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.

Game Notes: 11/6

I am uncomfortable with the theme of "school keeping me from watching the Thursday night games in their entirety" that is developing this year, but at least I get to see a little bit of Rudy in game two and hear the Chucksters give props to Thad Young. Being a simple man, it is small things such as these that make my existence bearable. By which I mean... why do you never get rebounds anymore Thaddeous?

Philadelphia – 88 at Orlando – 98

Iggy posted a near triple double (16-11-8) on a night that saw Andre Miller attempt an incomprehensible 24 Field Goals… The only bright side of which was the offensive rebound opportunity which came out of that, leading to big nights on the glass for Sammy, Brand, and the aforementioned Iggy. Thad Young led the team in scoring with 19, but didn’t really surround the points with much of anything (1 three, 4 boards, 1 steal). On the Magic side of things, Rashard and Turk posted lines that were nearly identical, and both very nice if you don’t take FG% into consideration. Jameer Nelson had a fine game (16-4-9-2-0), and Mickael Pietrus filled in the gaps well getting 1 three, steal, and block. Dwight had a bit of a down night, but still came away with 3 blocks, so it wasn’t a total loss. No one on either bench really did anything of note.

Houston – 99 at Portland – 101 (OT)

I watched a touch of this game, in the third quarter when Rudy came in and was on FIRE. He is a very impressive offensive player. Meanwhile, Brandon Roy’s struggles from the field continued, as he shot 6/18 (this includes the three that sealed the game) in route to 17-7-5… which is a fine line, but he also had 5 TO’s. Steve Blake contributed a quiet 8 points and 8 assists on inoffensive %’s and 1 TO, LaMarcus Aldridge remembered to get rebounds tonight but forgot how to shoot FT’s but nevertheless stepped up for the prime time game posting 27-9-2-0-3 on 12/20 from the field and no TO’s. Batum started again, but Outlaw was killer off the bench tonight, popping off for 14-13-1-1-2 with 2 threes. Rudy had some nice numbers too, but did not extend himself past the scoring cats (points, %’s, 3ptm). T-Mac put up a killer line in 44 minutes, even keeping the %’s clean while collecting 30-7-8-2-1… I would have thought he was playing the Mavs! The rest of the Rockets though, ranged from kind of bad (Artest), to just downright terrible considering draft position etc. (Yao), to comical (Foul-a-Palooza, as hosted by Carl Landry).

Things to watch: Aaron Brooks received more PT than Rafer Alston tonight. Curious because Alston is the starter and this was a fairly tight game throughout. Perhaps a changing of the guard is in order? Until one of these guys figuratively kills off the other (insert Jayson Williams joke?) neither will produce consistently… I mean more minutes could open up if more guys blow the doors off B.O.C.¹ Brent Barry like Rudy did tonight (that slow motion crossover at the top of the key… SICK), but for the most part Houston seems to have run conventional line ups this year, so even that is a bit of a stretch.

1: Blood Of Champion. In this case specifically, pointing out Brent Barry's heritage and blood tie to his father (former NBA Champion and Finals MVP) Rick Barry.

Game Notes: 11/5

WOW, what a night! Huge lines dropping in pretty much every game… and I missed all of it doing homework. I would love to get poetic about this, but there are a ton of games to get to (I will try not to let my fury over benching Mike Miller in favor of Beno Udrih reflect in this write up)

Detroit – 100 at Toronto – 93

The Pistons didn’t miss a beat in what many thought would be Allen Iverson’s debut. Tayshaun Prince put down a line that could easily win line of the night on any other night… and the fact that 27-9-3-1-2 with 2 threes, no TO’s and GOLDEN %’s (10/13 FG, 5/6 FT) isn’t even in the top 3 tonight should give you a hint at what happened in the later games. Rip put in some nice FT% power, and Stuckey was decent again… but not good enough to make me comfortable owning him once AI suits up. Chris Bosh had a nice double double (26-13), and JaMario Moon failed to rebound at a rate anywhere near that of last season once again… but the story with Toronto is Jose Calderon. This scoring (26 points!!!!)… and this FT volume (9/9!!!!!!!)… what a pleasant surprise!!!!

Things to watch: After a miserable game, Andrea Bargnani turned in a line that is beautiful in its subtlety. Sure, it would be great to own guys who really jump out of a box score, but they are so brash! So egocentric, making you apologize for not building your entire team around them! Enter Bargnani, 12-4-1-0-1 with 2 threes, no TO’s and 5/6 from the field. What a great support line! Of course, he wouldn’t be Andrea Bargnani if this didn’t raise the probability of his next game being 1/8 from the field with 4 TO’s and 2 rebounds, but it is little lines like tonight’s that make me say “wow, he’s still young… just imagine if he polished things up and became semi-consistent! Lets continue to draft him in every league I am in!”

Phoenix – 113 at Indiana – 103

MEGATON LINE OF THE NIGHT #1: Amare 49-11-6-5-2, 17/22 FG, 15/15 FT, no threes, 4 TO’s. Wow… what really surprises me with this line is that none of the Suns had more than 6 assists. Really… outside of Boris Diaw (who kicked it old school with 14-5-5-0-3), none of the Suns put up good numbers. The Pacers on the other hand, had a slew of players put up nice lines, but none of them reached a level of brilliance even in the same realm as Amare. Marquis Daniels, TJ Ford, Danny Granger and Troy Murphy all had nice nights. Jeff Foster played 30 minutes with Rasho out with a sprained ankle (roto world says Rasho should be out for at least a week. Foster will be a nice pick up if you need boards), but didn’t really contribute anything other than sending Amare to the line a few times.

Don’t worry about: Matt Barnes. He missed the game with a family emergency. I want to make a joke about tattoo parlors and faux hawks… but that wouldn’t be in good taste.

