With a nine-game slate last night and 11 games tonight, and the trade deadline bearing down on us, we’re going to get right to work.
Click here for real-time news and fantasy information on Twitter.
RAPTOR WINGS
If you’re an owner of anybody in Toronto not named Rudy Gay (24 points, 10-of-25 FGs, eight boards, three steals) or DeMar DeRozan (24 points, 9-of-18 FGs, three steals), you’re probably pretty tired of the wing-dominated attack the Raptors are employing. Kyle Lowry had a nice line of 11 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists, but hit just 3-of-6 shots, while Jonas Valanciunas (seven points, eight boards, one block) and Amir Johnson (six points, five boards, two steals, two blocks) combined to take just six shots. It sure seems like this is the way the Raptors are going to roll, as Gay and his handlers in Toronto seek to prove that he can be a No. 1 scorer.
THE BEAL DEAL
Bradley Beal owners never could have counted on Jordan Crawford to totally implode, but Beal’s solid play has made it an easy decision for the Wizards’ brass to authorize Crawford’s exile. Beal moved back into the starting lineup and scored 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting with three treys, four rebounds, and one assist. Barring an injury or prolonged slump out of Beal, he’s positioned to roll with heavy minutes the rest of the way out. John Wall is on a slight minutes limit due to his knee, and the 1-of-12 shooting mark with seven turnovers isn’t going to help assuage fears that he’s not fully healthy. Owners shouldn’t panic here, and he managed nine points on the strength of 7-of-8 FTs to go with six assists, three steals, and two blocks, so it’s not like he was schlepping around.
DON’T CALL ME B.J.
Gerald Henderson got hot and scored a season-high 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting (including a three) with 10 rebounds and three assists, and is certainly worth owning in standard formats. Byron Mullens has been doing everything I’ve hoped he would upon his return, which is stick his nose in the middle and play with toughness. He put up his third 20-10 game in four tries, scoring 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting with 12 rebounds, two threes, and a steal. Kemba Walker added a solid line of 24 points, four rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and three treys in the Cats’ win over the Magic.
MAGICAL ROOKIES
Andrew Nicholson has been an average to above-average stash and he gave his owners something to crow about with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and a steal in 32 minutes. With plenty of developmental minutes in store barring a significant roster change, I’d have to be pretty stacked in a 12-team league not to add him and I think he’s a must-own player in that format. Moe Harkless is the same animal as Nicholson but not nearly as proficient at putting up numbers, but he has improved in that respect lately and had another solid night with 15 points, six rebounds, a steal, a block, and a 3-pointer. He has merit as a pickup in 12-team leagues, but I’d stop short of calling him must-own right now.
COMING DOWN TO THE DEADLINE
Depending on the time of the day, either some or all of the Bucks are on the trade block so it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out. In last night’s two-point loss to the Nets, Brandon Jennings got things moving in the right direction with 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting, six rebounds and seven assists, and Monta Ellis scored 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting with eight rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and one block. Ellis has apparently become less of an item on the trade block, but I don’t know if I’m buying that just yet and I’d be looking to sell him high with Jennings’ future in Milwaukee a bit more solidified than it was 24 hours ago. It’s hard to see the Bucks wanting to keep both these guys together, so Ellis could still be on the go, and while the Hawks may be interested he could also land somewhere that has better depth.
Larry Sanders (back) returned and wasted no time putting up numbers with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting, eight rebounds, and six blocks. I swear he’s going to lose out on Defensive Player of the Year because he plays in a small market and the upper rung of the NBA media takes a long time to figure things out. Predictably, Samuel Dalembert played just 11 minutes with three points, three rebounds, and a block, and owners can move on or if the wire is really bare wait until the deadline passes. I personally wouldn’t hold him without a strong trade rumor sending him to a good landing spot. Ersan Ilyasova is paying me off after a painful start to the year, as he put up 21 points, nine rebounds and a full line for another solid night.
POPCORN MUSCLES
Joe Johnson scored 24 points with five rebounds and five assists, and hit the game-winning shot with time expiring against the Bucks. And you know what that means – it’s one of those sell-high moments for a guy whose popcorn numbers hide problems with peripheral stats. Deron Williams returned from his ankle injury and scored 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting with nine assists and three treys in 45 minutes. After talk during All Star Weekend about how out of shape and injured he is, it’s good to see him put in a workmanlike performance. Still, I won’t act like I wasn’t trying to talk myself into stashing C.J. Watson (11 points, zero assists, two steals, 5-of-9 FGs, one three) in some formats.
