 | Nene's Pain in the Neck - 12/30/2008
BY Steve Alexander There's plenty of news stemming from Monday afternoon and the eight games that took place last night so let's dive right in.
News and Notes
Oden's X-Rays negative
Greg Oden's X-Rays on his left ankle were negative, while he and Brandon Roy (hamstring) remain questionable for Tuesday's game. Nate McMillan says he expects Oden to play, but I have more faith that Roy will be in uniform tonight against the Celtics.
Kev-Mart a Go?
Kevin Martin had a great practice on Monday and believe it or not, the Kings are actually talking abo! ut letting him play on Tuesday. It all depends on how his ankle responds this morning, but it would not be shocking to see him out there tonight. He's missed 22 games thus far. Spencer Hawes is dealing with an abdominal strain, which is a bad injury for a basketball player to have. Even if he plays through it, he's not worth using right now. Just keep him on your bench in hopes that Brad Miller is traded. Francisco Garcia says he plans to play through his calf injury, so don't be surprised if he goes tonight.
Stalled Ford
T.J. Ford is not likely to play tonight for the Pacers. J! arrett Jack will likely get the call as Ford deals with a gimpy ba ck. Hopefully, Ford doesn't miss the entire week. If he sits, he's missed close to five of his seven last games with injuries.
Drama Queens
Stephen Jackson said recently that Baron Davis is dying to get back to Don Nelson's Warriors, which actually fueled rumors that the Clips and GSW were talking a Corey Maggette-for-Baron swap. That's simply laughable, in my opinion, and now Baron is refuting that he wants out of Clipper-land. In addition, Jackson has apparently been re-born again in the GSW and all is right with the world. Whatever. But the good news is that this drama-fest prompted 48minutes.com's Geoff Lepper to come up with a sweet list of 30 things more likely to occur other than Baron going back to the Warriors. Click on the link to check it out as I brainstorm ways to steal his idea and come up with my own list on an unrelated topic.
Curly Hits the OKC
Nenad Krstic (known as Curly in New Jersey) is, as far as I know, officially a member of the Thunder as of midnight. Given the fact that the Sonics, or whatever you want to call them, haven't had a legitimate center since Jack Sikma, this is news. I'm not rushing out to pick him up (Krstic, not Sikma), especially given the fact he wasn't exactly tearing it up in Russia. But because he is easily the best center on the team, he's worth a look in all leagues. Want to cut Tyson Chan! dler for him? You're nuts. Want to cut Matt Bonner for him? Get it done, pronto.
Buckets Suspended
Ricky Davis has been suspended for five games for violating the league's anti-drug policy. Of course, they won't tell us exactly what he was using, but wouldn't that make it even more of a deterrent? There's a big difference between meth, coke and weed, and I think David Stern should use sex offenders as a model and announce publicly what drug they were doing. My opinion of Brad Miller and Chris Andersen changes if I find out they're a couple of million-dollar meth or crack heads instead of a couple guys sitting around smoking weed. Anywho, Davis, who h! ad absolutely no chance of playing with his knee injury, will not be paid for the next five Clippers games. Then again, fans attending the next five Clipper games will not be reimbursed for their investment of time, either. All hail Eric Gordon.
Hell's Bells
Raja Bell doesn't sound likely tonight with a groin injury, which will hopefully be good news for D.J. Augustin. Where you been, D.J.?
Monday Game News and Notes
Atlanta beats Denver in fifth straight win
My Hawks are officially on fire, wrapping up an eight-game home stand at 7-1, winning their fifth straight game and posting their 20th win by the start of January! Nene missed t! his game with a stiff neck, but was due for a break. He's iffy for Wed nesday's game, but the injury is not thought to be serious. If you want to trade Nene this is the worst time you could pick. People don't like to pay for guys with red crosses next to their names. Let him get right, post a couple dub-dubs and then ship him out.
Nets fall to Bulls at home
The Nets are now a pathetic 5-12 at home after Derrick Rose's 21 points and career-high 13 dimes beat them. I still have some serious man-love for Rose, despite drafting him two rounds too early and trading an unconscious Mike Bibby for him. Keyon Dooling sat out with a ssore hip, while Bobby Sim! mons quietly played 40 minutes. He had 10 boards and you should keep a close eye on him. For the Bulls, Thabo Sefolosha and Tyrus Thomas started but, of course, let us down. It looks like both players were benched for most of the second half and we just have to hope now that Vinny Del Negro says Tyrus still has his starting job in the morning. The way things go with Thomas, I would not be surprised if they pulled him out in the middle of the second quarter to send him to the D-League. With those two on the bench, Joakim Noah, Andres Nocioni and Larry Hughes all played well.
