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Home on the Grange
There were 11 games on the NBA calendar last night, and the TV listings indicate that there's some sort of college basketball event on today, so let's do away with the small talk and get right down to the business at hand.
Order of business #1: Due to the aforementioned college basketball event – which I believe is called the AARP Tournament – I will not be chatting on Thursday this week. The chat is being moved to Friday at 1:30 PM Eastern, a time when there is also college basketball scheduled, but also a time at which slightly less people will be blatantly playing hookie from work than were doing so on Thursday.
Order of business #2: a team-by-team breakdown of Wednesday night's games and all the relevant injuries. Away we go:
BOBCATS
Observations: Gerald Wallace was terrific Wednesday (25 points, 12 rebounds, two steals, two blocks, two threes) despite playing through a knee injury in the second half. An MRI came up negative, the injury is being called a bone bruise, and Wallace is expected to play on Friday.
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BUCKS
Observations: The Bucks scored just 80 points Wednesday, so we won't linger here for long.
Charlie Villanueva (17 points, five boards, a three and a block) had the best Milwaukee fantasy line, and the only good news here is that weekly league owners might have had their Bucks benched for the two-game week.
BULLS
Observations: Brad Miller's last three games: 16.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 4.7 apg. The upcoming five-game week is looking very intriguing… Meanwhile, Miller's hot streak has cooled off
Joakim Noah (5.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg in his last three), but Noah still salvaged two steals and three blocks Wednesday.
CELTICS
Observations: Rajon Rondo's ankle is just fine, thank you (27 points, 10 assists)… After a quiet stretch,
Paul Pierce is locked in again (37 and 36 points his last two games)… With
Ray Allen (elbow) out,
Stephon Marbury got a season-high 31 minutes, but had just four points and six assists… I still don't truly trust
Kendrick Perkins with a fantasy playoff lineup spot, but he has averaged 17.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg and 3.3 bpg in his last three and could keep rolling for now with the Celtics' frontcourt decimated.
Injuries: Leon Powe is out 2-3 weeks with a sprained knee. Time to cut him loose unless you're in a deep league…
Ray Allen could miss the rest of the week due to his elbow injury…
Kevin Garnett (knee) looks like he'll at least be out through the weekend.
CLIPPERS
Observations: Baron Davis tied his career-high with 20 assists (along with 11 points, eight boards and two threes) and will be a beast for as long as he remains on the court…
Eric Gordon (26 points Wednesday; 19.8 ppg in March) is good enough to get his numbers regardless of who's healthy for the Clippers…
Steve Novak (21 points, six threes) won't stay this hot (17.8 ppg, 5.3 treys in his last four), but he's worth a flier if you need an immediate boost in threes…
Chris Kaman (19 points, six rebounds, six turnovers in 21 minutes) is still getting in shape, but could be worth a lineup spot before too long.
Injuries: Marcus Camby (hamstring) unexpectedly sat out. He should come back from this one, but the chances of a shutdown prior to season's end remain high.
GRIZZLIES
Observations: Rudy Gay had 30 points Wednesday. It's true that he didn't do much else, but you shouldn't complain about 30-point nights (bad karma). Gay is starting to get locked in and looks set to finish his disappointing season on a nice run…
Darrell Arthur blew up for 10 points, seven boards, four steals and five blocks, but you should not count on this happening again.
Injuries: Darko Milicic (back) sat out, but is only a consideration in deep leagues.
HEAT
Observations: Miami took the Celtics to OT despite
Dwyane Wade missing his first game of the season (more on that in a second), thanks to solid games from Jermaine O'Neal (17 points, five boards, six assists, two blocks),
Mario Chalmers (19 points, nine assists, three treys, two steals) and
Michael Beasley (21 points, seven rebounds). O'Neal is finally getting comfortable in Miami (21.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg and 3.0 bpg in his last three), while Beasley had been averaging just 8.0 ppg over his last three and remains too inconsistent to trust.
Injuries: Wade's hip was obviously hurting if he sat out a matchup with the Celtics, but I'd be surprised if he's not back on the court against New Jersey on Friday.
HORNETS
Observations: It's not shocking to see
Chris Paul drop 26 points, 10 assists and five steals, but it's worth noting that he's averaging an obscene 28.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 9.8 apg and 3.8 spg in his last five…
Hilton Armstrong had 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in place of
Tyson Chandler (ankle), but don't expect anything close to that on a regular basis.
Injuries: Chandler is day-to-day with lingering ankle trouble…
Peja Stojakovic (back) could return sometime in the next week, but it's not certain when that will be.
KINGS
Observations: Rashad McCants blew up for 30 points, five threes, two steals and two blocks, but only because
Kevin Martin was out with an illness…
Spencer Hawes (two points in 25 minutes) got buried by foul trouble…
Jason Thompson is averaging 14.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg and 1.8 bpg in his last four.
Injuries: Odds are Martin won't miss a significant amount of time…
Andres Nocioni (quad) is hoping to play Friday… McCants injured his ankle late, but left the court under his own power.
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KNICKS
Observations: The Knicks got crushed by 26 against New Jersey, but Mike D'Antoni was kind enough to play his starters extensively anyway…
Al Harrington (21 points in 31 minutes) appears to be back in D'Antoni's good graces for now…
Chris Duhon returned to action and had six points, three assists and three steals in 30 minutes. That's not much, but he could still be relevant before the season is over.
