Dose: Down Goes Deng - 01/24/2012
BY Steve Alexander Well, Week 5 is off and running and injuries remain the top story, as Dwyane Wade sounds doubtful for Tuesday, Derrick Rose was back for the Bulls and MarShon Brooks was a surprise scratch on Monday with a sore Achilles. Here are the top stories from Monday’s action and news. The NBA Season Pass is up and running, so check it out! Weekly projections and rankings, exclusive live chats, the schedule grid and breakdown, customizable scoring, and much more is all there. Do you miss football already? Didn’t get into enough hoops leagues? Check out SnapDraft, where you can draft a new team every night and win some cash. Magic Hit All-time Low The Magic got 18 points, 14 rebounds, a steal and block from Dwight Howard, and 11 rebounds from reserve Glen Davis, but that was the only good news to report from Boston regarding Orlando on Monday. The Magic were trounced 87-56 by the injured Celtics and hit a grand total of 16 field goals in the loss. The 56 points set a team record for futility, topping a 57-point effort in 1996. They also committed 25 turnovers, 20 of which came in the second half, while Hedo Turkoglu, who returned from a back injury, scored seven points as the team’s second-leading scorer. Previously smoking-hot Ryan Anderson missed all eig! ht of his shots and failed to score. The good news is they have four more games this week to make up for Monday’s disaster, but this is not the way the Magic, or their fantasy owners, saw this week kicking off. Things have to get better on Tuesday at Indiana, right? Derrick Rose Returns For Bulls, But Luol Deng’s Wrist Is A Mess Derrick Rose was finally back in action after missing four straight games with a toe injury. He hit 9-of-16 shots and two 3-pointers for 22 points, five rebounds, eight assists and a steal in a win over the Nets. The injury could realistically linger all season, but at least he’s back for now. If he makes it through the week and you want to sell high, it’s not a bad idea. Meanwhile, Luol Deng will be out for about a week (at least) with a wrist injury that could even require surgery. Ronnie Brewer started in his place and had 11 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes, but Richard Hamilton might be th! e big winner in Deng’s injury. Rip had 22 points, four boards, 10 assists and two 3-pointers and should be picked up in all leagues given Deng’s iffy status. Joakim Noah had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and this could be a sign that it’s time to sell high. Anthony Morrow Starts For Nets, MarShon Brooks Hurt Anthony Morrow started in place of MarShon Brooks (Achilles) and scored 15 points. He didn’t hit a 3-pointer, and Brooks says he’ll be back on Wednesday. Morrow looks like a safe add again, especially with DeShawn Stephenson struggling, and Damion James out indefinitely due to another foot surgery. Deron Williams had 16 & 10, while Jordan Farmar came off the bench for 22 points and three 3-pointers in 32 minutes. I don’t trust Farmar much, but he’s worth keeping an eye on. He’d scored 13 in! each of his previous two games, but had just 5 & 6 in the two games prior. Rashard Lewis Starting Again For Wiz Rashard Lewis was back in the starting five for the Wizards, who looked dreadful again in a blowout loss to the Sixers. Lewis had 11 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes, and is at least worth a look now that he’s off the bench. Flip Saunders’ job appears to be in serious jeopardy, as the Wizards simply don’t look like they know how to work as a team. Monday’s Big Lines Kyle Lowry had his second triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and a 3-pointer on 4-of-13 shooting. He’s having a monster season for the Rockets and I see no reason to sell-high on him. Kevin Love had a career-high 39 points on 13-of-19 shooting, hitting all five of his 3-point attempts and 8-of-10 free throws, while chipping in with 12 rebounds. Ricky Rubio (12 assists) loves finding Love open from downtown, and this looks like a fantasy match made in heaven. Nikola Pekovic played just 10 minutes for two points and one rebound, and it doesn’t look like the Wolves are ready to start him at center. Rookie Derrick Williams made his first start and had 11 points and seven rebounds in 37 minutes, and could be worth grabbing with Michael Beasley out for another week with his foot injury. However, Wes Johnson was out due to illness on Monday, which could have been the reason for Williams’ start. Just keep an eye on Williams and think about grabbing him if he sticks in the starting five. Tony Parker played through a sore back and had 20 points and a career-high 17 assists on 8-of-14 shooting, while Tim Duncan returned from a night off with 28 points and seven rebounds in the Spurs' win over the Hornets. Kawhi Leonard started, but failed to score in just seven minutes. There are no reports of an injury to the rookie, so it looks like he just got “popped” by his coach. Jarrett Jack had 26 points, six rebounds, nine assists and a 3-pointer on 12-of-22 shooting in the loss to the Spurs, and is a must-start point guard in four-game weeks. Trevor Ariza had another nice line of 18 points, six boards five assists, three steals and two 3-pointers on 7-of-13 shooting, and is another player who should be flying off waiver wires right now. And with the latest news that Eric Gordon is going to need another three weeks to get his knee in order, Jack and Ariza (and Marco Belinelli) should all continue to get plenty of run going forward. Carl Landry had 18 points and eight rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench, while Chris Kaman had six points and four boards in just 14 minutes. Jason Smith started, and it looks like these three are locked into an unpredictable timeshare for the Hornets until further notice. The Hawks seem to be surviving life without Al Horford thus far and got big lines from Joe Johnson, Jeff Teague, Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia, who started at center last night. Johnson had 28 points, Teague posted 15 points, six rebounds and five assists, Smoove added a monster line of 19 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, a steal, three blocks and a 3-pointer, and