Philadelphia – 83 at Miami – 103

Mario Chalmers flirted with the record books tonight! 101 points? 56 points? 31 assists? No silly! 12 steals (or 11 by a rookie)! Chalmers had a respectable 6 assists but went into total beast mode on the other end, recording 9 steals, one shy of Derek Harper’s rookie record. Not to be out done by a rookie, Dwyane Wade wrangled 6 assists and 5 steals of his own while surrounding it with a luscious 29-7, going 9/15 from the field and 11/13 from the line. AND AGAIN, THIS ISN’T ONE OF TONIGHT’S TOP 3 PERFORMANCES!!!! As a team though, Miami was either very lucky or just *that* much quicker than Philly, 18 team steals is nothing to smirk at. Beasley had a nice line, while the Matrix continued to be lackluster and Haslem played beneath the plane he had been on up to this point. As even the most marginally competent of basketball fan should gather; when the opponent records 18 steals, not only is it difficult to win, but it also means you turn it over a lot! 25 TO’s for Philly, poor Thaddeous Young being the worst offender with 5 (which tells you it was a team effort, committing 25 TO’s, not just one guy “goin’ rogue”). Aside from the TO’s, Thad continued his string of impressive performances, hawt %’s, 3 steals, 3 3ptm… it’s beautiful. Brand had an ugly double double, and Marreese Speights collected 10 boards (I would not read into this), but other than that the 76ers were ugly on all sides.

Charlotte – 98 at New York – 101

All of Charlotte’s starters posted nice lines (“nice” is pushing it a bit in the case of Jared Dudley’s 13-2-1-3… but it’s Jared Dudley, how many chances will he have to get mentioned here? I KNOW his profile pic is hilarious, but that is no reason to bring up an otherwise irrelevant dude. By which I mean he has been getting nice minutes since Sean May was sent to fat camp, but against all non-NY teams he has done very little), highlighted of course by Gerald Wallace and his 16-11-3-3-0, with 3 3ptm, and nice low volume %’s. The Knicks put up a mish mash of nice stats, but overall continued to make their opening night monster jam look like an aberration. Zach Randolph, Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson all put up nice lines, but everyone else struggled.

Trendspotting: While the bulk of NY’s team struggled (according to the box score), they did shoot 49.4% as a team (including 46.2% from three), which is in line with the prediction that they would be able to run and get better shots against teams who lack a legitimate low post scoring threat.

Boston – 96 at Oklahoma City – 83

The Thunder were actually leading this game by 8 after 12 minutes… after that I guess the vibe of ANOTHER sellout crowd (ok, for the Celtics I get it a little more than I did for the Wolves) wore off, and they returned to their base state of stinkiness. Jeff Green continued to pursue his goal of not only hitting, but never exceeding, the league average in every category, Kevin Durant’s line was nothing special (but not altogether horrible either), Russell Westbrook dropped in a respectable line from the bench, and Earl Watson made himself useful in the most sneaky of ways (7-7-5, with a three and 4/4 from the line). Boston played their starters a lot considering that the game was in the bag by the end of the third quarter (although judging by the fourth quarter score of 26-28, maybe OKC made a run against the bench?), due in large part to this all of the starters posted nice stats. Some that would even warrant special shout outs on any other night… but tonight you either have to drop lines that will win a week or have a picture that looks as funny as Jared Dudley’s to get special mention!

Just a guess: Russell Westbrook will be OKC’s starter by Christmas. I know, I know, PJ Carlesimo is kind of a schlub when it comes to giving rookies serious burn, but Westbrook has looked very good in the games I have watched him play (I have already watched 2 more Thunder games than I had planned to… as little as two weeks ago), and has collected nice stats in those that I haven’t. Meanwhile, Earl Watson is Earl Watson, and their team is terrible.

Atlanta – 87 at New Orleans – 79

On a mission to prove that the Hawk’s choice of him over CP3 was not a mistake, Marvin Williams prepared for this game with an unusual fervor, and it was this cosmic charge that allowed him to single handedly sink the Hornets with his CP3 owning line of 11-7-0-1-0, a previously unknown level of mental fortitude that pushed him to not only take, but DRILL all 3 of his three pointers in a (most likely) hostile visiting arena. The Hawks will never again rue the day they chose Starvin Marvin over his ACC competitor Christopher Emmanuel Paul!!! Actually… Joe Johnson carried the Hawks with 21-7-4, while receiving nice complementary contributions from Josh Smith, Al Horford and Flip Murray. To further ruin the OBVIOUS narrative which ESPN decided to ignore all day for some reason, Chris Paul put up his stellar (but getting boring, am I right?) averages. Peja and Tyson made surprise appearances, and struggled a little (Peja more than Tyson), and David West had a grand ol' time pretending to be a small forward.

Chicago – 93 at Cleveland – 107

MEGATON LINE OF THE NIGHT #3: LeBron 41-9-6-4-0, 13/23 FG, 15/16 FT, no threes, 5 TO’s. Delonte had a nice night picking up LBJ’s scraps, Z added a double double and Ben Wallace flashed back to the olde days and put up 0-14-0-2-1. Ben Gordon tried to keep pace with LBJ, pouring in 31 points of his own (11/19 FG, 5 3ptm), and Derrick Rose had a very fine game, but shooting 39% as a team will not lead to many victories. A fact that it seems like Chicago has learned ~150 times over the past few years, but still ignores as they shoot contested jumper after contested jumper.

Things to watch: Luol Deng had a nice game… but also played a lot of garbage time, possibly being guarded by Wally Szczerbiak. If he keeps this up for another week or so, I suggest moving him FAST.

Washington – 104 at Milwaukee – 112 (OT)

Feeling a sense of personal responsibility for Michael Redd’s absence (a notorious pansy, Redd sees another starter in street clothes and feels an inexplicable urge to join him), Luke Ridnour made a heroic return to the Buck’s starting lineup and dropped in his best line of the season (I say this meaning the whole season, not just his first three games), 20-7-11-2-0. Surprising though, was Ramon Sessions being the primary choice to step in for Michael Redd and… doing quite well in that role, putting up 22-3-8-1-1, most of which was done playing alongside Ridnour. Richard Jefferson and Andrew Bogut turned in nice lines as well. Outside of Caron and Antawn the Wizards didn’t put up a lot of fantasy friendly lines. Nick Young contributed a Rodney Stuckey-esque line, but even a starting Andray Blatche couldn’t do well by his fantasy owners (both of them?) tonight, which is surprising, considering this game went to OT.

