In a nationally-televised game, sophomore Evan Turner scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the 76ers beat New York. Lou Williams poured in 28 in as many minutes. Can a bench player be a keeper in a 12-team league? Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 22 and Tyson Chandler returned, but Amare Stoudemire was quiet and Jeremy Lin off-target. The Garden crowd did not sound happy.
Elsewhere
MIL @ TOR: An ankle injury to Jose Calderon made Jerryd Bayless (16 & 6) the starting PG and the unlikely Gary Forbes his backup. Amir Johnson started at C instead of Aaron Gray and Andrea Bargnani played 30 minutes as he gets back up to full speed. Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks to the road victory with 31 points and 12 boards. As Linsanity wanes, Ersanity reigns!
BOS @ LAL: Andrew Bynum had 20 PTS, 14 REB and a game-winning shot; still-not-traded Pau Gasol added 13 & 13 as the Lakers edged the Celtics. Rajon Rondo had 24 PTS and 10 AST in the losing cause, and Brandon Bass, who is far from 100% physically, had 15 & 8 in over 43 minutes. Both teams’ benches are very thin right now.
IND @ ORL: J.J. Redick started at SG for injured Jason Richardson and contributed 18 PTS and 9 AST, while still-not-traded Dwight Howard filled the stat sheet (30 PTS, 13 REB, 5 AST, 4 STL) to lead the Magic. For Indiana, it was another quiet night for Roy Hibbert and a game David West would like to forget — just two points in 17 minutes. Just as George Hill was heating up, he sprained his shoulder and has missed the last couple of games.
HOU @ CLE: Another 28 from Antawn Jamison, 21 from Kyrie Irving and some impressive bench scoring led the Cavs. The Rockets will be without Kyle Lowry for at least a couple of weeks, if not a month, as he recovers from an infection. That makes Goran Dragic (20 PTS, 8 AST) a must-own almost everywhere and gives Jonny Flynn some value in the deepest of leagues.
MEM @ DEN: If you were guaranteed no starter on the visiting team would score more than 13 points, you might bet the home team, but Memphis won anyway. O.J. Mayo had 22 of the bench and Dante Cunningham a dozen; check for updates on Rudy Gay, who has concussion symptoms. The Nuggets (and his fantasy owners) keep waiting for Danilo Gallinari to get going; he went 0-5 in 21 minutes. Ty Lawson sprained his right foot and had just five points; he’s day-to-day.
ATL @ SAC: Hmm, a lineup shuffle. Kirk Hinrich (12) started at SG, Joe Johnson (21) was the SF and Marvin Williams (12) came off the bench. Too soon to tell if it was a matchup ploy or a semi-permanent change. Zaza Pachulia had a modest double-double (10 PTS, 13 REB) and Josh Smith led the Hawks with 28. It was a very quiet night for the Kings’ guards but DeMarcus Cousins (28 & 12) played well.
GSW @ LAC: Why do the Warriors insist on using Stephen Curry (scoreless in nine minutes) when he’s hurt? They won anyway, with double-figure scoring from the other four starters. The Clippers have a large void where Caron Butler used to be. In three of his last four games, he’s scored two points or less. There’s been talk of “fatigue” rather than injury. Bobby Simmons might get more minutes soon.
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Monday Night
MIL @ NJN: The next stop on the under-publicized Ersanity tour. If Deron Williams (calf) doesn’t play, Jordan Farmar should have a good night. It will be interesting to see if Gerald Green has earned more court time after his 26-point night that included a spectacular windmill dunk.
CHA @ NOH: There will be statistics from this one, so it’s relevant in fantasy, if nowhere else. D.J. Augustin had 22 points in his latest and Corey Maggette has been averaging over 23 per game through his last five. The battle up front will be the crafty Chris Kaman vs. uber-athletic teenager Bismack Biyombo.
NYK @ CHI: It gets no easier for the Knicks, whose five-game slide has come against some pretty good opponents. The last time fans were demanding Mike D’Antoni’s head, Jeremy Lin came to the rescue, but he’s up against Derrick Rose tonight.
WAS @ SAS: Tony Parker is expected to return after resting his sore quad for one game. This one has the feeling of “garbage time” before it even starts, where a lot of bench players see the floor. There probably won’t be any need to burn out Manu Ginobili or Tim Duncan.
DET @ UTA: An absolutely brutal stretch of the schedule begins for the Pistons. Nine of their next ten games are on the road; the only brief stop at home will be to face Miami. Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin called the absence of Raja Bell an “internal matter” so we don’t know if Bell will play, or if Devin Harris is over a stomach virus.
MIN @ PHO: Life after Rubio continues, and while Luke Ridnour is more than capable of sliding over to PG, there’s now a glaring SG hole. The inconsistent Martell Webster was given the first opportunity, but disappointed. The Suns are on a roll at home and have clearly not given up their playoff hopes. I’m expecting big games from Steve Nash, Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley.
BOS @ LAC: Not the easiest back-to-back for the Celtics, who at least didn’t have to travel. However, the Clippers aren’t firing on all cylinders — last night’s loss to the Warriors was their fourth in the last six home games. Mo Williams needs to bounce back from a 1-8 shooting night to give Chris Paul and Blake Griffin a little help off the bench.
Taking it To Draft Street
| Sure Things | Over $14,000 |
| K. Love | $20,342 |
| A. Jefferson | $16,303 |
| C. Paul | $18,842 |
| D. Rose | $18,271 |
| Bargains | Under $9,000 |
| S. Williams | $8,358 |
| B. Knight | $8,528 |
| J. Howard | $8,034 |
| G. Green | $4,764 |
| Hunches | $9,000 to $14,000 |
| N. Pekovic | $12,041 |
| J. Jack | $11,325 |
| L. Ridnour | $9,680 |
| C. Boozer | $12,315 |
Week 1 of my DraftStreet.com experiment finished $202 in the black, after a simply amazing Saturday night. Entering three $5 leagues and winning them all may never happen again, but it sure was fun. Today the weekly bankroll resets to $100 — keep in mind, I’m still a novice, trying to learn a new game.
While visiting a friend yesterday, I joined a free weekly salary cap league to show him how it works. This guy knows nothing about sports but is a clever fellow who plays poker and is a stock market investor; he was fascinated by the Salary Cap game.
That will be my introduction to weekly leagues. I have no idea (yet) whether very good players with only three games can outperform lesser talents with 5 GP.
I’m also in a $5 Pick ‘Em (10 man) and a $5 Salary Cap (220 teams, GPP $1,000) which is the version I like best, so far. Finished 14th of 110 yesterday in a similar league; my team wasn’t bad, but “heathbledger” scored a very impressive 305.25 points with his 8-man, $100,000 lineup to take the $145 first prize.
I wouldn’t recommend Draft Street if I didn’t enjoy the challenge. You can get started by playing free games for credits and prizes.