Raja Bell returned to the Utah starting lineup, but “demoted” Gordon Hayward was terrific off the bench with 23 points on 8-11 shooting, plus 4 REB and 5 AST in 28 minutes. As the Jazz won, I’d expect the new rotation to continue, but Devin Harris left early with a sore knee. The Cavs were no match for Al Jefferson (25 & 13) and Paul Millsap (13 & 9) — they miss Anderson Varejao.
In Other News
GSW @ WAS: New starting C Ekpe Udoh had a very good game (17 & 6) and Monta Ellis scored 25 points as the Warriors won in DC. Stephen Curry played 9:18 off the bench in a cautious return. It was a tough 2-13 shooting night for Jordan Crawford, who had been carrying the Wizards. Nick Young, back from a 1-game absence, scored 25 off the bench.
ORL @ TOR: Dwight Howard had 36 PTS, Ryan Anderson 19 and they each grabbed 13 rebounds. The Raptors were without Amir Johnson (bruised knee) so Ed Davis got the difficult starting assignment. Jerryd Bayless had 15 PTS, 5 AST and 6 REB in 23 minutes and will be great to own if Jose Calderon gets traded.
IND @ CHI: Roy Hibbert got into quick foul trouble and finished with two points. Darren Collison was held scoreless. The Bulls put this one away with a dominant 33-13 third quarter but lost Richard Hamilton again, this time to a shoulder injury, and C.J. Watson will be out for a while with a sore ankle.
PHI @ MIL: There was a lineup shuffle, with Evan Turner replacing Jodie Meeks and Nikola Vucevic taking over from Lavoy Allen in the starting five. Turner’s 1-12 shooting didn’t help, and Thaddeus Young started the second half instead of Vucevic. For the victorious Bucks, Brandon Jennings was great, with 33 PTS, 7 AST, 4 REB, 2 STL and a BLK.
LAC @ MIN: While Blake Griffin had 26 & 12, Kevin Love topped him — 39 points and 17 boards. There was even a rare Darko Milicic sighting, as Nikola Pekovic sat to rest his ankle. Randy Foye (2-8) and Caron Butler (0-6) were off-target all night.
DAL @ OKC: Dirk Nowitzki had 27, but two Mavericks starters went scoreless. Vince Carter played ten ineffective minutes, and Brendan Haywood hurt his ankle on the game’s first possession. That gave Kendrick Perkins (14 REB) and Serge Ibaka (6 BLK) an advantage over Ian Mahinmi, who had 13 points and 5 REB before fouling out.
SAC @ DEN: Arron Afflalo had a career-high 32 including four 3-pointers and Kenneth Faried had his first 20-point game as a pro, but the big news was the return of both Danilo Gallinari and Nene. Eased back with limited minutes, neither was on the court in OT, when the Nuggets prevailed. Marcus Thornton and Tyreke Evans had 27 each for the Kings, but DeMarcus Cousins battled foul trouble and never got going.
NOH @ POR: In his return to the starting five, Raymond Felton had 11 PTS and 10 AST. Jamal Crawford was extremely quiet off the bench, with just 5 points in 19 minutes. However, the Blazers won, so the “new” lineup (which looks kind of familiar) isn’t going anywhere.
Tuesday Night
ATL @ IND: The trip to Chicago did not go well, now the Pacers must regroup at home. In particular, I like Roy Hibbert to bounce back. The Hawks, with Kirk Hinrich likely to fill in again for Joe Johnson, are relying mostly on Josh Smith.
ORL @ CHA: Overconfidence might be the biggest obstacle for the Magic, as the Bobcats have lost 21 of their last 22 and are overmatched in the middle. Bismack Biyombo, age 19, has missed two games with a shoulder strain but may return to battle Dwight Howard.
HOU @ BOS: There’s some stability in the Celtics lineup, though trade winds are swirling. Kevin Garnett is the C, Brandon Bass starts at PF and Chris Wilcox backs up both spots. Rajon Rondo should have his hands full with Kyle Lowry tonight, and vice versa. The Rockets will need another big effort from Samuel Dalembert to have any chance of a road upset.
LAL @ DET: Kobe Bryant has been playing like he borrowed The Mask from Jim Carrey. Something has recently inspired Metta World Peace. If Greg Monroe has to guard Andrew Bynum, who will stop Pau Gasol? It would be a big surprise if the Pistons win this one.
NJN @ MIA: If you drafted Brook Lopez, my sympathy. It’s been a roller-coaster season, going downhill again. Shelden Williams might be the Nets’ starting C for the next three weeks, and with Chris Bosh returning, the Heat are at full strength. Not to mention angry at losing two straight.
NYK @ DAL: It’s going to be Tyson Chandler night (he’s getting his championship ring) and the big man may not have to battle Brendan Haywood (ankle) so the Knicks have an advantage in the paint. They also have an extra day of rest. Carmelo Anthony has been sharp of late and Iman Shumpert got twice as many minutes on Sunday as nominal starter Landry Fields.
Draft Street Fighting Man
| Sure Things | Over $14,000 |
| L. James | $24,311 |
| D. Howard | $21,040 |
| K. Bryant | $17,172 |
| R. Hibbert | $14,056 |
| Bargains | Under $9,000 |
| K. Hinrich | $6,093 |
| C. Duhon | $5,066 |
| G. Green | $3,411 |
| S. Novak | $6,357 |
| Hunches | $9,000 to $14,000 |
| D. Granger | $11,656 |
| L. Scola | $10,284 |
| R. Anderson | $13,062 |
| I. Shumpert | $9,170 |
Obviously, I’m a novice, still learning the hard way. My $2 Pick ‘Em team finished last out of 10 and my $5 Salary Cap team was 174th of 220, out of the money. No excuses, down $7.00.
Tonight I’m trying three different teams in the same $2 Salary Cap league. One starts with LeBron James and Dwight Howard, then fills in with bargains. Another has Kobe Bryant as the most expensive player with only one below $10,000. I’ve also joined the $11 league limited to 100 teams, with a $1,000 prize pool.
Plus, I’m in a $2 Pick ‘Em league again, where you select one player from each of eight tiers and don’t have to worry about the $100,000 salary cap. The player pool isn’t quite as deep, so this variation might appeal to beginners.
Scoring in all formats is as simple as the rules. PTS are worth 1, REB 1.25, AST 1.5, STL 2 and BLK 2. TO are -1, missed FG or FT -0.5 each. The very best players average about 40 FPPG, or fantasy points per game. From your full 8-man roster, it usually takes about 250 points to be in contention.
In addition, there are Snake-Draft leagues, which sound exciting but require slightly more time. You can join Draft Street for free and try all the different formats.
See you here again tomorrow morning; follow me on Twitter in the meantime.