Give Me The Rock

Day 11 of 170: Fall of the Unbeatens

Patrick — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:23:31 +0000

Line of the Night: Imagine if Chris Paul (1.58) actually had a real basketball team playing around him? How awesome would that be? Instead, the Hornets got blown out by the Raptors 107-90 despite Paul’s 21 points, 7 boards and 18 assists. Bobby Brown was the team’s second highest scorer with 16 points.

Honorable Mentions: Jason Richardson (1.32) showed us it’s possible to have a good fantasy game against the Celtics by scoring 34 points (on 10-16 shooting) with 6 threes and 10 boards as the Suns handed the Celtics their first loss of the year; Lebron James (1.18) pulled down a ho-hum 33/8/9 line against the Knicks; and Baron Davis (1.12) showed the world he’s not quite dead yet by scoring 24 points with 7 assists and 4 steals.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Raja Bell (0.84) – who is currently owned in a ridiculously low 11% of Yahoo leagues – went 5-6 from three and finished with 24 points off 9-12 shooting in his second game back for Bobcats. Maybe the wrist injury scared some people off, but as long as he doesn’t pull a Kevin Martin, Bell will be a great source of threes and scoring for most any fantasy team.

I was going to put Larry Hughes (0.84) as an honorable mention here, until I saw that he was owned in 57% of leagues. What the hell are you 57% thinking? Just joking, Hughes will have his bad moments, but he’ll continue to play big minutes as long as Nate Robinson is out (probably another week).

You Play with Fire and You’re Gonna Get Burned: As I mentioned last night, Kevin Martin will be out for at least the next 8 weeks after opting for surgery to repair the hairline fracture in his left wrist. So chalk up another 50 game season for the most fragile man this side of Tracy McGrady. Also Tyrus Thomas will miss the next 4-6 weeks after breaking his arm in some kind of weight lifting accident. No word on whether an exercise ball was involved.

The Biggest Loser: The BM player rater did not like what Thaddeus Young (-0.59) brought to the table yesterday. Young scored 8 points on 3-9 shooting with 4 turnovers as the Sixers squeaked out a win over the Nets.

However, Chauncey Billups’ (-0.43) line was as bad if not worse given the expectations. Billups scored 6 points off 2-7 shooting and finished with 2 assists and 5 turnovers as Miami gave the Nuggets their first loss of the year.

All Eyez on Me:

New York (1-5) at Milwaukee (2-2) – Get those Bucks in your lineup, especially Andrew Bogut, who has turned up the volume on his game after a slow start to the year. Brandon Jennings should also have a bounce back game after a 4-16 shooting performance against the Wolves.

Denver (5-1) at Atlanta (4-2) – the real Kmart is expected to miss this game and possibly the next week with an injury to his leg. Not that anyone should be counting on Kenyon Martin for fantasy at this point in his career. This is also the last game of JR Smith’s suspension, so get him in your lineup for next week if he’s on your team.

Sacramento (1-4) at Utah (2-3) – Beno Udrih will get the start in Martin’s place. He’s about half the fantasy player Martin is but will be worth an add in most leagues if you’re in need of a guard.

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Injury News: Men Made of Glass and The Weights Strike Again

Patrick — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:21:10 +0000

Two injury related notes on this Friday evening.

Going into the season, I really thought this might be the year Kevin Martin rose above his muddled injury history and strung together 75+ games. The lesson, as always, is that I’m an over-optimistic, magic bean buying idiot. Martin, who fractured his left wrist on Monday when he got tangled up with Allen Iverson (the destroyer of fantasy performers league-wide), has opted for surgery to repair the injury after talking with doctors today. The procedure will keep him sidelined for at least 8 weeks, or a good 25 games.

Beno Udrih will likely take Martin’s place in the lineup for now. While Udrih is no Kevin Martin, he’s a decent fantasy player when given 33+ minutes a game. He doesn’t do anything particularly well, but brings and all-around game with steals, threes and assists. Pick him up immediately if he’s available in your league and you could use a guard.

The choice to keep or dump Martin is up to you and the space that you have on your bench. Two months is a long time to wait for his return and there is no guarantee that he’ll be back on schedule or be healthy when he returns. But if you have a big bench, he’s currently the second ranked player on our player rater for the season, thanks to 30.6 points and 3.4 threes a game he was averaging so far this season.

Tyrus Thomas will also be out for a while. The Bulls’ forward broke his forearm while weight training today (has Francisco Garcia taught us nothing) and will likely be out for the next 4-6 weeks after receiving surgery to repair it.

