Game Notes: 11/7

New Orleans – 89 at Charlotte – 92

In a game that was for the most part unspectacular from a statistics perspective, the Bobcats hit their free throws down the stretch (and throughout the game) to pull out a surprising victory. Chris Paul was apparently bored with only getting 20 points and 10 assists, so he added 6 steals to the mix. Peja rebounded from his last game with 6 three pointers and 20 points. Tyson may have had some foul trouble at some point in the game, as his minutes were kind of low, but he is continuing to collect blocks… hopefully he will keep this up. David West’s line was ugly for him, but James Posey put together nice little number coming off the bench. None of the Bobcats had great fantasy performances, J-Rich went 8/9 from the line and canned 2 threes but didn’t do a lot else. Crash got 7 rebounds, 4 steals and a block, but only 8 points. Felton scored a lot, but did even less to surround the scoring than J-Rich did. Sean May was once again inactive, although this time it was for personal reasons as he was out of town having the “before” pictures taken for his upcoming appearance in advertisements featuring the “Nutrisystem: diet for men” program.

New York – 114 at Washington – 108

The Knicks stats just get weirder and weirder. Tonight Wilson Chandler started for David Lee, but they logged ~equal minutes, Chandler having slightly better production. Chris Duhon put up 6-7-12 out of nowhere (he is the piece I really can’t figure out, because one night he will do absolutely nothing in 35 minutes, the next he nearly gets a triple double). Q had another slow day at the office and Jamal Crawford didn’t do much outside of the scoring cats while Zach Randolph and Nate Robinson each tore things up in their respective roles. Etan Thomas started at C and Andray Blatche came off the bench, but neither of them played very much (~13 minutes each) against the smaller Knicks. Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, and Nick Young had nice lines for Washington, but no one else did much of anything.

Don’t read too much into: Juan Dixon’s line. The D’Antoni effect goes both ways, especially with this Knicks team that is 10x as bad on the defensive end as any rendition of his Suns. It is weird to see Dixon pop off in rebounds and assists while barely scoring at all… but I would be surprised if he does anything like this again.

Toronto – 92 at Atlanta – 110

Chris Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal each had nice games in their own ways. Jose Calderon was cold from the field, but tore it up in his other cats, putting up 12 assists on 1 turnover, while Jason Kapono was on fire from shooting but contributed very little else. JaMario Moon seems to be enjoying this game of his, where he puts up minimally competent stats just to dare guys to drop him. He was never going to be a game breaker, and I love the 1 3/stl/blk as much as the next guy… but seriously man, get a rebound. That was one of the nicer things about him last year, that he would pop off for 10+ boards every few games… this year he hasn’t even cleared 4. Horford got into foul trouble but still managed a nice line, as the Hawks starters saw short minutes thanks to the big win. Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson in particular had very nice lines considering the short PT (or even if you don’t, these guys were hot tonight). Flip Murray, Mo Evans, and Solomon Jones put together some nice stats in clean up duty as well.

Injury Notice: Josh Smith sprained his ankle at the end of the first quarter and is currently slated as missing 2-4 weeks.

Things to watch: It will be interesting to see what Atlanta does with their line up while Smith is out. If Marvin moves up to the 4, Mo Evans and/or Flip Murray will have some nice short term value (I would take Mo first). If they keep Marvin at the 3, and slide Horford down to 4, Solomon Jones and Zaza Pachulia (to a lesser extent, because he doesn’t block like Jones does) have shown that they can put up solid fantasy numbers when given minutes in the past. This will probably change night to night based on matchups, but should definitely be watched closely.

Indiana – 107 at Cleveland – 112

Marquis Daniels put up beautiful volume (17-11-7, 1 TO), while the rest of the Pacers varied between ok and kind of bad. Danny Granger is a possible exception, as he lit up the scoreboard with 33 points with 5 threes on nice %’s, but the 6 TO’s and lack of virtually everything else kind of takes the wind out of his line for me since a big part of his value is tied up in the ability to produce across the board. Mo Williams had his first 20 point game as a Cavalier, LeBron nearly had a triple double (but more impressive for him, blocked 4 shots), and Anderson Varejao put up 18-8 (only 3 offensive boards, so it looks like he was either actually making shots, or just getting set up a lot by LBJ), but the rest of the Cavs were pretty one dimensional.

