PHILADELPHIA –
Highlight Performance:
Kyle Lowry, Houston Rockets – Once again Kyle Lowry dominated a basketball game, last night’s victim being the Portland Trailblazers. Against Raymond Felton and his backcourt mates Lowry had 33 points on 13 – 26 field goal attempts, 4 free throws made and 3 three-pointers, as well as 8 rebounds and 9 assists (and a 2.25 Ast/TO ratio). He’s flirted with a triple-double numerous times this season; should only be a matter of time.
Performance to Forget:
Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings – Perhaps former head coach Paul Westphal wasn’t the problem in Sacramento? The Dallas Mavericks blew the Kings out of the American Airlines Center last night, 99 – 66. The Kings shot a combined 22 – 86 (25.6 fg%) from the field. Among the chief culprits was their starting point guard: Evans shot a measly 1 – 8 from the field totaling 3 points, and dished out but 2 assists. On the season Evans is only averaging 3.7 assists per game.
Players to Watch:
Byron Mullins/ Kemba Walker, Charlotte Bobcats – a team lacking a star player or identity, the Bobcats are a work in progress on a game-by-game basis. Against Golden State last night Charlotte started a three-guard lineup with Gerald Henderson moving to small forward and rookie Kemba Walker joining D.J. Augustine in the backcourt (mercurial Boris Diaw was shifted to the bench). Walker scored 23 points on 8 – 15 field goal attempts, 5 free throws made and 2 three-pointers, and contributed 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Mullins, a second year center, has averaged 15.6 points and 6.2 rebounds over the past five games. He does little else in terms of fantasy contribution but is a serviceable center.
Injuries:
Andray Blatche, WAS – shoulder, day to day
Al Horford, ATL – shoulder, 3 – 4 months
Michael Beasley, MIN – mid-foot sprain, indefinitely
Carmelo Anthony, NYK – sprained ankle, day to day
Stephen Curry, GSW – sprained ankle, day to day
Richard Hamilton, CHI – groin, day to day
Courtney Lee, HOU – calf, day to day
Andrea Bargnani, TOR – calf strain, day to day
Marcus Camby, POR – ankle, day to day
Andrew Bogut, MIL – concussion, day to day
Grant Hill, PHX – knee, day to day
Steve Nash, PHX – back, day to day
Jason Richardson, ORL – knee, day to day
Dwyane Wade, MIA – ankle, day to day
James Johnson, TOR – ankle, day to day
Marc Kravitz, based in Philadelphia, provides Quality Assurance Mystery Shopper services to Restaurants throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. He is a Mixed Martial Arts fanatic and Fantasy Basketball junkie. In Fantasy Hoops, “Krewtime” has finished “in the money” in 85% of the leagues he has participated in. Follow Marc’s fantasy advice on Twitter @Marc_Kravitz