Beast of the Night: Dirk Nowitzki finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, a block and three three-pointers in just 31:21 of work last night. He shot 63 percent (12-19) from the floor and 75 percent (6-8) from the free-throw line, and had three turnovers. Diggler’s finally clicking and has been a top 15 contributor in the past month.
Lines for Discussion:
Brandon Bass: 4-7 FG (57%), 8 Pts, 10 Reb, 1 Blk, 1 TO; After collecting just three boards in his previous two games, this was a nice return to form for Bass. He’s been a decent low-end option all season, and now that Jermaine O’Neal‘s done for the season, Bass will maintain bench-worthy value in most leagues.
Gerald Wallace: 8-14 FG (57%), 10-11 FT (91%), 1 three, 27 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Wallace will have a higher ceiling in New Jersey than he did in Portland, but he’ll likely see some ups and downs.
Carlos Boozer: 12-18 FG (67%), 24 Pts, 13 Reb, 2 Ast, 4 Stl, 1 TO; Boozer continues to struggle with consistency, but his weekly averages usually make him worth starting in normal-sized leagues.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Spencer Hawes: 13 Pts, 11 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 Blk, 2 TO; If he was dropped in your league, strongly consider scooping him up.
Reggie Williams: 13 Pts, 1 three, 6 Reb, 2 Ast; He’ll be more valuable so long as Corey Maggette is out.
Zaza Pachulia: 16 Pts, 13 Reb, 3 Stl, 2 TO; He continues to put up numbers worthy of a pickup if he’s still sitting in your league’s free-agent pool.
Greg Stiemsma: 4 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Stl, 4 Blk, 1 TO; He’s a solid source of blocks, but not much else.
Tristan Thompson: 27 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO; He’s been mostly quiet so far this month, but this was a monster line. Thompson is worth a gamble if you need a big man to round out the end of your bench.
John Lucas: 20 Pts, 4 threes, 1 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; He’s a short-term option in deeper leagues while Derrick Rose is out.
Wilson Chandler: 13 Pts, 1 three, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; It’s early, but there are many worse ways to use a roster spot than him. Scoop him up.
J.J. Barea: 6 Pts, 3 Reb, 10 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; He’ll have extra, albeit low-end, value the rest of the way, thanks to Ricky Rubio‘s absence.
Klay Thompson: 17 Pts, 3 threes, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; He should definitely be owned in your league by now.
Richard Jefferson: 19 Pts, 2 threes, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; Maybe he’ll find new life in Oakland. Take a flier on him if you have dead weight to drop.
Injuries:
Vladimir Radmanovic (back): day-to-day
Corey Maggette (back): day-to-day
Richard Hamilton (shoulder): day-to-day
Daniel Gibson (ankle): left last night’s game early; day-to-day
Delonte West (finger): cleared for light activities
Shawn Marion (knee): day-to-day
Rodney Stuckey (toe): monitor his status
Kevin Martin (shoulder): day-to-day
Ersan Ilyasova (illness): likely tonight
Jordan Farmar (groin): day-to-day
Baron Davis (hamstring): questionable tonight
Jose Calderon (ankle): expected to start tonight
Andre Miller (shoulder): monitor his status
Danilo Gallinari (thumb): his broken thumb on his non-shooting hand could take four weeks to heal
Michael Beasley (toe): sat out the second half of last night’s game after aggravating his toe injury
For Tonight:
See if Carlos Delfino can keep his current roll going, as the Bucks visit the Blazers.
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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