DAL @ UTA: You could see this coming. The undermanned Mavericks got leg-weary in the second half. Brandan Wright started again at C and hit 7-8 shots with two blocks, but he’ll go back to a bench role when Chris Kaman (calf) returns, possibly this weekend. Rookie PF Bernard James (8 PTS, 6 REB in 16 minutes) made an unexpected debut. New Jazz PG Mo Williams and new SF Marvin Williams each had 21 points, with Randy Foye chipping in 13 off the bench. An 18-2 Utah run in a 37-point third quarter made the game a laugher.
MEM @ LAC: OK, if you drafted Jamal Crawford (I didn’t) you’re a genius. Hitting 10 of 14 including three from deep, the Clippers’ sixth man scored 29 points in 30 minutes. Chris Paul (12 PTS, 12 AST, 4 STL) outplayed Mike Conley (7 PTS, 6 TO) and that was that. Memphis got big efforts from Rudy Gay (25) and Marc Gasol; the fantasy line for Zach Randolph (15 PTS, 16 REB) wasn’t bad, but he was -25 on the evening. It was a surprise to see Lamar Odom play 16:36 off the bench for L.A.; he grabbed six boards and swatted four shots. DeAndre Jordan (12 PTS, 7 REB, 2 STL, 1 BLK) ruined that line with nine turnovers.
LAL@ POR: Yikes, the Lakers are 0-10, counting exhibitions. Steve Nash played only 16 minutes before leaving with a bruised shin. Despite 30 points from Kobe Bryant and a monster night for Dwight Howard (33 PTS, 14 REB, 5 AST and 15-19 from the FT line) their bench is doing next to nothing. As expected, Portland rode its starters hard. All five scored in double figures, led by Nicolas Batum (26) and rookie Damian Lillard, who had 11 AST (and 6 TO) with his 23 points in a strong first outing. The Blazers’ second unit is a weakness; freshman C Meyers Leonard played 23 minutes and was not a big factor offensively.
November 1 Game
The weather-related cancellation of the much-anticipated Battle of New York at the spiffy new Barclays Center is disappointing to every NBA fan, especially those in Brooklyn. Whenever the Knicks-at-Nets game is rescheduled, it will affect a different H2H week. It really makes no difference in Roto, and there were no Thursday leagues at FanDuel anyway.
OKC @ SAS: The home opener is very tough assignment for the Spurs after a road win last night. Manu Ginobili sat that one out with back spasms and is questionable for this one. DeJuan Blair had a DNP-CD as Boris Diaw and Tiago Splitter played C, but we never know what Pop has up his sleeve. There’s no way Kevin Martin will “replace” James Harden or match his 34 points, but we’re all eager to see how he’ll be used and how he’ll perform. The Thunder will be fine with superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook; this could be the year that Serge Ibaka gets the minutes he deserves.
Bidding only against himself, the man who wears hand-made $1,200 shirts came up with a ridiculous $38 million for DeMar DeRozan yesterday. Doug Smith in the Toronto Star calls it “an unnecessary gamble” and Bruce Arthur in the National Post pulls no punches: “…he’s a wing who can’t shoot threes, doesn’t really rebound or pass well, and whose advanced numbers have either held steady or dropped since he was drafted.”
But DMDR *is* twice as good as Fields, so why not?
“Landry Fields (scoreless in 26 minutes) was a $20,000,000 mistake by overrated Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo.”
Who overrates Colangelo, Kent? Clearly not anyone with a rudimentary understanding of statistical analysis. I guess the idiot braintrust of MLSE are the only ones who overrate him, unless the metric is best dressed GM.