It was the Rajon Rondo show, with a triple-double (16 PTS, 14 AST, 11 REB) that left Heat coach Eric Spoelstra fuming on TV at halftime about his team’s defensive effort. Paul Pierce added 23 while Brandon Bass had 16 & 10 in the unexpected rout. Miami got very little from Dwayne Wade (15) and almost nothing from Chris Bosh (4 points on 2-11 shooting) in one of their worst performances of the season. Ray Allen (ankle) missed another game; Avery Bradley has been filling in capably and should continue to get big minutes even when he returns to the bench.
Any Given Sunday
CHI @ OKC: We liked Russell Westbrook (27 PTS, 5 AST, 3 REB, 4 STL) to dominate in the absence of Derrick Rose and didn’t expect Luol Deng (8 PTS) to handle Kevin Durant, who had 26 points, 10 rebounds and four assists — in the first three quarters. The 14-point final margin actually flatters the Bulls. Kyle Korver (14 PTS in 31:40) was a surprise starter over Ronnie Brewer (7 PTS, 23:28) but Richard Hamilton might be ready to return tonight.
DEN @ ORL: With Dwight Howard (back spasms) missing his first game of the year, Glen Davis scored 18 PTS and grabbed 16 REB, but it wasn’t enough. Both PG ran wild; Ty Lawson had 25 and Jameer Nelson 27. It was the Denver bench that made the difference. JaVale McGee had five turnovers in just 11 minutes, so Al Harrington got 32 minutes and scored 18 points. Andre Miller added 15, as the Nuggets used a three-guard lineup in the final quarter. Stay tuned for updates on Ryan Anderson, who turned an ankle late after scoring 20 points.
WAS @ TOR: Who are those guys? Kevin Seraphin (16 PTS, 7 REB) was effective at C, Jan Vesely (10) started at PF and Chris Singleton (15 PTS, 8 REB) played SF for the injury-plagued Wizards. Andrea Bargnani (18 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST) led all scorers as the Raptors used 11 men; only Jose Calderon (15 PTS, 8 AST) played more than 32 minutes.
IND @ HOU: A great game, especially for Danny Granger (32) who led a fourth-quarter comeback, then blocked a shot at the overtime buzzer to clinch the W. Roy Hibbert added 15 PTS, 9 REB and 5 BLK for the Pacers. Goran Dragic played well again (22 PTS, 6 AST, 6 REB) in the heartbreaking loss, and the Rockets’ C “battle” has already been won. New starter Marcus Camby (10 PTS, 9 REB, 4 BLK) played almost 37 minutes, forgotten man Samuel Dalembert less than 12.
NOH @ PHO: You can’t blame the Hornets for being tired. They are shorthanded on a tough road trip, so this was an easy win for Phoenix. The lone bright spot was the return of Chris Kaman (8 PTS, 5 REB) from a long bout with bronchitis. Jared Dudley led a balanced Suns offense with 21, Channing Frye had 11 REB and 2 BLK to go with 14 PTS, and Steve Nash dropped 14 dimes.
MIN @ POR: LaMarcus Aldridge (elbow) not only played, he matched Kevin Love with 26 points. LMA started at center, as Joel Pryzbilla has a sore knee, leaving J.J. Hickson (15 PTS, 9 REB) in the starting five at PF. Luke Ridnour and Derrick Williams each scored 21 for the Timberwolves, but nobody played much defense — the Blazers shot 52% on the night. Raymond Felton (10 PTS, 11 AST, 8 REB) just missed a triple-double.
GSW @ LAL: Kobe Bryant was spectacular, with 40 points on 16-28 shooting, but there were still plenty of touches for Ramon Sessions (23 PTS, 9 AST) as the Warriors are not known for their D. Andrew Bynum left after 10 minutes with what appears to be a mild ankle sprain, so Pau Gasol went off for 26 PTS, 11 REB, 6 AST and 3 BLK. David Lee led the visitors with 27 and Nate Robinson (17 off the bench) looked like he may be healthy again.
Manic Monday
MIL @ WAS: The Wizards had to play a road game yesterday and are missing some key players (Nene and Trevor Booker both have foot injuries) so this is an opportunity for Milwaukee to begin its final playoff push. Drew Gooden and Ersan Ilyasova should both have big nights against the very green Washington frontcourt.
HOU @ CHI: That was an old-fashioned butt-kicking for the Bulls yesterday and a heartbreaking OT loss for the Rockets. I’m more confident of Chicago bouncing back, given home court advantage. John Lucas was their leading scorer against the Thunder, as C.J. Watson played just 19 minutes.
MEM @ OKC: Oklahoma City can’t get complacent about looking so good on Sunday and must not look ahead to Wednesday’s game against Miami, or they will have their hands full with the Grizzlies, who are in a tight playoff race. That’s if Mike Conley (ankle) can play; Memphis has no backup PG — sorry, Gilbert Arenas — and they need another big game from O.J. Mayo to stay in this one.
LAC @ DAL: OK, we now know the Clippers can win at home. They play nine of their final 14 on the road and the last time they won in Dallas, Blake Griffin was in high school. Chris Paul will do all he can to end that streak, but the Mavericks are well rested and motivated. Should be fun to watch; Dirk Nowitzki is an obvious play and I have a feeling that Delonte West, whose legs are relatively fresh, will contribute off the bench.
UTA @ POR: This will be the fourth game in five nights for Portland. The Jazz have lost three in a row to slip into ninth place in the West. Devin Harris is in another slump and complaining in public about team chemistry when it’s clear to most of us who is the toxic element. I like Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap a lot tonight, as the Blazers are literally thin up front.
MIN @ SAC: There was talk about Nikola Pekovic (ankle) returning because he travelled with the team on this 2-game trip, but we’ll believe that when we see it. There could be plenty of points scored in this one, with the Kings not very interested in defense. DeMarcus Cousins had some foul trouble in his latest and his string of impressive double-doubles was snapped at five games. He should be very active tonight.
The Spin is here every morning, no later than 8:00 Eastern, except for Sundays when we post by noon. Follow me on Twitter for updates.
On DraftStreet
| Sure Things | Over $14,000 |
| K. Love | $22,158 |
| R. Westbrook | $17,050 |
| K. Durant | $20,480 |
| D. Cousins | $17,509 |
| Bargains | Under $9,000 |
| K. Seraphin | $8,929 |
| De. West | $8,522 |
| N. Young | $7,318 |
| J. Lucas | $7,336 |
| Hunches | $9,000 to $14,000 |
| D. Jordan | $10,128 |
| G. Hayward | $10,698 |
| I. Thomas | $11,910 |
| E. Ilyasova | $12,847 |
It was a disappointing end to Week 4, as I played in several leagues with only one small payoff for a second-place finish in a 6-man Snake-Draft. Finished down $90 for the week and I’m now minus $41 overall since we began this experiment a month ago.
However, I remain enthusiastic about my chances to get back into the black, and we’ll start Week 5 with a fresh $100 bankroll. I’ve joined a $2 Salary Cap league with a $500 Guaranteed Prize Pool and a $5 league with 220 teams and a GPP of $1,000 — $250 goes to the winner in that one.
There are some tough choices tonight. Kevin Love costs a lot for someone playing his third game in four nights. If you don’t use him, he’ll go for 40 PTS and 20 REB, but if you do, he’ll be tired. Or so it seems when you’re on a three-week slide.
The best thing about one-day fantasy leagues is, there’s always a new opportunity. If you haven’t checked out Draft Street yet, it’s free to join and there are free leagues where you can get started. See you there!