Momentum in Milwaukee
The Bucks won their second straight game in the Jim Boylan era, with Brandon Jennings leading the way with 35 points on 12-of-24 shooting, five threes, six rebounds, six assists, and a steal. He’s going ballistic right now. Monta Ellis (14 points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals, one block) left the game late after injuring his ankle and though he said he would play in Friday’s game, we’ll be watching to see if it swells up overnight. I’m still waiting for the rest of the NBA world to give Larry Sanders his DPOY love, and he helped me out with that posting six points, 12 rebounds, one steal, and a whopping seven blocks.
Ersan Ilyasova isn’t breaking any records but the 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting with six rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks, and one three are reminiscent of last year’s push. John Henson backed off with just five points, six boards, and one block in 18 minutes, and consistency could be hard to come by in a low-minute role off the bench. Owners may want to see things through for another game, but I wouldn’t pass up an above average free agent to do it. Mike Dunleavy scored 16 points with four treys, four rebounds, one steal, and one block in his customary 28 minutes, and he looks like a decent fantasy option as long as he can stay healthy.
Here’s to You, Mr. Robinson
Kirk Hinrich (sprained elbow) did not play and that opened the door for Nate Robinson to finally take real advantage of it, as Lil’ Him scored 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting with three treys, five rebounds, six assists, and five steals in last night’s loss to the Bucks. There is a short-term window for Robinson to be productive before Derrick Rose returns, but he’s going to be touch and go unless Hinrich gives way on a permanent basis. That seems unlikely right now, so Robinson should really only be truly relied on for spot-duty and deep-league duty barring a change in Hinrich’s status. Carlos Boozer has been very hot lately, as he put up another 22 points and 11 rebounds last night, and this is just about the best sell-high moment owners could hope for.
Rose (knee surgery) should be cleared for full contact within the next two weeks, though his timetable doesn’t appear to have changed from his post-All Star game target. As I’ve said, I can’t imagine not picking him up.
Disaster Movie
The Lakers took another loss last night, and while it came against the Spurs it’s still disaster central in L.A. Metta World Peace has gotten back on the right side of the ledger recently, and posted 23 points, three treys, eight rebounds, and seven steals, while Antawn Jamison put up a somewhat pedestrian eight points, eight rebounds, one steal, and one block in his 31 minutes. With the cavalry returning soon, there’s a lot not to like about Jamison going forward. If you were wondering about the great Robert Sacre, he wasn’t nearly as passable as he was the last time out with just four points on 2-of-9 shooting, two rebounds, and one block. Earl Clark had a career-night with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and a 3-pointer, and since that nearly represented 10 percent of his career production let's wait and make it happen again.
Lukewarm Leonard
Kawhi Leonard has gotten a lot of lukewarm reviews around here from writers other than myself, and those folks definitely bring up valid points about his lukewarm production, but for me I see a guy that hasn’t really gotten in a rhythm yet (at least in the box score). He had a good night last night with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting (including two threes), three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block, which is a good baseline expectation if things are going well. Gregg Popovich called him the star of the game and his elite defense was on display all night, and as he gets more integrated with the offense he has the fantasy friendly game to shoot up the standings.
Tiago Splitter went for 14 and 14 with one block in 35 minutes, and while he won’t play that many minutes on most nights his production has actually been fairly consistent. He’s producing well enough to be owned in most standard 12-team formats.
Life Without Love
The bad news came in for Kevin Love owners, as he will undergo surgery on his right hand and will be out until around early April. If you’re in a playoff league I can see hanging onto him, but beyond that the juice probably isn’t worth the squeeze. Dante Cunningham struggled in his place with just four points, five boards, one steal, and one block, but as long as he’s putting up his defensive stats it’ll give him a decent floor that could buoy his value. He’s the safe play while Derrick Williams is the upside guy, and Williams had a good night with 14 points on 7-of-15 shooting (no threes), 11 rebounds and one steal in 28 minutes. I’m not sure his poor peripherals can support his overall value, but if he can pull everything together he has shown that he can score and rebound in bunches with some 3-point shooting ability to boot. As I said yesterday, his history suggests he isn’t up to the task, but the Wolves are backed into a corner here at PF and anything they can do to rehab Williams’ trade value is a plus.