BAYLESS STAT SOURCE
Jerryd Bayless scored eight points with five rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals, and he’s going to be prone to big nights every once in a while as a legitimate rotation player for the Grizzlies now. Just expect inconsistency and consider him a deep league guy until he proves otherwise. Ed Davis had his first noteworthy line for the Grizz, but he still played just 21 minutes on his way to 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting with four rebounds, one steal, and four blocks. He needs a major injury in front of him before he’ll matter in most leagues.
A.D. – AFTER DRUMMOND
Charlie Villanueva has been a dark horse to have value in the Pistons’ Andre Drummond-less frontcourt, but he put up a stinker last night with two points on 1-of-8 shooting, two rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in 17 minutes. He can get hot and start putting up numbers, but has plenty of risk. Will Bynum fell off the map after a solid 20-point, eight-assist game before the break, managing just five points and two steals in his 18 minutes.
BACK TO NORMAL
Kirk Hinrich (elbow) returned to the starting lineup and had five points, 10 assists, and three steals in 31 minutes, while Nate Robinson returned to his inconsistent bench role with six points and not much else in 17 minutes. This is basically the same situation it has been all year with Derrick Rose’s return a question mark, and for what it’s worth (not much) Chris Broussard reported that Rose looked like he is “ready to go” during 5-of-5 drills. Joakim Noah went for 15 and 17 with three blocks, and now the trick will be to see if his foot injury is waning or if this was the result of him having rest during the break. Carlos Boozer went for 17 and 10 with four steals, and the Bulls would throw a party if they could dump his contract on another team.
PELICAN DROPPINGS
Anthony Davis scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting with 10 rebounds, four steals, and one block in 33 minutes, and I’ll go against our blurber and say that he operates on a see-saw with Robin Lopez (one point, four rebounds, two blocks, 21 minutes) and not Ryan Anderson (10 points, 2-of-11 FGs, six rebounds, 28 minutes). Anderson isn’t too far off of his utilization here, and I think Davis’ prior struggles were either his ankle, Monty Williams giving him tough love, or a combination of the two.
Good Al-Farouq Aminu showed up with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, seven boards, three steals, and two blocks. You almost have to take a chance on him when he’s putting up numbers like that in standard leagues, but do so knowing that inconsistency is still a pretty reasonable forecast. Eric Gordon scored 20 points and won’t play tonight because of his knee, hand, and/or chance there is a team ridiculous enough to trade for the guy. Take your pick. I’ve been on you guys to sell him high on any night he does well and has a clean bill of health for the next 24 hours.
IRON OUT THE WRINKLES
The Boston guard situation is still officially not worth my time in standard leagues, but Courtney Lee made some noise with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, two threes, three boards, four assists, and two steals. This is definitely his high water mark. Avery Bradley scored a season-high 17 points but hit just 7-of-16 shots and only had three boards and a three to add to his stat line. Jason Terry was grounded with seven points and not much else. Jeff Green scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting with two threes, two rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocks in 33 minutes off the bench, and he looks like he’ll be called upon to carry some decent load and that will help iron out the wrinkles, which aren’t fully going away. I think Green is a must-own player in 12-teamers right now.
AIRBALL
Andre Iguodala struggled mightily in his return from a neck injury, going 0-for-7 from the field and 1-of-4 from the foul line with airballs in both categories. He salvaged some of his night with three boards, seven assists, two steals, and one block, but it wouldn’t be surprising if we learn he’s still bothered by the injury. Keep a close eye on him going forward. Ty Lawson owners won’t mind if Iguodala is at less than his best, as Lawson kept his foot on the gas with 26 points on 8-of-13 FGs, six rebounds and six assists. Danilo Gallinari returned from an illness to score 26 points with four treys, five boards, and five assists in 39 minutes, and both he and Lawson will see their production cut whenever Iguodala gets back up to speed.
With a nine-game slate last night and 11 games tonight, and the trade deadline bearing down on us, we’re going to get right to work.
