Beast of the Night: Tyson Chandler posted 20 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, three steals and three blocks last night against the Bobcats. He shot 88 percent (7-8) from the floor and 75 percent (6-8) from the free-throw line, and didn’t have any turnovers. Though he’s been a bit inconsistent, Chandler is averaging 12.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.8 blocks and 1.1 turnovers per game, while shooting 73 percent from the field and 79 percent from the line. Those are top 10 numbers. He’s also playing nearly six more minutes per game than he did last season. So long as he’s healthy, Chandler’s a very helpful fantasy player.
Lines for Discussion:
Amir Johnson: 7-9 FG (78%), 5-6 FT (83%), 19 Pts, 11 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Johnson has turned things up in his last three games. He’s capable of doing this on a nightly basis but foul trouble (he’s averaging four fouls per game) limits his ceiling.
Jeff Teague: 8-13 FG (62%), 1-2 FT (50%), 3 threes, 20 Pts, 3 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; He’s been a top 60 fantasy player so far this season, averaging 11.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.1 steals, 0.9 threes and 1.9 turnovers in 35 minutes per game. He’s also shooting 49 percent from the field, but is struggling with a 61 percent free-throw shooting percentage. Kirk Hinrich is set to return early next month, but Teague should maintain solid value.
Anthony Morrow: 6-11 FG (55%), 4-5 FT (80%), 4 threes, 20 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 TO; Morrow’s nailing 2.7 threes per game this month, while shooting a steady 46 percent from the field. He’ll have his cold streaks, but if you want help with threes, he’s definitely a guy to keep around.
Boris Diaw: 8-12 FG (67%), 3 threes, 19 Pts, 10 Reb, 7 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; Diaw clearly loves playing against the Knicks. He’s now averaging 10.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.8 blocks, 1.4 threes and 2.8 turnovers per game this season, good for top 60 value.
Tyrus Thomas: 2-7 FG (29%), 2-2 FT (100%), 6 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Blk, 2 TO; He struggled with foul trouble last night, so don’t read too much gloom and doom into this, but owners who were unreasonably pumped about Thomas this season should just be patient. He’ll work his way back into fantasy relevance – just before hurting himself again.
Greg Monroe: 5-9 FG (56%), 4-4 FT (100%), 14 Pts, 10 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; He was the lone bright spot for the lowly Pistons last night. Monroe has been a top 50 fantasy basketball player so far this season, improving his points, rebounds, assists and shooting percentages from last season. If he can bring up his steals and blocks, Monroe would have no problem cracking the top 35.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Nikola Vucevic: 11 Pts, 1 three, 8 Reb, 1 Ast; That’s two strong games in a row for Vucevic, who deserves a look in deeper leagues.
Dahntay Jones: 12 Pts, 1 three, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk; He started in place of an ill Danny Granger and is capable of putting up usable numbers when he gets 20+ minutes of playing time.
James Johnson: 5 Pts, 1 three, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 Blk; He’ll help you in the steals (1.3 per game) and blocks (1.9 per game) columns.
Vladimir Radmanovic: 14 Pts, 4 threes, 6 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl; He started last night in place of an injured Marvin Williams and should have decent value so long as Williams is out.
Shawne Williams: 11 Pts, 3 threes, 5 Reb; Give him a look in deeper leagues.
MarShon Brooks: 19 Pts, 3 threes, 10 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 TO; He started for the second time this season and didn’t disappoint. Brooks definitely deserves a spot on your roster.
D.J. White: 15 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 TO; Until Thomas gets his act together, White is worth a look if you need some points, boards and healthy field-goal percentages.
Al-Farouq Aminu: 4 Pts, 8 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; So long as Trevor Ariza is out, Aminu is worth a look.
Rudy Fernandez: 14 Pts, 2 threes, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; If you need threes, steals and a few assists per game, Fernandez is worth a look.
Injuries:
Andrew Bogut (personal): expected to play tonight
Marquis Daniels (flu): day-to-day
Kevin Martin (flu): monitor his status for tonight
George Hill (back): day-to-day
Danny Granger (illness): food poisoning took him out last night; day-to-day
Mario Chalmers (shoulder): didn’t practice Monday but is likely for tonight
DeShawn Stevenson (knee): day-to-day
Marvin Williams (ankle): he’ll miss the team’s upcoming road trip, so he’s out Wednesday, too; day-to-day
Richard Hamilton (groin): day-to-day
Charlie Villanueva (ankle): day-to-day
Rodney Stuckey (groin): day-to-day
Andris Biedrins (ankle): day-to-day
Kyle Lowry (foot): practiced fully Monday; monitor his status for tonight
Eddy Curry (hip): practiced Monday, but won’t play tonight
Mike Miller (hernia): ditto
Dwyane Wade (foot): plantar fasciitis could be causing his foot woes; day-to-day
Brook Lopez (foot): expects to shed his protective boot within a week
Jason Smith (personal): day-to-day
Baron Davis (back): expected to be back around the end of the month
Jared Jeffries (calf): could return Saturday
Courtney Lee (calf): day-to-day
Ty Lawson (foot): probable for Wednesday
Tyler Hansbrough (eye): left last night’s game early; monitor his status
Mike Bibby (ankle): questionable for Wednesday
For Tonight:
Goran Dragic could return to his bench role as the Rockets visit the Bobcats, so reconsider starting him in daily leagues if you slotted him in ahead of time.
With Bogut set to return tonight against the Spurs, monitor how Drew Gooden‘s value is affected.
With Wade unlikely against the Warriors, Chalmers, James Jones and Norris Cole should continue to retain some value.
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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