No Yao? No Problem
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Snapdraft is still in full effect and is a great way to get your fantasy fix while you…
A. Wait for baseball season to start.
B. Wait for your fantasy hoops draft next October in case you're out of it this year.
C. Wait for your football draft in August.
Hornets Fall to Rockets Despite No Yao
Chris Paul had a big game in the Hornets loss to the Rockets last night, finishing with a 4x5 game, consisting of 29 points, six rebounds, 11 assists and six steals.
David West double-doubled, but the Hornets couldn't get it done despite
Yao Ming being out for the Rockets with the flu. And
Tyson Chandler, despite the absence of Yao, managed just four points and seven boards in the loss. Losses like this one are one of the reasons you rarely hear CP3's name mentioned in the MVP race.
Dikembe Mutombo started in Yao's place and had six boards and three blocks, while "point guard"
Aaron Brooks added 14 points, one 3-pointer and two assists. At least he hit his shots tonight, finishing 6-of-8 from the floor.
Nuggets Blow Out Nets
The Nuggets crushed the Nets on Monday as
J.R. Smith scored 19 off the bench, despite that fact that George Karl keeps saying he's the starting shooting guard. Smith curiously hasn't started in three of his last four games, but according to Karl, is still the starting SG for Denver.
Renaldo Balkman, who was probably a popular pick up and start for fantasy owners, took a double whammy tonight. Not only did
Kenyon Martin return from a back injury and start, but
Renaldo Balkman left the game with a groin injury, leaving him day-Groin injuries are generally very bad news in fantasyland, so owners just have to hope he returns at some point this week. Martin had eight points and four rebounds, and appears to be far from 100 percent.
Vince Carter stayed hot in the loss, finishing with 32 points after scoring 41 against the Clips in his last one. Carter hit five more treys tonight and is definitely hot again. He was quoted recently as saying that he would not give up on his team, regardless of the playoff picture, which is great news for his owners.
Keyon Dooling started in place of injured
Devin Harris (shoulder) and had 17 points, six assists, a steal and a three in the loss. If you rolled the dice and started Dooling, who played just over 18 minutes, it looks like you might have made the right call. That said, Dooling's lack of minutes is a big concern going forward.
Blazin' In Memphis
Rudy Gay double-doubled and had a strong all-around line (if you ignore the 7-of-21 shooting), while
O.J. Mayo scored 21 in a loss to the Blazers.
LaMarcus Aldridge stayed hot with 22 points, eight boards, four dimes, two steals, a block and a rare 3-pointer in the win.
Joel Przybilla finished with 13 points, 13 boards, a steal and four more blocks, and continues to rock with
Greg Oden sidelined. It's looking likely that Oden will play at some point this week, so JP's run could be coming to an end.
Travis Outlaw was solid off the bench again, finishing with 18 points, five boards and two 3-pointers.
Spurs Fall To Thunder
Tony Parker scored 28 points and handed out seven assists, but the Spurs fell to the Thunder behind
Kevin Durant's 25 points. Durant's line wasn't all-world tonight, but it was good enough. I don't know about you, but I get the feeling they are going to be one of the most exciting teams in the league to watch next year, if they're not already. For the Spurs,
Michael Finley had just seven points, but was hot coming in and likely in some starting lineups this week.
Tim Duncan had a double-double and a couple blocks in the surprising loss.
Cats Take Out the Raps
The Bobcats crushed the Raptors last night behind 25 points and a sweet line from
Gerald Wallace, while
Raymond Felton chipped in with eight assists and three steals. The Raps got a disappointing performance from
Andrea Bargnani, who didn't hit a three, but still managed to score 14 points and pick up a steal and a block.
Chris Bosh led the way with 18 points and 14 boards for the Raptors, and remains one of the leading candidates to be shut down early this season. He was shut down early the last time the Raptors missed the playoffs and is constantly dealing with wear and tear issues with his knee.
Captain Jack Loses Four Of A Kind
Stephen Jackson was suspended for Tuesday's game after his double-technical explosion on Sunday, turning his four-game week into a three-gamer. He should still produce in three games, but it's all based on whether his coach thinks it's a good idea to play him in those three. I think Jax is good to go for the three. The second T was his 16th tech of the season (automatic suspension), and now owners just have to hope he doesn't pick up another couple T's, or he will be suspended for another one.
