Fantasy Related but good info......
Rocket Man
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Skin Trade[/SIZE]
A Denver television station reported that the Nuggets and Nets had "agreed to terms" on a deal for Carmelo Anthony, although it was vehemently denied by all parties involved. But in case you missed it, the Nets acquired a No. 1 pick from the Rockets for Terrence Williams yesterday, as well as the expiring contract of Sasha Vujacic. They're not collecting things like that unless they firmly believe they're in the race for Melo, although even if they don't land him, those are still extremely valuable assets to have. Melo has also been linked to the Magic, as well as the Knicks.
As far as T-Will in Houston goes? He's likely going to play behind Shane Battier and Kevin Martin, but the key word there is 'play.' Rick Adelman is a player's coach, and T-Will has skills that Adelman is going to love. Kevin Martin is injury prone, Shane Battier is an offensive sieve and Williams could end up getting 25-30 minutes a night. I don't love Williams in Houston, but I like his situation there a heck of a lot more than him sitting for Avery Johnson. I am picking him up wherever I can and seeing what happens.
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Game Notes[/SIZE]
Piston Powered
Greg Monroe started and had five points, seven boards and a block in 20 minutes. John Kuester praised him after the game and Monroe might finally be ready to start some games for Detroit. I like the idea of owning him right now, but he's a coin flip between players like Amir Johnson and Terrence Williams. Richard Hamilton scored 24 points and Charlie Villanueva had 22, but good luck trying to guess when they'll both play this well again. We know they have it in them and took out their frustrations on the helpless Hawks last night. Tracy McGrady hit four 3-pointers to finish with 16 points, six rebounds, a steal and a block last night. I watched some of the game and he actually looked good, as in healthy, to me. Am I rushing out to pick him up? Nope. But if he does this again in his next couple games, I might give him a shot.
No Steph, No Problem
Monta Ellis had 34 points, his first 30-point performance since Dec. 2, while Reggie Williams blew up again with 26 points and four more 3-pointers in a win over the Wolves. Williams' train will slow down quite a bit when Stephen Curry returns (possibly Saturday), but this may have been the jump-start he needed to get going.
Darko Night
Darko Milicic's quad is apparently feeling better as he went off for a career-high 25 points last night, along with 11 rebounds. He surprisingly didn't have a block and was playing against the Warriors, but this was still a nice game. If he was dropped in your league, you might want to go grab him if you need blocks (and a decent starting center).
Martell Webster had 17 points, five boards, a steal and two 3-pointers in his return from a back injury on Tuesday. The Wolves are crowded at the wing, but this was a nice start for Webster. Keep a close eye on him unless you're in a 14-team league. If you're in that deep he might be worth a pickup right now. Jonny Flynn also made his debut and had three points and four assists in 16 minutes. They're going to bring him back slowly and he'll split minutes with Luke Ridnour (1-for-9, five points, 11 assists) when he's fully healthy.
Breakin' the Law(son)
Ty Lawson started for Chauncey Billups (out for at least a week with a wrist injury) and had 16 points and six assists as the Nuggets
beat the Magic. If the Nuggets go on a winning streak with Billups in street clothes, George Karl might have a tough decision to make regarding his point guards. Add to it the fact that Billups may actually require surgery and could miss a month or two, and Lawson is a must-own player across the board. The Nuggets are talking about trading J.R. Smith back to the Bulls (where he had a very brief visit in the past) and if you're wondering why, look no further than the fact he fouled J.J. Redick shooting a 3-pointer last night, then picked up a technical foul, creating the rare five-point play opportunity for Redick.
Black Magic
Rashard Lewis hit just 2-of-8 shots last night for eight points and had not scored more than 15 points in a single December game. Again, he's too good to just cut, but too bad to get anything in return if you trade him. What a disaster. Brandon Bass made his third straight start and had 10 points and three boards in 26 minutes. That wasn't impressive, but he'll be worth owning if he sticks in the starting lineup. Watch this situation closely, but it doesn't help the Magic lost to the Nuggets. J.J. Redick scored a career-high 29 points last night, hitting 9-of-12 shots, six threes and racking up five rebounds, two assists and a steal off the bench. He's getting hot and is worth keeping an eye on in all leagues. But he's only a must-own player if Vince Carter goes down, or loses his job to Redick.
www.miamiheat.ws
Rockets Top Kings
Shane Battier scored just three points in 22 minutes last night, while Chase Budinger got hot and scored 18. With Terrence Williams soon appearing in a Rockets jersey, Battier's minutes could get squeezed tightly. I'd rather own Williams than Battier at this point.
Francisco Garcia had 10 points in 26 minutes off the bench last night, while Luther Head started for injured Tyreke Evans (foot). Head had 11 points, but if you started Garcia this week, you've got three more chances for some good things to happen. And I still think he was the smart play this week with Evans possibly out for a few more games. Carl Landry had 17 points and five rebounds, Jason Thompson had 15 & 10, DeMarcus Cousins had 17 & 7, and Samuel Dalembert fell off a cliff last night. Four bigs all fighting for minutes, points and rebounds while playing for Paul Westphal is not my idea of a good time.
