Fantasy related but good info.......
Kobe Hits 26K
[SIZE=+1]
Kobe eclipses 26K[/SIZE]
While two-thirds of the country slept,
Kobe Bryant served up a reminder of his greatness by becoming the youngest player to score 26,000 points for his career. Wilt Chamberlain, the previous owner of that distinction, needed 32 years and 114 days to achieve the mark, but Bryant got there in 32 years, 80 days.
Other nifty stats: Bryant was the 12th player in league history to surpass 26,000 points and the eighth-fastest to the mark in terms of games played. Thursday's game against the Nuggets marked his 1,030th career game. Among those who reached 26,000 points more quickly: Chamberlain (734),
Michael Jordan (815), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (925),
Karl Malone (997), and ex-cohort Shaquille O'Neal (1,022).
[SIZE=+1]
Celtics handle Heat again, this time in Miami[/SIZE]
Basketball pundits are trying to bill the Celtics-Heat as the NBA's rivalry of the season, but Miami just isn't living up to its share of the hype. The teams first met in the regular-season opener, when the Celtics handed the Super Friends their very first loss with a convincing 88-80 victory. On Thursday, they moved over to Miami, where the Celtics again shifted into cruise-control for a 112-107 win.
The ageless
Ray Allen was the individual story here, as the 14-year sharpshooter made seven of his nine trey attempts to net 35 points. The Celtics hosted a clinic in ball movement at the American Airlines Arena, as they feasted on the Heat's inability to rotate quickly enough to the weak side, where Allen got comfy and did most of his damage.
Paul Pierce also deserves mention for his 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Perhaps the most interesting stat of the night was that Allen and Pierce combined for 59 points, but couldn't manage more than one rebound and one assist between them.
Rajon Rondo, who entered the contest averaging 14.8 assists per game, somehow managed to raise that mark by handing out 16 dimes on Thursday, with the Heat's slow rotation and Allen's hot hand making that number possible. Predictably, Rondo is leading the NBA in assists. His closest competitor?
Jason Kidd, who is averaging exactly four fewer per game.
Kevin Garnett's resurgence continues, as the 15-year grizzled veteran collected 16 points and 13 boards for his sixth double-double in nine games. Owners are having fun with his production now, but they should be looking to move it for a more dependable option, as Garnett's legs (which are 35 years old) and coach (who will inevitably limit his minutes down the stretch) won't allow him to hold this pace.
Thursday marked Shaquille O'Neal's (knee) first game since Oct. 29. He scored just five points with seven rebounds in 21 minutes, but he gets a temporary value boost in deeper leagues while Jermaine O'Neal potentially sits out the next couple of games with knee troubles of his own. At this point, however, both O'Neals are probably more trouble than they are worth.
LeBron James nearly notched his second consecutive triple-double, but he fell just one assist shy, going for 35 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. The media has been unrelenting in its jeers of James' "decision" process, but the ridicule reached a new point after Thursday's game when
Paul Pierce tweeted, "It's been a pleasure to bring my talents to south beach now on to Memphis."
After being held to 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting in the teams' first meeting,
Dwyane Wade posted another clunker on Thursday, hitting just 2-of-12 shots to score eight points with six turnovers. The most disconcerting part of the night for Wade may not have been his line, however. In the game's final minutes, it was James and
Udonis Haslem – not Wade or
Chris Bosh – running the two-man game, with Wade standing in the corner very spectator-like. This was undoubtedly circumstantial though; James and Wade will figure out how to complement each other when they need a late basket.
www.miamiheat.ws
Speaking of Haslem, he finished with his best line of the year, contributing 21 points and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench. Bosh added 15 points and seven boards of his own.
[SIZE=+1]
Warriors look disinterested in Bulls' 30-point mauling[/SIZE]
Coming off of a 122-117 win over the Knicks in Madison Square Garden, the Warriors were thrashed by a 120-90 score in Chicago. Understandably, Golden State was sluggish in the second game of a back-to-back road set, although this game was never in doubt.
Derrick Rose had 18 points and eight assists by halftime as the Bulls amassed a 28-point lead by halftime. He finished 22 points, 13 helpers, three rebounds, one steal and one block, giving him his third double-double in five games. The effort upped his season averages to 23.6 points and 9.7 assists per contest.
