Fantasy Related but good info......
Napoleon
As a Warriors fan, I have mixed feelings about the guy they call the Little General. When Tim Hardaway tore his ACL before the 1993-94 season, then assistant coach Gregg Popovich called up Avery Johnson and offered him a one-year contract to run the point in Golden State. Undersized, underappreciated, and a relative unknown, Johnson helped guide the Warriors to a 50-32 record and a trip to the playoffs. I remember watching as a teenager and knowing that my team had no chance against Kevin Johnson and Charles Barkley's Suns squad, and of course they quickly bowed out in three games. But Avery squeezed every bit of talent he could out of his 5'10", 175-pound frame and was an unsung leader on a team that sported the personalities of rookie Chris Webber, Latrell Sprewell, Billy Owens, and only Chris Mullin to help hold things together.
Coaching, of course, was our good friend Nellie.
Popovich went on to become the general manager of the Spurs and one of the first things he did was sign Johnson to a multi-year deal. Nobody made much of it at the time. It was David Robinson's team and soon Tim Duncan would join. In the strike-shortened season of 1998-99, the Spurs felt like an afterthought as they crept out of Michael Jordan's shadow and into the finals against the No. 8 seed New York Knicks.
All the Little General did was hit the championship-clinching shot in Game 5, cementing his place among the San Antonio greats. I have to say, I was a fan.
He played another year in Golden State in 2003-04 and then became a player-coach under (wait for it) Don Nelson and the Mavs in the 2004-05 campaign, with the understanding that he would be groomed to become the next coach. He enjoyed a tremendous amount of success, winning a number of coaching awards and becoming the fastest coach to 50 wins in NBA history. In June of 2006 he took his fourth-seeded Mavs to the NBA finals.
Then Dwyane Wade happened.
And it wasn't just that the Mavs had the series seemingly wrapped up with a 13-point lead and just six little minutes to go in the fourth quarter of Game 3, with the chance to go up 3-0 within their grasp – it was the way his team folded big play after big play. Wade played out of his mind, but the Mavs looked overwhelmed and afraid at times, and Avery looked like a man with plenty of words but nobody to listen to them. Dirk Nowitzki took a lot of the blame, and rightfully so, but how could you fault a second-year coach going up against Wade, Shaq, and Pat Riley? Because of that, the Little General got a pass.
Then We Believe happened.
The single greatest moment of my NBA fandom came the day Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy were traded for Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington. I called my buddy, Nate, another poor Warriors fan and said, 'we're going to the playoffs.' We did, and when the Warriors drew the Mavs, I dropped 100 for-amusement-only dollars on the 50-1 Warriors. I knew we had the horses to win, and I was starting to sense that Avery was in over his head.
He was, and the rest was history, and Napoleon was born.
His voice, his height, his lectures to the media, his defiance of any criticism derived from his embarrassing playoff losses, and his inability to instill confidence into his teams – are a stark cry from the following endorsement from four-time NBA champion Gregg Popovich:
"If he has trouble with a player or if there is somebody who doesn't buy in, it's because the guy doesn't have the character and mental toughness to persevere and understand that things don't come easy. If somebody is not willing to put in the time and the effort, that guy is not going to play for Avery. He's looking for men. He's looking for competitors."
We all know that when you're winning in the NBA, the act that has brought titles to the likes of his mentors Larry Brown and Popovich is called leadership. When they build a doghouse, the media shows up with hammers, nails, and dog biscuits. As for Nellie and Avery, the part of the coaching tree that hit every branch on the way down as they fell out? Let's just say we've got the nameplate inscribed and ready to go.
Rings talk, and today's players don't care that he was the fourth or fifth option on a championship squad in which he hit the game-winning shot. If you're going to lay the wood as a coach, you need both types of brass ones, or guys are simply going to tune you out.
The problem is that he only knows one way to go. It's his way or the highway, and like his Napoleonic complex virtually guarantees, he cannot assess the battlefield. Brook Lopez, coming off a monster season in which his toughness was rarely questioned, may as well be wearing slacks and a
suhweet Abercrombie & Fitch polo than a Nets jersey on most nights. Troy Murphy, a guy that the Nets pay $11.9 million to watch basketball games, says he's in excellent shape and that Johnson rarely speaks to him. Terrence Williams, Avery's self-proclaimed Sixth Man of the Year candidate, is a knucklehead but he was supposed to be Avery's knucklehead – a guy that could fill it up and provide much-needed athleticism and excitement for a team that boasted billboards in rival Knicks territory – a team that Mikhail Prokhorov wants rings fitted for within five years.