Ricky Rubio went hitless from the field for the second straight night (0-for-3 FGs), but he had two rebounds and seven assists in his 22 minutes. It’s going to be a slow road to hoe, but there’s enough upside for owners to be patient. Alexey Shved had seven turnovers, which he’ll need to get under control, but he still played 39 minutes with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting, two threes, three assists, and two steals. J.J. Barea did not play last night due to his back issue, and this backcourt appears to be all Shved’s right now.
Revenge of the Nerd Glasses
The Thunder took their revenge after losing earlier in the year to the Wolves in Minnesota, with Kevin Durant leading the way as he scored 26 points with a very full stat line that included three steals and four blocks. Russell Westbrook added 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting with three treys, eight boards, seven assists, and a steal, while Serge Ibaka struggled for the first time in recent memory with six points, three rebounds, and two blocks. Westbrook is on the upswing and we’re not concerned about Ibaka in the slightest.
Pardon for Parsons
Chandler Parsons wasn’t able to back up his big outing from Tuesday with anything resembling his early season surge, scoring eight points on 3-of-10 shooting (including two threes) with eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal. It’s definitely a buy low moment as he can’t shoot this bad for long, though that was one of his concerns entering the year. Patrick Patterson scored six points on 3-of-8 shooting (no threes) with 10 rebounds and one block in 28 minutes, and while he’s not where he needs to be he’s still worth a look if he has been dropped in your 12-team league.
Don’t Call Them Pelicans
The Pelicans rode their reserves to a fourth quarter comeback win over the Rockets, but that didn’t hurt Greivis Vasquez (17 points, four rebounds, 11 assists, three steals, two threes). He has been a top 10-20 play in standards over the past two weeks. The rest of the lineup was a mixed bag, as Jason Smith (17 points, 10 boards, three assists, three blocks, 27 minutes) and Roger Mason (17 points, five boards, one steal, one block, three treys) got loose and the starters struggled.
I thought Anthony Davis might have a big night against an uptempo Houston squad, but he managed just six points on 3-of-5 shooting with three rebounds in 19 minutes, but did have three steals and two blocks. He reminds me of Andrei Kirilenko with much more upside, and it seems like he’s on Monty Williams’ Al-Farouq Aminu plan of tear them down to build them up. That or it’s the ankle, and I have absolutely no information to suggest that is the case. Aminu scored just four points on 2-of-7 shooting but had 10 rebounds, two steals, and one block, but has been a solid starting option over the past week or so.
Robin Lopez grabbed just three boards and played only 22 minutes, but he posted 14 points, one steal, and two blocks to stave off drops for the time-being. Eric Gordon said he was sore after being relatively unleashed this week and had a stinker last night, scoring five points on 2-of-12 shooting with six assists and five turnovers in 28 minutes. I’ve been needling him about his recent history of gearing up for big games in order to enhance his trade value, but his name hasn’t really been in the rumor mill and it’s probably because real GMs have the same concerns that we do. Now is not the time to consider moving him if you have concerns about his knee or antics, as his trade value isn’t all that high and he could theoretically hold up and be a solid asset. Ryan Anderson goose-egged his owners on seven missed shot attempts with five rebounds in 27 minutes, and I’ll be watching to see if Gordon’s insertion bogs down Anderson’s timing offense, but I’m not really concerned about it at this point. As for Smith, I’m just watching him for now and Mason’s line is fluky.
Same Old Magic Tricks
The Magic lost to the Nuggets last night but the usual suspects did their damage last night. Nikola Vucevic double-doubled with 10 points, 14 boards, one steal, and two blocks, Jameer Nelson went for 10 and eight with a steal and block, Arron Afflalo was slightly down with 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting and one three, and J.J. Redick scored 17 points with four treys, four assists, and two blocks. Each of them should be in most lineups. Josh McRoberts came back to earth with six points, seven rebounds, one steal, and one block, but if he can put up low-end lines like this he’ll be worth a look in deeper formats.
You might have seen me on Twitter yesterday breaking Kings relocation news, and needless to say the past 24 hours have been a roller coaster. I was tracking both game news and business news with five different media devices, doing interviews, writing reports, tracking down leads, and all with little sleep and a nasty flu. I’ll give a quick update for you guys in the Kings game preview toward the end, but I’ll say quickly that anybody that is a fan of the NBA doing the right thing should consider signing this petition to keep the Kings in Sacramento AND award Seattle an expansion team. Of course, this petition seems silly right now and has more questions than answers, but its spirit is true and the thing could very well go viral, which would be great for the 600-1000 arena workers that are going to get screwed out of a job in Sacto if the despicable Maloof family gets their way.
