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About Justin Carter - RotoBaller
Justin Carter is PhD candidate in creative writing at the University of North Texas. He writes about the NFL, NBA, and the WNBA here on RotoBaller. If he's not watching those things, he's either teaching college English or watching NASCAR.
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Justin Carter - RotoBaller has written 1353 articles so far, you can find them below.
Fantasy Basketball Risers and Fallers: Week 21
Okay, so I think we need to talk about something real quick that has nothing to do with this column. That thing is this: JAMES HARDEN MADE WES JOHNSON FALL DOWN AND THEN HE JUST STOOD THERE AND THEN MADE SURE HE WAS BEHIND THE LINE AND THEN HE HIT A THREE. It was a... Read More
James Harden Leads Rockets In Scoring Against Clippers
Houston Rockets guard James Harden scored 25 points on Wednesday night, including a three-pointer that featured Wesley Johnson falling down followed by Harden stepping back and waiting a few seconds before taking the shot, as the Rockets beat the Clippers. Harden went seven of 14 from the field and added seven assists and three rebounds.... Read More
RB Efficiency Numbers - How Valid Are They?
There are a lot of stats out there that purport to give you an edge in your fantasy leagues. With more and more fantasy analysis out on the internet and more and more people looking for new ways to judge players, it becomes difficult to sort through how much certain statistics really matter in judging... Read More
Dillon Brooks Struggles Against Boston
Memphis Grizzlies small forward Dillon Brooks went just 2-for-10 from the field on Monday night, finishing the game with just six points. He added two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. After Brooks looked like one of the biggest steals of the draft for Memphis for a good chunk of the season, he's slowed down... Read More
JaMychal Green Has Double-Double Against Boston
Memphis Grizzlies forward JaMychal Green led Memphis in scoring with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting in Monday's loss to the Boston Celtics. Green also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. The 27-year-old forward is having his best season and had a double-double in four of the Grizzlies last five games. He has DFS value on Wednesday... Read More
Luc Mbah a Moute Has Big Night Off The Bench
Houston Rockets forward Luc Mbah a Moute played a key role on Monday night for Houston as they pulled away from the Utah Jazz to win 96-85. Mbah a Moute scored 17 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting night. He made a pair of three-pointers and ended up with an offensive rating of 230, by... Read More
Chris Paul Leads Houston In Assists Against Jazz
Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul led the Rockets in assists in their win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night, passing for seven of them while turning the ball over just twice. Paul also scored 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting. He pulled down six rebounds and was one of three Rockets players that recorded... Read More
James Harden Leads Houston In Points And Rebounds Against Jazz
Houston Rockets guard James Harden scored 26 points on 8-for-13 shooting on Monday night to lead the Rockets to a road win against the Utah Jazz. Playing in Utah on the second end of a back-to-back and with Eric Gordon and Clint Capela out, Houston's offense wasn't as effective as it is on some nights,... Read More
Fantasy Basketball Risers and Fallers: Week 20
The long, long wait for basketball to return from the All-Star Break is finally over, but it's a little difficult to use a one or two game sample as a way of telling you which players to pick up this week. Instead, I'll be giving you part two of what I started last week. What... Read More
Dirk Nowitzki Records Double-Double Against Utah
Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds on Saturday as the Mavericks fell to the Utah Jazz 97-90. The veteran Mavericks big man did this despite shooting just 1-for-7 from behind the three-point line. He was just 5-for-14 overall in 32 minutes of play. The Pacers defense has... Read More
J.J. Barea Leads Mavericks In Scoring Against Jazz
Dallas Mavericks point guard J.J. Barea led his team in scoring on Saturday night with 17 points, but it wasn't enough to get Dallas the victory over the Utah Jazz. Barea made eight of his 17 shot attempts and also dished out 12 assists. He also pulled down three rebounds and had a steal. Barea... Read More
Clint Capela Comes Up Big In Win Over Minnesota
Houston Rockets center Clint Capela scored 25 points in Friday's win over the Timberwolves, making 10 of his 11 shot attempts and going 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Capela also recorded a team-high 11 rebounds and blocked a shot. Capela has been a revelation for Houston at center this season, thriving for a team... Read More
James Harden Scores 31 Points Despite Struggles From Field
Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden scored 31 points in Houston's win over Minnesota on Friday, but that was thanks in large part to an excellent night from the free throw line, where Harden went 12-for-12. His field goal shooting was a different story, with the MVP candidate shooting just 8-for-24 from the field and... Read More
Jrue Holiday Nearly Records Double-Double Against Miami
New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday played a big role in his team's overtime win against Miami on Friday, scoring 29 points on 11-for -20 shooting and dishing out nine assists. Holiday also pulled down seven boards. Holiday actually ended the game with a nearly identical assist percentage as teammate and renowned passer Rajon Rondo--if... Read More
Ian Clark Has Huge Night Against Miami
New Orleans Pelicans guard Ian Clark played well off the bench on Friday against the Heat, finishing with 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting. Clark also contributed four rebounds, an assist, a block and a pair of steals. His offensive rating for the game was a mind-boggling 166. Clark has these nights on occasion, but they... Read More
