Kobe Bryant, wearing a mask to protect his broken nose, had 31 PTS, 7 REB and 8 AST as the Lakers trounced Minnesota. We know that Mamba is also playing with a sore wrist and maybe even a mild concussion. He’s one of the few athletes in any sport who seems impervious to pain. Kevin Love did not play, due to sore ribs and the flu, so this one was no contest. Anthony Randolph got 19 minutes and played well;
Nobody saw that coming. In L.A., the Timberwolves clipped the Clippers, behind a career night from rookie Derrick Williams: 9-10 (including 4-4 from deep) for 27 points. Almost as surprising was Michael Beasley getting 30 minutes and scoring 27 of his own. That’s the good news. The bad is, Kevin Love left the game with sore ribs. He says nothing is broken and will try to play tonight, but we’ll see. Tuesday Reflections BOS @ CLE: Despite an 0-6 shooting night from
After four long days of fun and frivolity that did absolutely nothing for our stats, there’s a busy Tuesday night of “real” pretend action for fantasy owners. Before we look at all nine games, Gerald Henderson is expected to return tomorrow and should be owned in all leagues. In another Bobcats note, Corey Maggette skipped Monday’s practice. That means Reggie Williams could be in for one big game on Wednesday, if not more. Also, Richard Hamilton participated fully in Bulls
There will be better recaps of the All-Star game than mine, because the main fantasy takeaway is Kobe Bryant’s broken nose and Luol Deng falling on his already very sore wrist. Neither returned, but both are warriors who won’t miss many games, if any. Andrew Bynum was a surprise starter after having his knee injected two days earlier, and lasted just five minutes. We’re going around the league today, in alphabetical order. The string of numbers after each team is games
With fantasy leagues on hold during the all-star break, here’s a quick trip through the rumor mill. There’s interest from multiple teams in Jose Calderon and Leandro Barbosa. The Lakers may have already signed Rasheed Wallace, covet Michael Beasley and have been linked to Raymond Felton. Non-stop speculation about Dwight Howard will continue. A few fantasy VIP — very important players — are expected to return soon: Joe Johnson, Zach Randolph, Danilo Gallinari, Elton Brand and Manu Ginobili. Other useful
There was one “game” last night, the Rising Stars Challenge. While it was an entertaining exhibition, and Kyrie Irving a deserving MVP, we’re here to report fantasy news. Kawhi Leonard skipped the game with a sore calf that shouldn’t be an ongoing issue. Among the other rookies and sophomores, with no defence being played, a few performances were disappointing. Jeremy Lin, looking tired, was limited to 8:55 on the court and Blake Griffin (10:33) was also given plenty of rest,
It was about time for Jeremy Lin to have a bad game. Everyone does. The ferocious Miami defense harassed the Knicks’ PG into eight turnovers, and held him to 1-11 shooting. Don’t panic; the Heat can do this to a lot of teams. Amare Stoudamire turned the ball over six times and had just 13 points, and while Carmelo Anthony scored 19, he shot 7-20 with five FG attempts blocked. Only J.R. Smith and Steve Novak seemed unaffected by the
It wasn’t only Jeremy Lin (17 PTS, 9 AST) who made the difference as the Knicks trounced the Hawks. Carmelo Anthony added 15, Landry Fields 16 and J.R. Smith chipped in 5 REB and 5 STL to go with a dozen points. Atlanta, minus Joe Johnson, trailed 60-35 at halftime. Jeff Teague played well in 29 minutes and Willie Green got another start, but Marvin Williams was held scoreless. Around the Association The Warriors won in Phoenix for the first time in