nice transition into the reader question:

Reader Question:

Hey Drew, whom do you have on your fantasy team?

— Yohav

I’ll get right down to it: I commission a 10 team league, 16 roster spots per team. My guards are Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Manu Ginobili, Kirk Hinrich, Devin Harris, Rafer Alston, Nate Robinson and Mike Bibby. The forwards: Josh Smith, Gerald Wallace, Andrei Kirilenko (historically, the ultimate steal/block trio — something that I always wanted on my team), Elton Brand and Luis Scola. My centers are Emeka Okafor and Tim Duncan. My team is currently in first place by five games in the 8-category head-to-head league. I will give away my strategy, right here, right now. I do lots and lots of two-for-one trades. At the beginning of the season, there are so many unknowns, there are bound to be players that are not owned who end up turning into top-six round draft pick value. I do trades in which I give up two players and get back one player (or three for two, etc.) that might be only slightly better than the two player I give up (overall I lose a lot of value). But the probability that there will eventually be a free agent that I can pick up whose value is as high as a player drafted in the sixth round (who I might trade along with another player drafted in the fifth round for a player drafted in the third round in order to free up a roster spot for a free agent). For example, I got Rafer Alston, Devin Harris, Mike Bibby, Elton Brand and TJ Ford from the free agent pool at a point during the season when their stocks were very low. As long as you can stomach a few injuries (Elton Brand, Mike Bibby, TJ Ford were all free agents when injured in my league) and still get yourself in the playoffs, I recommend you use this format to help you win the playoffs (assuming a head-to-head format).

Last but not least, congrats to Dirk Werner Nowitzki from Wurzberg, Germany for becoming the Mavs’ all-time leading scorer after netting 34 points against the Nets on March 8, 2008.