Trendspotting: The Cavs bench REALLY cinches up in close games. This isn’t necessarily bad or good, but it definitely adds some danger to picking up the likes of Boobie Gibson and hoping for anything in the realm of consistent.

Detroit – 96 at New Jersey – 103

Devin Harris went straight up Dwyane "Free-Throw Parade" Wade on the Pistons tonight, dropping in 38 points… 20 of which were from the FT line. Vince Carter offered a nice supporting line of 18-6-7, and Josh Boone received 35 minutes for some reason (this big man rotation is driving me insane, it makes no sense. Ryan Anderson had been playing well and didn’t play at all tonight, Boone only managed 20 minutes in their last game but gets 35… I don’t get it) and produced accordingly, and Yi made the best possible use of his 23 minutes by posting a line of 12-9-1-0-1 with a 3 on nice %’s. Most impressive overall with New Jersey as a whole tonight though… they only turned it over 6 times. AI started for the Pistons and put up a very AI line of 24-3-6-1-0, 6/12 FG, 11/13 FT, 1 three and 4 TO’s. Rip Hamilton not only attempted, but connected on 4 three pointers, and Tayshaun Prince posted a double double to round out the noteworthy Piston lines.

Things to watch: Rodney Stuckey produced well in 23 minutes off the bench tonight, with 9-2-6 and 5/6 FT, but unless he gets more PT than this, those assists (aka what made his line tonight semi-noteworthy and not just another backup guard line) will come and go. I wouldn’t drop him quite yet, as we have yet to see how things will shake out (especially if McDyess re-signs with the team), but if he still isn’t topping 25mpg at this time next week, I would get rid of him.

Milwaukee – 89 at Boston – 101

This game featured the first bad line I have ever seen Ramon Sessions post (11-2-0-2-0, 5 TO’s, 3/6 FG, 4/4 FT, 1 3ptm). In the context of the Bucks tonight though, this line was actually kind of ok. Richard Jefferson put up 20 points with 2 threes and nice %’s but almost nothing else, Charlie V had a double double and ugly %’s, I am guessing Bogut found foul trouble again judging by his PT and low numbers. The only Boston starter to get a full serving of PT was Paul Pierce, and he came close to a triple double. KG did fine in all cats outside of assists again (he just isn’t getting them this year for some reason…), Rajon Rondo had a nice quiet line with 8 points, 8 assists and three steals, and Kendrick Perkins popped off 7 blocks but also had 5 TO’s. The rest of the Celtic players didn’t do anything that is worth owning.

Something to consider: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (who desperately needs a nickname, even if it is just one of those lame abbreviated name ones, like JON) put up 9-9 and a block in 23 minutes… and if he gets a C in Yahoo! could be an interesting guy to own given Bogut’s propensity for foul trouble, and his own ability to collect steals, blocks and boards.

Miami – 99 at San Antonio – 83

Roger Mason performed admirably in a game that saw Tony Parker go down early with an ankle sprain (the same ankle and diagnosis as Josh Smith… CREEPY), Tim Duncan put in 22-11 but didn’t play much in the second half due to the score, Ime Udoka out Bruce Bowen’d Bruce Bowen with a smattering of 3ptm, rebounds and assists, and the remainder of San Antonio’s bench flailed desperately trying to overcome their second half situation but didn’t produce fantasy worthy numbers. Dwyane Wade had a big D-Wade line with 33-10-9-3-0 with no 3ptm on 14/25 FT, 5/6 FT, and 3 TO’s. Michael Beasley had perhaps his best statistical night of the season offering up a little of everything and a phat 10/10 from the line, Haslem had a wonderfully efficient double double, Shawn Marion continues to be lost in the Matrix (LOLOLOLOL), and Mario Chalmers came back to earth (he has had 2 insane games through 5 contests though… I bet Chalmers owners are WAY happier than Marion owners)

Injury report: Tony Parker sprained his left ankle and is currently expected to miss 2-4 weeks. If Roger Mason is not owned in your league, pick him up NOW. Beyond that I don’t see anyone becoming relevant. Michael Finley is too inconsistent, and this will most likely result in the Spurs playing even slower anyway, giving Bowen more PT (I’m not sure if they will ever score with Bowen and Udoka on the floor together, but I think they will do that before putting George Hill, Desmon Farmer, etc. into 20+ mpg roles) and just being as conservative as possible. Lots of 79-75 games in other words.

