Beast of the Night: Pau Gasol put up 17 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and a block last night. He shot 58 percent (7-12) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line and had no turnovers. Gasol averaged top-five numbers throughout the season, despite many of his statistics dropping a bit from their marks in 2009-10. He should have a few more years of elite fantasy basketball in him.
Lines for Discussion:
Luol Deng: 9-16 FG (56%), 3-4 FT (75%), 2 threes, 23 Pts, 10 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 TO; Deng should be applauded for having a better-than-expected season. Though he took steps back in his scoring, rebounding, blocking and shooting percentages, he took a huge step forward with his threes made per game and improved on his assists.
Lamar Odom: 9-18 FG (50%), 4-5 FT (80%), 1 three, 23 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 TO; Though the other big names for the Lakers may sit out the final game, Odom should be safe to go and could be big with Andrew Bynum banged up. He shot 53 percent from the field this season, just the second time in his career Odom shot better than 50 percent from the floor in an entire season.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Toney Douglas: 13 Pts, 1 three, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 4 Stl; Douglas should have a solid game tonight, as Chauncey Billups will probably see limited minutes again.
Taj Gibson: 4 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk; With Joakim Noah nicked up again, Gibson could have a monster final game of the season.
Rudy Fernandez: 18 Pts, 4 threes, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; He’s a candidate to perform well in the final night of the regular season.
Injuries:
Arron Afflalo (hamstring): out tonight
Kenyon Martin (rest): ditto
Raymond Felton (rest): ditto
Al Harrington (Achilles): will start tonight
Wilson Chandler (ankle): ditto
Nene (groin): out tonight
Luis Scola (knee): not expected to play tonight
Chris Kaman (knee): bone bruise will make him questionable tonight
Steve Blake (chicken pox): out indefinitely
Amar’e Stoudemire (ankle): doubtful tonight
Andre Iguodala (knee): questionable tonight
C.J. Miles (knee): doubtful tonight
Ronnie Brewer (thumb): monitor his status
Stephen Curry (ankle): questionable tonight
Matt Barnes (knee): will probably miss tonight’s finale
Zach Randolph (undisclosed): monitor his status tonight
Tony Allen (undisclosed): ditto
Andrew Bynum (knee): hyperextended his right knee, MRI scheduled for today; most likely out tonight
Joakim Noah (ankle): questionable tonight
Tim Duncan (rest): check his status
Manu Ginobili (rest): ditto
Tony Parker (rest): ditto
For Tonight:
The NBA goes out with a bang, as all 30 teams play in the last night of the 2010-11 regular season. Keep an eye on rest-related DNPs and look for which players could consequently benefit from bigger minutes.
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.