Joakim Noah recorded his first non-double-double game this season, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds with five assists, one steal and two blocks. Now is a good time to mention that Noah is off to a fantastic start, averaging 15.9 points and 13.9 boards per game, although owners should expect fewer double-doubles upon the return of
Carlos Boozer (hand), who is targeting early December to get back on the court.
Noah's production – particularly the scoring – will decline; the only question is how much. Simply because 13.9 rebounds per game is an excessively high number, Noah will undergo a sorts of "regression to the mean", even if Boozer wasn't about to enter the picture. Then factor in Boozer's presence, and you might strip another rebound or two off of last season's average (11.0). This doesn't mean that Noah should be pawned off at any kind of significant discount; rather, it means that future Noah won't be as strong as present-day Noah.
Taj Gibson is the one who is most negatively impacted by Boozer. He has played well in Boozer's stead, playing 25 minutes and notching 14 points with seven rebounds on Thursday, but he'll amount to waiver-wire fodder in a matter of weeks. Sell.
Luol Deng is quietly averaging 20.3 points per game following Thursday night's, 26-point, 11-rebound, six-assist effort. The No. 1 sign that something goes wrong is when
Keith Bogans scores in double-digits, and he did that on Thursday, contributing 14 points, five rebounds and six steals.
One game after
David Lee put an elbow into
Wilson Chandler's chompers, Lee was forced to watch from the sidelines on Thursday. The news came as a surprise as it sounded like the injury wasn't serious enough to cause any missed time, but Lee should be a go for Saturday's game against the Bucks.
So as usual, it was up to
Monta Ellis and
Stephen Curry to carry the offensive load. Ellis went 10-of-20 from the field to score 24 points with five rebounds, five assists and a steal. Curry scored 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting, adding six assists, three rebounds and five steals.
Brandan Wright took Lee's place in the starting lineup and was mostly unproductive in 15 minutes, scoring four points with three rebounds and a block. And in news that is of little consequence to fantasy owners,
Dan Gadzuric (back spasms) returned to action after missing the last three games. Unless if your league has figured out how to score hustle plays, Gadzuric should be left alone.
[SIZE=+1]
Lakers' first loss comes courtesy of Anthony,
Nuggets[/SIZE]
While Kobe was attempting to notch his 26,000th career point, a game was played. The Nuggets handed the Lakers their first loss of the year, erasing a double-digit deficit for a 118-112 win.
Carmelo Anthony paced the Nuggets with his 34 points, shooting 13-of-24 from the field and adding 13 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. The big news surrounding 'Melo right now is the firing of Nuggets front-office executive Bret Bearup, who was heavily involved in the trade talks concerning Denver's superstar. The popular belief is that Bearup's dismissal increases the odds of Anthony being dealt before the deadline.
Down 10 points with 11 minutes remaining, head coach George Karl went to his all-speed lineup and inserted
Ty Lawson in hopes of changing the game's tempo. It worked, as Lawson led the team on a 16-0 run, of which he scored 11 of those points, to put the Nuggets up for good. Deep-keeper and dynasty leaguers should make Lawson a priority, as the second-year point guard will run the show in the post-
Chauncey Billups era.
Billups struggled on Thursday, scoring 15 points on 3-of-11 shooting with four assists, while backcourt mate
Arron Afflalo, who was occupied with defending Bryant, managed just five points and three rebounds.
Nene scored a season-high 18 points with five rebounds, one steal and one block.
Shelden Williams drew the start at power forward and contributed five points and five rebounds, but
Al Harrington, who scored seven points and added eight rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench, is the guy to own between the two of them.
Pau Gasol shot poorly, going 6-of-17 from the field, but posted a monster double-double to the tune of 20 points and 17 rebounds. Before the game, George Karl stated that he and his coaching staff couldn't identify a big man in the NBA who is playing better than Gasol right now, and the numbers would indicate that. Through nine games, the 7-foot Spaniard is averaging 22.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.
In head coach Phil Jackson's counter to Karl's small lineup,
Lamar Odom got less run than usual, logging 26 minutes and registering just three points with 12 rebounds. Instead, Jackson felt that
Shannon Brown was better suited to handle the faster tempo, and Brown backed his coach with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench. Brown, who wants to be known as more than "just a dunker", added four rebounds, two assists and a steal, and remains one of the most roster-worthy bench players in the league.
