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Before we get down to bizness, let's take care of some business: Yours truly will not be chatting on the semi-regularly scheduled day of Thursday this week. Instead, my weekly chat will be transpiring on Friday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, followed by Dr. A's
Season Pass subscriber chat at 3 p.m.
Now, to the real topic at hand: Wednesday night. Let's break it down:
BOBCATS
Observations: All five starters posted strong lines in a double-OT loss to Boston:
Raymond Felton (14 points, 12 assists),
Raja Bell (12 points, four rebounds, five assists, three steals, one missed game-winning three),
Emeka Okafor (12 points, 10 boards, two steals, two blocks),
Boris Diaw (17 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, three treys) and
Gerald Wallace, who was benched for the entire second quarter after picking up two first-quarter fouls but still contributed another standout performance with 20 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and a block.
BUCKS
Observations: Ramon Sessions messed around and got his first career triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 16 assists and two steals. I'm suddenly having flashbacks to his outrageous finish last season, when he averaged 15.0 assists in his last five games, highlighted by a 20-point, eight-rebound, 24-assist extravaganza. Too bad the Bucks play just twice next week… The searing-hot
Richard Jefferson hit for 29 points in a second straight game and has now averaged 30.0 ppg in his last three.
CELTICS
Observations: Paul Pierce (32 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, two blocks),
Rajon Rondo (21 points, four rebounds, nine assists, four steals, five turnovers),
Ray Allen (22 points, five threes, three steals) and
Kendrick Perkins (four points, 12 rebounds, three assists, five blocks, seven turnovers) were all varying degrees of outstanding…
Glen Davis played 39 minutes, but had just five points and eight rebounds after averaging 19.0 ppg and 11.0 rpg in his previous two.
Injuries: Tony Allen was supposed to return from a thumb injury, but didn't. I don't think any of us are supposed to care.
CLIPPERS
Observations: Chris Kaman had his first double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks) in a season-high 35 minutes…
Eric Gordon scored 25 and
Zach Randolph had 24 (with 14 rebounds), but neither of those events should be surprising…
Baron Davis (ulcer, calf) returned from a two-game absence and had 13 points, 12 assists, three treys and six turnovers. (Side note: It's fun to write ulcer. Most likely considerably less fun for
Baron Davis.)
Injuries: Al Thornton sat with a foot injury. He told the
L.A. Times that "It's pretty bad," but he's hoping to play Saturday…
Marcus Camby (ankle) could return this weekend, but that is far from guaranteed.
GRIZZLIES
Observations: Rudy Gay is making up for a frustrating season with some big lines in the fantasy playoffs. His latest effort: 25 points, six rebounds, two steals and four threes… Also currently making owners happy is
Mike Conley, who had a tremendous all-around line with 22 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals, two blocks and four threes… And
Marc Gasol took advantage of the less-than-stellar Wizards' D to post 18 points, nine boards, two steals and a block.
HEAT
Observations: In a strange turn of events,
Dwyane Wade played like a mortal human being, finishing with 23 points, six assists, a steal and a block (it's almost humorous that this represents an off night)…
Michael Beasley had 17 points, four rebounds and three steals, but now is not the time to start trusting him with a lineup spot.
HORNETS
Observations: Chris Paul had 30 points, 14 assists and six steals, which is an outstanding but not remotely stunning turn of events…
Julian Wright (18 points, nine boards, three assists, two steals) is suddenly well worth a look in deeper leagues until
Peja Stojakovic (back) returns (which might happen this week, but also might not).
Injuries: David West played through his ankle sprain on Wednesday, and though he didn't look terrific (19 points, three rebounds), he appears to be determined to keep fighting through it given the Hornets' other injuries.
KINGS
Observations: To be clear, the Warriors' 143-141 OT win over the Kings was entertaining, but ultimately it was a joke of an NBA game. At one point,
Andres Nocioni (12 points, six rebounds) and
Kelenna Azubuike (27 points, 13 rebounds) were the centers for their respective teams (which explains the disappearance of
Spencer Hawes, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three treys).
Given the rookie-sophomore game atmosphere, I'm not getting overly excited about any of these performances, even though
Kevin Martin scored a career-high 50 and
Jason Thompson (14 points, 19 rebounds, two steals, two blocks),
Francisco Garcia (22 points, four rebounds, five assists, three treys, three steals, two blocks) and
Beno Udrih (18 points, six rebounds, nine assists) were all very productive. The good news is, even though the game was a joke, the stats still count.
LAKERS
Observations: Lamar Odom had his first 20-point game since Feb. 26…
Kobe Bryant (30 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals) had a much needed scoring outburst after averaging 18.7 ppg in his previous three.
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MAGIC
Observations: Dwight Howard had 30 points (his highest scoring output since Feb. 22) with nine boards, three steals and a block on a
Dwight Howard-esque 10-of-21 from the line…
Rashard Lewis (18 points, four threes) has now averaged 19.8 ppg and 4.0 threes in his last four…
Courtney Lee (six points, four rebounds in 30 minutes) failed to hit double figures for the first time since March 15.
