Nervous Shakedown - 01/19/2010
BY Steve Alexander I'm not sure where to even start to recap 24 teams worth of goods from Monday. We had some stellar surprises, some new lineups, some duds, some surprise DNPs and plenty of other goodies. Let's take a look at 10 things fantasy owners need to know from MLK Day.
Matt Stroup will be chatting NBA hoops today at 3 p.m., so check him out here.
And if you missed his marathon blog session on yesterday's action, It's worth a look.
1. Shake up in Phoenix
Jason Richardson and Channing Frye are out of a starting job in Phoenix, replaced in the lineup by Leandro Barbosa and Robin Lopez. The end result was the same for the Suns, as they lost to the red-hot Grizzlies. And the plan is the same for the next game, as Alvin Gentry appears to like what he saw yesterday, despite the loss. Barbosa wasn't much better than normal, while Richardson (8 points, 24 minutes) and Frye (3 points, 14 minutes) both really struggled. Then there was Lopez, who was featured in Monday's Waiver Wired column, blowing up for 19 points, seven rebounds, a steal and three blocks on 8-of-10 shooting. J-Rich's mind has been "boggled" and h! e thinks it is "unfair." Maybe he should have thought about that befor e stinking up the joint in every other game for most of the season. Bottom line - Lopez is worth a pickup of you need blocks. J-Rich and Frye should be benched. Barbosa is 50-50 for having solid value, but probably worth a grab if you have someone to cut, and if he keeps the starting job. But how long this experiment lasts is anyone's guess, and it's possible that it actually works to motivate Richardson.
2. Wired's Crystal Ball
I got a ton of props email for the calls on Kris Humphries and Robin Lopez in Waiver Wired. I'm not sure what got into me, but it seems like nearly every player I put in Monday's column went off. Some of the highlig! hts:
Ben Wallace - season-high 16 points, 14 boards.
Carlos Delfino - double-double, 2 stls, 2 blks, 3 threes
Kris Humphries - career game
Robin Lopez - career game
Jonas Jerebko - another solid start
Anthony Tolliver - 24 min., 8 points, 6 boards for GSW
Marcus Thornton - 16 points - Not in Wired,! but was Season Pass Pickup of the Day
There were a few duds like DeShawn Stevenson and Ersan Ilyasova mixed in, but it was a good day, and I hope that some of you were able to grab a couple of the hot guys and get them into your lineups. And now I'm hoping they can keep it going.
3. Looks like I picked the wrong week to start.
Brandon Roy (hamstring), Richard Hamilton (flu), Kevin Love (flu), Gerald Wallace (ankle), Richard Jefferson (back), Kirk Hinrich (flu), Al Thornton (ankle), Andrew Bynum (stomach flu) and Chris Wilcox (back) all did not play or suffered an injury on Monday.
Roy and Hinrich were game-time decisions and couldn't go, Love and RJ were surprise DNPs, while Wallace, Wilcox and Bynum went down during their games. Most of these guys are going to be fine for the next one (Bynum included), but here's what you need to worry about.!
Wallace sprained his left ankle late in the game and seemed very concerned about it afterwards. The good news is he played through it and was walking on it, but I would not be at all surprised if he misses at least a game or two. We should know more about his condition tonight.
Love has strep throat, which kept his teammate, Ryan Hollins, out for six games. My guess is Love will be back a whole lot sooner, but you never know.
In an odd twist of something, Austin Daye, Ryan Gomes and George Hill started for Rip, Love and RJ, and all scored 16 points, and had ridiculously similar lines.
Daye - 16 points, 6 rebounds, 0-for-6 from 3-point! land
Gomes - 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 3-pointers
Hill - 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 3-pointers
Weird, huh?
4. Many happy returns
Mike Miller, Allen Iverson, Chris Kaman, Paul Pierce and Rasheed Wallace all returned from injuries and played pretty well last night. Miller is the hot pickup here and he had 13 points, four boards, four assists, a block and a 3-pointer, while hitting all four of his shots and all four of his free throws.
font size=! "+1">5. Fire and Ice in NYC
Nate Robinson, who was on three of my benches, caught fire and hit five treys and 11-of-18 shots for 27 points, while Chris Duhon might as well have stayed in bed. Duhon missed all three of his shots, failing to score and finishing with five assists and four turnovers. He's failed to score in two straight, has lost his legs again, and continues to be one of the most annoying fantasy point guards to come along in recent memory. Do you cut him? Bench him? I'm not sure what the answer is, but either way, you need to get him out of your lineup. And the same dilemma applies to Nate. Do you dare start him? Given Duhon's ineffectiveness, it looks like it's time to roll with him again, but beware that Mike D'Antoni doesn't exactly trust him still.
