NBA Fantasy News 2009-2010

[HacheMan]

Monta's Raw Deal


All-Star Weekend has come and gone and after one of the most uninteresting All-Star Saturdays I can remember was out of the way, the nearly 110,000 in attendance for Sunday's game in Jerry's House was simply an amazing number. Not only that, but the game was a good one, there were no injuries and it was actually entertaining and fun to watch. They should just make Dallas the permanent site of the All-Star Game, as it felt like the fans/crowd were great, the arena was spectacular and there were parties everywhere. And anytime the scoreboard is actually larger than the basketball court, things will be interesting.

In case you missed it, Kevin Durant won the H.O.R.S.E. competition, Steve Nash won the Skills Challenge, Paul Pierce won the 3-point contest, and Nate Robinson (kinda) won the dunk contest. The rookies beat the sophomores with Tyreke Evans taking MVP, while the East beat the West in the big game, with Dwyane Wade taking MVP honors.

Something needs to be done about the dunk contest, but I'm not sure what the answer is. I do know that if you go back and watch Vince Carter's performance in 2000, it seems almost pointless to about carry on with it. But I don't want to see it go away, either.

Monta Out, Maggette On The Block

Monta Ellis has been ruled out for Tuesday with his knee injury and will see the same doctor who performed his ACL surgery when Ellis was in high school. This is not an ideal situation and we'll all be holding our breath until we get more information. This means that Stephen Curry and Anthony Morrow are virtually must-starts again this week, while C.J. Watson is also going to get some nice run.

Additionally, Corey Maggette is now a candidate to go to Cleveland in exchange for Zydrunas Ilgauskas if the Cavs are unable to land Amare Stoudemire, Antawn Jamison or Troy Murphy. In addition, the Heat are now said to be making a hard run at Amare, as Michael Beasley could be heading to Phoenix.

The Big Trade

The Wizards sent Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to the Mavericks for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Tim Thomas and Quinton Ross.

Here's a quick rundown of everyone affected by the deal.

Mavericks

Caron Butler – Will start at SG, possibly lose small amount of fantasy value.
Brendan Haywood – Should start over Dampier and hold value.
Erick Dampier – Likely off bench now, not that he had much value to begin with.
Jason Terry – Keeps role of sixth man, same ol', same ol'.
DeShawn Stevenson – No value.

Wizards

Josh Howard – Should start at SG or SF, value goes up. Should be owned in all.
Andray Blatche – Could start at PF or C, should be owned in all.
Drew Gooden – Role remains to be seen, I'd rather own Blatche.
JaVale McGee – Will see a boost, needs minutes to develop. Grab him.
Tim Thomas – Will have a few good games, but no value.
Quinton Ross – Not worth owning.
Nick Young – Should see boost w/ Butler & Stevenson gone.

Big Trade, Part 2

The Clippers traded Marcus Camby to the Trail Blazers for Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake. Camby automatically becomes the starting center the Blazers were dying to get their hands on, while DeAndre Jordan and Craig Smith are now worth a look with the Clippers. We expect Smith to start at PF for LAC, and this trade was literally announced just seconds before we were ready to post this column. Early reaction is that the Blazers committed highway robbery, but remember the Clips had Camby handed to them on a platter last year. In addtion, Jerryd Bayless should see a boost in playing time if Blake is gone.

News and Notes Heading Into Week 17

Kobe & Bynum To Play

The Lakers only play two games this week, and while Kobe Bryant (ankle) and Andrew Bynum (hip) appear to be good to go on Tuesday after missing time leading up to the break with injuries, they're not automatic fantasy starts. I'd play Kobe in almost all formats, but Bynum will be on my bench in weekly leagues. Luke Walton has a pretty serious back injury and is being shut down until further notice.

Rose & Noah On Track, Ty Thomas Risky

Derrick Rose (hip) sat out the Skills Competition on Saturday as well as Monday's Bulls' practice, but was able to play in the All-Star Game. He was apparently held out of Monday for precautionary reasons and all signs are pointing to him playing this week (four games). Joakim Noah actually practiced on Monday and while he's far from 100 percent with plantar fasciitis, he hopes to play this week. Coach Vinny Del Negro doesn't sound as positive as Noah does, but at this point, I'd lean toward starting him.

Tyrus Thomas is healthy, but is very likely to be moved between now and Thursday, making him a bit risky to start for fantasy teams this week, as players often miss a game after a trade.

T-Mac Heading To New York?

The Knicks and Rockets are getting closer to a deal that would send Tracy McGrady, Joey Dorsey and Brian Cook to New York in exchange for Jared Jeffries, Jordan Hill, and either Al Harrington or Larry Hughes. Yes, McGrady is likely worth a flier at this point, but Mike D'Antoni's recent talk about going with youth the rest of the way is just another reason not to trust T-Mac.

Other Injury Updates

Brandon Roy is still quite iffy for Tuesday and will only play through his hamstring injury if he's feeling really good tomorrow night. Guys like Jerryd Bayless, Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandez should each see a boost if he sits out any games.

Trevor Ariza is still iffy for Tuesday with his hip pointer and might be better served on benches unless we get a positive report on Tuesday afternoon.

Mehmet Okur's wife is ready to have a baby and he will miss Tuesday's game, at least. Bench him.

MJ Wants To Buy Bobcats

Michael Jordan is making a late push to buy the Bobcats, which may not be the best news for the team. Jordan's track record in management is shaky, at best, but he apparently still isn't ready to walk away.

Tuesday Morning, Coming Down (The Injury Report)

Jamal Crawford – shoulder – Practiced Monday, expected to play on Wednesday.
Zaza Pachulia – hip – Ditto.
Raymond Felton – ankle – We expect him to play, but watch for Tuesday update.
Derrick Rose – hip – Missed Monday's practice, but hopeful to play Tuesday.
Joakim Noah – foot – Practiced Monday, says he'll play Tues., but not 100%.
Mo Williams – shoulder – Out for another few weeks.
Leon Powe – knee surgery – Should play this week at some point.
Shawn Marion – back – All-Star break should have given him time to heal.
Erick Dampier – knee – Iffy for Tuesday, Haywood might be new starter.
Kenyon Martin – knee – Could be day-to-day rest of the way. Risky.
Ben Gordon – groin – Says his injuries are finally behind him. Play him.
Monta Ellis – knee – Out Tuesday, will see surgeon on, hold your breath.
Corey Maggette – finger – Out Tuesday, could be traded.
Vladimir Radmanovic – Achilles – Won't see many minutes going forward.
Trevor Ariza – hip – Very iffy for Tuesday. Start him at your own risk.
Kyle Lowry – knee – Likely out another week.
Tracy McGrady – personal – Should be traded this week, maybe stash him.
A.J. Price – concussion – Ready to play, but now third string.
Tyler Hansbrough – ear – Who knows when he'll play again?
Jeff Foster – back – Out for season.
Andrew Bynum – hip – Sounds likely for Tuesday, but not guaranteed.
Kobe Bryant – ankle – Sounds like he's good to go for Tuesday.
Luke Walton – back – Out indefinitely, no value.
Mario Chalmers – thumb – Still no target date for return.
Keyon Dooling – quad – Harris is back, so no use in starting him.
Chris Paul – knee surgery – Still weeks away, hello Collison.
Marcus Thornton – back – Limited minutes in last one, but I'd play him.
Nate Robinson – flu – Not likely to play on Tuesday.
Larry Hughes – toe – Should be ready, but could be back out of rotation.
Eddy Curry – knee – Ready to play, but Knicks are done with him.
Samuel Dalembert – back – Played through it, my guess is he'll play.
Allen Iverson – personal – Back at practice on Monday, should play - off bench?
Jason Smith – ankle – Out Tuesday, not much fantasy value.
Leandro Barbosa – wrist – Could be getting closer to return.
Brandon Roy – hamstring – Very iffy for Tuesday, watch for update.
Travis Outlaw – foot – Targeting Feb. 21 return.
Francisco Garcia – wrist – Still no target date.
Tony Parker – hip – Guessing he'll return, but no way of knowing.
Hedo Turkoglu – personal – Should be back for Wednesday.
Mehmet Okur – baby – Wife having baby, out for at least Tuesday.

 

[HacheMan]

Brandon Roy Is Hurting
[SIZE=+1]Good News For People Who Like Bad News[/SIZE]

Brandon Roy produced the quote heard 'round the world last night, although you were probably sleeping and may just now be reading it for the first time. He played 15 minutes, but was in and out of the game with pain in his injured hamstring.

"I think if this [pain] is with me the whole season then I don't really have a shot at playing. This is bad."

While I'm not going to discount his quote as nonsense, I'm also not going to automatically assume he's throwing in the towel. His hamstring injury is obviously slow to heal, which is frustrating him. Additionally, his best friend on the team, Travis Outlaw, just got shipped out of town, without even really having time to say goodbye. In other words, Roy is bummin' right now. And I'm pretty sure we've all said things we really didn't mean when things weren't going our way.

Having said that (Curb Your Enthusiasm, anyone?), this is a pretty distressing quote and owners have to be bracing for the worst here. Martell Webster had 28 points and seven 3-pointers last night, and would be my first move as a Roy owner, while Jerryd Bayless would be my second. Rudy Fernandez played better than Bayless last night, but part of the reason they moved Steve Blake was to get Bayless more opportunities to play. Well, in addition to the fact they basically gave up a bag of chips, a sixer of Natty Light and $3 million cash for one of the best big men in the league. But you get the point.

Other insurance options if you own Roy (don't cut Roy yet, obviously) would include C.J. Watson, Nate Robinson, Josh Howard, J.R. Smith, Jonas Jerebko, Brandon Rush, Carlos Delfino, Courtney Lee (my favorite of the group), Lou Williams, Allen Iverson, Donte' Greene, Omri Casspi, Mike Miller (and dare I say it) Tracy McGrady.

If you own Brandon Roy, I only have two words for you. Good Luck.

[SIZE=+1]Monta's MIA 4 GSW[/SIZE]

Monta Ellis missed Tuesday's game and as of early Wednesday, we have no new news on his situation. What we know is a little scary, though. He is in Alabama having his left knee looked at by the same doctor who performed ACL surgery on the knee when Monta was in high school. If he was able to come back from ACL surgery and the gruesome ankle injury last year, I'm pretty confident Monta's long-term is not in jeopardy. But as for the rest of this season, when the Warriors have absolutely nothing to play for? Yikes. We should know more information this afternoon, and there's nothing much owners can do other than hope for the best.

C.J. Watson is a nice insurance policy right now, as he should continue to get run for as long as Ellis is out, and had 20 points and three 3-pointers last night. Anthony Morrow had 23 points and four threes, while Anthony Tolliver is another guy on waivers who Don Nelson seems to like, although he didn't do anything after half time last night. Andris Biedrins was AWFUL again last night, as Nellie continues to torture fantasy owners far and wide. Biedrins appears to be over his injuries that kept him out for most of the first half, but Nellie's not playing along. He had just two points and zero blocks in 24 minutes last night, and while it will be hard not to cut him, he's simply too good a player to just drop at this point. Especially when you know that Nellie will turn him loose as soon as you let him go. Just get him on your bench until further notice.

Stephen Curry struggled mightily last night, as did Corey Maggette, as the two combined to hit just 9-of-34 shots. Maggette surprisingly returned from a finger injury and scored 17, while Curry flirted with a triple-double with 11 points, 10 boards and eight assists, but hit just 1-of-10 from downtown. Any way you slice it, Curry is going to finish up strong. I've been way down on Maggette over the last few weeks and tonight's performance did nothing to change my mind. He's either going to get traded and become an afterthought, or stay in GSW and shut it down early with a hamstring, finger or back injury. It's just the way it is, so I recommend trading him ASAP. My friend Ry just moved him for Russell Westbrook, which I think was a smooth move.

[SIZE=+1]Kobe, Where Art Thou?[/SIZE]

Kobe Bryant decided to take another day off (against the lowly Warriors), but I'm getting the sense he won't miss any more games with his ankle injury. Luckily, we had this info prior to Tuesday's game, so I'm hopeful you were able to get him out of your lineup. As owners know, the Lakers have just one more game this week, which is a Thursday TNT date with the Celtics. Um, welcome back, Kobe. Andrew Bynum returned to action for 21 points, seven boards and three steals on 8-of-11 shooting, and looks good to go after his hip scare. LetShannonDunk.com filled in for Kobe Bryant and played well, finishing with season highs of 27 points and 10 rebounds, but that train should come to a halt with Kobe on his way back.

[SIZE=+1]T-Mac Day[/SIZE]

I feel like I'm Bill Murray in Groundhog Day with all this Tracy McGrady stuff going on and the constant emails and tweets over the last year asking if he should be picked up. Yes, he has a whopper of an expiring contract, but for fantasy purposes, think back to the last time you remember him doing anything spectacular on the court. Was it that he finally got out of the first round when the Rockets beat the Blazers last year? Um, no, as he was injured by the time that went down. Was it his 40 points and 10 boards in a deciding playoff loss to the Jazz in 2007-08? Or was it his 13–point flurry in 33 seconds against the Spurs in 2004? Actually, I'm just being mean at this point, as T-Mac had some solid lines early last season before going down. But the bottom line is that this is 2010 and he is no longer the T-Mac we remember. Could he be decent if traded to the Knicks? Sure. Am I rushing to pick him up? No. The Knicks are talking youth movement (Jordan Hill, Toney Douglas), which further suggests T-Mac would not necessarily be given a ton of minutes by Mike D'Antoni. Grab him if you want, but please don't send me emails asking me whom you should cut to get him. I'm just not buying that he's going to be all that great, if and when he finally plays again. I'd rather let someone else deal with the headache. But yes, I would probably cut Chris Duhon to pick him up.

[SIZE=+1]Trade Talk[/SIZE]

T-Mac sounds likely to land with the Knicks or Bulls, who are now rumored to be in an all-out war for his contract. Nate Robinson might be going to the Celtics for Eddie House, and Amare Stoudemire (CLE/MIA), Kevin Martin, Tyrus Thomas (NY/SA), Al Harrington (CHI), Antawn Jamison (CLE), Mike Miller, Antonio McDyess (NY), Richard Jefferson, Roger Mason, Michael Beasley (PHO), Sergio Rodriguez (NY, NJ, MEM), Corey Maggette (CLE – anywhere), Kirk Hinrich (BOS), J.J. Hickson (PHO/WAS/IND), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (PHO/WAS/IND) and Troy Murphy (CLE) are all strong possibilities to be moved.

The Sixers don't seem to be too interested in making any moves at this point, which is odd. I'm not going to get into the details as these things rarely go as planned and the information will likely be outdated by the time you read this. Rest assured that Rotoworld will be posting all the happenings throughout the day on Wednesday and Thursday, with the deadline set for 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Continue reading for Tuesday's Returns, MIA's and Strong Performers.
<!--RW-->
[SIZE=+1]MIA and Welcome Back[/SIZE]

Francisco Garcia actually played one minute for the Kings on Tuesday. I'm not sure how they're going to find minutes for him, or how healthy he'll be. He'll probably do more to hurt Donte' Greene than he will provide fantasy value on his own merit. Just keep an eye on him. And in case you missed it, Jason Thompson played very well last night with 14 points, 11 boards and four blocks off the bench. And Spencer Hawes hit just 3-of-10 shots, but had a promising performance.

Nate Robinson was out with the flu and is iffy for Wednesday with the illness. As I said above, he's also likely played his last game for the Knicks.

Trevor Ariza returned from his hip injury and had 15 points, five boards, six assists, and a couple steals and threes. I didn't think he'd play last night and he's on my bench this week. Oh well. David Andersen got hot for 18 points, seven boards and three 3-pointers, so keep an eye on him.

Joakim Noah was out Tuesday and didn't travel to New York for tonight's game, while Tyrus Thomas, who was also on my bench, went off for 11 points, eight boards, three steals and three blocks in 30 minutes. He's almost a lock to be moved in the next 48 hours, so just hang onto him. Derrick Rose returned from his hip injury and had 29 points and six assists on 14-of-18 shooting. Hopefully you rolled with him.

Erick Dampier suffered a finger injury Tuesday that will require surgery, which should clear the way for Brendan Haywood to start at center. Drew Gooden is probably heading back to Dallas after a buyout, but will simply back up Haywood/Damp and Dirk Nowitzki, meaning he no longer has value. I have no idea how long Damp will be out, but Haywood should be owned in all leagues again.

I mistakenly said in yesterday's Dose that Mehmet Okur would miss time for the birth of his child, but that won't happen until this weekend. We posted a correction blurb yesterday, and I'm hopeful you saw it. Especially since Okur went off for 21 points, eight boards and four blocks – one of his best lines of the season. He should miss Sunday and possibly Monday with the personal leave.

Caron Butler started at SG in his Mavericks debut, posting 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting, with six rebounds, one steal, one block and four turnovers. He played 31 minutes.

Allen Iverson (personal reasons) returned to the court Tuesday night and posted four points on 1-for-7 shooting in 26 minutes. Willie Green suffered a shoulder injury that's not thought to be serious, but you have to think AI is heading back to the starting five sooner than later.

Raymond Felton returned to action on Tuesday after missing one game with a sprained ankle. He had 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and two turnovers in a glorious loss to the Nets.

Al Jefferson played through a sore knee and had just 14 points and five rebounds. Hopefully he'll stay healthy the rest of the way.

Marcus Camby will make his Blazers' debut on Friday against the Celtics.

[SIZE=+1]Strong Performers[/SIZE]

DeAndre Jordan went off for 14 points, 11 boards and three blocks off the bench in the absence of Marcus Camby, who was traded to Portland. Craig Smith started and had seven points and six boards. If you picked up Smith and Jordan's available, make the switch, as Jordan has much more upside and will block a bunch of shots. Chris Kaman had just four points, eight boards and seven TOs, but should bounce back. Rasual Butler had 18 points and three 3-pointers for the Clips, and is still worth a look as long as Travis Outlaw is hurting.

Paul Millsap went off with 20 points, 12 boards, two steals and two blocks, but I'm not holding my breath for him to do it again any time soon. It's starting to look like Carlos Boozer is staying put, which is obviously bad news for Millsap. Deron Williams had 17 points and 15 dimes, so nothing to worry about there.

Courtney Lee had 21 points, five boards, three assists and a 3-pointer, and I continue to be one of the few people out there who thinks this is going to become a normal stat line for him the rest of the way.

Boris Diaw had 19 points, 10 boards, three assists, a steal, two blocks and two threes last night. We know he's capable of doing this consistently, but he's yet to get dialed in this year. Maybe it's coming. Nazr Mohammed was awful with four points and three boards in just 11 minutes, while Tyson Chandler wasn't much better. The center position is going to be a black hole in Charlotte with Chandler healthy again. Hopefully, you enjoyed Nazr's run while it lasted.

Quentin Richardson had 10 points and 10 boards, but I'm not thinking about grabbing him unless he keeps doing it. Jermaine O'Neal played well, and just might stay healthy this season. Michael Beasley played without his knee brace, but is still a candidate to be moved to Phoenix if the Heat somehow land Amare.

Kevin Love exploded for 22 points and 15 boards off the bench, and I'm still in shock that Kurt Rambis refuses to start him.

Will Bynum blew up for six points and 14 assists, and is once again worth keeping an eye on. But I can't imagine him having much value if the rest of the team is healthy. Jonas Jerebko had 21 points, a three and two steals on 9-of-13 shooting, and was a solid play this week with four games. He's the starting PF until further notice in Detroit.

James Harden had 17 points, three 3-pointers, five boards and six dimes for the Thunder, and is always capable of this kind of line. He's not a must-own player, but could be if he can somehow start putting up consistent production.

Robin Lopez had 18 points and 10 boards for the Suns, while Channing Frye's struggles continued. Frye had just two points and three boards, but both players are worth holding until we see what becomes of Amare. Jason Richardson, on my bench, blew up for 27 points, six boards, two steals, blocks and threes, while hitting 12-of-17 shots. Make sure he wasn't hastily dumped in your league.

Mike Conley had 10 points, 11 assists, three steals and a 3-pointer last night, but hit just 3-of-12 shots. He's still worth owning and I started him with four games this week, but Sergio Rodriguez landing in Memphis would be bad news for Conley.

 

[HacheMan]

Championship Push
Once again Matt Stroup is off in Vancouver covering the Winter Olympics, blogging away on anything and everything going on north of the border. In his place I'll be guiding you through a crazy Wednesday that included 11 games and a flurry of trade action. So without further ado, let's do this thing.


[SIZE=+1]Jamison to Give Cavs a Shot[/SIZE]

Though the Cavs may say they had their sights set on Antawn Jamison the entire time now that he is on their team, talks with the Suns about Amare Stoudemire could end up haunting the Cavs if they can't win in the Finals. Ultimately, concerns about Amare's ego and his questionable performance last year as Shaq's teammate, and Phoenix's demand of J.J. Hickson led to the Cavs taking Jamison. The move immediately sent shockwaves throughout the Eastern Conference, and if the Cavs weren't the favorite to go to the Finals, they are now. Jamison gives them exactly what they needed to create court balance – a stretch PF who can take the scoring burden off of LeBron and Mo Williams. The fact that he is known around the league as a heady veteran is icing on the cake.

To get the deal done the Cavs had to ship Zydrunas Ilguaskas, the rights to Emir Preldzic, and a 2010 first round draft pick to the Wizards. In addition, the Clippers got involved in this trade by sending Al Thornton over to the Wizards, and sending Sebastian Telfair to the Cavs. In return they received Drew Gooden, who has now become the Kevin Bacon of the NBA. Both Big Z and Gooden are buyout candidates with their respective teams, and while Gooden was reportedly seeking a buyout with the Wizards, we don't know yet whether he wants to stay with the Clips or not. Should either of them get bought out before March 1, they can resign with any other team. Big Z is likely to head back to Cleveland, but Dallas has said that they would be interested in him since they're desperate for depth in their frontcourt, as are the Cavs.

Trade fallout for Cleveland:
· Antawn Jamison's fantasy value takes a hit, but we may be surprised with the end result. LeBron loves to pass the rock, and even with Shaq and Mo there the Cavs have still shown a need for more offense. It's still worth a try to sell him high before reality sets in for some owners, but if you can't it's not the end of the world just yet.
· Shaquille O'Neal, who has been relied upon more lately with the injuries in the Cavs' backcourt, will be needed for heavier minutes unless the Cavs plan to go small with Anderson Varejao or J.J. Hickson spelling him at the five.
· Speaking of both power forwards, Varejao and Hickson can safely be dropped in most formats. There's not enough minutes to go around, especially with Leon Powe back in the fold any day now. And while we're talking about Powe, his chances of having value this year took a major hit as well, and we wouldn't pay too much attention to him until he shows us something.

Trade fallout for Washington:
· A four-headed monster at the wing positions has been created between this trade and the team's trade with the Mavs earlier in the week. Mike Miller, Josh Howard, Nick Young, and now Al Thornton will compete for minutes at SG and SF.
· Young may have played his way out of the competition with a 1-for-7 shooting night that led to three points in 17 minutes on Wednesday.
· It's really anybody's guess who can emerge with value in standard-sized leagues out of this group, although you have to guess that Miller stands the best chance due to being familiar with the offense and his willingness to distribute the ball. Howard and Thornton are both score-first guys who don't do much else, and they could struggle with their consistency, especially if Young can stay in the rotation.

Trade fallout for the Clippers:
· With Al Thornton moved out, it clears time for Rasual Butler, at least until Travis Outlaw can return to action. He's certainly worth owning in most, if not all leagues during that time.
· Drew Gooden will have a tough time having fantasy value for the Clips, and that's assuming he isn't bought out. If he sticks around, he could create a platoon situation at the PF spot between himself, DeAndre Jordan, and Craig Smith, and none of them present a compliment to Chris Kaman, since they all prefer to operate on the blocks.

[SIZE=+1]Sacramento Stunner[/SIZE]

The Kings agreed to send Kevin Martin, Sergio Rodriguez, Kenny Thomas, and Hilton Armstrong to the Rockets in exchange for Carl Landry, Joey Dorsey, and cash considerations. The trade has been structured in a way that it allows for New York to jump into the deal if terms can be hammered out, but the Kings and Rockets have already agreed to this deal if NY can't be fit in. If NY can be fit in, then it's expected that McGrady and Rodriguez land in NY, and some arrangement of players mentioned in prior NY/HOU deals are on the table between all parties. So far Jared Jeffries, Jordan Hill, Larry Hughes, Houston's right to swap picks with NY in 2011, and NY's first round pick in 2012 have all been discussed.

Here is the trade fallout for Houston:
· Kevin Martin moves to Houston where he steps into the shooting guard spot, with Trevor Ariza likely to start at small forward. Martin avoids being part of the logjam at the wing positions in Sacto, and gets out of a situation where he wasn't particularly wanted, much less featured, due to the emergence of Tyreke Evans.
· Ariza gets to play his natural position at SF, which may help him with shot selection, although his shot attempts could take a hit. Owners in FG% leagues should be less worried than those in leagues that don't count percentages.
· Luis Scola gets a bit of a boost now that he will get some of Landry's touches. The rest of Landry's minutes will be absorbed by a combination of Chuck Hayes, Chase Budinger, David Anderson.
· Shane Battier takes a bit of a hit with Ariza likely to start at SF, but with Landry out we could see him playing at both the three and four spots, and he may get his lost minutes back at the expense of the aforementioned committee.
· Sergio Rodriguez was rumored to be targeted by the Knicks, Nets, and Grizzlies in the run up to the trade deadline, and with him rumored to land in NY as a part of this deal he should be watched as things get finalized. The PG situations in each of these places has its own unique problems, so his fantasy profile could be raised in any of these places. In Houston, however, he has no chance of having fantasy value playing behind Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry.

Trade fallout for Sacramento:
· Tracy McGrady may never don the purple and black in a real game. Odds are that he lands in NY, where most believe he'll get a chance to audition for free agency. In Sacramento, it's much more likely that he gets bought out. If he gets bought out before March 1 he is playoff eligible, but adding him to the chemistry of a winning team seems unlikely. Regardless, T-Mac falls under the "not worth the trouble" category, since his future is still uncertain and even if he finds minutes somewhere his ability to do anything with them is certainly in question.
· Martin's departure clears room for Francisco Garcia to play a big role when he returns to full strength. Unlike Martin, he has shown a willingness to move the ball, and has even played PG for small stretches in the past. Lack of ball movement has been an impetus for using Beno Udrih, but he's such a liability on defense that Paul Westphal may find the perfect solution with Garcia. That said, we are talking about a guy in Westphal who is more Nellie than Nellie is these days, so owners should realize that there is a bit of risk in all of the Kings' outlooks.
· Jason Thompson, who got back on track with 15 points and 17 rebounds on Wednesday, is in serious risk of being in a time-share due to the addition of Landry. The problem is that both have similar inside-oriented games, but Landry is far more seasoned than JT and has proven to be a better player this year. Sell high on JT while you can – it's a move you can look back on and feel good about knowing the strategy was sound. As for Landry, there's no reason to think he can't continue his strong play in Sacramento, albeit with the chance for a slight dip in production if Thompson gives him a run for his money
· Donte' Greene, Omri Casspi, Andres Nocioni, and Beno Udrih – each of which have proven useful to some degree this year – all benefit from having minute-gobbler Martin out of their hair. Greene and Casspi, in particular, have shown flashes of upside this year, and stand a tier above Noce and Udrih from a fantasy perspective, but picking between Greene' and Casspi at this point is a guessing game.
· Tyreke Evans is now the cornerstone of the franchise, and owners have to be thrilled that the shoot-first Martin has left the building. Look for a huge boost in the team's morale as well, as one Kings' beat writer wrote, "there weren't a lot of tears over Martin leaving," and he added that Martin had alienated some in the organization recently. More shots for folks, more ball movement, and less drama is a good equation for the entire team.<!--RW-->Nate-Rob to Boston: Do You Copy?

The trade isn't official just yet, but all indications are the Knicks and Celtics have agreed to trade Nate Robinson for Eddie House. In fact, Nate-Rob could be playing as soon as Thursday's TNT game against the Lakers. Robinson, a thorn in the side of fantasy owners all year, takes a huge hit in the upside category, but his consistency is likely to improve. After all, you can probably find odds somewhere on the date and time that KG devours him during practice after one of Lil' Him's transgressions, but chances are he'll stop the kid-stuff before KG and Co. step in and do it for him.

Eddie House gets as big of a boost as he could have gotten outside of Golden State, but he still has a ways to go before being worth a look in most formats, unless you're desperate for threes of course.

Salmons on the Slab: Heading to Milwaukee

The Bulls and Bucks agreed to a trade involving John Salmons, with initial reports sending Francisco Elson and Kurt Thomas to the Bulls in return, however we've since learned that there is some wiggle room on the Bucks side of the trade. Hakim Warrick's name has come up, but he's not worth getting excited about, although he could steal value away from Taj Gibson.

Salmons has had a truly disappointing year, and now finds himself in the whimsical world of Scott Skiles' lineup rotations. If you've lasted this long with Salmons, you have to wait and see how this plays out, and as for a trade it's doubtful you'll be able to convince somebody to pick him up based on the new digs. Hopefully the change of scenery does him good, but chances are his presence will complicate an already crowded situation. Owners of Luke Ridnour, Jerry Stackhouse, Carlos Delfino, Ersan Ilyasova, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute should all be worried about what another mouth to feed will do to their players. The good news is that the Bucks have five games next week, giving owners a bit larger window to decide what to do with these guys – whether that is selling them high, spot-starting them for one more week, or watching them to see how they do.

I've Got You Babe

Ironically, the two guys who are perennially in trade rumors at this time of year just can't seem to break up with their teams. I'm speaking of course of Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer. Boozer has been all but forgotten as a trade candidate with the Jazz emerging out in the West, which is curious since the Jazz have risen to the 3rd seed in the West mostly by beating bad teams. They're paying a heavy price to bring Paul Millsap off the bench, and even Charles Barkley doesn't think they have a chance against the Lakers. Anything is possible as we near the deadline, but Boozer looks like he's staying put for now, much to the chagrin of Millsap's owners.

Then there's Amare, who might be the NBA's equivalent of Terrell Owens. A fine citizen off the court, Amare's problems come on the court where his rebounding and defense are spotty at best, and in the locker room where his ego is insufferable by most reports. And now that the Cavs have passed on him, there is a strong feeling from many league insiders, the team, Amare's agent, and Amare himself that he's going to remain a Sun. Of course, that means the Suns risk getting nothing for him in return, especially with contract extension talks stalling earlier on Wednesday. Amare called his odds of being moved "50-50," but I'm thinking they're more like "30-70," with Miami the favorite to land his services. If he doesn't get traded, it takes a bit of the shine off of both Robin Lopez and Channing Frye, who would be a nice inside-outside combo in the event he does go.

Trading Block News and Notes:

Monta Ellis – Reportedly the Grizzlies floated an offer including O.J. Mayo, but GSW didn't bite. He's unlikely to be moved according to most sources.
Richard Jefferson – The Spurs put the feelers out, and are disappointed with how he has fit in with the team. His contract is going to be tough to move, so this is likely a motivational ploy.
Al Harrington – The Knicks are still interested in moving him in a deal for Tyrus Thomas and Jerome James. Any move away from New York would cause a hit to his fantasy value, and there's a lot of smoke around him. Sell high if you can.
Tyrus Thomas – There's a ton of interest in him around the league, including the Knicks, Spurs, and Wolves. He's worn out his welcome in Chicago, but don't expect the Bulls to just give him away.
Michael Beasley – His trade possibilities revolve mostly around the Amare Stoudemire deal, which is looking less likely by the minute. Interestingly, the Suns have viewed him as an asset to trade and not to keep, so owners dreaming of Steve Nash alley-oops and up-tempo offensive numbers should keep their expectations in check.
Troy Murphy – He's another guy that has seen his trade rumors die down, especially with the Cavs out of the picture now. His value likely takes a hit if he moves elsewhere, since he'll have a hard time shooting as many threes as he does and he'll likely have better competition from his own team for rebounds.
Mike Conley – His name has popped up in trade rumors, but he has picked up his game as of late. Chances are he is staying put.
Dorell Wright – Providing marginal value in Miami, but he's a trade waiting to happen if Miami doesn't make a big move, since they'll need to move him to get under the luxury tax.
Kirk Hinrich – Was reportedly on the block, but the trade of Salmons diminishes his chances of leaving, which would be a great thing for his owners as he's set for big minutes in Chicago.

[SIZE=+1]Injury News from Wednesday[/SIZE]

Brandon Roy – His self-evaluations are varying wildly, but his hamstring is less than 100%, and the Blazers are going to play it safe with him. Add into the fact that the "testing" method of evaluation has caused setbacks, and he could be out a while. Just hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.
Monta Ellis – Likely to miss about a week, and the obvious observation is that his workload has finally caught up to him. Depending on Nellie's win total, he could become a shutdown candidate as the end of the season nears.
Corey Maggette – Did not play in the second half of Wednesday's game due to a hamstring injury. I hate to say we told you so, but we told you so.
Jermaine O'Neal – Left during Wednesday's game with a back injury, but returned and came up big down the stretch. I don't know how many of these warnings he can give owners before he needs to embroider "sell-high" onto his jersey.
Dwyane Wade – Felt a "pop" in his calf, and will have an MRI on Saturday. His week looks to be over.
Jared Jeffries – Left Wednesday's game with a sore knee, likely as a precaution since he is being aggressively shopped before the trade deadline.
Baron Davis – Missed Wednesday's game because of a bad back. Owners have the right to be concerned about his durability and attitude after the Clips threw in the towel.
Erick Dampier – Will miss up to a month and can be cut in all formats. Hello Brendan Haywood.
Tyson Chandler/Nazr Mohammed – Both missed practice Wednesday, and neither are good options in fantasy leagues.
Jamal Crawford – Returned to action from shoulder ailment that wasn't serious.
Tony Parker – Returned from minor hip injury to score 28 points.
Willie Green and Lou Williams – Both missed Wednesday's practice. Green is likely out for Friday's game, and Williams is questionable.
Joakim Noah – Didn't travel with the team on their road trip, and will be re-evaluated on Saturday. He looks to be out for at least another week.
Charlie Villanueva – Lasted just three minutes Wednesday, and owners shouldn't feel bad dumping him for a hot free agent.

[SIZE=+1]Notable Performances from Wednesday[/SIZE]

Warriors, Come Out and Play-yay!

C.J. Watson scored a career-high 40 points with seven rebounds and six assists as the Warriors mopped up the Kings. Wow. It's hard to get too excited about him long-term, but he's certainly worth activating while Monta Ellis is out. Anthony Morrow (25 points, five rebounds, five assists), on the other hand, looks like a better long-term option with Corey Maggette a prime shutdown candidate, even if Monta Ellis will cut into his production when he returns, as well. Not to be outdone, Stephen Curry joined the party with a career-high 15 assists to go with 24 points and six rebounds.

New-Look Mavs Settling In

Caron Butler continued to settle in as a Mav with 15 points and five rebounds against the Suns, and it's OK to wonder aloud if this will be his baseline production. Brendan Haywood got to work with 10 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks. Jason Kidd continued his hot streak, just missing out on a 5x5 game with 18 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists, seven steals, and four 3-pointers. With all his new toys, it wouldn't be surprising to see a 2nd half surge from him.

[SIZE=+1]Other News and Notes from Wednesday[/SIZE]

Al Horford – Had a career-high 31 points, and is a must-start the rest of the way.
Shane Battier – Had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and in light of Martin acquisition this is a sell-high moment.
Andris Biedrins – Two points, seven boards, no blocks. Ugh. It's officially time to consider dropping him for a hot free agent, just don't go overboard.
Al Harrington – 27 points in trade audition, which will be the ultimate sell-high moment if he's dealt away from NY's fantasy-friendly offense.
Taj Gibson – 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and he could benefit from Tyrus getting dealt (provided the Bulls don't get a PF in return).
Brad Miller – 21 points and 10 rebounds with Noah coming back soon means time to get on the horn.
Paul Millsap – 24 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, and three steals. It looks like he could get 30+ minutes regardless of whether Boozer gets traded or not.
Quentin Richardson – 16 points and 14 rebounds in his second-straight double-double. He's worth a look with Wade out, but beyond that he's more likely to hurt you than help you.
Peja Stojakovic – 24 points, four rebounds, four assists, four treys, and three steals. He's always an injury risk, but while healthy he should be leaned on heavily with CP3 out.
Hedo Turkoglu – One point in 29 minutes? So much for him finally figuring things out.
Andray Blatche – A career-high 33 points with 13 boards. Run, don't walk to the waiver wire.
JaVale McGee – Overshadowed by Blatche, but 14 points with 11 rebounds and five blocks is nothing to shake a stick at.
Ben Gordon – Six points, four rebounds, two assists, and an ejection. Baby steps, right?
Richard Hamilton – 36 points and very little smoke in regards to trade rumors.
Tim Duncan – 26 rebounds with eight points on 4-of-23 shooting. How many of those boards were off his own misses?

[SIZE=+1]Thursday Night Lights[/SIZE]

In the early game the Nuggets visit the Cavaliers, but there's no word yet if Antawn Jamison will be able to play. Keep him reserved if possible, but barring any setbacks with physicals one has to think the Cavs will be excited to show off their new toy. As expected, Mo Williams (shoulder) will not play, with Daniel Gibson and Delonte West mediocre options as his replacements. Kenyon Martin (knee) is expected to be in the lineup, and so does Carmelo Anthony, despite some discomfort in his elbow. Chauncey Billups reported that his ankles feel as good as they have all year, so consider him good to go.

Kobe Bryant (ankle) is doubtful to play in the late game against the Celtics, since he can wait until next Tuesday's game and have a total of 18 days off. He said he would consider playing after waking up Thursday morning, but all signs point to him sitting this one out, and Shannon Brown gets a chance to repeat his 27-point, 10-rebound from Tuesday (against GSW of course). For the Celtics, we'll be anticipating the possible debut of Nate Robinson, and also watching KG's knee, in what promises to be a spirited effort from the C's. If they lose, get ready to hear the eulogies all day on Friday.

 

[HacheMan]

Is It Finally Tyrus Time?!
The trade deadline has finally passed and Amare Stoudemire is still with the Suns. There were, however, plenty of trades that went down over the past two days. Some mean nothing in fantasyland, while others should have significant impacts. Here is a look at the trades that went down on Thursday.

[SIZE=+1]Thursday's Trade Breakdown[/SIZE]

1. Tyrus Thomas to Bobcats, Bulls get Flip Murray and Acie Law

Thomas is looking for a second chance in Charlotte and it's basically now or never. Owners should be thrilled, as the Bobcats have never really had a true power forward, while both centers (Tyson Chandler, ankle and Nazr Mohammed, back) are currently gimpy. Any way you slice it I think Thomas is going to get big minutes in Charlotte and is now a must-start fantasy player. Get him in your lineup and hope that, for once, he doesn't let us down. The Cats also acquired Theo Ratliff from the Spurs for a draft pick, and Theo could be forced into some action if Chandler and Mohammed are out. We still haven't heard if Thomas will play tonight against the Cavs, but there's a chance.

2. Three-team deal:

Knicks get Tracy McGrady and PG Sergio Rodriguez.
Rockets get Kevin Martin, Jared Jeffries, Hilton Armstrong and Jordan Hill.
Kings get Carl Landry, Joey Dorsey and Larry Hughes.

The key here is that the Knicks have now cleared enough money to sign two superstars this summer. The Clippers have also cleared a ton of cash and should also be major players after the season.

T-Mac is the mystery player here. As you guys know, I'm not a fan, but it is quite possible that he starts and gets heavy minutes for the Knicks. I'm not sure why they have an interest in giving him big minutes, and we still don't know what kind of shape he's in. Tim Grover, his trainer as he rehabbed from knee surgery, says he's good to go, and if he's somehow still available in your league, he's worth a flier. I did not attempt to pick him up anywhere, and while it's possible he could go off, I'm not going to hold my breath. Maybe I'm wrong, but my gut still says he's not going to lead fantasy teams to the promised land.

I was out with my new best friend Brian last night and he's very fired up about Rodriguez running the point for the Knicks. Spanish Chocolate has never gotten a chance in the NBA, but it looks like he will now. Chris Duhon, who I've long said is a borderline NBA player, has been so bad that Rodriguez simply has to get a chance and could start immediately. And in Mike D'Antoni's offense, anything is possible, as we've seen Duhon play like an MVP at times for the Knicks. I have no idea what's going to happen here, but Rodriguez should be owned in all leagues now, and could average around 15 points and six assists if all goes well. Pick him up!

Kevin Martin should start for the Rockets and gives them a much-needed scoring presence, as well as some speed. He was really struggling in Sacramento, but he should see a boost in Houston. With Carl Landry gone, Luis Scola sees a boost, while Jeffries and Hill should get some bench run. Shane Battier or Trevor Ariza may have to adjust to a bench role, but I just don't see Ariza coming off the bench. Maybe Kev-Mart's arrival will get him more open looks and he'll start shooting it better. However, he could also lose some shots with a true gunner in the house.

Back in Sacramento, Francisco Garcia now looks like a solid own as the potential starting shooting guard, while Donte' Greene should continue to start at SF for the Kings. I'm not convinced Garcia will ever be at 100 percent this season after wrist surgery, but he should probably be picked up in most leagues. My guess is Tyreke Evans will continue to start at point guard, meaning Beno Udrih will continue off the bench. But that's just a guess. With Landry in the house, Jason Thompson is going to take a hit, any way you slice it. I have no idea which player will start, but JT was already coming off the bench, leading me to believe Landry will start at PF for the Kings. Joey Dorsey shouldn't see much time, while Larry Hughes isn't likely to ever play for the Kings.

3. John Salmons to Bucks for Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander

Salmons could easily start at shooting guard on Friday, pushing Carlos Delfino or Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to the bench. The Bucks play five games next week and while it's a complete mystery as to what Scott Skiles' new rotation is going to look like, we should know a lot more after Friday night. I still think that Salmons, Delfino, Mbah a Moute, Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova are all interesting plays for the upcoming week, while Andrew Bogut is obviously a must-start. The Bucks play the Pistons on Friday and we have to hope Salmons is cleared to play. The sooner we see what Skiles has in mind, the better idea we'll have of who should be started in fantasy next week. Either way, I would plan on rolling with Salmons, Bogut and Jennings next week, while the rest of the aforementioned crew should be watched closely tonight. I am still hoping to be able to use Delfino, Mbah a Moute and Ilyasova next week, but am not very confident about being able to do so.

Warrick could see some run in Chicago, while Taj Gibson is a big winner in the loss of Tyrus Thomas. Make sure Gibson's not available in your league. Warrick can also play some center, as Joakim Noah continues to try to come back from his foot injury. Warrick is not a must-own player, but could be worth a pick up when all is said and done. Joe Alexander, as usual, should be ignored.

4. Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry to Celtics for Eddie House, J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker, who are going to the Knicks

Lil' Nate has to take a hit in Boston and while I haven't cut him yet, I'm not expecting too much. I just can't see his teammates supporting his Wild West Shoot-Out style and he should be nothing more than a scoring threat off the bench. Look for him to be wildly inconsistent. Landry has no value in Boston.

House could do some damage in New York if he gets enough minutes, but the arrival of Rodriguez hurts his chances. Just keep an eye on him and think about taking a flier on him if you're desperate for threes. Ignore Giddens and Walker, as usual.

5. Bucks send Jodie Meeks and Francisco Elson to Sixers for Royal Ivey and Primoz Brezec

It's hard to see much fantasy fallout from this move, but Meeks at least deserves to be watched, as does Ivey in Milwaukee.

6. Ronnie Brewer from Jazz to Grizzlies

I can't think of a worse place for Brewer to land, so think about cutting him. However, it does open a starting shooting guard job for the Jazz, with Wesley Matthews and C.J. Miles expected to slug it out for the job. My guess is Matthews starts, but both players deserve a close eye tonight when the Jazz play the Warriors. Kyle Korver should also see a boost in minutes as a result.

7. Dominic McGuire to Kings for future second-rounder

Whatever.

8. Darko Milicic to Timberwolves for Brian Cardinal

Darko could get some run for the Wolves before bolting for Europe this summer, but I'm not expecting much of anything from him. Cardinal will likely be waived by the Knicks.
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[SIZE=+1]Other Trade Notes[/SIZE]

Marcus Camby is expected to make his Blazers' debut Friday against the Celtics.

Antawn Jamison is expected to play for the Cavaliers on Friday, but could initially come off the bench behind J.J. Hickson. However, Jamison should eventually start alongside LeBron James. And because he's now in Cleveland, and possibly the team's sixth man, Jamison's fantasy value has taken a big hit. Congratulations if you recently sold high, and my apologies if I gave you the wrong answer when you asked if you should hang onto him. It looked like Amare Stoudemire would go to the Cavs instead of Jamison, but it wasn't meant to be.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas is expected to be bought out by the Wizards and the Hawks appear to be interested in him. He could start at center for the Hawks, pushing Marvin Williams to the bench, but it remains to be seen where Big Z lands. Just keep an eye on him.

Drew Gooden is expected to stay with the Clippers. He could end up starting at power forward, but I don't think it's likely. Instead, he'll back up Chris Kaman, DeAndre Jordan and Craig Smith. Smith and Jordan are both still very intriguing fantasy plays, and I will be watching them closely on Saturday against the defenseless Kings.

If you're looking for analysis from any of Wednesday's trades, check out Aaron Bruski's takes in Thursday's Dose.

[SIZE=+1]Injury News and Notes[/SIZE]

Chris Bosh is likely out Friday night with a sprained ankle, and is day-to-day. Bummer. Look for Andrea Bargnani to have a big night against the Nets, while Amir Johnson could start for Bosh. Owners of Bosh likely missed out on a 20-20 opportunity with this news.

Monta Ellis is being called iffy for the Warriors against the Jazz Friday, but I'd be a little surprised to see him play. Hopefully we get an update on his sprained left knee later on Friday.

Corey Maggette will have an MRI on his hamstring injury, which is potentially devastating news. I've made it no secret that I thought Maggette was a sell-high player over the last few weeks, and this is exactly why. Hello, Anthony Morrow.

Dwyane Wade is expected to miss a couple games with his calf injury and owners have to pray an MRI goes well once he returns to Miami this weekend. Quentin Richardson and Daequan Cook are worth a look while he's out, although I don't really trust either of them.

Hedo Turkoglu and Jarrett Jack have both been dealing with some personal problems which are likely to blame for their terrible play of late. Hopefully they're ready to move on and start playing well, and there may not be a better team for them to see in order to break out of the collective funk than the Nets on Friday.

Ernie Grunfeld says that it's quite possible that Gilbert Arenas could resume his career with the Wizards next season, but I think there's also a decent chance they try to void his contract.

[SIZE=+1]Thursday's Action[/SIZE]

Melo Beats LeBron, Cavs

Lost in all the trade talk from Thursday was one of the best shootouts we've ever seen in the NBA. LeBron James posted a crazy line of 43 points, 13 boards, 15 assists, two steals, four blocks and a 3-pointer, but slipped as he was attempting the game-winning shot.

Carmelo Anthony ended up hitting the game-winner with 1.8 seconds remaining and finished with 40 points, six boards, seven assists, a steal, two blocks and a 3-pointer. Brian and I watched this one in a Nashville sports bar and we both owned the duo in our main leagues. Good times! And as mad as I was at Melo for how he dealt with his ankle injury, this has quickly helped him get back on my good side.

Kenyon Martin returned from knee tendinitis and went off for 18 points and 17 rebounds. Get him back in your lineup, but be prepared for several surprise DNPs as we go forward.
Chris Andersen left late with a back injury, and is day-to-day for now.

For the Cavs, Shaquille O'Neal hit 9-of-15 shots for 18 points, seven boards and one block, and should be solid the rest of the way with Ilgauskas out. Mo Williams returned from his shoulder injury and had eight points and two 3-pointers in 18 minutes. Hopefully he'll be back to form for next week. J.J. Hickson could start over Jamison for a while and had 14 points and two boards last night. My guess is there are better players to own available on your wire right now than Hickson.

Celtics Knock Off Kobe-less Lakers

Kobe Bryant missed yet another game on Thursday with his bum lower leg and owners have to cross their fingers that the missed games are now behind him. Watch Rotoworld over the weekend for more updates, as the Lakers are done for the week.

Pau Gasol had 22 points and seven boards, Andrew Bynum had 14 & 9 (zero blocks) and Lamar Odom added 13 points and 14 boards off the bench in a loss to Boston. That talk about Odom replacing Bynum in the starting five appears to have died. Sasha Vujacic suffered a right shoulder injury and couldn't lift his arm over his head after the game.

For the victorious Celtics, Ray Allen found the fountain of youth and hit 10 of his first 12 shots (10-of-15 for the game) for 24 points, four 3-pointers and a monster dunk over Shannon Brown. If you weren't paying attention during Allen's glory days, the highlights from this game will tell you everything you need to know. Rajon Rondo had 14 points, five boards, 11 assists five steals and a block in the win.

 

[HacheMan]

Bosh Expected Back Wednesday
This week we'll do a team-by-team rundown of quick hits, minus the Hawks, because things are status quo there – well, except for that weird loss to the GSW last night.

Celtics - Nate Robinson is set to make his C's debut on Tuesday against the Knicks. I think he's a solid play for that one, but my guess is he'll struggle to find a groove on most nights for the Celtics. Paul Pierce has a thumb injury and could miss a few games. If he does, Marquis Daniels could be sneaky play. At this point, I'd have a tough time convincing myself to start Pierce this week.

Bobcats - Boris Diaw and Tyrus Thomas are co-existing nicely, at least for now. Nazr Mohammed and Tyson Chandler are not worth owning in most leagues, while Stephen Jackson is hot. I expect Gerald Wallace to bounce back soon, while Raymond Felton is a decent starting point guard.

Bulls - Taj Gibson and Hakim Warrick are splitting time at PF, while Joakim Noah struggles through foot injury. Noah will hurt Gibson's value eventually, but Gibson looks like a safe start right now.

Cavaliers - Antawn Jamison bounced back on Sunday and LeBron was great, but the Cavs fell to the Magic.

