Beast of the Night: Carmelo Anthony torched the Rockets with 50 points, 11 rebounds, a steal, three blocks and two three-pointers. He shot 67 percent (16-24) from the field, 89 percent (16-18) from the free-throw line and had four turnovers in the loss. Anthony continues to be swarmed by drama but remains a solid fantasy player, despite the horrid assists-to-turnovers ratio so far this month (0.8 assists, 3.5 turnovers per game).
Lines for Discussion:
Ray Allen: 9-17 FG (53%), 5-5 FT (100%), 2 threes, 25 Pts, 2 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 TO; Allen has notched 21+ points in four of his last five games and continues to steamroll through the season with top-25 averages. It’s about time for his owners to at least consider selling high on him in the near future, but it’s not a crime to hold onto him for the rest of the season.
Gerald Wallace: 6-16 FG (38%), 6-8 FT (75%), 1 three, 19 Pts, 16 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; Slowly but surely, Wallace is turning his ship around. This marked his third straight game with a double-double and he’s averaging a healthy 16.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, one steal and one three-pointer made so far this month.
Kevin Martin: 12-26 FG (46%), 9-12 FT (75%), 4 threes, 37 Pts, 4 Reb, 7 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 TO; K-Mart just keeps on producing. He’s off to a strong start to February, averaging 30 points, 3.5 rebounds, four assists, two steals, 3.3 threes and 91 percent from the free-throw line one 11.3 attempts per game.
DeMarcus Cousins: 8-16 FG (50%), 9-10 FT (90%), 25 Pts, 14 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 TO; This was a strong bounce-back game for Cousins after his 7/10 stinker on Friday. He’ll be a bit rocky going forward but has played himself into starter status in many leagues.
LaMarcus Aldridge: 15-23 FG (65%), 12-14 FT (86%), 42 Pts, 8 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Blk; This was Aldridge’s second 40-point game of the month. There’s not much else to say about this top-20 stud.
Andris Biedrins: 2 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Stl; Congratulations if you were able to sell high on him earlier this month. His owners should always be on the lookout to sell high on Biedrins when he pieces together a couple strong lines.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Kendrick Perkins: 8 Pts, 7 Reb, 3 Blk, 1 TO; If you’re looking for a big man, Perkins should be a strong consideration for his rebounds and blocks.
Gerald Henderson: 15 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 TO; He’s not the most consistent player in town, but Henderson is worth a look in deeper leagues.
Shaun Livingston: 18 Pts, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; That’s two straight games with 21+ minutes for Livingston. If he continues to get this kind of run, he’s definitely worth a pickup in deeper leagues.
Nikola Pekovic: 12 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; An injury to Manna opens things up for Pekovich, who should be considered in deeper leagues.
Sam Young: 22 Pts, 2 threes, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; He’s a decent source of points, steals and a smattering of other stats, and should be picked up in deeper leagues and monitored in others.
Peja Stojakovic: 8 Pts, 1 three, 5 Reb; He should be a decent speculative stash if you need points and threes.
Ty Lawson: 19 Pts, 6 Reb, 5 Ast, 3 TO; Chauncey Billups is hurt, which means Lawson is an automatic add in most leagues.
Samuel Dalembert: 9 Pts, 11 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 TO; He was pushed back to the bench but still played 22:48 last night. Dalembert should be considered if you need rebounds and blocks.
Rudy Fernandez: 18 Pts, 2 threes, 1 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; Fernandez is a fine player to pickup in many leagues at the moment.
Injuries:
Brandon Roy (knee): set to return this week
Chauncey Billups (knee): monitor his status
Nene (illness): day-to-day
Rodney Stuckey (shoulder): game-time decision tonight
Chris Wilcox (groin): ditto
Richard Hamilton (groin): ditto
Jason Maxiell (back): ditto
Brandon Rush (ankle): hopes to return tonight
Darko Milicic (hip): monitor his status
Emeka Okafor (hip): “a ways off” from returning, according to coach Monty Williams; he remains day-to-day
Dante Cunningham (face): monitor his status
Leandro Barbosa (hamstring): could return tonight
Reggie Evans (foot): coach Jay Triano expects him to return just before the All-Star break
Yi Jianlian (ankle): day-to-day
Nick Young (knee): day-to-day
Semih Erden (thigh): day-to-day
For Tonight:
See how much (if at all) post-suspension Aaron Brooks plays tonight as the Rockets 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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