Beast of the Night: Nick Young makes an unexpected appearance here thanks to his 35 points, three rebounds, two steals and seven three-pointers last night. He shot 71 percent (12-17) from the field, 100 percent (4-4) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. After starting the season on the bench, Young has managed to give his owners reliable value as a scorer and three-point maker. So far in February, he’s averaging top 25 numbers.
Lines for Discussion:
Jeremy Lin: 9-20 FG (45%), 7-11 FT (64%), 2 threes, 27 Pts, 2 Reb, 11 Ast, 1 Stl, 8 TO; The kid is probably the most exciting fantasy player to own this season. STAT‘s return didn’t seem to hinder Lin’s value last night, but the thing to monitor will be how the young point guard meshes with Carmelo Anthony.
Amar’e Stoudemire: 8-22 FG (36%), 5-5 FT (100%), 21 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast; First off, it’s good too see him back on the court after what he’s been through. Second, fantasy owners can expect his fantasy value to see a bit of a resurrection thanks to Lin’s command of the point guard spot.
Jose Calderon: 11-17 FG (65%), 3 threes, 25 Pts, 7 Reb, 9 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; Yes, he gave Lin a bit too much room at the end of the game, but for fantasy purposes, Calderon did no wrong last night. He’s on a nice roll right now but will probably hit another rough patch soon enough.
DeMarcus Cousins: 10-20 FG (50%), 7-9 FT (78%), 1 three, 28 Pts, 17 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 Blk, 6 TO; In his last six games, Cousins has been a top 25 fantasy asset. Owners who took a gamble on him in their drafts or by trading for him earlier in the season are reaping huge rewards.
Luol Deng: 6-17 FG (35%), 9-9 FT (100%), 2 threes, 23 Pts, 7 Reb, 11 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; Deng will see heavier minutes so long as Derrick Rose is out. He continues to have a stellar season, averaging numbers that place him among the top 40 fantasy players in the league. However, he’s struggled with consistency this month, especially when it comes to his accuracy from the floor. Expect him to get back on track before the All-Star break rolls around.
Arron Afflalo: 7-11 FG (64%), 4-7 FT (57%), 2 threes, 20 Pts, 1 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Afflalo is on fire right now, hitting 20+ points in each of his last three games. His owners should think about selling high.
Pau Gasol: 9-22 FG (41%), 1-2 FT (50%), 1 three, 20 Pts, 13 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 Blk, 1 TO; Gasol has double-doubled in all seven of his games so far this month and has maintained top 20 value this season.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Linas Kleiza: 15 Pts, 1 three, 11 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; Kleiza has looked good for most of the month and warrants a pickup in most leagues.
Norris Cole: 20 Pts, 1 three, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 TO; He got 30 minutes of burn thanks to an injury to the starting lineup, which means Cole could have some value for the near future.
A.J. Price: 12 Pts, 1 three, 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl; That’s two usable lines in a row, which makes Price worth a pickup in deeper leagues.
Tiago Splitter: 13 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO; He isn’t doing anything spectacular lately, but Splitter’s been steady enough to be worth stashing on benches in need of big-man depth.
Courtney Lee: 13 Pts, 1 three, 4 Reb, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Lee’s working on a solid string of games and is worth consideration if you need points and threes.
Kyle Korver: 18 Pts, 4 threes, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO; He’s a good source of threes but isn’t a starter unless you’re in a deep league.
Markieff Morris: 21 Pts, 2 threes, 6 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 Stl, 2 Blk; He’s heating up and is worth a stash if you need threes and blocks.
Michael Redd: 20 Pts, 3 threes, 6 Reb, 1 Stl, 3 TO; He started last night (thanks to Grant Hill‘s DNP) and is worth a look if you want some points and threes.
Chris Andersen: 16 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Stl, 6 Blk, 1 TO; Nice line, but Birdman still isn’t worth owning unless you’re in a seriously deep league.
Rudy Fernandez: 11 Pts, 2 threes, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl; He’s been inconsistent but is worth stashing in deeper leagues for the time being.
Injuries:
Jason Collins (elbow): rejoined the team but is doubtful for their upcoming five-game road trip
Jermaine O’Neal (shoulder): could return tonight
Mickael Pietrus (knee): doubtful tonight
Kevin Garnett (hip): ditto
D.J. Augustin (toe): expected to play tonight
Richard Hamilton (groin): at least a week away from returning
Nene (calf, heel): day-to-day
Danny Granger (ankle): left last night’s game early; monitor his status
George Hill (ankle): day-to-day
DeShawn Stevenson (knee): hopes to be ready for tonight
Brook Lopez (foot): practiced yesterday
Emeka Okafor (knee): questionable tonight
Thabo Sefolosha (foot): day-to-day
Mario Chalmers (hand): left last night’s game early; monitor his status
Shawne Williams (shoulder): day-to-day
LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle): left last night’s game early; monitor his status
Gary Neal (toe): day-to-day
Jimmer Fredette (flu): day-to-day
For Tonight:
Linsanity continues its raging path through the NBA as the Knicks host the Kings.
Dahntay Jones could be a good spot start if Granger can’t go for the Pacers, who visit the Cavaliers.
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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