Pistons stop Magic's seven-game streak
Richard Hamilton missed Monday's game with a groin injury and remains day-to-day. Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons in scoring, inflicting further pain on me for cutting him in most leagues during the "dark period." For the Magic, Mickael Pietrus suffered a wrist injury on a dunk attempt and can safely be cut again. Dwight Howard beasted the Pistons with 18-18-3, but Jamee! r Nelson disappeared in this one. Watch for an explanation on Tuesday. Rashard Lewis hit six threes and handed out six dimes despite a bad ankle. As a multiple-league Lewis owner, I'd just like to say thanks, man.
Grizzlies fall to Wolves in OT
Kyle Lowry was ridiculous with 12 points and a career-high 14 assists, while Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo played well in a tough overtime loss to the Timberwolves. Al Jefferson exploded for 38 points and 16 rebounds , but couldn't do us a solid of at least a single block. Kevin Love had 17 points and a bunch of goodies, meaning it's time to put him back on the radar screen. Maybe Kevin McHale is done jerking him around and ready to play him. Seriously, McFhale. You have nothing to play for so why not run the kid out there and let him develop? Mike Miller missed his fourth straight game after aggravating an ankle injury and remains day-to-day. In the meantime, one of the hottest pickups around, Rashad McCants, got just 13 minutes and failed to score. Maybe he was injured, but I haven't heard of one yet. And if he's not, I'm guessing that McHale might secretly hate fantasy basketball owners.
Suns win! without Nash, Amare
Shaquille O'Neal passed my hero, Dominique Wilkins, for ninth on the all-time scoring list after his 28-point, 12-board, 2-block performance as the Suns held on to beat the Thunder. Steve Nash left early with back spasms, but said later that he was optimistic of playing in his next game. Leandro Barbosa played well in his absence, logging six steals. Amare Stoudemire (14 points, one rebound?)fouled out in just 23 minutes and played seven minutes in the second half. Congratulations, Amare. We all know how tough those OKC big men are. Is Amare the healthy bust of the year? Prob! ably not as long as Shawn Marion is playing in Miami, but he's turned out to be a painful first-round pick, just like "Sugar Pizza."
Russell Westbrook went off for a career-high 31 points on 12-of-16 shooting as the Thunder actually held on to have a chance to win this game late. And Nick Collison returned from a broken thumb but didn't do much in his four minutes.
Rockets embarrassed by Wizards
Tracy McGrady, who announced Monday that he would no longer be playing in both games of back-to-back sets, graced us with his presence after missing a game with a knee injury and hit 6-of-17 shots to lead his team to a loss against one of the worst tea! ms in the league. Bravo, T-Mac. In case you missed it, his two four-game weeks have been reduced to a 3- and 2-gamer with three sets of back-to-backs in the next 13 days. I've been preaching to sell high on him and I hope you moved him after that two-game outburst he went on a couple weeks ago. Yao Ming was dominated by Andray Blatche (16 pts, 8 bds, 5 asts) and Rafer Alston struggled again. Skip is now just 7-of-33 from the floor in his last three games. And dd you catch Blatche on NBA TV being interviewed with that cotton stuffed up his nose? I've been known to sport the same look on occasion when the allergies are out of control, but I don't go out in public like that, let alone be interviewed on! satellite television. Solid. Antawn Jamison scored a season-high 30 points to go along with 12 boards and it might be time to look into moving him as well. Great players on terrible teams seem to shut it down a lot more easily after the break than great players on good teams.
Jazz beat Sixers in Memo's return
Mehmet Okur returned for a nice double-double, Deron Williams played well and Andrei Kirilenko put up another monster line as the Jazz handled the Sixers. Thaddeus Young played well for Philly, but Marreese Speights had 10 points and nothing (and I mean nothing) else on the night.
Warriors win, Raptors lose Jermaine O'Neal
Stephen Jackson looked like a new man with 30 points and a full stat line, Andris Biedrins double-doubled for the first time since Dec. 19 and added five blocks, while Marco Belinelli, Kelenna Azubuike and C.J. Watson all played well for the Warriors in a win over the Raptors. Jermaine O'Neal left this game a couple times du! e to the flu, didn't return for the second half and might as well have sat this one out. Hopefully he doesn't have the "Troy Murphy strand" of the virus. Jose Calderon finally had one of "those" big lines with 21 points, six boards, 16 assists, two steals and a 3-pointer. I know a lot of you have been looking to trade him, but I'm still not sure it's a great idea. Jamario Moon also played well in JO's absence with 12 points, four boards, one steal, two blocks and three 3-pointers, so congratulations if he was in your lineup.
That's it for me. Matt Stroup will have Wednesday's Dose and you'll see me again on Thursday, in one format or another. I'm planning on having a Season Pass Chat on Friday, so be on the lookout for that. Here's to hoping Band of Horses n! ew songs are as good as the old ones tonight. | | This e-mail is being sent at your request. To stop receiving these e-mails, click here. | |