Prokhorov sounds like a student of history who knows a thing or two about business and basketball. He knew what he was getting when he signed Avery – the biggest coaching name available at a time when he wanted to make a splash. The problem is – how many NBA superstars want to play for the Little General? Can you imagine LeBron James selecting 'my way' OR 'the highway?' No, he'd banish his ass to the island of Elba. Prokhorov knew that, though. In fact, he planned on it. And he's going to give Napoleon enough rope to hang himself. If Napoleon wants to film Waterloo: Part Deux, MP will gladly send out a camera crew.
So when
Wade LeBosh got on
LeBus and left Cleveland last week, and the NBA community had no more anger left to spew, many owners toiling with Troy Murphy, Terrence Williams, and Brook Lopez took their pitchforks to Twitter with a new target in their sights. And later tonight when TNT is busy showing other games, Napoleon returns to the place it all started, Dallas. He has set the table for big lineup changes. Terrence Williams will be a part of the rotation, he says. Travis Outlaw could be out, and little-known Damion James could start. Derrick Favors could start for Kris Humphries, and Murphy probably hasn't spoken to Napoleon in weeks. Owners will be watching closely to see if their roster stashes pan out, or maybe they will, but just on somebody else's roster. And luckily for Avery the game isn't on TNT. Charles Barkley will not be in the building. There won't be a nationwide focus on his game, his coaching, and all of the tough love he's giving. But there will be one day. One day, he'll have to own up to all of these decisions. And if he wants to make the Nets his Waterloo, Prokhorov probably has his replacement already picked out.
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[SIZE=+1]The 9 Things We Learned Last Night[/SIZE]
1. Stephen Curry is not invincible
Stephen Curry faced a stiff wind on one of his drives to the hoop on Wednesday and it literally knocked him over. At the bottom of his one-man pile was his bum ankle, and this time cooler heads might prevail and force him to take some time off. X-rays taken were negative, but he left the arena in a walking boot and is doubtful for Friday's game. The sense around the team and those that cover it is that he will miss extended time, which is probably the best thing for all parties involved. In the meantime, look for Reggie Williams to build off his career-high 31 points that included (count em) eight 3-pointers. He's a must-add and something in the ballpark of 15-20 points per night sounds reasonable while Curry is out.
www.miamiheat.ws
2. Tyreke's feet stink
Tyreke Evans' feet don't really add up. He gets them evaluated for his condition of plantar fasciitis, and the docs tell him to eat his vegetables and get a good night sleep (also known as stretch, protect, and go easy on it). Evans tells us he has a stress fracture and then corrects himself saying he didn't know which conditions he was talking about, Paul Westphal plays the guy 40 minutes a game during the preseason when he knows about the injury, and exactly 50% of the time Evans looks like last year's version. I know plantar fasciitis is a touch-and-go type of injury, but it doesn't appear like the Kings have a handle on it. And when an agent calls for a second opinion, and the team hasn't already done that, it raises an eyebrow. Clearly something isn't right with him, and last night's line of eight points on 3-of-9 shooting, four rebounds, and five assists is just way too familiar for owners these days. I just have a feeling we'll be hearing more about this – and for now owners should not be targeting him as a buy low candidate. And if you own him, just ride it out and hope for the best. He still has the potential to both pick up his game (and increase his trade value along the way).
3. Rondo could be a no-go
Rondo played Wednesday despite calling himself "77 percent," and specifically his hamstring is the biggest issue for him right now, though he also has knee and foot issues that are less concerning. He didn't look all that great and while the numbers were sort of there (four points, 13 assists, a steal), owners would be better served if he took some time off to heal. Boston fans were burning up Twitter, too, wondering why he was in the game during the second half on Wednesday with the Celtics handing it to the Nuggets. If you own Rondo right now, Nate Robinson makes for an interesting handcuff, and owners shouldn't be surprised if he starts missing some games.