San Antonio – 129 at Minnesota – 125 (2OT)

30 minutes before game time Matt Bonner gathered his fellow starters, drawing them close and whispering (with a dignified force though, not the creepy wispy zest Bruce Bowen uses in these situations) “I have let you guys down for too long, tonight is my time. Rotate the ball to me and you will not regret it!”. Unfortunately, Tim Duncan interpreted this as some kind of practical joke (as he does so many things) and instructed his team mate’s to do the exact opposite, and OH BABY, on a night where Matt Bonner shot 0/0 in a little over 6 minutes Tony Parker dropped in the MEGATON LINE OF THE NIGHT #2: 55-7-10-0-0, 22/36 FG, 9/10 FT, 2 threes, 4 TO’s. Timmy and Roger Mason didn’t slack off though, each posting very nice numbers (Mason with a season high scoring number). Minnesota enjoyed a night where Rashad McCants only saw 13 minute, and scattered useful stats throughout their roster (this could have a lot more to do with Sebastian Telfair’s return?), highlighted by my main man whom I should never have doubted, Mike Miller and his line of 25-7-6 with 5 threes. Al Jefferson, Corey Brewer, K-Love, Telfair, even Foye, lots of nice lines on the Timberwolves side.

Portland – 96 at Utah – 103

Continuing the trend of mid round dudes returning from the dead, Mehmet Okur got hot and dropped in 22-9-2 on 9/14 from the field. The rest of the Jazz got in line behind Memo and flanked him with nice lines for one and all (with the usual suspects of Boozer and AK leading the way). The most notable thing about Portland tonight is that Nicolas Batum replaced Travis Outlaw in the starting lineup, Outlaw still got more minutes, but neither posted a notably above average line. Roy struggled from the field, but hit all 6 of his FT’s, and Joel Przybilla took all of LaMarcus Aldridge’s rebounds away from him! (Przy – 16, Aldridge – 2). Rudy Fernandez scored 16 points, which gives him 3 (of 4) games with 16+ points.

Memphis – 95 at Sacramento – 100

Kevin Martin and OJ Mayo had a battle to see who could score more without doing anything else. Mayo had the best scoring night of his career (I mean the whole thing, not just the first 5 games… NO, I KID! My dogg who takes 20 shots in his first game will have a night where he tops 28 eventually), but Martin won the battle, which equated to a Kings win. No, it really did. This was the only difference. Martin outscored Mayo by 5, Kings won by 5, who can argue with this!? With the Kings in a competitive game for the first time this season, John Salmons took advantage and put together a nice line, and Mikki Moore collected 3x as many rebounds as he had in all games combined. Kyle Lowry had a nice line for Memphis (14-6-7), but other than that they were pretty stinky, which isn’t a surprise considering they had 6 guys who logged ~20 minutes and 4 others at 30+.

Farewell to a friend: Aware of Brad Miller’s imminent return, spectators left saying that the Jason Thompson farewell tour lacked the avante garde, selfless sense of abandon which characterized his early material, back when he was playing dive bars, before he signed to a major in sold out, each of them having their own personal anecdotes where they were one of seven people at a show featuring a guy who couldn’t even move his initial pressing of 500 LP’s… but these spectators also said that they would totally see any reunion shows that happen when Brad Miller is out with injury or Mikki Moore is benched for getting 4 rebounds in as many games.

Denver – 101 at Golden State – 110

Carmelo failed to hit his goal of 44 points, but not for a lack of trying, as he attempted more shots (30) than anyone else, not only in this game, but on tonight’s entire schedule (aside from Tony Parker, but you don’t nag a guy who drops 55 on a silly thing like “well it took you 36 FGA’s to do it, my grandma could score 55 on 36 FGA’s!”). Nene dropped a nice big man line of 19-15-1-1-3, and Anthony Carter waved goodbye with 11 assists. Andris Biedrins was in foul trouble periodically throughout the game, but still put up 12-11 with 5 blocks. Al Harrington was stone cold benched, and will most likely be traded soon. This resulted in Brandan Wright having a career night (18-13-0-0-3, pick him up NOW). Kelenna Azuibuke had a nice night filling in for injured Corey Maggette, and Captain Jack filled up the volume cats with the expected disgusting FG% and TO’s.

Thing to watch: Linas Kleiza seems to have fallen out of favor in Denver. First they pull his extension off the table, then they start playing journeyman dukie Dahntay Jones in front of him. My early season optimism for Kleiza has all but evaporated for him. Maybe the rotation will change once Billups is in place, but I wouldn’t bank on that.

LA Clippers – 88 at LA Lakers – 106

Under duress the entire game due to the unfair circumstance of sharing the same home floor as the Clippers (the Clipper fans just buy up all the available tickets, making “home” feel like anything but), the Lakers miraculously pulled together and came out with a win. It looked like they wouldn’t be so lucky early on, but when Billy Crystal led a rare early exodus of the Clipper’s celebrity fans (both of them) mid way through the fourth everyone knew it was over. Even more embarrassing than putting the Clippers to shame in this “home” game, was the fashion that the Lakers did it in; seeming to be just fine with openly mocking the Clippers “style of play”, shooting 38.8% on the night… but unlike the Clippers having the GALL to turn such a pandemic shooting performance into a victory. Kobe put in 27, but didn’t manage to do much else, and Gasol had a quiet night, but Andrew Bynum had his best game of the year, putting up 9-17-2-0-4. Lamar Odom had a nice game off the bench as well. Marcus Camby put up 4 blocks and 7 boards in 15 foul plagued minutes, while Al Thornton, Baron Davis, and Tim Thomas all had nice volume and poor efficiency. Maybe some day the Lakers will get a fair shake on their home court, and not have the Clippers try and bully them out of town, all committing 32 fouls to the Lakers 17… Some day…

Game Notes: 11/4

All the road teams won... and I was going to draw a parallel to the election with that, but I think Barry O'Bomber (I use this in reference to his standing as the first basketball president, not to mean spirited propaganda) stopped being the metaphorical "road team" in this race to the white house like... 6 months ago?

