Dose: Isaiah Thomas Hot Again - 03/19/2012
BY Steve Alexander Let’s dive right into the Dose with a team-by-team breakdown of each team in the league. The numbers after the team name represent their remaining weekly schedule. And for the full Injury Report, just click here. Atlanta – 5-4-3-3-4-2 - Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Jeff Teague and Zaza Pachulia are hot and Kirk Hinrich is starting and playing well. All five look like great starts with five games this week. Marvin Williams has been out with a hip injury, and I’m going to ignore him for now. Boston – 4-4-4-5-3-2 – Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Brandon Bass all look like strong plays, while Jermaine O’Neal’s season appears to be complete. Charlotte – 3-4-4-5-4-3 – Corey Maggette is very iffy for Monday due to a bad back, and the shutdown’s wheels could be in motion. With three games this week, no Bobcats look like must-starts. But after that D.J. Augustin, Gerald Henderson, Bismack Biyombo, Maggette, and possibly Kemba Walker, Reggie Williams and Tyrus Thomas are all wort! h a look. Chicago – 3-4-3-3-4-2 – The Bulls schedule isn’t great and Derrick Rose sounds doubtful for Monday with his groin injury, and might be out until Saturday, giving him a one-game week. Bench him if you can. C.J. Watson might be a sneaky play in his stead, while Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer are decent options, as usual. Deng plans on playing through his sore wrist, as Richard Hamilton continues to make slow progress fr! om a shoulder injury, but has no target date for his return. Cleveland – 4-4-4-5-4-3 – Anderson Varejao still doesn’t have a target date for his return from a wrist injury, so I have a hard time recommending he be held. Tristan Thompson is showing signs of playing well, but still hasn’t blown up. However, he did start at center on Sunday, so keep a close eye on him, as this move could be permanent. Kyrie Irving, Antawn Jamison, Alonzo Gee are looking like must-starts, while Daniel Gibson is starting to get solid minutes with Ramon Sessions out of town. He also started the second half of Sunday’s game over Anthony Parker, and could be a sneaky pickup if he ends up taking the job. Dallas – 4-3-4-4-4-1 – Brendan Haywood will miss at least a week with a sprained knee, making Ian Mahinmi worth a look if you’re desperate at center. Jason Kidd and Roddy Beaubois are playing well as of late, and along with Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, are the guys you want to play for Dallas. Shawn Marion was out Saturday with a sore knee, but shoul! d be back for their next game, which isn’t until Wednesday. And that will likely push Beaubois back to the bench. Denver – 4-4-3-4-4-2 – The Nuggets finally signed Wilson Chandler, but I’m leery about his role with Arron Afflalo and Danilo Gallinari already in the lineup. JaVale McGee should make his debut on Monday and with four games, Ty Lawson, Afflalo, Gallinari, a red-hot Kenneth Faried, and McGee should all be in starting lineups. Andre Miller, Al Harrington (who played through a sore knee on Saturday) and Chandler are also worth consideration in deeper leagues. Detroit – 3-4-4-4-4-2 – The three games are a buzzkill for those of us in leagues where the playoffs start, but Greg Monroe is still nearly a must-start player. Rodney Stuckey cooled off on Sunday with just seven points on 1-of-8 shooting, but should be a safe play going forward, while Tayshaun Prince stayed hot with 20 points against the Clippers. Brandon Knight struggled on Sunday and isn’t a great option in a three-game week, while Jonas Jerebko and Jason Maxiell have become too unpredictable to be trusted. Golden State – 5-4-4-4-5-2 – I dropped Stephen Curry on Sunday night to pick up George Hill, and didn’t feel too bad about it. I think Curry is going to be shut down for the year now that the tank is on. Nate Robinson, Klay Thompson, Dorell Wright and David Lee are all must-starts with five games, while Brandon Rush and Richard Jefferson should be decent options. And with that schedule, all of these guys should be owned in head-to-head leagues. Houston – 3-4-3-4-5-1 – Goran Dragic and Luis Scola are suddenly the only sure bets in Houston, and I’ve got them on the bench in a weekly league with three games. Courtney Lee backed up a season-high 25 points with just two of them on Sunday, missing all eight of his shots. Kevin Martin’s missed four straight games with a shoulder injury, and his mystery date to return will keep Lee’s owners looking over their shoulders. Chase Budinger and Chandler Parsons have both had their moments of late, but Budinger is playing much better than Parsons, who is coming off a bout with the flu. And finally center Samuel Dalembert is now sharing time with Marcus Camby, hurting both of their fantasy value. As for Kyle Lowry, if you need healthy bodies right now and don’t have room to stash him, you’re simply going to be forced to drop him, as much as it might hurt. The last two transactions in my main league were: Drop Stephen Curry for George Hill! & and Drop Kyle Lowry for Richard Jefferson. Funny (and sad), huh? Indiana – 4-5-4-4-4-2 – The Pacers have a golden schedule the rest of the way so Danny Granger, Paul George, David West (who is struggling) and Roy Hibbert should all be rock solid, while Darren Collison and George Hill should be owned in all leagues. Tyler Hansbrough and Leandr! o Barbosa are also worth a look in many leagues. I have no idea if Mike Wells can predict the future, so whether or not Hill takes over the starting point guard duties for Collison happens or not, they should both be owned. I recently cut Stephen Curry for Hill, and wouldn’t mind see him taking Collison’s job at some point. Barbosa is expected to make his Pacers’ debut on Tuesday. Clippers – 4-4-4-4-4-2 – Nick Young came off the bench and hit just 1-of-6 shots for nine points on Sunday, but also played 29 minutes. You have to think he replaces Randy Foye as the starting shooting guard soon. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are your sure bets with a great schedule, while slumpers Caron Butler and DeAndre Jordan are worth a look in many leagues. Mo Williams hit just 2-of-10 shots on Sunday and is probably ticked off at the arrival of Young, making Mo-Will a roll of the dice from here on out. Lakers – 4-4-4-4-4-1 – The Lakers have a great schedule so Kobe Bryant (3-of-20 on Sunday), Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum remain must-starts, while Ramon Sessions has played fairly well in his two games for the Lakers. He came off the bench again on Sunday, but easily outplayed Steve Blake, and should take the starting gig soon. I’d continue to ignore Metta World Peace, but keep an eye on Matt Barnes, who played well on Sunday. Memphis – 4-3-5-5-4-2 – That three-game week is going to be a hassle, but the back-to-back five-gamers are gold, Jerry! Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol are auto-starts with four games, while O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen are worth a look – especially during those five-game weeks. Randolph still hasn’t started, but has looked good in his two games, and should render Marreese Speights useless going forward. Miami – 3-4-4-4-5-2 – I own Wade across the board and am not thrilled with his three-game week, especially in my 30-team league, where I moved on to the Final 4 this week. But he’s still D-Wade and has to be started, along with LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Mario Chalmers is serviceable in four-game weeks, while James Jones and Shane Battier are worth a look in deep leagues with Mike Miller hurting. Milwaukee – 4-4-4-4-3-3 – The Bucks have a nice remaining schedule so keep Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, Carlos Delfino, Ersan Ilyasova and Drew Gooden in most lineups. And keep an eye on Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who blew up for 22 points and 17 rebounds on Friday, when Ilyasova was out with the flu. Mike Dunleavy is still red-hot off th! e bench and should be owned in most leagues. Ekpe Udoh is going to play behind sizzling Gooden, and I’m not interested in owning him any longer. Minnesota – 4-4-3-4-4-1 – Jose Juan Barea and Kevin Love got into it on the bench on Sunday, but cooler heads prevailed after the game. Luke Ridnour, Love and Nikola Pekovic, who missed Sunday with a sore knee, should all be owned and in starting lineups going forward. Pekovic’s injury doesn’t appear to be serious, and I plan on starting him this week, praying that he’ll play on Monday night. Derrick Williams played well with 16 points and nine boards off the bench, but has been very incons! istent recently, and Michael Beasley returned from a toe injury with 13 points and seven rebounds, also off the bench. Williams and Beasley are probably worth owning, but I’d weigh options carefully before starting either of them. New Jersey – 4-4-4-3-3-2 – Deron Williams returned from his calf injury on Saturday and had 20 points and 12 assists, so the shutdown isn’t a major threat of happening just yet. Jordan Farmar is due back from a groin injury on Monday, but isn’t an exciting option now that Williams is back. MarShon Brooks continues to start at shooting guard, but has been struggling, and isn’t helped by the arrival of Gerald Wallace, who had 11 points in 37 minutes on Saturday. Starting center Shelden Willia! ms suffered a shoulder stinger on Saturday, but played through it. The bottom line in Jersey is that Deron Williams, Wallace and Kris Humphries are must-start players, while Gerald Green, Brooks, Anthony Morrow (20 points on Saturday) and Shelden Williams are all worth a watchful eye. Green was signed for the rest of the season on Sunday and is somehow averaging 19 points and 1.6 3-pointers over his last five games. I don’t trust him, but picking him up and throwing him out there could help you win this week. Morrow is! playing well again, hitting double figures in four of his last five, but he’s hard to trust coming off the bench and with Green coming on and Farmar returning. New Orleans – 3-5-3-4-4-2 – The three-game week isn’t great, but Jarrett Jack, Trevor Ariza and Chris Kaman are all worth a look as starters. Marco Belinelli, Greivis Vasquez and Gustavo Ayon will be popular pick-and-plays for the following five-game week, while Emeka Okafor remains without a target return date from his mysterious knee injury (I am gu! essing he’s done). As for Eric Gordon, I am not sure whether or not we’ll see him again this season, and am not holding him in any of my leagues, either. New York – 4-4-3-4-4-2 – Guess what? Jeremy Lin is still an effective point guard, going for 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block on Saturday, as the Knicks improved to 3-0 under Mike Woodson. Baron Davis is hoping to return from his hamstring injury on Tuesday, but is only worth a look in deeper leagues, if at all. Lin, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler are your must-starts, while J.R. Smith, Landry Fields, Iman Shumpert and Steve Novak are your fringe fantasy players. Oklahoma City – 4-3-4-4-4-2 – There’s not much to say about the Thunder, as Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka can be started blindly in fantasy leagues. However, Harden jammed a finger on Sunday, but played through it, hitting just 1-of-7 shots. He appears to be OK, and I am going to run him out there this week unless we get bad news on Monday. Orlando – 3-4-3-4-4-2 – Jameer Nelson is suddenly hot for the Magic, but is a little iffy to start with just three games this week. Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, Ryan Anderson and Dwight Howard are your other usual suspects, but only Howard, and maybe Anderson, are must-starts with three games. Anderson was suspiciously quiet on Sunday with five points on 2-of-6 shooting, Turkoglu was just 1-of-5 for two points, and Howard fai! led to block a shot in a loss to the Heat. I expect all of them to bounce back, but just weigh options carefully if games played matter. J.J. Redick is worth a look, but isn’t a great option now that J-Rich is back. Nelson was poked in the eye on Sunday, but played through it and should be fine. &n |
