Beast of the Night: LeBron James put up 35 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals last night. He hit 75 percent (12-16) of his shots from the field, 77 percent (10-13) of his attempts from the free-throw line, hit a three-pointer and had five turnovers. James shot 58 percent from the field in March, easily his best monthly mark of the season.
Lines for Discussion:
Andray Blatche: 6-15 FG (40%), 2-4 FT (50%), 14 Pts, 8 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 TO; He’s finally back from his shoulder injury. He played 26:36 off the bench last night, though his minutes should approach normal levels soon. Go on and stick him back in your starting lineups if you’ve been patient with him.
Deron Williams: 7-19 FG (39%), 6-6 FT (100%), 2 threes, 22 Pts, 8 Reb, 8 Ast, 3 TO; He played 36:57 and apparently felt fine after the game. Get him back in your starting lineups but keep a close eye on reports about his health, as a shutdown is still a slight possibility.
Carmelo Anthony: 15-26 FG (58%), 6-6 FT (100%), 3 threes, 39 Pts, 10 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 TO; Anthony is averaging 38 points and 2.7 threes in his last three games. Being a Knick has helped his fantasy value, as he’s hitting twice as many threes as he was in Denver earlier this season.
Carlos Boozer: 10-18 FG (56%), 4-5 FT (80%), 24 Pts, 14 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 TO; He did all this in just 28:46 of work, and benefited from Joakim Noah‘s absence. Boozer has been disappointing this season. He’ll see a slight boost in production so long as Noah is out or less than 100 percent.
Anthony Randolph: 6-10 FG (60%), 3-4 FT (75%), 15 Pts, 5 Reb, 3 Stl, 1 TO; He got 18:57 of burn behind Kevin Love, who returned and reclaimed his starting job. Randolph could hold some value for the remainder of the season, but he’s still a gamble.
Marcus Thornton: 9-19 FG (47%), 4-4 FT (100%), 5 threes, 27 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 TO; Thornton hasn’t missed a beat since Tyreke Evans returned. Though Evans (22 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists) is ramping up his minutes and production, Thornton looks safe to finish the season with stud status.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Anthony Parker: 14 Pts, 2 threes, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Parker seems to be heating up again. He’s a solid short-term bet if you need some all-around help.
Ramon Sessions: 24 Pts, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; He’s not the most reliable dude out there, but Sessions always manages to have more good games than bad ones. Pick him up if you need some points and assists.
Chuck Hayes: 8 Pts, 8 Reb, 7 Ast, 1 TO; Hayes is a solid big man to own. Don’t hesitate to pick him up if you can.
Spencer Hawes: 12 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Hawes has scored in double figures and blocked at least one shot in each of his last five games.
Drew Gooden: 22 Pts, 11 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; Don’t go out and get a duck tail over this line – just keep a close eye on him.
Leandro Barbosa: 18 Pts, 2 threes, 2 Re b, 2Ast, 4 TO; If you need points and threes, Barbosa is definitely someone who can help.
Josh McRoberts: 15 Pts, 13 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 1 TO; McRoberts contributes across the board – but usually in very small helpings. Give him a look in deeper leagues.
Jordan Crawford: 39 Pts, 5 threes, 3 Reb, 4 Ast, 5 TO; Make sure he’s not available in your league.
Maurice Evans: 21 Pts, 3 threes, 5 Reb, 2 Stl, 1 Blk; Don’t look now, but Evans is doing some damage lately. If you have dead weight to spare, give him a chance.
Tony Allen: 21 Pts, 8 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Scoop him up if he’s somehow still available.
Injuries:
Jermaine O’Neal (knee): he’ll play tonight
Troy Murphy (ankle): didn’t practice Wednesday; monitor his status
Stephen Jackson (hamstring): tweaked his hamstring last night; keep an eye on him, as a shutdown is very possible
Tyrus Thomas (knee): day-to-day
Joakim Noah (ankle): day-to-day
Kenyon Martin (flu): day-to-day
Arron Afflalo (hamstring): expected to return Friday
Will Bynum (personal): day-to-day
Mike Miller (knee): day-to-day
Ronny Turiaf (ankle): day-to-day
Tim Duncan (ankle): monitor his status; he could have a timeline by the end of the week
Manu Ginobili (quad): monitor his status
Antonio McDyess (back): will return tonight
Tony Parker (knee): ditto
Jose Calderon (hamstring): day-to-day
Andrei Kirilenko (knee): won’t play Friday
Devin Harris (hamstring): ditto
Raja Bell (foot): ditto
Ronnie Price (calf): ditto
Nick Young (knee): day-to-day
Monta Ellis (ankle): monitor his status
Larry Sanders (back): day-to-day
Samuel Dalembert (ribs): day-to-day
For Tonight:
Parker should return tonight for the Spurs, who host the Celtics. Keep an eye on the status of Ginobili. George Hill should have another strong showing if Ginobili can’t go.
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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