Daily Dose: Gordon Goes Nuts - 03/22/2012
BY Aaron Bruski NBC has me on other assignments, so here are some highlights from the blurbs last night. Ben Gordon hit all nine of his 3-point attempts en route to 45 points. Jarrett Jack scored 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Warriors, which isn’t really an accomplishment. Klay Thompson might be a fantasy stud, but he is a brutally bad defender and next to Nate Robinson in the backcourt and with David Lee at center any achievement against GSW is to be taken with the appropriate salt. Speaking of Thompson, he had another banner night with a career-high 27 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four 3-pointers. I am about zero percent surprised, as owner Joe Lacob is hell-bent on making his draft pick look good. LeBron James said he had a “stinger” and that no concussions tests were taken after his hard fall on Tuesday, so I fully expect him to play on Friday. Manu Ginobili (hip) is not ready to play in back-to-back games, putting the cap on an otherwise predictably disappointing season. He’ll still be worth owning, but starting him is going to be a tricky endeavor in weekly leagues. Marvin Williams (hip) did not play last night. Derrick Rose (groin) did not play last night, and there was about a zero percent chance of him playing if he has yet to run on it. I’ll reiterate for the hundredth time that the Bulls are the Patriots of injury reporting and tell owners to plan accordingly. C.J. Watson won the war of the backups last night with a 15-4-3 line that included three treys in 32 minutes, while John Lucas had 13 points, four assists, and two threes in 17 minutes. Watson is the guy to bet on right now, but there is very little separation between the two. If James Johnson wasn’t the most asked about guy to drop yesterday, he was close, and every time I sheepishly wrote that I’d keep or take J.J. and give the second-best option knowing that owners were looking at that guy because they were sick of Johnson’s inconsistency. Of course, he went out and scored 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal, which is actually a slow night when he’s ‘on.’ Barring a significant change I’ll continue to bet on him to finish strong, and hopefully Dwane Casey realizes soon that he’s coaching for ping pong balls. Andrea Bargnani (calf) continued to struggle in his return and posted an odd-ball eight points on 2-of-10 shooting with five rebounds and six assists. If he’s doing this next w! eek I’ll be concerned about how he finishes. I think we’ve blurbed the same exact Danilo Gallinari (broken non-shooting thumb) report three times in the last two days, which includes Gallo saying he wants to play sooner than the rough four-week timetable he got from doctors. I’ll just pose the question to you. Would you rush Gallo back sooner than 2-3 weeks before the playoffs? That’s the million dollar question owners are looking at as they weigh their rosters in this critical time. Rodney Stuckey (toe) did not play. Andre Miller (shoulder) see-sawed back and forth about his status but ultimately decided to play Caron Butler (rest) got a day off, and his face-plant is precisely why he was on my ‘do not draft’ list. I was eating my words for a while there, though. Deron Williams got ejected in the third quarter last night and he’s turning into a dark character as we head into the stretch run. He’s bitter, somewhat injury-prone, and playing for ping pong balls. Hang on and hope for the best. Tony Parker left last night’s game with a strained left hamstring, and we’ll need to get the next update before knowing his status. Pau Gasol is dealing with (non-shooting) elbow bursitis, which for now falls into the ‘don’t worry’ category. J.J. Hickson speculation began to hit my inbox yesterday and I’m personally glad that he was signed by the Blazers, because now we don’t have to wonder what he might have done in Golden State, that boasts David “1,000 thread count” Lee at center. Anderson Varejao (wrist) might get a relevant update on Saturday, so owners may want to consider a speculative stash on Friday or thereabouts. You’re gambling if you jump the gun, so hopefully you feel lucky. Jerryd Bayless played one minute in last night’s game due to his hip pointer. Carl Landry (knee) did not play on Wednesday, and I have no idea why anybody would seriously put stock in any report that he would play. If he plays, great, but projecting that is lazy analysis. On that same note, you would have to be pretty set to hang onto Brook Lopez right now. The Nets are expected to give an update on the status of Lopez on Friday, and there's a pretty decent chance he could be shut down for the season. | 
