Klay Thompson started in place of the traded Monta Ellis, and scored 14 points. His value goes way up, but the Warriors may also unleash Stephen Jackson, potentially a great pickup if he’s been dropped. Nate Robinson started for Stephen Curry (foot, ankle) and had 17 points. Andris Biedrins also regains some fantasy value with Ekpe Udoh joining Ellis in Milwaukee. The Kings may have been overconfident, a luxury they can’t afford
In Other News
TOR @ CLE: Slowly but surely, Andrea Bargnani (19 PTS, 8 REB) is regaining his best form. Jerryd Bayless, in another start for Jose Calderon (ankle) had 20 and held Kyrie Irving to a 5-17 night from the floor.
POR @ IND: The second-half slide continues for Portland. I’m only a fantasy guy, not an expert on what happens in NBA locker rooms, but it looks like all the Blazers have stopped trying. The Pacers cruised to an easy win, making all stats from this one (like Louis Amundson’s 21 PTS & 8 REB) affected by garbage time.
MIA @ ORL: Though he nearly triple-doubled (11 REB, 8 AST) LeBron James had “only” 19 points and turned it over six times. The Dwight Howard farewell tour continued with 24 points and 25 boards, but the surprise was Jameer Nelson (25) as the Magic won in OT.
HOU @ OKC: Kevin Martin (shoulder) and Kyle Lowry (illness) didn’t play but Courtney Lee stepped up with 21 to lead the Rockets to a stunning upset. Chandler Parsons had a career-high 21 PTS, plus 7 REB, 6 AST and a decent job helping to cover Kevin Durant.
LAL @ MEM: It took two overtimes for the Lakers to prevail, with Andrew Bynum scoring 37 on amazing 15-18 shooting; more of his 16 REB might have been on the offensive glass if he’d ever missed. Marreese Speights, soon to lose his job to Zach Randolph, had 25 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST and a BLK in a great effort.
WAS @ DAL: As expected, Dirk Nowitzki (27) and Jason Terry (24) are back in gear. Looks like the Mavs have put that nightmare road trip behind them. Trevor Booker (20 PTS, 12 REB) continues to hold off Andray Blatche (11 in 17 minutes) as the Wizards’ starting PF.
ATL @ DEN: Ty Lawson (foot) had 21 and Nene 22 to lead the Nuggets to an overtime win, but the bigger news is Danilo Gallinari playing 37 minutes and scoring 19, a hint that he’s about to get hot. It was a heartbreaker for the Hawks, who are going with Kirk Hinrich (22) at SG and Joe Johnson (34) at SF, with Marvin Williams (10) now the sixth man. Josh Smith was terrific again, with 33 points in a stat-stuffing line.
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Hump-day Night
TOR @ NJN: The Raptors don’t often win two straight road games. Kris Humphries doesn’t often score 31 and grab 18 boards. While I think Hump is a good bet to double-double, his individual numbers may not be as good if Deron Williams returns from his sore calf. Check for updates on D-Will near game time.
PHI @ IND: This should be a good one. Evan Turner is starting to play like a #2 overall pick, Lou Williams is an electric bench scorer and Spencer Hawes (Achilles) is returning to help in the middle. The Pacers played last night, but it was a laugher and the starters are rested.
MIA @ CHI: Another test for the Heat, who will be exhausted from an overtime loss and late flight. Derrick Rose was in a minor car accident and missed yesterday’s practice, but should play. The “real” game of the night could be low-scoring for those of us in fantasyland.
POR @ NYK: Just what the doctor ordered for the Knicks, who haven’t been as bad in their six-game slide as certain Big Apple media types and panicky fans are saying. The Blazers are horrible, playing as if there’s a team pact to get their coach fired.
LAL @ NOH: Back-to-backs on the road are never easy, especially when the first one involves OT, but the Lakers are on a bit of a roll and the Hornets are going in the opposite direction.
CLE @ MIL: The Cavs lost at home last night and must regroup quickly. While it’s highly unlikely that newest Bucks Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh will play before Friday’s visit to their former teammates, the trade may invigorate Milwaukee. They’ll miss Andrew Bogut in the future, but shipping out a disgruntled Stephen Jackson is addition by subtraction.
CHA @ HOU: No starting backcourt, no problem for the Rockets last night. This game may not be pretty; the Bobcats aren’t very good and Corey Maggette is banged up.
ATL @ LAC: Something tells me Chris Paul is going to fire up his team tonight. The Clips have lost their last three home games; Blake Griffin is also annoyed. They may take it out on the road-weary Hawks.
ORL @ SAS: All eyes are on Dwight Howard (OK, one eye keeps peeking at Twitter) as the deadline looms. Manu Ginobili (hip flexor) may not play. The latest injury doesn’t sound serious, it’s just that the Spurs are so deep, they can afford to give their veterans extra rest. Tony Parker is one of my key DraftStreet.com picks tonight; see below.
DET @ SAC: Tyreke Evans all but admitted the Kings didn’t get “up” for last night’s loss, so let’s predict a better effort in this one. The Pistons are much better at home.
BOS @ GSW: It would be no surprise if the home team is emotionally exhausted after a big trade and an upset win. There have been whispers about shutting down Stephen Curry, and trading for Bogut sends a message that this season is over. Boston may be shifting into playoff mode. That humiliating loss in Philly last week was a wakeup call; they played two great games in the L.A. split.
UTA @ PHO: Condolences to Al Jefferson, who was very close to his grandmother. His brilliant, emotional performance on Monday may be hard to repeat tonight, and he’s expected to miss Utah’s next two games. For the Suns, Jared Dudley has been very good recently and Marcin Gortat should bounce back.
Draft Street Life
| Sure Things | Over $14,000 |
| T. Parker | $15,441 |
| D. Cousins | $15,959 |
| B. Griffin | $17,431 |
| C. Paul | $18,074 |
| Bargains | Under $9,000 |
| T. Gibson | $8,430 |
| T. Splitter | $8,420 |
| D. Wright | $8,300 |
| J. Redick | $8,069 |
| Hunches | $9,000 to $14,000 |
| J. Dudley | $12,241 |
| T. Evans | $12,768 |
| Jo. Johnson | $12,630 |
| E. Turner | $11,980 |
In my $5 Salary Cap league yesterday, I went stars-and-scrubs, using a huge chunk of my $100,000 on Dwight Howard and Kevin Durant. Ended up with Ryan Hollins in the eighth spot, hoping he might earn more than his under-$5K salary. Had the big fella hit one more shot, or grabbed one more board, I would have ended higher than 18th (out of 220) but that’s how the orange ball bounces.
One neat thing about those large leagues is, I got paid $15 for that finish, turning a small profit on the night! Nothing against 6-team or 10-team leagues, which are also challenging and fun, it just seems to be the format where I’m having the most success — so far.
Remember, I’m a novice on the Street, and this segment is about my personal learning curve. You might find the Pick ‘Em version is exactly your speed, and there’s no question that the Snake-Draft format has tremendous appeal. I simply didn’t have time for a draft yesterday, but will join at least one today.
Tonight, in the GPP Salary Cap league, I’m going to avoid extremes. Some of the highest-priced guys have reasons not to use them (fatigue, possible trades) and I can’t find many bargains that stand out. My team will be full of medium-priced players, mostly in home games.
Draft Street is free to join. They also have free leagues where you can play for credits and prizes. See you there!