Don’t read too much into: Chris Quinn. He will have the occasional game like this, where he puts up a load of 3ptm, or a handful of assists and steals… but with 15mpg he will not do any of it consistently. A lot of things would have to happen (injuries, depth chart shake ups etc.) to make him a good fantasy play.

Bad Haircut report: I have been meaning to comment on this for awhile… but what is going on with Erik Spoelstra’s hair… seriously. He looks like something between Orlando from “Strangers with Candy” and Pedro from “Napoleon Dynamite” neither of whom are known for being proud owners of dashingly handsome haircuts, and both of whom embody pretty much the LAST guy I would expect to see coaching an NBA team.

Phoenix – 83 at Chicago – 100

You can really tell that D’Antoni is gone when an injury to the starting C results in the end of the bench, third string PF logging more PT than Leandro. This one looks as though it was over early, with Amare (26-7-3-2-1, 5/10 FG, 16/18 FT, 4 TO’s… no surprise here) and Robin Lopez (14-7-0-0-2… big surprise here, I didn’t think he would do anything worthwhile even with Shaq out) being the only guys with good stats, and everyone else suffering from limited minutes, crappy play, or both. On the Chicago side Derrick Rose continues to impress, Ben Gordon’s heat from the other night carried over, and Joakim Noah saw 30 minutes and rewarded with 9-14 and ugly %’s. Ty Thomas put together a surprisingly palatable line coming off the bench, putting up respectable %’s in addition to the 2ea stl/blk, instead of totally gutting at least one % in addition to the 2ea stl/blk.

Surprise starters: Kirk Hinrich started for Thabo Sefolosha, and put up a nice line before leaving with a thumb injury (MRI tomorrow). Aaron Gray replaced Tyrus Thomas in the starting lineup but only played 15 minutes… probably because this game was over early and the Bulls don’t want to burn out one of their key rotation players.

Oklahoma City – 97 at Utah – 104

Kevin Durant put up a nice line with healthy %’s, but was one upped by Jeff Green in this surprisingly valiant losing effort that saw the Thunder put up 68 second half points. Russell Westbrook only saw 19 minutes despite Earl Watson’s foul trouble… which leads me to wonder if OKC actually played an entire game of iso’s? AK47 had another killer line off the bench for the Jazz, and Brevin Knight pitched in 12 assists as Deron was once again inactive. If I didn’t own Deron in a couple of leagues I would say that I like this version of the Jazz more… really just because I like seeing AK do well, and until Deron wins something I won’t understand why he seems to be such a dick. Boozer put up a nice 21-9-5, but also had 6 TO’s. Millsap had a nice visit from the turnover fairy as well, coughing the ball up 5 times. Memo knocked in a couple of three’s, but didn’t approach the rebound numbers we had been seeing to this point.

Minnesota – 109 at Sacramento – 122

I was really looking forward to this game. Seriously. I love it when crappy teams play each other because it usually results in box scores much like this one. We have Kevin Martin and John Salmons in some sort of role reversal (both posting nice lines, but nice lines that seem more suited to the other), Spencer Hawes returning to the bench but still shining in 22 minutes, Brad Miller getting his season started with a clean double double, and Beno Udrih playing slightly less retarded than usual (and with what he is shown so far this season, this is just about all I am comfortable asking for). Sebastian Telfair’s return has rattled the Minny rotation more than I had expected. He replaced Randy Foye in the starting line up (very good), but then Foye ate a lot of Corey Brewer’s minutes (not good). Telfair had a nice line tonight though, and seems to be comfortable letting Mike Miller touch the ball. Al Jefferson saw limited PT, I am guessing due to the blow out? Other than that a lot of minutes were just tossed haphazardly around the bench, 12 men deep (Brian Cardinal baby!!!)

Things to watch: Kevin Love started for Ryan Gomes tonight and came through with a monster line of 20-8-2 on Brad Miller-esque %’s. I really like the starting lineup the Wolves put out there tonight. I mean they lost to hapless Sacramento, but Telfair/Miller/Brewer/Love/Jefferson sounds really good to me. Maybe I am just still buzzed about Mike Miller resuming play as Mike Miller now that Randy Foye has been yanked?

