 | Another One Bites the Dust - 12/26/2008
BY Steve Alexander With most of the NBA's beat writers taking some time off, fantasy news has been tough to come by in the last 48 hours, but that should change on Friday afternoon as we prepare for a 10-game slate this evening. Here's what I know.
Friday's Action
Chicago @ Miami - Michael Beasley will be looking to extract some revenge on the Bulls for taking Derrick Rose with the No. 1 pick, although few would argue that the Bulls were wrong in doing so. While Beasley could have a decent line tonight against a small Bulls' front court, the more intriguing angle will be watching rookie Mario Chalmers square off with Rose. Drew Gooden is out again, so look for Tyrus Thomas to put up some numbers for the fourth straight game - if he gets minutes. Daequan Cook will try to stay hot tonight. He's buried 23 3-pointers in his last six games.
Charlotte @ New Jersey - Bobby Simmons is due back from baby duty, although I haven't heard anything definite. The Nets are coming off a tough win over the Pacers and fantasy owners have to hope that Devin Harris and Vince Carter stay hot tonight. No news in Charlotte, although I sure would like to see D.J. Augustin eventually get into the starting five.
Minnesota @ New York - No Mike Miller (ankle) again so Kevin Ollie will start at point guard, with Randy Foye going at shooting guard again after his 26-point, 16-rebound performance on Tuesday. Sebastian Telfair should have a good game tonight off the bench. The Knicks will welcome Jared Jeffries back to the mix tonight after missing a couple weeks with his lingering left leg injury. Eddy Curry is expected back in two weeks and Mike D'Antoni sounds like he might actually use him a little. Curry barely made a fantasy dent when he was starting and scoring 16 points per game, so don't expect anything this time around.
Oklahoma City @ Detroit - Michael Curry plans on limiting Antonio McDyess to 20 minutes per game, which probably means you should be looking elsewhere for rebounds. Tonight will be Rodney Stuckey's first appearance since blowing up for 40 points on Tuesday. Chris Wilcox had 19 points and 12 boards Tuesday against Atlanta and Joe Smith started at center for an injured Nick Collison, who remains day-to-day with a broken bone in his left thumb.
Houston @ New Orleans - Man, the Hornets just didn't look ready to play yesterday. In what looked like one of the better matchups, Chris Paul and crew might as well have stayed at home and opened presents. They're going to be angry tonight and will look to take it out on the Rockets. CP3 finally failed to record a steal for the first time in 109 games. Luckily, he got the record just before yesterday's disaster. Peja Stojakovic missed his fourth straight game with a back strain but it sounds like he might be ready to go tonight. Good call in having him! sit out yesterday though, as it would have been a wasted effort for him to even suit up for that one. The Rockets will be shorthanded after some late-breaking news that Ron Artest didn't make the trip to New Orleans because of his tender right ankle. He's day-to-day and questionable for Saturday.
Indiana @ Memphis - While there hasn't been much information available about the status of Troy Murphy and Marquis Daniels, they are not guarantees for tonight after dealing with a serious flu bug over the past week. Danny Granger returned for his last game and should be a go, while T.J. Ford is iffy with a back injury. Ford sat out the second half of Tuesday' s game and remains questionable tonight. Hopefully the two days of rest means he'll be in the starting five. We expect to have some updates soon, but it sounds like Brandon Rush and Jeff Foster will start over Daniels and Murphy. O.J. Mayo, Darko Milicic and Marc Gasol are coming off bad games for the Grizzlies, but could bounce back tonight.
Dallas @ Utah - The Mavs pulled off a nice winn Thursday, hanging on to beat the Blazers despite seeing Josh Howard ejected with the game on the line. Howard remains one of the most overrated players in the league, both in fantasy and reality. Late word out of Utah is that Mehmet Okur is now doubtful with his back injury, while Paul Millsap will miss 7-10 days with a sprained PCL in his left knee. I guess it could have been worse. Deron Williams (calf) and Matt Harpring (ankle) are expected tonight, while Andrei Kirilenko should be owned and started in all leagues right now, given ! all of Utah's injury problems (Boozer, Millsap, Okur, Collins). Expect Kosta Koufos to start at center tonight if Okur can't go.
Philadelphia @ Denver - We'll see if Lou Williams can stay hot tonight. He's averaging 12 points on the season and has hit solid double digits in nine straight games. Nene is still kicking along for the Nuggets, posting three straight double-doubles, but is also very fatigued and constantly fighting off illness. As much as owners don't want to admit it, it's time to sell high on Nene. J.R. Smith hasn't hit a 3-pointer in his last two starts and should get one more tonight with Carmelo Anthony expected to miss his third straight game! with his elbow injury. He hasn't yet officially been ruled out, but it would be surprising to see Melo play. Linas Kleiza will be looking to stay hot after totaling 13 threes and scoring in double digits in each of his last five games.
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Christmas Day
There were five games and very little fantasy news on Thursday.
Hedo Turkoglu hit 6-of-12 shots for 20 points as the Magic ripped the Hornets in Game 1. Hedo hasn't hit over 50 percent of his shots in a game since Dec. 3, so the 50 percent shooting yesterday was a welcomed relief for his owners.
Roger Mason's 3-pointer at the buzzer beat the Suns in Game 2 as Jason Richardson looked like he was waiting for Santa instead of playing defense at the end. Seriously - how do you leave Mason that wide open in the corner? Great game and one that saw Shaquille O'Neal miss his 5,000th free throw. Congrats, big man. Matt Bonner has been stinking up the joint and did so again yesterday. Owners, including me, are losing patience. If he doesn't get it going against Memphis and Milwaukee in his next two, we'll have a decision to make.
The Lakers held off the Celtics in L.A. to stop the ridiculous winning streak, as well as the Laker-hating. Kobe was great and Trevor Ariza's hustle plays might have been the difference in Game 3. Phil Jackson also became the youngest coach to hit 1,000 wins.
Game 4 saw the Wizards nearly pull off an unthinkable upset in Cleveland, but they ran out of gas at the end. Cleveland's Delonte West was awesome despite a back injury and the Wizards' Mike James continues to be a waiver-wire wonder for his new owners, going for 26 points and five 3-pointers on 10-of-14 shooting. Mo Williams is also officially hot after I traded him last week. He's scored between 20 and 24 points in each of his last three while shooting lights out. Figures. Had Car! on Butler shown up (3-of-13, six points) the Wizards likely would have won. Instead they're just 4-23 with no hope in sight. Dominic McGuire continues to start and had just two points last night, but did contribute 11 boards and seven dimes. Keep your eye on him.
Dallas held on to beat Portland in the nightcap despite Howard's ejection. Greg Oden had four points and five boards and finally came in under five fouls for the first time in three games, while Dirk Nowitzki paced all scorers with 30 points. | | This e-mail is being sent at your request. To stop receiving these e-mails, click here. | |