Phoenix – 114 at New Jersey – 86

New Jersey hung close early by getting to the line, but were ultimately unable to slow down Phoenix, as the Suns shot an obscene 63.2% on the night. All of the Phoenix starters saw limited minutes, but for the most part produced quality lines given their minutes. Raja Bell and Matt Barnes had strong games in the same contest for the first time, but as with all blowouts… I wouldn’t expect any trends to form out of this game (this includes Leandro’s nice 16-6-4 off the bench). The Nets in general were a mess tonight, but Vince Carter performed well in the scoring cats and collected three steals, while Devin Harris put up useful numbers in FT% and AST (nasty 2/11 from the field though). Yi was the featured big man tonight… but I am going to leave that situation alone for awhile now, it’s just too random.

Injury Note: For the second straight game Vince Carter had to be removed for some period of time due to injury. The other night it was his hand, tonight it was an ankle… or maybe it was just the Nets getting blown out and Vince not wanting to play in the third quarter.

Boston – 103 at Houston – 99

The NBATV viewer’s choice game turned out to be a pretty good contest. Both teams put up big numbers in the first half, and then slowed things down to the pace that I imagined this game would flow upon hearing this matchup beat out Mavs/Spurs for the NBATV slot. Ray Allen had a vintage Ray Ray line (29-5-5, 11/15 FG, 5/5 FT, 2 threes), Rajon Rondo flirted with a triple double, KG and PP didn’t score much but had nice peripherals. Kendrick Perkins had a monster (for him) game, registering 15-7 with 4 blocks. The Celtic’s bench didn’t see a lot of time in the close game though. Houston didn’t produce on the fantasy side like the C’s did, but they were in the game right to the end. Yao only played 26 minutes and I have been unable to find a reason for this (no foul trouble, no injury). T-Mac continued his streak of very un-T-Mac-ish %’s, and put together a nice line, while Alston and Artest let the good in with the bad. Much like the Celtics, the Rocket’s bench didn’t get enough PT to do anything notable.

*Dallas – 98 at San Antonio – 81

All of the Mavs shooters were hot from the get go, and never really cooled down. In the third different starting lineup Carlisle has used this season, Jason Terry stepped into the starting SG slot and lit it up (29-3-6, 13/21 from the field, 1 3ptm). I don’t know if he will retain this role, but regardless of him coming off the bench or starting, he does very well next to Kidd. For the fourth straight game Jason Kidd turned the ball over only once (and for the third time in four outings, came very close to a triple double), he was kind enough to add some threes this time though, and overall has looked pretty amazing this year. Dirk rebounded from last night with a big game (30-7-3, 13/24 FG, no TO’s, 2 threes) with the only real down side of his line being a meager 2FTA’s. Josh Howard turned in a quiet, but nice performance as well. Tim Duncan put up a big double double with 19-15, and Tony Parker collected 22 points to extend his streak of 20+ point games to 8 (dating back to the end of the regular season last year… I didn’t look this up, it was on the broadcast). However, the Spurs once again failed to get consistent scoring from anyone other than Duncan and Parker (Roger Mason looked very good, once again, though).

Things to watch: Fabricio Oberto returned tonight, and rookie George Hill made his professional debut. These guys won’t be fantasy relevant on their own, but they could cut into the minutes of guys who could be (Bonner and Mason primarily).

Game Notes: 11/3

Oh baby... lots of blow outs tonight.

Detroit – 101 at Charlotte – 83

In their first game without Chauncey Billups, and Antonio McDyess, the Pistons hardly missed a beat (after getting in synch in the second half). Detroit started Stuckey/Rip/Prince/Amir/Rasheed, but all of the starters played on short minutes because of how quickly the game was put away in the second half. Even taking this into consideration though… Stuckey had a decent line, but I was hoping for something a little more inspired in his first game of the season as a starter. Sean May did not dress for the second night in a row, apparently as the first male victim of Larry Brown’s “no cankles” policy. Gerald Wallace put up 15-12 on efficiency cats that are roughly typical for him, but the remainder of the Bobcat team was awful. Emeka Okafor still managed to distinguish himself though, playing 38 minutes and collecting a paltry 5 rebounds. Shannon Brown (SG – CHA… I am guessing that I am not the only one who did not know he played for Charlotte now?) had a notable game because of the 4 steals, but I am guessing that had the game been closer, the majority of his minutes would have gone to DJ Augustin, and the starting back court.

Things to watch: Look at the thread on the Iverson/Billups trade.

Sacramento – 91 at Philadelphia – 125

Wow… this one was over before it started. The Kings only held Philly under 30 points in one of the three quarters, and allowed them to shoot nearly 60% from the field, and 80% from beyond the arc. I mean… even Kareem Rush and Donyell Marshall were getting in on the action before all was said and done. John Salmons savaged a mediocre line by collecting 3 steals, and Spencer Hawes turned in another strong performance despite a touch of first quarter foul trouble. Jason Thompson did alright with the extended minutes, shooting 8/12 from the field, but his usual efficiency in FT% and TO’s didn’t show up tonight. Thad Young poured in 18 points, and finally got a steal, but otherwise had a hollow line that leaves the discerning fantasy baler wanting more. The remaining Philadelphia starters played less than 30 minutes (Brand 29, the rest ~23). Lou Williams scored 17, and Willie Green put in 16… but I wouldn’t read too much into this game. I am pretty surprised at how many teams Philadelphia is just flat out throttling though. Even in the loss to Atlanta, they opened up a 17 point lead or something before half time.

