SAS @ ORL: Gradually shortening their rotation but still hard to predict, the Spurs used starters Kawhi Leonard for just 6:54 and Tim Duncan for 12:13, then carved up minutes among nine bench players. Orlando gave Hedo Turkoglu a day off, so once again DeQuan Jones was a pleasant surprise, starting at SF. Even better for the Magic was rookie PF Andrew Nicholson, with 18 points in as many minutes. Al Harrington won’t be back from knee surgery and a scary staph infection until about mid-December. Until then, Nicholson will play fairly regular minutes behind Glen Davis.
SAC @ LAL: The good news? Dwight Howard not only played, he had 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. Three other starters scored in double figures. The bad news? The bench didn’t play well — Antawn Jamison was scoreless in 18 minutes — and Steve Nash was somewhat invisible. I’m not concerned (yet) because it was the first time all five Lakers starters played together, but 6 PTS, 5 REB and only 5 AST, with 4 TO is not what we’ve come to expect from Nash in 32 minutes.
The Kings are now 4-1 thanks to their second unit. PG Aaron Brooks was impressive (16 PTS in 17:48) and Marcus Thornton (15) will get his numbers as a sixth man. The James Johnson experiment as starting SF won’t work if he keeps bombing away; he’s a defensive specialist whose fantasy value is in STL and BLK, but he went 0-5, a few of those shots from well beyond his range. At PF, rookie Thomas Robinson started but his “backup” Jason Thompson played more minutes.
DEN @ OKC: I certainly didn’t expect the Thunder to be at full strength. Kendrick Perkins made his first start, Thabo Sefolosha also returned and James Harden (16 points) was back in his familiar role of unstoppable sixth man. Training camp phenom Perry Jones III played 16 minutes and scored four points; as the likely backup to Kevin Durant, Jones won’t get enough minutes most nights to be a fantasy asset, but will have occasional big nights in garbage time.
OK, we have been underselling Danilo Gallinari, who exploded for 26 points and shot 6-13 on 3-pointers. His series of injuries last year left me wondering if he’d be at full strength, now I’m convinced he is. Ty Lawson (17 PTS, 11 AST) looks ready and Andre Iguodala is going to have better nights in this high-flying attack. Andre Miller is gradually getting up to speed, as is Wilson Chandler. The Nuggets second unit will soon be more productive. Center looks like Kosta Koufos starting, JaVale McGee coming off the bench and Timofey Mozgov is now a third-stringer, standing by if needed.
October 22 Games
NYK @ PHI: Amar’e Stoudemire will miss 2-3 weeks with a knee problem. It’s a ruptured cyst, not a ligament or meniscus tear, but for now it messes up the Knicks’ rotation. Best guess is more “small” lineups with Carmelo Anthony at PF, or Steve Novak stretching the floor. If anyone else benefits, it could be rookie Chris Copeland, whose 34-point outburst on Saturday turned some heads.
These back-to-backs in games that don’t matter anyway must be hard on a team. Philly played well last night, so there isn’t much incentive this evening except to stay healthy. We can expect liberal substitutions.