Now, onto the business at hand, we had a very busy 11-game night and things are getting real in fantasy leagues as we creep up on the halfway point of the season. There were a lot of subtle, but important changes to value up and down the docket, so let's get right to it.
For real-time news and information about all things fantasy and breaking news about the Kings to Seattle situation, click here to follow me on Twitter.
Slumping Sixers
I had speculated in various places around here that Jason Richardson wasn’t fully healthy, and he got himself a DNP-CD last night so he could get rested up. This is actually a positive indicator for his value on one hand, signifying that his slowdown isn’t just age-related ineffectiveness, though it’s not exactly endearing that he is this banged up. I’ll be exercising patience for another game or two as the picture clears up.
Dorell Wright started in his place but struggled as the Sixers continue to spiral downward, scoring seven points on 2-of-4 shooting with two rebounds and one steal in 32 empty minutes. Evan Turner has been a mess lately, hitting 20-of-62 shots in his last five games, and put up a 4-of-15 shooting line for 10 points, seven boards, five assists, two steals, and one block. This probably isn’t the best buy low line, but in general it’s a buy low moment, though I’m bearish on the concept because of his poor peripherals and my concern that he’s one mental slipup from a prolonged slump.
There was a repeat of the Andrew Bynum (knees) timetable news, which is that he’s going to run on a treadmill, take set shots, and that he has no timetable. The needle didn’t move.
Pouting During a Win
We finally saw the pissed off version of Kyle Lowry last night, as he stormed out of the locker room following a two-point, four-assist effort in 17 minutes off the bench. Jose Calderon (14 points, 7-of-12 FGs, 11 assists) helped deliver a win, too, which isn’t the greatest time for Lowry to be complaining about playing time. This has been the book on Lowry for at least the past year, and owners simply have to hold and hope he gets his act together. Amir Johnson started at center with Aaron Gray (flu) out, putting up 19 points with 12 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block. He and Ed Davis (17 points, nine boards, two blocks) are both must-own players in 12-team leagues, with Johnson performing well enough to be considered a must-own player in 10-team standards, too.
Terrence Ross (ankle) and Linas Kleiza (knee) did not play last night, while Landry Fields was finally moved into the starting lineup. Fields responded with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals in 42 minutes, and with that kind of workload and modest production he is worth a look in 12-14 team leagues. We know that he can go south pretty quickly, so keep that in mind when making your evaluations. Alan Anderson hit just 4-of-13 shots (including one three) for nine points with one rebound, two assists, one steal, and one block in 25 minutes off the bench, and with Fields’ increasing role owners shouldn’t be afraid to exchange him for a hot free agent. He’s a solid mid-round value over the past two weeks, but things could get crowded as the rotation gets healthy.
Jazz Turn Up the Music
Marvin Williams got an injection in his right knee to ease the pain yesterday, and he’s staring at a three-game absence before he’ll be re-evaluated. I’m not sure that he is stealing Gordon Hayward’s touches, but his absence certainly can’t hurt the surging Butler product. Hayward followed up his explosion on Monday with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting, four threes, four rebounds, and three assists, and the activity numbers are still moving in the right direction. Randy Foye took over some point guard duties and finished with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting, three treys, five rebounds, four assists, and one steal. He’s worth a hard look right now for the chance this development continues, as it stabilizes his value while his 3-point shooting provides the upside on any given night.
Alec Burks continued to show well in his deep league auditions with 12 points, two rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block. Al Jefferson scored 26 points with eight boards, Paul Millsap scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting with five rebounds, five assists, and three blocks, and Derrick Favors went back to putting up low-end numbers in low-end minutes with 10 points on a perfect five field goals, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks. All of this came against the Bobcats and that should be noted, but the Jazz might get this thing turned around after all if they continue to move the basketball.