Rookie Taj Gibson – who started in place of Thomas on Thursday – will continue to start in his place. Gibson scored 11 points with 7 boards and a block in 34 minutes against the Cavs in that game and is definitely worth an add if you were one of the unlucky son-of-bitches who drafted Thomas early in anticipation of a breakout year.

Day 10 of 170: Don’t Forget, Carlos Boozer Still Plays For The Jazz

Nels — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:28:24 +0000

Line of the Night: Boozer (1.26) put up 27 and 14 with 2 steals and 2 blocks. Of course, my thinking immediately goes to: Showcase! If the Jazz are still shopping him, I bet that any teams that wanted him are kicking themselves for not getting him before the season started.

Honorable Mentions: Deron Williams (0.88) had 27/7/9 with a steal and a block. John Salmons owners can breathe a sigh of relief as Salmons made 46% of his field goals.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Anthony Parker (0.70) made 3 threes, to go with some other fairly pedestrian numbers. But, he’s only owned in 30% of Yahoo leagues, so take it or leave it. You’re next best choice is DeJuan Blair (0.32) who had 14 and 9 with a block to beat out Tim Duncan (0.24) simply by not taking any free throws.

The Biggest Loser: Mehmet Okur (-0.28) put up some Waiver-Wire-Player looking numbers with his 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists on 4/10 shooting. I’d be happy to swap Anthony Parker’s line over that. But then, Parker can’t play PF or C. And Okur’s got a much better stat history. If that kind of thing matters to you.

Wowsers of the Night: Since I didn’t get to mention anything about the Bulls game except John Salmon’s average shooting performance, I’d just like to point out that they beat the Cavs. Sure, there’s no way that would happen for 4 out of 7 games. But the Bulls are now, for a day at least, leading the Central Division (and technically, that puts them no less than 4th in the Eastern Conference – take that Orlando!).

All Eyez On Me: Denver (5-0) in Miami (4-1). Melo v. Wade. Nike v. Nike. Become Legendary.

Phoenix (4-1) is in Boston (6-0). Nash v. Rondo. Old v. New. Fast v. Slow. Frye v. The World.

Cleveland (3-3) @ MSG! One Night Only! LeBron in NYC (1-4)! LeBron for MVP! Or at least, LotN!

The Golden Ticket: Cleveland at NY is probably the best bet for fantasy performances… LeBron should be able to turn some buckets out. Golden State @ LAC should also be a pretty fast-paced game.

Friday’s Tiny Dancer: In honor of The Jackal and D-Ron:

Click to Super Size it.

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Day 9 of 170: Chris Paul Walks Tall

Patrick — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:40:51 +0000

Line of the Night: Chris Paul (1.45). I can’t put it any better than At the Hive… Chris Paul is just good at basketball. So good it makes my stomach tingle. Paul became the third fastest player to 3,000 assists last Monday and followed up that performance with a 39 point, 5 rebound, 7 assist game in an overtime win against the Mavs. Paul also added a couple steals and 3 threes.

Honorable Mentions: Nothing better than an overtime to pad those fantasy stats. David West (1.09) used the Hornets/Mavs OT game to score 25 point with 10 boards and 3 steals; Monta Ellis (1.03) put up a 24/7/12/5 steal line against the Grizzlies; Jason Thompson (1.01) had a double-double (22/12) for the Kings; and Dwyane Wade (0.9) dropped 40 for the Heat to pull out a close one in Washington, 93-89.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: It’s a tie between Denver point guard Ty Lawson (0.82) and Orlando forward Matt Barnes (0.82). Lawson scored 23 points and was 3-3 from behind the arc in 28 minutes off the bench against the Nets. Out of all the rookie PGs in all the world, who would have though Lawson would be the one off to the fast start? However, the return of JR Smith, who has served 5 games of a 7 game suspension, is going to crowd the Nuggets backcourt and definitely reduce Lawson’s minutes. Barnes, who got the start and scored 13 points with 11 boards and 5 assists, is in a similar spot as Lawson. Vince Carter sat because of a sprained ankle (and my 30-man team weeps) and Rashard Lewis is still serving his 10-game suspension. When they return, Barnes is the guy going to get the squeeze.

Desperate for Scoring? Anthony Morrow (0.56) just likes to shoot. And that works on the GSW as Morrow came off the bench for 24 points on 10-12 shooting.