MAGIC
Observations: Dwight Howard (28 points, 12 boards, seven assists, two blocks) and
Hedo Turkoglu (14 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two treys) posted big lines in the blowout win, while
Rashard Lewis (13 points on 4-of-11 shooting) continues to struggle. He's been dreadful lately (9.2 ppg on 26.3 percent shooting in his last five), but will bounce back.
NETS
Observations: Vince Carter stayed hot (29 points, five threes),
Brook Lopez had a dominant line (23 points, five boards, eight assists, three steals, three blocks),
Keyon Dooling (17 points, eight assists) was solid in place of
Devin Harris and
Chris Douglas-Roberts had a career-high 14 points and seven assists in a blowout win. Unfortunately, the Nets don't get to play the Knicks every night.
Injuries: Sean Williams (suspension) sat the first of two games… The timetable for
Devin Harris' return from shoulder and deltoid injuries has not yet been determined.
NUGGETS
Observations: Carmelo Anthony broke out for 35 after two straight quiet nights… Hopefully
J.R. Smith (21 points, five threes) is in your lineup. He has 11 threes in his last two games and there's no telling how long this hot streak will last…
Kenyon Martin (four points, four rebounds) is not worth owning in 10-team leagues right now, while
Renaldo Balkman (four points, 12 boards, two steals and a block) is an intriguing waiver wire option.
PACERS
Observations: The big headline for the Pacers was
Danny Granger's return the starting lineup – and fantasy prominence – with 35 points, 10 boards, five threes and two blocks.
Injuries: Troy Murphy (calf) didn't play Wednesday, and his status for Friday is uncertain.
PISTONS
Observations: Given how timid he became during his slump, it's great to see
Rodney Stuckey take 25 shots, even if he only made eight of them (he finished with 21 points and 10 assists)… Aaron Afflalo (24 points, four threes) is officially a compelling waiver wire option with
Richard Hamilton (groin) sidelined…
Antonio McDyess continued his improbable resurrection with 14 points, 20 rebounds, three steals and three blocks in the double-OT loss and is a must-start right now.
Injuries: No word on how long Hamilton will be out, but it appears he at least has a chance to return on Friday…
Rasheed Wallace (calf) sat again, and is day-to-day going forward.
ROCKETS
Observations: Yao Ming made a noisy return from a one-game, flu-related absence (31 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks)…
Aaron Brooks' numbers were solid (14 points, four assists, two threes, a steal and a block), but his stats wouldn't have looked nearly as good had the game not gone to double-OT.
SIXERS
Observations: Lou Williams got hot off the bench for 21 points, but is still too inconsistent to be trusted…
Samuel Dalembert struggled to four points, six rebounds and a block, but he had played well in four straight and should get back on track after a Shaq-induced off night.
SUNS
Observations: All the Suns' starters showed up Wednesday: 24 points and 10 assists for
Steve Nash; 25 points for
[URL="http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=NBA&id=1551"]Jason Richardson[/URL]; 26 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for Shaq; 21 points for
Grant Hill and five points, nine rebounds and five assists for
Matt Barnes.
Injuries: Leandro Barbosa left early with a hyperextended knee. If he misses extended time (a distinct possibility), Richardson, Hill and Barnes will all see a boost in minutes.
THUNDER
Observations: Thabo Sefolosha had just six points, but added five rebounds, three assists, three steals and four blocks and is now averaging 11.1 points, 5.8 boards, 2.4 steals and 1.3 blocks since coming to Oklahoma City.
TIMBERWOLVES
Observations: It was not a memorable night for most T-Wolves, but
Kevin Love had 23 points, 11 boards and a block and should be started in most formats.
TRAIL BLAZERS
Observations: Greg Oden played just 12 minutes in his return to action, posting four points, seven boards and a block. That left
Joel Przybilla to finish with another strong line (10 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks), but his stats will take a hit soon.
Injuries: LaMarcus Aldridge suffered a concussion and is a game-time decision for Thursday's matchup with Cleveland.
WIZARDS
Observations: Darius Songaila (14 points, six rebounds, three assists, five steals) is a serviceable deep-league option, even though there's no clear reason the rebuilding Wizards should still be giving the veteran more minutes than
JaVale McGee (13 points, four rebounds, two blocks) and
Andray Blatche (14 points, four rebounds, two blocks).
Injuries: Caron Butler (hamstring) sat again Wednesday. He should return from this hamstring injury, but remains a very high shutdown risk…
Juan Dixon left Wednesday with a strained right Achilles', which is good news for one-dimensional scorer
Nick Young, who had 18 points on Wednesday.
TONIGHT
The first of Thursday's three games has Dallas in Atlanta, where
Joe Johnson,
Josh Smith & Co. have won six straight games. The second game has Portland (possibly minus
LaMarcus Aldridge) with the unenviable task of facing
LeBron James, in Cleveland, coming off a 43-point, 12-rebound, eight-assist night. The late game has Golden State taking on the Lakers in L.A., where
Stephen Jackson returns to action after a one-game suspension.
As always, Dr. A will have the complete rundown on Friday. In the meantime, enjoy the copious intake of college hoops on Thursday, and don't forget to bathe and eat. Those two activities are still important, even if the tournament causes everything else in your life to plummet into utter turmoil.
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=subHead vAlign=top colSpan=3>Gerald Wallace (knee) likely to play Friday </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=vaLabel colSpan=3>Gerald Wallace - F - CHA - Mar. 19</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>An MRI on Gerald Wallace's knee came back negative, and he's expected to play on Friday with what's being called a bone bruise.
