Welcome to another edition of The Hidden Truth. Today, we will take a look at steals. Here we have another fantasy category that is often overlooked, but is just as important as anything else. When you prepped for your draft, did you even look at steals? Would that even sway your decision for picking up a free agent? Do keep in mind that steals are usually a guard-oriented category; you do not get much help from your big guys. For that reason, there is no sense listing every centre in a list of dudes that don’t get steals. Instead, I will take you through three different lists.

10 Studs that Steal

This is the cream of the crop as far as steals go. They are all lock-em-up fantasy starters every week, with the exception of Mario Chalmers, who is a borderline fantasy starter. Consider this group the board of the Thievery Corporation.

1. Chris Paul, G, New Orleans Hornets: – 2.7 steals per game. Besides stealing basketballs from fellow NBAers, he is stealing Right Guard money for those awful commercials. I don’t care about Paul’s pits.

2. Jason Kidd, G, Dallas Mavericks – 2.2 steals per game. J-Kidd may be a fading star in the NBA, but there are several things he still does well, and creating turnovers is one of them.

3. Dwyane Wade, G, Miami Heat – 2.1 steals per game. Flash fills the passing lanes and comes up with over a couple steals per game. [As an aside, RotoRob had a dream the other night that he was Dwyane Wade and was playing a game of halfcourt using a 45 RPM record instead of a basketball. Can someone explain that, please?]

4. Rajon Rondo, G, Boston Celtics – 2.0 steals per game. Rondo has a large wingspan coupled with big hands that allows him to pick the pocket of his opponent with ease. You’ve been “Rondo’ed.”

5. Mario Chalmers, G, Miami Heat – 1.9 steals per game. Chalmers is the lone rookie on this list. He has had a fairly solid freshman campaign beneath the wing of  D-Wade, who has taught him a thing or two about NBA thievery.

6. LeBron James, F, Cleveland Cavaliers – 1.8 steals per game. What stat cat doesn’t King James fill?

7. Gerald Wallace, F, Charlotte Bobcats – 1.8 steals per game. Wallace is an ultra-athletic three man who contributes on both ends of the floor.

8. Baron Davis, G, Los Angeles Clippers – 1.8 steals per game. B Diddy could not shoot a beach ball into the Atlantic Ocean this year, but he still plays some D and comes up with loose balls. It also should be noted that he is stealing millions of dollars from Donald Sterling.

9. Ron Artest, F, Houston Rockets – 1.7 steals per game. Ron-Ron is a premier defender in the NBA who has always ranked high in steals. Even on one strong ankle, he’s still a stud in this cat.

10. Andre Iguodala, G, Philadelphia 76ers – 1.7 steals per game. Iggy helps your fantasy squad in many ways, including pitching in in the steals department.

10 Studs Who Should Get Steals, But Don’t

This is a list of guys that may surprise you with their theft ineptitude. If you have one of these guys, this does not mean you should cut or trade them. Simply realize that maybe you are lacking production in steals because of these guys.

1. Tayshaun Prince, F, Detroit Pistons – 0.5 steals per game. Prince is a lengthy defender that I would think would average at least 1.5 steals a game, but he’s never recorded more than 0.8 SPG in any one season.

2. Michael Beasley, F, Miami Heat – 0.5 steals per game. Beasley was dominant last year in college, but I am not really seeing the production and energy this year. That extends to the defensive end, where he has struggled at times.

3. Aaron Brooks, G, Houston Rockets – 0.6 steals per game. This lighting quick point guard is getting a chance to start now that Rafer Alston has been traded. It is a surprise, however, to see his steals down so far, seeing that he plays so fast and low to the ground.

4. D.J. Augustin, G, Charlotte Bobcats – 0.6 steals per game. This rookie is having a decent year, but has not gotten the steals one may think. His shot is starting to come around and he will improve his defense over the next few seasons, but don’t expect big steal numbers this year.

5. Raja Bell, G, Charlotte Bobcats – 0.6 steals per game. This is may be the most surprising guy on the list for me. Bell is a great defender but does not get steals, unlike Artest.

6. Steve Nash, G, Phoenix Suns – 0.7 steals per game. The aging Canadian national has never averaged over a steal a game during his stint in Phoenix. This may be a surprise to some seeing as how Paul, a guard with similar vision, averages over 2.5.

7. Richard Jefferson, F, Milwaukee Bucks – 0.7 steals per game. I would have thought that Jefferson would be over a steal a game, but apparently not.

8. Jamal Crawford, G, Golden State Warriors – 0.8 steals per game. Crawford is the ultimate gunner. He could give you 20 points, but he only throws in the occasional rebound, assist, steal, or block.

9. Ben Gordon, G, Chicago Bulls – 0.8 steals per game. See Crawford, Jamal.

10. Al Thornton, F, Los Angeles Clippers – 0.8 steals per game. Thornton is an improving player, but does not get very many steals. He does average nearly a block a game, so he does have a defensive presence.

10 Possible Free Agents who get Steals

Here is a list of guys that you can use for some spot starts or to fill in a hole. If you check you league standings and see points to gain in the steals department, it could not hurt to throw in a few spot starts with these guys, if they are available in your league.

1. Trevor Ariza, F, Los Angeles Lakers – 1.62 steals per game. Ariza has active hands and an improving perimeter game.

2. Ronnie Brewer, F, Utah Jazz – 1.63 steals per game. Brewer, who also made an appearance on the top FG percentage list, fills the steals category on a regular basis.

3. Delonte West, G, Cleveland Cavaliers – 1.49 steals per game. Now that Redz is back from injury, he is looking to contribute in points, assists, and steals.

4. Luke Ridnour, G, Milwaukee Bucks – 1.35 steals per game. Ridnour is sharing time with Ramon Sessions, but is a decent stopgap that can give you points, assists, and steals on a pretty regular basis.

5. Derek Fisher, G, Los Angeles Lakers – 1.27 steals per game. The Laker fans love Fisher, and so will you if you give him a spot start and he knocks down a few threes and throws in a few steals.

6. C.J. Watson, G, Golden State Warriors – 1.27 steals per game. It is always dangerous to mix fantasy basketball and Don Nelson. Proceed with caution.

[edit]7. Anthony Parker, G, Toronto Raptors – 1.24 steals per game. Parker is available in most leagues, and he puts up decent numbers, especially in steals. If I were Parker, I would never have time to get any steals because I would be too busy throwing up thinking about how Shelden Williams knocked up my sister. How gross.

8. Jamario Moon, F, Miami Heat – 1.13 steals per game. I think Moon could be a great fit in Miami. He could be worth a long term pick up if he continues to start.

9. Ronald Murray, G, Atlanta Hawks – 1.04 steals per game. Murray has been getting decent run lately. He can score and get you over a steal per game, too!

10. Jordan Farmar, G, Los Angeles Lakers – 1.05 steals per game. I think Farmar will start to get more and more minutes down the stretch. The Lakers will need him in the playoffs, and he provides energy, shooting, and defense on a pretty consistent basis.

With all this said, steals is just another category that you should consider when making any fantasy moves. Most people, I would say, tend to ignore steals, but there are roto points to be gained by those who pay attention to….The Hidden Truth.

Welcome to the first edition of The Hidden Truth, a new NBA fantasy column in which I will be focusing on exposing the stats and players that win fantasy leagues. For instance, everyone knows Allen Iverson can hoop, but what are the consequences of starting him in your fantasy league? Does he shoot a high percentage? For those Roto-lovers out there, all categories are equal. First place in steals is the same as first place in points. So let’s dive in!

The first edition of this column will focus on field goal percentage. It is evident that if you take more shots farther from the rim, your shooting percentage is usually lower, so you have to take these rankings with a grain of salt. Just because Chauncey Billups shoots a low percentage does not make him a worse fantasy player than Ronnie Brewer, who is in the top 10 in FG percentage. To build a championship fantasy hoops squad, you must be balanced, but it does help to have guys with high field goal percentages at all positions.

Today we will look at the guards.

Top 10 High Percentage Finishers

1. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics (50.3%): The Celtic point guard is a solid fantasy player as he puts up decent points, assists, rebounds, and steals, but he shines in the field goal percentage category. This is a product of taking good shots in a good system, but man has he ever come a long way from his rookie season when his shooting was considered a major weakness.

2. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets (49.6%): Mr. Do-it-all also does not miss too often.

3. Ronnie Brewer, Utah Jazz (49.5%): Jerry Sloan likes this slasher because he gets good shots. People may see him as a role player, but he is averaging over 13 PPG this season.

4. Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors (49.4%): Calderon does it a little differently — even though he is more of an outside shooter than Rondo or Tony Parker, he will help you in FG percentage just as much.

5. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs (49.4%): The Frenchman has perfected his 15-to-18 foot jumper from dead-on. This compliments his drives to the basket which create high percentage layups.

6. Ray Allen, Boston Celtics (49.1%): For a guy who chucks up threes at an alarming rate, it is a surprise that Ray-Ray clocks in at sixth on the list. I think people discount all of the layups he gets on baseline drives after doing a pump fake.

7. Andre Miller, Philadelphia 76ers (47.9%): The steady point guard always finds a way to take good shots.

8. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat (47.8%): Flash is back and he is doing his thing.

9. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers (47.5%): Kobe makes more difficult shots than anyone in the league.

10. Brandon Roy, Portland Trail Blazers (47.4%): Roy has a nice jumper, but he also can finish near the rim, as we saw on his dramatic game-winning bucket against the Knicks recently.

Honourable mention: Derrick Rose (47.3%), Leandro Barbosa (47.2%), Mike Miller (47.2%), Deron Williams (47.2%), Steve Nash (46.8%), Mo Williams (46.8%)

Note: Jameer Nelson was shooting over 50 per cent from the field, but he is now out for the season, so he was not included on this list.

Top 10 Clankers

1. Baron Davis, Los Angeles Clippers (35.2%): Too many bad shots coupled with injury problems has left B-Diddy as a bust this season.

2. Tracy McGrady (38.8%), Houston Rockets: T-Mac loves to shoot and can be very streaky. Now, he’s on the shelf.

3. Raymond Felton, Charlotte Bobcats (39.4%): Will learn to take better shots.

4. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder (40.7%): The former UCLA guard will get better with time as he works off Durant.

5. Randy Foye, Minnesota Timberwolves (40.9%): Nobody in American has seen all of the misses. Have the Timberwolves ever played on national TV?

6. Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets (41.6%): Mr. Big Shot is also Mr. Big Miss, but in fairness, he shoots a lot of three balls, and that hurts his percentage.

7. Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks (41.6%): His jumper is as ugly as his kid.

8. Jamal Crawford, Golden State Warriors (41.7%): This baller could drop 30 points or shoot under 30 per cent on any given night.

9. Kevin Martin, Sacramento Kings (41.9%): He forces it a lot, but then again the Kings do suck, so who else is going to chuck it up?

10. Allen Iverson, Detroit Pistons (42.1%): AI has always been a “volume” shooter…everywhere he goes.

Dishonourable mention: Mike Conley (42.4%), Chris Duhon (42.4%), Derek Fisher (42.4%), Mario Chalmers (42.6%), Roger Mason (42.7%), Joe Johnson (43.3%), Nate Robinson (43.8%), Vince Carter (43.9%).

As mentioned before, this list does not determine a player’s overall worth. It is just one factor you should consider when building your fantasy lineup. Also, bear in mind that I tried to focus on fantasy relevant players. I am not going to argue if you say Daniel “Booby” Gibson should be on the list because his percentage is lower than Billups. However, in my mind, anyone named Booby should be a fantasy free agent.

Next: On Wednesday, we’ll take a look at the top-shooting and worst-shooting Forwards.

What the hell is wrong with the Los Angeles Clippers? Badly beaten up, and just plain beaten down, this team has nothing to look forward to except the lottery, yet suddenly – in the midst of a brutal seven-game road trip – they decide to go on a run. Saturday, the Clippers absolutely molested the Hawks, just one night after bitchslapping the Grizzlies. Are you trying to hurt your chance at Blake Griffin, people?

Don’t look now, but this two-game winning streak has vaulted the Clippers out of the Western Conference cellar and past the Kings. The Clips finish their road trip Tuesday in Charlotte against the struggling Bobcats before heading home for a date against the Knicks, who have cooled off tremendously. It’s not inconceivable that LA will run the table between now and the All-Star break. And if that’s the case, the Clippers will likely catch the 13th place Thunder, which is also playing decently lately.

Hell, this is a team that had dropped 11 straight games away from Staples Center before Friday. Now, it’s won two in a row without the need for home cooking, improving its road mark to 7-19. And it’s one thing to beat Memphis, but Atlanta? The Hawks haven’t exactly been tearing it up lately, but are still one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. Get this: the last time the Clippers put together back-to-back wins was December 16 (26 freaking games ago). Break up the Clippers, baby!

One thing that has confused me about this winning streak: where the hell has this shooting been all season for the Clippers? We are talking about the NBA’s worst shooting team, yet they managed to drain 59 per cent against Memphis (a middling defensive team) and sink 49-of-86 (57 per cent) against Atlanta, which isn’t a bad defensive team either. Saturday, Marcus Camby drained 6-of-7 for the second time in three games; Al Thornton continued his recent hot streak by canning 13-of-22; Ricky Davis, who has also found his stroke the past couple of games, nailed 4-of-7 off the bench. Charlotte isn’t quite as good defensively as the Hawks, so maybe we’ll see more of this on Tuesday.

Could Davis be worth a pickup now? He scored a dozen points Saturday (thanks to four 3-pointers) while adding three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Buckets has been an awful disappointment this season, and a knee injury last month didn’t help matters, but he’s now reached double digits in scoring in back-to-back games, providing the Clipper second unit with a much-needed offensive kick in the ass. Davis is starting to see more PT, and if he is regularly receiving 25 minutes or more (and can shoot nearly as well as he has been lately), he can definitely provide a boost for your squad, especially if his outside game – a major bust so far this season – is coming around (and 10 treys in two games suggests it is). It’s worth noting that much of Davis’ production has come in the back-to-back blowout wins, and he might have gotten more burn than normal as a result, yet he’s done enough to deserve extra PT as the sixth man, so see if his minutes remain high in closer games.

Before we scoff at the Clippers’ sudden success, remember that they are almost finally back to full strength after a season-long battle with health issues. The only significant member of the rotation still missing is Chris Kaman, a thorn in my side, and I’m sure plenty of other fantasy owners. The latest report on Kaman still has him on track to return after the All-Star break, leaving us no choice but to be patient. If you’ve held him this long, what the hell else can you do? Pick up JaVale McGee off the wire? Oh wait, I already did that once I learned that Andrew Bogut’s back was conspiring against my team.

You think Zach Randolph is enjoying life back on the West Coast? In 80 games with the Knicks last season and this season, he never once scored 30 points in a game. Yet, despite his injuries, he’s done it five times in just 18 games as a Clipper. We’ll see what happens when (if) Kaman returns, but for now Z-Bo is a scoring machine.

Baron Davis has struggled offensively in recent games, but he’s still facilitating – dropping eight dimes for the second straight game.

Back when we recommended him as a wire pickup in November, we suggested that Eric Gordon would experience the normal rookie ups and downs. For the most part, he’s been quite steady, but the return of Randolph has definitely affected Gordon’s touches, as he’s taking an average of six shots less per game so far this month. Hope you sold high when you could. Don’t get me wrong. The kid is still valuable (especially if he keeps shooting as well as he has lately), but Gordon won’t be carrying the team offensively the way he did in January, when he put himself in the thick of the ROY race by averaging 21.9 PPG.

Three seasons ago, the Clippers won 47 games with an exciting young team that not only made the playoffs, but actually finished ahead of the Lakers. Suddenly, the Clips were no longer simply LA’s “other team.” However, that distinction has been seriously short-lived, especially with the Lakers back in championship contention over the past couple of years. Since then, the Clippers have slipped to 40 wins and then just 23 last year. This season, they will be extremely hard-pressed to even reach 20 wins, and a third straight season on the sidelines come playoff time is pretty well assured. Just two teams are scoring fewer points, and the defense – while slightly better this season – is still among the worst in the NBA. They’ve dropped two straight games (including a 25-point bitch slapping at the hands of Portland on Monday), and 16 of their past 18. Simply put, there’s not much hope here. But wait…with the underachieving and currently struggling badly Bulls (winners of just five road games) heading to town Wednesday night, LA has a pretty darned good chance to earn its 11th win of the season. Eight-place Dallas better start looking over its shoulder. Uh…maybe not.

Unfortunately, beating the Bulls at home hasn’t been easy for the Clips – they’ve dropped two of their past three games against Chicago at the Staples Center. Overall, LA has lost its past two games vs. Chicago.

LA actually had a decent chance to win on Monday against a powerful Trail Blazer team. It was down by only four points headed in the final stanza, but didn’t exactly start that fourth quarter like it meant it, with Portland opening up on a 15-3 run and outscoring the Clippers 36-15 for the quarter. Ugh. LA couldn’t defend a thing in that game, with Portland shooting 58 per cent from the field – the highest any opponent has scored against the Clips this season. That’s an area LA has actually been middling at this season, holding opponents to 45.44 per cent for the season, good for 15th in the NBA. If that component of the Clipper game starts to fold, things may get even uglier and they may soon find themselves having an even better chance in the Blake Griffin sweepstakes.

Coach Mike Dunleavy must be ready to pull his hair out. Oh, wait…never mind. Injuries have decimated this team – currently, Marcus Camby, Mardy Collins, Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Zach Randolph and Mike Taylor are all out. Jason Hart just returned after missing five games with an elbow injury, and Brian Skinner lost a pair of tilts on the weekend because of the flu. But it’s not as if they were kicking ass when healthy. This team jumped out of the gates with an 0-6 record and only got worse from there.

Randolph has been out since late-December with a knee injury. He started the season with the Knicks and was scoring well (20.5 PPG) before a big trade sent him west. After joining the Clips, Z-Bo lost some of his aggressiveness (just 4.5 trips to the line per game), but he was scoring even more and had been playing seriously heavy minutes in the weeks leading up to his injury. Randolph was well on his way to justifying our pre-season pick as a top 15 forward, but the injury has robbed him of his value, and he’s barely in the top 75 now. Fortunately, he’s expected back within the week, so keep your fingers crossed that he’ll be able to bounce back.

Despite missing nine games this season – I guess it was insane to imagine he’d be able to match the career-high 79 games he played in last season – Camby has delivered on our projection as a top 10 centre. He’s been out the past week and half with an ankle injury, and the timing was awful, as Camby was getting more touches than usual with all the wounded Clippers. He’s expected to return some time during the upcoming road trip – great news because the Cambyman was in the midst of a career year, so his owners have to be praying he can avoid another serious injury for the rest of the season. We have our doubts – especially since there’s really nothing to play for this season.

Kaman’s foot injury is one that I have personally been affected by as he was helping to anchor my frontcourt until going down on November 26. You can’t replace a wild Mountain man, and I haven’t given up on him being able to help me bounce back towards a playoff spot, so I’ve hung on to him and sucked up a roster spot for the past two months. Fun! Of course, long-time Kaman owners know that injuries are nothing new. In fact, since playing all 82 as a rook, he’s been unable to avoid injury in the five subsequent seasons. In the early going, Kaman had not been building on his career performance from 2007-08, not a shock considering he had been seeing less action with Camby and Z-Bo in town. There had been plenty of talk that Kaman was on the block – something that would have helped all three players – but the injuries to the entire trio has nixed that for the time being.

Sophomore Al Thornton has been asked grow up real fast, and for the most part, he’s done well in this baptism by fire. His hot January continued on Monday with 23 points and three steals, the third time in the past four tries he’s reached 20 or better. Thornton’s numbers are up virtually across the board this year, and I’m most impressed by the fact he’s turned himself into a block per game man. There’s a chance in a shallower league that he’s available, so take a peek if you’re in one of those mini leagues.

Here’s a Clipper to put on your radar and possibly even scoop up if your league is deep enough: Steve Novak. We’ve always known he’s a tremendous shooter, but getting PT hasn’t been easy for him so far. However, he’s another one who has benefited from all the injuries, playing significant minutes lately, and responding with five straight double-digit scoring efforts. Novak canned five 3-pointers for 21 points in 29 minutes Monday, pitching in with two boards. Don’t look for anything beyond scoring and 3-pointers from this kid, but if that’s where you need help, I’d suggest Novak could be a useful short-term addition.