Beast of the Night: Danny Granger took advantage of playing the Warriors by producing 32 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals, one block and four three-pointers. He shot 58 percent (11-19) from the field, 75 percent (6-8) from the line and had seven turnovers. This was his second straight game with 32 points, though Granger has been mostly disappointing lately. His owners might want to try and sell high now.
Lines for Discussion:
Grant Hill: 10-18 FG (56%), 7-7 FT (100%), 27 Pts, 12 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 5 TO; That’s three straight games with 21+ points. Hill has been one of the biggest surprises this season, not only for his durability, but his top-75 averages so far. He has a healthy amount of competition for minutes, but he looks like a safe start these days.
J.J. Hickson: 5-11 FG (46%), 6-7 FT (86%), 16 Pts, 15 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 TO; He’s showing that he’s finally over whatever aversion he had to rebounding and shot-blocking earlier in the season, which is great news. Inconsistency will limit Hickson’s potential, but he’s still worth starting in most leagues.
Jameer Nelson: 7-15 FG (47%), 2 threes, 16 Pts, 6 Reb, 7 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; Despite the crowded point-guard spot in Orlando, Nelson has managed to avoid letting his production drop significantly. All his numbers are down in January from where they were in December, but he’s still dishing out 6.3 assists and hitting 1.6 threes per game this month, which makes him hard to drop.
Trevor Ariza: 2-12 FG (17%), 7-9 FT (78%), 11 Pts, 8 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk; Remember that hot-shooting streak Ariza had earlier this month? Well, in his past four games, he’s shooting 29 percent from the field. Shame on you if you believed he was truly a reformed man.
Corey Maggette: 7-18 FG (39%), 7-7 FT (100%), 21 Pts, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; He’s on a mini-hot streak and has had good flashes this month. Maggette has also started his last two games. However, it’s worth noting that John Salmons missed this game. There are too many things working against Maggette, which means it’s a good idea for owners to sell high on him ASAP.
DeMar DeRozan: 10-19 FG (53%), 8-9 FT (89%), 28 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 Stl, 5 TO; DeRozan is kind of like fool’s gold. He scores the ball well, but doesn’t hit any threes and turns the ball (3.3 per game in January) over nearly twice for every assist (1.8 per game in January) he doles out. This makes him a good player to include in any package deals.
Nicolas Batum: 9-16 FG (56%), 4-4 FT (100%), 2 threes, 24 Pts, 6 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk; He’s had his rough spots this month, but Batum is having a strong start to 2011 and is averaging 38:36 of run so far in January. This isn’t a fluke, and with Marcus Camby out for a while, Batum will be even more heavily leaned on.
Baron Davis: 7-12 FG (58%), 3-5 FT (60%), 3 threes, 20 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 Blk, 4 TO; Diddy looks like a changed man lately. He’s averaging 16.4 points, 7.6 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.6 threes, and is even shooting 46 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line in January. Injuries are always a concern for Davis so if you’re concerned about that, test the market now.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Marcin Gortat: 16 Pts, 12 Reb, 3 Blk, 3 TO; He played 27:21 last night and did a fine job. He’s worth stashing in deeper leagues right now but should be monitored in all leagues.
Ramon Sessions: 19 Pts, 5 Reb, 8 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 5 TO; With Mo Williams out for a while, Sessions should be owned in most leagues.
Daniel Gibson: 16 Pts, 4 threes, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 1 TO; See above.
Sasha Vujacic: 15 Pts, 1 three, 7 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 TO; He should be owned in all deeper leagues and deserves consideration in other leagues if owners have dead weight to swap.
Ryan Anderson: 20 Pts, 4 threes, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 TO; Anderson’s on fire lately. It’s tough to trust him, but owners should ride his hot shooting for however long it lasts.
Greg Monroe: 13 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; If you need a big man who gets some steals, Monroe should be considered.
DeJuan Blair: 22 Pts, 11 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; He does this kind of thing every now and then.
Chuck Hayes: 8 Pts, 12 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; Hayes will get plenty of minutes for the Rockets down the stretch and is worth a look in most leagues.
Joel Przybilla: 11 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; Dante Cunningham (6 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO); started, but Przybilla played more minutes. They should be a two-headed monster for as long as Camby is out.
Samuel Dalembert: 15 Pts, 12 Reb, 2 Blk, 2 TO; This was his first double-double since Dec. 23. Dalembert’s minutes and production are trending up, which makes him worth a look in most leagues.
Injuries:
Marquis Daniels (ankle): day-to-day
Jermaine O’Neal (knee): chose to rehab his knee instead of having surgery
Delonte West (wrist): has been cleared to take off the brace he’s been wearing
Carlos Boozer (ankle): a few days away from returning
Mo Williams (hip): out at “a couple weeks”
Tyson Chandler (illness): returned last night but left the game early; check his status
Chris Andersen (knee, back): likely out Friday
Roy Hibbert (illness): day-to-day
John Salmons (hip): day-to-day
Carlos Delfino (concussion): expected to participate in all of today’s full-contact practice
Darko Milicic (ankle): sprained it last night, check his status
Anthony Morrow (hamstring): expected to return Friday
Marcus Camby (knee): out at least 4-5 weeks
Reggie Evans (foot): hoping to return in early February
For Tonight:
Taj Gibson should have another good night as the Bulls host the Mavericks.
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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