Spreading Themselves Thin
The Bobcats continued to spread the minutes out evenly among their guards, but it didn’t kill the currently owned fantasy guys too much in last night’s loss. Ben Gordon led the way with 20 points and two threes, Gerald Henderson scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting (no threes) with four assists, three steals, and one block, and Ramon Sessions had 14 points and four assists as nobody in the group topped 25 minutes.
Neither Tyrus Thomas (10 minutes, two rebounds, 0-for-4 FGs) nor Hakim Warrick (18 minutes, 10 rebounds, eight boards) played a lot, but Warrick’s outing is worth watching to see if he can follow it up with a few good lines. Bismack Biyombo (zero points, five boards, two blocks, 24 minutes) has slowed down lately, and he hasn’t shown the developmental progress necessary for owners to cling to him when he’s on the downside.
Mylanta
Larry Drew is mad at his underperforming team right now and is tinkering mode, which NBA coaches should probably go to some sort of seminar for before they enter the league. It rarely works, and in this case he moved red-hot Lou Williams from a starting job to the bench in last night’s loss to the Cavs. Williams scored five points on 2-of-8 shooting and not much else, but I’m not panicking about his fantasy value, especially since he’s plenty comfortable coming off the bench. I just wouldn't have messed with his rhythm when he was a pillar of the offense. Jeff Teague turned things around with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting with eight assists and a steal. As usual, owners just have to take the good with the bad. He’s still a top 50-75 value in standard formats. Zaza Pachulia moved into the starting lineup and scored eight points with 10 boards and a block. Give him a look if you need a big man in deeper formats.
Sideshow Andy Sidelined
The other shoe dropped with Anderson Varejao’s knee injury, as the big man will miss 6-8 weeks and owners need to assess if they can hold. When he returns he has a decent chance of returning to at least mid-round value, but there is plenty of risk for a setback and the reporting in Cleveland hasn’t exactly been actionable. I’d call Tristan Thompson a must-own player and Tyler Zeller a must-own player in 12-team leagues for the hope he can improve into a late-round value. At a minimum, both will be unchallenged for minutes.
The absence of Varejao didn’t hurt them in the win column last night, as the Cavs beat the Hawks and saw productive lines for most of their guys. Kyrie Irving scored 33 points on 11-of-15 shooting (5-of-6 3PTs, 6-of-6 FTs) with four assists and three steals, Zeller had went for 11 and 12 with three assists but no steals or blocks, Alonzo Gee had 15 points with five treys, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block, and Tristan Thompson put up 11 points, 14 rebounds, two steals, and one block. In an addition to the prior recommendations on Thompson and Zeller, Gee should also be owned in standard formats. Dion Waiters had another lackluster night, scoring nine points on 4-of-11 shooting with one three, four assists, and one steal in 29 minutes. I wouldn’t argue with anybody that’s tired of his low-efficiency act, but I’m still stashing him with the hopes the light bulb turns on.
Brown Out
The Suns trudged into Boston after their game the night before in Milwaukee, scoring 79 total points in a loss to the Celtics. Marcin Gortat (12 points, 14 boards, two steals, five blocks) and Luis Scola (16 points, eight rebounds, four assists) showed well, while Jared Dudley was inefficient shooting with 6-of-17 makes for 14 points, 10 boards, five assists, a three, and a steal. P.J. Tucker logged a whopping 40 minutes and managed to put up just nine points on 4-of-12 shooting with four rebounds, two assists, and one steal, and he’ll need to be much more productive before he hits the standard league radar, despite the workload. Less use of Shannon Brown (four points, 2-of-6 FGs, 13 minutes) isn’t magically creating wins, but his teammates’ production has increased and become more consistent, probably because he’s doing less stupid things with the basketball.
They Went to Jared
Rajon Rondo returned from his one-game suspension to put up a quiet eight points and eight assists, but the fantasy stories of the Boston side belonged to Jason Terry (13 points, five boards, five assists) and Jared Sullinger (12 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block, 34 minutes). Terry has been awful lately and while he’s worth a look, owners shouldn’t ignore his past struggles. Sullinger ‘could’ be considered the leader in his position battle with Brandon Bass (six points, five boards, 27 minutes), but he’s still another good game or two from being a solid guy to own in 12-team formats. The rotation is just too messy for him.
