Game Notes: 11/24

Milwaukee – 101 at Orlando – 108

Andrew Bogut did little outside of scoring before he went to the locker room in the third quarter with what has since been diagnosed as a “knee bruise”. Richard Jefferson scored 25 on a nice FG% but didn’t really contribute anywhere else, Mbama continued his steady play, and Charlie V once again came off the bench to make a significant contribution. Luke Ridnour didn’t play, and Sessions had a nice collection of boards and assists but struggled shooting (3/14). Dwight, Rashard, and Turk all enjoyed big nights (Dwight’s was nasty, with 6 TO’s and 10/20 from the line, but the other two were relatively clean) as the remainder of the Magic contributed little of consequence.

Things to watch: Keith Bogans is set to miss 3-6 weeks with a thumb injury… and despite what I said in regard to JJ Reddick the other day, this could make him fantasy worthy. Bogans usefulness never extended beyond that of a one night guy because of his inconsistency. However, Reddick is a much better shooter than Bogans… so if he can knock down a few threes on minimal attempts without messing up anywhere else too severely, he could be a guy to own.

Philadelphia – 84 at Charlotte – 93

Iggy had a strong game, highlighted by 5 steals and zero turnovers. Andre Miller, Thad and Sammy were each kind of quiet and bad (although Thad had 3 steals, and Sammy had 3 blocks… I am just annoyed over Sammy’s FG% never being over 50). Elton Brand reverted to Clipper form by putting up nice numbers in a losing effort. DJ Augustine and Raymond Felton mirrored eachother again… only this time they were both pretty good. Gerald Wallace only had 6 shot attempts in 40 minutes and was similarly quiet in the other stats he is usually strong in. Okafor nearly turned it over as many times (6) as he shot it (8), and Sean May announced before the game that he would be sitting out tonight because he was joining Deron Williams on “the Matt Harpring recovery plan”.

Houston – 107 at Miami – 98

Yao had a big night, putting up solid numbers in all of his cats other than blocks. Artest and Scola joined him, as Ronnie had his usual mix of steals and scoring cats, and Scola had a double double on an ugly FG%. T-Mac had a line that is most easily likened to “gimpy Jason Kidd” in 30 minutes. Mario Chalmers had his first big night in awhile, finishing with 23-4-6-4-0 with 5 threes, on zero TO’s, 7/13 FG and 4/7 FT. Dwyane Wade had possibly his worst game of the season. Haslem lost minutes perhaps due to fouls? Perhaps due to Joel Anthony giving them more size to put on Yao? Whatever the case, outside of scoring Anthony had a nice line that he probably won’t repeat any time soon as he rarely gets 27 minutes. Marion and Beasley were both decent but nothing special.

Things to watch: In a hilarious note, rotoworld mentioned the return of Jamaal Magloire possibly having a significant effect on Haslem’s PT. I know Magloire is a former all-star… but really guys? Things like this are what make me wonder if certain fantasy sources EVER watch games live, instead of in boxes. What I am trying to say is that if Magloire gets more than 5 minutes a game with any regularity Miami’s coach should be fired.

San Antonio – 94 at Memphis – 81

Roger Mason lit things up from the field, but once again had a mess of TO’s. The only other Spur starter to make an impact was Duncan, who double doubled with four blocks, but was only 6/18 from the field. George Hill had a strong performance in 29 minutes off the bench, but more important than that is that MANU RETURNED. 11 minutes, 12 points, no big deal. OJ Mayo had a strong shooting night, Marc Gasol was decent, and Rudy Gay shot 6/19 from the field… but these things are expected. In a surprise move, Darko started and played 30 minutes, posting 11-11-1-2-2 in the process. Making this move more surprising is how well Darrell Arthur played in the team’s last outing, and for that reason I would show restraint when considering a move for Darko.

Gino: I am curious to see how this turns out, if his return means more PT for the more “defense” minded of the Spurs, Bowen/Udoka/Vaughn/Thomas/etc. and less for the offensive ones, Hill/Bonner/Finley. As well as George Hill has played (I have not seen him, so I speak strictly from stats) I would guess that Mason/Gino/Finley/Hill would sort of gel until the minutes are something like 32/28/20/16 until TP gets back?

Chicago – 101 at Utah – 100

Derrick Rose abused Utah for 25 points and 9 assists. Gordon, Hughes, and Gooden all enjoyed decent scoring nights, but none of them surrounded the point with anything worthy of mention. Noah started again, but only received 16 minutes (in which he collected 7 boards, 6 points, and 2 turnovers). All of the Jazz starters scored in double figures, led by Memo with 26. Millsap had a strong double double going in Boozer’s absence until he fouled out. Ronnie’s Price and Brewer each had 3 steals, and AK had a bit of a disappointing night posting a meager 4-6-8-1-1.

Sacramento – 90 at Portland – 91

The Kings roster is filled with lines that are very strong in one area and very poor in others. Udrih had 17 points on 8/12 from the field coupled with 8 assists, but also had 6 TO’s. Salmons was similarly plagued by TO’s but had an otherwise strong performance. I really wish I could have seen Brad Miller and Spencer Hawes play this game because their stats indicate they collaborated on some sort really lame comic featuring the NBA’s only 7 foot, 260 pound SG and his young apprentice (I need to find the back issue where Miller had cornrows, as I cannot imagine Spencer “I voted for John McCain” Hawes being a fan of that). Brandon Roy was cruising along without much fanfare until the fourth quarter when he absolutely exploded, but even then… outside of the scoring cats his line is pretty tame. LaMarcus Aldridge did the bare minimum to get a double double and had an atrocious FG%, Steve Blake salvaged his line with 4 steals, and Joel Przybilla managed 10-12-1-2-2 off the bench (on only 1 missed shot… which was a three… I guess he was auditioning for some sort of comic relief role in the Miller/Hawes project of giant white dudes who are ashamed of their size?)

Things to watch: Greg Oden started but only played 20 minutes. The Vanilla Gorilla played 28, including those during the Trailblazers 4^th quarter comeback. For now this move appears to be little more than a formality.

Things to watch2: Bobby Jackson had heavy minutes off the bench again (this time at the expense of Jason Thompson), and for now should be on your radar as a potential streamer for threes and assists, especially when the Kings play small and/or fast teams.

New Orleans – 99 at LA Clippers – 87

CP3 had another triple double, David West had one of those nights where he pretends he is an SF, Peja was quiet shooting the ball but out rebounded Tyson Chandler, and James Posey had a silent but deadly 8-9 with 2 threes off the bench. Baron Davis did what is becoming his usual LAC thing, 19 points, 8 assists, and a terrible FG%. Chris Kaman had a quiet night but came up with 3 blocks to make things ok. Marcus Camby had 11 rebounds and 2 blocks but didn’t really contribute anywhere else, and Al Thornton shot a Rudy Gay-like 5/18 from the field on his way to an underwhelming line.

Things to watch: Eric Gordon started tonight (in place of Ricky Davis) and exploded for 25-1-3-4-1 with 4 threes, on 2 TO’s, 9/18 FG, and ¾ FT. Like all rookies he will be inconsistent, but it is nice to see what he is capable of. Once Z-Bo is on board they need to have a tandem nick name (such as the WWE) that makes light of their similarly shaped heads and bodies.

Roster notes: Z-Bo didn’t join the clips tonight because the Knicks have concerns over the health of Cuttino Mobley’s heart.