Desperate for Big Men? Erick Dampier (0.8) had 16 points, 14 boards and 3 blocks in the Hornets/Mavs overtime game; Chuck Hayes (0.64) had 14 points and 14 boards in an overtime game against the Lakers; and Oleksiy Pecherov (0.59) dropped a career-high 24 points on the Celtics of all teams. Pecherov will get big minutes as long as Love remains out.

Do you smell what Pecherov is cooking? Brian Scalabrine does

The Biggest Loser: So much for Phoenix being undefeated. The Magic blew out the Suns last night, thanks in part to Jason Richardson’s (-0.56) zero point performance. J-Rich was 0-4 from the floor and finished with 3 boards and 4 assists in only 21 minutes. All the Suns starters not named Amare got a lot of rest in this one. Channing Frye (-0.07) also had a miserable 19 minutes on the court, but at least he hit a three, which is exactly what most people need out of their center.

All Eyez on Me: Only two games for the NBA today (which I’m sure is why Nels eventually runs out of material and has to turn to the NBA dancers on Friday… not that I’m complaining or anything).

Chicago (2-2) at Cleveland (3-2) – Via Blog a Bull, it appears that Tyrus Thomas will not be traveling to Cleveland for this game. He apparently contracted some kind of “flu” shortly after his contract was not extended. Probably H$N$. Expect rookie Taj Gibson to take his spot in the lineup for now.

San Antonio (2-1) at Utah (1-3) – The drums of death beating down on Richard Jefferson’s career are temporarily silent, after the man scored 21 points in the Spurs last game. Going forward, you can’t like the fact that the Spurs are going to limit the amount of minutes Jefferson sees on the court to under 30 a game. Maybe Manu can work with 25 minutes a game and still be solid fantasy-wise, but normal human beings can’t. I’d recommend you trade him, but I’m not sure who is buying.

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Day 8 of 170: Dirk For MVP

Nels — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:37:29 +0000

Fantasy MVP, of course.

Line of the Night: Dirk Nowitzki (2.23) took home the first 2+ of the season only 8 days in by scoring 29 points in the 4th quarter last night. It’s like he was playing a game of Texas Hold Em for the first 3 quarters and finally went all in. Oddsmakers are now projecting him to be this year’s fantasy MVP. Okay, not really, but I bet people who passed over him with the 7th pick are kicking themselves now. Why? Well, besides ending with 40 total, he also had 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 5 blocks. Did he turn the ball over even once? Nein! Gong show!

Honorable Mentions: Well, it’s obviously hard to compete with Dirk’s performance, but Rasheed Wallace (1.28) did pretty well with 6 threes en route to 20 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Rasheed did shoot 70% from the field, though, so he would not qualify for Waiver Wire Line of the Night (you know, if he were owned in less than 90% of leagues).

Steven Nash (1.20) also shot over 70%, scoring 30 points and dropping 8 dimes along the way.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Roy Hibbert (0.85) is only owned in 43% of leagues, so he qualifies, and his 14 point, 12 rebound, 4 block performance is probably going to be repeated at least once again this season. He’s actually available in one of the GMTR Readers’ Leagues and if I wasn’t running a small ball team in that league, I’d pick him up right now.

The Biggest Loser: On the complete other end of the Game Score spectrum (and perhaps because Dirk did everything one could possibly ask), Kevin Garnett almost reached the negative 1 mark by shooting 1/7 from the field and 1/4 from the line while turning the ball over 5 times. Of course, Boston still beat Philly by 31 points, so I guess they have a couple of other good players on their team.

All Eyez On Me: Dallas @ New Orleans, this year’s prospective fantasy MVP takes on last year’s actual fantasy MVP.

The Golden Ticket: I just took a quick glance at the possessions per game for each team, and here’s the list I compiled of the “fastest” teams in the league thus far:

Golden State Warriors – 99
Indiana Pacers – 97
New York Knicks – 97
Phoenix Suns – 96
Sacramento Kings – 95
Chicago Bulls – 94
Denver Nuggets – 94
Los Angeles Lakers – 94
Oklahoma City – 94
Utah Jazz – 94

I did this basically just to verify that The Golden Ticket rule still applies in the same way it did last season. I think we can pretty safely assume that it does. Even if some of these are inflated because of the teams’ opponents, this still reads like a list of The Usual Suspects.

And so: Indiana at New York is THE golden ticket tonight. Memphis is in Oakland (aka Golden State), and Phoenix is in Orlando, so look to those teams if you’ve got daily lineup changes.

Sports Betting Line of the Night: Best online sports betting bonuses and promotions at Sportsbetting.com. Join now the most secure online sportsbook!