6. Got ROY?
! Tyreke Evans had 34 points, seven assists, two steals and three blocks. Still think Kevin Martin (9 points) is going to kill his value? I don't either. Stephen Curry now looks like his main competition for the ROY award, as he went off for 26 points, 10 boards, six dimes, five 3-pointers, a steal and a block in another unlikely GSW win. And Brandon Jennings had 25 points, seven assists and four 3-pointers in the Bucks' OT loss to the Rockets. Jennings is playing a little better, but still struggling with his shot, while Evans and Curry are must-starts every time they play. Evans is still leading the ROY r! ace by about a mile as far as I'm concerned.
7. Career Day
Jonny Flynn, John Salmons, Luis Scola, Kris Humphries, Robin Lopez and Shannon Brown all had big lines. Flynn scored a career-high 29 as the Wolves overcame a 20-point deficit to beat the Sixers, and may have gained some much-needed confidence in that one. Salmons had 25 points, four boards, four assists, four 3-pointers and two steals, but was not only playing the Golden Sieve Warriors,! but got a start in place of Hinrich (flu). Scola scored a career-high 27 (but didn't have a block, as usual), Humphries scored a career-high 21, Lopez had the huge line mentioned above, and Brown scored a season-high 22 in a tough Lakers win.
I don't think Brown is worth owning in most leagues, but all of these other guys are.
8. Opposite of Career Day
Tyrus Thomas, Emeka Okafor, Eddie Jordan, Josh Howard and Vince Carter all had bad days on Monday.
Many folks are done with Thomas and are dropping him. Frankly, I'm tired of writing about h! im and will leave it at this. I'm just keeping him around on benches f or now, but will not be starting him until something gives/changes.
Okafor played just 14 minutes for two points, two boards and a bock yesterday. He's not hurt, but simply couldn't defend the pick-and-roll or Tim Duncan, and was having some foul issues. Hopefully he bounces back in the next one. Josh Howard's struggles continued as he scored just three points, while Vince Carter struggled with his shot to score nine in a loss to the Lakers.
Howard has hit just 6-of-31 shots in his last three, while Carter is just 4-of-18 in his two games since returning from a shoulder injury. He's still starting for now, but I'm not sure that Stan Van Gundy's not on the verge of bringing him off th! e bench.
As for Eddie Jordan? His Sixers blew a 20-point lead to the Timberwolves, which could easily be the final straw for president Ed Stefanski. And once Jordan is fired, it will be very interesting to see what happens to guys like Samuel Dalembert, Lou Williams and Marreese Speights.
9. GSW Bonanza
The Warriors are really fun to watch right now, as they consistently are running out of bodies by the end of their games. But because they are so thin right now, the numbers have been a bit ridiculous. Monta Ellis shot the ball 39 times yesterday an! d scored 36 points to go along with a fat stat line (or is it phat?). Corey Maggette hit 11-of-14 shots and 10 more free throws for 32 points, six boards and five assists. Andris Biedrins torched the Bulls for nine points, 19 boards and eight blocks, and was on pace for a triple-double at halftime, Curry posted the big line listed earlier in this column, and D-League specialists Cartier Martin and Anthony Tolliver were effective off the bench.
Tolliver had six points and eight boards, but tweaked his knee in the second half. He has no value in most leagues, but is in my starting lineup in my 30-team league. And I couldn't be happier with his first game as a Warrior.! Hopefully he can keep playing through his injury. As for Martin, he's certainly worth a look as long as the GSW is so injured. And props to them for beating the Bulls yesterday. Ellis is playing 48 minutes a night and proving he's got heart. He may run out of gas at some point, but I'm not sure that owners should even think about trading him right now.
10. Grizzly Bear
The Grizzlies continue to roll along, winning nine straight at home and posting a 15-5 record in Memphis. Remember when everyone (including me) was blasting them for acquiring Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson? AI did them a huge favor by bailing, and Randolph is playing at an incredibly high level. They got big lines from four of five starters, while Mike Con ley is doing a nice job of quietly driving the train.
Zach - 27 & 11
Gay - 31 & 9, plus a steal, three blocks and three 3-pointers
Gasol - 19 & 7, two blocks
Mayo - 28 points, five boards, five assists, three blocks and five 3-pointers
They've won four straight, eight of their last 10 and sit 4.5 games behind the Mavericks at 22-18. Only four teams in the Eastern Conference have a better record, but they play in the West, where they barely trail the Jazz, Thunder, Rockets and Suns for a playoff berth. Now let's see if they can keep it going.
Tuesday
Only two games on the docket tonight as the Raptors visit Cleveland, and the Pacers are at Miami. Enjoy. |
