Kyrie Irving, Stephen Jackson Hurt; Gallinari, Curry Hot in Road Wins

Injuries are a fact of life in the NBA. It just seems that the bug is biting more stars than usual this season, with Kyrie Irving the latest victim. That sore left hand he played a game and a half with is broken, and he’s out for at least four weeks. Donald Sloan can’t possibly replace him, but will probably get the first chance. Brandon Roy’s comeback attempt is on hold for a month after arthroscopic knee surgery; only an optimist with a very deep bench should keep him on fantasy rosters. If you picked up Stephen Jackson based on the Kawhi Leonard injury, it was a smart move that didn’t pay off, as Jaxx got hurt last night and can be cut in standard formats.

There’s also a long list of ‘walking wounded’ playing through an assortment of aches, pains and illnesses. That includes Dwyane Wade, Paul Pierce and Nikola Pekovic, who are all expected to play tomorrow, but at less than 100% soundness. The longer-term injury list is like an all-star team; Kyle Lowry (foot) may be back in ten days, but Dirk Nowitzki isn’t close. Kevin Love (hand) and Ricky Rubio (knee) took part in the walkthrough portion of practice on Sunday ; Love is due back fairly soon and Rubio might be a Christmas present for the Wolves.

November 19 Games

IND @ WAS: It was about time Roy Hibbert showed up. Taking advantage of the Wizards’ frontcourt, Hibbert scored 20, grabbed 12 boards and blocked four shots, while David West went off for a season-high 30 on 10-14 shooting from the floor and 10-10 from the line, adding four blocks of his own. The Pacers are still a man short, as Lance Stephenson isn’t good enough to be a starting SG on a contending team and Sam Young (9 PTS, 8 REB) shouldn’t be getting 35+ minutes off the bench.

The Washington starters were horrible; their second unit prevented a humiliating blowout. Kevin Seraphin started the second half at C in place of ineffective Emeka Okafor, Shaun Livingston (13 points) may eat into the minutes of PG A.J. Price and rookie Bradley Beal (18) rediscovered his game after a string of poor performances.

GSW @ DAL: A very impressive road win for the weary Warriors, as Stephen Curry (31 PTS, 9 AST, 6 REB) was unstoppable in the fourth quarter and overtime, despite rolling an ankle. David Lee had his routine double-double (17 PTS, 19 REB) and rookie Harrison Barnes (20 PTS, 12 REB) continues to shine. The miserable slump of Klay Thompson isn’t over (2-for-14, now at 33.3% for the year but you shouldn’t cut him; the law of averages is a powerful force.

The two guys I touted yesterday were fine for Dallas; Chris Kaman had 18 PTS, 17 REB and 2 BLK while O.J. Mayo scored 27, but Shawn Marion (7 PTS, -16) is favoring his sore knee and Elton Brand (5 PTS in 14 minutes) is rapidly losing his job to Troy Murphy, who scored 12 points (on four triples) with four steals and a couple of blocks.