Mavericks - Brendan Haywood can be started in all leagues, Jason Kidd's on fire, and Caron Butler is hurting value of Jason Terry and Shawn Marion. Erick Dampier is out indefinitely, making Haywood the man.

Nuggets - Kenyon Martin is playing through his knee issues and can be started if necessary. He's due to miss some games the rest of the way, but there's no way to know when they're coming.

Pistons - The Pistons sent Chauncey Billups packing, essentially to get Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva on their bench this season. They are two high-priced busts, and neither is a must-start at this point, while Villanueva may not even be worth owning. Gordon did play fairly well on Sunday though, while Jonas Jerebko has been a pleasant surprise and continues to be a nice sleeper. Rip Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey are must-starts, while Ben Wallace can be used for four games if you need blocks and boards.

Warriors - It appeared that Stephen Curry took over the team last night, and that Monta Ellis wasn't thrilled at sharing the spotlight. Corey Maggette is now out indefinitely with his hamstring injury, meaning Anthony Morrow, C.J. Watson and Anthony Tolliver should continue to get run. Ronny Turiaf missed Sunday with a sinus infection. Andris Biedrins played better and would be more reliable if Turiaf wasn't around. Ellis, Curry and Morrow are must-starts, Watson and Biedrins are probably worth a shot, while Tolliver remains a pretty risky play.

Rockets - Chase Budinger has been hot, averaging 12 points, four boards and two 3-pointers over his last five games, while Kevin Martin is still coming off the bench in Houston. Martin is still probably worth starting, while Jared Jeffries played well last night and deserves a look as a sleeper. Trevor Ariza is playing through a hip injury, and after a solid week, was pretty bad on Sunday. Start him at your own risk.

Pacers - T.J. Ford appears to be back in the fold for the Pacers and is a hot pickup right now. Danny Granger is also playing very well, while we're getting to the point where Mike Dunleavy can be dropped for a hot free agent.

Clippers - I have not given up on DeAndre Jordan, but don't expect a ton of offense from him going forward. Baron Davis is expected back from his injury for Monday's game, so try to ignore how well Steve Blake played over the weekend. Travis Outlaw is also expected to make his debut for the Clippers tonight, and while he'll hurt Rasual Butler's numbers slightly, I don't expect him to be healthy enough to do that much damage. Eric Gordon is hot now, and should be in all lineups, and while Drew Gooden is expected to play this week, I don't think he's worth a roll of the dice. Craig Smith is probably a better play.

Lakers - It sounds like Kobe Bryant will finally return to action on Thursday, which means Shannon Brown's run has likely come to an end. Sahsa Vujacic is out with a shoulder problem though, which works in Brown's favor. Andrew Bynum's hip reportedly acted up in his last game, but he continues to play through it. Weigh options carefully.

Grizzlies - All five starters are playing well right now and even Mike Conley appears to be a safe start in most leagues.

Heat - Dwyane Wade could easily miss the next week with his calf injury and I would not start him – at least as of now. Daequan Cook, Quentin Richardson and Marion Chalmers are all putting up numbers in his absence, but none of them is really all that reliable, either. Michael Beasley has been nice recently, and he is set up to finish up the season on a high note.

Bucks - Five games for the Bucks this week, but I don't really trust the Charlie Bells and Ersan Ilyasovas of the world. I think Andrew Bogut is a must-start, while Brandon Jennings, John Salmons, Carlos Delfino and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute are all very sound plays.

Timberwolves - Kevin Love played well on Sunday, but his minutes have been weird lately. The team is pretty healthy, but I don't like the way Kurt Rambis is using his guys. Al Jefferson and Love should be beasts, but they're not, although Jefferson is still not fully recovered from knee surgery. Darko Milicic had eight points, eight boards and a block last night, and people were raving about him after the game, but we've been there and done that. I'm advising you to ignore him unless you're in a real deep league.

Nets - Brook Lopez and Devin Harris remain must-starts as long as they're healthy, while I think Courtney Lee can be used in all leagues. Yi Jianlian is as up and down as they come, but should only be started in deep leagues where you don't have a lot of options. Kris Humphries is also worth a look again with Jarvis Hayes' latest injury, although Hayes says he won't miss time.

Hornets - Emeka Okafor's dramatically inconsistent season continued last night when he had four points, but added 11 boards and six blocks. I've gotten some emails from guys ready to drop him, but I just don't see it. Of course, that's not as easy to say after one of his two-point, three-rebound nights. Darren Collison has scored 24 or more in five straight games and looks as good as any point guard in the league. With Chris Paul still rehabbing and trying to come back, now is probably the time to move DC – but only if you have other reliable point guards to start in his place. And if you move him, make sure you get a real stud back. Marcus Thornton and Morris Peterson are somehow splitting time, and I recently (and sadly) cut Thornton in most of leagues I owned him in.

Knicks - Tracy McGrady went off in Saturday's debut with the Knicks. The "I Told You So" emails haven't started rolling in yet, but I imagine they will if he does it again in this week's four games. I'd probably start him if I owned him, as you just don't know if he'll still be standing a week from now, but I am not expecting him to play as well tonight against the Bucks as he did on Saturday. Eddie House was the hot topic in yesterday's live chat, and can safely be added in almost all leagues. Mike D'Antoni is a big fan. Sergio Rodriguez can also be added, but it remains to be seen if he's going to be a 'D'Antoni guy' or not. The odds are in his favor because Chris Duhon is awful.

Continue reading for the rest of the league, as well as the Monday Morning Injury Report.
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Thunder - Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green all had big weeks and are all must-starts at this point. Westbrook is going off, and the only guy better than Durant is LeBron.

Magic - Big win over the Cavs yesterday. Hopefully the win and Dwight Howard's big line will shut the Diesel up. Jameer Nelson also played well and I'm not sure we should be giving up on him just yet. He appears to be healthy. As for Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter? They're worth starting, but owners have to expect some bad with the good.

76ers - They're still a very strange team, but Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert are all solid starters, while Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young and Allen Iverson deserve consideration in most leagues.

Suns - Steve Nash is out for Tuesday, but could still play three games this week. Goran Dragic is a solid one-game option, and could have a good week if Nash is slow to heal from his abdominal pain. Jason Richardson, Amare Stoudemire, Grant Hill, Channing Frye and Robin Lopez were all solid on Sunday, but Stoudemire's the only guy I fully trust. The others are a roll of the dice, as usual.

Trail Blazers - Brandon Roy overcame early foul trouble and looked good last night, so go ahead and roll with him. Andre Miller is a must-start, Marcus Camby had 18 boards and four blocks, while LaMarcus Aldridge continues to play well. Martell Webster is completely unreliable right now, while Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandez looked pretty good last night.

Kings - Francisco Garcia didn't play on Sunday, but there was no word of an injury. Donte' Greene started and Beno Udrih played very well off the bench. Both players can be used this week, but are risky options. Udrih and Greene have nice potential if Westphal isn't yet ready to commit to Garcia. Jason Thompson and Carl Landry both look like safe starts, and I'm still fine with Omri Casspi, although he had a bad game in the loss to the Suns.

Spurs - Tony Parker missed Sunday with a strained left hip flexor and will have an MRI today. Unless we get an update, he's probably too risky to use this week. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and George Hill look like must-starts, while Antonio McDyess is also a possibility in deep leagues. As for Richard Jefferson, he's still barely showing signs of life, and I would not start him.

Raptors - Hedo Turkoglu finally showed up on Saturday, but remains a shaky fantasy start. I'd probably roll the dice on him, although he tweaked a knee in that game. Andrea Bargnani and Jarrett Jack look like must-starts, while Antoine Wright was big on Saturday, and could be a sneaky play. Jose Calderon is usable if options are limited, while the hope is that Chris Bosh will return from his ankle injury on Wednesday. If he's out, Rasho Nesterovic is worth a look.

Jazz - The Jazz got a nice win over Portland on Sunday but Andrei Kirilenko left with a back injury, making him very risky for the upcoming week. Mehmet Okur is due back tonight after the birth of a child, but could come off the bench. He was hot before shutting it down, and is worth a shot. Wesley Matthews is worth a look with AK-47 hurting, while Carlos Boozer is a must-start. Deron Williams was dealing with a knee/toe injury last night, but played through it. Hopefully it's nothing to worry about. Paul Millsap is also a sneaky play if Kirilenko is going to miss more time.

Wizards - Andray Blatche is now a must-start fantasy player, while Randy Foye, Josh Howard, Mike Miller, Al Thornton and JaVale McGee are all worth a shot in most leagues. Howard, Miller and Thornton will likely trade nice lines, while McGee is dealing with a sore wrist. My guess is he'll play through it this week.

Monday Morning Injury Report

Paul Pierce – thumb – Iffy with thumb injury, start at own risk.
Nate Robinson – flu – Ready to play on Tuesday vs. Knicks. I like matchup.
Nazr Mohammed – back – Played Saturday, but a poor option even healthy.
Tyson Chandler – ankle – Missed Saturday, find another center to use.
Leon Powe – knee surgery – Debut on Tuesday, just keep an eye on him.
Erick Dampier – finger – Out indefinitely, start Haywood.
Tim Thomas – personal – No value when playing.
Renaldo Balkman – back – No use in risking it with him now.
Charlie Villanueva – back – Terrible right now, keep him benched.
Ronny Turiaf – flu – Missed Sunday, risky fantasy play either way.
Corey Maggette – hamstring – Missed Sunday, keep benched for now.
Trevor Ariza – hip – Playing through it, but didn't look good Sunday.
Kyle Lowry – ankle – Too risky with Kevin Martin & Aaron Brooks around.
A.J. Price – concussion – Out of rotation, hello, T.J. Ford.
Baron Davis – back – Hoping to play tonight, I'd start him (I think).
Travis Outlaw – foot – Should get about 20 minutes tonight. Watch him.
Sasha Vujacic – shoulder – Out for week, Shannon Brown could be OK.
Andrew Bynum – hip – Playing through it, I'll probably start him.
Luke Walton – back – Season in jeopardy.
Kobe Bryant – ankle – All signs point to Tuesday, I'd start him.
Ronnie Brewer – hamstring – Out indefinitely.
Rafer Alston – hand – Arroyo and Chalmers look like decent options.
Dwyane Wade – calf – Could easily miss a couple games, I'd bench him.
Jarvis Hayes – hamstring – Left Sunday, shaky fantasy value when healthy.
Chris Paul – knee – Won't play until March, keep rolling Collison.
Willie Green – shoulder – Day-to-day, Iverson/Lou-Will look decent.
Steve Nash – abdomen – Out Tuesday, very risky play this week.
Leandro Barbosa – wrist – Getting closer, but no use this week.
Brandon Roy – hamstring – Played well on Sunday, use him, despite risk.
Francisco Garcia – wrist – Out Sunday, but not sure why. Don't start him.
Jon Brockman – knee – Out indefinitely.
Tony Parker – hip – Missed Sunday, very risky play this week.
Hedo Turkoglu – knee – Played through it Saturday, but a minor concern.
Chris Bosh – ankle – Sounds like he's a go for Wednesday. Play him.
Deron Williams – knee – Was dealing w/ toe/knee issue Sunday, but played.
Andrei Kirilenko – back – Left Sunday, very risky for the week. Bench him.
Mehmet Okur – baby – Ready to return Monday, might come off bench.

 

[HacheMan]

Blatche-Fest 2010
[SIZE=+1]Smaller To Average-Sized Leagues[/SIZE]

These players may or may not be available in smaller to average-sized leagues consisting of 10-12 teams with rosters somewhere around 12-15 players. That should cover a majority of the fantasy hoops leagues in existence. If your league is any smaller than that, the waiver options are endless and it's just too difficult to try to figure out whether you should pick up Kevin Garnett, Kirk Hinrich or Luol Deng.

Andray Blatche F/C Wizards - Blatche has been on a tear ever since Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood exited Washington, stage right, and should be owned in all leagues right now. If he's somehow still available in your league, don't even think about it. Just cut your worst player and pick him up.

Tyrus Thomas F/C Bobcats - Thomas is coming off the bench in Charlotte but Larry Brown and he are off to a nice start together and Thomas should rack up a ton of boards, blocks and steals the rest of the way.

Eddie House G Knicks - House went off for 24 points in 36 minutes off the bench on Saturday, hitting 8-of-14 FGs, 4-of-8 three-pointers, and 4-of-4 FTs. House is a favorite of coach Mike D'Antoni and should get reliable minutes off the bench. If you need threes, go ahead and grab him. Perhaps no player will benefit from a change of scenery as much as House.

Tracy McGrady G/F Knicks - T-Mac's debut for the Knicks couldn't have gone better – 26 points, four rebounds and five-assists on Saturday. You guys know I'm not a fan and that I have not picked him up, but it's impossible to ignore those numbers. His minutes will be limited and I still think he's a huge injury risk, but he at least deserves to be picked up right now. And he can be started this week with four games. Just don't come crying to me if he goes down with an injury, or if last Saturday ends up being his best line of the season.

John Salmons G/F Bucks - Salmons has led the Bucks in scoring in his two games with his new team and Milwaukee plays five times this week. Go ahead and get him on your roster, and into your lineup.

Follow Me On Twitter

Follow me on Twitter for quicker injury updates and all things Hawks and Warriors.

[SIZE=+1]Normal-to-Deeper Leagues[/SIZE]

These players may generally be available in 12 to 14-team leagues.

JaVale McGee C Wizards - McGee got off to a great start with the Wizards after the Brendan Haywood trade and remains the team's starting center. He struggled in his last game and is dealing with a wrist injury, but I still think he's going to be an excellent source of boards and blocks. The same goes for the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan, but I like McGee a little more.

Andris Biedrins C Warriors - Biedrins had four points on 2-of-3 shooting Sunday, but added 13 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and two blocks in 33 minutes. If he was dropped in your league, he's still worth owning, although how Don Nelson will use him from night to night remains a mystery. He benefited from the absence of Ronny Turiaf (sinus infection) last night, but will hopefully get more run even when Turiaf is healthy.

C.J. Watson G Warriors - Watson was very hot when Monta Ellis was out with his knee injury, but is still a big part of what the Warriors do. He had 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting with two rebounds, six assists, and two steals in 31 minutes on Sunday. He's still a bit risky playing for Nellie, but has played well enough over the past 10 days to get a look in most leagues.

T.J. Ford PG Pacers - Ford is finally out of the doghouse in Indy and had 23 points in 24 minutes on Saturday, making 10-of-19 field goals and adding three boards and three assists. Jim O'Brien, for once, praised him after the game and it appears the Pacers are ready to roll with him again. He comes with no guarantees, but should probably now be owned in all leagues again.

George Hill G Spurs - Tony Parker is iffy for the week with a strained left hip flexor and Hill continues to play well for the Spurs. Even when Parker's healthy, Hill is worth a look. But with Parker now a question mark, Hill looks like an automatic pickup in most leagues.

Draft a new fantasy team today at SnapDraft!

[SIZE=+1]Extremely Deep Leagues[/SIZE]

Chase Budinger F Rockets - Budinger has hit double figures in scoring in five straight games, averaging 12 points, four boards and two 3-pointers in them. If you're in a deep league and the waiver wire is bare, Budinger looks like a solid pickup with Carl Landry in Sacramento.

Goran Dragic PG Suns - Steve Nash is out on Tuesday with an abdominal strain, making Dragic a safe one-gamer. However, if Nash's injury lingers, Dragic could be ready to go on a run.

Mario Chalmers G Heat - Chalmers is back from a thumb injury, while Dwyane Wade (calf) and Rafer Alston (hand) are out for the Heat. Chalmers went off for 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and four 3-pointers in Friday's win and is worth a close look in all deep leagues. In addition, with Rafer and Wade hurting, Daequan Cook, Quentin Richardson and Carlos Arroyo are also worth investigating in deeper leagues.

Nicolas Batum F Blazers - Batum played solid defense on Sunday and finished with 14 points, nine boards and two 3-pointers, but didn't do much in the second half. Martell Webster has been slumping for two straight games, and while we don't fully trust Batum, he's worth a look in deeper leagues. The same can be said for Rudy Fernandez, Webster and former Blazer, Travis Outlaw, who could debut for the Clippers on Monday. But the bottom line with all these players is they face stiff competition for a role and minutes, meaning all of them will likely be inconsistent.

Beno Udrih/Donte' Greene G, G/F Kings - Udrih went off on Sunday for 17 points, four boards, five assists and three 3-pointers off the bench, while Greene started in place of struggling Francisco Garcia, and had 16 points. With Garcia's future with Paul Westphal up in the air, both players are worth a look again for the Kings

 

[HacheMan]

Boom Goes The Dynamite!
[SIZE=+1]Good Times, Bad Times[/SIZE]

Monday was a light night in the NBA, and also seemed to be a day filled with good news and bad news.

[SIZE=+1]Good Times[/SIZE]

World Party

Andrew Bogut went ballistic on the size-challenged Knicks last night with 24 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks! Are you kidding? The Knicks can do and say anything they want, but as long as Wilson Chandler is jumping at tip-off for them, they have no chance of stopping big men, which is why David Lee is not more respected throughout the league. He's simply an undersized center with solid offensive skills and a nose for the ball. And my condolences if you're facing Bogut in a head-to-head match four more times this week. It's going to be a long one. And my favorite part of the Boom Goes the Dynamite Youtube clip was when the dude called Bogut 'Andrew Bo-Got.' Classic.

Gerald Wallace broke out of a mini-funk last night with 32 points, 12 boards, five assists and four steals on 10-of-17 shooting. It was probably in part due to the struggles of Stephen Jackson, but was nice to see, nonetheless.

Boris Diaw had 20 points, nine boards, nine assists and a 3-pointer last night, helping to pick up Jackson's slack.

Joe Johnson hit 12-of-19 shots for 28 points, two threes, six boards, six assists and a steal as the Hawks won in Utah for the first time in 17 years. Wow.

Brendan Haywood went off for 13 points, 20 boards and three blocks. Erick who?

Andray Blatche stayed hot with 25 points, 11 boards, two steals and two blocks, and given Washington's stellar playoff schedule, looks like the possible waiver-wire pickup of the year.

Back On the Chain Gang

Kobe Bryant sounds like he's good to go on Tuesday after an 18-day layoff. It kind of feels like we should be mad at him, but you have to remember how long he played through various injuries before shutting it down. Now he's had 18 days to rest and should head into the playoffs with more energy and health than most of his competition. A fantasy disaster, but pure genius, really.

T.J. Ford played through a groin injury last night and had 14 points and three assists. He sounded pretty shaky coming in, but was able to go. The Pacers didn't really show up though, as Troy Murphy led the starters with 10 points. Yikes.

Baron Davis returned from his back injury for 10 points, five boards, 10 assists, two steals and three blocks in the win. Steve Blake had just three points and seven assists in 16 minutes, and is useless until Baron goes down again.

Travis Outlaw returned from his foot injury to debut with the Clippers and had 10 points in 16 minutes. His minutes should climb the rest of the way, but we doubt he becomes a must-own fantasy player until a couple weeks from now, if at all.

Andrew Bynum has been taking it easy in practice in hopes that he'll be more effective in games. He's dealing with a hip injury, but it does sound like he's going to play.

Back Where We Started (here we go around again)

Antawn Jamison is expected to start for the Cavaliers tonight, replacing J.J. Hickson, while Sergio Rodriguez started at point guard for the Knicks last night, and John Salmons started at shooting guard for the Bucks. Goodbye, Chris Duhon and Charlie Bell. I've been pretty harsh on Duhon for the most part of the last two years, but given the way he's played over 60 percent of that time, this was a long time coming. Rodriguez didn't do much, as in four points and one assist in 29 minutes, but did somehow manage to grab eight steals, which was likely worth the price of admission if you played him. He should be better than this on most nights, but he is still an unknown entity, and it's possible he's just not a very good basketball player. Salmons is rolling for the Bucks (15 points, a three, a couple steals) and should have a nice five-game week. And he's much easier to like now that expectations have fallen from the penthouse to the unfinished basement.

Give A Little Bit

Theo Ratliff started at center for the Bobcats (Nazr Mohammed, Tyson Chandler injured) and had 10 points, two boards and two blocks in 31 minutes. I didn't know he had 31 minutes in him, so just keep an eye on him.

Tyrus Thomas had 10 points, four boards, two steals and three blocks, and should be starting in all leagues. Especially with his minutes due to increase soon.

Wizard James Singleton rendered JaVale McGee almost useless with nine points, 12 boards and three blocks in 28 minutes off the bench. I'm not rushing out to pick him up, but he's definitely worth keeping a close eye on after this one.

Al Thornton scored 17 points last night after Josh Howard went down with a knee injury and is worth a pickup. More on Howard shortly.

Flip Murray chipped in with 16 points and two threes for the Bulls, and also had a monster dunk in the face of JaVale McGee. Just keep an eye on him.

Hakim Warrick had 12 points, five boards, a steal and two blocks and is worth a pickup with Tyrus Thomas out of Chicago and Joakim Noah hurting.

Drew Gooden had 10 points and nine boards in 28 minutes off the bench, but is not a must-own player just yet. Keep an eye on him.

Keep reading for the 'Bad Times' from Monday.
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[SIZE=+1]Bad Times[/SIZE]

Flightless Bird

Dwyane Wade lost his walking boot, but is still very iffy for the week with his calf injury. He's more week-to-week than day-to-day, so it's anyone's guess how much he'll play this week, if at all.

Paul Pierce sounds doubtful for Tuesday with his thumb injury and could miss a couple games.

Deron Williams sat out last night's loss with a quad contusion, but says he'll play on Wednesday.

Andrei Kirilenko sat out with back spasms and could miss another game or two for the Jazz.

Danny Granger was out for personal reasons last night and actually sounds iffy for the whole week. "I have no idea," Jim O'Brien said when asked when Granger would return. "It's a serious situation he's going through." Uh oh. Mike Dunleavy started in his place last night, but looks like he's playing on one leg.

Tony Parker is dealing with a strained hip flexor and is day-to-day. I have no idea if he'll play Wednesday against the Thunder.

Allen Iverson has shut it down again for the next three games due to his daughter's medical situation and it's possible he won't play again this season. It does sound like he plans on returning to the Sixers, but I went ahead and dropped him in my leagues.

Corey Maggette has been shut down until at least March 8 with his hamstring injury, which was about the least surprising news I've gotten in the last year. Like the one-armed man from Arrested Development taught the Bluth family lessons years ago – "And that's why you don't trust Corey Maggette."

Chris Bosh is now iffy for Wednesday with his sprained ankle after missing Monday's practice. I have no idea if he'll play or not, and we'll hopefully get an update on Tuesday.

Steve Nash is out tonight with an abdominal strain, but hopefully won't miss anymore games.

Way Down Now

Josh Howard's left knee buckled in the first quarter last night and he was carried to the locker room in obvious pain. He was off to a nice start last night, but I would be mildly surprised if he plays again this week. It's being a called a sprain, but it could be much more than that. Stay tuned.

Tracy McGrady left last night's game with a left knee injury, but it doesn't appear to be structural. He banged the knee several times and I'd be surprised if he plays against the Celtics tonight. He cooled off last night, hitting just 5-of-14 shots for 15 points, four boards and one assist. People may be tired of me ripping on T-Mac, which is understandable if you own him. But this is why you don't deal with Tracy McGrady. I'm just trying to help, and thought it was a bad idea to mess with him – especially in weekly leagues where you have no recourse for when stuff like this happens.

Hassle

Stephen Jackson hit just 1-of-16 shots for seven points, six boards, five assists, four steals, two blocks and five turnovers. Ouch. He was hot coming in, and should bounce back soon. But I'm pretty sure the owners of Gerald Wallace and Boris Diaw wouldn't mind seeing him play like that more often.

Brandon Jennings hit just 1-of-9 shots for four points, eight rebounds and seven assists. It's hard to believe this kid once scored 55 points as badly as he's struggled ever since, and he's on pace to finish his five-game week at 5-of-45 shooting clip.

Eddie House hit just 4-of-16 shots for 10 points, but the good news is the minutes and shots were there. He's still a good player to own right now.

Wilson Chandler played 41 minutes for the Knicks, but scored just six points. He hasn't adjusted well to the move to power forward, or the arrival of McGrady, but should eventually get hot again.

Danilo Gallinari is in the same boat and the arrival of House hurts him. He had just five points last night and had seven in his previous game. Hopefully he'll break out of it tonight. The Knicks were embarrassed at home against the Bucks last night, leaving the court to boos.

Joakim Noah played just 12 minutes through his foot injury and your guess is as good as mine as to when he'll be back to full speed. Or should I say, 'if.'

JaVale McGee had just five points, four boards and a block in 22 minutes, as Singleton helped rain on his parade.

DeAndre Jordan had nine points, five boards, a steal and a block, but played just 17 minutes. Drew Gooden is likely going to hurt his minutes, as Gooden, Jordan and Craig Smith are all going to share minut

 

[HacheMan]

Welcome Back, Kobe!
Kobe Bryant made a triumphant and classic return to action on Tuesday, Marcus Thornton went nuts, Kevin Durant took over the scoring lead from LeBron James, Paul Westphal got nasty and Marcus Camby went down.

[SIZE=+1]Good Times[/SIZE]

Welcome Back, Kobe!

