DET @ MIN: No Kevin Love, no problem. Sophomore Derrick Williams (18 points in 22 minutes) started at PF, his backup Dante Cunningham (12 PTS, 14 REB) had a big night and Chase Budinger knocked down five triples (21 PTS) in 20 bench minutes. The Pistons scored 10 points in the first quarter and were never in the game. Kyle Singler, a rookie with a year of pro experience in Spain, had 11 points off the bench and Rodney Stuckey scored 21, but there’s nothing else to report.
DAL @ OKC: Unexpectedly, the Thunder rolled out their best lineup until midway through the third quarter. Against a Dallas team still trying to adjust to life without their superstar, that was more than enough. Jae Crowder is one very hot fantasy item. The undersized rookie from Marquette is a steals specialist (2 more) who started at PF, played a team-high 34 minutes and scored 21 points while collecting 9 rebounds. If and when Chris Kaman (calf) can play, Elton Brand will shift back from C to PF, but Crowder is turning heads — most importantly that of Rick Carlisle — and will become an exciting bench player.
WAS @ MIA: Break up the Wizards! With a really good second half, they beat the world champions in Miami. The starting five scored 30 points all night; the bench had 71, led by Martell Webster (23) and Chris Singleton (17). Webster has had a much better preseason than starting SF Trevor Ariza and is worth a late flyer in deep drafts. The Heat started their Big Three, who combined for a respectable 54 points, but everyone else was quiet. For Udonis Haslem, just getting on the court was a positive, and he did grab 8 REB, but was 0-4 in 23 minutes. Mario Chalmers also returned and will soon be at full speed.
LAL @ LAC: Kobe Bryant, recovering from a bruised right foot, didn’t play and Dwight Howard got a night of rest. Steve Nash had another dull statistical line. Needless to say, the Lakers are still winless in seven games. They did get Jordan Hill back, and he was impressive — 12 PTS, 8 REB, 1 BLK in 26 minutes. Rookie Robert Sacre (13 PTS, 7 REB, 2 STL) was the starting C in Howard’s absence; he’ll be sharing bench minutes with Hill when the team is at full strength.
The Clippers rested Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford, so Eric Bledsoe took over this game, falling one STL short of a unique triple-double. Yes, he had NINE steals, to go with 22 points and 11 assists. At SF, Caron Butler was very quiet as the starter and Matt Barnes (18) was much better off the bench. Given where they are both being selected in drafts, I’d wait for Barnes. Ryan Hollins (11) got a surprising 25:47 off the bench and may be ahead of Ronny Turiaf on the depth chart. Lamar Odom (apathy) got another DNP-CD and does not appear to be in Vinny Del Negro’s plans.
October 25 Games
Before we preview tonight’s games, let’s talk about Andrew Bynum. I wasn’t the least bit concerned about the platelet therapy he got in Germany; that’s a positive for any player with arthritic knees. Nor did the Synvisc-One injections bother me; it’s a lubricant that cushions the joints. Everything sounded like precautionary measures, protecting the Sixers’ most valuable asset.
It’s the continuing pain in his right knee despite all those treatments that now makes his return date questionable. Let’s call Bynum doubtful for the season opener, though the official word remains day-to-day. My opinion has officially changed from bullish to cautious. It’s amazing how many of the “best” fantasy players have injury question marks already.