What a terrible blow to the Memphis Grizzlies, as Marc Gasol is out indefinitely with an abdominal tear. Fantasy owners can assume he is done for the season; in real life the team is hoping he can return for the playoffs. Both Darrell Arthur (18 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL) and Ed Davis (11 PTS, 8 REB, 5 BLK) will be worth owning down the stretch, while Zach Randolph (15 PTS, 11 REB) will play more than 31 minutes most nights; he came off the bench last night as a minor punishment for being late to shootaround. The real surprise was sixth man Jerryd Bayless (30 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST) going crazy in a game that was supposed to be a tight defensive struggle.
Kevin Garnett and Courtney Lee were both scratched with ankle injuries, so Boston had Jeff Green (12 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 2 BLK) and Jason Terry (10 PTS, 2 REB) in the starting five. Paul Pierce (26 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST) was stellar, then the second unit caught fire, with Jordan Crawford (21 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST) enjoying his finest game as a Celtic, but their late rally fell short.
Other Saturday Results
BRK @ LAC: That was vintage Chris Paul (29 PTS, 11 AST, 3 REB, 2 STL, 2 BLK) as he scored 17 in the fourth quarter to carry his team. Deron Williams (18 PTS, 9 AST, 2 REB, 2 STL) played well for Brooklyn until a costly late turnover. Brook Lopez (18 PTS, 3 AST, 2 REB, 1 BLK) got outmuscled by DeAndre Jordan (13 PTS, 12 REB, 3 BLK) and Joe Johnson (15 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST) now has a quad injury to go with his sore heel; don’t count on him tonight. Willie Green (15 PTS, 3 REB, 2 STL) started for Chauncey Billups (groin) but the role is temporary.
TOR @ NYK: With the Raptors providing very little resistance and their best big man Amir Johnson (4 PTS in 18 minutes) watching in disbelief from the bench, the Knicks romped. Carmelo Anthony (28 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST) and J.R. Smith (25 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL) handled the scoring and for the second straight night, old man Kenyon Martin (18 PTS, 7 REB, 2 BLK) did a tremendous job at center. Terrence Ross (13 PTS, 6 REB) started and played 30 minutes for Toronto, as Rudy Gay (back) didn’t make the trip.
IND @ CHI: Very impressive. The Bulls appeared to be in trouble when Joakim Noah (foot) was scratched, but Nazr Mohammed (11 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 1 BLK) didn’t get completely destroyed by Roy Hibbert (18 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK) and Carlos Boozer (18 PTS, 10 REB) dominated Tyler Hansbrough (7 PTS, 6 REB) so Chicago held on for a narrow victory. Paul George (23 PTS, 11 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL) led all scorers but Luol Deng (20 PTS, 7 REB) was also sharp. With both teams hurting and struggling offensively, there isn’t much fantasy news to take away from this one.
DET @ CHA: That was a good game if you own Kemba Walker (25 PTS, 3 AST, 2 REB, 4 STL) and it marked the return of Brandon Knight (10 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST) after missing only four games with an ankle sprain that initially looked worse. Otherwise, it was as dull and low-scoring as it was meaningless. Out of nowhere, Charlie Villanueva (18 PTS, 4 REB) hit four triples, but he’s always been an inconsistent tease. Byron Mullens (scoreless in 22 minutes) disappointed owners who picked him up after a Wednesday explosion.
SAC @ DEN: No Ty Lawson (heel), no problem. Six other Nuggets scored in double figures, led by Danilo Gallinari (19 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL) and Kenneth Faried (17 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK) as Denver won its 15th consecutive game in somewhat sloppy fashion. DeMarcus Cousins (24 PTS, 15 REB, 5 BLK, 3 AST) was terrific for Sacramento and John Salmons (18 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST) hit four 3-pointers, but Isaiah Thomas (10 PTS, 9 AST) missed nine of 12 shots and Tyreke Evans (4 PTS in 23 minutes) completely disappeared.
WAS @ GSW: It’s good news and bad for owners of Stephen Curry, who was sensational (35 PTS, 8 AST, 2 REB, 2 STL, 6-of-10 from deep) until leaving with an ankle sprain that makes him iffy for Monday. Klay Thompson (18) and Harrison Barnes (16 PTS, 8 REB) also played well for the Warriors, who cruised to an 18-point halftime lead and were never threatened. John Wall (14 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST) was ejected after 23:37 for two technical fouls, and Trevor Ariza (flu) sat out, so the unlikely leading scorer for the Wizards was Cartier Martin (23 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST) with a career high, out of nowhere. Such surprises definitely occur more often in the ‘silly season’ for fantasy hoops.
Wow, lots of important injuries happening to a lot of contending teams right now; it’ll probably come down to the team with the fewest injuries at this point, considering how close a race the West has become. I love the Nuggets, who are currently without Chandler and Lawson, and it’s interesting to see Gasol and Curry go out with injuries at just the wrong time. This tight race has prompted me to record as many games as I can to keep tabs on the other teams above and below Denver’s #3 spot. I work late at DISH usually, but my new Hopper DVR can store up to 2,000 hours of shows no problem. I love coming home and flipping from one game to the next, but the injuries, fatigue and play of different young players on each team has made the quality of basketball a little worse lately, lol.