Pencils down and papers forward, please. Here are my grades on how teams did at the trading deadline. We aren’t going to evaluate whether Dallas was helped or hindered by Thursday’s wheeling and dealing. The Mavericks – and 13 other teams – didn’t make a deal, so consider their grade to be incomplete. Or a withdrawal, if you prefer. No one got an F, although the Nets came awfully close. At the other end of the scale, the Rockets are officially the teacher’s
Fantasy Spin: Wednesday March 14
Klay Thompson started in place of the traded Monta Ellis, and scored 14 points. His value goes way up, but the Warriors may also unleash Stephen Jackson, potentially a great pickup if he’s been dropped. Nate Robinson started for Stephen Curry (foot, ankle) and had 17 points. Andris Biedrins also regains some fantasy value with Ekpe Udoh joining Ellis in Milwaukee. The Kings may have been overconfident, a luxury they can’t afford In Other News TOR @ CLE: Slowly but surely, Andrea
Sunday’s NBA Post-Game Notes
The Knicks have now lost five straight, falling to 18-23. Metta World Peace is the Lakers worst shooter, shooting a paltry 35% on the season. Kyle Lowry has been hospitalized with abdominal distress and fever since last week. According to the Associated Press, Kyrie Irving was saddened after hearing of Ricky Rubio’s injury, saying “It’s tragic. He was my nemesis — me vs. him at times. I’m used to seeing his stats every single night, seeing how many points and assists he had.” Dwight Howard
Fantasy Spin: Wednesday March 7
The lowly Charlotte Hornets upset the Magic as Corey Maggette scored 29 points and teenager Bismack Biyombo, matched up against Dwight Howard, had 10 PTS, 15 REB and 7 BLK. Boris Diaw, who wants to be traded or released, was benched in favor of D.J. White. This is fantasy gold in some deep leagues. You can pick up White as a FA, then get Diaw ridiculously cheap and hope he ends up in a better situation. If you already own Boris,
Fantasy Spin: Tuesday March 6
Raja Bell returned to the Utah starting lineup, but “demoted” Gordon Hayward was terrific off the bench with 23 points on 8-11 shooting, plus 4 REB and 5 AST in 28 minutes. As the Jazz won, I’d expect the new rotation to continue, but Devin Harris left early with a sore knee. The Cavs were no match for Al Jefferson (25 & 13) and Paul Millsap (13 & 9) — they miss Anderson Varejao. In Other News GSW @ WAS: New starting
Fantasy Spin: Tuesday, Feb. 21
Derrick Rose scored 23 points in his return as the Bulls handled Atlanta. It was a makeshift lineup for the Hawks, with Marvin Williams (personal) replaced in the starting five by Willie Green. Then Joe Johnson left early with a sore knee, though it doesn’t sound too serious. Neither Jeff Teague nor Kirk Hinrich had a great afternoon; seldom-used Jannero Pargo outplayed them both. After complaining in public about his playing time, Tracy McGrady got almost 22 minutes. Around the League Deron