Beast of the Night: Paul Pierce blasted the Bobcats with 36 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, three blocks and a three-pointer last night. He shot 50 percent (10-20) from the field and 83 percent (15-18) from the free-throw line, and had four turnovers. Since March 2, Pierce has averaged 22.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.5 blocks and 1.7 threes, while shooting 47 percent from the field and 87 percent from the charity stripe. Those are top 15 averages.
Lines for Discussion:
Jordan Crawford: 9-16 FG (56%), 1-1 FT (100%), 1 three, 20 Pts, 2 Reb, 5 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 TO; Assuming that Wizards roster stays mostly the same next season, Crawford could be a solid pick around the fifth round of most drafts. Side note: He’ll be playing for a new contract in 2012-13, too.
Gerald Henderson: 9-14 FG (64%), 3-5 FT (60%), 21 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl; Henderson’s finally fulfilling the sleeper tag many placed on him heading into the season, but his value remains limited by his lack of threes.
Ryan Anderson: 9-15 FG (60%), 2-2 FT (100%), 8 threes, 28 Pts, 6 Reb, 1 TO; Anderson remains a top 10 fantasy stud for the season, which is three-quarters over. It’ll be interesting to see where most owners draft him next season, though that will be determined mostly by where he plays.
Carmelo Anthony: 8-20 FG (40%), 12-12 FT (100%), 28 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; Amar’e Stoudemire‘s indefinite absence will boost Anthony’s fantasy value, which has been utterly disappointing so far this season.
DeMarcus Cousins: 15-26 FG (58%), 8-12 FT (67%), 38 Pts, 14 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 5 TO; Cousins’ last three games have been bonkers. In the last month, Cousins has given his fantasy owners top 30 value.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Jonas Jerebko: 9 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 TO; He’s been inconsistent but is worth a look in deeper leagues.
Tayshaun Prince: 18 Pts, 1 three, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 TO; His lines aren’t perfect, but he produces enough overall to be worth consideration if you need to round out your bench.
Greg Stiemsma: 3 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk; Give him a look if you want some blocks.
Byron Mullens: 18 Pts, 1 three, 7 Reb, 2 Blk, 1 TO; That’s two solid games in a row for Mullens, who is worth a gamble in deeper leagues.
C.J. Miles: 10 Pts, 2 threes, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl; He’s on a mini-hot streak right now and is worth a look if you want scoring and threes.
Gerald Green: 20 Pts, 4 threes, 4 Reb, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; This might be the start of another run for Green, who remains unreliable.
Mike Dunleavy: 26 Pts, 5 threes, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 TO; Dunleavy should already be owned in most leagues by now, so check to see if he’s still available.
Baron Davis: 13 Pts, 1 three, 5 Reb, 7 Ast, 1 Stl, 9 TO; If Jeremy Lin misses any more time, Davis will be worth spot starts for owners who don’t mind his poor shooting and turnovers.
Chandler Parsons: 16 Pts, 1 three, 8 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 TO; Pick him up if he’s still available in your league.
Carl Landry: 14 Pts, 10 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 3 TO; Scoop him up. He looks like he’ll be given enough minutes to produce usable lines going forward.
Injuries:
Eduardo Najera (knee): day-to-day
DeSagana Diop (hamstring): day-to-day
Ben Gordon (groin): left Monday’s game early; monitor his status
Goran Dragic (ankle): monitor his status
Mo Williams (toe): out at least a couple weeks
Carlos Delfino (groin): left Monday’s game early; day-to-day
Jordan Farmar (groin): out until at least April 5
Anthony Morrow (shoulder): day-to-day
Amar’e Stoudemire (back): bulging disk makes him day-to-day
Andre Iguodala (knee): expects to play tonight
Raymond Felton (personal): expected to play tonight
John Salmons (hip): day-to-day
Trevor Booker (foot, knee): day-to-day
For Tonight:
See if Marc Gasol can get his act together as the Grizzlies host the Timberwolves.
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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