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Day 7 of 170: The New York Knicks: Your Natural Fantasy Enhancement

Patrick — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:39:46 +0000

Line of the Night: Points may be overrated by many casual fantasy owners, but sometimes it really just is about how many times you can put the ball through the hoop. Last night Kevin Martin (1.36) dropped 48 points on the Grizzlies in an overtime win, hitting 7 of the 10 threes he took and adding 4 steals. Unfortunately, he was also a very Kevin Martin-unlike 13-18 from the line. As I’ve said before, Martin is money as long as he’s healthy.

With legs like that, no wonder he can’t stay healthy

Honorable Mentions: Chris Paul (1.34) scored 32 points himself while adding 13 assists and 4 threes as the Hornets outlasted the Knicks 117-111. Believe it or not, the Knick with the best fantasy game was the perpetually disrespected Chris Duhon (0.73), thanks mostly to his 9 assists; it took Emeka Okafor (0.87) four games to finally reap the benefits of playing alongside Chris Paul. He finished with 24 points, 10 points, and 3 blocks; and we can’t forget about Gerald Wallace (0.77), who had his way with the Nets for 24 points, 20 boards and 4 steals.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Ok, maybe his first game in the Kicks lineup wasn’t a fluke. Larry Hughes’ (0.54) encore performance included a start at SG and 20 points on 8-13 shooting, 6 boards and 2 threes. I’d give Hughes a tepid thumbs-up for those of you in deeper leagues looking for some short-term scoring and steals. On the plus side, he is starting for the Knicks (at least while Nate Robinson is out for the next 2+ weeks) and there was a time when Hughes was a good player. On the minus side, that happened to be a long time ago. Cut bait on Hughes if his shot disappears and he starts putting up 2-12 shooting nights again, but other than that, he’s solid.

And if your team is in need of an Israeli small forward, then Omri Casspi (0.41) is your man. It may have taken an overtime, but the rookie scored 15 points with a couple steals and blocks in 30 minutes on the court. Desmond Mason has been making people physically sick with his horrible play for the Kings to start the year, so it may only be a matter of time before Casspi is starting and getting big minutes.

The Biggest Loser: Tyreke Evans (-0.74) had a lot of sleeper buzz going into year because he was basically being handed the Kings starting PG spot this season. The results so far have been bumpy at best, with last night’s 3 point, 4 assist game being his worst yet. He did sprain his ankle this past weekend against the Spurs and that is certainly affecting his game, so you might be able to pry him from his owner or simply pick him up off wavers if you’re the type of person who likes to gamble.

Injury of the “Night”: In one of the most predictable incidents so far this year, Michael Redd strained a tendon in his knee and is expected to miss the next 2 weeks. Sure, it’ll be 2 weeks. Sure. Charlie Bell is expected to replace Redd in the Bucks lineup, but he doesn’t do enough on the court to be worth an add in most leagues.

All Eyez on Me: Nine games going tonight, including:

Phoenix (3-0) at Miami (3-0) – This much I know, one team is going to be 4-0 after this game. No, actually I know that the Suns are going to do their best to run on the Heat, pushing the pace and making this a high scoring event. So, make sure to get all your heat players in your lineups for today. Ok, I’ll leave Joel Anthony on the bench in my 30-man league, but get everyone else in there.

Boston (4-0) at Philadelphia (2-1) – Rondo signed a 5-year extension with the Celtics yesterday, which means he can finally take it easy and stop trying so damn hard. This game is going to be a little different for the Sixers compared to their last one against the Knicks. My crystal ball says that Andre Iguodala and Sweet Lou Williams are not going to combine for 59 points tonight. Or even 39 points.

Milwaukee (1-1) at Chicago (1-2) – With Redd out for the immediate future, BrewHoop looks at what the Bucks can expect, both in terms of their lineup and Redd’s recovery. While Charlie Bell will become a starter, Brandon Jennings is the most likely beneficiary of the extra shots. As far as Redd goes, well, history is not on his side.

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What Are People Talking About?

Day 6 of 170: Hayo Mayo!

Nels — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:53:57 +0000

This Weeks Sign That The Fantasy Apocalypse Is Upon Us: The GMTR Player Rater is back for 2009, and in it’s Season Premier, guess who takes home the #1 spot? None other than Danilo Gallinari!

Line of the Night: OJ Mayo (1.24) can fill it up all right. He poured in 40 points to start off the month of November, including 4 three-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. He shot an astonishing (especially for a Shooting Guard) 63% from the field, and only got 2 of his points from free throws.

