Beast of the Night: Marc Gasol finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two steals last night against the Clippers. He shot 42 percent (5-12) from the field, 100 percent (8-8) from the free-throw line and had zero turnovers. Gasol gets some much-deserved attention here, since he’s been steadily putting up top 10 numbers so far this season. His stats will inevitably decline when Zach Randolph returns, but Gasol was still putting up top 10 numbers when Randolph was in the lineup.
Lines for Discussion:
Paul Pierce: 7-18 FG (39%), 8-11 FT (73%), 2 threes, 24 Pts, 6 Reb, 10 Ast, 1 Blk, 5 TO; Since Rajon Rondo went down with that wrist injury four games ago, Pierce has averaged 8.3 assists per game and regained top 25 status.
Kevin Garnett: 6-14 FG (43%), 12 Pts, 10 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 4 Blk, 3 TO; In his last two games, KG has racked up eight steals and six blocks. He remains a reliable all-around helper.
Blake Griffin: 8-14 FG (57%), 4-8 FT (50%), 20 Pts, 9 Reb, 8 Ast, 2 Blk, 3 TO; To be blunt, Griffin has been a bit of a disappointment this season. Save for marginal improvements in his field-goal percentage and steals, all his averages are worse off than they were last season.
Mo Williams: 8-15 FG (53%), 2 threes, 18 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 4 Stl; Williams has hit 13 threes in his last five games. It looks like he’s comfortable with his sixth-man role.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Mickael Pietrus: 12 Pts, 3 threes, 4 Reb, 2 Ast; Give him a chance if you’re in need of threes.
E’Twaun Moore: 16 Pts, 4 threes, 3 Reb, 1 Blk; Just monitor him for now.
Injuries:
Raja Bell (knee, back): game-time decision tonight
Jermaine O’Neal (knee): day-to-day
Rajon Rondo (wrist): day-to-day
D.J. White (knee): out for tonight and tomorrow
Gerald Henderson (back): ditto
Luol Deng (wrist): could return Sunday
Vince Carter (foot): practiced yesterday; monitor his status for tonight
Dirk Nowitzki (knee, conditioning): targeting Sunday for his return
Rudy Fernandez (Achilles): game-time decision tonight
Arron Afflalo (groin): doubtful for tonight
Ty Lawson (ankle): ditto
Tayshaun Prince (personal): questionable tonight
Charlie Villanueva (ankle): out for tonight
Ben Gordon (shoulder): doubtful for tonight
Andrew Bogut (ankle): fractured left ankle threatens his season; monitor his status
Manu Ginobili (hand): about three weeks away
Al Jefferson (ankle): game-time decision tonight
For Tonight:
See if Tyrus Thomas can keep things rolling tonight against the Sixers.
Ditto for Devin Harris against the Mavs.
For Next Week:
5 games: DET, MEM
4 games: BOS, CHI, DAL, DEN, HOU, IND, LAC, MIA, MIL, MIN, NJN, NOR, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHI, PHO, POR, SAS, TOR, UTA, WAS
3 games: ATL, CHA, CLE, GSW, LAL, SAC
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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