Beast of the Night: Kevin Durant finished with 39 points, six rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block and three three-pointers last night. He shot 57 percent (13-23) from the field, 83 percent (10-12) from the charity stripe and had two turnovers. Is it possible to have a quiet season while putting up No. 1 averages throughout an NBA season? Yep. Though he hasn’t drawn nearly as much attention as he did last season, KD has met the high expectations most owners had for him heading into this season.
Lines for Discussion:
Kyle Lowry: 6-13 FG (46%), 1-1 FT (100%), 3 threes, 16 Pts, 7 Reb, 10 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; Despite being questionable with a foot injury heading into yesterday, Lowry put up a big line. He continues to make a strong case to be drafted in the earlier rounds of next season’s drafts.
LeBron James: 10-21 FG (48%), 6-10 FT (60%), 1 three, 27 Pts, 10 Reb, 12 Ast, 3 TO; This marked James’ fourth triple-double of the season. Though he’s averaged top-10 numbers for the season, James will have difficulty breaking into higher ground so long as he’s in Miami, a reality some fantasy owners will find hard to accept.
David Lee: 11-17 FG (65%), 2-3 FT (67%), 24 Pts, 15 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 TO; Lee is on a mini-roll right now, which could be classified as too little, too late. Call it a hunch, but if he can avoid another tooth in the elbow, next season Lee should recover much of the value he lost in 2010-11.
Tyreke Evans: 4-9 FG (44%), 3-3 FT (100%), 11 Pts, 10 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; Evans continues to come off the bench, but his minutes are steadily rising. He seems like he’ll help patient owners who stashed him for so long. The other piece of good news is that Marcus Thornton (24 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, three three-pointers) appears to be just fine with Evans back.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Chuck Hayes: 8 Pts, 14 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl; If you need a big man, Hayes should be on your short list.
Sasha Vujacic: 11 Pts, 1 three, 1 Ast; He’s scored in double figures and has hit as least one three-pointer in five straight games.
Mike Bibby: 23 Pts, 7 threes, 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO; Don’t get too excited. Despite his starting gig (for the time being), Bibby remains a marginally appealing player in deeper leagues only.
Anthony Parker: 20 Pts, 4 threes, 7 Reb, 2 Ast; Parker has been very quiet since his relatively strong run at the end of February, so don’t put too much stock in this line. Just keep an eye on him.
Ramon Sessions: 11 Pts, 6 Reb, 6 Ast, 3 TO; Despite losing his starting job to Baron Davis, Sessions remains a decent player to consider, especially in deeper leagues.
Ryan Hollins: 13 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 Blk, 2 TO; This was his fourth straight start, though Hollins is only worth a look if you need blocks in a deeper league.
Ekpe Udoh: 12 Pts, 6 Reb, 2 Stl, 3 Blk; He should be scooped up if you need help in the blocks column.
Jared Dudley: 21 Pts, 1 three, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 5 Stl, 1 Blk; Pick him up now. He could bridge the gap between you and a fantasy basketball championship.
Injuries:
Mike Dunleavy (thumb): practiced Tuesday and was shooting without a brace on his hand
Joe Johnson (thumb): practiced Tuesday and is ready to go tonight
Kwame Brown (personal): expected to rejoin the Bobcats before tonight’s game
Shaun Livingston (tailbone): questionable tonight
D.J. Augustin (ankle): ditto
Ben Gordon (migraine): practiced Tuesday; check his status
Ben Wallace (knee): day-to-day
Tracy McGrady (back): practiced Monday; check his status
Chris Wilcox (knee): expected to play tonight
Acie Law (wrist): didn’t travel with the team for their two-game road trip
Darren Collison (ankle): monitor his status
Mike Miller (knee): doubtful tonight
Shawne Williams (back): unlikely to play tonight
Nick Collison (ankle): day-to-day
Thaddeus Young (adductor): game-time decision tonight
Mickael Pietrus (quad/knee): day-to-day
Brandon Roy (back): monitor his status
Andrea Bargnani (ankle): was limited to the weight room and cardio work Monday; day-to-day
Reggie Evans (foot): practiced Monday; day-to-day
Samuel Dalembert (ribs): questionable tonight
For Tonight:
Kevin Love is set to return tonight, which spells yet another death for Anthony Randolph‘s teasing fantasy value.
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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