Momentum in Milwaukee
The Bucks won their second straight game in the Jim Boylan era, with Brandon Jennings leading the way with 35 points on 12-of-24 shooting, five threes, six rebounds, six assists, and a steal. He’s going ballistic right now. Monta Ellis (14 points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals, one block) left the game late after injuring his ankle and though he said he would play in Friday’s game, we’ll be watching to see if it swells up overnight. I’m still waiting for the rest of the NBA world to give Larry Sanders his DPOY love, and he helped me out with that posting six points, 12 rebounds, one steal, and a whopping seven blocks.
Ersan Ilyasova isn’t breaking any records but the 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting with six rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks, and one three are reminiscent of last year’s push. John Henson backed off with just five points, six boards, and one block in 18 minutes, and consistency could be hard to come by in a low-minute role off the bench. Owners may want to see things through for another game, but I wouldn’t pass up an above average free agent to do it. Mike Dunleavy scored 16 points with four treys, four rebounds, one steal, and one block in his customary 28 minutes, and he looks like a decent fantasy option as long as he can stay healthy.
Here’s to You, Mr. Robinson
Kirk Hinrich (sprained elbow) did not play and that opened the door for Nate Robinson to finally take real advantage of it, as Lil’ Him scored 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting with three treys, five rebounds, six assists, and five steals in last night’s loss to the Bucks. There is a short-term window for Robinson to be productive before Derrick Rose returns, but he’s going to be touch and go unless Hinrich gives way on a permanent basis. That seems unlikely right now, so Robinson should really only be truly relied on for spot-duty and deep-league duty barring a change in Hinrich’s status. Carlos Boozer has been very hot lately, as he put up another 22 points and 11 rebounds last night, and this is just about the best sell-high moment owners could hope for.
Rose (knee surgery) should be cleared for full contact within the next two weeks, though his timetable doesn’t appear to have changed from his post-All Star game target. As I’ve said, I can’t imagine not picking him up.
Disaster Movie
The Lakers took another loss last night, and while it came against the Spurs it’s still disaster central in L.A. Metta World Peace has gotten back on the right side of the ledger recently, and posted 23 points, three treys, eight rebounds, and seven steals, while Antawn Jamison put up a somewhat pedestrian eight points, eight rebounds, one steal, and one block in his 31 minutes. With the cavalry returning soon, there’s a lot not to like about Jamison going forward. If you were wondering about the great Robert Sacre, he wasn’t nearly as passable as he was the last time out with just four points on 2-of-9 shooting, two rebounds, and one block. Earl Clark had a career-night with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and a 3-pointer, and since that nearly represented 10 percent of his career production let's wait and make it happen again.
Lukewarm Leonard
Kawhi Leonard has gotten a lot of lukewarm reviews around here from writers other than myself, and those folks definitely bring up valid points about his lukewarm production, but for me I see a guy that hasn’t really gotten in a rhythm yet (at least in the box score). He had a good night last night with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting (including two threes), three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block, which is a good baseline expectation if things are going well. Gregg Popovich called him the star of the game and his elite defense was on display all night, and as he gets more integrated with the offense he has the fantasy friendly game to shoot up the standings.
Tiago Splitter went for 14 and 14 with one block in 35 minutes, and while he won’t play that many minutes on most nights his production has actually been fairly consistent. He’s producing well enough to be owned in most standard 12-team formats.
Life Without Love
The bad news came in for Kevin Love owners, as he will undergo surgery on his right hand and will be out until around early April. If you’re in a playoff league I can see hanging onto him, but beyond that the juice probably isn’t worth the squeeze. Dante Cunningham struggled in his place with just four points, five boards, one steal, and one block, but as long as he’s putting up his defensive stats it’ll give him a decent floor that could buoy his value. He’s the safe play while Derrick Williams is the upside guy, and Williams had a good night with 14 points on 7-of-15 shooting (no threes), 11 rebounds and one steal in 28 minutes. I’m not sure his poor peripherals can support his overall value, but if he can pull everything together he has shown that he can score and rebound in bunches with some 3-point shooting ability to boot. As I said yesterday, his history suggests he isn’t up to the task, but the Wolves are backed into a corner here at PF and anything they can do to rehab Williams’ trade value is a plus.