Sixers Take Out Nets
Andre Iguodala hit just 2-of-9 shots for eight points, five rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks in 40 minutes on Tuesday. This is becoming far too common a line for Iguodala and it's clear that Doug Collins is sacrificing Iguodala in order to win some games, or at least be competitive. That is a fantasy nightmare and Iguodala should probably be dangled as trade bait as soon as he posts a couple nice lines. Spencer Hawes scored a season-high 18 points with two threes, five boards, four dimes and two steals in 24 minutes. He's playing well enough to be given a shot in some leagues, if you're desperate at center.
Derrick Favors had 10 points and 13 rebounds in 27 minutes on Tuesday. A starting job should be coming soon and I think Favors is one of the best prospective pickups in the league right now. Add him near the top of the list that includes Ty Lawson, Jerryd Bayless, Terrence Williams, Amir Johnson and Greg Monroe.
We're Off To Smash the Wizards
Lamar Odom had 18 points, 10 rebounds, a steal and a block on Tuesday, the same night Andrew Bynum made his debut. Bynum played just 17 minutes and had seven points, four boards and two blocks, but Odom's numbers will suffer a bit once Bynum gets acclimated. I don't think Odom will fall far enough to really hurt your fantasy team much, but he will have a tougher time scoring and boarding at some point.
Bobcats Squeeze By Raptors
Nazr Mohammed had 18 points, eight rebounds and a block, while Stephen Jackson had seven points on 3-of-8 shooting for the Bobcats. Go figure. Tyrus Thomas returned from his quad injury and had 14 points, seven rebounds, a steal and two blocks in 21 minutes. Hey, Larry B – More minutes please!
Amir Johnson had 12 points, 12 boards, two steals and two blocks last night. He cooled off in his last game, but is the focal point for the Raptors at power forward for at least another month. Jerryd Bayless had 17 points, nine dimes, two threes and a steal last night, and is going to continue to get solid minutes even when Jose Calderon returns from a foot injury. Calderon doesn't sound likely for tonight, but timeshares at point guard are no fun in fantasyland.
Keep reading for Injury Notes, including updates on Derrick Rose, Danny Granger and Joakim Noah.
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Injury Notes[/SIZE]
Danny Granger is expected to play against the Lakers tonight after missing his last game with a sprained ankle.
Derrick Rose is hoping to play tonight despite a sprained right wrist. Coach Tom Thibodeau thinks Rose will play tonight, which is obviously great news.
The Bulls are very concerned Joakim Noah may have ligament damage in his right (shooting) thumb. He went through shootaround and will play tonight, but will undergo further tests later in the week. He's already on the ropes with Carlos Boozer taking over and this could be your sign to move him.
Gerald Wallace sprained his ankle last night but stayed in the game. He predicted it would swell on him if he left, which makes us a little nervous about his availability for Wednesday's matchup with the Grizzlies. Stay tuned.
Andray Blatche has his knee drained recently and is feeling much better, although getting your knee drained is a sign of a bigger problem. Hopefully it just goes away, but owners of Blatche might be wise to trade him as soon as he has a couple nice games. I'm not a real doctor, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the knee injury is a direct result of him overcompensating while trying to come back from a broken foot.
John Wall's knee tendinitis is just another notch in his injury-prone belt, while Flip Saunders fueled the fire by saying he doesn't think Wall will ever be fully healthy. "I don't think, with his situation, that he's ever going to be pain free from that, so what we're going to do is monitor him." And you know how sometimes when you're mad at someone you make a joke, but you're not really kidding? Here's another zinger from Flip. "I was kind of kidding him. I told him, in the first 20 games, you missed more games than John Stockton missed in 20 years," said Saunders. Wow.
Robin Lopez will return from his back injury tonight and should be in the starting lineup. Keep an eye on him.
Shaquille O'Neal is out for tonight with his calf injury after missing practice on Tuesday.
Jamal Crawford left Tuesday's game with a sore back after hitting just 1-of-6 shots for two points. Consider him day-to-day and iffy for Thursday. Damien Wilkins got the minutes in his absence, but didn't do much of anything with them.
Anthony Morrow heard a pop in his hamstring that kept him out to start the game, and limited him to just 30 seconds of action on the night. He'll have an MRI today, while Jordan Farmar now looks like a must-own player, once again. Farmar didn't kill it last night, but was playing well enough even before Morrow's injury to be owned in most leagues. And yes, Travis Outlaw is again worth a look now that Williams has been traded from the Nets. Outlaw had 14 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
Ben Wallace left with an ankle injury last night and didn't return. He could have returned to the game, but consider him day-to-day for now. More good news for Greg Monroe.
Yi Jianlian sprained his right knee on Tuesday and will have an MRI today.
Mickael Pietrus will have an MRI on his knee on Wednesday. If he's out it creates a little more time for guys like Quentin Richardson, J.J. Redick and starter Rashard Lewis.