Kobe Bryant returned from an 18-day absence with his ankle injury and hit a 30-footer to win the game for the Lakers. In addition, he scored his team's last nine points to finish with 32, and should be back in all starting lineups ASAP. On a side note, Pau Gasol chipped in with 22 points, 13 boards and a full stat line, while Andrew Bynum looked fine despite a hip injury.

Race For The Prize

Kevin Durant scored 36 points and three 3-pointers as the Thunder saw their nine-game winning streak end at the hands of Jason Richardson and the Suns. For the record, Durant, who is just 21 years old, has scored 25 or more points in 29 straight games and officially took over the scoring lead from LeBron James last night (29.9 to 29.8). I don't expect him to give it back to the King, especially with Antawn Jamison suddenly firing up almost as many shots as LeBron in Cleveland. But if you threw some money down in Vegas that Durant would lead the league in scoring this year, you're looking good.

I'm Tellin' Y'all It's Sabotage!

My favorite line in this classic Beastie Boys' rocker is "I got this bleepin' thorn in my side," which is what led me to the Sabotage reference for Marcus Thornton. It also works because it appears that coach Jeff Bower is trying to sabotage fantasy owners by making Thornton, who was out with a back injury, win his starting job back from Morris Peterson, of all people. Really? I actually dumped Thornton in a few leagues and had him on the bench in another last night when he went ballistic. You've heard by now, but in case you missed it, he scored 23 points in the second quarter and finished with 37 points – off the bench! My favorite part of the story is that he came off the bench to start the second half, but there is almost no way they keep him coming off the bench for much longer. Bottom line is that if he was dropped in your league, pick him up, and if he's on your bench, start him. I know I didn't exactly encourage that philosophy during Tuesday's live chat, but who saw this one coming?

Dare To Be Surprised

Zach Randolph had one of the best lines I've ever seen from him Tuesday when he had 20 points, 14 boards, three assists, four steals and three blocks. According to my man @Mike_Chef on Twitter, Z-Bo only has five career games with two or more blocks and steals in the same game, so this was quite an occasion for Zach. He's having a pretty amazing year and has quickly changed his reputation by making the Grizzlies winners. And I'm actually happy for him.

Sleep Driving

Courtney Lee had 28 points, six boards and four 3-pointers on 11-of-18 shooting last night, and while he's still not an everyday fantasy beast, he's playing much better than he was the first half. Stick with him. Devin Harris had a season-high 28 points to go along with five assists, but that ticking sound you hear is the alarm clock counting down the minutes until he's shut down. I say deal him now.

The Rest of the Good News

Antawn Jamison had 18 points and six boards on 7-of-14 shooting, while LeBron James had 20 points, five boards, 13 assists, two steals and two 3-pointers. While I'm far from worried about Jamison stealing too much of LeBron's thunder, he's going to steal some of his shots. But I also doubt Jamison is this effective every night. If he is, I was wrong about him.

Dorell Wright had 26 points and six 3-pointers on 9-of-11 shooting in the absence of Dwyane Wade. Wright is always a tempting player to add in deep leagues, but has never shown much, if any, consistency. Maybe he'll get it going and maybe he won't, but I'm not taking the bait just yet. Mario Chalmers had nine points and five assists with Rafer Alston out, and could be on his way back to the starting lineup for an ineffective Carlos Arroyo. Keep an eye on him.

Sergio Rodriguez broke out against the Celtics last night with 18 points, five rebounds, six assists, two steals, a block and a 3-pointer. Wow. I guess that means it's officially time to pick him up and play him. Eddie House struggled against his former team with just four points on 2-of-7 shooting, but I still think he's also worth owning if you need threes. He'll be better on most nights, but also added five boards and four assists. For the Celtics, Nate Robinson made a quiet debut with four points, and I am fully in support of dumping him for Sergio (or someone else). David Lee also pumped in 28 points and 15 boards, but the biggest story of this game was the fact the Celtics only managed to beat the Knicks by four points at home.

Rip Hamilton scored 30 again, while Tayshaun Prince had 22 for the Pistons. Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon each scored 11, but Jonas Jerebko went down with an ankle injury. CV could end up getting a boost if Jerebko is out, while Gordon is still capable of some big lines. But playing with those guys is akin to playing with fire.

Tyreke Evans had 28 points, 13 assists and two steals in a weird game for the Kings. Spencer Hawes was benched (inactive, even) for questioning Paul Westphal's rotation and can probably be dropped if you own him. Omri Casspi and Jason Thompson struggled again, while Donte' Greene failed to score after starting and playing just 13 minutes. Carl Landry had 18 points, but just three boards, and Francisco Garcia had six points in 16 minutes. Westphal has quickly climbed near the top of the list of bad fantasy coaches. Obviously, Evans is the only reliable thing in Sacramento and I've given up hope on Garcia. And beware, as that could mean he's about ready to go off.

Lou Williams got a start with both Allen Iverson and Willie Green out and went off for 26 points, five 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, seven assists and a steal. With Iverson's future with the Sixers (and the NBA) completely up in the air, Sweet Lou should be owned in all leagues.

C.J. Watson and Anthony Morrow both played well for the Warriors, and along with Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis, should be owned in all leagues.

Jason Richardson hit the game-winner last night, finishing with 20 points, two threes, 13 boards and two steals. Good luck on trying to figure out when to get him in your lineup and when to bench him. Amare Stoudemire had 30 points and Goran Dragic, filling in for an injured Steve Nash, had 16 points, two threes and 10 dimes. He's only worth using if Nash is going to miss more games with his abdominal strain, but Nash is expected to play tonight.

Continue reading for 'Bad Times' and the Injury Report
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[SIZE=+1]Bad Times[/SIZE]

Mo Williams hit just 2-fo-9 shots for six points and eight assists. He's no longer the No. 2 scoring option for the Cavs with Jamison around, and Shaquille O'Neal is playing much better now. Shaq had 20 points, seven boards and a block, but at least Williams had eight assists.

Emeka Okafor's struggles continued with four points, eight boards and no blocks. Many owners are growing tired of his antics and are dropping him. It's tough to blame them, but it still feels like he should be owned in most leagues.

Tracy McGrady played through his sore knee and had six points and eight assists on 3-of-8 shooting, but at least played through his injury.

Robin Lopez had just two points and two rebounds in last night's win, but should be better on most nights.

Andris Biedrins played nine scoreless minutes for the Warriors and has officially hit rock bottom. Just bench him until he shows signs of life again, although it may not happen for Nellie this year.

[SIZE=+1]Injury Report[/SIZE]

Josh Howard's season is over after he tore his left ACL in Monday's game. Al Thornton will take over his starting job and should probably be owned in most leagues now.

Dwyane Wade was out on Tuesday and is still iffy for the entire week with his calf injury. Dorell Wright and Mario Chalmers might be worth adding after last night.

Trevor Ariza is out for the next three games with a hip injury and Kevin Martin will start in his place. Hopefully you had Ariza on your bench.

Chris Bosh missed another practice on Tuesday and has already been ruled out for Wednesday's game. Hopefully this will be his last miss, but there's no way of knowing.

Allen Iverson will miss at least two more games for a personal family situation and if he's not back by next week, the Sixers may move to get rid of him. In any case, I see no reason to still own him.

Paul Pierce missed Tuesday's game with a thumb injury and could miss more time. Keep him benched until we get more information. Marquis Daniels had 14 points in his absence.

Marcus Camby suffered a sprained left ankle last night and is doubtful tonight against the Raptors. It was probably only a matter of time, but the injury was a fluke, as Brook Lopez stepped on his foot, pinning it down as Camby fell awkwardly. Juwan Howard will probably start at center again tonight, but I'm not picking him up. On a side note, Nicolas Batum is now starting over Martell Webster, making Webster too risky to use. Batum had just two points last night.

Steve Nash missed last night's game with an abdominal injury, but is probable for tonight against the Sixers. Hopefully he doesn't miss anymore time.

Andrei Kirilenko is questionable tonight against the Bobcats with his back injury, but I'd be kind of surprised if he plays. Deron Williams is expected to return from his quad injury.

Leandro Barbosa should be back from his wrist injury next week, and might be worth a pickup in deeper leagues.

Eric Gordon missed Tuesday's practice with a lower right leg injury, but it sounded precautionary. He's slated to play and guard Richard Hamilton tonight.

Tony Parker (hip) practiced on Tuesday and it sounds like he'll give it a go on Wednesday against the Thunder. Start him at your own risk.

The Pacers play the Bulls on Wednesday, but still no word on the availability of Danny Granger, who is dealing with a "serious" personal situation.

 

[HacheMan]

The Booz Cruise
I've never been on a booze cruise, which would probably surprise many of my friends, and for a guy with the last name Bruski it's probably against the family rules – somewhere between manning the keg and calling dibs on the BBQ. But really, I'm not from a family of raging alcoholics (no, really) and I'm sure Carlos Boozer has gotten a few of the same jokes I've heard over the years.

This year, the joke's on all the folks who piled on Fan Gu Zai, which is the Chinese's nickname for Boozer, which loosely translated means "Betrayal Skull Dude." Apparently the Chinese believe that if you have a big forehead that you aren't to be trusted, because some ancient dude with a big forehead wasn't exactly Honest Abe, so once Boozer promised to return to Cleveland but then bolted for Utah's money back in 2004 – voila! The nickname was born, and 1.3 billion people in China call him that.

The NBA, where awesome foreign nicknames happen.

Now to say that the 1.3 billion people of China were onto something is one thing, but not many basketball writers, fantasy or otherwise, gave him much of a chance of a happy ending in Utah (us included). Whether the trade deadline would move him somewhere less fantasy-friendly, or his highly-paid backup would cut into his productivity (hello Paul Millsap), or one of his many ailments would keep him out an undisclosed amount of time – there were too many reasons not to go on the Booz Cruise. A calf injury in late January caused many owners to panic, and many of them probably sold high, and no doubt have a case of buyer's remorse.

In the four games since the trade deadline, he has averages of 24.3 points, 16.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 0.5 steals while shooting 59% from the field. And aside from his ever-present injury concerns, I see no reason for his domination to stop. The Jazz need to keep winning to avoid playing the Lakers prior to the Western Conference championships, which means they need to finish with the No. 2 or No. 3 seed to do that. And what about the owner that called him out publicly, fans that wanted to see him go, and a team that some said felt like he was only playing for a contract? They love him, and why not, he's delivering in the clutch and whistling while he works. The Western Conference Player of the Week now says that he wants to stay in Utah. I don't know any clever Chinese sayings for the word "redemption," but he's well on the path to it, and owners can finally sit back and enjoy the ride.

Before we get into the meats and potatoes of Wednesday's action, remember to check out Dr. A's exclusive interview with Brian Rosenworcel, the drummer for the band Guster, who talks about what it's like to walk off the stage and go right to the tour bus to check box scores. My question to Brian is, do the groupies ever help him choose between Arron Afflalo or Brandon Rush for last-second 3-pointers?

And remember you can follow me on Twitter, where I try to keep up with Doctor A, Stroup, Levitan, Knaus and the rest of America.

[SIZE=+1]Trade Deadline Wrap-Up[/SIZE]

The concrete is close to dried with a week under our belt after the trade deadline, and here are the winners and losers, and the players to be named later:

The Winners

Andray Blatche – Perhaps the biggest winner of the trade deadline. His unique skill-set and athleticism have been on display, and his last five games have been nothing short of amazing with averages of 25 points, 10 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. While these numbers jump off the page, it's really anybody's guess if he keeps it up or not, and the lack of compelling options around him means he'll be the man for the rest of the year.
Tracy McGrady – He may have received the most buzz, but he will be inconsistent until he gets into game shape. And then there's that pesky knee problem. He could be a nice pick-up for the rest of the year, but owners need to have backup plans.
Sergio Rodriguez – From obscurity in Sacto, to starting in D'Antoni's fastbreak offense. Ka-ching!
Eddie House – Averaged 15 shot attempts in first two games, and then had seven in the next. D'Antoni will give him the green light, which will make him valuable, but good luck picking which games to use him.
Luis Scola – Without Carl Landry he looked great to start, putting up 25 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists in his first game sans Carl. But things have turned consistently south for him, with his next game yielding a respectable 12 & 11 line, but Wednesday's zero-point outing may have been more than a case of Dwight Howard-itis – he played just 15 minutes and wasn't in any foul trouble. I wouldn't be surprised to learn of an injury or some other reason he just disappeared. Once that's reconciled, he looks good to wrap the season up.
Kevin Martin – He had worn out his welcome in Sacto, and was stuck in a crowded situation for wing-players. A change of scenery, along with the Rockets wanting to make their trade look good, are both positive factors for him.
Tyrus Thomas – He scored 20 points on Wednesday, and is averaging 12.8 points, 7.5 boards, 1.5 steals, 3.5 blocks, and 28 minutes in the four games he's been a Bobcat. Better yet, they actually appear eager to play him, so far.
Andrei Kirilenko, C.J. Miles, Wesley Matthews, and Kyle Korver – Only the first name on this list is worth owning in most leagues, but all of them benefited when Ronnie Brewer's 31 mpg went away.
John Salmons – He has scored between 15 and 19 points in each of the four games since the trade, and is getting plenty of shot attempts. Of course that could all change with Skiles running the show, but owners will take what they can get right now. After his resurgence in Chicago last year, we think he should get traded more often.
Shaquille O'Neal – No Big Z means unlimited run, and a more effective offense surrounding him means higher quality touches. In three of four games since the trade he's scored 18 points or more.
Drew Gooden – 20 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists on Wednesday, and he appears to have the starting power forward job locked up. His shelf life on the waiver wires won't be long, but we doubt he'll be this good every night.
Rasual Butler – The departure of Al Thornton would have been sweeter had Travis Outlaw not shown up on the doorstep. But as long as he keeps hitting big shots like Wednesday's go-ahead three that put away the Pistons, we like his chances of being serviceable in fantasy leagues.
Marcus Camby – Although he hurt his ankle, landing in Portland where Juwan Howard was patrolling the lane was on the shortlist of great places for him to land.
Andre Miller – Steve Blake's departure left no doubt about Dre's role, which was about five months too late in most people's opinion.
Josh Howard – A new lease on life for his owners went down in a heap with a torn ACL.
Al Thornton – The Wizards wanted to draft him, and now Josh Howard is done for the year. He went for 16 points and 11 boards on Wednesday, and while this might be one of his better lines, he is starting and should probably be owned right now.
Jason Kidd – All of his shiny new toys have opened up his offensive game, and he is looking lethal for the rest of the season.


The Losers

Nate Robinson – At least in New York owners could hope for points explosions. The Big Three isn't going to become the Big Four anytime soon.
Wilson Chandler – Is anybody else afraid that he'll have to pull a Tonya Harding on T-Mac to keep from losing shot attempts? Ditto Danilo Gallinari.
Trevor Ariza – He has his own problems with his hip and his FG%, but Kev-Mart's shot attempts will come out of his bucket, which could be a blessing in disguise with how bad he shoots.
Chris Duhon – Put a fork in him, he was a DNP-CD on Wednesday.
Charlie Bell, Ersan Ilyasova, Jerry Stackhouse, and Luke Ridnour – Salmons' arrival has put a serious dent in whatever fantasy value they had, which of course could change at any moment due to Skiles' changing rotations, but for now they're waiver wire fodder.
Mo Williams – His shoulder injury has magnified owners' fears surrounding Antawn Jamison's arrival, but somewhere in between the awful play he has exhibited lately, and what he was doing pre-trade is what owners should pencil him in for.
Antawn Jamison – Owners should be concerned that when Mo gets back on track that Jamison's numbers will suffer, but his debut (minus his actual debut) has kept owners from the ledges. My original take that owners will be pleasantly surprised with how much value he keeps is what I'm going to stand by, for now.
LeBron James – Likened to pointing out a zit on Megan Fox's face, the fact that Antawn Jamison is there to relieve some of the burden on LBJ may result in less devastation for opposing fantasy squads.
DeAndre Jordan, Craig Smith – With Chris Kaman the centerpiece of the offense, having another block-presence without range doesn't make too much sense. Drew Gooden isn't exactly Larry Bird, but he does move around better, and has taken control of the power forward position.
Baron Davis – Having a capable backup in Steve Blake means that he can take all the days off that he wants, and if he starts to feel gimpy, his minutes can be reduced. We liked it better when the dreaded Bobby Brown/Mardy Collins combo sat at the end of the bench.
Jason Terry – The arrival of Caron Butler has moved him down the ladder of offensive options so far, and he is taking a more traditional sixth man's role. Shawn Marion is also expected to take a ding to his value, and has had mixed results so far.

<!--RW-->The Players To Be Named Later

Guys who could go one way or another include:

Shane Battier – It doesn't make sense, but since adding Kevin Martin he has shown signs of life. In all fairness it started the game before Kev-Mart arrived (20 points, 10 rebounds in the game prior), but one would think his minutes would be affected, so keep an eye on how this plays out.
Boris Diaw – He's finally paying dividends for patient owners, but we still don't know if having Nazr Mohammed and Tyson Chandler back will crowd things at his expense with Tyrus around.
Flip Murray – He has started out great, with scoring totals of 12, 16, and 16 in his last three games, and is doing John Salmons' job better than Salmons did in Chicago. Can he keep it up is the question.
Taj Gibson – His competition for minutes, Tyrus Thomas, essentially got replaced by Hakim Warrick, who has had mixed results so far. The Rise of Taj hasn't happened yet, but he could be a double-double guy before it's all said and done.
Rudy Fernandez – Travis Outlaw served the same purpose as Rudy, so one more roadblock is cleared for him, but he's still going to be inconsistent coming off the bench.
JaVale McGee, James Singleton – McGee has all the upside in the world, but right now Singleton is getting minutes while McGee sits the bench. Expect this situation to be fluid, perhaps for the rest of the year.
Mike Miller – Josh Howard's arrival was a concern, but it's not anymore with Howard out for the year. Al Thornton's arrival doesn't help, but one would think the departure of Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison would trump that. Needless to say, he has taken less shots than he was with those guys around, and his shrinking ways aren't projecting well over the last weeks of the year.
Brendan Haywood – He has continued his solid production in Dallas, and it's hard to imagine Rick Carlisle cutting into his time much for Erick Dampier, who is outclassed by Haywood in all facets of the game.

[SIZE=+1]The Don Nelson Happy Hour[/SIZE]

Spencer, make yourself useful and go get Tyreke some lunch

The Don Nelson Happy Hour has moved two hours up the Highway 80 to Sacramento, where some believe the Westphal/Hawes feud went something like this. If you haven't heard, Hawes was benched for talking about the difficulties players are having with Westphal's rotations in the local paper, and since Tyreke Evans and Sean May made similar comments it would appear that he was singled out if we didn't know better. Hawes has been at odds with the organization since he skipped out on summer league, and his frustration has been no secret. But this isn't just a case of Hawes vs. Westphal, especially since Evans was one of those who commented, and nobody is happy in Sacto right now. If there's any possibility that Westphal stops jerking around his players, it will be after this ordeal, or not at all. Until then, Donte' Greene, Francisco Garcia, Omri Casspi, Jason Thompson, and Hawes are all going to be a frustrating mess.

Everybody Plays in Minnesota

Kurt Rambis has taken the 11-man rotation to a whole new level, and what's amazing is the fact that guys like Kevin Love and Jonny Flynn continue to be useful in fantasy leagues while he does this. On Wednesday, all of the starters played 28 minutes each, as did Love coming off the bench. Al Jefferson has not been able to survive this quagmire, and has scored 10 points in four straight games, with just one game over the 10-rebound mark. Corey Brewer has been hit-or-miss, and lately it's been more "miss." As is the case in Sacramento, Rambis has a younger team that he can bully around a bit, and fantasy owners would be wise to sell their Minnesota assets not named Love or Flynn.

[SIZE=+1]Layups[/SIZE]

Ben Gordon went scoreless and Charlie Villanueva scored just eight points on Wednesday, as John Kuester has decided to go with vets Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. They might have value in the future, but whether it's worth waiting around for them is another story.

Deron Williams returned from an quad injury and promptly went for 20 points and 12 dimes, so get him in your lineup if you haven't already. Kyle Korver hit five 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, and could be worth a gamble as long as Andrei Kirilenko is out. Speaking of AK-47, he missed Wednesday's game after being called "50-50" to go, and he's questionable for Friday's game at this time. Paul Milsap continued to disappoint with just seven points and five rebounds, and belongs on owners' benches until he turns it around.

As expected, Steve Nash returned from his one-game layoff due to back and abdominal issues, and finished with 20 points and 13 assists. He looked rejuvenated and hopefully this marks the end of his DNPs, although I'm not entirely convinced that will be the case. Jason Richardson continued his hot streak with 24 points, which gives him three games in a row over the 20-point threshold. Throw out two games during the month of February in which he totaled seven points between the two, and he actually looks like the J-Rich owners thought they were drafting back in October.

Manu Ginobili scored 26 points with nine rebounds and four assists, and with Tony Parker struggling to stay on the court he should carry a lot of the load going forward. As for Parker, he struggled through his hip injury to the tune of four points in 26 minutes, and he should be benched until he proves he is healthy. In the meantime, George Hill continued to provide serviceable value in many leagues with 16 points, five boards, and three assists, and unlike many injury replacements he has standalone value when (or if) Parker returns to health.

Kevin Durant's streak of games scoring more than 25 points officially came to an end on Wednesday, stopping at 29 games, which was good for second of all time next to Michael Jordan's mark of 40 games. Durant has all but locked up the No. 2 spot in next year's fantasy draft, and has officially made Portland the worst drafting franchise of all time.

Dwight Howard didn't miss a shot, hitting all 11 of his field goals to finish with 30 points and 16 boards. Jameer Nelson scored another 17 points and had nine assists, as well, and is proving the doubters wrong while showing no effects from his knee injury.

Morris Peterson went down to a hamstring injury after just four minutes of action, officially opening the door for Marcus Thornton to start at shooting guard. If for some reason he's still available in your league, he is an automatic pickup right now. He followed up his 37-point bonanza from Tuesday with 25 points on Wednesday, and you gotta give it up to the rookies holding down the fort in the Nest.

Joakim Noah played just seven minutes as he continues to get over the plantar fasciitis in his foot, and if you have him now you're just going to have to be patient. For the risk-takers out there, consider floating a low-ball offer to his owner, since they're probably concerned that he loses too much value as the year wraps up.

Danny Granger returned from a one-game personal absence and scored 20 points with seven boards, five assists, three steals, and a block, and is a must-start going forward. The obvious concern here is that the Pacers' lost season leads to an early shutdown for him, so owners would be wise to be working the phones right about now.

Caron Butler missed Wednesday's game due to a reaction to medication, but we can't imagine him missing Friday's game against the Hawks. Jason Terry predictably went off in his absence, scoring 30 points, which is certainly a sell-high moment for him since Butler has and will cut into his value.

Phil Jackson said Wednesday that Pau Gasol had a "muscle pull" prior to Wednesday's game, and with just 11 points and six rebounds in 32 minutes, we'll be very interested to see how he responds in his next game. Any time we hear the term "muscle pull" and Gasol, owners should be very concerned with the Lakers obviously playing for the postseason.

Andris Biedrins was blasted by Nellie in a wide-ranging article that questioned his toughness and desire. His free throw issues have caused him to avoid offensive involvement, which has led to him being fairly useless on the court, and if he doesn't show signs within one or two games I'll personally be dropping him in all my leagues.

Paul Pierce is doubtful for Thursday's game against the Cavaliers with a thumb injury, and also has the flu to top it off. Marquis Daniels is also iffy with the flu, so Tony Allen could see some meaningful minutes in this one. Nate Robinson would be a candidate for good minutes, but I could see Doc Rivers going either way with him, either letting him loose or holding him back since he doesn't know his assignments.

 

[HacheMan]

Tough Juice, Straws Don't Mix
[SIZE=+1]News Of The Weird[/SIZE]

Final Straw

It was a slow night in the NBA and while there aren't any earth-shattering announcements to make here, I am going to kick things off in a weird way. I'm going to essentially ignore Shaquille O'Neal's thumb injury (more later), the fact the Celtics just aren't very good right now, as well as the future of Dwyane Wade, in order to talk about McDonald's straws.

Caron Butler has been chewing Mickey D's (and only Mickey D's) straws during games for at least the last two seasons, if not longer. Yet, now that he's in Dallas and someone in the NBA office happened to catch a new column about his straw issues, Stu Jackson has told Butler he's no longer allowed to chew them during games. I guess I can see the point of it being a choking hazard, but U.L. Washington used to play shortstop with a freaking toothpick in his mouth, Michael Jordan's tongue was out more than it was in, and there doesn't seem to be that big of a difference between a chewed up straw and piece of gum, at least to me. If Tough Juice wants to risk his life playing hoops with a straw in his mouth, I say let him do it. This whole thing reminds me of when my idiot boss in corporate America told me stuff like "you don't sit high enough in your chair," "your pants are a little too baggy," and the classic "I don't know what fantasy sports are and I don't want to know, but you need to stop talking about them at work."

Man, I suddenly feel better and am a little hopeful that makes its way back to my old buddy.

