For countless fantasy basketball owners, this is Week 1 of the head-to-head playoffs. Maybe your team has a bye (congratulations) or your league doesn’t use the most popular dates. For the majority of us, this week is sudden-death and tonight will go a long way toward deciding the result. With 14 NBA games, everyone has important decisions on who to start and who to sit. In the small sample size of your H2H matchup, they could be crucial.
Be sure to enter Friday’s Sheridan Hoops Freeroll, where someone will win $100 cash, no strings attached. It’s challenging for experts, fun for beginners, there are 14 consolation prizes worth another two hundred bucks and it is absolutely free to play.
Tuesday Results
LAC @ DAL: At the risk of an injury from patting myself on the back, the nightcap unfolded exactly as predicted. Chris Paul (33 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL) did all he could despite a knee bruise, but Dallas reused to lose. Dirk Nowitzki (33 PTS, 9 REB) singlehandedly took over the overtime period after O.J. Mayo (11 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL) made the game-tying basket in the final second of the fourth quarter. Every Dallas player contributed; Vince Carter (14 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL) and Darren Collison (13 PTS, 4 AST, 2 REB) helped the second unit outscore the Clippers’ reserves 40-28 and starting C Brandan Wright (11 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK) played a strong 31 minutes. The Mavericks are 9-4 in March and now just one game back of the Lakers for eighth place, with a showdown looming Tuesday in Los Angeles.
NYK @ BOS: Few teams rely on one player so much for their identity. Without Kevin Garnett (ankle) the Celtics are too small and can be bullied. Owners of Jeff Green (19 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST) aren’t complaining, but Boston fans should be worried; they might fall into eighth place without KG and that would mean a short playoff run against Miami. Courtney Lee (ankle) was also absent last night, so Jordan Crawford (14 PTS, 6 AST, 4 REB) got the start and played a game-high 41 minutes. He and Paul Pierce (16 PTS, 6 AST, 6 REB) each committed six turnovers. The Knicks gave Tyson Chandler (neck) another night off, riding Carmelo Anthony (29 PTS, 8 REB, 3 STL) and J.R. Smith (32 PTS, 7 REB, 3 STL) to an easy road win.
MIN @ DET: It’s safe to say that the Pistons can’t wait for this season to end. Though attendance was officially 16,877, the Palace was at least half-empty and those ‘loyal’ fans were definitely not pleased by their team’s lack of effort. Greg Monroe (11 PTS, 12 REB, 4 STL) doesn’t deserve the booing, he’s just tired from carrying his teammates all year. Brandon Knight (7 PTS) missed seven of ten shots, turned it over four times and limited Rodney Stuckey (7 PTS, 2 AST) to just 21 minutes. Minnesota broke open a dull contest with a 38-point barrage in the third quarter; Nikola Pekovic (18 PTS, 11 REB, 2 AST, 1 BLK) is getting stronger and J.J. Barea (21 PTS, 2 REB) was very sharp off the bench, making five 3-pointers in seven attempts. Ricky Rubio (14 PTS, 9 AST, 4 REB, 2 STL) easily won his duel with countryman Jose Calderon (14 PTS, 1 AST) before garbage time arrived.