Ricky Rubio went hitless from the field for the second straight night (0-for-3 FGs), but he had two rebounds and seven assists in his 22 minutes. It’s going to be a slow road to hoe, but there’s enough upside for owners to be patient. Alexey Shved had seven turnovers, which he’ll need to get under control, but he still played 39 minutes with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting, two threes, three assists, and two steals. J.J. Barea did not play last night due to his back issue, and this backcourt appears to be all Shved’s right now.
Revenge of the Nerd Glasses
The Thunder took their revenge after losing earlier in the year to the Wolves in Minnesota, with Kevin Durant leading the way as he scored 26 points with a very full stat line that included three steals and four blocks. Russell Westbrook added 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting with three treys, eight boards, seven assists, and a steal, while Serge Ibaka struggled for the first time in recent memory with six points, three rebounds, and two blocks. Westbrook is on the upswing and we’re not concerned about Ibaka in the slightest.
Pardon for Parsons
Chandler Parsons wasn’t able to back up his big outing from Tuesday with anything resembling his early season surge, scoring eight points on 3-of-10 shooting (including two threes) with eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal. It’s definitely a buy low moment as he can’t shoot this bad for long, though that was one of his concerns entering the year. Patrick Patterson scored six points on 3-of-8 shooting (no threes) with 10 rebounds and one block in 28 minutes, and while he’s not where he needs to be he’s still worth a look if he has been dropped in your 12-team league.
Don’t Call Them Pelicans
The Pelicans rode their reserves to a fourth quarter comeback win over the Rockets, but that didn’t hurt Greivis Vasquez (17 points, four rebounds, 11 assists, three steals, two threes). He has been a top 10-20 play in standards over the past two weeks. The rest of the lineup was a mixed bag, as Jason Smith (17 points, 10 boards, three assists, three blocks, 27 minutes) and Roger Mason (17 points, five boards, one steal, one block, three treys) got loose and the starters struggled.
I thought Anthony Davis might have a big night against an uptempo Houston squad, but he managed just six points on 3-of-5 shooting with three rebounds in 19 minutes, but did have three steals and two blocks. He reminds me of Andrei Kirilenko with much more upside, and it seems like he’s on Monty Williams’ Al-Farouq Aminu plan of tear them down to build them up. That or it’s the ankle, and I have absolutely no information to suggest that is the case. Aminu scored just four points on 2-of-7 shooting but had 10 rebounds, two steals, and one block, but has been a solid starting option over the past week or so.
Robin Lopez grabbed just three boards and played only 22 minutes, but he posted 14 points, one steal, and two blocks to stave off drops for the time-being. Eric Gordon said he was sore after being relatively unleashed this week and had a stinker last night, scoring five points on 2-of-12 shooting with six assists and five turnovers in 28 minutes. I’ve been needling him about his recent history of gearing up for big games in order to enhance his trade value, but his name hasn’t really been in the rumor mill and it’s probably because real GMs have the same concerns that we do. Now is not the time to consider moving him if you have concerns about his knee or antics, as his trade value isn’t all that high and he could theoretically hold up and be a solid asset. Ryan Anderson goose-egged his owners on seven missed shot attempts with five rebounds in 27 minutes, and I’ll be watching to see if Gordon’s insertion bogs down Anderson’s timing offense, but I’m not really concerned about it at this point. As for Smith, I’m just watching him for now and Mason’s line is fluky.
Same Old Magic Tricks
The Magic lost to the Nuggets last night but the usual suspects did their damage last night. Nikola Vucevic double-doubled with 10 points, 14 boards, one steal, and two blocks, Jameer Nelson went for 10 and eight with a steal and block, Arron Afflalo was slightly down with 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting and one three, and J.J. Redick scored 17 points with four treys, four assists, and two blocks. Each of them should be in most lineups. Josh McRoberts came back to earth with six points, seven rebounds, one steal, and one block, but if he can put up low-end lines like this he’ll be worth a look in deeper formats.
Manimal Style
The Nuggets held off the Magic in Arron Afflalo’s return to Denver, with Kenneth Faried ordering his box score Manimal Style to the tune of 19 points, 19 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. He needs to keep up the defensive production to offset his poor foul shooting, so hopefully this will get him going in that department. Ty Lawson (19 points, eight assists) and Andre Iguodala (11 points, 4-of-13 FGs, four rebounds, five assists) continued their see-saw act, while Danilo Gallinari (15 points, eight boards, four assists, two threes), Andre Miller (18 points, four rebounds, four assists), and Corey Brewer (16 points, four rebounds, one block) all put up productive lines.
