Welcome Back?
My man Matt Stroup will be chatting hoops this week, but it won't happen until Thursday afternoon. That move could be permanent until the end of the season, so look for him on Thursday afternoons instead of Wednesdays from here on out.
Last night saw the return of
Chris Kaman, as well as plenty of other surprises from the Clippers – including a near win over
LeBron James and the Cavaliers. As usual, there's a ton of injury information in today's Dose, along with highlights from Tuesday night's action.
Welcome Back?
Chris Kaman finally returned from a foot injury last night and even started, logging almost 30 minutes. He hit just 3-of-11 shots and finished with six points and four rebounds, but the fact he started and got solid minutes is fairly encouraging if you picked him up. Maybe he'll go on a late-season romp and help you win your league. Then again, the Clippers have had no luck and Kaman hasn't looked effective since last season. But if he's available in your league, grab him.
Marcus Camby made a surprise appearance last night and had eight points and seven rebounds. He didn't block a shot, but the fact he played despite all the recent drama surrounding his ruptured eardrum is a great sign. However, he's still a leading candidate for being shut down early.
Baron Davis returned from his hamstring injury and finished with 12 points and six assists, while
Zach Randolph started and had 20 points and 12 boards. Amazingly, the Clippers were set to beat the Cavaliers last night until getting outscored 35-16 in the fourth quarter to lose by four.
LeBron James posted his second straight triple-double with 32 points, 13 boards and 11 assists, while
Delonte West completely disappeared with just two points, two assists and one steal. The good news is he isn't hurt, as far as we know.
Thunder Win In Green's Return
Jeff Green returned to action for the Thunder last night, finishing with 22 points, six rebounds and seven turnovers. Despite the turns, he looked pretty good and should be ready to finish the season after missing a few games with a back injury.
Nenad Krstic was nice again, finishing with nine points, 15 boards and three blocks. It took some time, but he's definitely paying off for owners these days. And so is
Thabo Sefolosha, who had 17 points, seven boards and five steals last night as the Thunder beat the Kings.
Nick Collison was a surprise DNP with a groin injury, which has to be frustrating if you rolled the dice on him this week. Mr. Durant is still hoping to play this weekend. We'll see.
Kevin Martin tweaked his left ankle in last night's loss and sat out the entire fourth quarter. That's the tricky thing about owning players on really bad teams right now. It won't take much to make them sit out, although Martin is listed as day-to-day.
Andres Nocioni started again and scored 16 points, but struggled from downtown. Most of his damage was done in the first half.
Spencer Hawes is also paying dividends again, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Howard Could Be Out For March
Josh Howard could miss the rest of the month with his ankle injury, although the Mavs are still listing him as day-to-day. Someone emailed me last week and accused me of being irresponsible for causing unnecessary panic for the owners of three players; Howard,
Luol Deng and
Kevin Durant. Hmmm. Howard could be out for three weeks after returning to play one and a half games on a left ankle that already kept him out for 11 games earlier this season, Deng has been shut down for two weeks and could be done for the year, and Durant has now missed six full games (and most of a seventh) with an ankle injury. Yeah, I was preaching doom and gloom on these guys as soon as they went down, but there was a reason for it.
Anyway, in Howard's absence last night,
Jose Juan Barea started at shooting guard and had 16 points, three boards and four assists. Here we go again. I have no idea if Rick Carlisle is going to stick with him this time, while
Antoine Wright, who slid over to SF, is just as intriguing. Pick either player up if you're waiver wire is thin, but don't expect to be able to rely on either of them on a daily basis.
Dirk Nowitzki also had a big night that included 34 points.
The Mavericks beat the Suns, despite Shaquille O'Neal hitting 9-of-10 shots for 21 points and eight boards.
Matt Barnes stayed hot with 21 points and seven boards, and has proven to be an excellent pick up after averaging 16 points over his last five games.
Steve Nash scored 23 points and added 13 dimes in the loss. Speaking of Nash, he has now scored at least 20 points in six straight games. While that doesn't seem like a big deal, it's the first time he's ever done so in his career.