Only Success Can Fail Me Now

No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet is being shipped to the D-League, causing a minor wave on Twitter by NBA-heads everywhere because he's the highest pick ever to go down. My favorite joke was the NBA scout saying there were primarily just two things he needs to work on – offense and defense. But really, the kid needs minutes and it makes perfect sense for him to spend some time on the court. It's far too early to classify him as a bust, but my guess is the Grizzlies would do things differently if they had another shot at the draft. Anyway, this story has no fantasy worth, so I'll move on, but I wonder if a trip to the D-League (or three) might have done Darko Milicic some good.

Mind Terrorist

Paul Pierce (thumb) was ruled out for Thursday's game some time on Wednesday, but I couldn't bring myself to actually write that in our blurb. Instead, I called him very doubtful, but left the door open for him to play, simply because you never know if Doc Rivers is telling the whole story to the press. Sure enough, Thursday afternoon rolls around and news starts blowing up that Pierce is going to 'give it a go.' Then game time arrives and Pierce will not only sit out Thursday, but also miss at least one more game. If you own him, get him on your bench. And always take what Doc Rivers says with a grain of salt.

Big Star

Dwight Howard joined Wilt Chamberlain in the record books when he scored 30 points, hauled in 16 rebounds and hit 11-of-11 shots Wednesday night. Howard became the first player since Wilt to record at least 30 points and 15 boards without missing a shot in at least 10 field-goal attempts, and I just thought it was worth mentioning here. Now, onto the fantasy goods.

[SIZE=+1]Injury News[/SIZE]

Thumbing My Way

Shaquille O'Neal suffered a "significant" thumb injury last night that is expected to keep him sidelined for a "considerable period of time." Uh oh. I can't help but think there's some karma involved here, but Anderson Varejao, who had 14 points and 10 boards last night, should probably be added in most leagues if unowned. And in case you're wondering about the chances of Zydrunas Ilgauskas signing with Cleveland? They're excellent, but that deal can't do down until March 22. And despite Binaural being my least favorite Pearl Jam record, I still gave it some love right there.

Glorified G

Andrei Kirilenko practiced on Thursday and really sounds like a go for tonight against the defenseless Kings (especially with the loss of Jason Thompson). He's not guaranteed to play, but I'd be comfortable rolling the dice on Kirilenko and his bad back tonight.

Backspacer

Jason Thompson has a couple fractures in his lower back and will miss a couple weeks for the Kings. Spencer Hawes is in the doghouse, but you have to think he'll play after this news. And if you missed this gem on Twitter, enjoy. Hawes vs. Paul Westphal – pure comedy.

Additionally, Carl Landry is now a must-start with Thompson down.

Heatmiser

Dwyane Wade's calf injury is still limiting him and he sounds very doubtful for Saturday and Sunday's games against the Bucks and Magic. He could play, but starting him as of now is very risky.

Bulldog Skin

Luol Deng was dealing with a swollen knee on Thursday, but it sounds like he'll try to play tonight against the Blazers. Watch for an update today. Joakim Noah on the other hand, offered this gem of a quote yesterday. "I'm just trying to get back as much as I can and help this team. I'm hurting, obviously, but it's the end of the season right now and I want to be there for my team and I want to be as ready as possible come playoff time." The 'playoff time' part of that really scares me and I'm contemplating dropping him in one of my leagues, as the seven minutes per game are just killing me. Taj Gibson is a little iffy with a foot injury, but details are sketchy and I'm going to assume he plays.

Trampled Underfoot

Tyson Chandler is headed to NYC to see a foot specialist, leaving the rest of his season in doubt. Nazr Mohammed should be ready to play through a back injury and could be worth a look if you have a hole at center. However, I'd be more comfortable with him if he was fully healthy.

Watson Twins

C.J. Watson missed Thursday with a case of the flu and probably has appendicitis, which could cause him to miss some time. Get him on your bench ASAP.

Dizz Knee Land

Kenyon Martin left last night's game with a knee contusion and didn't return. Consider him day-to-day, although the injury doesn't sound too serious for now.

Pete

Morris Peterson is questionable tonight with a hamstring injury, which was just what the doctor ordered for owners of Marcus Thornton. Make sure Thornton, who has scored 25 and 37 in his last two games, is in your lineup.

The Question

Marcus Camby is listed as questionable tonight with his sprained ankle, but my hunch is that he won't play. Start him at your own risk.

[SIZE=+1]Thursday's Game News[/SIZE]

Bucks Win Again

The Bucks beat the Pacers, getting 20 points from John Salmons, 18 from Brandon Jennings and another double-double from Andrew Bogut. Ersan Ilyasova came off the bench to get hot for 17 points, while Luc Richard Mbah a Moute cooled off. Carlos Delfino also scored 10 and had a fat stat line in the win.

The Pacers started Earl Watson and T.J. Ford together in the backcourt and both played very well. Give both of them a look, as they're expected to start again against the Bulls on Saturday. Roy Hibbert came off the bench, as Jim O'Brien continues to taunt fantasy owners. He said he didn't want Hibbert to get dominated by Andrew Bogut, but Bogut has been dominating everyone lately. Hibbert is expected off the bench again on Saturday. Mike Dunleavy was awful in his return from food poisoning and is a very shaky fantasy play until further notice. And Brandon Rush got into foul trouble and played just 19 minutes, but I still think he's a decent player to own going forward.

Cavs Wax Celtics

Antawn Jamison struggled in Thursday's easy win over the Celtics, finishing with just nine points and three boards, while Mo Williams had 19 points and five threes, but just two assists. It seems like his assists are solid when he struggles offensively, and vice versa. Delonte West is worth a look again and had seven points, eight boards, five assists, a steal and a block, while Varejao had 14 & 10 in the win. Leon Powe also made his season debut for two points and two boards. If he can get into game shape, he could be sneaky in deep leagues with Shaq out.

The Celtics didn't look good (again) and were led by Rajon Rondo's 19 points and 11 assists, while Kevin Garnett added 10 points and 10 boards. Yes, KG is still playing, but he seriously looks like he's on one leg. The Celtics managed just 32 points in the second half, and are clearly reeling.

Nuggets Cruise Past GSW

Chauncey Billups torched the Warriors for 37 points, six 3-pointers and nine assists on 13-of-19 shooting as the Nuggets cruised to an easy win. J.R. Smith got hot, hitting seven 3-pointers to finish with 25 points and eight boards, while Carmelo Anthony and Nene also played well. I think Smith is probably worth owning down the stretch, as the Nuggets know they're chances to win improve when he's shooting it with confidence.

The Warriors got 30 points, two 3-pointers, seven boards, 13 assists, two steals and a block from Stephen Curry, who is clearly in the hunt for ROY. And whoever it was that ripped me on Twitter for saying so a few days ago is crazy. Tyreke Evans is probably still in the lead, but Curry is quickly closing the gap.

Monta Ellis added 22 points and played a ton of minutes, so hopefully the chances of him shutting it down early aren't very good. Andris Biedrins struggled, as usual, while Ronny Turiaf had 12 points, eight boards and two blocks. Just keep an eye on him.

 

[HacheMan]

You Gotta Be Kidd'n Me
Every now and then one unique play will be identified with a player's career. Reggie Miller's eight points in 8.9 seconds to turn away the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals exemplified his affinity for clutch threes. Larry Bird's steal of Isiah Thomas' last-second inbounds pass in the 1987 Eastern Conference finals symbolized his do-whatever-it-takes to win mentality that won three NBA titles.

But when I think of defining moments of players' careers, Jason Kidd drawing contact on an NBA coach to help send a game to overtime may not be the most spectacular play, but it may do the best job in illustrating his likely Hall of Fame career. With the Mavs down by two points with 1:37 left in regulation, he saw Atlanta coach Mike Woodson standing on the court shouting defensive assignments as he pushed the ball in transition. So what does he do?

He makes a bee-line for Woodson, who seemed to see what was happening in slow motion, and Kidd got there in just enough time to throw an elbow out that caught Woodson, who tried fruitlessly to get away. Technical foul, Woodson. Free throw, Nowitzki. Momentum, Dallas.

After a missed Joe Johnson jumper, Kidd went on to drain a three in front of the Hawks bench to put them up by two. The Hawks tied the game to send it into overtime, but they missed their first eight shots in overtime and Dallas left Phillips Arena with a key road win.

It takes a moment like that to upstage a 19-point, 16-rebound, and 17-assist fantasy onslaught, just the first triple-double for J-Kidd on the year but not one that owners are likely to forget. The rebounds were a season-high, and the assists tied a season-high for Kidd, who is averaging 13.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 2.8 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 2.9 threes per game while shooting 45.5% from long distance in the month of February. Owners have put up with his lack of scoring all year, but all of a sudden now he's the complete package. And with the additions of Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood, the Mavs' offense has more weapons, which means more scoring and assist opportunities than he has had all year. He may have had bigger games in his career, and more meaningful accomplishments, but this is a night we'll see on highlight reels for years to come.

And before we jump into a wild Friday night in the NBA, remember you can follow me on Twitter, where I try to keep up with Doctor A, Stroup, Levitan, Knaus and the rest of America.

[SIZE=+1]Freaky Friday[/SIZE]

I had to check and see if there was a full moon (there wasn't), because Friday night's action kept coming and coming, and then it kept coming some more. There were 12 games total including four overtime games, a few last-second game-winners, a handful of monster lines, 14 double-doubles, and nearly twice that many near double-doubles to keep owners' heads spinning. So without further ado, let's take a look.

[SIZE=+1]Back in Blatche[/SIZE]

The trade deadline hasn't yielded so much since the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol, but unlike that trade this one was consummated specifically for fantasy owners, I'm certain. We've always watched Andray Blatche from afar, knowing that his versatile inside-outside game could be a recipe for fantasy domination, but he hasn't been able to stay on the court. Fast forward to today – not only is he getting massive amounts of playing time, he is now the man in Washington. Friday, he played a whopping 51 minutes and finished with 26 points, a career-high 18 rebounds, six assists, a steal, and three blocks. There may be more productive waiver wire pickups from earlier in the year. There may be guys that have helped owners over a longer period of time. But this type of boost just before the fantasy playoffs will be hard to argue with come end-of-the-year awards time.

[SIZE=+1]And The Rockets' Red Glare[/SIZE]

A trio of Rockets eclipsed the 30-point barrier in Friday's win over the Spurs. Aaron Brooks had 31 points, Luis Scola had 30 points and 13 rebounds, and Kevin Martin had 33 points, five boards, and four assists. On the way the three of them combined for a 32-of-32 mark from the foul line, and the collection of these performances has to be some sort of record.

Some analysts have questioned whether or not Kev-Mart's new digs have helped or hurt him, but I don't see what's not to like about a place that's hurting for scorers that will want to make their trade look good. As for Scola, it's great to see this effort out of him after his no-point, three-rebound outing on Wednesday. Without Landry around, Scola is primed for a big second-half.

[SIZE=+1]Knee-bone's Connected to the Party Bone[/SIZE]

The Tracy McGrady coming-out party is proverbially on pause because of his ailing left knee. He couldn't finish Friday's game because of "tightness," which throws a wet blanket onto his 23-point, three-rebound, three-assist outing. We've caught some heat recently for how hard we've been on him all year, especially in light of his production in New York, but I can't say that I feel too bad about it. Against stiff odds he landed in the perfect situation in New York, and still has owners guessing as to whether or not he'll hold his value for the rest of the year. If you took a flier on T-Mac and he's helping you out, then I say props to you. But he's playing with house money on his bum knee right now and owners would be wise to move him while his knee is still (somewhat) cooperating.

Speaking of knees, LeBron James' left knee was clearly bothering him throughout Friday's game, and whenever his Highness gets a hangnail it's going to be a big deal. He finished the game and no reports about it have surfaced, which probably means he's OK.

[SIZE=+1]Go West, My Son[/SIZE]

David West exploded for 40 points and 10 rebounds on Friday, and is officially hot. He's averaging just about 20 points, seven rebounds, and three assists for the month of February, and that's without CP3.

Robin Lopez scored 30 points and had 12 rebounds in the Suns' win over the Clippers, which is his second straight double-double, and after his two-point, two-rebound outing on Tuesday he may have been dropped in your league. He's not going to be this good going forward by any means, but he should probably be owned in most leagues and is worth a pickup.

[SIZE=+1]The Don Nelson Happy Hour[/SIZE]

Why Don't You Just Chest-Bump and Make-Up?

In Sacramento, coach Paul Westphal and Spencer Hawes treated us to one of the more hilarious player-coach moments of all time, when the two met in the middle of the floor for a low-five, high-five sequence followed by a chest bump during the pregame introductions. These are the same guys who have been at odds all year, and this follows Hawes' benching for comments he (and others) made to the Sac Bee about Westphal's funky rotations. Hawes started Friday's game, and it's safe to say the beef is over, at least for now. He ended with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists, and the first man off the court to congratulate him was Westphal, who met him with a big hug. "I'm so happy for Spencer, I can't even really talk straight about it," Westphal said. So Hawes goes from doghouse to the penthouse, and likewise if he was dropped he deserves an automatic pickup.

Too bad the good vibes didn't make it to the rest of the Kings' rotation, as Donte Greene, who was slated to start, didn't see the court at all. Francisco Garcia and Omri Casspi both saw just under 20 unproductive minutes, while Friday's beneficiary was Beno Udrih, who started at point guard and had 25 points. Nothing is set in stone in Sacto, but dropping Greene (or any of them) for Udrih sounds like a good idea right now, especially with the Kings' offense looking much better with Beno at the point.

Nellie to Rambis: You Suck

Kurt Rambis may have sealed his fate with the fantasy nation on Friday, as no starter played more than 28 minutes, and Kevin Love actually led the team in minutes off the bench with 29 big ones. Naturally, no starter scored more than 12 points, or had more than seven rebounds, or had more than five assists. Al Jefferson played just 17 minutes, which is a huge red flag given his knee concerns, but we wouldn't rule out Rambis' 12-man rotation as the culprit, either. In any event, the only players we can build a case to hang onto are Kevin Love and Jonny Flynn, who have both been producing and have nice upside. Everybody else should be sold at the next-best opportunity, because the rest of the year looks like a glorified Summer League schedule for the Wolves.
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[SIZE=+1]Injury News and Notes[/SIZE]

Andrei Kirilenko returned to action after about a week off with a back injury, and had 16 points with six rebounds, and should be ushered back into lineups based on this performance. Wesley Matthews took a hard fall at the end of the game, which would theoretically benefit C.J. Miles, but neither of them have been compelling options with Kirilenko out, and Matthews is apparently OK.

Chris Bosh did not play Friday due to his ankle injury, and owners are crossing their fingers to see him in action for Sunday's game so they can get a look at him for next week.

C.J. Watson does not have appendicitis, which means he must have had a real bad case of the flu, and his status for Saturday's game is in doubt. Despite the fact that Nellie started Devean George and Ronny Turiaf next to Andris Biedrins on Thursday, Anthony Morrow was still able to benefit from Watson's absence and is close to a must-start if Watson misses the game. As for Biedrins, Saturday is do-or-die for him on my fantasy teams. He shot the ball a season-high eight times on Thursday, but that shouldn't be the rationale to keep a player who hides from the ball because he doesn't want to shoot free throws.

Dwyane Wade is still unlikely for this weekend's games due to his calf injury, and owners should be hoping for a complete recovery, rather than a quick one.

Deron Williams shot just 4-of-16 against the Kings, and may be feeling the effects of the quad injury that sidelined him earlier in the week. He still finished with 10 points and 13 assists, and owners just have to hope that he had an off-night.

Kenyon Martin was held out of Friday's game with the knee contusion he suffered against the Warriors on Thursday. The injury wasn't supposed to be serious, and the Nuggets are probably playing it safe with him, which just highlights why we've been harping on you guys to sell him after each of his monster lines this month.

Tony Parker was held out due to food poisoning, and owners have to wonder what's next. George Hill went off in his place for 26 points with two rebounds, three assists, and three treys, and his productive play even with Parker in the lineup gives owners some room for error with him. Don't be surprised to see Parker floating around some waiver wires soon, if he can't get back in the game with some real productivity.

Caron Butler missed another game due to a reaction with medication, which was a tease since there were some early reports that he would play. Keep that in mind if there are wishy-washy reports about his status for Sunday's game against the Hornets.

Chris Paul is apparently on schedule in his recovery from knee surgery, and he could possibly be back in two weeks. The window for owners to sell Darren Collison is getting dangerously close to shut, and owners need to be working the phones as hard as they can as we approach the fantasy playoffs.

Joakim Noah surprised many people by playing 27 minutes on Friday, and finished with eight points, 11 rebounds, four assists, but didn't have a block. I mentioned that owners should consider buying low on him in Thursday's Dose, and admittedly felt nervous about that after some of the news that was coming out of Chicago. We're not out of the woods with him by any means, but Friday's game should go a long way towards easing owners' fears. If he has been dropped in your league, he should be an automatic pickup unless we get news of a setback, and Brad Miller's value takes a severe hit.

His Bulls teammate Luol Deng played through swelling in his left knee, and has nearly shed the injury-prone label he secured with last year's never-ending string of day-to-day status. He finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, a steal, and a block, but owners should still be watching him like a hawk with the Bulls wrapping up their back-to-back on Saturday.

Morris Peterson played through his hamstring injury, and appears to have held onto the starting job despite Marcus Thornton's strong play recently. Thornton had 18 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes while Peterson had just five points in 18 minutes, and this type of distribution is realistic to expect going forward.

Marcus Camby returned to action from a sprained ankle, and had nine points, 11 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks against the size-challenged Bulls. He probably isn't 100% healthy, but should be in owners' lineups going forward unless he reports a setback.

Shaquille O'Neal will wait until the Cavs return to Cleveland to get an MRI on his injured thumb, which will probably be Saturday. Until he returns, Anderson Varejao will start in his place, and owners can expect similar numbers to the 11 points, eight rebounds, a block, and a steal he put up on Friday. J.J. Hickson was not a factor on Friday, playing just 13 minutes, and probably isn't worth owning in most leagues until he gives us a reason to consider him.

Andrew Bynum is playing through his hip injury, and appears to be healthy enough for owners to use him as they normally would going forward. He had 20 points and 13 rebounds on Friday, which is his best game in nearly a month. Ron Artest reportedly lost 20 pounds on a fish and vegetables diet, which was funny because when I flipped to the Lakers game on Wednesday the first thing I noticed was that he looks as slow as molasses out there. He is nothing more than a banged-up defensive specialist at this time, but could be worth a look if injuries occur.

In the "who cares" department Tyson Chandler won't need surgery on his foot, but it's still unclear if or when he will return. Right now Theo Ratliff is holding down the fort and is a decent source of blocks if that's all you need, but the player to watch from afar is Nazr Mohammed. That said, we'd feel better about him if he wasn't dealing with a back injury of his own. All in all, it's probably a situation to avoid for the most part.

[SIZE=+1]Layups[/SIZE]

Carlos Boozer kept his foot on the gas pedal with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, and has played like a top-5 fantasy player over the last week or so. It's going to be hard for him to keep that pace, but we like his chances to continue dominating. His backup, Paul Millsap, continued his scoring drought with just three points and probably needs to be on owners' benches after a promising start to the month.

Chris Kaman got ejected on Friday after picking up two techs, and finished with just 12 points and five rebounds. In his place, Craig Smith got into the action with 16 points and three rebounds, but should go back to being irrelevant when Kaman plays a full slate of minutes. If he does earn any playing time it will be at the expense of Drew Gooden, who had 15 points and nine rebounds, but there's no indication that will happen at this time. DeAndre Jordan played just 15 minutes tonight, and is probably no longer worth owning.

Antawn Jamison bounced back from a bad outing Thursday to score 22 points with 11 rebounds on Friday, keeping alive my initial prediction of just a small downgrade in value after the trade. Mo Williams followed up his 19-point outing with a 22-point outing on Friday, and should certainly be in all lineups heading into the weekend. Delonte West has been making some noise, averaging 11 points and five rebounds over his last five games, but stands to be inconsistent even if he can keep up this pace.

Josh Smith continued his dream season with 18 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, a block, and a career-high seven steals. Joe Johnson also had 27 points and 10 assists in the Hawks' tough loss to the Mavs.

Al Harrington was a force in the fourth quarter of the Knicks' win over the Wizards, but missed four consecutive foul shots in overtime. David Lee (25 points, 16 boards, five assists) bailed him out, however, with a game-winning layup over JaVale McGee. Harrington finished with 37 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and five 3-pointers, and has been a strong play for two games in a row now after a string of bad games.

McGee, who has been floating around waiver wires, had a nice line of 18 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks. Owners should consider this performance augmented, though, since his main competition for playing time, James Singleton, left with an ankle sprain after 10 minutes. It also didn't hurt that he was facing the soft interior of the Knicks. Singleton's injury isn't believed to be serious, so owners may want to exercise caution when deciding whether or not to pick McGee up.

Danilo Gallinari shot the ball just five times, making four of them for a total of nine points, four rebounds, and four blocks. Sure the blocks were nice, but it's clear the shakeup (read: Tracy McGrady) has cost him some shot attempts, at least for now. Given T-Mac's health, and the Knicks' overall commitment to Gallo, he makes for a nice buy low target right now.

Russell Westbrook scored 18 points with eight rebounds, 15 assists, and two steals, and will be among the first point guards selected in next year's fantasy drafts. The scary part is that, like Kevin Durant, he's only going to get better. Speaking of Durant, he started a new streak of games with 25 or more points with, you guessed it, 25 points.

Stephen Jackson bounced back from a tough couple of games to score 32 points on 13-of-26 shooting with a season-high 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three 3-pointers. He's officially back. Boris Diaw is doing his best to turn around a disappointing season with his recent strong play, and is averaging 12.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 1.1 threes per game in February.

Jameer Nelson is cooking again, and has surprised as after a rough start to his return from a knee injury. He scored 19 points with 11 assists on Friday, and looks like a solid fantasy play the rest of the way.

And finally, Michael Jordan reached a deal to purchase controlling interest of the Bobcats which was announced late Thursday night. Don't expect a whole lot to change around 'the Bob,' since Jordan has been technically in charge of basketball operations since 2006.

 

[HacheMan]

Bye, Bye Big Al & Shaq
Too many things happened in the NBA over the weekend to possibly recap here. Luckily, Aaron Bruski summarized what happened on Friday night with a special edition Saturday Daily Dose. Saturday night and Sunday also had their moments, so here are some of the highlights of what we learned over the weekend.

Bye, Bye Shaq

Shaquille O'Neal will have thumb surgery today and is not likely to play again in the regular season. It sounds like he'll miss eight weeks, which could also mean he misses plenty of playoff action as well. I assume the Cavs are simply hoping he'll be ready for the Eastern Conference Finals at this point, but they're going to miss having him around if and when they face Dwight Howard and the Magic. I'm not a huge Karma guy, but it's hard to ignore what's been going on between Shaq and Dwight lately, and this has the feel of some sort of Karmic payback. Anderson Varejao will pick up the 'Shlaq' in his absence, while the Cavs are still hoping to sign Zydrunas Ilgauskas on March 22.

Big Al Suspended

I was wrong by initially speculating Al Jefferson wouldn't be suspended until early next season, as the Timberwolves went ahead and shut him down for two games after his Sunday morning DUI. The move actually makes sense though, as the Wolves have nothing left to play for and would rather lose him now instead of next year. It will also give David Kahn and Kurt Rambis two more full games to study and enjoy the work of Darko Milicic. Leave it to the Wolves to ignore some of the younger players who are there for the long haul in order to study a guy who has been a major disaster everywhere he's played in the league, and only has one goal right now - taking his money and going to Europe. Yes, he should be monitored in fantasy leagues, but I've taken too many hits from Darko over the years, and will not be going back for more. Ryan Hollins and Kevin Love will also see a boost, as Big Al will sit Wednesday and Saturday, turning his two-game week into a zero-game week. From a fantasy standpoint, the timing could not have been better.

Holy House of Blatche

Is it just me or is Andray Blatche reaching some sort of new height every time he plays? He blew up on Sunday and became the first Wizard to hit 15 field goals and grab 15 rebounds since Tom Gugliotta did it back in 1992. And if you were just born around that time and do some quick research on Gugs, don't let his look fool you. When he was healthy and in his prime, he produced some huge fantasy lines. But back to Blatche for a minute. Let's take a look at his last five lines…

24 p, 6 r, 3 a, 2 b, 1 s
25 p, 11 r, 2 a, 2 b, 2 s
24 p, 8 r, 5 a, 0 b, 1 s
26 p, 18 r, 6 a, 3 b, 1 s
36 p, 15 r, 4 a, 2 b, 2 s

That is just incredible for someone you picked up off waivers a couple weeks ago. His overall numbers for the last five games are 27 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals. He's also hit 57-of-105 field goals over that stretch and 20-of-25 free throws. I keep getting emails asking if he's a flash in the pan or if he'll keep this up the rest of the way. And while he may have peaked with Sunday's masterpiece, there is not a single reason I can think of that he won't keep doing this going forward. Just sit back and enjoy.