Sign of the apocalypse: Philly has an exciting team with a chance to go places. Their players, while not oozing with personality, seem to be genuinely likable guys. So why was the reported attendance of this game 10,100? I only bring this up because the Thunder drew 18,000 last night… and they are terrible.

Chicago – 93 at Orlando – 96

Derrick Rose and Drew Gooden had down games, but Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni kept Chicago close. Aaron Gray (perhaps the creepiest looking guy in the NBA not named Robert Swift (who is really more "ugly" than "creepy" to be entirely fair) ?) got more PT than Joakim Noah once again… which makes no sense to me. Dwight rung up 22-15 with 5 blocks, but had his worst night at the stripe so far this season, going 4/11. Rashard Lewis turned in one of his rare "Orlando double doubles". Turkoglu salvaged an otherwise disgusting game by collecting 7 boards and 7 dimes. Pietrus was in foul trouble most of the night, hence extended minutes for Keith Bogans.

What is going on with: Luol Deng. His stats have been miserable since opening night. If he puts a few nice games together at any point in the near future I would look to trade him (and I say this assuming you are in a league with very silly people). If he keeps this up much longer, you will have to sit him down and have a serious “state of the relationship” discussion with him, since it doesn’t matter what he did two years ago, a guy whose jump shot doesn’t show up when it says it will just can’t be relied upon… and if he lied about that, OMG how many other things has he lied about!!?! Is this kind of person, who intentionally misleads others, REALLY "long term relationship material"!?!??? I wish I had never met you Luol Deng!

Golden State – 79 at Memphis – 90

I hate what Marc Gasol is doing, because it makes the Pau Gasol trade look kind of worth it for the Griz, when really… that trade was ridiculous, and just very mean of the Grizzlies, all taking a “well WE won’t be winning the west any time soon, so we’re going to make sure that none of you other guys can either! Happy Birthday Lakers!”. But WOW… he killed the small ball Warriors, posting 27-16-1 with 3 blocks, shooting 9/11 from the stripe and the field… the lone blemish being the 6 TO’s. It was nice to see Mike Conley finally get more than 3 assists in a single game, and OJ Mayo put up a quiet but efficient and useful line, but other than that none of the Griz played up to expectations. Rudy Gay put up a line more like the ones Thad Young has been doing recently than anything he (Rudy) did last year. Similar story with the Warriors, as nothing outside of Biedrins’ 16-22-1 (this line is even better because he didn’t even ATTEMPT an FT, and he didn’t turn it over at all!!!), is even on the edge of acceptable. Bad %’s, bad volume, bad TO’s all around.

Things to watch: Darrell Arthur has been starting at PF, but the last few games Hakim Warrick has been receiving the lion’s share of the PT there. Warrick can be useful if your team can handle the occasional horrendous shooting (both FG and FT are prone to this), and/or high TO night, but is really only worth this risk if you play to win points and boards.

Injury watch: Corey Maggette left the game early because of limitations due to the hamstring injury he had coming into the season. Unfortunately, this means he may miss some time (pick up Azuibuke), but on the bright side, maybe getting this injury taken care of will allow him to get his FG% out of the gutter, as it undoubtedly has something to do with him holding back, and not plowing into people with the grotesque frequency that makes him such an FBB asset.

*Cleveland – 100 at Dallas – 81

This wasn’t a bad game until the last 90 seconds or so of the third quarter. Dallas was keeping LeBron under control, but would have occasional difficulties securing defensive rebounds. They came out of the gate cold and sort of lackadaisical, but tied things up at 63 with a minute or two left in the third. Then LeBron got a block called in his favor that could have gone either way *2 FT’s*, Josh Howard went ½ at the stripe on the other end after this, then Cleveland missed a shot and hit it out of bounds and it was called for Dallas, but LeBron threw a fit and the official from half court said that LeBron was right… and it was pretty much down hill from there. The starters stayed on the bench too long at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and Jason Terry, Brandon Bass etc. were completely flat. Mo Williams got hot, and within about 4 minutes of game time things had gone from tied to Cleveland being up by 20 something. LeBron had a nice game and shot well from the line, Zydrunas Ilgauskas put up a crispy clean 17-11-2 with 2 blocks, and Delonte West spun together a nice little roto number (14-4-5, 3 steals, 3 threes, 4/5 from the field, ¾ from the line, 1 TO). Dallas never really got their offense in synch (they did that thing where they kick out for a 3ptA on every possession… but then miss all of them, and don’t get back in transition etc.), and it shows in the awful stats. Josh Howard is the only guy who had a decent game at all.

Things to watch: Gerald Green has looked good in the games I have watched; making simple moves and smart decisions to find better shots, rotating well on defense etc. If he plays into a situation where he gets 25mpg, the majority of it spent with Kidd on the floor, he will be fantasy relevant. I only bring this up as a potential thing because Antione Wright is not very good, and Jerry Stackhouse is starting to show his age, and SURPRISE Deavon George is already hurt, after logging zero minutes. What a shocker!

Utah – 89 at LA Clippers – 73

Utah’s starters didn’t really produce much in this game, but they didn’t have to considering how the bench played. Paul Millsap put up 24-9 with really nice %’s and defensive stats to boot, and AK47 continued to thrive coming off the bench. Baron Davis and *DRUM ROLL* Marcus Camby came off the bench for the Clippers, and each put up nice stats considering the circumstances. Kaman continued his trend of only doing well in one of the three efficiency cats per night (tonight was the first time FG% got a turn though, so I guess that was nice? No… he had 5 TO’s, so that is still not nice). Al Thornton put up 11-7, but for some reason only had 9 shot attempts in 40 minutes (and zero FTs? Against Utah?! How did he manage this?)

