Beast of the Night: Kyle Lowry lit up the Lakers for 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and four three-pointers. He shot 42 percent (8-19) from the field, 100 percent from the free-throw line (2-2) and turned the ball over twice. Believe it or not, Lowry is putting up top three overall averages so far this NBA season.
Lines for Discussion:
D.J. Augustin: 10-18 FG (56%), 2-2 FT (100%), 4 threes, 26 Pts, 4 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; Despite the presence of Kemba Walker, Augustin is actually putting up better all-around averages so far than he did last season. Continue to start him, but expect the occasional clunker.
Boris Diaw: 0-5 FG (0%), 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk; He dealt with foul trouble last night, but his last two lines are disconcerting. His blazing start was unsustainable, so Diaw is probably just finding his proper altitude. His owners just have to be patient.
Kyrie Irving: 8-10 FG (80%), 2-2 FT (100%), 2 threes, 20 Pts, 3 Reb, 6 Ast, 2 Blk; Not bad for 21:36 of work. Irving is averaging 14.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.8 steals, a block and 1.2 threes through the first five games of his NBA career.
Josh Smith: 6-13 FG (46%), 3-6 FT (50%), 15 Pts, 14 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 3 TO; This was Smith’s best line of the season, which isn’t saying much. All his numbers are down from last season, but he’ll bounce back eventually.
James Harden: 7-13 FG (54%), 6-6 FT (100%), 3 threes, 23 Pts, 4 Reb, 6 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 TO; He started last night due to Thabo Sefolosha‘s absence and responded accordingly. Fantasy owners are probably hopeful Sefolosha remains bedridden.
Wesley Matthews: 7-12 FG (58%), 2-3 FT (67%), 16 Pts, 6 Reb, 2 Ast, 4 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; So far, Matthews has squashed whatever fears owners had about Jamal Crawford’s arrival. Matthews is just about matching his production from last season.
Kobe Bryant: 14-29 FG (48%), 7-9 FT (78%), 2 threes, 37 Pts, 8 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO; Black Mamba’s averaging 22.3 shot attempts per game, the most since 2006-07. The problem is that he’s hitting just 41.7 percent of those attempts. Nevertheless, Kobe’s putting up around 26/6/6 along with a steal and a three per game, which owners can’t complain about. We’ll have to see how well his wrist and body hold up down the stretch of the season.
Andrew Bynum: 8-15 FG (53%), 5-8 FT (63%), 21 Pts, 22 Reb, 3 Blk, 4 TO; If you reluctantly own Bynum and are worried about his knees, sell high on him now.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
D.J. White: 10 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Ast; His days as a starter are likely numbered, as Tyrus Thomas nears his return. But whenever Thomas misses time, White could be worth a look.
Byron Mullens: 14 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk, 2 TO; Don’t read too much into this one.
Tristan Thompson: 16 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Blk; As expected, Thompson is already a nice source of blocks (1.8 per game) to have on your bench.
Isaiah Thomas: 15 Pts, 2 threes, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; Unless things drastically change in Sacramento, this one’s just a fluke.
Sam Young: 20 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 TO; Young will benefit for however long Zach Randolph is out.
Omer Asik: 2 Pts, 9 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 Blk, 3 TO; Asik is only worth owning in deep leagues at this point.
Drew Gooden: 24 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO; Andrew Bogut was out, so don’t get too amped about a Gooden comeback.
Steve Blake: 11 Pts, 2 threes, 2 Reb, 3 Ast; Blake is doing just enough to deserve a look if you need some depth at PG along with some threes.
Injuries:
Jermaine O’Neal (hamstring): should return tonight
Richard Hamilton (groin): day-to-day
David Lee (illness): should be ready for tonight, but monitor his status
Chauncey Billups (groin): expected to start tonight
Zach Randolph (knee): MRI didn’t reveal anything serious; day-to-day
Andrew Bogut (personal): timetable for return uncertain
Beno Udrih (shoulder): day-to-day
Mike Dunleavy (illness): day-to-day
Amar’e Stoudemire (ankle): expected to play tonight
Thabo Sefolosha (illness): day-to-day
Devin Harris (calf): left last night’s game early and didn’t return; monitor his status
Nene (foot): monitor his status for tonight
Courtney Lee (calf): day-to-day
Josh Howard (quad): left last night’s game early and didn’t return; monitor his status
For Tonight:
See if Greg Stiemsma and MarShon Brooks can continue to put up nice lines, as the Celtics host the miserable Nets.
Watch how James Anderson and possibly Gary Neal fare, as the Manu Ginobili-less Spurs host the Warriors.
Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @fbasketballblog.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