4. Byron Scott is searching
Byron Scott almost had to don a uniform himself on Wednesday against the Bulls, with most of his players arriving just before tipoff as a blizzard nearly shut them out of Quicken Loans Arena. If you thought you saw Mo Williams, J.J. Hickson, Jamario Moon, or Anthony Parker running down the streets of Cleveland, you did. As I watched the tweets come in I was halfway expecting one of them to be riding a snowmobile or hopping across car tops.
When they got to the arena Scott had news for them, and that was that he was blowing the lineup up, removing J.J. Hickson and Joey Graham from the starting unit and replacing them with Antawn Jamison and Daniel Gibson. He also cut Ramon Sessions and Jamario Moon from the rotation altogether.
At a minimum, the move did cause the team to show
some life, but not enough to avoid their sixth straight loss. Daniel Gibson didn't shoot all that great with a 4-of-16 mark on his way to 14 points, but did have a career-high eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, a block, and two threes. He has been one of the Cavs' most consistent and best players this year, and a move to the starting lineup can only help matters. Pick him up if he has been dropped. As for Sessions, he's safe to drop in standard leagues since he wasn't producing consistently anyway, but I can't see him staying banished for long. Antawn Jamison responded to his promotion with 21 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two 3-pointers, and is a must-start as long as he stays in the starting lineup. His counterpart, J.J. Hickson, is a much more depressing story for owners. He played just nine minutes without scoring and had just one rebound. After the game he expressed his displeasure with Scott's decision, albeit while supporting him, but his confidence is said to be 'in shatters' and is a guy owners should think about dropping. Yes, he has little to no competition for minutes outside of Antawn Jamison, who isn't a beacon of health and may be traded away at some point – but waiting to find out when he'll get it together could cost too much. Deep leaguers will want to keep an eye on Manny Harris, who played the sixth man role last night to the tune of six points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two threes in 21 minutes. Those aren't great numbers but the kid has surpassed expectations all year long.
5. Baron isn't ready for the big screen
The Lakers visited the Clippers at Staples last night in what actually felt like a rivalry game, despite the Clips usual position among the league's worst teams. The difference? Blake Griffin. Ron Artest said before the game that he actually
wanted to be posterized by Griffin, whose legend grows seemingly by the day. Pretty soon he'll have his own line of Chuck Norris jokes.
Contrary to popular belief, Blake Griffin cannot fly, he just jumps and chooses when to come down. But I digress.
Last night's game was wildly entertaining, and in a game that was decided by one point it included a half court shot by Shannon Brown, a delay of game on a Griffin free throw, and a last-second drive to the hoop that Derek Fisher converted to win the game with 0.1 seconds on the clock. And who wasn't on the floor during crunch time in one of the Clips' biggest games of the year? That's right, Baron Davis (hamstring) played just 14 minutes off the bench with only three points and three assists to his name, but was on the bench while Eric Bledsoe attempted to run the team late.
Unfortunately for the Clips, neither Bledsoe (11 points, four rebounds, seven assists) or Eric Gordon (24 points) had the chops to keep from withering away late. Bledsoe shied away from the ball and Gordon had two bone-headed turnovers and the Clips gave away a 12-point lead with just minutes to play. Baron's absence isn't all that surprising given his lack of court time and his general feebleness, but you can bet that this was the type of game he'd have wanted to be in control of late, and he wasn't. Whether it is due to the injuries or Vinny Del Negro's preference to let a tentative rookie run the show in crunch time against the champs, Baron's not walking in on his white horse and taking over the reins anytime soon. Bledsoe should be held until it's clear he's not going to maintain the starting job, and Baron should be reserved until he proves he can handle the rigors of an NBA schedule.
6. Don't anger the King
LeBron James' jaunt into Cleveland was a godsend on so many levels, if anything to allow us to return to the business of actual basketball, but for the Heat it has taken a load off of his shoulders and invigorated the team. Just 10 days after the statements Tracy McGrady made about James and Dwyane Wade not being able to play off one another, all you can find now are stories (like this one) talking about how well they're playing off one another. Well it's true, and the sleeping giant has been woken up. Wade scored 28 points with four rebounds, four assists, and two threes, while LeBron had 33 points with a full stat line. Big Z even got into the act with his first double-double as a member of the Heat, scoring 16 points with 10 rebounds, but one look at his game log will tell you not to get used to it. The Heat got their first 'good' win of the year in Utah against the Jazz, winning 111-98, after the Jazz walked into South Beach and stole a win with a 22-point comeback on the back of Paul Millsap's 46-point effort. The rest of the NBA has been put on notice – they're learning.