Honorable Mentions: Carmelo Anthony (1.16) can also score. He’s averaging 37.7 through three games so far this season. Re-DONK! Add to that the 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 58% shooting from last night, and you can see how he got the silver medal.

Oh, did Kobe Bryant (1.09) score 40 points too? Too bad he only shot 51%. But 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals! Oh me, oh my. Honestly, I’m not sure why all their Basketball Monster Game Scores aren’t higher…

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Another score that confuses me: Matt Barnes’ 1.01. He’s only owned in 14% of Yahoo leagues, so obviously the best choice for WWLotN… but his line was: 12 points (2 three-pointers, 3/9 FGs, 4/4 FTs), 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocks, and 3 turnovers. I mean, yeah, there’s a lot of stats there, but there’s also the 33% FG shooting, only 12 points, and the 3 turnovers. Anyway, there he is. Take him or leave him.

The Biggest Loser: O, Kevin Durant (-0.57), wherefore art thou Durantula? 16 points sounds good, but not when it comes from 3/14 shooting from the field, and 10/14 (71%) from the line. I’ll take the 5 rebounds and 2 blocks from my Shooting Guard position (if I’ve got a Big Ball team), but that FG% does not mesh with a Big Ball style whatsoever. Just for reference, Durant had the second lowest game score of the night.

All Eyez On Me: Chris Paul rolls into MSG tonight to take on the Quick Knicks. Do it CP3! Show all those people who took you first that you were worth it…

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Pacific Division Blogger Previews

Nels — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:42:54 +0000

Golden State Warriors: Golden State of Mind

Los Angeles Clippers: Clips Nation

Los Angeles Lakers: Silver Screen & Roll | With Malice | NBAtipoff | Hoops Addict | Forum Blue & Gold

Phoenix Suns: Bright Side of the Sun | Binary Basketball

Sacramento Kings: Sactown Royalty | Basketball Fiend | Cowbell Kingdom

Bonus Links: See full schedule here

Day 5 of 170: Manu Ginobili is the Bat Man.

Patrick — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:27:57 +0000

Line of the Night: The Blazers could not pull out a win in Houston, but Brandon Roy (1.44) did everything within his power, scoring 42 points, with 5 threes, 6 boards and 4 assists. He was also a perfect 13-13 from the line. Now if the rest of his teammates could just give him a little help…

Honorable Mentions: Louis Williams (1.06) had a 27/10/7 off 10-12 shooting as the Sixers destroyed the Knicks in overtime (yes, a blowout overtime win); Danilo Gallinari (0.97) is currently owned in 57% of Yahoo leagues, but that should be closer to 90% after he went 8-16 from three and scored 30 points in his first start; Gilbert Arenas (0.94) scored 32 points with 7 assists and 3 threes in only 29 minutes on the court; and with Blake Griffin out for a while, Chris Kaman (0.88) is starting and getting big minutes. He put up a 27 and 11 against the Mavs.

But Can He Do It With Chop Sticks: While the rest of his on the court performance wasn’t much to talk about, Manu Ginobili (0.04) swatted a bat out of midair after it entered the AT&T Center on Halloween. Does that count as a steal or a block? I need a ruling on that.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Larry Hughes (0.87) anyone? Hughes scored 18 points and had 6 assists and 4 steals. However, his performance came in the Knicks’ insane 127-141 overtime loss to the Sixers, so it certainly feels like you’d be buying high on Hughes (if that is even possible).

So a better free agent pick-up would include Marreese Speights (0.53) who followed up a horrible second game with 20/10 in 30 minutes. A lot of that had to do with Samuel Dalembert (-0.11) being in foul trouble all game, but when is Dalembert NOT going to be in foul trouble? Rafer Alston (0.44) also makes a nice short term PG add because Devin Harris is expected to be out at least the next 7-10 days with a sore man region. And Andray Blatche (0.86) is owned in 49% of Yahoo leagues, so technically he can slide in here. Pick him up if he’s available in your league, although his showboating and Agent-Zero like attitude burns my puritan sensibilities.

Barely Legal Edition: If you didn’t draft him, you probably already missed the window to own Brandon Jennings (0.58). In only his second start for the Bucks, Jennings scored 24 points, adding 3 assists and 3 steals and 3 threes in a win over the Pistons.

The Biggest Loser: Raymond Felton (-0.76). A lackluster 10 points and 3 assists will not necessarily kill someone’s fantasy night. But 8 turnovers certainly will. Charlotte seems like a team that has the drive and ability to put up 68 points on any given night. