I was walking through a department store, minding my own business, sometime ago when a small child, who I'd never met before, whirled around a clothing rack, lifted his hand in the air to me, and declared with the cadence and fervor of a carnival director, "I present to you the tallest man in the world!".

It is with that same childish excitement that I present to you the RotoWire Head-to-Head Rest-of-Season Rankings. As we discussed in the preseason, our recommended strategy for head-to-head leagues is to focus on being as dominate as you can in the six positive counting categories (points, rebounds, three-pointers, assists, steals, and blocks), even if that means you aren't competitive in the other three categories (field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and turnovers). These rankings are meant to capture a player's value in this format from today through the rest of the season and are based on the RotoWire Player Projections. For custom rankings go here.

Before we get into the rankings, I've identified and researched a few players whose rankings are potentially surprising, but if you are here just for the rankings, scroll down a few paragraphs to find your prize.

BUYING

Kyrie Irving: Irving ranked 31st in our preseason head-to-head rankings, in part because we knew he'd be sharing possessions with Kevin Love and LeBron James, and we expected his numbers to decline as a result. Through 18 games this season, that has not been the case. Irving has scored right around his career average of 30 points per 100 possessions and is averaging a career high in steals (2.3 per 100 possession), blocks (0.7 per 100 possessions), and threes (2.9 per 100 possessions).

In addition to his stellar per-possession production, Irving has played 38 minutes per game, nearly 3 mpg over his previous career high. We've projected him for 37 mpg for the remainder of the season, which would slot him in as the 14th best player going forward. There are certainly some risks in acquiring Kyrie Irving (namely his injury history and his poor fantasy playoff schedule), but I'd be looking to buy if you can.

SELLING

Carmelo Anthony: Historically, wing players entering their 12th season see significant declines in their fantasy stats across the board (if you need convincing go check out the per-possession stats of Vince Carter, Metta World Peace, and Joe Johnson from year 11 to year 12 on basketball reference). As a result, we ranked Anthony 17th overall in our preseason head-to-head rankings, well below his average draft position on ESPN of 7th overall. It turns out that even we may not have been low enough. Anthony is now ranked 35th in our the rest-of-season rankings.

This large drop in value comes because Anthony is averaging fewer points (35.0 vs. 37.7), rebounds (9.9 vs. 11.1), threes (2.2 vs. 3.0), steals (0.9 vs. 1.7), and blocks (0.5 vs. 0.9) per 100 possessions than he did last season. In addition, he is playing fewer minutes under new coach Derek Fisher (35.5 vs. 38.7 last season). Anthony is still a big name, and so he may be easier to move than most players you are trying to sell. If that's the case in your league, I'd go ahead and try to move him.

PICK UP

Demarre Carroll: Despite coming in on our preseason rankings at 87th overall, DeMarre Carroll is still owned in just 33 percent of ESPN leagues. Carroll has been a strong contributor in steals (averaging 1.2 spg) and three-pointers (1.5 per game) this season, something that we project will continue for the rest of the season. As a result, Carroll comes in ranked 76th overall. If he's available on your waiver wire, go pick him up. It's the equivalent of adding a 7th rounder in a 12-team league.

DROP

David Lee: During the preseason, David Lee ranked just 122nd in our head-to-head rankings (compared to his ESPN ADP of 54) because some of the categories that he excels in (field goal percentage, free throw percentage) are less important in the head-to-head format. Since then, things have only gotten worse for Lee, and he has fallen to 197th on this list. Lee has sat out the majority of the season with a hamstring injury, and there are real questions about what role he will play when he returns. He is still owned in 73 percent of ESPN leagues. If you are holding onto him, feel free to drop him for someone higher on this list.

ROOKIES

Nerlens Noel: Nerlens Noel is still the rookie you most want to own. We've projected him for 9.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.9 blocks for the rest of the season, which would rank him 50th overall for the rest of the season. He's had some uneven performances so far this season, but those blocks and steals will be valuable going forward. I would recommend targeting him before he starts to produce on a more consistent basis.

Without further ado, here are our rest-of-season rankings for head-to-head leagues as of December 8th: