It’s getting hard to keep up with all the injuries and illnesses. Every NBA team has to deal with them, but let’s consider just one, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Their star Kyrie Irving played (quite well) through a bout of food poisoning on Wednesday. Anderson Varejao has a sore knee, though we expect both in the lineup this evening. Rookie Dion Waiters has a deep thigh bruise, while fellow freshman Tyler Zeller, who has a fractured face, is being fitted for
Gortat Shines for Suns; Lakers Lose Again
The Bobcats aren’t very good, but they are better than last year and do have a few fantasy-relevant players. Byron Mullens rewarded his owners with six 3-pointers, 24 points and 8 rebounds. Kemba Walker (17 PTS, 8 AST) had a nice line. The surprise starting SG was rookie Jeffrey Taylor, but he played only ten minutes; Ramon Sessions had 17 PTS and 9 AST off the bench and will continue to fill in for Gerald Henderson (sprained foot) for at
Shawn Marion, Kyle Lowry Hurt; Thunder Rolling
It’s been one of ‘those’ seasons for the Dallas Mavericks. Already without Dirk Nowitzki (knee) and with assorted other injuries to key players preventing them from getting used to each other on the court, plus the Delonte West soap opera, they still got off to a 3-1 start. Now they have lost Shawn Marion to a sprained MCL. The initial prognosis is “at least three games” and the Matrix himself calls it “a minor little thing,” so his teammates and fantasy
Knicks Keep Rolling; Nets Blow Huge Lead
NYK @ PHI: The unbeaten Knicks are apparently that much better than the 76ers, who they trounced for the second straight day. Carmelo Anthony (21 PTS, 7 REB) got a lot more help from Raymond Felton (16 PTS, 8 AST) and Ronnie Brewer (13 PTS, 10 REB) in the rematch. J.R. Smith (17 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK) has been superb off the bench. Ageless Rasheed Wallace looked pretty good in 13:33, with 10 points including
Carmelo Stars For Knicks; Howard Leads Lakers
In the Sunday matinee, Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points and J.R. Smith was red-hot — 20 PTS, 9 REB in 35 minutes — to lead the Knicks to an easy win. In a great example of the new “position-less NBA,” Melo (admittedly a tall SF) actually played the 5 for a while, surrounded by guards. Jason Kidd had a nice afternoon: 12 PTS, 6 AST, 3 STL and two 3-pointers. The Sixers lost Jason Richardson to an ankle injury in the
Lopez Leads Nets; Bosh Drops 40; Warriors Win
The Nets are undefeated in their new home thanks to Brook Lopez, who scored 27 points. He used his size to get Jonas Valanciunas in early foul trouble, then his speed to beat Aaron Gray, after Toronto coach Dwane Casey showed his prize rookie some tough love at the end of the bench. Deron Williams (19 PTS, 9 AST) did a nice job of facilitating, and C.J. Watson got 28 minutes; he’s the backup PG but played off the ball with D-Will quite a bit and could be
Knicks Beat the Heat; Harden Stays Hot
What would James Harden do for an encore? How about a career-high 45 points? On deadly shooting (14-19 from the floor and 15-17 from the line, the newest Rocket led his team to a road win over Atlanta. Jeremy Lin provided excellent support with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, and while Omer Asik was scoreless on seven shots, he grabbed 19 boards. Patrick Patterson (9 PTS, 7 REB) made his first start at PF, with backup Marcus Morris
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The mixed messages coming from the Hornets and Eric Gordon about his knee are confusing. I’m not a doctor and haven’t seen the MRI, but my ‘diagnosis’ is, the desert heat in Phoenix would be a miracle cure. For fantasy purposes, he’s out indefinitely. Sorry about your luck, Gordon owners. You can’t cut him until there’s some tangible news, like another surgery. Tonight, it’s the first Sheridan Hoops Friday Freeroll of the season. It’s completely free to open a FanDuel account