Duncan Downer

I touched on this in Waiver Wired, but it bears repeating. The Spurs have seven sets of back-to-back games coming up and Gregg Popovich says that regardless of the team's record, he is still planning on giving Tim Duncan some rest. The Spurs played on Sunday night, meaning Monday (today) is now a question mark for Duncan. Additionally, the Spurs go back-to-back on Fri/Sat March 5 & 6, Fri/Sat March 12 & 13, Tues/Wed March 16 & 17, Sun/Mon March 21 & 22, Sun/Mon March 28 & 29, and Fri/Sat April 9 & 10.

Is he going to sit out at least one of all those games? No way. Is he probably going to miss two or three of them? Yep. Will Popovich tell us in advance which games he thinks Timmy will sit through? Nope. So if you own Duncan, good luck.

Collison Fest 2010

I was in an incredibly tight H2H battle in both field goal percentage and scoring on Sunday night and it was my Darren Collison against his Carl Landry. Landry had a big second half to give my opponent a commanding lead in both categories, leaving me little hope that Collison would pull me through. But two big 3-pointers, a couple mid-range jumpers and a career-high 35 points later, and I ended up taking both cats and a 6-2 win with one week left in the regular season. Collison threw up a very late three with the game out of hand that would have been enough to lose me the FGP cat, but he nailed it, hitting a ridiculous 15-of-21 shots on the night, along with 3-of-5 3-pointers.

I still get a ton of email about Chris Paul and Collison, and I'm not really sure what the answer is. I'm simply holding Paul in one league, waiting for him to come back in two or three weeks, and rolling Collison out there every night until Paul does come back. Is that smart? I don't know. Should I be trying to trade Collison for whatever I can get? Maybe, but then again, we don't know for sure when Paul is coming back, or how healthy he will be. If you can trade Collison for a stud, it's not going to get better than last night. But if you already have a deep team and are enjoying the run he's on, just ride that train until it breaks down.

Wade In, Beas Out

Michael Beasley's owners are not well after Sunday's disaster when he went 0-for-4 and scored just one point. Dwyane Wade was back in action and this game came a day after Beasley said he was offended that Charles Barkley calls the Heat "one Michael, and four Tito's." But guess what…He's right. I don't know what Beasley's deal was last night, but I suspect he'll bounce back and be fine in the next one. Wade had 21 points in the loss to the Magic and the Heat have now lost four straight. And while no one else seems to know what Wade will do this summer, Heat owner Mickey Aronson says he's "95 percent sure" that Wade will be back with the Heat. And while it's possible Wade returns, it's hard to believe he really thinks the number is that high. As for Wade's calf injury, he made it through last week in one piece, which means you probably have no choice but to start him this week.

Z-Boin' Crazy

Zach Randolph took out some frustration on his former team when he went off for 31 points and a career-high 25 rebounds against the Knicks on Saturday. If you have a big man and he's playing the Knicks on any given night, get him in your lineup. JaVale McGee punished the Knicks for 18 points, 10 boards and five blocks on Friday, which should tell you everything you need to know about the Knicks.

Yi Jianlian also had a huge line on Sunday with 20 points and a career-best 19 rebounds, but felt like more than a fluke than something that could happen again soon.

Nick Batum went off for the Blazers on Saturday with 31 points, seven boards and seven assists, but all Blazers' reserves are too inconsistent to be used in most leagues. Batum had totaled 19 points in his previous three games. He's starting though, so is definitely worth keeping an eye on and might be a good roll of the dice in deep leagues.

Keep reading for the Injury List.
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The injury report is jam-packed today, so let's dive in.

Monday Morning Injury Report

Paul Pierce – thumb – Could practice Mon, play Tues. Very risky, Doc is secretive.
Tyson Chandler – ankle – Doesn't need surgery, no return date set. Bench him.
Nazr Mohammed – back – Sat out again Friday, should be close to return.
Luol Deng – knee – Game-time decision for Mon, but has been playing through it.
Joakim Noah – foot – Out Monday, could miss the week. Bench.
Derrick Rose – knee – Just banged it, is expected to play through it.
Shaquille O'Neal – thumb surgery – Fantasy season is over. Hello, Varejao.
Erick Dampier – hand – Still out, Brendan Haywood going off.
Ty Lawson – shoulder – Doubtful Monday means more minutes for Chauncey.
Renaldo Balkman – back – Should be returning soon.
Kwame Brown – flu – You probably didn't even notice he was out.
Jonas Jerebko – ankle – Says he'll play through it.
Chris Wilcox – back – No value when healthy.
Andris Biedrins – groin – Day-to-day, but this might be blessing. Bench him.
Monta Ellis – back – Iffy for Tuesday, hopefully we'll have more info soon.
Corey Maggette – hamstring – Out for another week.
Anthony Randolph – ankle – Still getting emails, but I'm pretty sure he's done.
Shane Battier – flu – Missed Saturday, he's a warrior. I'm starting him this week.
Trevor Ariza – hip – Game-time decision Monday, I'm benching him.
Kyle Lowry – ankle – Doubtful for Monday, but closer to a return.
Tyler Hansbrough – ear – Season is over.
Jeff Foster – back surgery – Season is over.
Craig Smith – shoulder – Not likely for Monday, Gooden and Jordan safer plays.
Jamaal Tinsley – hamstring – No value as long as Conley's healthy.
Ronnie Brewer – hamstring – Out indefinitely.
Dwyane Wade – calf- Played through it Sunday, risky, but play him.
Al Jefferson – suspended – Out for upcoming two-game week.
Courtney Lee – ankle – "Iffy at best" for Wednesday, bench him.
Darius Songaila – ankle – Iffy for Monday, Aaron Gray enjoying minutes.
Chris Paul – knee surgery – Closing in on return, but still two weeks away.
Wilson Chandler – personal – Out Monday, could still play three this week.
Tracy McGrady – knee – Says he'll play on Monday, but for how long?
Nenad Krstic – thumb/ankle – Left Sunday's game, too risky when healthy.
Elton Brand – calf – Missed Sunday's practice, iffy for week. I'd bench.
Allen Iverson – personal – Could be released on Monday. Bench/drop.
Willie Green – shoulder – Hopefully Lou Williams has taken over role.
Leandro Barbosa – wrist – Getting close, could play this week. Bench.
Steve Nash – abdominal – Playing through it, but could get occasional day off.
Jason Thompson – back – Won't play this week, hello, Spencer Hawes.
Antonio McDyess – knee – Hoping for Monday, don't bank on it.
Chris Bosh – ankle – Out Mon, could play Fri, but would mean 2-game week.
Andrei Kirilenko – back – Game-time decision Monday. Epidural. Risky.
Josh Howard – knee surgery – Season over.

 

[HacheMan]

Bye, Bye A.I.
Goodbye Stranger

Allen Iverson's season is over, which could also mean his career is over. Someone will probably take a flier on him next year, but I'm pretty sure when you cut him loose today, it may be the last time anyone does so in fantasy hoops. Personal reasons are the issue and he didn't want to be a distraction to the Sixers any longer. It's nice to think back at how electric things were in Philly when he made his debut this year, but it's been all downhill since then. And it appears that when I accidentally cut Iverson instead of 'Ilyasova' a couple months ago, it was a blessing in disguise.

New No. 1

LeBron James will switch his jersey number from 23 to 6 next year. You will hear a lot of reasons for him making the move, but there is only one true answer, and that's money.

Watch Me Jumpstart

J.J. Hickson started at center for the Cavaliers on Monday night and had 17 point, nine rebounds and two blocks against the, wait for it…Knicks! The Cavs went up by about 100 points in the first half and the Knicks have no one to guard opposing centers, even when their names are J.J. and JaVale. Given his success against the Knicks, the Cavs plan on starting Hickson again in the next one. We doubt the results will be the same (or as positive), but if you have an extra roster spot, it's probably time to give Hickson another look.

In the same game, which saw the Knicks lose by about 1,000 points, Bill Walker hit 9-of-14 shots for a career-high 21 points to go along with two 3-pointers and five rebounds. The Knicks are a mess again and teams are really starting to exploit their lack of size. I am fine taking a flier on Walker, but this sure feels like more of a fluke than a sign that you should run out and get him. We'll see.

Nicolas Batum was the other waiver-wire wonder last night with 21 points, three boards, a steal, a block and four 3-pointers on 7-of-11 shooting. I picked him up earlier on Monday in a deep league and now that he's scored 31 and 21 in two straight games, and is starting for Portland, it's time to grab him in most leagues.

Last Night

Here's a quick-hits rundown of Monday night

Jameer Nelson is one of the hottest point guards in the league and you may be reaping the rewards if he was cut in your league. He had 22 points and 10 assists, while Vince Carter and Matt Barnes each played well. Dwight Howard struggled with just 14 points, three boards and a block, but will surely bounce back on Wednesday.

Jrue Holiday blew up for a season-high 23 points, six assists, two steals and five 3-pointers. Lou Williams is probably the best player to own in the absence of Iverson, but Holiday also deserves a close look as long as he's starting. Willie Green returned from his shoulder injury off the bench, and regardless of who starts, Lou and Holiday are the two guys to own of these three.

Tracy McGrady had six points, two rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes last night. Period.

Tyrus Thomas got hot early to finish with 16 points, 12 boards, a steal and a block, and should be a must-start fantasy player the rest of the way. Most of the big men in Charlotte are in street clothes right now, and could be for a while.

Josh Smith had 17 points, a season-high 18 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block as the Hawks beat the Bulls. Smoove's not carrying fantasy teams in blocks like I wish he would, but he's done just about everything right this season. I'm not complaining. Marvin Williams had a nice line with 18 points, nine boards, four assists and a steal and might be worth a look in weekly leagues when the Hawks play four times.

Marcus Thornton hit 12-of-19 shots and six more 3-pointers last night to score 30 points, while Darren Collison chipped in with 10 points and 15 assists. Emeka Okafor added 18 points, seven boards and two blocks. Okafor has had a really weird season and is completely unpredictable, but if he would just do something similar to this every night, there would be no problem. Rotoworld has set a target date of approximately March 12 for Chris Paul, but it's just a guess based on what the team has been saying about his pending return. But what it means is Collison owners have only about two weeks left to enjoy the outrageous numbers he's posting, as the party will come to an end once Paul is back. And why is Morris Peterson still starting over Thornton?

George Hill got hot last night, hitting 9-of-13 shots and three 3-pointers on his way to 23 points, while Manu Ginobili filled the stat sheet again with 13 points, two 3-pointers, four boards, eight assists, four steals and two blocks. Manu is good to go the rest of the way, and Hill bounced back after a terrible game on Sunday, which was Tony Parker's return. Tim Duncan played in a back-to-back set and had 22 points and nine boards. Only seven sets of back-to-backs left!

Brandon Roy's hamstring doesn't appear to be a big issue anymore after he had 25 points, seven boards, five assists, three steals and two 3-pointers last night. I'm still not sure how much I trust him, but it is very encouraging that he's gone with long with aggravating the injury.

Kevin Martin and Aaron Brooks both scored 28 points last night and it looks like Martin's confidence is back. I thought he might struggle the rest of the way with his shooting and scoring, but so far, so good with Houston. It might be time to sell high on him, as Trevor Ariza is close to returning from his hip injury.

Robin Lopez struggled with just three points, four rebounds and two blocks last night, while Channing Frye had 16 points and two 3-pointers. Lopez is still worth owning and will have several more big games to go along with some duds, but I don't have the stones to start Lopez on a daily basis right now.

Drew Gooden had another nice game with 19 points, 11 boards, a steal and a block, and I was clearly wrong about him in LAC. I mean, why would the Clips run DeAndre Jordan out there for 30 minutes a night in hopes of developing him when they can lose games with a cagey old rental like Gooden? Silly me.

Andrei Kirilenko returned from a back injury and had 13 points, seven boards, four assists, a steal and a block after receiving an epidural, and will hopefully be good to go from here on out.

Deron Williams played through a wrist injury last night to hit 5-of-15 shots and finish with 13 points, 13 assists and five steals. I think the wrist has bothered him for most of the season, but he continues to play through it.

Continue reading for Injury News and Notes
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Injury News and Notes

Chris Bosh missed Monday's game with his sprained ankle and is still iffy for Friday's game. Apparently he went to the Carmelo Anthony school for ankle recovery, and I don't know if he's going to play on Friday or not.

Joakim Noah is out for the week and could be useless the rest of the way. I cut him for Anthony Tolliver yesterday, although J.J. Hickson or Nicolas Batum might also work.

Luol Deng missed Monday's game with swelling in his knee, but is expected to be back on Thursday. Hopefully the extra days off will allow the swelling to subside and for Deng's stellar season to get back on track.

Derrick Rose had 24 points and three assists last night, but tweaked his knee again. The good news is he played through it.

Elton Brand missed Monday with a sore Achilles and Thaddeus Young started in his place. Brand has been hit or miss this season and frankly, I'm glad I don't own him. Consider him day-to-day.

Paul Pierce is expected to play tonight through his thumb injury, while Kendrick Perkins is listed as doubtful with the flu. Hello, my name is Rasheed.

Monta Ellis (back) and Andris Biedrins (groin) are not currently with the Warriors as they prepare to play in Miami on Tuesday and Orlando on Wednesday. Biedrins has been ruled out for the week and will see a groin specialist to determine his return date. Anthony Tolliver is going to get a lot of run in his absence, which is why I picked him up yesterday. As for Ellis, he's awaiting MRI results, which should be known today. He's not been ruled out for any games yet, but it doesn't sound possible that he'll play tonight since he's still in Cali, and tomorrow is a stretch. There have been shutdown concerns with Monta, but I still don't understand why. And yet here we are, with him sitting at home. He's played a ton of minutes, sure, but it just felt like he wouldn't pull a Maggette and shut it down. Hopefully the MRI brings good news and he'll rejoin the team for Wednesday's game, but don't hold your breath. And although it probably doesn't need to be said, Stephen Curry, C.J. Watson and Anthony Morrow all remain strong fantasy plays. As for Maggette, he's out until March 8, but I doubt he returns to much fanfare, unless Ellis shuts it down. I am not picking Maggette up, but my mind could be changed depending on what Monta does.

Hedo Turkoglu went down with a sprained ankle last night as his disastrous season continues. He had just four points in 16 minutes and is day-to-day for now. Jose Calderon missed Monday with an elbow laceration and is day-to-day. These two guys have been textbook definitions of fantasy killers this year.

Darko Milicic will get a couple starts for suspended Al Jefferson and is probably worth a two-game flier. God forbid Kurt Rambis start Kevin Love. I mean, someone has to get Darko back in game shape as he prepares for his permanent European Vacation, and it might as well be David Kahn.

Chris Andersen left Monday's game with knee tendinitis and like teammate Kenyon Martin, may be game-to-game and week-to-week from here on out.

Trevor Ariza missed another game on Monday and is now iffy for Wednesday. When he comes back he'll likely cut into the scoring of Kevin Martin. We probably won't know Ariza's status until Wednesday afternoon.

 

[HacheMan]

Rajon Rondo Is Sizzling!
Tuesday was a light night in the NBA with only four games, but that doesn't mean there's not plenty of information to soak up in Wednesday's Dose. And how about some sleeper picks for Wednesday's full slate?

Tuesday's Game News

Celtics Handle Pistons

The Celtics welcomed back Paul Pierce from a thumb injury, but despite playing 29 minutes, Pierce hit just 2-of-6 shots for nine points. Hopefully the injury is behind him and he'll play better in the next one. Nate Robinson hit 5-of-7 shots and four threes in 15 minutes off the bench, helping the C's secure the win. But 15-20 minutes a night is not going to be enough for consistent fantasy play out of Nate. I cut him, and still don't regret it much. Rasheed Wallace started for Kendrick Perkins, who was out with the flu, and had 10 points, six boards, two steals, two blocks and two 3-pointers. Kevin Garnett added 14 points and nine boards, which isn't bad for an old man with a bum knee, but there's not much to love about the Celtics right now, in fantasy or reality. Well, except for Rajon Rondo, who had 15 points and 11 dimes for his seventh straight double-double. He's racked up 15 & 11, 13 & 17, 19 & 11, 15 & 16, 15 & 11, 10 & 11 and 14 & 11 points and assists in each of his last seven games.

Tayshaun Prince suffered a nasty left ankle sprain in this one, but surprisingly returned to finish the game. He had 15 points, six boards, two assists, two steals, two blocks and three 3-pointers, but I find it hard to believe this injury isn't going to linger. Consider him questionable for Wednesday @ New York. Ben Wallace had six points, 12 boards and a block before leaving late with a right knee injury, and should also be considered day-to-day for now, while Ben Gordon was a dud once again. Gordon and Charlie Villanueva each scored eight points off the bench, while starter Jonas Jerebko had 16 points and 10 boards on his birthday. Believe it or not, Jerebko is a better option than Gordon and CV, and we're guessing the Pistons would like a do-over on some of their moves over the last couple years. Actually, since they drafted Darko Milicic in 2003 it's all kind of been down hill. Richard Hamilton was iffy with the flu, but had 15 points and seven assists in the loss (and zero rebounds).

Wade Leads Heat Over GSW

Dwyane Wade showed no signs of his calf injury on his way to 35 points, six boards, 12 assists and three steals on 15-of-23 shooting in a win over the Warriors. He wasn't facing much D, but looks good to go again. Carlos Arroyo came off the bench for 14 points, five boards and five assists, while starter Rafer Alston played just seven scoreless minutes. Arroyo is worth keeping an eye on, but Mario Chalmers is also going to see some minutes at point guard, making all three of them virtually useless. Michael Beasley had 15 points and five boards, while Quentin Richardson added 15 points, seven boards and two 3-pointers in the win. Yep, it's Michael and four Titos for the Heat.

Reggie Williams was called up from the D-League on Tuesday and, of course, chipped in 15 points, five boards, five assists and two 3-pointers in the loss. Just keep an eye on him, as you never know what those pesky D-Leaguers will do for Nellie. Ronny Turiaf started and hit 7-of-8 shots for 15 points, seven boards, two steals and a block, but missed a nice pass from Stephen Curry late that would have tied the game had he held on and converted. With Andris Biedrins out indefinitely with a groin injury, Turiaf is worth a serious look right now. Anthony Tolliver added 10 points, eight boards and a block, and should be a more valuable player than Williams going forward. Anthony Morrow started and added 24 points, seven boards and two 3-pointers, C.J. Watson hit 9-of-15 shots and a 3-pointer for 20 points and six steals, while Curry added 18 points, eight assists, two steals and three 3-pointers on the night. Monta Ellis is out for at least the next four games with a back injury, meaning all three of these guys are must-starts right now. Corey Maggette is also out until March 8 with his hamstring injury. And no, I don't know if or when Monta Ellis will return to action for the Warriors.

Kings Fall To Thunder – Durant and Westbrook Go Nuts

Kevin Durant had 39 points, 10 rebounds and a 3-pointer, Russell Westbrook added 30 points, five boards, 13 assists, a steal and a three, Nenad Krstic chipped in with 14 points, nine boards and zero blocks, and Jeff Green threw in 15 points, five boards, a steal, two blocks and two 3-pointers in a win over the Kings. KD, RW and JG should all be starting for fantasy teams, while Krstic is always worth a look. He played better than expected while dealing with thumb and ankle injuries, but I don't trust him for my fantasy teams.

Beno Udrih started again and had 13 points, five boards and four assists on 6-of-9 shooting, and Spencer Hawes played 32 minutes in a start, but had just eight points, three boards and a block. Hawes is worth owning and starting right now, and should be better on most nights – as long as Jason Thompson remains out with his back injury. Francisco Garcia came off the bench for 13 points, but I don't trust him, while Tyreke Evans had 27 points, six boards, five assists and two steals in the loss.

Lakers Wax Pacers

Ron Artest shut down Danny Granger (after holding Carmelo Anthony to 7-of-19 shooting in the last one), holding him to 2-of-9 shooting for nine points in 30 minutes. Artest finished with five steals, but added just 11 points and zero boards in the win. Artest is obviously a key defensive piece for the Lakers, but his offense has been a tough pill to swallow for fantasy owners. Jordan Farmar had 19 points, three assists and three 3-pointers, and scored 10 points in the decisive fourth quarter while Kobe Bryant rested his sore bones. Farmar only has value if Kobe is out, but Kobe looks OK right now, despite hitting just 5-of-14 shots. Kobe still scored 24 on the night.

The Pacers got 16 points from Dahntay Jones, who has scored at least 13 in three of his last four, but I still don't trust him. Earl Watson had 10 assists but just three points, while Troy Murphy added 17 points, 13 boards, two steals, a block and two 3-pointers. Murphy remains a must-start, while Watson is worth an add in most leagues as the team's starting point guard. Granger is still dealing with a personal situation, which is obviously affecting his concentration level. Josh McRoberts came off the bench for a career-high 15 points, but has no fantasy value. Trust me. Even Jim O'Brien, who I rarely agree with, said McRoberts' line was "irrelevant." Ouch.

Keep reading for Injury News and Notes, Wednesday predictions.
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Injury News and Notes

Elton Brand is out Wednesday due to his Achilles' injury and is day-to-day. If you own Thaddeus Young, go ahead and plan on using him in a start against the Hawks on Wednesday.

Andres Nocioni was suspended for two games due to his DUI, and will miss one more (Houston on Wednesday) before being reinstated.

Leandro Barbosa has been cleared for workouts again and should return from a wrist injury in the next week. However, I am unsure of what his role will be with the Suns and am reluctant to cut a decent player to pick him up.

Derrick Rose (knee), Luol Deng (knee), Brad Miller (knee) and Joakim Noah (foot) all missed Bulls practice on Tuesday. It sounds like Rose will play Thursday, I don't trust Miller at all, and Deng is a game-time decision, although it sounds like he'll play. Noah is cuttable right now and isn't expected to play this week. I doubt he's at full strength until the real playoffs, and while it hurt to do so, I cut him for Tolliver in a couple leagues.

Jameer Nelson is fully healthy for the first time all year and is playing very well for the Magic. Make sure he's in your lineup.

Trevor Ariza should return from his hip injury over the weekend when the Rockets play on Saturday and Sunday, and will likely hurt the production of Kevin Martin upon his return. However, he's been ruled out for Wednesday, and it remains to be seen if he still has a starting job when he returns. Shane Battier missed Tuesday's practice with the flu but played on Monday, making me think he'll also play on Wednesday.

Eddy Curry is practicing for the Knicks and could play again soon, but I'm not expecting much. Yes, the Knicks need a big man to help stop the opposition from dominating the paint, but Curry is probably not the answer. I'm going to ignore him, and you probably should too.

Courtney Lee's sprained ankle will likely keep him out on Wednesday. Chris Douglas-Roberts should start in his place again, but hasn't done much of anything lately. Yi Jianlian is coming off a huge game, and I'm anxious to see if he can do it again against the Cavs. Unfortunately, the odds aren't in his favor.

James Singleton is due back from his sprained ankle on Wednesday, while JaVale McGee is playing through a tender wrist for the Wizards. My guess is the two players split minutes going forward, making both of them risky plays.

Chris Paul is now targeting March 14 for a return to action, which is the day Darren Collison owners are dreading. We thought CP3 might return on the 12th, but the 14th is now looking like the magic date. Marcus Thornton should continue to be a must-start upon Paul's return, but it's hard to imagine Collison still putting up big numbers once Paul is back. You should probably look to trade him now if you can still get a solid player in return.

Shaquille O'Neal says he'll be back in six weeks instead of eight after undergoing thumb surgery. It's great that O'Neal is so optimistic, but the doctors and his body will determine if he's back early in playoffs, or in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Erick Dampier is likely out for another week after having stitches removed from his hand, but Brendan Haywood should render him useless upon his return.

Wednesday's Schedule

Philly @ Atlanta - No Brand, Hawks at home – Another win for ATL. Sleeper pick – Lou Williams. Big game – Josh Smith.

GSW @ Orlando - Dwight Howard 30-30 alert. Sleeper pick – Matt Barnes against former team. Big game – Howard.

Charlotte @ Boston - No Charlotte bigs, Boston struggling but Rondo is hot. Sleeper pick – Tyrus Thomas. Big game – Rondo.

Cleveland @ Jersey - Cavs looking for 50-point win – Sleeper pick – J.J. Hickson. Big game – Mo Williams.

Detroit @ NY - Prince, Big Ben iffy – Knicks win. Sleeper pick – Jason Maxiell. Big game – David Lee.

Memphis @ NO - Game of the night? Darren Collison will try to finish up strong before return of CP3, crushes Mike Conley. Sleeper pick – Emeka Okafor, who has been maddeningly inconsistent. Big game – Collison.

Washington @ Milwaukee - Andrew Bogut should dominate McGee/Singleton. Sleeper pick – Mike Miller (he's due, right?). Big game – Bogut.

Minnesota @ Dallas - Darko to start with Al Jefferson suspended, Dallas will roll. Sleeper pick – Darko Milicic. Big game – Dirk Nowitzki.

Sacramento @ Houston - Rockets killing on offensive end right now, Carl Landry faces former team, and should play very well. Sleeper pick – Chase Budinger. Big game – Kevin Martin.

OKC @ Denver - Game of the night 2? Sleeper pick – James Harden. Big game – Kevin Durant.

Indy @ Portland - Pacers stink, Portland at home. Sleeper pick – Nicolas Batum for three in a row? Big game – Roy Hibbert.

Phoenix @ Clippers - Suns should run over Clippers, big night for Amare Stoudemire, as Clips have been getting killed by bigs. Sleeper pick – Robin Lopez in bounce-back game. Big game – Amare.

