Fantasy related but great info.....
Delonte: Prince of Thieves
As you may have heard, there were 10 NBA-sanctioned basketball contests held last evening, and since the day's order of business is breaking those games down, I figure we might as well begin immediately:
The Chuck Norris Report (Missing in Action)
Caron Butler (hamstring) – Missed his second straight game Wednesday, and hopefully we'll get some word on Thursday regarding his status for Friday at San Antonio.
Luol Deng (leg) – Word out of Chicago Wednesday night was that Deng has an "early anterior tibial stress fracture." Feel free to consult your physician as to the meaning of that one, but we're interpreting it like this: It's "early" now, which means that Deng is going to keep testing the injury, but it could very well become "late" (i.e., season over) if the leg doesn't respond well. For now, get Deng on your bench and hope that this thing improves. I, for one, am not terribly optimistic.
Allen Iverson – He's out at least two weeks with his back injury and there are whispers that he may not come back this season. Those are still just whispers, so don't do anything drastic yet.
Nate Robinson (ankle) – He sat out on Wednesday, but should be ready for a matchup with Charlotte Saturday.
Marcus Camby – He left after just one quarter Wednesday due to a migraine. Owners are probably getting sick of bad things happening to his head, but hopefully he'll be ready to go on Saturday.
Eric Gordon (shoulder) – Speaking of Saturday, it sounds like that's the day Gordon could return. Stand by.
Mike Conley – He broke a tooth (and probably lost a large handful of brain cells) after taking a
Baron Davis elbow on Wednesday. Odds are he'll be ready on Saturday. (Are you noticing a theme here? Saturday: The day people return from injuries.)
Kevin Durant (ankle) /
Jeff Green (back) – Hey, guess what? Durant and Green didn't play on Wednesday, but could return to action on… Saturday (though the reality is that both may be out through the weekend).
Danny Granger (foot) – Wednesday was a no-go, but there's still a chance for him to return: Saturday.
Jared Jeffries – He sat out with a bruised knee. The Knicks next play on – wait for it – Saturday.
Chris Kaman – He won't play Saturday. He's targeting a return March 14.
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Now, onto the big headlines from Wednesday night:
I'll Take That
The Cavs clinched a playoff spot with an easy win over Milwaukee, and
Delonte West clinched a whole bunch of balls (hmm, that doesn't sound right) with a career- high eight steals. He has now clinched a whopping total of 13 steals/balls this week, which is impressive.
Meanwhile,
Richard Jefferson led the Bucks with 29 points, but this was not an enjoyable evening for the Milwaukee franchise, which scored just 73 points.
Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out
Stephon Marbury went scoreless in 15 minutes and received a heavy smattering of boos in his first game in New Jersey as a Celtic. The Celtics, however, won the match behind 31 points and a game-winner from
Paul Pierce in addition to 17 points and 13 rebounds from
Kendrick Perkins. In case you're wondering, that represents the second-highest point total of the season for the offensively challenged Boston center.
For New Jersey,
Devin Harris is playing well (26 points, 11 assists), but not shooting well (10-of-35 his last two games), while
Vince Carter dropped a long overdue 34 points, his highest scoring output since December.
Why Are We Yelling?
You've probably heard by now that Shaquille O'Neal called Stan Van Gundy a "frontrunner" and the "master of panic" on Wednesday, which is amusing, but not really fantasy relevant. What is relevant is that Shaq went out and scored 22 points with eight boards, two steals and two blocks, and is clearly having no trouble keeping up with
Steve Nash (29 points, 10 assists) in the Suns' up-tempo attack.
The other big headline out of Phoenix is that
Matt Barnes (19 points, five threes) went back to the starting five alongside
Grant Hill (13 points, six rebounds, three assists), sending
Leandro Barbosa (nine points, four assists, two threes) to the bench. The good news is that all three played 30-plus minutes, a trend that would keep everyone happy and reasonably productive, regardless of who's starting.
For Miami,
Dwyane Wade is good (35 points, 16 assists), and
Daequan Cook and
Michael Beasley combined for 55 points off the bench, but won't have the luxury of playing the Suns every night.
Meanwhile, Jermaine O'Neal fouled out with just six points in 22 minutes, and it occurred to me that he's one of the few players in the league you're actually happy to see foul out, because it means he at least finished the game as opposed to getting hurt.
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The Most Disappointing American Hero
Wednesday night, the Knicks' broadcast team likened
Josh Smith to a super hero who doesn't know his own powers. I'd prefer to liken him to a guy who signed a fat contract and hasn't looked that motivated this season (he had 16 points, two rebounds and zero blocks Wednesday). However, those of us who are really frustrated need to remember two things: 1) Smith is still only 23 years old; 2) He can sleepwalk his way to better lines than what he showed Wednesday night. I'm getting somewhat tired of vouching for him, but I'll reiterate that I still think he has some big games left.
Meanwhile,
Al Horford (20 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks) is on fire, while
Mike Bibby (11 points, four rebounds, four assists) appeared to be having some discomfort relating to his shoes and feet during the game. He was still able to play 38 minutes, and hopefully it won't be a long-term issue.
For the Knicks, the big story was a career-high 17 points in 22 minutes from rookie
Danilo Gallinari, but I don't see any reason to go parading through the streets just yet. I can see Gallinari having fantasy value at some point in the future, but I don't see it happening right now.
Also of note for the Knicks:
Larry Hughes had another big game (23 points, four boards, four assists, two steals, three treys) and suddenly looks like a strong fantasy start even after
Nate Robinson returns.
Rhymes With… Nothing
Two words about the Wizards-Thunder matchup:
Thabo Sefolosha. He had 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, three blocks and a three on Wednesday and should not be sitting out there on the waiver wire unless you're playing in one of those ridiculous 8-team leagues where there are hordes of good players available at all times (my unsolicited advice: Get a couple more people and turn it into a real league).
As for Sefolosha, it's true that he got some extra touches with no
Kevin Durant or
Jeff Green, but he's locked in as a starter in Oklahoma City and can help in any given category on any night, even after Durant and Green return.
Benching Roulette
Around 10 p.m. last night, I had a Lloyd Christmas moment while pondering the current state of the Golden State Warriors:
"That's it. I've HAD IT with this dump! We got no food, we got no jobs, our pets' HEADS ARE FALLIN' OFF!"
Granted, that quote doesn't apply to basketball, but the general attitude of being 100 percent fed up applies perfectly to what Don Nelson is doing with the Warriors. The latest development in NellieGate: playing
Ronny Turiaf despite a proclamation that he was going to bench him, and benching
Kelenna Azubuike without warning. I don't want to waste a lot of words on this topic, so I'll simply say this: At this point, I don't think any marginal Warriors are worth the trouble unless you're playing in a very deep league.
One piece of Golden State news:
Andris Biedrins has left the team due to a family matter and is not expected to play on Friday. Even though he won't be with the team, Nellie will probably somehow find a way to get Biedrins into the lineup – just because we're not expecting it.
On the Bulls' side,
John Salmons was large in
Luol Deng's absence (23 points, nine rebounds), while
Joakim Noah (14 points, 17 boards, four blocks) and
Brad Miller (19 points, six rebounds) are showing signs of being a reasonably productive center platoon (though playing the Warriors always helps).
Booz Cruise
Carlos Boozer announced his return to fantasy relevance with 20 points and 17 boards Wednesday, rendering
Paul Millsap (four points, four boards) useless, and potentially droppable.
Meanwhile,
Ron Artest is making remedies for his awful shooting earlier this year (25 points, five threes), and
Aaron Brooks is proving that he's still a waiver wire gem in progress (nine points, three assists, two steals, two threes).
Lone Star Throwdown
In Dallas,
Jason Kidd (17 points, seven rebounds, nine assists),
Josh Howard (29 points, four threes) and
Dirk Nowitzki (24 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, two blocks) all responded well to Mark Cuban's recent tirade in a win over the Spurs.
For San Antonio,
Tony Parker scored 37 (he's known to do that from time to time), and Roger Mason broke out of a slump with a much-needed 23 points and four treys.
Rudy Awakening
The big headline from the Grizzlies-Clippers game was the long overdue eruption of
Rudy Gay, who went for a season-high 35 points with eight rebounds, four assists, two threes and two steals. Believe it or not – and come to think of it, it may not be that hard to believe – this was his first 30-point game all season. I'd like to see him do it against a respectable NBA defense to truly feel encouraged, but enough of his buckets came on contested shots Wednesday that there's still plenty of hope for optimism.
Marc Gasol also posted his best line of the year in the same game: 20 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and three blocks on 7-of-8 shooting. You're probably sporting a rather obnoxious grin today if you had
Thabo Sefolosha and Gasol in your lineup last night.
Tonight
Dallas is in New Orleans, where we'll see if the Mavs' Big (or medium-sized) Three can keep its momentum going after a big night against the Spurs. And in the late game,
Carmelo Anthony returns from his one-game suspension most likely looking to make a big statement. You know who I wouldn't mind hearing even a small statement from right now?
Kenyon Martin. The man has just one double-figure scoring effort in his last six games and is averaging 0.5 steals and 0.5 blocks during that time. Unacceptable.
As always, look for Rotoworld's M.D. (the esteemed Dr. A) to be back in action on Friday to let you know exactly how everything transpired.
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=subHead vAlign=top colSpan=3>A.I. may be out less than two weeks after all </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=vaLabel colSpan=3>Allen Iverson - G - DET - Mar. 5 </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>Pistons coach Michael Curry said on Thursday that Allen Iverson may be able to return sooner than the two-week timetable placed on his back injury.