Things to watch: Deron Williams is rumored to make his debut on Wednesday against Portland. While I own Deron on more teams than I own AK, I can’t help but hope he spent the first week of this season reflecting on his past behavior, and making room for some personal growth. By which I mean I am curious to see if AK gets to touch the ball at all once Deron returns, or if Deron is going to keep acting like the kid you always beat at horse in fifth grade who got so upset over this circumstance that he not only refused to play horse with you ever again, but started showing up with a soccer ball instead of a basketball...

Game Notes: 11/2

Only two games tonight. Am I the only one who finds it terrifying that the Minnesota/OKC game sold out? I mean, I know Desmond Mason is a favorite son in these parts... but REALLY!?

*Milwaukee – 94 at New York – 86

This game was not as close the box score may lead you to believe. David Lee and Charlie V each found early foul trouble, although in Charlie’s case case he managed to put up some nice numbers against New York’s “big” men before sitting down. This pretty much sums up the problem the Knicks had tonight, and will undoubtedly have on countless others throughout this season; they cannot even slow down semi-competent low post scorers. To compound that problem, they also have trouble staying in front of guys on the perimeter. The lone defensive standout for NY tonight was Mardy Collins, who saw some time in the second quarter when both Duhon and Nate Robinson were in foul trouble. Mardy disrupted a couple of plays which led to some fast break action; pretty much the only fast break action NY saw all night. Milwaukee’s half court low post offense just decimated any attempt NY made at running. In the rare event that they got a stop, they never had more than one guy capable of beating the Bucks down the floor. Just an ugly game on all sides for the Knicks. All of the Bucks starters put up nice lines, with occasional blemishes (Sessions TO’s, Jefferson’s %’s, Boguts FT% and TO’s), and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute made good use of his extended minutes by posting a double double with two steals. Q-Rich and Z-Bo put up nice lines in the losing effort, Duhon and Lee’s performances exemplify that of the team, and Nate Robinson collected some nice numbers… but did so in just about the ugliest fashion possible.

Trendspotting: In three games, New York has blown the doors off of a team with no low post scorers, and shown total incompetence in half court offense and an inability to run against two teams who had decent-great low post scorers. I won’t declare this case closed yet, but I will definitely watch their mathcups with Charlotte, Washington and Utah this weak with great interest.

*Minnesota – 85 at Oklahoma City – 88

Minnesota had this under control until there were 4ish minutes remaining in the fourth, when OKC got hot and closed a 10 point gap. The score was close throughout the first half, but it was very much “Minnesota gets consistent but slow coming offense, OKC will go four possessions without even getting a good look, then KD will knock a few 20 foot fade a aways in to even the score”. Russell Westbrook got to the rim at will for most of this game, but it was due in part to Mike Miller being the guy assigned to him (this made no sense?). Nick Collison had a double double and filled it out nicely with 3 steals, 2 blocks, and the first post game interview of his NBA career. Jeff Green put up another line that is only marginally better than his rookie averages, and Johan Petro was very quiet after having a nice game last night. Minnesota’s offense is a total mess. Randy Foye is not a point guard. They would be better off starting Kevin Ollie. Foye’s only assists were on things like “dump to Jefferson, Jefferson dunks” and “pass to Miller, Miller makes his own shot and scores”. He either can’t find, or simply doesn’t look for guys once he takes the ball inside the 3pt line.

Things to watch: Corey Brewer is quietly assembling a very nice roto repertoire on the level of JaMario Moon. If you have an H2H team that ditched PTS, or a roto team who is set in points, he is worth looking into, as his array of painless hustle stats and the occasional 3ptm could prove useful.

Game Notes: 11/1

I was afraid that my local programming was going to ruin my first NBA weekend of the season… but the free trial of league pass came to the rescue! Watching 3 games at once on my PC while I had Texas/Texas Tech going on the television… Actually made me feel kind of pathetic, but broadband league pass is a pretty slick service.



Boston – 79 at Indiana – 95

There we go Marquis! I knew you could do this! Danny Granger had a mediocre outing, but the rest of the Pacers picked up the slack (Marquis was the only standout, although Jarret Jack had more rebounds and fewer assists than Jeff Foster… which was just strange), and they ran away from the Celtics early and never really gave anything back. KG had a nice line but stunted it with 6 TO’s. Tony Allen continues to make good use of his 6th man role, but due to his FG% and TO’s is still a fringe fantasy option in standard size leagues. There really weren’t many bright spots for the C’s.

Trendspotting: Even in victory, Indiana only shot 40.7% from the field as a team. Which is worth noting only because it hints that the C’s defense is so strong that even in a losing effort (which was the result of turnovers, some through pressure from Indy, others from sloppy play?), they really don’t give up much of anything.



Sacramento – 103 at Orlando – 121

Hawes/Moore/Thompson had 2 fouls each in the first quarter, and Hawes continued to find himself in foul trouble throughout the game. I had the chance to watch a little of this game on League Pass, and Mikki Moore… he is just awful. Any time a Magic player would get the ball anywhere near him he would immediately abandon all attempts at defense and just foul, usually in such a weak manner as to allow the Magic player (usually Dwight) to finish the play. Beno Udrih redeemed his play in the first two games slightly, and Kevin Martin had a nice game, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of available talent on Sac’s roster right now. All of the Magic starters turned in strong performances (especially Dwight, who posted a crushing big man line of 29-14 with 5 blocks on 11/14 from the field and only 1 TO). Pietrus really hit the spot with his “5th wheel/offensive clean up” sort of role, converting all of 7 of his FT’s and adding a three and a steal.

Trendspotting: This may change a bit once Sacto gets Miller and Garcia back, but through three games they have allowed opponents to shoot 49.7% from the field… which is ridiculous. Making things worse, is that they are sending opponent’s to the line ~29 times per game. In short, what I am saying is that if you need some points from a streamer, look to guys who can get to the line and are playing the Kings.