Integrate, Disintegrate
The Mavs struggles continued in their loss to the Clippers last night, which is somewhat explainable with the re-integration of Dirk Nowitzki (15 points, 5-of-13 FGs, six rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block) into the lineup. Darren Collison scored 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting with two threes, four rebounds, and six assists, which gives him some extra rope with owners for the next time he struggles. O.J. Mayo isn’t producing the gaudy lines he was earlier in the year, and scored 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting with one rebound, three assists, and three steals last night, but let’s give him a week before we attribute more than an incremental decrease to his value now that Dirk is back.
Chris Kaman scored nine points with just four rebounds and one steal in his 24 minutes, and he’s going to be inconsistent permanently now it appears. Elton Brand scored eight points with four rebounds, one steal, and one block. If he can do that every night he’ll be a decent deep-league asset, but he needs to be consistent to make it work out. Vince Carter played 29 minutes but had just six points on 3-of-9 shooting (no threes) with five rebounds and one block. He can be tossed to the waiver wire for a hot free agent in 12-14 team formats now that Dirk is back.
Born in a Barnes
As a Warriors fan, I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Matt Barnes, who is admittedly a hard guy to root for if you’re not a We Believer. He showed his skill-set during that season, and has flashed it over time, but he never quite lived up to what I thought he was capable of doing. Now, in a great situation with a great group of teammates, he is taking things to the next level and had another great night with 19 points, five treys, seven rebounds, one steal, and three blocks. Yes, things could get crowded and now is a great time to test his market value, but this isn’t some fluke. He’s simply better positioned to do the things he’s capable of doing.
Lamar Odom played 27 minutes but had just four points, two rebounds, three assists, and one steal, highlighting why he’s better suited for deep leagues, and Jamal Crawford returned from his foot injury to post 11 points, two threes, one steal, and one block in 26 minutes. Crawford will definitely improve over that line and it remains to be seen if he will be impacted by the overall roster crunch. Chris Paul went for 19 and 16 and Blake Griffin went for 15 and 13 with three steals and a block in the win.
Memphis Barbeque
The Grizzlies are finding their rhythm on the west coast right now, with matchups against the Kings and the soft interior of the Warriors defense on the docket last night. Mike Conley had five turnovers, but posted a tidy 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting with four assists, three steals, and one three, and Zach Randolph made David Lee look silly all night to the tune of 19 points and 12 rebounds. Tony Allen put up a pedestrian 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting with four rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Rudy Gay had 18 points with five rebounds and six assists but no steals, blocks, or threes. Gay’s efficiency is down and it seems like he is forcing the issue on many nights, with trade rumors swirling around endlessly.
Premature Coronation
My Warriors are struggling with the difficult portion of their schedule and lost to the Grizzlies last night at home, which regular readers know is something I’ve been chirping about. Stephen Curry scored 24 points with a solid stat line, and Klay Thompson scored 20 points with seven rebounds, seven assists, a steal, and two threes to go with a perfect six attempts from the foul line. With the Warriors needing better athletes and defenders (right on cue), Carl Landry (13 points, nine boards) and Harrison Barnes (seven points, three rebounds, one three, one steal, one block) both saw 25-27 minutes. Jarrett Jack struggled with either his elbow or the Grizzlies’ suffocating defense, scoring just three points on 1-of-4 shooting with five assists, and it’s possible that he slows down as the Warriors face these better teams. I wouldn’t panic just yet, but it’s something to watch out for.
David Lee cooled off according to script, scoring 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting with 10 rebounds, four assists, and one steal, and being worked over by Zach Randolph most of the night should be a reminder to the suddenly gushing Warriors analysts out there that All Stars (theoretically) should play both sides of the floor.
In general, while I’m happy for the Warriors’ overall success and am thankful for the new management (in particular GM Bob Myers), it’s going to be funny watching everybody walk back their early and overcooked praise if this tough stretch knocks them down a peg. I get asked why I am so down on my own team all the time, and frankly it’s because the organizational culture is one to overhype their guys. Some of the players don’t get affected by it, but guys like Lee start to read their own press clippings and don’t work to improve their defense. Despite the many reports telling you otherwise and outlier stats not telling the complete story, they are still a very bad defensive team and they’ll need to play their core less minutes to change that. Unless, of course, they are motivated by realistic evaluations that bring about schematic changes and a real commitment to learning defensive principles.
