It's Lester Hudson's World - 04/11/2012
BY Aaron Bruski It’s Lester Hudson’s world and we’re all just living in it. The well-traveled point guard spent time in China and the D-League before getting the call for the Cavs, and boy has he made the best of it. Hudson poured in 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting with eight rebounds, six assists, a steal, a block, and two threes in 36 minutes off the bench last night. Granted, last night’s monster came against the Bobcats, and his previous two monsters came against Jose Calderon and Deron Williams-led squads, with the former being a defensive sieve and the latter not really caring much these days. Hudson does some of his damage against opposing backup PGs and two-guards, too, but it doesn’t matter who he nails when the end result looks like this 3-game output: 24.7 points, 4.7 boards, 5.3 assists, 2.0 steals, 2.7 threes, 44.4 percent FGs, 90.0 percent FTs (20 attempts). He’s a must-add player if I’ve ever seen one, and I can’t believe I’m typing that. To get real-time fantasy scoopage and plenty of life-altering insights, click here to follow me on Twitter. I WAS PLAYING PING PONG IN DING DANG Donald Sloan started again and had his first extremely quiet night with four points, three rebounds, five assists, and two steals, which actually still works if you started him during the five-game week. Beyond that logic, though, he’s a total crapshoot with Hudson playing lights out. Speaking of crapshoot, I am going to spend the rest of the week pounding my head into my desk after adding Anthony Parker on Sunday in my big money league (for $1), but not having the nads to activate him on Monday. I ended up going with Terrence Williams, and the fear was that Parker was going to give me an O-fer as a brittle veteran on a go-nowhere team. As for being productive if in the lineup, I had no questions there, and he proved me right with 19 points, four threes, two rebounds, and two steals in 27 minutes. As the veteran of the bunch, he will be called upon a lot to handle tempo and guide the youngsters. He is a must-own player if you can rifle him into lineups for the remaining four games the Cavs have this week. Tristan Thompson disappointed with six points, seven boards, and a block, while Antawn Jamison (17 points, 7-of-19 FGs, three rebounds, four assists) and Alonzo Gee (13 points, 5-of-9 FGs, six boards, two steals, one block, one three) continued to keep their foot on the gas. It’s hard to watch the Bobcats these days, as any rhyme or reason that could be employed when discussing them has gone out the window. Paul Silas, for everything he did to be the counter to Larry Brown’s ragged coaching style, has completely face-planted and I’d seriously demand a refund if I was a Bobcats season ticket holder. D.J. Augustin was given a start at the expense of Kemba Walker last night, and I don’t care if Augustin was both Huey Lewis and the News he wouldn’t be stealing developmental minutes from my lottery pick. And let's just say the Cats are literally trying to 'lose now for the Unibrow' -- I understand that tanking can be good for business, but as a strategy it’s still a gamble and the Cats would be better served picking a strategy (youth) and finding consistency within it. Augustin scored 16 points with 11 assists and is worth a look going forward, but your guess is as good as mine as to what will go down going forward. Luckily for Walker’s owners he still managed to put up 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting with two threes in 24 minutes, but his production elsewhere suffered as he had just one rebound and two assists to go with a steal. I’m hanging tight with Walker until he becomes a real liability, and my thoughts go out to the poor fans in Charlotte who are forced to watch this train wreck up close. Bismack Biyombo bounced back nicely from a wretched Monday night and posted 12 points, eight boards, one steal, and three blocks, while Byron Mullens continued to go cold at precisely the time most folks got him in their lineups with zero points, five rebounds, three assists, and a block on 0-for-3 shooting. Gerald Henderson continues to do his thing with 21 points, five boards, and two steals, while Corey Maggette backed up his 23-point night from Monday with four points on 1-of-7 shooting, one rebound, and two steals in 16 minutes off the bench, and Derrick Brown (five points, two boards) has yet to make any noise in the starting lineup. Reggie Williams (knee) is being called probable for Thursday night, but has yet to do anything truly noteworthy this season other than waste opportunities. ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION The Magic are such a mess right now, but the removal of Hedo Turkoglu from the rotation due to injury is fairly interesting for fantasy heads like us. While Hedo is a facilitator by nature, he does it on his own terms and the results are often choppy and slow. Insert J.J. Redick, who has a pretty by-the-book glue game, and the Magic become a nice little fantasy squad once the addition by subtraction is complete. Redick scored 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting with two threes, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals, and I’m calling him a must-own player in 12-team formats and 10-team owners will want to give him a look, too. Jason Richardson hit just 4-of-16 shots last night for 10 points, two threes, and not much else, but he’ll get that crooked number straightened out. He also needs to be owned under the same conditions as Redick. Jameer Nelson has officially been freed and put up another 19 points, four boards, seven assists, and three treys, while Ryan Anderson struggled in his second game back from an ankle injury to finish with seven points on 2-of-10 shooting, four boards, two steals, and one three. Big Baby scored 12 points with 10 boards, two assists, and three steals, which will be customary for however long Dwight Howard is out. Howard (back) has already been ruled out for Thursday’s practice. Only Dwight knows how bad his back was or wasn’t hurting. I’ll just leave it at that. Big Baby is the man until Howard returns, which could be as soon as Friday’s game. WE’RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARDS The post-trade deadline Wizards have been a joy this year, with an assist in the form of injuries to Nene, Trevor Booker, and indifference by Andray Blatche. Kevin Seraphin had a career-night against the Magic, scoring 24 points with 13 boards and four blocks. After a dry spell with the swats he has averaged three blocks in his last three contests. I don’t know if or when we’ll see Nene and Booker, so Seraphin is a must-own player in my book. ‘Bad’ Jan Vesely showed up last night, scoring five points with nine boards and a steal. James Singleton put up a reasonable 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting with eight boards and a steal in 23 minutes off the bench, which is a more realistic expectation if you shave off two field goals from last night’s totals. Cartier Martin scored 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting with two threes, three rebounds, and three assists, and I’m okay with expecting that type of performance going forward. He’s a borderline producer best suited for 14-team leagues and streaming owners. John Wall (15 points, full line) and Jordan Crawford (21 points, full line) played to the status quo. STABILITY, THE OTHER WHITE MEAT The Celtics and Heat are always good reality television, but the fantasy stability is what keeps owners coming back. Rajon Rondo scored 18 points with 15 assists and a rare three, Kevin Garnett scored 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting with nine boards and two blocks, Paul Pierce put up 27 points with three treys, seven boards, and a steal, and Brandon Bass double-doubled with 12 points, 10 boards, a steal, and a block. On the Miami side, Dwyane Wade (ankle) returned from his one-game absence to score 20 points with a relatively full stat line, and owners simply need to be on ankle watch – especially in advance of Friday’s game against the Bobcats. Mario Chalmers scored 18 points with three treys, three steals, and a block. Give him a look if he isn’t owned in your 8- or 9-cat league. LeBron James put up an incredibly normal looking 36 points, seven boards, and seven assists with a steal, block, three, and 13-of-14 mark from the foul line. For the love of crumb cake. Chris Bosh added 13 points and nine boards in the win. Aside from Wade’s ankle, in the fantasy news department from this game Ray Allen is still putting up quiet numbers with ankle issues of his own. He posted nine points on 3-of-7 shooting (including two threes) with one rebound and three assists in 35 minutes off the bench. Look for him to slowly improve, but if you’re not hunting threes there’s a lot not to like right now. Avery Bradley continues to start and post efficient, low-end numbers. He scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting with two rebounds and a three, but he needs to steal the ball and get to the foul line more to truly be a fantasy asset. Greg Stiemsma is a guy worth watching for category hunters as he put up another two blocks, seven boards, and a steal last night. SHAKE ME UP Doug Collins has suddenly become an embattled coach following news that the locker room has turned on him to some degree, and while I’m personally taking a wait-and-see approach with those reports – Collins didn’t wait to take action on his end by jumbling up his lineup. Spencer Hawes and Evan Turner were sent to the bench and Jodie Meeks and Nikola Vucevic were moved up to the ‘ones.’ We’ll soon learn the primary motivations, but if I had to guess it was to get a struggling Turner out of a full-time role without putting the full spotlight on him, killing his confidence more than it’s already shot. Regardless, the move paid off as the Sixers dispatched the Nets easily and got the ship moving in the right direction. There was plenty of status quo to go around as Jrue Holiday scored 14 points with four rebounds, three assists, a three, and a block, Andre Iguodala flew around the court and put up 13 points with four boards, seven assists, two steals, and a three, Elton Brand went for nine and seven, Lou Williams put up 20 points, eight boards, five assists, two threes, and a steal, Thad Young went for 19 and eight with two blocks, and Spencer Hawes got his with 19 points, eight boards, two assists, one steal, and three blocks. The Sixers aren’t going to be this effective every night, but Turner’s removal is certainly going to move production capability to guys that will know what to do with it. Turner (two points, two boards, one steal, one block, 19 minutes) can be dropped, obviously, and Meeks (five points, one three, 26 minutes) and Vucevic (four points, eight rebounds, one block, 16 minutes) should just be watched from afar. GREAT EXPECTATIONS Gerald Wallace (hamstring) did not play last night, and folks were expecting big things out of Gerald Green despite his potential absence due to oral surgery. Green ended up playing but did not deliver, scoring eight points on 4-of-11 shooting with one rebound and one assist. Anthony Morrow also disappeared with four points on 1-of-8 shooting and one steal in 20 minutes. MarShon Brooks posted a semi-respectable 10 points with five boards, three assists, three steals, and one block in 36 minutes, but in reality if your name isn’t Deron Williams (14 points, five assists) or Kris Humphries (20 and 10 with four assists) you probably shouldn’t have been in weekly lineups. In a three-game shot there is just too much that can go wrong with inconsistent players, even though Green was about as hot as they come heading into this week. Unfortunately, we’ll do it all over again with the Nets playing just three games next week, too. KISSING COUSINS The Kings have settled into being a somewhat consistent fantasy operation, despite Keith Smart’s incessant tinkering. The good news is that Smart has chilled out a bit, and my guess about Jason Thompson’s move to the bench is that it is ankle-assisted. Thompson has bottomed out lately and posted just eight points with five boards and two blocks, which actually represents an improvement over recent days. Keep a close eye on Thompson, as when he’s healthy he can be a fantasy mover and shaker. The only fantasy loser for the Kings from last night was Terrence Williams, who played just 15 minutes on his way to two points, three boards, three assists, and a steal. I’m guessing, but I don’t think this is the last we’ll hear of him this season, but admittedly owners are between a rock and a hard place with him going forward. Do what you have to do. Isaiah Thomas scored 16 points with four rebounds, five assists, and two steals, DeMarcus Cousins scored 25 points with 18 boards, three assists, six steals, and two blocks, and easily could have led this column, while Tyreke Evans scored 16 points with a nice full stat line. Jimmer Fredette put up 13 points with three treys, three rebounds, and four assists in 21 minutes off the bench, but he needs to add 20 pounds, get better handles, and stop playing scared before I’ll sign off on his NBA future. The good news is that he couldn’t have landed in a worse situation than in Sacramento after a lockout, so a change next season isn’t totally out of the question. If you’re hunting threes or in a deep league give him a look, as the Kings look hell-bent on running him even though he gives up more points than he creates right now. OLD MAN TRICKS Jason Kidd returned from the groin