Miami – 87 at Charlotte – 100

Mario Chalmers split the difference of his first two games, Michael Beasley put up nice points and %’s but not much else, and Udonis Haslem continued to be a model of efficiency in his third start at Center. Wade put up good volume numbers, but not much else. And as usual, the Heat’s bench was worthless in fantasy land. Gerald Wallace put himself in the mix for best line of the night with 34-9-3-2-3 with 2 threes on a tasty FG%. The 4 TO’s and 10/16 from the stripe weigh him down, but this was still a very nice line. J-Rich and Emeka put up nice lines, and Raymond Felton almost snuck in a triple double with 6-6-8.

Things to watch: DJ Augustin is getting decent PT. And while he has not done a lot with it other than foul guys, it is worth keeping an eye on. As unlikely as it would be for a rookie to turn into an efficient source of assists… well he has potential to do something if he keeps getting 20-25 mpg.



Philadelphia – 88 at Atlanta – 95

I thought Philly was going to run away with this one early. Thad Young opened the game with 17 points in the first quarter, and Philly seemed to be rolling. Then Joe Johnson got hot and dropped in 35 points, and with a little help from Mike Bibby, led the way to a Hawk victory. The remainder of Atlanta’s lineup was mediocre statistically, Marvin Williams in particular seemed to be out of synch (his low minutes are not the result of injury or foul trouble, merely crappy play). Philly’s starters on the other hand all posted nice stats… but aside from Thad Young and Andre Miller (who combined for 1 TO) each turned it over 4+ times.

Things to watch: Philly hardly used their bench in this game. Disappointing because Louis Williams is right on the edge of ownable… but if Mo Cheeks doesn’t trust his bench in close games, I don’t think I would be comfortable making Lou a regular member of my fantasy team.



Golden State – 105 at New Jersey – 97

New Jersey committed an astonishing 39 FOULS in this game. I have no clue how this game was as close as it was with that considered. Corey Maggette took advantage though, by going 13/15 from the line (but for the second straight night, being a total mess in the FG% and TO departments). Andris Biedrins and Stephen Jackson had nice nights as well. The New Jersey frontcourt situation seemed to go backwards, as Josh Boone dominated the PT tonight, while first night favorite Yi hardly saw the floor, and perhaps for matchup purposes but morel likely for no discernable reason at all, Keyon Dooling and Jarvis Hayes seemed to reverse roles from opening night.

Things to watch: Muddying the frontcourt situation further, both rookies had VERY nice games considering their PT. Brook Lopez was a bit TO happy, but the rest of his line was rock solid. Ryan Anderson offered a slick 12-4 +2 threes on 50/100. This is perhaps the most frustrating thing about this situation, it seems like all four of the major players (Boone, Yi, Anderson, Lopez) could put up consistently sweet numbers in starters minutes… but in the mean time they will each get 15-25 min which means their production will be totally random.



Washington – 109 at Detroit – 117

Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison each had nice games, hitting their averages from last season in most cats. The surprise here was Nick Young cooking it off the bench! 23 points in 28 minutes, and a perfect 11/11 from the line! Now he did virtually nothing else, old school Rip Hamilton style, but if he gets another game with 25+min (ideally the next one), he is definitely ownable. Amir Johnson picked up 3 fouls in the first 5 minutes of the game, and while Jason Maxiell was the initial sub for him, it was brochacho Walter Harmann who logged the most PT off the bench (and posted a pretty nice, multi-cat line in the process). I am sure that this happened because Washington was running a very small line up for most of the game, but still interesting to note. Stuckey was disappointing in most areas (PT, production in the PT he did receive…) again. Rasheed had a fantasy feast against Washington’s midget squad, registering 6 blocks and going 7/9 from the field.

Things to watch: Andray Blatche only played 4 minutes in this game, which is frustrating sense he seemed like a sure thing with Haywood out. I wouldn’t hesitate to drop him right now if there is anything decent out there.



*Cleveland – 92 at New Orleans – 104

Chris Paul is amazing. I watched most of this game, and that is how I would sum it up. Seeing him side by side with LeBron… it just hits home the whole “LeBron is an athlete who became a basketball player, instead of a basketball player who became an athlete (ie Kobe, CP3, etc.)” argument. Everything LeBron does seems rigid and forced next to the plays CP3 makes. LeBron put up nice volume (15-7-13-3), but a miserable FG%. The rest of Cleveland’s roster was underwhelming from a fantasy perspective, although it should be noted that Boobie Gibson gave a strong scoring spark from the bench for the second straight game. CP3 was stellar on the other side, and David West had nice scoring numbers but underwhelming peripherals. Those of you who grabbed James Posey should be more than pleased with his production tonight, and I am sure the teams you are playing against found his late game production just as annoying as Cleveland did.

Things to watch: Julian Wright played tonight. Once he gets his legs back, he will enter a battle with Posey for the 6th man role. He is a hyper athletic guy with a strong basketball IQ, and in limited opportunities last season showed some pretty serious stuff. This is looking a ways out, but if Chandler and Peja were to go down at the same time again in January, I would take a serious look at Julian Wright.



*Dallas – 95 at Minnesota – 85

Watching this game, the thing that stuck out to me the most was how BAD the Timberwolves are at hitting Mike Miller when he is open. By the end of the game the Mavs were hardly even paying attention to him because Randy Foye would have his tunnel vision on while he plowed his way to the hoop. As a HUGE Mike Miller fan, and a Mike Miller owner, this worries me. The idea of Sebastian Telfair’s return being the only thing in the near future which may improve this also worries me. Kidd’s lone TO was a BS traveling call, and the only other thing holding his line back was his affinity for shooting for 2 point field goals from half a shoe inside the 3pt line (has he always done this? He did it in every game as a Mav I watched last year and it was as perplexing as it was infuriating). The starters minutes were kind of low because of how well the Mav’s bench managed the game. Gerald Green in particular, looked very strong (and mature!) while he was on the floor. Aside from McCants and Jefferson, none of the Wolves had noteworthy stats, but Kevin Love looked VERY good in limited PT. If this team could get a real PG they could go places.