 

[HacheMan]

Beware of Deadline
After three weeks in Vancouver covering the Olympic Winter Games, I returned to the grid (and by "grid," I mean "United States") late Monday night.

My ideal scenario upon an exhausted return home would have been to spend the next 11 weeks sleeping, but there was a small problem with that plan: Some of us have a deadline approaching.

Specifically, I'm referring to the fantasy basketball trade deadline, which happens to occur this week in a large percentage of leagues.

With that impending day and a sense of urgency in mind, it's time to examine the trade deadline outlook of 13 players at the forefront of our value-pondering minds:

#1: Monta Ellis – We all know the situation here. Monta has logged a ton of minutes this season, is currently out until at least March 11th due to a sore back and remains a serious shutdown candidate even after he returns from this injury.

So what to do? I'm not generally an advocate of selling short, but in this instance I think selling a little bit short could be very wise. For example, I had one owner email me recently to ask if he should trade Monta for Joe Johnson, and if I had Monta, I would lean toward pulling the trigger on that one. Sure, you'd be downgrading from the No. 16 player (according to Basketball Monster's rankings) to the No. 27 player, but you'd also be getting a guy who's far more likely to be on the court for the duration of the season.

To be clear, I wouldn't panic and deal Monta at all costs, and if the best you can get is someone like Ray Allen, I would hold off on trading. But if you can get someone like Johnson or Kevin Martin or Brandon Roy, it is my opinion that you have to strongly consider pulling the trigger.

A reminder: For projections, depth charts, cheat sheets and more, check out Rotoworld's MLB Draft Guide.

Another reminder: I'm on Twitter. You can follow me right here.

#2: Danny Granger – As is the case with Ellis, I'm worried about an eventual Granger shutdown due to the general wretchedness of the Pacers' season. However, this does not mean you should immediately float a Granger offer the day after his awful nine-point outing against Ron Artest and the Lakers.

Personally, I would wait and hope that he can bounce back with a big line on Wednesday, then begin shopping him around. If you are intent on dealing him, please keep in mind that Basketball Monster ranks Granger as the No. 6 overall player, so you can't just trade him for anyone. Personally, I would want to make sure that I got at least a top-15 player in return.

#3: Andray Blatche – 26.6 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.4 spg and 1.4 bpg.

Those are Blatche's numbers over the last seven games, entering Wednesday.

If I had told you two and a half weeks ago that you were about to get that kind of production out of Blatche in late February and early March after picking him up off waivers, you likely would have called me a ridiculous lunatic.

To be clear, I do think that Blatche can keep producing, but I see his realistic range as closer to 17 points and eight rebounds with some steals and blocks. So with that in mind, I'm classifying this as a very clear opportunity to sell. Can you turn Blatche into a more reliable asset like Zach Randolph? Can you package Blatche and someone else to get a player like Josh Smith? Maybe not, but if you have a player like Blatche who's in the middle of a run that seems too good to be true, chances are that it is. And you owe it to yourselt to test the market at the very least.

#4: Josh Smith – Speaking of Smith, over the last 12 games, the invigorated Hawks forward has averaged a beastly 18.8 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 5.5 apg, 2.4 spg and 1.5 bpg.

Generally I try to avoid overpaying for players when they're in the midst of a hot streak, but my advice here is to do what you can to acquire Smith if at all possible. I know he won't come cheap, but Smith has been the No. 6 overall player for the last month and can continue to perform at a top-10 clip down the stretch.

Obviously you don't want to give up your best player to get him, but put it this way: I do not want to be facing the team with Josh Smith head-to-head in the fantasy playoffs. If you can acquire him without giving up a top-15 player, you won't regret it.

#5: Tony Parker and #6: Tim Duncan – I don't have either one of them on any of my teams, but I would be aggressively shopping both at this point given Gregg Popovich's apparent willingness to rest either one, even with the Spurs fighting for a playoff spot. I don't necessarily expect lengthy absences from Parker or Duncan, but those random missed games at this stage of the season can be absolutely brutal.

#7: Andrew Bynum – In a league where I have some depth to spare, I recently dealt Bynum and Marcus Thornton for Jeff Green and Anthony Morrow. Aside from appreciating what Green has to offer, my primary reason for making the deal was to rid myself of potential Bynum headaches down the road. Yes, he has averaged a respectable 14.5 ppg and 8.3 rpg the last seven games, but I remain concerned about durability (that hip injury isn't too far in the rearview mirror). I also can't help but notice that Bynum has only topped 30 minutes two times since Feb. 1, limiting his chances to post big numbers even if he does stay healthy.

#8: Al Jefferson – It's far from an ideal time to deal him given his quiet February and DUI-related suspension for Wednesday's game, but make no mistake, trading Big Al at the deadline is absolutely the right move. The stories about knee soreness have been recurring for much of the season, and there's little reason for the T-Wolves to continue to run him out there as a lost season reaches its final stages. You're not likely to get a terrific return for him, but given the name recognition you should be able to get some value. At this point, I would consider someone like Andrea Bargnani a solid return.

#9: Devin Harris – As you may have heard, the Nets are rather awful and Harris is somewhat injury-prone. And after a standout month of February (20.3 ppg, 9.1 apg, 1.1 threes), Harris is practically waving his hands screaming at you to sell high. As Arnold once said to a volatile creature from outer space, "Do it now!"

#10: Baron Davis – Another clear sell situation. Baron's team is going nowhere and he's a considerable shutdown risk, but he's been playing well enough to generate plenty of trade value in fantasy leagues. Davis is a top-30 player, so make sure you get a quality piece in return. One suggested realistic possibility: Marc Gasol.

#11: Jameer Nelson – After a frustrating season, he has finally hit his stride in terms of health and energy, averaging 16.9 ppg and 7.7 apg in his last seven games entering Wednesday. In theory, this would be a good time to deal Nelson if you never thought this day would come, but I am of the opinion that he can keep it up and plan on hanging onto him in one of my main leagues.

#12: Lou Williams – Much like Jameer, I'm advising a "hold" or "buy" here. With Allen Iverson out of the picture, I don't think that even Eddie Jordan can mess up the remainder of Lou's season. Over his last six games, he has averaged 17.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 5.3 apg, numbers he can easily sustain down the stretch.

#13: Jarrett Jack – A player you can likely acquire at a relatively cheap price, I see big things for Jack over the remainder of the season. After this week, the Raptors have four four-game weeks in the next five (followed by the almost uniform two-game week to close out the season). Jack is coming off a quiet 11-point, six-assist game in a blowout loss on Monday, but averaged 18.8 ppg and 6.2 apg in his last five games of February.

 

[HacheMan]

You Win Some, You Lou Some
First of all, a hearty gracias to Aaron Bruski for some quality pinch-hitting on the Thursday Daily Dose while I was in Vancouver the past few weeks.

And while I'm thanking people, I would like to sarcastically thank the basketball schedule-makers for bombarding me with 12 games to dissect on my first Thursday back.

Let's break this one down game-by-game style:

ATL 112, PHI 93 (The Lou Williams manifesto)

The Hawks won easily on Wednesday, but did not have an easy time handling Lou Williams, who hit his first 10 shots en route to 30 points, his most since Nov. 20. And speaking of November, it's time to usher back in the vibe from those happy days, because with no more Allen Iverson, Sweet Lou is set to continue posting big numbers the rest of the way.

In less fortunate Sixers news, teammate Jrue Holiday followed up his career-high 23 with a four-point dud, but you're going to have to stomach inconsistency from the rookie if he's on your roster.

For the Hawks, Josh Smith was relatively quiet but still posted seven points, eight rebounds, five assists, a steal and two blocks, while the maddeningly inconsistent Marvin Williams had his second straight strong game with 21 points and eight rebounds. Also registering a second consecutive encouraging outing was Jamal Crawford (20 points, four threes), whose brief February slump can safely be forgotten.

A reminder: For projections, depth charts, cheat sheets and more, check out Rotoworld's MLB Draft Guide.

NYK 128, DET 104 (Thank you for the gift, T-Mac)

As infuriating as Tracy McGrady has been the past couple seasons, you have to appreciate him posting his best line of the season (21-7-8 with two threes, three steals and a block) right before most leagues' fantasy trade deadline. If your league's deadline hasn't already passed, it's time to put McGrady on the block pronto.

Also making a significant amount of noise was Bill Walker, who had 22 points in a starting role. Walker is an intriguing add, especially in deeper leagues, but it can't be ignored that Wilson Chandler was out due to personal reasons.

In other Knicks news, Sergio Rodriguez was quiet off the bench and David Lee blew up for 21-18-8, but neither of those events should be a shock.

On the Pistons side of things, Tayshaun Prince played through ankle trouble and had 16 points, a three and two blocks, while Ben Wallace (knee) may miss the rest of the week. Time to consider Jason Maxiell (10 points, eight rebounds) in deeper leagues. Meanwhile, Ben Gordon (10 points in 23 minutes) and Charlie Villanueva (five points in 15 minutes) were both bad again and should remain planted on benches for now.

CLE 111, NJN 92 (J.J. x 2)

The big Cavs news was a second strong game for starting center du jour J.J. Hickson (20 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and a block). I'm not running to add Hickson in either of my main leagues, largely because he's still not much of a shot-blocker, but I can't argue with making the move if you're in need of points and boards.

As for the Nets, Devin Harris was not surprisingly bad in a blowout loss, but Dr. Volatility (Yi Jianlian) continued his recent surge with 14 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two threes. Also making noise was rookie Terrence Williams, who posted a 21-5-7 line. Before any of us gets too excited, this was Williams' first time north of 25 minutes since Jan. 31.

DEN 119, OKC 90 (Fatigue is a state of mind)

On the same day that Carmelo Anthony received an I.V. due to lingering fatigue, he went out and unloaded 30-8-5 on the Thunder to break out of a recent shooting slump. In other happy Nuggets news, Chris Andersen played through knee soreness and posted 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in just 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, it was a forgettable second night of a back-to-back for Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green, and with the Thunder getting blown out, James Harden (19 points) and Serge Ibaka (15 points, 13 rebounds) got additional run. Don't dwell much on the OKC stats from this one.

MIL 100, WAS 87 (Price of Salmon(s) rising)

The rejuvenated John Salmons (22 points, four steals) continues to love life in Milwaukee, showing no signs of slowing down. Life was also good on Wednesday for Ersan Ilyasova, who posted a 19-10-6 line out of nowhere. I would still probably leave him on the wire in 10-team leagues for now, though. Meanwhile, Brandon Jennings has shot 3-for-17 his last two games, but those sorts of droughts should not be a big surprise at this point.

On the Wizards side, the quiet but decently productive Mike Miller completely disappeared on Wednesday, but should bounce back in his somewhat maddening quiet way. JaVale McGee had 14 points, seven boards and three blocks as the starting center, while James Singleton came off the bench for six points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Al Thornton sabotaged a recent run of decent play by going for just two points and one rebound in 23 minutes.

PHX 127, LAC 101 (Frye… Frye… Frye)

Just when you thought it was safe to ditch Channing Frye, he drills seven threes off the bench and has now averaged 15.8 ppg in his last five games. That resurgence has not been a good thing for Robin Lopez, who struggled with five points and four rebounds. Expect the two to continue splitting time and value down the stretch.

Other Suns notes: Amare Stoudemire was beastly with 30 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and three blocks, and a recently productive Grant Hill posted a solid 16-5-8 line. Steve Nash had 13 assists, but didn't need to shoot much (two points on 1-for-5 shooting) in an easy win.

Though the Clippers got trounced, Chris Kaman went for 24 and 9, while Eric Gordon (21 points, four assists, four threes) posted consecutive 20-point games for just the second time all season. Steve Blake got hot off the bench for 14 points, four assists and four threes, but that shouldn't move the needle much as long as Baron Davis is healthy.

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POR 102, IND 79 (Shooting is permitted)

Dear Marcus Camby, please shoot. Sincerely, me. That's right, Camby (seven rebounds, two steals, one block) did not attempt a single shot in 26 minutes and is averaging a miserable 3.3 ppg as a Blazer. The rest of his stats look okay (7.9 rpg, 1.4 spg, 2.3 bpg), but his involvement in the offense has taken a major hit. Hopefully he'll settle into more of a comfort zone soon.

In other Blazers news, Nicolas Batum ended his hot streak with five points in 20 minutes, underscoring the fact that he's still not someone to trust outside of deep leagues. Rudy Fernandez got hot for 16 points, five assists and five threes, but that'll happen from time to time, especially in a blowout win.

For the Pacers, Danny Granger responded one night after getting shut down by Ron Artest to score 30 of Indiana's 79 points. And speaking of "shut down," Granger remains a prime candidate to have that happen to him, so now is the time to shop him if your league's deadline hasn't yet passed. Just make sure you get a player in the top-10 to top-15 range in return, and make sure it's someone durable, because the only reason you're dealing Granger is for fear that he won't be on the court three weeks from now.

Since this section began in letter format, I'll end it with a PS: Roy Hibbert disappeared again. Are you surprised? You shouldn't be. At this point, I can't blame you for cutting him and fully moving on, if you haven't done so already. Sure he'll have some good games, but it's not worth the headache.

SAC 84, HOU 81 (The Battier effect)

Though the Kings won, Tyreke Evans shot a brutal 4-for-22 and had his shot blocked five times. Why? Cut to Shane Battier finishing with four points, four rebounds and a career-high seven blocks. Clearly a case of an aggressive rookie meeting a very savvy defender.

The other notable lines in this game came from the two separated halves of a former power forward platoon: Luis Scola (19-18-5) and Carl Landry (22 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and a block). Despite some inconsistency from Scola and a collective lack of blocks, both players are productive enough to start in most leagues right now.

MEM 100, NOH 100 (A true Con artist)

The mildly irritating Mike Conley is once again on the upswing, this time posting a season-high 26 points with seven assists and five steals (on one of my benches). Conley has now averaged 17.5 ppg in his last four games.

Across the way, Marcus Thornton went off again for 24 points, and frankly I don't care if he ever gets his starting job back from Morris Peterson. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter since Thornton is getting starter's minutes anyway.

Also for New Orleans, Darren Collison was tremendous again (17 points, 14 assists, five steals), Emeka Okafor got into foul trouble against Marc Gasol (10 points, one rebound, one block) and David West had an enjoyable 15-6-5 line with two steals and five blocks.

DAL 112, MIN 109 (Kidds like rest too)

Jason Terry led the Mavs with 26 points (and five threes), but perhaps the bigger headline was that Jason Kidd got a random night off to rest, allowing Rodrigue Beaubois to post 17 points, four assists and three treys. Hopefully the next Mavs player to get a night off won't be Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 22 but appeared to tweak his hip late in the game. Either way, it doesn't look like a major concern.

The T-Wolves didn't have Al Jefferson, who will hopefully return from his two-game DUI-related suspension with a motivated look in his eye. With no Jefferson, Corey Brewer busted out his first big game in a while (24-7-4), but I'm leaving him on waivers in one of my main leagues for now.

BOS 104, CHA 80 (Endangered Bobcats)

Charlotte got completely stifled by the Celtics on Wednesday, so don't read too much into bad lines for Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson and Raymond Felton. Meanwhile, you might as well continue to be pleased with Tyrus Thomas, who finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, a steal and two blocks despite the 24-point loss.

No Celtics starter played more than 28 minutes, but Paul Pierce still managed 27 points while Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Kendrick Perkins were all quiet in the easy win (though Perkins being quiet these days has more to do with a long-term slump than a non-competitive game). Kevin Garnett posted a nice 12-5-4 line with two steals and four blocks, and is another player I would have been looking to move prior to the deadline given his lingering injury issues.

ORL 117, GSW 90 (Curry, not very spicy)

The Warriors not surprisingly got munched on the second night of a back-to-back, so it's no surprise that Stephen Curry shot just 3-for-12. At least he still posted nine points, seven assists, two steals and a three. Meanwhile, the latest D-League experiment of the week is Reggie Williams, who has averaged 11.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 4.0 apg in two games for Golden State, but will not be spending time on any of my fantasy rosters.

OTHER INJURY NEWS

Joakim Noah is expected to miss three weeks due to his plantar fasciitis, which means it's probably safe to cut him loose in shallow leagues. He got dropped in a 10-team league of mine and I'm leaning toward not putting in a claim for him.

Luol Deng (knee) appears likely to play on Thursday.

Courtney Lee (ankle) didn't play on Wednesday and is day-to-day for now.

Delonte West was inactive on Wednesday as he recovers from his finger injury, but should be back for the Cavs' next game.

Elton Brand (Achilles) was out again on Wednesday, but reportedly hopes to play on Friday.

Trevor Ariza (hip) is hoping to play this weekend.

Goran Dragic (ankle) is doubtful for Thursday.

Wayne Ellington (ankle) is expected to be out until Monday at least.

TONIGHT

Three games on the schedule, beginning with Memphis in Chicago, where the Grizzlies will attempt to remain productive playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road. Derrick Rose banged his knee in the Bulls' last game, but I would be surprised if that hinders him on Thursday.

Game two has the Lakers in Miami, and the late game (Utah at Phoenix) features a rather outstanding PG matchup between Deron Williams and Steve Nash. I'm eager to see how Williams responds to his recent wrist trouble, but my guess/hope is that he'll continue to play through it and be fine for now.

As is the Thursday custom, I will now throw a semi-errant behind-the-back pass to Dr. A, who will be here to sort out all of Thursday's news on the other side.

 

[HacheMan]

Oh No-ah!

[SIZE=+1]Thursday Night Recaps[/SIZE]

Heat Beat Lakers in OT

In one of the best games you could hope to sit through, Kobe Bryant shot it well and finished with 39 points, but added just two rebounds, four assists, a steal, a block and two 3-pointers in the OT loss to the Heat. He did hit the shot that forced overtime, but owners can't be thrilled with the low boards and assists, especially when seeing what LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are doing on most nights. The Lakers would have benefited from someone else chipping in to help Kobe offensively, although Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol all contributed in the rebounding department.

Wade had 27 points, five boards and 14 assists, but also committed six turnovers. Jermaine O'Neal played through a hip/thigh injury, but this is the time of the year where you simply can't trust him from night to night. Quentin Richardson was the story of the night with his seven threes, 25 points, five boards and three steals, and hit several clutch shots, while Carlos Arroyo quietly started at point guard again and had 17 points and five assists. Feel free to pick either player up, but they are wildly inconsistent. Maybe Arroyo is ready to keep the starting job and average 15 points and five assists, but I won't believe it until I see it. And by the time you get Q in your fantasy lineup, he'll be cold again. As for Michael Beasley? He continues to boggle the minds of fantasy owners and had just six points in 22 minutes last night. I was really expecting him to be rolling by now, but it's starting to look like all those 'experts' who labeled him a head case two years ago were probably right.

Grizzlies Beat Bulls

Zach Randolph went off (again) for 31 points and 18 rebounds, Rudy Gay filled up the stat sheet in every category and O.J. Mayo had 20 points and nine rebounds in Thursday's win over the Bulls. Mike Conley played 41 minutes and had 14 points and eight assists, and looks to have his confidence back. No, I don't really trust him either, but I'm just hanging onto him, and may use him in a four-game week.

Luol Deng returned to action after a one-game absence with a swollen knee and had 23 points and six rebounds in the loss. Brad Miller and Derrick Rose also played through sore knees. Rose had 20 points, three boards, three assists, two steals and a block, while Miller added 14 points and seven boards. I don't trust Miller enough to pick him up yet, but with Joakim Noah's regular season possibly over, it does probably make sense.

Jazz Beat Suns

Deron Williams played through a right wrist injury and had 27 points, nine assists and five threes. The wrist is a concern, but he continues to play through it, so just keep rolling him out there. Andrei Kirilenko played through his back injury and had 12 points, six boards and three steals, but also took a hard fall on his back during the game. He could be a bit iffy going forward, but played through it last night. Mehmet Okur was the surprise of the night with 24 points, six boards and two 3-pointers. Yes kids, there was a time he used to do this every night, but those days appear to be long gone.

The Suns got another weird line from Steve Nash, who had 14 points, 15 assists and seven turnovers. He didn't do much else, and while it's great he's playing through his abdominal injury, something still doesn't feel right. He's about to get some more rest though, thanks to the Suns' schedule, so hopefully he's good to go. Jason Richardson had 22 points, seven rebounds and three more 3-pointers, and has been playing much better for about two weeks now. I guess if he was going to get hot, the fantasy playoffs were the right time for it to happen. Amare Stoudemire had 30 points, seven boards and two blocks and Grant Hill, who simply refuses to go away, added 17 points, seven boards, three assists, a steal and a block. One look at his recent game log will tell you he deserves a look in your league. Channing Frye backed up Wednesday's big game with three points and three rebounds. Unfortunately for Frye, his worth will all depend on whether or not his 3-point shot is falling from night to night.

[SIZE=+1]Injury News and Notes[/SIZE]

Jason Terry has a fractured orbital bone and is going to miss a lot of time with the injury. But despite three different blurbs about him yesterday, we still don't know just how much time. It could be seven to 10 weeks, or seven to 10 days. Obviously there's a big difference there, so just hold onto him until we find out for sure. Caron Butler's the big winner if Terry's season is over, while Roddy Beaubois and J.J. Barea are also going to see a boost in minutes. Tonight's game against the Kings might tell us which guard will be the better fantasy option.

Joakim Noah is also earning a new blurb every few hours right now, the latest saying that he's going to have some "shock wave therapy" on his foot. Obviously, desperate times call for desperate measures, but I really think it's time for fantasy owners to cut him and grab a player that will help your team now. Even holding Noah for the playoffs is probably a low-reward, high-risk proposition, and you'll miss out on whatever is left on your wire right now.

We got our first negative report about Chris Paul on Thursday, as he's not yet running and admits that he doesn't feel fantastic. Reason to panic? No. Reason for Darren Collison's owners to celebrate? No. But it does take a bit of the wind out of CP3's sails as he prepares to come back from knee surgery. I still think he'll come back in the next two weeks, but am also still riding the Collison train until it happens.

The Raptors should finally be back near full strength tonight against the Knicks. Chris Bosh (ankle), Hedo Turkoglu (ankle) and Jose Calderon (elbow) are all expected to play. I won't fully believe it until I see Bosh on the court, but he really does sound like a go tonight.

Trevor Ariza has now been ruled out through the weekend with his hip injury, which must be pretty serious. This is also good news for Kevin Martin and Shane Battier.

Elton Brand is a game-time decision against the Celtics due to his sore Achilles.

Courtney Lee is doubtful tonight against the Magic with his ankle injury.

Tyson Chandler (foot) and Nazr Mohammed (back) are both game-time decisions for the Bobcats tonight, but I trust Nazr more than Ty-Chan at this point.

Craig Smith is due back from his bicep injury on Friday, but will have very limited fantasy appeal.

Kirk Hinrich tweaked his right ankle last night and should be considered day-to-day.

Washington's James Singleton is wearing a walking boot, but it doesn't sound like he'll miss any more games with his ankle injury.

Michael Finley will reportedly sign with the Celtics. Yawn.

[SIZE=+1]Friday Night Lights[/SIZE]

Detroit @ Cleveland - Keep an eye on Jason Maxiell vs. J.J. Hickson tonight. Sleeper – Jonas Jerebko
Big Game – Mo Williams

Lakers @ Charlotte - Shannon Brown is facing his former team and Stephen Jackson loves playing Kobe.
Sleeper – Shannon Brown
Big Game – Stephen Jackson

Knicks @ Raptors - T-Mac will start at point again and face his former team. This is setting up for a big game for him.
Sleeper – T-Mac
Big Game – Chris Bosh

Bucks @ Wizards - Jerry Stackhouse averaging 15 points and two 3-pointers a night over his last five.
Sleeper – Jerry Stackhouse
Big Game – Andray Blatche

Celtics @ Sixers - Celtics should win if Brand is out, Lou Williams huge in last game.
Sleeper – Lou Williams
Big Game – Andre Iguodala

Warriors @ Hawks - Trap game for Hawks, who will need to get ready to run. Stephen Curry looking to break out of slump. Sleeper – Anthony Tolliver
Big Game – Josh Smith

Magic @ Nets - Dwightapalooza vs. Suckapalooza. If Terrence Williams gets 25-30 minutes again, pick him up.
Sleeper – Terrence Williams
Big Game – Vince Carter (vs. former team)

Kings @ Mavericks - No Jason Terry, Kings rotation is a mess.
Sleeper – J.J. Barea
Big Game – Dirk Nowitzki

Pacers @ Denver - Pacers look like the worst team in the league, although Melo vs. Granger should be fun.
Sleeper – Roy Hibbert
Big Game – Carmelo Anthony

Hornets @ Spurs - Playoff implications in this one. Both teams need the win.
Sleeper – George Hill
Big Game – Tim Duncan

Thunder @ Clippers - Thunder not happy after last win, Clips no longer care.
Sleeper – Chris Kaman
Big Game – Kevin Durant

 

[HacheMan]

Parker Out, Hill In For Spurs
We'll go with a similar format to last week's column. Here's a re-run of the playoff schedule for each team, as well as a team-by-team look at waiver-wire possibilities.

