The return of Kyrie Irving (22 points) is great for his fantasy owners and the Cavs. The probable Rookie of the Year showed no ill effects from his recent mild concussion, and made his teammates much better. Semih Erden is suddenly a hot fantasy pickup in many leagues. The big Turk had 18 PTS on 7-8 shooting and grabbed 8 REB, cementing his role as the starting center while Anderson Varejao is out. Coming off the bench didn’t hurt Ramon Sessions, who finished the game at SG for nominal starter Daniel Gibson.
Elsewhere
Memphis won in New Jersey as the enigmatic Marreese Speights went wild: 20 points on 10-13 shooting, a stunning 18 rebounds, two blocks and a visible sense of purpose. Excuse me while I go pick him up. Again. All five Grizzlies starters were great; the bench mostly waved towels. For the Nets, Anthony Morrow is back to a sixth-man role that suits him well (17 PTS) but DeShawn Stevenson was scoreless in 17 minutes as the starter, so there may be more lineup tinkering. Deron Williams (26 PTS, 11 AST) deserves a better supporting cast.
In Houston, Kevin Martin erased concerns about a back problem with a 32-point outburst. For the first time in several games, coach Kevin McHale relied heavily on his starters. Chandler Parsons played 35 minutes and Sam Dalembert 29, which kept the Rockets’ bench quiet. It was the opposite story for the Thunder, as Serge Ibaka gave way to Nick Collison for long stretches. I’ll leave it to “real” hoops experts to discern whether Scott Brooks was outcoached in the 1-point loss. It’s hard to be objective when you own Ibaka.
Ho-hum, seven in a row for the Knicks, a career-high 13 assists for Jeremy Lin. The Kings were never in it. Jason Thompson managed one point in almost 30 minutes, John Salmons scored two. With the MSG crowd booing Isaiah Thomas just for reminding them of someone, he put up a very nice line off the bench: 14 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL. Deep leaguers in need of a PG could do worse.
The Celtics are hobbled, especially up front. Kevin Garnett (sore hip) didn’t play and Brandon Bass remains out. Jermaine O’Neal was invisible except for five fouls as the Pistons, behind Greg Monroe (22) and Rodney Stuckey (25) won on the road. Rajon Rondo (35 PTS) did everything he could and Chris Wilcox (17) chipped in, but the all-star break can’t come too soon for Boston.
In another entertaining contest at the ACC, the road warriors from San Antonio beat the Raptors. It was the Tony Parker show: 34 points, 12 of 12 from the line, 14 assists. Eight other Spurs contributed between six and 13 points. Tim Duncan played just 19 minutes, Tiago Splitter 28, as coach Pop tries to keep his veterans as fresh as possible for the playoffs. Manu Ginobili, still visibly protective of his left hand and in less than 100% “basketball shape,” notched 11 PTS in 20 minutes and will keep improving. For the Raptors, Jose Calderon (16 & 11) had another nice night and DeMar DeRozan scored 29, but the big men are overmatched by most teams.
The Bucks sure miss Andrew Bogut. Not to demean the fine job Drew Gooden has done filling in, but last night Chris Kaman had 18 & 10 and rookie Gustavo Ayon 12 & 12 as the Hornets — no powerhouse — beat them in Milwaukee.
Forgive my man-crush on Nikola Pekovic. In many leagues, he’s been a better FA pickup than Jeremy Lin. Another 21 PTS, another 11 REB and 3 BLK while staying out of foul trouble. Luke Ridnour returned from a one-game personal absence and was +20 as the starting SG. The T-Wolves cruised over the Bobcats, who did get an encouraging bit of help from D.J. Augustin. The PG returned from missing 11 games with a foot problem, scored 9 off the bench and should soon resume a starting role. He’s a nice add in many leagues if he was dropped. To the Twitter follower I advised yesterday not to cut Boris Diaw, you’re welcome.
Denver didn’t even show up in Dallas. Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo combined for six points. Don’t make any major decisions based on that game.
The Wizards were blown out by the Clippers in L.A., as expected. Not much happened of significance to fantasy owners. Randy Foye, picked up by many of us when Chauncey Billups got hurt, has been disappointing as the starting SG. It might be time to move on.
Oldies-but-goodies Steve Nash and Grant Hill returned from one-game rests to play very well for the Suns, but there was no stopping Josh Smith last night in Phoenix. 30 PTS, 17 REB, 7 AST, 4 STL, 3 BLK and even a pair of 3-pointers led the Hawks to an exciting road win. Don’t look now, but Jeff Teague played 23:30 and Kirk Hinrich 24:30 — looks like we’ve got ourselves a timeshare.
With LaMarcus Aldridge sidelined, Wesley Matthews returned to the starting lineup as the Blazers beat the Warriors on the road. Nicolas Batum had another good game and Gerald Wallace was terrific. As touted here yesterday, David Lee had a monster night for GSW, 29 and 11.
Also as expected, the Sixers — with rookies Lavoy Allen and Nikola Vucevic the only healthy big men — were clobbered in Orlando. Not only was Dwight Howard dominant, Ryan Anderson knocked down seven more triples and Jameer Nelson outplayed Jrue Holiday.
Tonight, Tonight
The Pacers host New Jersey in the finale of a back-to-back-to-back. It may not be pretty. In standard-sized leagues, be sure that Brook Lopez is owned. The big fella is coming back very soon.
Boston at Chicago would be a more meaningful playoff preview if both teams were at full strength. Instead, it’s an opportunity for fantasy owners to squeeze out stats from lesser-known players. C.J. Watson is a must-start, while Taj Gibson, Kyle Korver and even John Lucas could be useful to you.
Past my bedtime, the Clippers visit Portland. With LaMarcus Aldridge doubtful, look for Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to have their way. I’m still bullish on Kenyon Martin in deeper leagues, just not keen on him yet in back-to-back situations.
Looking Beyond
If you play Head-to-Head and missed my Tuesday piece, check it out. Next week is simply ridiculous for H2H leagues, with about half of the normal number of NBA games, because of the all-star break. Find out how an aggressive owner can take advantage.
In many leagues, depending on your needs and roster size, it’s about time to stash J.R. Smith and not too soon to grab Wilson Chandler. Smith’s team in China has been eliminated from the playoffs and the prolific scorer is weighing multiple NBA options. Chandler’s team could get knocked out in the first round, meaning he could return — perhaps to Denver — in 2-3 weeks.