Beast of the Night: Dorell Wright put up 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals, two blocks and hit five three-pointers against the Lakers. He shot 46 percent (11-24) from the field and had no turnovers, which is even more impressive when you consider that he played all 48 minutes of this contest. Wright is a leading candidate for “Fantasy Steal of the Year” and should be a dependable starter nearly every week going forward.
Lines for Discussion:
D.J. Augustin: 6-12 FG (50%), 8-9 FT (89%), 2 threes, 22 Pts, 3 Reb, 12 Ast, 1 TO; Augustin has played well in his last three games and hasn’t laid a stinker since Dec. 21. He should be a safe starter in most leagues, especially if he continues to shoot the ball the way he has lately.
Gerald Wallace: 5-11 FG (46%), 2-2 FT (100%), 2 threes, 14 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk; He played nearly 41 minutes in his return from a four-game layoff and put up a solid line. Wallace has a ways to go before getting back in the good graces of all the fantasy owners he’s burned this season.
Tyrus Thomas: 7-14 FG (50%), 3-5 FT (60%), 17 Pts, 13 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk, 3 TO; Tyrus the Tease put up his second double-double of the month, after slapping up none in December. A trade is the only way Thomas would be freed up to do this on a more regular basis.
Jamal Crawford: 12-23 FG (52%), 8-8 FT (100%), 4 threes, 36 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Ast; The dog days from earlier this season are over for Crawford, who has looked great in his last six games. Consider trading him now if you have other statistical needs.
Leandro Barbosa: 11-16 FG (69%), 3-3 FT (100%), 1 three, 26 Pts, 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 TO; Besides a clunker here and there, Barbosa has been mostly solid since early December. His wrist and bench role make him a bit hard to trust for the long haul, but his owners should enjoy the ride.
Ben Gordon: 8-17 FG (47%), 5-5 FT (100%), 4 threes, 25 Pts, 1 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Blk, 4 TO; He was pushed back to the bench last night, but put up his best line since mid-December. While his inconsistency makes him more of a stash option than anything at this point, a Richard Hamilton trade would do wonders for Gordon’s appeal.
Devin Harris: 5-12 FG (42%), 4-6 FT (67%), 1 three, 15 Pts, 1 Reb, 15 Ast, 3 Stl, 5 TO; His days in Jersey appear to be numbered, but his health is more of a concern for his fantasy owners. Harris looked decent last night and his quad injury looks like nothing but a temporary scare.
Blake Griffin: 9-18 FG (50%), 6-9 FT (67%), 24 Pts, 14 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; The rookie continues to work on his 387-game streak of double-doubles. The most underappreciated fact about Griffin is his 3.4 assists per game so far this season. His assists per game have risen each month, from 2.3 in October, to 2.7 in November, to 3.9 in December, to 4.8 so far in January.
Kobe Bryant: 13-21 FG (62%), 11-11 FT (100%), 2 threes, 39 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 6 TO; He’s been something of a letdown this season. His owners should expect a hot streak soon enough, but Bryant’s fantasy value appears all but sealed for the 2010-11 season.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Jeff Foster: 2 Pts, 8 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; He’s worth a look in deep leagues, thanks to Roy Hibbert‘s continued struggles.
Brandon Rush: 20 Pts, 2 threes, 3 Reb; He’s too inconsistent to start, but is worth owning in deeper leagues.
Greg Monroe: 14 Pts, 11 Reb, 2 Stl, 1 Blk; He’s working on four straight double-doubles and is easily the hottest waiver-wire pickup right now. Go get him.
Tracy McGrady: 16 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; T-Mac started in place of Gordon and put up a dandy line. He’s been solid lately, so feel free to pick him up if you have dead weight to spare – just don’t trust him.
Semih Erden: 10 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 TO; He’s worth a look in deep leagues, but that’s about it at this point.
Ryan Anderson: 14 Pts, 4 threes, 8 Reb, 2 Blk, 1 TO; Anderson has played himself into relevance lately and is worth picking up if you’re in a deeper league.
Marcus Thornton: 22 Pts, 2 threes, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; He took advantage of Marco Belinelli‘s early ankle injury in this game and is worth consideration if Belinelli misses time.
Shawne Williams: 25 Pts, 7 threes, 2 Reb, 1 Stl; Don’t get too excited. Williams is only worth a look if you’re in a deep league. (The same goes for his teammate Bill Walker – 23 points, three three-pointers last night.)
C.J. Miles: 24 Pts, 4 threes, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk; He’s cooled off lately but should be monitored.
Sasha Vujacic: 19 Pts, 5 threes, 3 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 TO; Give him a look if you have a dead spot on your roster.
Injuries:
Delonte West (wrist): participated in light shooting drills Tuesday, hopes to catch the ball and dribble within a week
Ben Wallace (ankle): day-to-day
Brad Miller (knee): out one week
Chuck Hayes (ankle): will return to practice today
Kevin Martin (wrist): day-to-day
Tony Allen (knee): day-to-day
Marco Belinelli (ankle): check his status
Andray Blatche (shoulder): doubtful for tonight
Toney Douglas (shoulder): playing through a sore shoulder
LeBron James (ankle): sprained it last night, monitor his status for tonight (karma’s a…)
For Tonight:
If LeBron can’t go tonight, expect Dwyane Wade to have a monster game against the Nuggets.
Dwight Howard struggled against the Thunder last season – see if he gets some revenge.
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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