In a very intense game that featured trash-talking, scuffles, four technicals and an ejection, the Pacers won their seventh straight with George Hill (22 PTS, 8 AST, 5 REB) as the starting PG. Danny Granger led all scorers with 29, and David West (21 PTS, 14 REB, 7 AST) was excellent. The loss, Milwaukee’s third in a row, effectively ends their playoff bid. Brandon Jennings (27) and Mike Dunleavy (23) tried to spark a fourth-quarter comeback that fell short.
What Else Happened?
MIN @ DET: Yesterday I predicted that the T-Wolves would win their first April game in three years (after going 0-27) even telling you it would be J.J. Barea (13 PTS, 12 AST, 6 REB) and Nikola Pekovic (23 PTS, 9 REB) leading the way. It paid off for me on DraftStreet — details below — as the exhausted Pistons, playing their third game in three nights, were never in it. Tayshaun Prince, rested the previous night, had 18 points and most of Will Bynum’s 17 came in garbage time.
HOU @ NOH: A truly devastating loss for the Rockets, their sixth in a row, as they are now in tenth place. It went to overtime, as Goran Dragic (23 PTS, 8 AST, 5 REB) did all he could and Chase Budinger added 22 off the bench. Eric Gordon had 27 to lead the Hornets, with help from Carl Landry (20 PTS, 10 REB) when all they had to play for was pride.
CHI @ MIA: Another game where tempers flared, with two flagrant fouls and an ejection. Dwyane Wade returned with 18 PTS, 5 AST, 3 REB and 3 STL, plus an altercation with Richard Hamilton, who had a rough evening for the Bulls. When LeBron James (27 PTS, 11 REB, 6 AST) wiped out John Lucas on a screen, there was another melee. Miami is now just 1.5 games behind Chicago in the battle for first place in the East, but no matter who has home-court advantage, a possible conference final rematch would resume the animosity.
LAC @ PHO: The Suns had to win, and they did. Old man Steve Nash had just 13 points and 6 assists, but was clutch when it counted. There was more rough stuff in this game: Robin Lopez committed a flagrant foul on Blake Griffin (16 PTS, 11 REB) and was ejected. Marcin Gortat (14 & 14) and Jared Dudley (18) were strong for Phoenix; Chris Paul (19 PTS, 10 AST) led the Clippers, who had won their previous five.
Friday Night Lights
BOS @ ATL: It’s a light Friday schedule with only six games. Boston could win their division but still open the playoffs in Atlanta, so not only is this a first-round preview, home-court advantage is up for grabs. Ray Allen (ankle) remains out and Rajon Rondo (back) will not play, which means big minutes for Avery Bradley and a lot more assists for Paul Pierce, who dropped 14 dimes on Wednesday as the primary ballhandler. Kevin Garnett should be even more fired up than usual. Rested and at home, the Hawks know what’s at stake so Josh Smith might have a big night and Ivan Johnson figures to see big minutes.
MEM @ CHA: Nothing is at stake here. The Bobcats are a complete mess, possibly the worst team ever. They have lost 18 straight, and if they don’t win another game will finish with an even worse record than the 1972-73 Sixers, the standard for futility. Memphis is just trying to stay healthy, so I expect the bench players to get extra run and am leery of recommending anyone on either team. Maybe Zach Randolph, who is still trying to regain his best form before the playoffs, is worth a shot, or Kemba Walker, now the staring PG for Charlotte.
NYK @ CLE: The big news is the expected return of Amare Stoudemire, out 13 games with a bad back. In his absence, Carmelo Anthony has gone wild, averaging over 30 points per game in April. How they share the ball in the new system that revolves around Melo will be interesting. The Knicks may have Baron Davis back, but Iman Shumpert is their best guard for fantasy purposes. Kyrie Irving, a bit rusty in his Wednesday return from a shoulder injury, will try to keep his overmatched team in the game.
GSW @ DAL: Dirk Nowitzki has scored 75 points in his last two games, but similar heroics probably won’t be needed against a Warriors team beset by injuries and apathy. If Nate Robinson (hamstring) can’t play, Charles Jenkins will get big minutes at PG and Klay Thompson will put up plenty of shots. It could be a night where the Mavericks’ lesser lights, like Delonte West or Brandan Wright, step up to shine.
LAL @ SAS: Kobe Bryant says he’s good to go, so the Lakers will be back at full strength. San Antonio is holding a half-game lead for first place in the West, and while they may say they don’t care about home-court advantage, of course they do. Expect a terrific game, and we might even see Spurs like Tony Parker and Tim Duncan play a full complement of minutes for a change. Manu Ginobili is also well rested. The biggest change for L.A. with Kobe back may be fewer touches for Metta World Peace, who has done a very nice job lately, averaging over 15 points in his last eight games.
OKC @ SAC: This would be a mismatch even if the Thunder weren’t still playing to finish first in the West. James Harden, coming off a career-high 40, could end up playing extra minutes if Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant pile up a big enough lead early. The Kings lost by 26 in Oklahoma last Friday and may be motivated to avenge that embarrassment. If DeMarcus Cousins plays better, they might at least make this one entertaining.
The Spin is here every day by 8:00 EDT except for Sunday, when we post by noon. Follow me on Twitter for updates.
DraftStreet Bridge Song
| Sure Things | Over $14,000 |
| C. Anthony | $19,660 |
| K. Durant | $19,994 |
| D. Nowitzki | $16,882 |
| R. Westbrook | $15,964 |
| Bargains | Under $9,000 |
| A. Bradley | $8,649 |
| S. Novak | $6,446 |
| T. Thompson | $8,889 |
| C. Jenkins | $8,145 |
| Hunches | $9,000 to $14,000 |
| I. Shumpert | $9,778 |
| De. West | $9,074 |
| I. Johnson | $11,423 |
| J. Harden | $12,508 |
There’s so-close-but-so-far-away, close-but-no-cigar, close-only-counts-in-horseshoes and other familiar loser refrains, but on DraftStreet, coming close pays off. My three teams in the 275-team $2 Salary Cap league on Thursday finished 24th, 17th and 9th, good for two consolation prizes and a $9 profit. In the $5 GPP league I play every day, all three of my teams finished in the money out of 165 entries. 14th place was worth $10, tenth place returned $15 and I won $40 for sixth.
Considering that my most expensive picks (Dwyane Wade and Roy Hibbert) were mildly disappointing, a $59 win for the night was terrific, and there will be no whining about what might have been. I did use George Hill, Nikola Pekovic and J.J. Barea in all my lineups — thanks, fellas.
We’re back at it tonight, ahead $20 for Week 7 and up $120 for this whole adventure. In addition to three teams each in the $2 and $5 GPP leagues, I’ve joined a special $11 league, limited to just 50 entries, with a $500 prize pool ranging from $25 for sixth up to $175 for finishing first. The kicker is, you get $5 cash just for finishing ahead of Chris Sheridan, so it’s almost like a $6 entry fee. Who wouldn’t want to get paid for beating the boss at fantasy basketball?
You’re one click away from getting started on Draft Street. It’s always free to join and even if you don’t want to risk 11 bucks in the “Beat Chris” pool, you can play in leagues with no entry fees, like the Sheridan Hoops Freeroll, with $350 in cash prizes. Note that the salaries in the Freeroll league may be slightly different from the chart. Good luck!