7. John Wall wants us to believe he's injury prone
John Wall missed Wednesday's game against the Kings, his fifth of the year due to foot, ankle, and knee issues. He tweaked his ankle twice in Tuesday's game against the Lakers, and went from 'playing' to 'not-playing' about 100 times before gametime. The Kings PA announcer even announced him as the starter, and he wasn't ruled out until the second quarter. The good news is that he was so close to playing, but the bad news is that he may miss Friday's game now. Apparently the pain in his foot hasn't gotten any better and has moved from his arch to his toes, and the ankle injury is in addition to that.
Aside from that circus, the game itself was a circus between two teams that are each finding new and interesting ways to lose on a nightly basis. Andray Blatche warmed up but decided his hip wasn't good to go, so Flip Saunders decided to jumble his lineup by starting Kevin Seraphin (four points, seven rebounds, 16 minutes) and Trevor Booker (four points, five boards, 29 minutes) – whom he wanted to reward for their hustle and decent play in Tuesday's game.
This, of course, sent JaVale McGee to the bench, with Saunders claiming he made the move because of McGee's ineffectiveness over the last few games. If that smells like the doghouse to you, keep in mind Flip made his choice before the game and before JaVale decided to honor His Airness down by 25 points in the game's final seconds. It's not quite Ricky Davis shooting on his own end to collect a rebound and get a triple-double, but it's pretty embarrassing. I, for one, think it may be just what the doctor ordered to get him focusing on substance over style, and owners should be nowhere near panicking about him. He's part of the Wizards' future and has been playing very well so far this year, including a 2.4 block per game average.
8. Amare and Bargnani aren't really that sorry
That is, for the complete lack of concern they have for playing defense against one another. But why be a hater, really? Stoudemire scored 30 points or more for the sixth straight game, finishing with 34 points on 15-of-27 shooting with 14 rebounds and two blocks. Amare is absolutely on fire right now, and by all metrics owners have no business trading him. He's traditionally a second-half guy, has a ton to prove right now, the Knicks have won 11-of-12 for the first time since the 94-95 season, and he has had his 6th 30/10 game of the year – after having eight in all of last year. You could probably get just about anybody in a trade for him right now, but I don't know that I'd trade him for anybody but Kevin Durant or LeBron James right now.
The man he was guarding, Andrea Bargnani, went off for a season-high 41 points on 16-of-24 shooting (including two threes) with seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Am I selling high after this line? All day long. Bargs is currently providing 5th round value in 8-cat leagues and I'm hoping I can do better than that. His scoring is up and his FG percentage is fine, but he's not blocking the ball and his rebounding and 3PT shooting is down. His turnovers are also up, and he provides just seventh round value in 9-cat leagues. Make the move.
And it wouldn't be right if I didn't include Raymond Felton with these guys, since he did torch the Raptors for 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting (including two threes) with three rebounds, 11 assists, two steals, and a block. While that's impressive, his 3-pointer to win the game with 2.7 seconds left was vintage Teen Wolf, hitting the rim five times before falling in. And if you don't recall, the Wolf's only hit the rim 'three times,' but the Wolf did go for 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting with six assists, two steals, and of course, hit all of four of his free throws . Pick him up.
9. Carmelo Anthony is all but gone in Denver
Reports emerged that the Nuggets are prepared to trade Melo if he doesn't sign their extension prior to the deadline, and Melo has indicated he's willing to play the season out and become a free agent. The two sides are still cordial, but the game of chicken is coming to a boiling point. Melo can probably dictate his terms and say he won't sign an extension anywhere but New York, and Denver would in theory have to cave, although most in the know still believe New Jersey is the most likely destination. Either way, the chances are very high that he won't be wearing a Denver uniform after the trade deadline. Owners shouldn't alter their plans for now, particularly with no idea where he'll end up. On the court, he missed Wednesday's game with knee soreness and has also been dealing with the flu. He will have an MRI today to see what, if anything, is wrong with his knee.
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[SIZE=+1]Wednesday Night Rundown[/SIZE]
Denver pretty much sleepwalked through their 105-89 loss to the Celtics, as Chauncey Billups and Al Harrington combined to shoot 5-of-20 from the field on their way to five and seven points, respectively. Billups has looked better in past weeks and should stay in owners' lineups, while Harrington is a complete mess and needs to be reserved until he figures it out. He has to – it would be statistically impossible to shoot this bad much longer. Gary Forbes drew the start for Melo, but didn't do much with five points in 20 minutes. Arron Afflalo and J.R. Smith both had 16 points, and I'm all for selling the latter while his trade value is up. Even if Smith suddenly becomes a fantasy stud, I'm okay with getting something now and taking that risk. The real story was Ty Lawson, though, who had 24 points, seven assists, and three steals, and you can bet that George Karl would love nothing more than to trade Chauncey and turn the reins over to him. Ray Allen went off for 28 points with three treys, five rebounds, and four assists, Paul Pierce had 17 points, and Glen Davis had 16 points and six rebounds. Big Baby is playing well enough to be worth a look. Kevin Garnett just missed his 11th double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds, and has already matched last year's total with 10.
Derrick Rose had a key 3-point play late in Wednesday's win over the Cavs, finishing with 29 points, four rebounds, eight assists, and three treys. He has already set career-highs for threes made (29) and threes attempted (78), and is currently providing third round value in Roto leagues. Joakim Noah had 13 points, 14 boards, and two steals, while Carlos Boozer was benched for the fourth quarter because he was struggling bad and the Bulls decided to go small. Boozer finished with four points and three rebounds, and it's beginning to look like him and Noah are going to alternate big nights. Anderson Varejao took to the new lineup in Cleveland well, scoring 17 points with 12 rebounds, two steals, and a block, while Mo Williams had 13 points and 10 assists, but shot just 5-of-18 from the field.
In New York, the aforementioned 113-110 Knicks win included a good night from Danilo Gallinari, who had 20 points with nine rebounds and two threes, and he may be ready to get it going after just two 20-point games in his last nine tries. DeMar Derozan chipped in with 19 points and five rebounds for the Raps, Jose Calderon had 11 points, four rebounds, and seven assists, while Amir Johnson had some foul trouble and finished with six points and five boards in 19 minutes. Don't lose your faith in Amir based on this night – he's been picking it up lately. Jerryd Bayless still looks like a fluke, and had 10 points with four assists, but was horrible in his prior outing and is clearly a backup.
Detroit was a fantasy disaster, as usual. Charlie Villanueva returned from his personal absence and played all of 10 minutes and missed all five of his shots. Hopefully he was just rusty, since he can get thrown off pretty easily. Him, Austin Daye, and Greg Monroe combined to shoot 2-of-19 from the field, Tayshaun Prince scored just four points, Richard Hamilton scored 13 points after being ejected in Tuesday's game while keeping his starting gig, and the only one to do anything was Ben Gordon who had 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. I'll start paying attention to Gordon if he moves into the starting lineup, but until then he's pretty much dead to me. Add it all up, and the Pistons allowed the Hornets to win just their third game in nine tries. Chris Paul handed out 14 assists to go with six points and five steals, David West dominated in the pick-and-roll game with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting with six rebounds, and Marco Belinelli scored a season-high 22 points with four treys. As long as Bello is hot, he's worth a look for his 3-point shooting.
The Bucks converted on a tip-in with 0.5 seconds left to beat the Pacers 97-95, as a perfectly thrown pass by Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to Andrew Bogut did the trick. Bogut scored 17 points with 11 boards, five blocks, and made a season-high seven FTs out of 10 attempts. Good for him. I'm selling him wherever I can, since his back and elbow can't be trusted. Brandon Jennings scored 22 points with five rebounds, four assists, and hasn't had a game with more than eight assists since October. He's evolving into a score-first PG, but frankly that's because the Bucks don't have anybody else to score on a consistent basis (except for last night). Ersan Ilyasova scored a season-high 21 points with 10 rebounds, and could take over Carlos Delfino's role depending on when Delfino returns. Of course, Delfino was talking about wearing a helmet in his return, so needless to say we're not counting on anything until we see it in writing. John Salmons scored 16 points with seven rebounds and four assists, and I'll keep beating the drum to sell him after lines like these. The Pacers were the hard-luck losers here, and the first line I noticed was Brandon Rush's five points on 2-of-9 shooting. He's been playing very well, and though he had a late turnover and sort of shrunk toward the end of the game, it still seems like he's on a collision course with the starting lineup. He's been playing that well, overall. Josh McRoberts had another useful line with eight points, seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a three. He's playing well and deserves a look in most leagues. Danny Granger had 26 points, and Darren Collison played after limping off the court in Tuesday's game and had 17 points. He should be fine.
The Thunder walked away with a 111-103 win in Minnesota, largely because of their composure late, with Kevin Durant's 30 points on 11-of-23 shooting with 11 rebounds, six assists, one block, and one steal leading the way. Serge Ibaka jumped back into owners' good graces with a career-high eight blocks, with six alone coming in the fourth quarter. Yowsers. He added 10 points with five rebounds, but owners have to live with the ups and downs of a guy coming off the bench, as evidenced by his two points, two rebounds, and one block on Monday. Russell Westbrook had 25 points and eight assists, Thabo Sefolosha chipped in with 13 points, and James Harden added six assists to go with six points, one steal, and one block. On the other end, Darko Milicic did not play with his quad injury, and you have to think he's saving himself for Friday's revenge game in Detroit. Kevin Love slid over to center and scored 22 points with 21 rebounds and two threes. The NBA has seen 10 20/20 games this year, and Love has five of them. Him and Michael Beasley both struggled in the fourth quarter, though, hitting just 3-of-18 FGs in the final frame. Beasley finished with 26 points on 11-of-27 shooting but not much else. Nikola Pekovic had a career-high with 15 points and three blocks, but don't expect that to continue once Darko gets back. Martell Webster (back) is targeting a return Friday, but even if he can go he will be eased back into action. Jonny Flynn headed back to the D-League for Friday's and Saturday's game, and is targeting Tuesday for a potential return to NBA action. Luke Ridnour's owners are on notice.
The Warriors went into San Antonio and lost for the 25th straight time, leading me to believe somebody on that team wasn't even born yet the last time they won there. I'll get our crack stat crew (me) on that immediately. Monta Ellis saw the Spurs' defense begin to focus on him by the time Curry left the game, and finished with 19 points on 7-of-24 shooting with six assists. The Warriors won't be caught off-guard by that so badly next time. Louis Amundson had six points and five rebounds in 21 minutes, and should be watched in deeper leagues to see what kind of a role he can carve out. Dorell Wright just missed his fourth straight double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds with a steal, two blocks, and three treys. David Lee said his elbow still hurts him and is limiting his game, though his stat lines are looking fairly healthy as he scored 16 points with 13 rebounds, six assists, but did have six turnovers. The wound from his elbow incident is still open, leading to bleeding and he's not quite out of the woods with it just yet. Keep him in your lineups, however, unless you hear he's had some sort of setback.
The Spurs were in control for most of this game, which led to limited minutes for all of the starters – none of which played more than 28 minutes. Tim Duncan was hurt the most with just eight points and five rebounds in 18 minutes, Manu Ginobili played despite a sore neck and had 12 points with eight assists, while Tony Parker scored 19 points with nine assists. DeJuan Blair picked on the soft Warriors' interior and had 15 points and a season-high 13 rebounds with three steals, but the standard Warriors disclaimer applies here. George Hill also added 17 points off the bench, and is worth a look in deeper leagues.
The Jazz lost at home to the Heat, but nobody suffered too badly for fantasy purposes besides Andrei Kirilenko (quad) and Raja Bell (thigh), who aggravated their injuries and are game-time decisions for Friday's game. Kirilenko looks like he'll play as of now, while Bell is a bit more iffy. Al Jefferson scored 25 points with 11 rebounds, and received his first standing ovation from the Jazz fans on a substitution. He then promptly failed to score in the fourth quarter. Deron Williams had 21 points and 12 assists, and Paul Millsap did not score 46 points again, instead notching a more realistic 18 points.