Pachulia added nine points and 14 boards in 28 minutes. Pachulia will need to continue to start to be worth starting in fantasy leagues, so keep an eye on him. Atlanta has won seven of ei! ght games since losing Horford and it will be interesting to see if they can keep this up. It all hinges on the play of Smith, in my opinion, and he’s been a beast since Horford dropped. Shawn Marion looked like his former self on Monday with 29 points and four 3-pointers in 31 minutes, while Lamar Odom started for Dirk Nowitzki and had 11 points, three boards, five assists and two 3-pointers in 28 minutes. Dirk should be back for the Mavs on Sunday, so Odom’s run should be a short one. Ian Mahinmi had 17 points, nine boards and three blocks off the bench, and it’s still possible he’ll replace Brendan Haywood as the starter at some point. He had scored in single figures in six of his previous seven games before! Monday’s explosion, so just keep an eye on him. Gerald Wallace played through his sprained middle finger and somehow hit 9-of-12 shots for 20 points, eight rebounds, two steals, a block and a 3-pointer in the Blazers' win over the Kings. Nicolas Batum didn’t fare so well, failing to score in 19 minutes. However, Marcus Camby tweaked his groin and lasted just 13 minutes, so Batum could be in line for more minutes and production again real soon. Jamal Crawford heated up in Batum’s stead and had 26 points and two 3-pointers. Stephen Curry’s ankle injury is finally under control and he had 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two 3-pointers in the Warrirors' heart-breaking loss to Memphis, while Monta Ellis had 20 points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals, a block and three 3-pointers on Monday. The return of Curry has limited Nate Robinson, who played just 12 minutes for five points and six dimes. Dorell Wright played 34 minutes but scored just eight points, but I would keep rolling him out there as long as the minutes are there. Stephen Jackson Scoreless Monday Stephen Jackson came off the bench again on Monday and failed to score, missing his only shot despite playing 28 minutes. Shaun Livingston started and played 17 minutes, Carlos Delfino scored just five points in 20 minutes, and Mike Dunleavy had 17 points in 31 minutes. As usual, the Bucks are too deep at shooting guard and both forward spots, and these guys will all be a roll of the dice from night to night. Jackson’s situation is especially concerning since he’s not getting along with Scott Skiles, but his value is too low to trade him right now, and he's too good a player to drop in 12-team leagues. Markieff Morris Starts For Suns Markieff Morris started again for the Suns on Monday and had seven points, 11 rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes. He hit just 2-of-9 shots, but the minutes were there and should be going forward. I still think he’s worth holding in many leagues, if you have someone to drop. Five Games In Week 6 The Grizzlies pulled off a huge comeback to beat the Warriors Monday and got 20 points and nine assists from Mike Conley, 12 points and eight boards from Tony Allen, 15 points, 12 boards and a block from Marc Gasol, and 23 points, nine boards, four assists, three steals and two blocks from Rudy Gay. That marks seven straight wins for Memphis, who is in first place in the Southwest with a 10-6 record. They also have five games next week, so the aforementioned players look like must-starts in Week 6, while Marreese Speights and O.J. Mayo will also be worth a look. Speights had eight points and four boards in 24 minutes, while Mayo had 11 points, missing all five of his 3-point attempts. The Pistons also play five times next week, making guys like Tayshaun Prince, Jonas Jerebko and Rodney Stuckey look like interesting pickups. Prince only had nine points on Monday, but will bounce back, while Stuckey, who is playing through a groin injury, added 12 points in a loss to the Thunder. Jerebko added 11 points, five boards, two steals and a three and could be on the verge of replacing Ben Wallace in the starting lineup. Ben Gordon was out again on Monday with a shoulder injury and is very iffy for Wednesday, and Stuckey's groin is! still not right, making him a little iffy for the rest of the week. Austin Daye finally saw some run and had nine points, seven rebounds and a 3-pointer on 3-of-10 shooting in 20 minutes. If he gets minutes the rest of the week, he’ll also be worth a deep-league look with five games next week. Injury Report Dwyane Wade sounds unlikely for the Heat on Tuesday with his sprained ankle and remains day-to-day. I wish we knew when he was going to play again, especially since he’s planted in several of my lineups again this week. Chris Paul’s hamstring is reportedly feeling better and he’s a game-time decision for Wednesday against the Lakers. My gut says he’ll play for the Clips, but my gut isn’t a doctor. Carmelo Anthony says he’ll play for the Knicks on Tuesday despite a bad wrist and being banged up in general, and he should remain in lineups until further notice. Andrea Bargnani sounds like he could return from his calf injury for the Raps on Tuesday. Baron Davis has started practicing with the Knicks and is targeting Saturday for his debut. His minutes are going to be limited starting out, so don’t expect any miracles from him until he’s got a week under his belt. Mickael Pietrus (shoulder), Rajon Rondo (wrist) and Ray Allen (ankle) were all out for Monday’s romp over the Magic. The C’s are off until Thursday, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Rondo and Allen back for that one. Marcus Thornton was out again for the Kings with his quad injury on Monday, which allowed Isaiah Thomas to go for 11 points and eight assists in 28 minutes. Thornton’s status for the week remains in doubt, while owners in deep leagues should keep an eye on Thomas. Arron Afflalo (groin) and Rudy Fernandez (achilles) are game-time decisions for the Nuggets on Wednesday. Josh Howard (quad) is practicing again for the Jazz, but is too unreliable to use in weekly leagues until he proves he can stay on the court. Kirk Hinrich (shoulder) is targeting Wednesday for a return for the Hawks, but will come off the bench behind Teague. |
