Daily Fantasy Basketball Diagnosis: 3.22

Beast of the Night: Kevin Durant posted 32 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, a block and a three-pointer last night. He shot 56 percent (10-18) from the field and 100 percent (11-11) from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over four times. This was a nice bounce-back game after notching a mediocre 18/6/2 (along with six turnovers) the night before.

Lines for Discussion:
Kyrie Irving: 10-19 FG (53%) 6-7 FT (86%), 3 threes, 29 Pts, 9 Reb, 9 Ast, 3 Stl, 7 TO; What Irving has done this season can’t be praised enough, in the real world and in fantasy basketball. He’s averaging top 30 numbers so far this season.

Jordan Crawford: 7-13 FG (54%), 8-10 FT (80%), 1 three, 23 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 TO; This follows Crawford’s 22-point performance, confirming his risen stock post-Nick Young. He’ll be a solid source of points, threes and steals going forward, but his field-goal percentage will remain poor.

Jarrett Jack: 6-9 FG (67%), 4-4 FT (100%), 1 three, 17 Pts, 10 Reb, 11 Ast; This was a pretty flawless line from Jack, who’s finally rounded back into form. If Eric Gordon returns in a few weeks, Jack’s value will probably dip.

Stephen Jackson: 6-9 FG (67%), 1-2 FT (50%), 3 threes, 16 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; Jackson came off the bench and played around 22 minutes last night. This kind of line is probably about where his ceiling will be going forward.

JaVale McGee: 7-11 FG (64%), 1-3 FT (33%), 15 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Stl, 3 Blk, 1 TO; He came off the bench, played 24 minutes and racked up five fouls. So, all things considered, McGee’s debut for the Nuggets wasn’t too shabby. He’ll approach his pre-trade production before long.

Ramon Sessions: 7-8 FG (88%), 3 threes, 17 Pts, 5 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 Blk, 3 TO; Sessions is heating up and should approach this kind of line on a fairly consistent basis for the rest of the season.

Waiver-Wire Watch:
Ben Gordon: 45 Pts, 9 threes, 8 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; Wow. He started thanks to Rodney Stuckey’s injury, so take this line with a grain of salt. But feel free to take a flier on Gordon if you need a scoring guard.

C.J. Watson: 15 Pts, 3 threes, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 4 TO; His value is inversely related to Derrick Rose‘s health.

James Johnson: 16 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; Johnson’s lines don’t stand out too often, but his 1+ steals and 1+ blocks per game make him worth a pickup.

Alonzo Gee: 9 Pts, 13 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; Gee’s been hot this month. Feel confident picking him up.

Zaza Pachulia: 14 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; Pick him up if you need to fill a hole at center.

Kirk Hinrich: 10 Pts, 2 threes, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO; Hinrich continues to start and is worth a look in deeper leagues.

Randy Foye: 23 Pts, 5 threes, 1 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 TO; Foye started at SG while Young started at SF in place of Caron Butler (given a night off), which makes Foye worth monitoring but not an immediate pickup.

J.J. Barea: 18 Pts, 2 threes, 3 Reb, 11 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 TO; Barea has been a proficient distributor lately. He’s worth a speculative add right now.

Tiago Splitter: 11 Pts, 7 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 TO; He’s been hot and cold lately, but is a pickup-worthy big man in deeper leagues.

Wilson Chandler: 11 Pts, 1 three, 10 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; He has a starting gig thanks to Danilo Gallinari‘s injury, so pick him up if he’s still available in your league.

Injuries:
Ivan Johnson (personal): he’s expected to be back for Friday’s game

Caron Butler (rest): he’ll play tonight

Michael Beasley (toe): he’ll be out for a few days

Jared Jeffries (knee): he won’t play Friday; monitor his status

Tony Parker (hamstring): day-to-day

Matt Bonner (back): day-to-day

Jerryd Bayless (hip): day-to-day

Eduardo Najera (knee): day-to-day

Corey Maggette (back): unlikely for Friday

Derrick Brown (knee): day-to-day

DeSagana Diop (hamstring): day-to-day

Andris Biedrins (groin): day-to-day

Marvin Williams (hip): day-to-day

Vladimir Radmanovic (back): day-to-day

Shawn Marion (knee): day-to-day

Rudy Fernandez (back): out indefinitely

Rodney Stuckey (toe): day-to-day

Earl Watson (ankle): could return tonight

For Tonight:
See if Klay Thompson and Courtney Lee can keep it up, as the Warriors visit the Rockets.

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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