[SIZE=+1]Head-To-Head Playoff Schedules[/SIZE]

The games-played column many of you have asked about was available in the Season Pass before the season even began. But since the playoffs are just around the corner, I've decided to throw that information out there for the rest of the world today. We'll get to the "Waiver Wire" portion of this column shortly.

Playoff dates vary in all leagues, so make sure you check out your own league's schedule before taking this as gospel. I used weeks 21-24 for the playoffs, but some leagues probably use Week 20 as well. One important side note about Week 20 – The Wizards and Hawks had a game rescheduled for that week, meaning the Hawks now play three games instead of two that week, while the Wizards have four games instead of three.

Playoff Schedules (Weeks 21-24 - * = Two-Game Week)

16 Games – Houston, San Antonio and Washington

These teams go 4-4-4-4 through the playoffs, which is as good as it gets. I still get questions about whether or not I trust Andray Blatche going forward, and the answer is a resounding 'yes.' But as for Tim Duncan and the Spurs? They have a whopping five sets of back-to-backs down the stretch (in the fantasy playoffs), meaning Duncan is going to possibly get a couple nights off. Just something to keep in mind. And while we're on that subject, the Spurs are playing on Sunday as I type this, and have a game on Monday against the Hornets. Will Duncan play in that one? Who knows?

15 Games – Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Golden State, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City and Toronto

These teams have a great playoff schedule – three four-game weeks and a three-gamer.

14 Games – Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Indiana, LA Lakers, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York* (4-2-4-4), Philadelphia and Utah

You're still OK with most of the 14-game teams, although the Knicks do have a two-gamer for Week 22. The rest play some combination of 4-4-3-3, but don't be too scared of the Knicks, as their two-game week is surrounded by three four-game weeks.

13 Games – Dallas* (2-4-4-3), LA Clippers, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, Phoenix and Sacramento

Things start getting a little dicey here. Dallas has a two-game week to kick off the playoffs in Week 21, while the rest of these teams have some combination of 4-3-3-3.

12 Games – Orlando*

Orlando's playoff schedule leaves plenty to be desired, as it goes 2-4-3-3. Maybe your playoffs don't start until Week 22, which would make Dwight Howard's postseason prospects look much better.

11 Games – Portland*

The Blazers not only had the worst second-half schedule, but their playoff run of 2-3-3-3 is hard to even look at. As if Brandon Roy's hamstring wasn't enough of a reason to trade him, this should seal the deal.

[SIZE=+1]Waiver Wire[/SIZE]

Team-by-team, although not all teams are included.

Bulls - Brad Miller and Taj Gibson are worth a look with Joakim Noah's season in the balance, but neither is a must-own player.

Cavaliers - With Shaquille O'Neal's season possibly over, Anderson Varejao should now be owned in all leagues, while J.J. Hickson is worth a look. Hickson was hot for a minute, but has struggled in his last two games and may have lost his starting job. Hickson's the guy with upside, but Varejao is the more reliable player. Zydrunas Ilgauskas will also have value if he's re-signed by the Cavs on March 22, while Delonte West had 27 points on Saturday and is playing well enough right now to be owned in many leagues.

Mavericks - Rodrigue Beaubois has been playing very well in relief of Jason Terry, and should be a solid fantasy play for another week while Terry recovers from his orbital injury. Jose Juan Barea is also worth a look, but Beaubois looks like the better bet.

Nuggets - Chris Andersen deserves a close look with news that Kenyon Martin's season could be over if he needs knee surgery. Andersen's knee is not in great shape either, but he's playing through it. J.R. Smith should be owned in all leagues now that he's hot again.

Pistons - Ben Wallace's ill-timed knee injury has opened the door for Jason Maxiell to become relevant, and he had 16 rebounds on Sunday. Wallace could return soon, so don't count on Maxiell for the long haul. Rodney Stuckey's latest health scare leaves his status up in the air, but it does sound like he'll return at some point. Will Bynum started in his place on Sunday and double-doubled with 12 points and 11 assists, and is worth grabbing in most leagues. Tayshaun Prince should be owned in all leagues at this point, while Charlie Villanueva appears to be getting healthy. Jonas Jerebko continues to defy the odds and play well for the Pistons.

Warriors - With Andris Biedrins' groin injury, Anthony Tolliver and Ronny Turiaf are still worth a look. C.J. Watson and Anthony Morrow should be owned in all leagues, and Corey Maggette has been a hot pickup since his surprise return on Friday. Feel free to pick him up, but don't be surprised if Maggette misses more games down the stretch.

Heat - Carlos Arroyo was just 1-of-8 for two points on Sunday, but played 40 minutes and has been playing well for Miami. Out of the point guards there, he looks like the best bet for now. Jermaine O'Neal is hurt again (shocker), but there aren't any great options to replace him with in Miami. Udonis Haslem is the best bet, while Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire are going to see more minutes if JO is out. Quentin Richardson is still somehow hot and had 22 points, 11 boards and five more threes on Saturday. Don't look now, but he's averaging close to 20 points, eight boards and five 3-pointers over his last three games! I still don't really trust him, but with O'Neal hurting, he sure looks like the guy to pick up on the Heat right now.

Bucks - John Salmons is obviously worth owning in all leagues and I maintain that Carlos Delfino is in the same boat. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Ersan Ilyasova are intriguing, but very inconsistent, and Jerry Stackhouse is even worth a look in very deep leagues. And if Brandon Jennings was dropped in your league, you have to give him a hard look. Just beware of that field goal percentage.

Nets - Courtney Lee returned from an ankle injury and had 25 points and five treys on Saturday (when they rolled the Knicks), while Terrence Williams is suddenly back in the rotation and getting minutes. With Yi Jianlian hurt, both players look like great guys to pick up right now. I'm especially intrigued with Williams.

Knicks - Sergio Rodriguez has been up and down, but appears ready to be put back in his role as the Knicks' starting point guard. Tracy McGrady had been playing the point, but had just two points on Saturday and is, as usual, very iffy now for Monday. If Wilson Chandler was dropped while he was out on a personal leave (and when Bill Walker got hot), pick him up. He had 20 points and 10 boards on Saturday.

Thunder - James Harden has scored in double figures in four of his last five games and has hit eight 3-pointers over that stretch. He'd be great if he was starting, but should be a decent pickup in many leagues. Big men Serge Ibaka and Nenad Krstic are both playing pretty well right now, but are also not great enough to be considered must-owns.

Magic - Matt Barnes made headlines on Sunday for his classic showdown with Kobe Bryant and has played very well in four straight. As long as he's starting for Orlando, he should be given a close look in deeper leagues.

Sixers - Lou Williams is hot again and I expect him to stay that way even if/when Allen Iverson (personal) and Willie Green (shoulder) return. And Thaddeus Young had a big line in a start for Samuel Dalembert, who was benched for disciplinary reasons. Young has been a borderline fantasy player all year, but will likely go back to his role off the bench in his next one.

Suns - Robin Lopez has been very up and down and is not for the weak at heart. Grant Hill has been hot, had a big week and is definitely worth a look, while Leandro Barbosa is due back soon from his wrist problem. Channing Frye has also become relevant again, but is also still inconsistent.

Kings - Beno Udrih is starting again for the Kings and playing pretty well. Jason Thompson is back from his injury and had 11 points and eight boards off the bench on Sunday. If you need a big man, he might be the best one on the board.

Spurs - George Hill has proven his worth and should now be owned in all leagues for the stretch run. That was the case even before Tony Parker went down with a broken hand, and Hill is now a must-own player. DeJuan Blair has been starting and also deserves a look, while Roger Mason will see a boost with Parker's injury.

Wizards - Al Thornton is starting and double-doubled on Sunday. He's been a bit up and down, but is still probably worth owning in most leagues. JaVale McGee is averaging about 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks over his last five games. Obviously, he should be owned in most leagues going forward, but we just have to hope he keeps it going.

Good luck, everyone. Hopefully you didn't get sucked into the Oscars with your wife and watched hoops instead. I wish I would have had the same luck.

 

[HacheMan]

Holiday Road
However subtle it may have been, a shift has occurred in the fantasy hoops landscape over the course of the last several days.

If your league is configured like mine, your fantasy trade deadline passed late last week. Couple that with the fact that A) many owners have now admitted that they have no chance to win (and are therefore mentally checking out) and B) baseball season is fast approaching, and it all points to a clear course of action for the active owner focused on winning no matter what:

Attack the waiver wire.

To clarify, I'm not talking about just opening up the player pool and dipping your feet in to take the temperature. I'm talking about strapping on water wings, a pair of goggles and a snorkel and barreling in with a full-blown can-opener.

Actually, scratch that analogy. What I'm really talking about is being willing – nay, motivated – to comb the depths of waivers with your most analytical and advanced seafaring equipment, not returning to the surface until you have unearthed a truly unexpected gem.

The following discourse does come with a caveat: If your league is the type in which players like C.J. Watson, Taj Gibson and George Hill are still somehow sitting out there on waivers, you need not put on your diving gear and voyage to the depths we will be exploring. This expedition is for competitive leagues in which all the obvious options have been taken, so finding the next waiver gem requires some speculation, and some risk.

Now, if you've signed your waiver forms (pun half intended) and checked out all your equipment with one of our experienced safety professionals, it's time to commence Phase 1…

THE UPPER SURFACE DIVE

Terrence Williams, NJ: I was a proponent of T-Will's potential way back at the beginning of the season, but he quickly got buried in the sub-20 minute range after a reasonably productive November, only to resurface once again in March.

In his first three games of the month (entering Monday night), Williams had averaged a mildly electric 12.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 6.0 apg and 1.0 threes. Keep in mind that this isn't his first outburst of the season and there's no guarantee he'll keep playing 30 minutes a night, but he has the potential and should have the continued opportunity to post some intriguing stats for the very rotten Nets down the stretch.

PS: The Nets are 7-55. That is hilarious and slightly mind-blowing to look at.

A reminder: For projections, depth charts, cheat sheets and more, check out Rotoworld's MLB Draft Guide.

Jrue Holiday, PHI: It's a very close call in terms of who I would add first between Williams and Holiday, and my preference has a tendency to go back and forth from minute to minute.

One thing I do feel very certain about is that Holiday is eventually going to be a very good fantasy player, possibly as soon as next season, and he's beginning to show why right now. In his last seven games, the youngest player in the league has averaged 12.1 ppg, 4.1 apg and 1.6 threes, earning a spot in one of my lineups this week after his inspired 21-7-6 line (with three threes, a steal and two blocks) on Sunday.

Granted, I'm expecting at least one or two of his four games this week to be mildly disappointing due to the fact that Holiday has yet to showcase true consistency. But he's locked into the starting five and I can foresee some more big games forthcoming from the rookie, who has hit for at least 21 points and six assists in two of his four games in March thus far.

James Harden, OKC: I was driving the James Harden bandwagon for quite a while earlier this season, but was eventually forced to store the vehicle in the garage after its engine (minutes) continued to sputter.

I'm still not fully ready to take the cover off and air the thing out on the interstate just yet, but I would be an irresponsible bandwagon driver if I didn't mention that the bearded rook has averaged 16.7 ppg, 2.0 spg and 2.3 threes in his last three games. Unfortunately he's still not fully in the clear in terms of playing time (Harden had 14 points in just 20 minutes on Sunday), but he remains a solid player to stash considering his upside and OKC's three straight four-game weeks beginning March 22.

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PHASE 2: THE MID-OCEAN PLUNGE (where pressure intensifies and prospects become more difficult to spot)

Jonas Jerebko, DET: You would think that as one heads deeper into the ocean the creatures become more intriguing and bizarre, but we begin with a player who is actually not all that exciting in Jerebko.

With that said, in his last five games, the Pistons rookie has averaged 11.6 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg and 1.0 threes. The only reason I haven't added him in my leagues is that I'm not convinced that the production in blocks and threes is to be trusted, but I can't argue with adding him if you're in need of points and boards with the potential for some help elsewhere.

DeJuan Blair, SA: A lot of the glimmer has worn off Blair due to his maddeningly fluctuating minutes, but consider what he has done in his last five games entering Monday: 10.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.0 spg and 1.0 bpg. Those numbers aren't terrific and have come with an irritating 6-for-14 from the FT line, but you could do worse if you're in need of a low-level, high-upside boost in rebounds and blocks.

PHASE 3: TO THE DEPTHS (where visibility becomes difficult and returning to the surface is not guaranteed)

D.J. Augustin, CHA: As sequels go, Augustin's second season has been about as disappointing as Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow, but the backup PG has shown moderate signs of life so far this month, averaging 14.3 ppg, 4.0 apg, 1.3 spg and 1.7 threes in his last three games. There's no guarantee of prolonged production, but he's worth consideration in deeper leagues.

Francisco Garcia, SAC: There are still clear obstacles to Garcia attaining fantasy relevance, chief among them the fact that Tyreke Evans unofficially leads the league in the dubious "number of dribbles pounded into the floor with head down" category. However, Garcia has caught my attention by averaging 27 minutes in four games this month, posting 9.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.5 threes during that stretch. Those aren't 10- or even 12-team league start-worthy numbers, but they are a subtle reminder that Garcia could make himself heard before the season is done.

Ronny Turiaf, GSW: First things first: He's injured. Sprained his knee on Saturday and was not expected to be available for Monday night's game.

But the reason you may still want to keep a close eye on an injured Turiaf is that blocks are often a quick and easy way to make up late-season points in roto leagues and are usually at a premium in head-to-head leagues as well. And in the five games prior to his recent knee injury, Turiaf – starting in place of the injured and reportedly going under the knife Andris Biedrins – had averaged 11.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.4 apg and 1.6 bpg.

Serge Ibaka, OKC: Scouring even deeper in the hunt for blocks, we find Ibaka, plagued by inconsistent backup minutes but still averaging 11.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg and 1.8 bpg in his last six games. I don't expect those scoring numbers to keep up, but Ibaka is a useful source of blocks if players like Chris Andersen are already gone in your league.

James Singleton, WAS: Before you go adding someone like Singleton, you first have to make sure that your wire is devoid of more productive options such as Wizards starting center JaVale McGee and the aforementioned Andersen.

And if you are adding Singleton, you're going to have to swallow your pride a little bit, because there's nothing that exciting about his production or his situation backing up McGee and Andray Blatche. With that said, his last 10 games (nine for Washington, one for Dallas and excluding one in which he played just two minutes due to a sprained ankle) have yielded 6.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 0.9 spg and 2.0 bpg.

There will be some ugly moments, like the four-point, three-rebound, two-block effort he posted on Sunday, but then again, there are some pretty ugly bottom-feeding creatures to be found in the lower reaches of the sea. And come to think of it, I am hereby dubbing a game of less than five points and five rebounds but two or more blocks a "Catfish," because you're scraping as low as you can possibly get to discover precisely what you need (blocks in this case being the food).

If that last paragraph didn't make 100 percent sense, then there's reason to believe that one or both of us has begun to lose our mind due to the extreme depths and pressure down here at the bottom of the sea (I know this because I saw it happen in The Abyss).

Time to grab what we can and head back up to the surface immediately.

 

[HacheMan]

Debris Slide
[SIZE=+1]Injury Tidbits[/SIZE]

Here's all the injury news that came out between now and Monday's Daily Dose. Join Matt Stroup today at 3 for an NBA Live Chat.

Debris Slide

LeBron James missed his second straight game with sore ankles, but mostly in order to rest. DNP's like LeBron's and Jason Kidd's last week, with the season on the line for fantasy owners, are the most frustrating piece of the fantasy hoops puzzle. You can be sure more guys are going to get the same treatment, which is pretty annoying, since I don't recall Magic, Bird or Dominique taking games off just because they were tired, or because their coach wanted to save them for the playoffs. Hopefully LeBron's vacation is over for good. And speaking of 'Nique and LeBron, the former dunk champion said he thinks LeBron needs to participate in the dunk contest some day. "Everyone knows what and who LeBron is," Wilkins said. "The dunk contest is not going to define his ability or compromise his likeness or his star power."

Grounded

Antawn Jamison left Monday's game with a left knee injury and will get an MRI. This is fairly concerning news, although he says he's going to play through it on Friday. The good news is he plays for Cleveland (who has something to play for) and not Washington (who has nothing to play for). Consider him day-to-day, and probable-to-questionable for Friday as of now.

Peja Stojakovic scored 16 points, but left Monday's game with a groin injury. He could easily be done for the week and this is just more good news for owners of Marcus Thornton.

Zach Randolph was a surprise scratch last night with lower back tightness. He's day-to-day, but hopefully will be ready to go for Wednesday's game at Boston.

Brendan Haywood missed another game on Monday with his back injury. He's day-to-day, while Dirk Nowitzki and Eduardo Najera (no fantasy value) fill in at center.

Tracy McGrady sat out Monday's game because he was tired. He says he will play on Wednesday. Oh, and the Knicks beat the Hawks (again) with T-Mac in street clothes. I'm just sayin.'

Kenyon Martin's knee injury doesn't sound like it will require surgery and he plans on playing again "this season." Unfortunately, what exactly that means is anyone's guess, and I get the sense it could be awhile – as in possibly the playoffs – until we see him play.

Andris Biedrins will have hernia surgery on Tuesday, and while he hasn't been ruled out for the rest of the season, it's a real possibility. Anthony Tolliver should be worthy in his place, but struggled last night. Ronny Turiaf is out with a knee injury and it sounds like he could miss more games. Chris Hunter started over Tolliver, but I'm not much of a fan. More on this later.

Tony Parker will miss six weeks with his broken hand, which was the expected time frame. George Hill should have been picked up in all leagues by now.

Philly's Marreese Speights is likely done for the week with a sprained knee.

Maybe Maybe

Monta Ellis is hoping to return from his back injury on Thursday. We'll see.

Marcus Camby is a game-time decision for Tuesday with a sprained ankle. It sounds like he's leaning toward playing after making it through Monday's practice, but it all depends on how he feels when he wakes up on Tuesday.

Trevor Ariza is finally listed as probable for Tuesday's game with a hip injury. He's missed enough time that I really have no idea what to expect, and I'd recommend benching him until you actually see him make it through a game. Of course, it all depends on your options.

Luol Deng missed Monday's practice with the flu and is now iffy for tonight's game.

Leandro Barbosa (wrist) is expected back on Friday from a wrist injury, while Steve Nash and Goran Dragic should also play in that one.

Eric Gordon is iffy for Tuesday with a leg injury, but we're hoping for an update in the afternoon.

Hedo Turkoglu, who was a surprise DNP on Sunday, sounds like he'll play through his ankle injury on Tuesday. Start him at your own risk.

Anthony Parker suffered a dislocated left ring finger on Monday, but played through it. He should be OK, but is not a great fantasy option.

Feed Them To The Lions

Channing Frye could be suspended for his role in Saturday's altercation with the Pacers, and results are expected today. Update: Frye and Danny Granger were each given a one-game suspension. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be owning Granger this season.

Hasheem Thabeet was called up from the D-League yesterday, but despite the fact that…

A. The Grizzlies were playing the Nets, and
B. Zach Randolph was in street clothes

Thabeet did not play a single minute.

Continue reading for Game Recaps and Music News
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[SIZE=+1]Game News and Notes from Monday Night[/SIZE]

Hornets Run Past Warriors

Once again the Warriors proved they are a dream team if your fantasy players are going against them, as Darren Collison went off for 16 points, 20 assists, two 3-pointers and three steals. He also had seven turnovers, and there was a lot of talk on Twitter that the scorekeeper in New Orleans is rather generous when handing out assists. I don't care what the scorekeeper was doing, or if he was giving an extra dribble on some of those dimes – Collison went off and has been one of the biggest surprises of the season. As I wrote extensively yesterday, it's starting to feel like Chris Paul won't be back, meaning Collison is locked and loaded. And I don't want to hear complaints about the turnovers, either. It's only one category.

Marcus Thornton had 28 points despite a sore back, so congratulations if you played him. Morris Peterson still started in front of him and logged 22 minutes with 12 points, but it doesn't really matter. Emeka Okafor's split personality is amazing, and he had 22 points and 11 rebounds last night. If you can figure out when to use him and when to bench him, let me know the formula you use.

For the Warriors, it was as eclectic as an NPR music mix. Devean George started and had a season-high 18 points to go along with four 3-pointers. Ignore him. Reggie Williams had 28 points, six assists and two steals despite not even playing in the league 10 days ago or so. He's actually played very well in all of his games with the Warriors and is worth a look. But his 10-day contract is almost up and it still feels like when you finally get him in your lineup, his run will end. If nothing else he's worth a very close look.

Anthony Morrow had 28 points and hit 6-of-6 threes, C.J. Watson played a team-high 38 minutes and had 12 points, seven assists and three steals. Watson's numbers have been down a bit over his last two games, but my guess is he'll hold his value the rest of the way. Even when Monta Ellis returns. Corey Maggette played just 22 minutes and had 18 points, but I don't think he played at all in the second or fourth quarter. It's probably more a case of 'Nellie being Nellie' than it is a Maggette injury, but who knows?

Anthony Tolliver came off the bench last night and struggled, while Chris Hunter started over him. I still think Tolliver's the guy to own, while I'd continue to ignore Hunter, who had 10 points and three boards. Ronny Turiaf is out with a knee injury and it's starting to sound like he could miss more time with the injury. Owners will have to do some soul searching to determine if he's worth keeping around.

Mavs Rip Wolves

I didn't stop to count the number of tweets and emails I received about Kevin Love last night, but it was a fairly high number. That will happen when a supposed stud like him plays 12 minutes, hits 1-of-7 shots and scores six points. Love is not injured. Kurt Rambis is making more enemies than friends in fantasyland and continues to jerk Love around, and while it would be nice to know what Love has done to deserve this kind of treatment, I'm not sure we'll ever find out. It's especially concerning given the fact all the Mavs' centers were out with injury last night. Rambis said he went with Ryan Hollins and Darko Milicic in the fourth quarter because he needed someone who could attack and defend Dirk. "He [Love] didn't look like he had any energy to play in stretches and a lot of it had to do with matchups," Rambis said. Yeah, whatever.

Al Jefferson returned from a two-game suspension and blew up for a season-high 36 points on 15-of-21 shooting, and grabbed 13 rebounds. Maybe the time off did him some good.

For the Mavericks, Shawn Marion turned back the clock for a season-high 29 points to go along with 14 rebounds, as Dirk Nowitzki got into some early foul trouble. Rodrigue Beaubois had 11 points, five boards, four assists and a steal in another start, while Jose Juan Barea had nine points and nine assists before leaving with a left ankle injury. If JJB is going to miss time, that should help Roddy B's numbers quite a bit.

Grizzlies Beat Nets

Mike Conley had 21 points, two 3-pointers and four assists last night, and continues to be the point-guard version of Emeka Okafor. With Zach Randolph out, DeMarre Carroll started and had 10 points, eight boards and three steals, but I doubt he's worth concerning yourself over.

Courtney Lee led the Nets with 30 points, five boards, two assists, two steals and two 3-pointers on 13-of-20 shooting, while Terrence Williams had 14 points, six boards and six assists. Both players should now be owned in most leagues.

Knicks Slide By Hawks

Wilson Chandler had the play of the night with a game-saving block on Josh Smith, but had just five points on 2-of-8 shooting against the Hawks. Danilo Gallinari got hot, hitting 9-of-14 shots and four 3-pointers for 27 points, while Sergio Rodriguez failed to make the most of a start with nine points, three boards, four assists and six turnovers. His nickname is 'Spanish Chocolate,' but as reader Manale pointed out to me, he's more like 'Spanish Duhon.' Bill Walker started and had eight points in 25 minutes, while Al Harrington came off the bench to score 14 in 30 minutes.

For the Hawks, Mike Bibby, who went off against the Warriors on Friday, had one point and one assist last night. Outside of that, it was another case of 'usual suspects' for the Hawks, led by Josh Smith. The Hawks can't seem to lose to the Celtics, but also can't seem to beat the Knicks, who couldn't beat the Nets a few days ago. Huh?

Cavs Squeak By Spurs

Mo Williams had 17 points, eight boards and eight assists, while Delonte West chipped in with 16 points, four boards, five assists and three steals. Mo-Will is another guy who is either on or off, while West is officially hot. West is averaging 17 points, four boards, five assists and a steal over his last four games, and it's probably time to grab him (again). Jawad Williams started for LeBron and had 13 points and five boards, while J.J. Hickson added 12 points and seven boards. I don't know if he really still has fantasy value or not, but I still get the sense that Anderson Varejao is about ready to steal his starting job.

For the Spurs, Manu Ginobili moved into the starting five and went off for 38 points, seven 3-pointers, seven boards, five assists and two steals. Make sure he's in your lineup, as he's been red-hot for a few weeks now. George Hill added 23 points, four assists and two 3-pointers and should be good to go the rest of the way.

[SIZE=+1]Music News[/SIZE]

Pavement is now playing shows in Europe and will be in the states in the fall. I'm pretty friggin' excited about seeing them in the ATL in September, as you can probably tell by today's subtitles.

Quasi's new record, American Gong, is out and I love it. Thanks, Janet. Check it out here and look for them in a city near you, as the tour is rolling.

Band of Horses released artwork, a title (Infinite Arms), a record label (Columbia/FatPossum/Brown) and a release date of May 18 for the new record. Woo hoo!