Beast of the Night: Josh Smith busted out something nasty last night, to the tune of 33 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, one steal, two blocks and two three-pointers. He shot 57 percent (13-23) from the floor and 100 percent (5-5) from the free-throw line, and had one turnover. After shooting a miserable 41 percent from the field in February, Smith is hitting 51 percent of his shots to go along with his 26.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.9 blocks and 1.1 threes per game through the first seven games of March.
Lines for Discussion:
Dwight Howard: 9-13 FG (69%), 6-18 FT (33%), 24 Pts, 25 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; If the trade rumors are getting to him, it sure doesn’t show in his production. Howard is averaging 27.9 points, 15.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.7 blocks so far this month, while shooting 67 percent from the field. He says he wants to finish the season in Orlando, which his fantasy owners wouldn’t have a problem with.
Jameer Nelson: 10-16 FG (63%), 1-2 FT (50%), 4 threes, 25 Pts, 1 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 4 TO; Strong line from Nelson, who’s been a mild disappointment, given the already low expectations for him heading into this season. He’s been better this month though, as he’s managed to hit 48 percent of his shots from the floor while averaging 11.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.9 threes per game.
Andrew Bynum: 15-18 FG (83%), 7-8 FT (88%), 37 Pts, 16 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; Bynum has been an absolute force this season, averaging top 20 numbers throughout. Through the first seven games of March, he’s averaging 14.1 shot attempts per game, 2.4 more attempts per game than his 11.7 averages in January and February. Oh, and he’s also connecting on 68.7 percent of his attempts this month.
Jeff Teague: 2-8 FG (25%), 4-4 FT (100%), 1 three, 9 Pts, 5 Reb, 8 Ast, 2 TO; This came in more than 46 minutes of playing time. Teague’s fantasy appeal has dropped off lately, though he does just enough thieving and assisting to keep him on rosters.
Nene: 8-16 FG (50%), 6-6 FT (100%), 22 Pts, 6 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 Blk, 3 TO; He started at center and thrived last night. Now if he can only stay healthy.
Arron Afflalo: 3-10 FG (30%), 1 three, 7 Pts, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 TO; This follows Afflalo’s 10/2/2 line on Sunday. With Nene and Danilo Gallinari back where they should be, Afflalo is clearly taking a backseat. Selling him high was a great idea.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Louis Amundson: 21 Pts, 8 Reb, 1 Blk, 2 TO; Just keep an eye on him for now.
Jerryd Bayless: 20 Pts, 4 threes, 4 Reb, 7 Ast, 3 TO; So long as Jose Calderon is out, Bayless is a worthy starter.
Leandro Barbosa: 17 Pts, 3 threes, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk; He’ll also see a boost in value with Calderon out.
Ramon Sessions: 16 Pts, 4 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; He continues to plug along, doing everything you’d want a combo guard on your bench to do.
Chandler Parsons: 21 Pts, 3 threes, 7 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl; Parsons is filling up the stat sheet lately and warrants a pickup in many leagues.
Courtney Lee: 21 Pts, 4 threes, 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; He started in place of an injured Kevin Martin and fared very well. Lee will be a solid starter until Martin returns.
Marreese Speights: 25 Pts, 7 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk; Zach Randolph is returning shortly, so don’t plan on relying on Speights too heavily, if at all.
Trevor Booker: 20 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 TO; He’s making himself worth considering if you need a power forward.
Rodrigue Beaubois: 19 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk; Inconsistency is still an issue, but Beaubois is an intriguing pickup.
Kirk Hinrich: 22 Pts, 3 threes, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; He’s back in the starting lineup and is worth a speculative add if you have dead weight to spare.
Injuries:
Von Wafer (back): day-to-day
Marvin Williams (hip): out tonight
Derrick Rose (groin): questionable tonight
Jordan Hill (flu): day-to-day
Luke Walton (illness): day-to-day
Chris Johnson (ankle): day-to-day
Marcus Camby (shoulder): day-to-day
Josh Howard (Achilles): probable tonight
Ray Allen (foot): monitor his status
Luol Deng (wrist): might play tonight
Kevin Martin (shoulder): day-to-day
Jason Richardson (ankle): day-to-day
Spencer Hawes (Achilles): expected to start tonight
Manu Ginobili (hip): monitor his status
Jose Calderon (ankle): day-to-day
Rashard Lewis (knee): day-to-day
For Tonight:
Gary Neal could be a nice spot start if Ginobili can’t go for the Spurs tonight, as they host the Magic.
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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