MAVERICKS
Observations: It's official –
Josh Howard is back. The oft-injured swingman finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, three steals, two blocks and a three in just 29 minutes and tremendously well on his ankle. (In true
Josh Howard fashion, he did injure his wrist in the closing seconds of the game, but was joking about it afterward so he'll hopefully be okay.)
NETS
Observations: In an effort to safe his job, Lawrence Frank went small, starting
Keyon Dooling (23 points, five treys) at shooting guard alongside
Devin Harris 19 points, 11 assists, four steals) with
Vince Carter (12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) moving to small forward. It worked, as Frank's Nets beat the Pistons, so Dooling could be in the lineup for good…
Ryan Anderson (14 points, five rebounds, three assists, two threes, two blocks) is definitely worth a look in 14-team leagues.
PISTONS
Observations: Richard Hamilton (29 points, six assists, two threes, three steals) was terrific while
Rodney Stuckey (16 points, seven rebounds, six assists) was solid… Meanwhile,
Allen Iverson (1-of-8 shooting in 17 minutes) is talking/whining about retirement, and I personally think it's about time to kick him to waivers…
Antonio McDyess (two points, seven rebounds, two blocks) has cooled off, but remains reasonably useful.
Injuries: Rasheed Wallace served a one-game suspension for being incapable of controlling his emotions. He might come off the bench when he returns, but should still get solid minutes.
RAPTORS
Observations: Chris Bosh played like he had a mouse trap clamped to his big toe, finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks as the Raptors stayed hot by winning their fifth straight. As long as the team is winning, Bosh and
Jose Calderon (21 points, eight assists) should be safe from shutdown… Meanwhile,
Shawn Marion (17 points, 15 rebounds, six assists) continues to look good as he plays for a contract.
ROCKETS
Observations: Ron Artest (28 points) and
Yao Ming (20 points, 14 rebounds) both had strong nights while the inconsistent
Aaron Brooks had one of his off games (nine points, five assists)…
Shane Battier was excellent (18 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, two blocks, four treys) and has now averaged 17.0 ppg in his last three, which to me screams that he's due for a five-point stink bomb.
SUNS
Observations: All five Suns' starters posted stats ranging from useful to outstanding, led by
Steve Nash's 25 points and 17 assists. The Suns remain four games out of the eighth playoff spot in the West, and hopefully the veterans won't get shut down once the team is officially eliminated.
Injuries: Leandro Barbosa (knee) is targeting a Friday return.
WARRIORS
Observations: As I mentioned earlier, the Warriors-Kings game featured an embarrassing lack of defense on both ends, so while there were plenty of big lines, there's not much point in reading into them excessively. One thing I will take away is that
Monta Ellis (a career-high 42 points with nine rebounds and nine assists) looks awesome right now regardless of the opponent. Also looking outstanding is
Anthony Randolph, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes (he picked up his fifth foul early in the third quarter and was left on the bench the rest of the game).
Injuries: Corey Maggette returned from a head injury, but left after taking another shot to the head and is out with what's being called post-concussion syndrome. That doesn't sound good, but hold off on dropping him until we hear something more concrete… Ellis took a shot to his left Achilles', but played through it and will hopefully be able to continue doing so.
WIZARDS
Observations: Owners who still have
Caron Butler have to be feeling like they're playing with found money at the moment. Tough Juice scored 31 points for the second straight game and is avoiding the curse of the season-ending shutdown for now…
Brendan Haywood (wrist) made his season debut and finished with two points, two rebounds and three blocks in 24 minutes. He could be worth a look in a deeper league…
Javaris Crittenton didn't play like a point guard (13 points, 11 rebounds, two assists) but will put up numbers on nights that
Gilbert Arenas doesn't play.
Injuries: As you can gather from the preceding sentence, Arenas chose not to play, meaning that he should suit up Thursday against Cleveland…
Darius Songaila returned from a neck injury, but played just nine minutes.
TONIGHT
Three games on the schedule, beginning with Milwaukee in Philadelphia, where the suddenly scalding
Ramon Sessions (13.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 10.7 apg in his last three) attempts to continue his roll against a Sixers team that will be adjusting to life without
Thaddeus Young (out 2-3 weeks with an ankle sprain). Keep an eye on
Marreese Speights… The second game of the night has
Gilbert Arenas up against
LeBron James and the Cavs, which should be good theater. And in the late game, Utah takes on Denver, with
Carmelo Anthony (32.2 ppg in his last five) attempting to stay piping hot. As I mentioned earlier, I'll be here to chat on Friday at 1:30, followed by Dr. A's Season Pass subscriber chat at 3 p.m. As people customarily say once they've finished making a plan, I'll see you there.
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=subHead vAlign=top colSpan=3>Maggette out w/ post-concussion syndrome </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=vaLabel colSpan=3>Corey Maggette - G/F - GS - Apr. 2 </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>Corey Maggette returned from a head injury on Wednesday, but then went to the locker room in the second quarter after taking a shot to the head.