Troubbble
Sean Williams is in legal trouble again. This time he was arrested for damaging property in a cell phone store, He was recently in the headlines for showing up at a Boston College game, despite the fact he had been forbidden to do so, and was kicked off the BC team for a drug violation. It sounds like he got a raw deal in the BC game incident, but he threw a monitor and damaged some other equipment last night, so he could be in some trouble. Any way you slice it, he keeps showing up in the headlines for the wrong reasons. It's pretty sad too, as he had been playing well lately and making an impact for the Nets.
Down Go Darko and Arthur
Darko Milicic left Monday's game with a strained lower back in the first quarter last night and never returned. Hopefully you don't have him locked in for the week, but it's possible after he posted double-doubles in two of his last three games. Consider him day-to-day.
Darrell Arthur also left with a sprained right knee and did not return. Consider him day-to-day as well, and look for
Hakim Warrick to play well this week. Warrick had 15 points and three boards in just 13 minutes tonight, but will surely get more run if Arthur is going to miss time.
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B-Jax To Have Surgery
Bobby Jackson will have surgery on his broken cheekbone, which could end his season. With
Beno Udrih healthy, Jackson's value was dwindling anyway, but Will Solomon is worth keeping an eye on from here on out as Beno's back up.
Tough Week For Jazz
Deron Williams and
Mehmet Okur are both game-time decisions for Tuesday's game against the Wizards with leg/ankle injuries. The Jazz play just two games this week anyway, so hopefully there aren't horrible fantasy ramifications coming from this one. That said, if they were to go down in Week 23 (five games), it would likely be devastating to their owners. We had the news of their injuries posted early enough that it should have persuaded you from having them in the lineup this week.
The Butler Traveled
Caron Butler is traveling with the Wizards despite his hamstring injury, but that doesn't mean he'll play this week. An MRI didn't turn up much information, but he's hurting, dealing with fluid in his hamstring. He may suit up at some point this week, or this season, but I wouldn't be surprised if we've seen the last of him. He wasn't even expected to travel, so there's a decent chance he'll play again, but it's far from a guarantee.
Devin Likely To Miss At Least Two Games
The Nets, who are fighting for their playoff lives, didn't have
Devin Harris on Monday and he's not likely to play on Wednesday, either. He's questionable for the entire week with a shoulder injury, and should have been on fantasy benches in weekly leagues. Bench him until he gets back to Jersey mid-week and the results of his MRI become known. If you started Dooling this week, it looks like a good move at this point.
Peja's Back Still A Big Problem
Peja Stojakovic missed his seventh straight game on Monday and is iffy for the whole week. Maybe he'll play again soon, but the Hornets don't seem in a rush to bring him back too soon.
Barbosa Hurting
Leandro Barbosa was 0-for-5 in the second half of Sunday's game, but doesn't appear to have a hernia. Instead, he's in serious pain with an abdominal injury and may have some real problems making it through the week in one piece. The Suns play just two games this week, so he should have been on most benches anyway. If I was running the Suns, I would have given him these two games off.
Oden Traveling, Could Play
Greg Oden is traveling with the team and could play through his knee injury later in the week, although that's far from a guarantee. When and if he does return, it will hurt the value of
Joel Przybilla.
Big Z Has Bad Thumb
Zydrunas Ilgauskas played through a jammed thumb in his last game, but should be safe for this week. We'll just have to see what happens, but he was somewhat risky coming in.
Z-Bo Back
Zach Randolph should return from an "on-again, off-again" period while dealing with the death of his father. I caught a little heat for being somewhat insensitive to Zach's situation on Monday, but didn't mean any disrespect. Obviously, it's been a terrible couple months for Z-Bo, but this is a fantasy hoops column, and the impacts to owners who played him over the last couple weeks have been potentially devastating. Ironically, Z-Bo's last bereavement leave resulted in him catching some heat for being in a strip club (and leaving without paying) in Portland, but his latest absence was all business. He should be back in L.A. and ready to go from here on out.
Novak Heating Up Again
Steve Novak has hit 12 3-pointers in his last two games, including the game-winner on Sunday. He was an interesting gamble this week, but will likely take a hit with Z-Bo back. He's averaged 19 points and hit a total of 12 threes in his last two games, so fantasy owners may have picked him up and started him this week in hopes of a boat load of 3-pointers. We'll see if he delivers on Tuesday at Golden State.
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=subHead vAlign=top colSpan=3>Jamal Crawford will sit on Tuesday, Thursday </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=vaLabel colSpan=3>Jamal Crawford - G - GS - Mar. 17 </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>Warriors coach Don Nelson intends to bench Jamal Crawford on both Tuesday and Thursday this week, despite the absence of Stephen Jackson (suspended) on Tuesday.
