The most important time of the fantasy basketball season is upon us and the studs are starting to drop like flies. Further worries crept up with Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins today, and as an owner, there's not much you can do about it. If you own James Harden, though, 50 points feels pretty sweet.

THE WRIGHT STUFF

For a few years, my fantasy basketball brain has been aching for Brandan Wright to get a gig as a starting center somewhere in the NBA, given his quality production in a limited, reserve role. At times this season, it appeared he would never get that chance, traded twice, finally ending up in Phoenix, behind Alex Len and Miles Plumlee. But with Plumlee in Milwaukee and Len down with another ankle injury, Jeff Hornacek finally decided to give Wright the job and let him run with it, instead of going small and playing Markieff Morris at center for extended chunks. Wright blocked seven shots Thursday, adding 16 points (8-10 FG) and eight rebounds, and has been prolific in his last three games. In those games, he's averaged 12.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks, shooting 81 percent from the field. Efficiency has always been one of Wright's strengths, so while 81 percent seems ludicrous, it's not that much higher than his 67 percent he's shooting for the season, and I use the term shooting very loosely. For now, at least until Len, returns, Wright is going to give you great big man stats, available for cheap on your waiver-wire.

M.I.A.

These guys all sat out Thursday's action, for one reason or another.

• Timberwolves
  • Gary Neal (ankle)
  • Nikola Pekovic (ankle)
  • Ricky Rubio (ankle)
  • Kevin Garnett (knee)
  • Justin Hamilton (migraine)
• Knicks
  • Tim Hardaway (wrist)
  • Cleanthony Early (wrist)
  • Jose Calderon (Achilles)
• Rockets
  • Dwight Howard (knee)
  • Jason Terry (hamstring)
• Pelicans
  • Ryan Anderson (knee)
  • Anthony Davis, (ankle)
  • Jrue Holiday (leg)
• Suns
  • Brandon Knight (ankle)
  • Alex Len (ankle)
• Lakers
  • Robert Sacre (DNP-CD)
  • Nick Young (knee)

FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT

James Harden is very hard to top. In the MVP race, in terms of fantasy value, in terms of most glorious beard, he sits right at the pinnacle of most categories. A career high 50 points (12-27 FG, 4-14 3Pt, 22-25 FT) will garner you the line of the night most nights, but add in 10 rebounds, four assists and one steal and it's an easy choice. Well done, James Harden, may you and your beard grow long and prosper.

ROTATION NOTES AND QUIRKS

The minutes were off the charts for the Timberwolves, given it was a double-overtime game and the T-Wolves were missing five rotation players. That's great for the value of who's left, but Chase Budinger getting 43 minutes, don't get too excited and buy into it. Budinger had 10 points with six rebounds and four steals Thursday, but he's not someone I really want to go adding to my roster.

Zach LaVine got the start with Ricky Rubio sitting again after starting Wednesday and LaVine looked impressive, scoring 20 points with seven rebounds and four assists, with a three-pointer, a steal and a block. His value will yo-yo with Rubio's status, but on days when you know Rubio is out, LaVine is the only guy they'll be running with and should be streamed in.

The Knicks are running a fairly settled rotation these days, which isn't something that could be said for the majority of the season. Alexey Shved and Langston Galloway are carrying the Knicks at the moment, both playing over 40 minute and producing big lines. Shved had 20 points, five rebounds and six assists, while Galloway had 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals and at this time, you could make a case that both players should be owned in most leagues. If Jose Calderon returns, which appears very unlikely, some value would be lost, but for now, it appears both Shved and Galloway will be solid options the rest of the way.

After the Nuggets' resting strategy was put into execution Monday, Kenneth Faried, Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari all re-entered the starting lineup Thursday, at the expense of Jameer Nelson, Darrell Arthur and Jusuf Nurkic. Nurkic is the name to note here, as the Nuggets went small again, limiting the rookie to only 12 minutes, with three points, three rebounds, one steal and one block. While his upside is palpable, it's pretty much impossible to own him in most leagues given his current role. Faried and Lawson returned with double-doubles in their usual manner, while Gallinari struggled a little, getting just 10 points with three rebounds. Despite an underwhelming line, Gallinari still must be owned, which I hope is obvious.

The Rockets lost Terrence Jones early, after suffering a knee to the ribs and after the game, coach Kevin McHale said Jones will be 'done for a little bit', which definitely doesn't sound promising. An overnight stay in hospital adds to that dread, and depending on your standing in the playoffs, you may need to cut Jones. On the positive side, Donatas Motiejunas and Josh Smith are the last men standing in the Rockets' front court, if you don't count Joey Dorsey, which you shouldn't. Both Smith and Motiejunas should now be heavily considered in all leagues, if they weren't already. Smith added 12 points with three blocks and Motiejunas, who only scored seven points, added nine rebounds, and three steals. A good sign was the fact that Motiejunas took the third highest total of shots on the team and if he converted better than 30 percent, he would've had a very impressive night.

