Beast of the Night: Marcus Thornton finished with 31 points, seven boards, six assists, three steals and three three-pointers. He shot 55 percent (12-22) from the field and 67 percent (4-6) from the free-throw line, and had one turnover. Thornton has averaged 30.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.3 threes since a string of three consecutive bad showings earlier this month. For the season, he’s putting up top 25 numbers.
Lines for Discussion:
Nick Young: 5-13 FG (38%), 2-2 FT (100%), 1 three, 13 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 TO; Well, this was better than his 1-for-6 performance in his Clippers debut. Young has a strong grip on that starting SG gig, so expect him to to be a decent source of points and threes, along with a poor field-goal percentage, from here on out.
Roy Hibbert: 4-8 FG (50%), 5-5 FT (100%), 13 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Blk, 3 TO; If he doesn’t pick things up, Hibbert will be giving momentum to his reputation as a guy who burns out as an NBA season wears on.
Jeremy Lin: 6-10 FG (60%), 4-4 FT (100%), 2 threes, 18 Pts, 3 Reb, 10 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; Since Carmelo Anthony returned to the lineup, Lin has been a top 50 fantasy asset, which isn’t too shabby.
Ramon Sessions: 6-9 FG (67%), 2-2 FT (100%), 14 Pts, 2 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; Sessions won’t truly realize his potential on the Lakers until he wrests the starting PG job from Steve Blake. There’s a good chance of that happening before too long.
Wesley Matthews: 6-13 FG (46%), 4-4 FT (100%), 5 threes, 21 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; Matthews should benefit from the departure of Gerald Wallace. His owners can expect more consistency going forward.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Leandro Barbosa: 12 Pts, 1 three, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 TO; He won’t get more than 20 minutes of playing time on most nights, but Barbosa remains a low-end option in deeper leagues.
George Hill: 15 Pts, 3 threes, 4 Reb, 6 Ast; Hill wasn’t affected by Barbosa’s presence at all, though that battle off the bench is worth monitoring.
Markieff Morris: 12 Pts, 1 three, 4 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Morris remains too unreliable to pick up unless you’re in a deep league.
Courtney Lee: 23 Pts, 3 threes, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 4 TO; He’ll be inconsistent, but his value is appealing so long as Kevin Martin is out.
Gordon Hayward: 11 Pts, 1 three, 8 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; He’s back in the starting lineup and is well worth a look if you don’t mind his poor accuracy from the field as a starter.
Derrick Favors: 7 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Stl, 3 Blk, 3 TO; He’s maintaining decent value and is worth a pickup in deeper leagues.
Isaiah Thomas: 18 Pts, 5 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 TO; He should really be owned in your league by now.
Ekpe Udoh: 2 Pts, 6 Reb, 3 Ast, 4 Blk; New team, same blocking prowess.
Injuries:
Richard Hamilton (shoulder): no target date for his return
Daniel Gibson (ankle): X-rays were negative; day-to-day
Andre Miller (shoulder): out tonight
Rudy Fernandez (back): questionable tonight
Rodney Stuckey (foot): game-time decision tonight
Kevin Martin (shoulder): day-to-day
Joel Anthony (ankle): day-to-day
Mike Miller (ankle): day-to-day
Baron Davis (hamstring): day-to-day
Earl Watson (ankle): day-to-day
Raja Bell (groin): game-time decision for Thursday’s game
Rashard Lewis (knee): experienced a setback; out indefinitely
Andray Blatche (conditioning, calf): shut down for the next few weeks
Andris Biedrins (groin): will travel with the team on their upcoming two-game road trip
Josh Howard (knee): will have surgery on his left knee, ending his season
Jerryd Bayless (hip): monitor his status
Daequan Cook (knee): day-to-day
For Tonight:
See if JaVale McGee makes his debut tonight for the Nuggets, who host the Pistons.
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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