Anthony Davis Scores 45 Points Against Miami
New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis had a historically great night in New Orleans overtime win against Miami on Friday night, scoring 45 points on 17-for-34 shooting while pulling down 17 rebounds and recording five blocks and five steals. It was Davis' fourth consecutive game with 38 or more points and 10 or more... Read More
Kawhi Leonard Could Miss Rest Of Season
San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (quadriceps) could miss the rest of the season, according to head coach Gregg Popovich. Leonard was a preseason MVP favorite and a top pick in almost every fantasy league, but he could finish this season with just nine games played. Reports indicate that team doctors have cleared Leonard... Read More
Aaron Gordon Returns But Will Be On Minutes Restriction
Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (hip) will return to the lineup on Thursday, but head coach Frank Vogel will be monitoring his minutes. Gordon is Orlando's best player and holds tremendous upside even with his minutes restricted, though, so he's worth plugging back into fantasy lineups. His upside moving forward may be capped somewhat as... Read More
Nikola Vucevic On Minutes Restriction Thursday
Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (hand) returns to the starting lineup on Thursday after a two-month absence, but head coach Frank Vogel says Vucevic won't play heavy minutes in his return to action. Vucevic is worth owning in all formats, but it might be a little tough to trust him until he gets back to... Read More
Robin Lopez Won't Play Thursday
Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez won't play in the team's first post All-Star break game on Thursday. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports that it is head coach Fred Hoiberg's decision to sit Lopez, who had started every game this season for the Bulls. In his absence, expect Cristiano Felicio to play major minutes,... Read More
Pau Gasol's Second-Half Fantasy Outlook
San Antonio Spurs center Pau Gasol has seen his fantasy stock lower this season, as the 37-year-old is averaging his lowest points per game of his career with 10.7. The veteran is still rebounding the ball well and is useful in some ways, but his shooting has grown more inconsistent as the season has worn... Read More
Dejounte Murray's Second-Half Fantasy Outlook
San Antonio Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray has been off to a strong start as the new starting point guard for the team. Murray finished with double-digit points in four consecutive games leading up to the All-Star break and has shown a knack for rebounding the ball well for his position. There are flaws in... Read More
LaMarcus Aldridge's Second-Half Fantasy Outlook
San Antonio Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge will continue to be the most important player for the Spurs for the foreseeable future with Kawhi Leonard (quadriceps) out for an undisclosed amount of time. Aldridge played well enough in the first half to make the All-Star game and is averaging 22.4 points per game this season,... Read More
Ryan Anderson's Second-Half Fantasy Outlook
Houston Rockets power forward Ryan Anderson has averaged 10 points and five rebounds per game on the season, but his inconsistency has made him a difficult player to trust for fantasy purposes. With Anderson's role with the Rockets recently reduced as well -- he's coming off the bench now -- the veteran stretch-four loses even... Read More
Fantasy Basketball Risers and Fallers: The All-Star Break
Hey y'all! We've reached the All-Star break, which means we don't have any basketball games again until next Thursday, unless you count the All-Star Game itself, which is technically basketball and technically will happen this week. Will this new format help the game? Probably not! We'll still see a final score somewhere in the 180-190... Read More
Joe Johnson Struggles In First Game As A Rocket
Houston Rockets forward Joe Johnson made his Rockets debut on Wednesday, scoring nine points on 2-for-9 shooting. Johnson struggled with his shot early and wasn't able to make a big difference for the Rockets, though he did play 31 minutes. The playing time should change after the All-Star break, as Eric Gordon (knee) and Trevor... Read More
James Harden Narrowly Misses Out On Triple-Double
Houston Rockets guard James Harden came up big for the Rockets in their Wednesday night victory over the Sacramento Kings, sending the Rockets into the All-Star break with a 44-13 record and sole possession of first place in the West. Harden scored 28 points on 7-for-19 shooting in the game. He also added nine rebounds... Read More
NFL Coaching Changes - Which Players Will Thrive?
A new NFL season naturally means new head coaches across the league. There will be seven new coaches roaming the sidelines next season, with four of them--Matt Nagy for the Bears, Frank Reich for the Colts, Pat Shurmur for the Giants, and Jon Gruden for the Raiders--coming in with backgrounds as offensive coaches. We have... Read More
Dirk Nowitzki Plays Well In Return To Lineup
Dallas Mavericks power forward/center Dirk Nowitzki missed his first game of the season on Sunday against the Rockets, but he returned to the lineup on Tuesday and scored 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting. The Mavericks legend also grabbed six rebounds and passed for three assists. Despite Dallas struggling this year, there's not much of a... Read More
Joffrey Lauvergne Scores 26 Points Against Nuggets
San Antonio Spurs center Joffrey Lauvergne scored a team-high 26 points in San Antonio's Tuesday night loss to the Nuggets. Lauvergne also pulled down 11 rebounds. It was Lauvergne's best game of the season by a mile, and he is unlikely to mean much in the long term. The Spurs are still fighting for a... Read More