Houston – 92 at LA Clippers – 83

T-Mac had a stinky line in 25 minutes, but there are no reports of injury, and he wasn’t in foul trouble… so this will just remain a mystery. Several Rockets had big nights though, Yao (5 blocks on top of ~his expected averages averages), Artest (23-8-4-1-0, 4 threes, 8/23 FG, ¾ FT, no TO’s), Scola (14-7) AND Landry (20-9), all turned in notable performances. Despite the loss, the Clippers did not disappoint. B-diddy was uncharacteristically efficient, Kaman had his best game of the season, and Marcus Camby collected 13 rebounds. On the down/random side Ricky Davis got 27 minutes for some reason (why now and not when Baron was out? I do not understand… OH Mike Dunleavy coaches this team, I almost forgot), and Al Thornton had a bit of a down night/the clips ran out of offense to give him after Baron and Kaman took theirs.

Things to watch: So that Alston/Brooks thing I mentioned yesterday? We can put that on hold for now. Alston received 40 minutes tonight and Brooks only managed 9. This may have had a little to do with T-Mac being out… but whatever potential rift seemed to have risen out of Thursday’s game was obviously not a factor in Adelman’s decision making tonight.

*Dallas – 105 at Denver – 108

My favorite part of this game was watching Gerald Green and JR Smith go head to head at the end of the third quarter. Green gets a sick tomahawk jam on one end, Smith gets to the rim with a silky smooth move on the other. Green nails a three, JR Smith gets three the hard way. I didn’t expect this matchup to even occur for any significant period of time when the game tipped off, but watching it unfold was a pleasure. Jason Terry had another big night in his second straight start of the season, Dirk played well but was often ignored when he had good post position, and Jason Kidd was on fire tonight and nailed 6 threes in route to 22 points (and while he was 1 assist shy of a triple double, he also turned it over more tonight than in the previous 4 games combined). Chauncey’s first line as a baby blue nugget wasn’t anything special, Nene put up a sick line that doesn’t even begin to convey how impressive his play was, and Melo put in 28 points with the help of 14 made free throws.

Odd thing to note: Gerald Green entered the game for Josh Howard late in the third quarter, then after he hit a few shots stayed in while the other starters returned. Josh returned for a brief spell with about 5 minutes left, but was quickly pulled in favor of Green after he took a 25 foot fade away. I don’t think this will turn into a trend or anything, Green playing in front of Josh, but Carlisle’s confidence in Green is obviously growing, and given Green’s athleticism, 3pt range, and improved decision making, he could become a usable fantasy option.

Don’t read too much into: Brandon Bass. I am not just saying this because he finally pumped out a decent game the day after I dropped him everywhere I owned him, I am saying this because he only played as much as he did tonight because A) Dampier was in non-stop foul trouble B) Diop is too incapable on offense to take advantage of the Birdman and Denver’s other quick, steal/block happy bigs. Bass will be worthwhile if he starts getting 25 mpg all the time, but against most teams I think Damp’s backup minutes will go to Diop.

Memphis – 109 at Golden State – 104

Rotation Rundown: The Warrior’s entire rotation was new for this game. Biedrins is the only guy in the same slot. Captain Jack was shifted to SF, Azubuike started at SG, CJ Watson took over PG from Demarcus Nelson, and Brandan Wright started at PF. All of these guys other than Wright logged HEAVY minutes. Most exciting to me is that Anthony Randolph was the first guy off the Warrior’s barely used bench! This may be entirely different from whatever happens in their next game, and will definitely shake up once Maggette returns, and when they get something for Harrington etc. but this is what we had tonight.

Watson nearly had a triple double (on zero TO’s), Azubuike had a very nice well rounded line, Biedrins exploded and hit 9/10 FT’s, Jackson had a relatively hollow 29 points, and although he only played 21 minutes, Brandan Wright did contribute 3 blocks… so he wasn’t a total waste if you started him. Marc Gasol was in foul trouble for much of the game which gave Darrell Arthur, Hakim Warrick, and to a lesser extent Darko, extended opportunities. The first two each had very nice lines, but as their followers know… these are random events, trying to predict them is a waste of time. Rudy Gay put up a line that is essentially JaMario Moon +15 points, and OJ Mayo did nice work on the volume cats.