Beast of the Night: Lamar Odom finished a long night with 29 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, a block and a three-pointer. He shot 59 percent (13-22) from the field, 100 percent (2-2) from the free-throw line and had no turnovers. Odom took full advantage of Andrew Bynum’s suspension in this contest, and the three overtimes helped too. He’s had another strong season, averaging top-50 numbers and improving his scoring and shooting from the field from last season’s marks.
Lines for Discussion:
Derrick Rose: 11-20 FG (55%), 2-3 FT (67%), 6 threes, 30 Pts, 4 Reb, 10 Ast, 1 TO; This line came in just 28:50 of playing time, as the Bulls obliterated the Hawks. Rose continues to develop as an all-around fantasy stud and should make strides again next season.
Nicolas Batum: 9-15 FG (60%), 2-2 FT (100%), 2 threes, 22 Pts, 12 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; Despite Gerald Wallace‘s emergence in recent games, Batum has done well for himself lately. He should benefit from more playing time down the stretch as Marcus Camby heals up.
Channing Frye: 11-23 FG (48%), 5-5 FT (100%), 5 threes, 32 Pts, 14 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 TO; Frye has been on a nice roll in his three games since returning from that shoulder injury. For the season, he’s improved on his three-pointers made, free-throw shooting, rebounding, blocking and scoring from last season, and has averaged top-40 numbers throughout 2010-11.
Kobe Bryant: 15-31 FG (48%), 9-11 FT (82%), 3 threes, 42 Pts, 12 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; This line was especially impressive when you consider how banged-up Kobe is. Look for him to get some rest in the late parts of the season.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Jeff Teague: 20 Pts, 4 threes, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk, 1 TO; He’s back on the bench but still has some lingering value in deeper leagues.
Jordan Crawford: 12 Pts, 1 three, 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 6 TO; With the Wizards still at less than 100 percent and having nothing to play for, Crawford should be a decent, albeit flawed, guard to pick up in many leagues.
Injuries:
Troy Murphy (face): day-to-day
Stephen Jackson (hamstring): says he’s good to go tonight
Baron Davis (back): questionable tonight
Arron Afflalo (hamstring): probably won’t play back-to-backs when he returns
Kevin Martin (sinus): monitor his status
Chase Budinger (ankle): doubtful tonight; should return Sunday or Tuesday at the latest
Rudy Gay (shoulder): he could be out for up to six months, thus ending his season
Drew Gooden (foot): was able to take part in a full practice Tuesday; check his status
Michael Redd (knee): expects to play Friday
Marcus Camby (ankle): day-to-day
Tim Duncan (ankle): timeline will be set soon, but expect him to be out a week or two
Amir Johnson (ankle): day-to-day
Nick Young (knee): day-to-day
Andray Blatche (shoulder): didn’t travel with the team Tuesday; day-to-day
Josh Howard (knee): ditto
Al Horford (hamstring): day-to-day
Devin Harris (hamstring): likely out tonight
For Tonight:
Ramon Sessions is set to get a start for the Cavs, who host the Nets. He’ll have a nice waiver-wire battle with Jordan Farmar.
Keep an eye on how Tiago Splitter fares with Tim Duncan out of the lineup, as the Spurs visit the Nuggets.
Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.
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