Click here for real-time news and fantasy information on Twitter.
RAPTOR WINGS
If you’re an owner of anybody in Toronto not named Rudy Gay (24 points, 10-of-25 FGs, eight boards, three steals) or DeMar DeRozan (24 points, 9-of-18 FGs, three steals), you’re probably pretty tired of the wing-dominated attack the Raptors are employing. Kyle Lowry had a nice line of 11 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists, but hit just 3-of-6 shots, while Jonas Valanciunas (seven points, eight boards, one block) and Amir Johnson (six points, five boards, two steals, two blocks) combined to take just six shots. It sure seems like this is the way the Raptors are going to roll, as Gay and his handlers in Toronto seek to prove that he can be a No. 1 scorer.
THE BEAL DEAL
Bradley Beal owners never could have counted on Jordan Crawford to totally implode, but Beal’s solid play has made it an easy decision for the Wizards’ brass to authorize Crawford’s exile. Beal moved back into the starting lineup and scored 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting with three treys, four rebounds, and one assist. Barring an injury or prolonged slump out of Beal, he’s positioned to roll with heavy minutes the rest of the way out. John Wall is on a slight minutes limit due to his knee, and the 1-of-12 shooting mark with seven turnovers isn’t going to help assuage fears that he’s not fully healthy. Owners shouldn’t panic here, and he managed nine points on the strength of 7-of-8 FTs to go with six assists, three steals, and two blocks, so it’s not like he was schlepping around.
DON’T CALL ME B.J.
Gerald Henderson got hot and scored a season-high 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting (including a three) with 10 rebounds and three assists, and is certainly worth owning in standard formats. Byron Mullens has been doing everything I’ve hoped he would upon his return, which is stick his nose in the middle and play with toughness. He put up his third 20-10 game in four tries, scoring 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting with 12 rebounds, two threes, and a steal. Kemba Walker added a solid line of 24 points, four rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and three treys in the Cats’ win over the Magic.
MAGICAL ROOKIES
Andrew Nicholson has been an average to above-average stash and he gave his owners something to crow about with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and a steal in 32 minutes. With plenty of developmental minutes in store barring a significant roster change, I’d have to be pretty stacked in a 12-team league not to add him and I think he’s a must-own player in that format. Moe Harkless is the same animal as Nicholson but not nearly as proficient at putting up numbers, but he has improved in that respect lately and had another solid night with 15 points, six rebounds, a steal, a block, and a 3-pointer. He has merit as a pickup in 12-team leagues, but I’d stop short of calling him must-own right now.
COMING DOWN TO THE DEADLINE
Depending on the time of the day, either some or all of the Bucks are on the trade block so it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out. In last night’s two-point loss to the Nets, Brandon Jennings got things moving in the right direction with 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting, six rebounds and seven assists, and Monta Ellis scored 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting with eight rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and one block. Ellis has apparently become less of an item on the trade block, but I don’t know if I’m buying that just yet and I’d be looking to sell him high with Jennings’ future in Milwaukee a bit more solidified than it was 24 hours ago. It’s hard to see the Bucks wanting to keep both these guys together, so Ellis could still be on the go, and while the Hawks may be interested he could also land somewhere that has better depth.
Larry Sanders (back) returned and wasted no time putting up numbers with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting, eight rebounds, and six blocks. I swear he’s going to lose out on Defensive Player of the Year because he plays in a small market and the upper rung of the NBA media takes a long time to figure things out. Predictably, Samuel Dalembert played just 11 minutes with three points, three rebounds, and a block, and owners can move on or if the wire is really bare wait until the deadline passes. I personally wouldn’t hold him without a strong trade rumor sending him to a good landing spot. Ersan Ilyasova is paying me off after a painful start to the year, as he put up 21 points, nine rebounds and a full line for another solid night.
POPCORN MUSCLES
Joe Johnson scored 24 points with five rebounds and five assists, and hit the game-winning shot with time expiring against the Bucks. And you know what that means – it’s one of those sell-high moments for a guy whose popcorn numbers hide problems with peripheral stats. Deron Williams returned from his ankle injury and scored 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting with nine assists and three treys in 45 minutes. After talk during All Star Weekend about how out of shape and injured he is, it’s good to see him put in a workmanlike performance. Still, I won’t act like I wasn’t trying to talk myself into stashing C.J. Watson (11 points, zero assists, two steals, 5-of-9 FGs, one three) in some formats.
BAYLESS STAT SOURCE
Jerryd Bayless scored eight points with five rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals, and he’s going to be prone to big nights every once in a while as a legitimate rotation player for the Grizzlies now. Just expect inconsistency and consider him a deep league guy until he proves otherwise. Ed Davis had his first noteworthy line for the Grizz, but he still played just 21 minutes on his way to 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting with four rebounds, one steal, and four blocks. He needs a major injury in front of him before he’ll matter in most leagues.
A.D. – AFTER DRUMMOND
Charlie Villanueva has been a dark horse to have value in the Pistons’ Andre Drummond-less frontcourt, but he put up a stinker last night with two points on 1-of-8 shooting, two rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in 17 minutes. He can get hot and start putting up numbers, but has plenty of risk. Will Bynum fell off the map after a solid 20-point, eight-assist game before the break, managing just five points and two steals in his 18 minutes.
BACK TO NORMAL
Kirk Hinrich (elbow) returned to the starting lineup and had five points, 10 assists, and three steals in 31 minutes, while Nate Robinson returned to his inconsistent bench role with six points and not much else in 17 minutes. This is basically the same situation it has been all year with Derrick Rose’s return a question mark, and for what it’s worth (not much) Chris Broussard reported that Rose looked like he is “ready to go” during 5-of-5 drills. Joakim Noah went for 15 and 17 with three blocks, and now the trick will be to see if his foot injury is waning or if this was the result of him having rest during the break. Carlos Boozer went for 17 and 10 with four steals, and the Bulls would throw a party if they could dump his contract on another team.
PELICAN DROPPINGS
Anthony Davis scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting with 10 rebounds, four steals, and one block in 33 minutes, and I’ll go against our blurber and say that he operates on a see-saw with Robin Lopez (one point, four rebounds, two blocks, 21 minutes) and not Ryan Anderson (10 points, 2-of-11 FGs, six rebounds, 28 minutes). Anderson isn’t too far off of his utilization here, and I think Davis’ prior struggles were either his ankle, Monty Williams giving him tough love, or a combination of the two.
Good Al-Farouq Aminu showed up with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, seven boards, three steals, and two blocks. You almost have to take a chance on him when he’s putting up numbers like that in standard leagues, but do so knowing that inconsistency is still a pretty reasonable forecast. Eric Gordon scored 20 points and won’t play tonight because of his knee, hand, and/or chance there is a team ridiculous enough to trade for the guy. Take your pick. I’ve been on you guys to sell him high on any night he does well and has a clean bill of health for the next 24 hours.
IRON OUT THE WRINKLES
The Boston guard situation is still officially not worth my time in standard leagues, but Courtney Lee made some noise with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, two threes, three boards, four assists, and two steals. This is definitely his high water mark. Avery Bradley scored a season-high 17 points but hit just 7-of-16 shots and only had three boards and a three to add to his stat line. Jason Terry was grounded with seven points and not much else. Jeff Green scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting with two threes, two rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocks in 33 minutes off the bench, and he looks like he’ll be called upon to carry some decent load and that will help iron out the wrinkles, which aren’t fully going away. I think Green is a must-own player in 12-teamers right now.
AIRBALL
Andre Iguodala struggled mightily in his return from a neck injury, going 0-for-7 from the field and 1-of-4 from the foul line with airballs in both categories. He salvaged some of his night with three boards, seven assists, two steals, and one block, but it wouldn’t be surprising if we learn he’s still bothered by the injury. Keep a close eye on him going forward. Ty Lawson owners won’t mind if Iguodala is at less than his best, as Lawson kept his foot on the gas with 26 points on 8-of-13 FGs, six rebounds and six assists. Danilo Gallinari returned from an illness to score 26 points with four treys, five boards, and five assists in 39 minutes, and both he and Lawson will see their production cut whenever Iguodala gets back up to speed.
WAIT, YOU MEAN THE WARRIORS AREN’T A WELL-COACHED DEFENSIVE TEAM?