Duhon Struggles As Hughes, Lil' Nate Go Off
Chris Duhon scored just five points in 32 minutes last night as the Knicks beat the Bucks. It could be his ankle, his back or just the fact that he's out of gas, but Duhon is no longer a must-start. Another guy who didn't look like a must-start was
Larry Hughes, who went off for a season-high 39 points to go along with six boards, four steals and five 3-pointers. Wow. Hughes had scored just 11 and 13 points in his previous two games, so I'm guessing he was on several fantasy benches last night, which is just too bad. Hughes is also averaging 2.7 steals and 2.8 threes over his last six games.
Nate Robinson had a big fourth quarter to finish with 32 points, seven assists and four steals, but hit just one 3-pointer.
David Lee also looked great despite a sore knee, racking up 19 points, 18 boards and a block two games after seeing his double-double streak end.
The Bucks got 32 points out of
Charlie Villanueva and 22 out of
Ramon Sessions, but
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who had been playing well coming in, had just two points, four boards and two assists in the loss.
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Deron Struggles In Win Over Pacers
Deron Williams hit just 1-of-9 shots for five points in a win over the Pacers, but did add 12 assists as the Jazz got their 12th straight victory.
Ronnie Brewer was solid again with 18 points and five steals, while
Carlos Boozer actually played through his sprained ankle to finish with 11 points and seven boards. If Brewer is available in your league, pick him up. The Jazz play five games in Week 23.
Roy Hibbert returned from a personal absence and had 12 points and five blocks for the Pacers. He's still not consistent enough to be used every day, but keep an eye on him.
Injury News and Notes
Odom, Rudy Out
Lamar Odom was suspended for one game for coming off the bench in Monday's mini-altercation after
Rudy Fernandez was put on a stretcher by
Trevor Ariza – who will not be suspended. Odom is out tonight's game at Houston, while Rudy is not likely to play for the Blazers tonight against Dallas with a chest injury. In addition,
Steve Blake has a sore right hand that could impact his ability to shoot in the near future, but it sounds like he will play against the Mavs.
Jerryd Bayless will be a game-time decision for the Blazers tonight with the flu.
Beli-Nellied
Marco Belinelli, who had been playing well and looked like a pretty good pick up, is doubtful tonight when the Warriors host the Nets because of a toe injury. Of bigger concern is what the return of
Monta Ellis means for
Jamal Crawford. There is all kinds of talk about Crawford coming off the bench with
Corey Maggette so that Ellis can start at point guard. Honestly, I have no idea what will happen here, and am glad that I don't own any of them so I don't have to worry about it. In any case, it does sound like Ellis will play tonight and Nellie says he's only going to play him at point guard, which is obviously bad news for Crawford. But as you all know by now, Nellie reserves the right to change his mind whenever he wants, so just sit back and see what happens here before panicking.
Andris Biedrins should return to action tonight after a two-game personal leave, but
Ronny Turiaf is now iffy with a sore left knee. I think he'll play.
Marvin Done?
Marvin Williams' back injury sounds pretty serious and there's a lot of talk in the ATL that he might be done for the year. We should know within in the next week, but if you want to cut him to get a healthy and productive player, do it.
Flip Murray looks like a nice replacement, while
Maurice Evans should have some big games as a starter for the Hawks.
Granger Danger
Danny Granger (foot/knee) should play again this season and would like for it to happen on either Friday or Saturday of this week. I got an email yesterday from someone thinking about trading
Dirk Nowitzki to get Granger, which is a pretty terrible idea for the Dirk owner. Granger may come back and play a few games, but I still maintain that he will shut it down once the Pacers are officially out of the playoff race. Hopefully though, Granger returns this weekend and you'll be able to play him with confidence next week. We'll see.
Tidbits
Detroit's
Rasheed Wallace could miss tonight's game against the Knicks with a calf injury.
Boston's
Eddie House should start against the Heat in place of
Rajon Rondo (out with ankle injury).
Hedo Turkoglu remains iffy for tonight's trip to Chicago with an Achilles' injury.
Rodney Carney (groin) and
Randy Foye (ankle) are both out for Minnesota's meeting with Memphis, and both sound very iffy for Friday against the Knicks.
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=subHead vAlign=top colSpan=3>League suspends Lamar Odom for one game </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=vaLabel colSpan=3>Lamar Odom - F - LAK - Mar. 10 </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>Lamar Odom has been suspended for one game for leaving the immediate vicinity of the bench during Monday's altercation in Portland.
