Before we look at last night’s games, you might want to add J.R. Smith to your team. It’s being reported that he will sign with the Knicks, and play on Sunday. It’s a great fit; instead of trying to guess between Bill Walker, Steve Novak and Iman Shumpert, you can be fairly confident that Smith will soon be the primary bench scorer. In addition to threes, he’s a decent source of STL and REB. Don’t go overboard dropping a productive starter, but I picked up J.R. in a couple of leagues, replacing Shumpert.
What Did We Learn?
Thursday is the quiet night in fantasy hoops. The Clippers beat Portland in a low-scoring affair, with Marcus Camby held to just two points and Raymond Felton completely blanked. Nobody expected Felton to outplay Chris Paul, but this is a new low in a very disappointing season: 0-7 from the floor, never got to the line and turned it over five times. If you own Ray, resist the urge to cut him. The Blazers really don’t have a choice, as Jamal Crawford (19 last night) is a shoot-first guy and rookie Nolan Smith is the only other PG. Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum played well together, though one of them might come off the bench when LaMarcus Aldridge returns. For LAC, Mo Williams got 17 points despite going 1-7 from deep and to my surprise, Kenyon Martin played a lot (29:00) in a back-to-back, as DeAndre Jordan’s minutes continue to be reduced.
The Bulls beat the Celtics despite Kevin Garnett’s productive return, which pushed Chris Wilcox to the bench and limited JaJuan Johnson to just 10 minutes. KG had 18 and 10 despite a sore hip, but Jermaine O’Neal isn’t getting the job done, with a -18 in 21 minutes. My hunch plays from the Bulls bench couldn’t have been worse: Kyle Korver missed all five of his shots, Taj Gibson didn’t play much because Carlos Boozer was terrific (23 & 15) and instead of John Lucas backing up C.J. Watson at the point, there was a rare Mike James sighting. Don’t get too excited; Derrick Rose is expected back soon.
Danny Granger, for a questionable starter, turned out to be the answer for the Pacers, dropping 32 on the Nets including four 3-pointers. Roy Hibbert had a quiet double-double and A.J. Price, for you deep leaguers, was solid again as the backup PG. Deron Williams and Kris Humphries did everything they could in a losing cause, combining for 53 points. Jordan Farmar (sore groin) played just two minutes, and the NJ second unit misses his energy. Anthony Morrow, in just 23 minutes because DeShawn Stevenson is starting, was held to eight points and may soon be droppable in some formats.
Weekend Update
There are 25 games left to determine this week’s H2H results, 11 of them tonight. I’d like to be courtside in Cleveland, where LeBron James will be booed and Norris Cole cheered in a homecoming of sorts. The rookie Heat guard averaged 21.7 PTS, 5.8 REB, 5.3 AST and 2.2 STL last year for the Vikings of Cleveland State. Cole, especially with Mario Chalmers nursing a sore hand, is a good spot play with some long-term value. Daniel Gibson is injured again and Alonzo Gee will start at SG, making him a strong pickup in most leagues.
A less interesting real game, though five hours closer to home, is Charlotte at Toronto, irrelevant teams going nowhere. Linas Kleiza looked great against the Knicks (except at the line) then was scratched against the Spurs. I saw him knock knees with someone late in the fourth and stay on the court, hobbling a little. Sitting out the next game had nothing to do with his surgically-repaired right knee and I’m guessing he plays quite a bit. Repeat — that’s a guess; look for confirmation before you commit to him. Amir Johnson had a terrific game on Tuesday against Amare Stoudemire, and Jerryd Bayless could be quite useful if — as expected — he gets the green light to return. For the Bobcats, Kemba Walker and Corey Maggette are the best plays and Reggie Williams could go off. If you need a C, Byron Mullens will score off the bench while starter Bismack Biyombo might block a few shots.
Count on Jeremy Lin having another good night as the Knicks host the Hornets. Carmelo Anthony is officially “questionable” — if not tonight, Melo should be back Sunday. Chris Kaman is a must-add. Forced into service by injuries to Jason Smith, Carl Landry and Emeka Okafor, he’s gone from unwanted trade piece to team leader and gets to showcase himself for a trade every night. Unheralded rookie Gustavo Ayon has game. His average line in February is 6.9 PTS, 6.9 REB, 1.3 STL and 1.1 BLK and his last two starts make him worth using this evening.
The Mavs-Sixers game should be fun. Delonte West is out with a badly dislocated finger and Roddy Beaubois is on bereavement leave, so deep leaguers can add Dominique Jones and hope for the best. Maybe, just maybe, Lamar Odom is rounding into form at last. His 30 minutes on Wednesday were encouraging. Brendan Haywood might not be needed tonight, as Philly continues to use undersized rookies Lavoy Allen and Nikola Vucevic in the middle.
Maybe the Bucks were embarrassed enough by their loss at home on Wednesday to play well in Orlando. Scott Skiles is one of those coaches who frustrates fantasy owners; my guess is, Shaun Livingston will play less, while Ersan Ilyasova and Mike Dunleavy play more. If Stephen Jackson could ever get on the same page as his coach, that might help. There’s also word that Drew Gooden is playing through a sore wrist.
SAC at DET is hardly a marquee matchup, and the Kings mailed in their last game. It’s not impossible that they will bounce back tonight with a better effort, and DeMarcus Cousins is capable of a monster line. The Pistons looked good in Boston and Ben Gordon was in a zone. You hear about a “rookie wall” every year, and this season’s compressed schedule is catching up to veterans, too. Brandan Knight was better in January than February, which could indicate fatigue.
The Thunder is rolling. At home for the remainder of the first half, they should handle the Warriors tonight in what could be an entertaining game. Nate Robinson finished the game for Monta Ellis on Wednesday, but that was more a one-time thing than a trend.
Washington visits Utah, where there’s a PG controversy. Devin Harris has been awful, leading to Earl Watson getting most of the minutes. The main reason to hold Harris if you’re stuck with him is the possibility of a trade. This could mean another big night for John Wall, though the Wizards may be getting road-weary.
At first glance, the Nuggets in Memphis sounds like fun. On second thought, playing without Danilo Gallinari, Nene and Timofey Mozgov, Denver may be in trouble. The Grizzlies big men have quite an advantage, especially if Marreese Speights plays anything like he has been lately. Mo Speezy has been attacking the boards (averaging 5 OREB in his last 5 games) and taking better shots.
In Houston, the Rockets are fresh off a big win vs. OKC. Kevin Martin can be unstoppable when he’s aggressive, which is how Kevin McHale wants him to play. Minnesota’s 1-2 punch up front of Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic will be a load for the inconsistent Sam Dalembert and ever-reliable Luis Scola.
Finally, the Suns travel to Los Angeles to meet the Lakers. It’s a lot to ask of Marcin Gortat to handle Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum without a true PF in the lineup. On the other hand, Channing Frye could be hard to cover on the perimeter for the L.A. bigs. If Grant Hill has to cover Kobe Bryant, his own scoring may be down, but the 39-year-old had a spring in his step on Wednesday night.
Good luck, and while I can’t always answer questions immediately, feel free to leave a comment here or hit me on Twitter.