Welcome Back
John Wall (knee) practiced in full yesterday and reported no pain or soreness afterward, so he looks good to go for Saturday’s game. Of course, he is a must-own player. Trevor Booker (knee) wrote on his Twitter account that he can’t wait to play Saturday, which will do more to hurt others’ fantasy value than to enhance his own.
Thursday Night Lights
NY @ IND: J.R. Smith (face) did not practice yesterday, but he is expected to play tonight. Carmelo Anthony won’t play, however, after getting suspended for his drama with Kevin Garnett the other night. This normally wouldn’t have warranted a suspension, but fan video of the incident hit the Net and player confrontations have been on the rise. Amare Stoudemire (knee) is going to be put on a 20-minute plan due to soreness he felt after Monday’s game, and while there’s speculation that this is a way to manage his general ineffectiveness, I think owners have to give him the benefit of the doubt if they’ve made the add. I personally lost any belief that I had that he is in great shape as many reported in New York, but judging a player coming off a major absence in his first week isn’t really fair. If you believe in him, give him a chance for another game or so.
George Hill has bronchitis and is questionable, so give D.J. Augustin a hard look if you’re in the market for a spot-play. If you’re looking to watch just one game and one player to see if you’re onto the next big thing, I’ve been calling Paul George a poor man’s Kevin Durant for a long time now but he might officially be middle class. He’s never going to catch up to KD, but if he can stay remotely consistent he has first round potential in fantasy leagues and he will be the Pacers’ clear No. 1 player in no time.
DAL @ SAC: If you follow me on Twitter you know I spent all of yesterday reporting on the Kings relocation story for ProBasketballTalk, which hit a critical mass after Woj reported that the team was going to imminently be sold. Sources of mine close to negotiations immediately refuted the immediacy of the report and indicated that Sacramento will have a chance to make an offer to keep the team, and that appeared to pan out as the day went on. It’s good to know that my sources are hitting their marks, but nobody thinks that Sacramento has an easy go of it to keep their team right now. It’s a blood match between two cities being raked over the coals, though in Seattle’s case their gripe is with both the NBA for their general underhandedness and also their own politicians for not doing what they needed to do to keep the Sonics. On the other hand, Sacramento has done everything imaginable to keep their team by everybody’s measure and I get double-digit emails per day from fans begging me for good news. These are families who have bonded over Kings basketball, people with jobs at the arena, and frankly it’s impossible for me to turn my back on them. If any of you wonder why I’m so passionate about it on Twitter and elsewhere, it’s because of that. If your city was about to get pillaged and I have a way I can help I would do the same for all of you.
It’s hard to say how the Kings fans are going to react. The attendance has understandably been down as the Maloofs have tortured the poor city, but there could very well be an organized (or disorganized) sellout just 24 hours after all these relocation bombs dropped. If anybody can fill the building under such circumstances the Kings fans can. Many of the players have special bonds with the city, too, and they have always come out and played extremely well in games that are relevant to the relocation issue. Unless the arena somehow turns out to be a ghost town, don’t be surprised if the Mavs run into a buzz-saw.
Marcus Thornton (ankle) is a game-time decision after feeling soreness following Wednesday’s practice session, and Tyreke Evans should theoretically be unleashed tonight. Isaiah Thomas is always under the microscope for fantasy owners trying to tap into his upside, and Keith Smart better not mess things up too badly with hockey style line rotations because the Kings fans might riot. John Salmons’ value will be tested once again, and DeMarcus Cousins might swallow the Mavs’ frontcourt whole if the emotion of the situation doesn’t get the best of him.
MIA @ POR: LaMarcus Aldridge (shooting wrist) went through a full practice yesterday and is probable for tonight, and for more on that injury check out the section I wrote on him in yesterdays’ Dose. I’m not calling for panic but I want owners to stay up to date on shooting wrist injuries in general. Shane Battier (hamstring) missed yesterday’s practice and is questionable to suit up tonight, but that’s not shifting much value around in the Heat’s rotation. Dwyane Wade has been heating up, while LeBron James is a bit banged up and could use a blowout to get some much-needed rest.