Fantasy Related But Great Info.........
I am, I am, I am Superman...
There were only four games last night and we've got nine more on the slate tonight. I had a really tough decision to make in one of my leagues, and that was whether to play
Jamal Crawford for four games or
Ronnie Brewer for five. I really wanted to play Crawford, as it kind of felt like he might be OK this week with so many of his Golden State teammates injured. But I couldn't stomach the thought of him sitting out for two or three games, chickened out and played Brewer instead. Brewer scored 17 last night, but didn't do much else, while Crawford had a great line despite some poor shooting. There's a long way to go this week, but mistakes like that one can leave a lasting impression.
The Warriors blew a late lead over the Grizzlies, who got great lines from
Mike Conley,
Rudy Gay and
O.J. Mayo. This is probably bad news for a few of you who didn't have the guts to play Conley or Mayo this week. Conley was coming off a two-point, 0-for-8 performance, while Mayo hit the rookie wall a while back. Mayo had 24 points, 10 dimes and two threes, Conley had 21 points, six boards, six assists, four steals and three 3-pointers, and Gay had 21 points, two steals and five blocks – which was his grand total in blocks for the month of February.
The Warriors got 26 points, five boards, four assists, three steals, two blocks and five treys from Crawford, although he hit just 8-of-22 shots. After scoring 30 in his previous game, JC looks like he's back in the good graces of Nellie, but we all know that can change in a heartbeat.
Monta Ellis shook off a second-half shoulder injury to finish the game, hitting 12-of-29 shots for 29 points, three boards, five assists, a steal and no threes. His shoulder injury was a little scary and he appeared to be in a lot of pain, but the key is he finished the game. Owners who started
Anthony Randolph have to be pleased with his line of eight points, 12 boards and three blocks in 38 minutes, and it doesn't sound like
Brandan Wright (shoulder) is coming back any time soon.
The Magic beat the Heat as
Dwight Howard became the youngest player to grab 5,000 rebounds, passing Wilt Chamberlain on a night that saw him go off for 22 points, 18 boards and a block.
Rashard Lewis may finally be out of his funk after his 21 points, four boards and five treys on 8-of-12 shooting. He also had a steal and a block in the win. For the Heat,
Dwyane Wade played through a sore hand and ankle for 42 points on 16-of-34 shooting, and also added four boards, four assists, four steals, one block and zero 3-pointers. Wade keeps playing through nagging injuries, but a day off at some point is always a possibility. Jermaine O'Neal had 10 points and seven rebounds, giving him 16 straight games of eight or less rebounds. I don't have time to dig that deep, but that has to be the longest stretch he's ever had without grabbing 10 boards, at least since his rookie season.
Mario Chalmers was solid with 13 points, three boards, seven assists and five steals.
The Nets were blown out from the opening tip by the Bucks, despite playing at home. The 107-78 loss should put them out of the playoff race, and I'm a little worried about
Devin Harris continuing to play once it's officially over, but that's probably just because I need him this week. The Nets starters hit a total of 11 shots in the embarrassing loss, with
Vince Carter and Harris each hitting just 3-of-11, while
Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 14 in plenty of garbage time. The Bucks got 29 points, 10 boards and four treys out of
Richard Jefferson, while
Charlie Villanueva cooled off after a hot start to finish with 20 points, three boards, two assists, a steal, a block and a couple threes. Not his best line of the year, but much better than his previous couple games.
Joe Alexander had 16 points, four boards and a couple threes in garbage time, but could get some decent run the rest of the way. Keep an eye on him.
Larry Hughes went down with a sprained right ankle as the Knicks fell to the Jazz after mounting a late comeback. Harrington picked up a late technical again and committed eight turnovers, but somehow remains out of Mike D'Antoni's doghouse for the time being. Harrington scored 24 points and hit a couple treys, but also grabbed just three rebounds.
Quentin Richardson was also out with a foot injury, yet
Nate Robinson played just 22 minutes and finished with 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting. While things are looking a bit bleak for Nate, who is clearly in D'Antoni's doghouse, you have to think he'll play better the rest of the week if Hughes and Richardson miss more time with their injuries.
Deron Williams led the Jazz with 24 points and 13 assists, while
Carlos Boozer chipped in with 21 points and 11 boards. Brewer scored 17, but didn't do much else, while
Andrei Kirilenko went down with a finger injury. As if he wasn't playing poorly enough already, the injury is going to make him shaky for their remaining four games this week. My early condolences if you used him this week, although he did say the injury isn't serious and he hopes to play tonight.
Mehmet Okur had just eight points and four rebounds due to foul trouble, while
Paul Millsap (12 points, seven boards, three steals) and
Kyle Korver (16 points, four boards, three assists, one three) both got their five-game week off to a decent start.
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News and Notes
Baron Davis practiced on Monday and looks like he could play on Wednesday. If he does,
Mike Taylor's value takes a hit, although he should still get some decent run as Baron deals with an ulcer and calf injury.
Luther Head broke his hand yesterday, ending his season and clearing the way for Super Mario to continue to rack up minutes and production.
Andrew Bynum could play in the Lakers final two games of the season, but I'm not expecting much, as he'll come off the bench and simply try to get some sense of feel prior to the start of the postseason.
Kobe Bryant fully participated in practice and it looks like his ankle injury is a non-issue.
Andris Biedrins would like to finish the season, but is out at least for the week with his ankle injury. In addition, Nellie told him there's no hurry to get back on the court, so you have to think his season could be over.
Josh Howard is expected to finally return from his ankle injury tonight, although I imagine he's on a lot of fantasy benches. His return will make it very tough for J.J. Barea and
Antoine Wright to have much success this week.
Randy Foye (hip) and
Craig Smith (calf) are both iffy for tonight's game and missed practice on Monday. I would not have had the guts to play either of them this week.
James Posey will miss most of the week with an elbow injury, having been ruled out for at least the next three games.
LeBron James plans on playing in every game down the stretch, which is obviously tremendous news for his owners who are still trying to lock down a championship.
Greg Oden should return to the starting five at some point before the playoffs, so
Joel Przybilla's owners have to prepare themselves for the hit that's coming.
John Salmons sat out the end of his last game with a groin injury, leaving him a little iffy for tonight's game against the Pacers.
Brandon Rush scored 29 points against the Bulls in his last game and I'm hoping he does it again tonight, since I plugged him into a lineup.
There are nine games tonight, starting with the Lakers visiting Charlotte. After losing to the Hawks on Sunday, this could be another trap game for L.A. However, you have to think the thought of losing back-to-back games to Indy and Charlotte is going to get Kobe pretty fired up.
Atlanta is at Philly tonight and we'll have to see if
Samuel Dalembert plays through his leg injury. I benched him this week.
Detroit is at Cleveland and it will be interesting to see what
Allen Iverson does, as well as
Will Bynum.
Jo-Ho should return at Minnesota, as we all anxiously await to see what lineup Kevin McHale will deploy tonight.
Oklahoma City visits San Antonio and
Tim Duncan owners have to pray that the Thunder show up, or TD could get a quick hook from Gregg Popovich.
The Knicks are at Denver, so look for
Renaldo Balkman to go off on his former team, while this game should give us a good feel for what Nate-Rob will do the rest of the way – especially if Hughes and Q-Rich are out.
The Jazz are at Portland, while the Hornets, likely to be without
Peja Stojakovic and
Tyson Chandler again, visit the Kings.