More injuries in New Orleans, with Anthony Davis missing the game due a sprained ankle suffered in shootaround. Omer Asik then lasted just 18 minutes before leaving with a strained calf and both are questionable for Saturday's game. If Asik misses, it's hard to hold onto him. Enter Alexis Ajinca. With no Davis, Asik and Ryan Anderson, Ajinca will be the most talented big man left and could be someone you could stream in for some big numbers, particularly rebounds and blocks. He had 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and one block in 26 minutes Thursday, but he's a name I'd be looking to for the short-term..

Dante Exum and Rodney Hood remained in the starting lineup, but combined to shoot 0-for-11 and thus, both rookies played only 22 minutes a piece. That's two straight games in which the rookie duo has struggled. If you added Hood, I'd feel comfortable dropping him for a streaming option with full knowledge that he could easily drain four three-pointers in his next outing.

At this point in the season, making sense of the Lakers' rotation is an exercise in guesswork and Thursday was no different. Relying on anyone outside of Jordan Clarkson, and to a lesser extent, Jeremy Lin, is stuff failed fantasy seasons are made of.

BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES

With no Kevin Garnett, Nikola Pekovic and Justin Hamilton, Gorgui Dieng played 48 of a possible 53 minutes, and stuffed the stat sheet, with 19 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and six blocks and he will have significant value the rest of the way with the re-appearance of Pekovic a pipe dream at this point.

Andrea Bargnani is locked in as a starter, and doesn't have a huge ceiling, but his ability to score and block shots as well be an efficient shooter mean Bargnani is someone most leagues want to consider.

Wilson Chandler put in a complete performance for one of the lines of the night, scoring 23 points with six rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block. Chandler is currently shooting the lights out, knocking down 57 percent of his shots in his last seven games, which is not sustainable, but his ability to contribute across the board and his steady role, make Chandler someone who needs to be owned, despite his shaky injury history.

Randy Foye has taken hold of the starting shooting guard job, reducing Will Barton to standard league irrelevance. Foye scored 23 points with five three-pointers and six assists and his 19.7 points, 3.7 three-pointers, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals in his last three, place Foye in the top 20 of fantasy rankings for the past week. He's not THAT good, but new coach Melvin Hunt wants him as his shooting guard and that means something. It means that you need to look at Foye as a solid addition to your team. If you added Barton last week, he can safely be dropped as his spot is better used rotating players through considering Hunt's preference to use his starting five big minutes.

Corey Brewer has bizarrely become the chairman of the board, pulling down 22 combined rebounds in his last two games and with the injuries mounting in Houston, his versatility is key for this squad. That means you can rely of relatively consistent minutes for him, but which Brewer will you get? The elite defender, who gives you steals? The oddly streaky three-point shooter? Or this new rebounding machine? Either way, Brewer may be a nice option while Jason Terry remains out and Jones is sidelined.

Marcus Morris played 40 minutes, which we love, pulled down 13 rebounds, which we love, put shot 1-for-11 for only two points, which, we don't love quite as much. Still, while Brandon Knight is out, Morris is the preferred option in the starting lineup and that should be exploited by fantasy owners. He has fit just 13 percent of his free throws over the last seven games, so if that leaves an unpalatable taste in your mouth, you can look elsewhere. P.J. Tucker grabbed 12 rebounds in another great performance from the guard and he should be owned in most places, although, he isn't.

Rudy Gobert had his 10 game double-digit rebounding streak snapped, grabbing just seven boards against the hopeless Lakers. He also attempted just one field goal, which he hit, to finish with three points and added three blocks. Not his most impressive game, but he can be forgiven after his huge nights of late.

Jordan Clarkson tied a career-high with eight assists, adding eight points and five rebounds and weirdly, he is the Lakers' best player at this point in the season, but that doesn't necessarily qualify him as a must-own player.

NIGHTLY LEADERS

Points

1. James Harden, G, HOU, 50 points
2. Wilson Chandler, F, DEN, 23 points
3. Randy Foye, G, DEN, 23 points

Rebounds

1. Omer Asik, C, NOP, 14 rebounds
2. Marcus Morris, F, PHX, 13 rebounds
3. Kenneth Faried, F, DEN, 12 rebounds
4. P.J. Tucker, G, PHX, 12 rebounds

Assists

1. Ty Lawson, G, DEN, 10 assists
2. Jordan Clarkson, G, LAL, 8 assists
3. Patrick Beverley, G, HOU, 7 assists

Steals

1. Gordon Hayward, F, UTA, 4 steals
2. Chase Budinger, F, MIN, 4 steals
3. Eric Bledsoe, G, PHX, 4 steals

Blocks

1. Brandan Wright, C, PHX, 7 blocks
2. Gorgui Dieng, C, MIN, 6 blocks
3. Josh Smith, F, HOU, 3 blocks
4. Rudy Gobert, C, UTA, 3 blocks

Three-Pointers

1. Randy Foye, G, DEN, 5-12 3Pt
2. James Harden, G, HOU, 4-12 3Pt
3. Jameer Nelson, G, DEN, 4-5 3Pt

Minutes

1. Gorgui Dieng, C, MIN, 48 minutes
2. Kevin Martin, G, MIN, 44 minutes
3. Alexey Shved, G, NYK, 43 minutes
4. Andrew Wiggins, F, MIN, 43 minutes
5. Chase Budinger, F, MIN, 43 minutes