You guys have watched me tip-toe over my Warriors all season, refusing to give in to the premature coronation of a team with glaring flaws on defense and in the coaching box. Well, the losing streak is up to six games and beat writers have pegged Klay Thompson (15 points, seven rebounds, 6-of-11 FGs, no threes), David Lee (18 points, 9-of-13 FGs, nine rebounds, one steal, one block) and the rookies as guys whose minutes could take a hit if things don’t turn around. Thompson isn’t so much the problem as Lee, who for just about every conceivable reason is a league-worst defender at his position. When Andrew Bogut (zero points, five boards, 15 minutes) is a few weeks from busting out and looking awful on defense, that makes four players in the starting lineup that are well below average on that side of the floor.
Harrison Barnes (three points, 19 minutes) was never noted for his defense and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him demoted for a guy like Draymond Green if the Warriors keep losing. Jarrett Jack (19 points, nine assists) is probably safe but one has to think the heavy guard rotation could be something to review if you’re coaching in a losing streak. Carl Landry (five points, five rebounds, 18 minutes) is somebody to watch if Mark Jackson finally gets tired of watching his bigs get massacred every night.
WAITING TO EMERGE
Gordon Hayward (shoulder) returned from his 10-game absence to put up 17 points, three rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two threes in 25 minutes. Maybe the Jazz realized how much they missed him when he was gone. Derrick Favors (14 points, four rebounds, 21 minutes) is as must-stash as they get and could be in for a monster second half if anybody ahead of him gets traded, and Hayward could also benefit, especially if volume-shooting Al Jefferson is the one to go.
GIVE HIM THE BALL AND GET OUT OF THE WAY
Goran Dragic broke out of a funk with 16 points, five rebounds, a career-high 18 assists, two steals and one block. Hopefully this marks a change in philosophy for the Suns, who have held Dragic back and made him a bystander at times within their scheme. Marcin Gortat (12 points, five boards, one steal, one block) owners can only hope he is next, as he is clearly not himself and whether it’s on the coaching or the player he could use a boost in confidence. Part of his frustration is almost certainly rooted in the Suns’ desire to go to Jermaine O’Neal (nine points, 13 boards, zero blocks, 20 minutes) whenever he is healthy. The offense literally runs through O’Neal when he is on the floor, while Gortat has openly complained he gets no touches. And no, Gortat owners should not be dropping him at all, let alone for O’Neal.
WANTED: NBA PLAYERS
Wesley Matthews (ankle, elbow) did not play and that all but guarantees heavy minutes for the Blazers’ only remaining NBA-level players. Damian Lillard (24 points, zero rebounds, seven assists, six turnovers, 41 minutes), J.J. Hickson (25 points, 16 rebounds, one steal, one block, 39 minutes), Nicolas Batum (5-of-14 FGs, 15 points, five boards, five assists, one steal), and LaMarcus Aldridge (23 points, five boards, 40 minutes) are all going to be must-start players with or without Matthews, but his absence makes them capable of going bonkers.
As for Batum and his shooting wrist injury, the fact that it didn’t heal over the break is bad news for his overall value even if owners need to be careful not to panic. I think if the injury doesn’t improve then he’ll be a shutdown candidate, though that is too far off for owners to get too worked up about. For now, he looks like a guy that will struggle with his shot and that has been enough to drop him into a mid-round value over the past two weeks. I’d expect him to hold low early round value even if he continues to struggle with his shot, and if I can get anything in the top-36 players I’d be considering it. I might only pull the trigger on a top-24 player right now, but I think owners have to be aggressively looking at this situation and not pretending like these guys are football players.
DUNCAN DILEMMA
The Spurs headed into Sacramento and actually got a game, though it didn’t take long for Keith Smart to hand them the win. Tony Parker scored 30 points with four rebounds, 11 assists, three steals, and seven turnovers. Danny Green was left open constantly for 21 points and five treys, Tiago Splitter disappeared with four points, four assists, and two blocks in 21 minutes, Kawhi Leonard posted a modest 15 points, two threes, and one steal, Stephen Jackson (personal) did not play, Manu Ginobili put up 12 points and seven boards in just 19 minutes, and Tim Duncan scored nine points with 14 rebounds, two steals, and four blocks. I’ve been pretty bearish on the idea of unloading Duncan for anything but a one-round discount for most of the year because of his dominant play, but I agree with Doc that it’s now time to look at aggressively selling high. The knee scares might have some residual impacts and it’s officially that time where things start to get weird in Gregg Popovich’s world.
