Beast of the Night: John Wall finished with 26 points, four rebounds, 12 assists, three steals and a block last night. He shot 69 percent (11-16) from the floor and 100 percent (4-4) from the free-throw line, and had five turnovers. Maybe that new Wizards roster will do Wall some good.
Lines for Discussion:
Jordan Crawford: 6-16 FG (38%), 4-6 FT (67%), 1 three, 17 Pts, 1 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; Don’t be fooled by the mediocre line. The departure of Nick Young is great news for Crawford’s fantasy value going forward.
Chris Kaman: 9-15 FG (60%), 2-4 FT (50%), 20 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO; Kaman is still with the Hornets, and Emeka Okafor‘s return is still nowhere in sight, which means Kaman’s fantasy value should remain intact.
Paul Millsap: 7-17 FG (41%), 2-3 FT (67%), 16 Pts, 11 Reb, 4 Ast, 8 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; Millsap continues to be a top 10 fantasy beast in 2011-12. He’s currently on a three-game streak of double-doubles, his longest of the season.
Luke Ridnour: 7-12 FG (58%), 2-2 FT (100%), 2 threes, 18 Pts, 2 Reb, 13 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 Blk, 4 TO; Sick line from Frodo. Ridnour will be a big-time difference-maker the rest of the way.
Mo Williams: 4-14 FG (29%), 2 threes, 10 Pts, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 4 TO; He’ll have to battle with Nick Young soon, which will probably mean Williams’ fantasy value will decline.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Roger Mason: 19 Pts, 4 threes, 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl; Mason could see a slight bump in value as Crawford’s backup, but no one should be running to grab him just yet.
Trevor Booker: 14 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Blk, 3 TO; He continues to be mostly solid lately and is worth consideration.
Gustavo Ayon: 16 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl,1 Blk, 1 TO; He’s been cold lately, but Ayon continues to get enough minutes to produce usable lines.
Tyrus Thomas: 14 Pts, 8 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 TO; He’s got a starting job for now, which means Thomas is worth a pickup in deeper leagues.
Bismack Biyombo: 2 Pts, 11 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; He’s a great source of blocks and should be picked up if that’s what you’re looking for.
Rodrigue Beaubois: 14 Pts, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; He’s worth owning if you can spare the room.
Kenneth Faried: 8 Pts, 9 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 TO; With Nene out of the picture, Faried’s ceiling might be even higher now.
Gordon Hayward: 26 Pts, 2 threes, 3 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; He’s not starting anymore, but Hayward remains a good guy to have on your bench.
Derrick Favors: 4 Pts, 16 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 Blk, 2 TO; This was an outlier of a line, but Favors has low-end appeal.
Shannon Brown: 21 Pts, 3 threes, 3 Reb, 1 Stl; He got a start thanks to Grant Hill‘s night of rest, but he’s been better this month. Still, Brown isn’t worth much excitement unless you’re in a deep league.
Injuries:
Willie Green (back): questionable tonight
Jermaine O’Neal (wrist): coach Doc Rivers said he doesn’t expect O’Neal to return this season
Rudy Gay (concussion): practiced Thursday; probable tonight
Jason Smith (concussion): nearing his return
Emeka Okafor (knee): still no timetable for his return
Jose Calderon (ankle): could return this weekend
Earl Watson (ankle): day-to-day
Brendan Haywood (knee): left last night’s game early with a mild knee sprain; day-to-day
Grant Hill (rest): monitor his status
Steve Nash (rest): ditto
For Tonight:
See if players on new teams (e.g., Gerald Wallace, Ramon Sessions, Monta Ellis, Nene, etc.) make their debuts.
For Next Week:
5 games: ATL, GSW
4 games: BOS, CLE, DAL, DEN, IND, LAC, LAL, MEM, MIL, MIN, NJN, NYK, OKC, PHI, PHO, POR, SAS, TOR, UTA, WAS
3 games: CHA, CHI, DET, HOU, MIA, NOR, ORL, SAC
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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