The Grizzlies stole a win from the Suns after Channing Frye's missed FT led to a last-second Rudy Gay three pointer to tie and send the game to overtime, where the Grizzlies went ahead and won by the score of 104-98. O.J. Mayo is still rotting on the bench and Lionel Hollins doesn't appear to be his biggest fan, so buying low on him may not be the best move all things considered, but holding him is probably the right call (as long as you can afford to). There's no way he plays like this all year or isn't traded to somewhere he can get on the court. Zach Randolph scored a season-high 34 points with 17 rebounds, which is to be expected when a guy like him plays a team like the Suns. Mike Conley had 11 points and a career-high 14 assists, and you don't need to look any further than him to find the reason that O.J. is expendable this year. Aside from the game-tying three, Rudy Gay had 22 points and a handful of other stats. Darrell Arthur double-doubled with 12 points and 10 boards, but that's not likely to happen much as long as Z-Bo is healthy. For the Suns, Hedo Turkoglu came alive for once with 15 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, a steal, and three treys, but I'm not rushing out to get him unless he starts to get consistent minutes. Goran Dragic had 17 points, but unless Steve Nash gets hurt he won't be worth adding. Speaking of Nash, he had 11 points, seven dimes, and eight turnovers. Ouch. Jason Richardson is officially ice cold now, and hit just 1-of-11 shots for four points and not much else. Hang in there – he'll get it together.
The Kings game was a blowout and pretty ugly. Carl Landry had just two points and left late with a knee injury, finishing with 14 minutes under his belt. Jason Thompson had a nice night with 22 points, 14 rebounds, a steal, and two blocks, and his two previous games had some built in excuses. One was a blowout and in the other one he had to defend Blake Griffin and got into foul trouble. He's worth a long look. Samuel Dalembert missed Wednesday's game to attend Philly writer Phil Jasner's funeral, but DeMarcus Cousins wasn't able to take advantage with just 10 points, five rebounds, and five fouls. Cousins is still worth owning and starting in most formats until he proves otherwise, however. Beno Udrih scored 23 points with four rebounds, five assists, and there was another Pooh Jeter sighting. Jeter got solid second quarter minutes and then played all of the fourth in garbage time, finishing with career-highs of 13 points and nine assists. When he's in the game the Kings push the ball, and there are more than a few guys on the team that like it.
The Wizards had another funky evening with the new starting lineup, which has absolutely no chance to last, but Kirk Hinrich got another fantasy stay of execution with John Wall out and scored 18 points with five rebounds, three assists, four steals, and a three on 6-of-9 shooting. Just know he's turning into a pumpkin as soon as the Wiz get healthy. Nick Young came crashing down to Earth and blamed his teammates for not getting him the ball, which is just cute coming from the Black Hole himself. He hit just 1-of-8 shots and surely pissed some owners off who grabbed him after his 30-point explosion. I'd give him another game before ditching him if there's no compelling action on the wire. Al Thornton started again and had 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting with not much else in 33 minutes, but like all of the fringe Wizards players he'll get lost in the shuffle as soon as guys get healthy.
Other News and Notes: Rumors from reputable sources have the Blazers peaking ahead to the future, knowing they've got Brandon Roy's meniscus-less knee tied up for five years and $82.3 million. They could start moving guys like Andre Miller, Marcus Camby, Joel Przybilla, and Rudy Fernandez as soon as they fall out of contention. Jodie Meeks insertion into the Philly starting lineup has been like 'water to a starving plant,' according to one beat writer. He gives them their first true outside shooting threat at SG in a long while. Andre Iguodala could end up in New York according to a rumor from another reputable source, which would be interesting to say the least. Less shots, but if Landry Fields can do what he does imagine what Iggy could do. Yao Ming won't practice this week, and he's already missing his timetable for return. He is D-E-A-D to me. Aaron Brooks stepped up his workouts, but is still uncertain when he'll be cleared to practice. That sounds like at least another week of time off to me, which is fine by Kyle Lowry's owners since he's scoring 18.5 points with 9.5 assists in his last four games.
[SIZE=+1]Thursday Night Lights[/SIZE]
The Celtics face the Sixers in Philly, as mentioned the Nets travel to Dallas, and the night game is the Magic at the Blazers. We'll be keeping a close eye on Rajon Rondo, while Tyson Chandler (flu) expects to play, and Jameer Nelson (flu) expects to go, too.