TODAY IN ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Isaiah Thomas was the star of the show for the Kings last night, scoring 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting (2-of-4 threes, 8-of-8 from the line, 43 straight made FTs) with two rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes. Of course, that means that Keith Smart benched him for most of the fourth quarter and that was enough to give the Spurs breathing room. A candidate for the single-stupidest basketball decision I’ve seen made by an NBA coach/organization, perhaps worse than giving Kendrick Perkins and Derek Fisher big minutes in any playoff game, is to not give Thomas both heavy minutes and complete autonomy on the court late LAST year.
When every player on the team outside of Thomas, and maybe Jimmer, is not just a bad decision-maker but a terrible decision-maker, you take the one guy who is clearly talented enough to be a difference-maker – the guy that gets it – and you give him the ball and that makes your team ‘not a laughingstock.’ That there is any controversy over this is beyond me, as there are actually people that talk about the Kings for fun and/or money that haven’t figured this out. Marcus Thornton scored 16 points with four treys in his 24 minutes, and is just as likely to get benched for Slamson if Smart sees a matchup advantage in which a lion on rollerblades gives him the edge.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
DET @ CHA: Can Byron Mullens keep it up? Can Andre Drummond surprise us all and return sooner rather than later? Those are my two big questions about both of these teams right now.
MEM @ TOR: Last chance for Andrea Bargnani to make some noise. Maybe Colangelo will send a note down to Rudy Gay and ask him to help a brotha out.
NY @ IND: Danny Granger had a small hole in the cartilage of his knee, which doesn’t tell us a whole lot since the report identifying this said this was the original problem. All we know for now is that his return date keeps getting pushed back and he’s questionable for the back-to-back on Friday and Saturday. The Pacers have a 32-21 record so they can afford to play it safe, but this is still a cause for concern, and at least one possible reason for his absence will go away if he’s still missing time after the deadline.
OKC @ HOU: Jeremy Lin (hand) and Toney Douglas (hip) are questionable, though with no updates on Lin since before the All Star break it sounds like he’ll be okay.
BKY @ MIL: Last game before the trade deadline for the Bucks, so it’ll be interesting to see how Monta Ellis handles it. He more than anybody else needs to put up a big game if he wants to get out of town.
PHI @ MIN: Andrew Bynum guaranteed he’d play again this season, and we’re well beyond the point of believing much of anything he says. I’m all for dropping him in just about any circumstance, as he could be limited if he returns. Just weigh the risk and make the call. Thaddeus Young’s (hamstring) target date is apparently February 26, so plan accordingly. I started Andrei Kirilenko (quad) in a bunch of leagues, as my gut says he’ll be ready to play at close to 100 percent. He’s starting in tonight’s game.
NO @ CLE: Marreese Speights has turned up in trade rumors, and the Cavs need to keep their noses clean on the effort side of things or face a total implosion down the stretch. It’s a talent issue, they just have zero room for error.
MIA @ ATL: The Josh Smith circus gets one more game and he’s the domino everybody else is waiting on. For a bigger trade deadline, my gut says the sooner he moves the better chance GMs will have a chance to get their trade offers together.
ORL @ DAL: O.J. Mayo (ankle) sounds like he will play and Chris Kaman (concussion) would theoretically be in a good spot to return after the All Star break, but we haven’t heard anything to suggest that will happen.
PHO @ GSW: Hopefully for owners of Suns assets they will let Goran Dragic continue to run the offense, while in GSW they need to send a message to David Lee that defense isn’t optional. If he put as much energy into defense as he does getting the uncontested missed free throw rebound he’d be on the right track.
BOS @ LAL: Can the Lakers salvage their season? Do they even care? Is Kobe going to maim somebody? On a serious note, thoughts and prayers go out to Jerry Buss and the Laker family. I know nothing about the man other than that he led one of the league’s two flagship operations, and seemingly gave his all owning the team. The game we devote ourselves to is a better game thanks to his efforts, and the league needs more owners like him.