Weirdest stat of the week: DeSagana Diop had four assists. aka one less than he had in the month of February last season. Dallas offense has a new flow to it this year, but I would not read into Diop’s dimes.



*Oklahoma City – 77 at Houston – 94

Kevin Durant kept the Thunder and their ugly uniforms in this game essentially on his own until halfway through the third quarter. Jeff Green and Earl Watson enjoyed bounce back performances as their bench was shortened from the atrocity that was their first game rotation. The rockets had a rough night from the field, but a big night from Carl Landry, combined with a foul disparity of 10-23 in their favor helped them pull this game out. T-Mac had a nice game if you don’t count TO’s or FG%, while the remainder of Houston’s starting lineup was disappointing.

Things to watch: Johan Petro had a nice night (10-9-0-2-3). Hopefully he will continue getting minutes, as I think he garnered so much PT tonight due to Wilcox’ foul trouble.

Things to watch 2: Game 1 it was Scola, game 2 it was Hayes, game 3 it was Landry… Hopefully there will be a pattern to the Rocket’s PF rotation at some point in the near future. Until then I would be hesitant to touch any of these guys.



*Memphis – 86 at Chicago – 96

This game was a lot closer than it looks, and Derrick Rose is putting up WAY better stats than I ever would have imagined. Marc Gasol found foul trouble for the second straight game, Rudy Gay found ugly %’s for the second straight game, Darko found 9 rebounds mainly due to luck (anything that didn’t fall right on him went to someone else)… and Hakim Warrick collected 18 points on a handful of post moves passed down by sage Antione Walker (which surprised me, because this kid is a flyer, not a back you down for half an hour, keel over, and throw up a prayer, guy). Gooden is on the front half of that thing he does sometimes, where he has a huge game or two, and then averages 5rpg for a week, and Luol Deng is beginning to make his opening night efficiency look like a fluke.

Things to watch: Mike Conley struggled again, while Kyle Lowry did quite well. It is tough to argue upside for Lowry since his line tonight was assembled in 30 minutes, but if he starts getting consistent minutes without posting FG% wrecking numbers, he will be a nice FT% streamer option.



Toronto – 91 at Milwaukee – 87

RAMON SESSIONS, filling in for an injured Ridnour (targeting next Wednesday according to rotoworld), turned in the type of line many figured he could coming into the season. What Skiles will do once Ridnour is healthy remains to be seen (my guess is that he goes back to Ridnour, because he doesn’t want Session breaking his single game assist record… and by that I mean he will probably stick with Ridnour because that sort of illogical assertion of dominance was pretty much the theme of his tenure in Chicago). JaMario Moon had his finest game of the season, but still is not rebounding at a rate anywhere NEAR the rate he collected them last year. I figured JON would play into this to degree… but not to this extreme. Can anyone comment on his role this year vs. last year? Calderon was buzzing along great until he turned it over 5 times in the fourth quarter… but it is hard to complain when he gives 25-5-9 and 3 threes on those sick %’s (career high 25!!! Thank you Ramon! This is the real reason Ridnour will be the starter when he is healthy).

Things to watch: Charlie V put up a nice Charlie V line for the second straight game. I have no clue what he did to annoy Skiles on opening night (maybe he reacted poorly to a joke about baldness that Skiles made in an ill-fated attempt to bond?)… but it appears that was an aberration and he will be a safe play… at least for now.



LA Lakers – 104 at Denver – 97

Melo returned and had an all around ugly line. Iverson only played 25 minutes… and I can’t find any info on an injury, or an ejection, and he had zero fouls… so all I can say right now is “that was weird”. JR Smith continued with the well rounded lines he has been posting this season, but struggled shooting tonight. K-Mart had a nice line going, but left with ~5 minutes left due to a hamstring injury that is not thought to be serious (rotoworld)… and oddly enough, on the night all Nuggets struggle, Anthony Carter shined putting up 20-6-6 on nice %’s. Kobe and Gasol each had nice games, and Bynum was once again foul ridden and underwhelming. In my opinion, Ariza is officially a guy to own if steals and 3’s help you. He played 16 minutes in this game and still collected helpful numbers in those cats.

Things to watch: I am afraid tonight may be as good as it gets for Lamar Odom. He played 25 minutes, and barring an injury to Bynum or Gasol I have trouble seeing him get much more than that. He put up 10-6-3 tonight, and will definitely have nights where he tops that, but as of now appears to be a fantasy let down this year.



LA Clippers – 79 at Utah – 101

Al Thornton showed his youth and followed a career night with a clunker (perhaps thanks to Utah’s defense is due?), and with the exception of Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas, the rest of the Clippers looked just as bad. It is hard to find a Jazz player who did not do something any owner could love. AK47 provided strong volume in 5 cats, Boozer gave a dominating FG% without turning it over once, Paul Millsap joined DeSagana Diop and Jeff Foster by participating in what was apparently “Boris Diaw appreciation day”, Ronnie Brewer managed some relatively efficient scoring while collecting defensive stats, Brevin Knight pitched in a painless 6 assists… All of this and Deron Williams is still out!

Things to watch: Chris Kaman has been AWFUL this year. I would love to expand on this, but I can’t explain it… I just hope it corrects itself soon.



Portland – 96 at Phoenix – 107

Phoenix shot 55% from the field, and took good care of the ball en route to victory over a Portland club that can be summed up as “inconsistent” after three games. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge each struggled from the field, but Rudy Fernandez did not and lit things up with 20 points on 8/13. Aside from Matt Barnes, the performance of Phoenix starters was nothing noteworthy (they played as they are expected, but with the aforementioned inflated FG% and lower than average TO's). Barnes was hot early, and got some transition lay-ups/dunks late, to turn in a nice line.

Things to watch: If you need boards from a guy who won’t hurt you, Joel Przybilla is your man. At least until Oden gets back, the vanilla gorilla can be counted on for at least 7 boards, a block, and a stare down of the opposing team’s best player, every night.