Chris Bosh is on a roll. His 29 points on 12-16 shooting, plus 8 REB and a couple of STL, led the Heat to an exciting, come-from-behind win over the inspired Suns. LeBron James was shaken up twice but stayed in the game and finished with 20. Though Dexter Pittman got his first start because Joel Anthony has a sore ankle, he played less than 14 minutes while Udonis Haslem (15 & 9) got most of the work. Grant Hill led Phoenix with 19 in the disappointing loss, and I was very impressed by the energy and hops of rookie Markieff Morris, who played 22 strong minutes off the bench.
In Other Games
LAC @ IND: The Pacers got back on track, thanks to Danny Granger, who led the way with 23 PTS and 10 REB, plus some terrific play from the bench. George Hill (15 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST) was better than starter Darren Collison and Tyler Hansbrough (17) outplayed slumping starter David West. Leandro Barbosa added 12 points in 18 minutes as he gets used to his new mates. Nick Young had a quiet 13 points in his first start for the Clippers, missing 5 of 6 attempts from downtown. He is due for an outburst.
TOR @ NYK: The “new” Knicks in the post-D’Antoni era remain undefeated. Amare Stoudemire (22 & 12) was a beast, Jeremy Lin (18 & 10) had another very good game and the improved team D is noticeable. Not only did the run of great games by Jerryd Bayless end with the return of Jose Calderon (11 & 9), Bayless fell heavily to the floor and hurt his hip, leaving him questionable for tonight. Andrea Bargnani has not been himself since returning from a calf injury; frustrated owners can only be patient.
LAL @ HOU: Kobe Bryant got back on track with 29, but it wasn’t enough to beat the determined Rockets. Courtney Lee started at SG with Kevin Martin still sidelined and scored 23 points, while Goran Dragic, whose workload has been tremendous in the absence of Kyle Lowry, had 16 PTS, 13 AST, 7 REB and 2 STL. Although Steve Blake continues to start at PG for the Lakers, Ramon Sessions (14) got more minutes in his bench role.
OKC @ UTA: Now that Josh Howard (knee) is done for the season, C.J. Miles started at SF and Gordon Hayward at SG. With Al Jefferson back from personal leave and all five Jazz starters scoring in double figures, they held off the Thunder. Kevin Durant had “only” 18 and missed all seven of his shots in the final quarter.
MIL @ POR: Drew Gooden, without a lot of fanfare, is having a terrific year. He had 19 points (his average in March) to lead the Bucks to a road victory. The second-unit backcourt of Beno Udrih and Mike Dunleavy combined for 30 points. Ersan Ilyasova (illness) was back, though not quite himself yet, bumping Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to a minor bench role. Portland shot 35% — Jamal Crawford missed 7 of 8 — while allowing Milwaukee to shoot 58%. Yikes.
MEM @ SAC: Jason Thompson (14 &13) has become a double-double machine, now with four straight. Tyreke Evans (ankle) returned with 13 PTS, 4 REB and 3 AST in 24 minutes off the bench, suggesting he’s ready to start again. Marcus Thornton led all scorers with 31 while adding 7 REB, 6 AST and 3 STL. There was a slightly scary moment for Zach Randolph (knee) but he didn’t leave the game and finished with 13 & 7.
Tonight, Tonight
CHI @ TOR: I don’t know why Derrick Rose (groin) would rush back for this one. The stifling Bulls defense should contain the Raptors, who played last night in New York, and Carlos Boozer can handle the scoring.
NYK @ PHI: The average Knicks margin in winning all four games under coach Woodson has been 22 points. This will be their biggest test. The 76ers are back at home, had a day of rest and will be out to prove they are still the team to beat in the Atlantic Division. Bench stalwarts Thaddeus Young and Louis Williams might be the difference.
PHO @ ORL: 24 hours after a heartbreaking loss in Miami, the Suns must face a Magic team that was humiliated at home on Monday. Dwight Howard & Co. will be on a mission.
WAS @ NJN: The trade deadline seems like so last week, and Nene has yet to play for his new team. He’s expected to finally make his Wizards debut, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be a focal point of the offense right away. While the Nets can’t match up with him at C, they do have Deron Williams, an improving Gerald Wallace and of course, Kris Humphries on Hump day.
CLE @ ATL: The Hawks had little trouble winning in Cleveland on Sunday and are clear favorites in the rematch tonight, but fantasy owners will be watching Tristan Thompson, to see if he can repeat that huge line (27 & 12) from just his second career start.
GSW @ NOH: After all the booing on their home court in the middle of a supposed celebration, the Warriors may be relieved to hit the road. It would be nice to get a definitive statement on whetheror not Stephen Curry will play again this year; Nate Robinson continues to get those minutes. If you’ve been patient with Carl Landry this long, hang in there. He’s back at practice and should play soon.
LAC @ OKC: Not much time for either team to regroup after tough road losses last night. Oklahoma City was 17-1 at home before losing three of their last five, so I expect Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant to rise to this challenge.
MIN @ SAS: Minnesota is on a long road trip and the Spurs are well rested. One positive thing about the oblique injury and hip flexor that have recently limited Manu Ginobili is, his wrist has fully healed. It’s mostly the Kevin Love show for the Wolves now, and while that’s unlikely to result in a W, he’s a tremendous fantasy asset.
DET @ DEN: Wilson Chandler could be the starting SF in just his second game back from China, as the snake-bit Danilo Gallinari is out with a broken thumb. Ty Lawson will get heavy minutes with backup Andre Miller (shoulder) also sidelined. JaVale McGee should see his first action for the Nuggets tonight. It may take a few games for everyone to get in sync.
LAL @ DAL: The Mavs have won four in a row, had last night off and will be ready for this playoff preview. However, without Brendan Haywood, they must rely on Ian Mahinmi and Brandan Wright against the Lakers’ all-star big men. Shawn Marion (knee) is questionable, but Rodrigue Beaubois has been quite productive with the extra minutes.
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On Every DraftStreet
| Sure Things | Over $14,000 |
| D. Howard | $20,587 |
| T. Parker | $16,298 |
| Jo. Smith | $18,092 |
| Jo. Johnson | $14,003 |
| Bargains | Under $9,000 |
| K. Thompson | $8,923 |
| T. Thompson | $7,798 |
| I. Mahinmi | $7,583 |
| G. Davis | $5,568 |
| Hunches | $9,000 to $14,000 |
| T. Lawson | $13,179 |
| G. Wallace | $12,509 |
| W. Chandler | $11,595 |
| L. Williams | $9,895 |
Continuing what will no doubt be a long learning curve, I keep trying different things with my Salary Cap teams. Last night, I kind of liked the Blazers, who had clearly improved since the coaching change (or so I reckoned) and had their first opportunity to show that new attitude to the home fans.
Also, it appeared that the salaries of several Portland players hadn’t yet “caught up” to this perceived improvement, so I had four of them in my eight-man lineup. The experiment was an epic fail, as Jamal Crawford was terrible and Nicolas Batum mediocre.
With ten games this evening, it’s back to diversification, trying to assemble the best eight guys under the $100 K cap, regardless of who they play for. I’ve definitely had better results (so far) when there is a wider variety of players to choose from.
That may be a coincidence, of course. I’m still too new to the game to draw conclusions and don’t want to overreact to mere trends. Logically, there are fewer distinctions between teams in a league with 220 or 300 people when there aren’t as many viable options. The more NBA games, the more possible winning combinations of players.
Because I’ve been cautious the last two nights, I’m down only $21 from the $100 weekly bankroll, and ready to step up my play a little. The $5 GPP Salary Cap is my “go-to” format and it’s kept me in the black so far. I’m also in a $2 GPP and will definitely try a Snake-Draft or two when time permits, usually late afternoon.
Draft Street is free to join and it’s easy to get started with free games to find out which variations you prefer. Good luck!