injury that he has apparently dealt with all year long, playing 22 minutes on his way to seven points, six rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and two blocks. Just keep in mind that the youthful Kings tend to fall for Kidd’s assortment of old man tricks. I’m concerned about his minutes and his ability to produce in a less-than-primary role for the Mavs. Though some of the other guards’ lines were semi-productive, the Kings tend to bring the best out of other teams so I’m passing on Delonte West’s 13 points, Roddy Beaubois’ 15 points and five boards, and Vince Carter’s seven points, seven boards, and five assists. Brandan Wright posted nine points with four boards, two steals, and two blocks, and with Lamar Odom in the doghouse he could be worth a look if you’re hunting blocks. Shawn Marion double-doubled with 10 and 14, Jason Terry scored 13 points with five assists and three treys, and Dirk Nowitzki added 15 and eight in the win. LET’S RUN IT BACK ONE MORE TIME The Bulls and Knicks did it again last night, and this time the better team won without its best player, Derrick Rose (ankle). Rose apparently fell on a foot in Sunday’s game and the reality is that the team is going to play it safe with him, though this injury certainly sits on the ‘minor’ side of the scale to me. C.J. Watson scored nine points with seven assists and probably won’t make it to next week in fantasy leagues unless Rose aggravates something. Richard Hamilton made his presence felt with 20 points, four rebounds, five assists, and a three. The Bulls have four games next week and while Rose’s return will necessarily cut into Rip’s value, he’ll be worth the proverbial look heading into next week. All was normal in the rest of the Chicago box, with Carlos Boozer scoring 10 points with eight boards and three steals, Luol Deng putting up 19 points with 10 boards and four assists, and Joakim Noah bringing up the rear with seven points, nine boards, and two blocks. Kyle Korver made some noise with 14 points, seven boards, and three treys, but one has to wonder how he’ll look once Rose returns. Either way, give him a look if you’re hunting threes. The Knicks’ box didn’t offer any surprises, either, with Iman Shumpert scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting with two threes, one rebound, and three assists. His numbers haven’t been eye-popping or even good at times, but he may be the Knicks’ most important player other than Carmelo Anthony. With Baron Davis (eight points, six assists, 26 minutes) being held together by duct tape, we could be looking at PG Iman Shumpert at any time. It’s hard to call Shump a must-own player with so few games left and his production obviously at a borderline level, but I’m treating him like a must-own player with my own 12-team rosters, for what it’s worth. Anthony continued his tear as the one-man show, scoring 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting with two rebounds, five assists, four steals, and one three. Apparently the roller coaster will end on a high note for his owners. J.R. Smith fits next to Anthony as a safety valve that can create his own shot, and last night he scored 14 points with two threes and two steals in 34 minutes off the bench. He’s posting solid mid-round value over the past two weeks and I have him pegged as a must-own player for the rest of the season. If Tyson Chandler has a broken hand it didn’t look like it last night, as he put up 10 points with 15 boards, a steal, and three blocks. PORTLANDIA LaMarcus Aldridge traveled all the way to Vail, Colorado on Tuesday for further evaluation of his strained hip. Let’s not mince words; this is all bad for owners. The Blazers play in Portland tonight against the Warriors, which doesn’t exactly scream ‘race home from hip consultation,’ but the real issue is whether or not Aldridge guts out a meaningless season. If J.J. Hickson isn’t owned in your league, he should be now. If you own Aldridge, it’s time to start looking at Plan B. Nicolas Batum (quad) did “light work” at practice on Tuesday and that’s fairly good news for owners. I’d venture to guess that Aldridge’s absence could help nudge Batum back into the lineup, too, but that’s a pure guess. Regardless, he’s shaping up to be a game-time call tonight and the fact that he’s doing light work suggests that he’s not heading toward a shutdown. I’m going to be patient indefinitely unless I hear some sort of negative report. FOUR QUARTERS OF INJURY FURY 1ST QUARTER: Darren Collison (groin) met with a specialist yeste |
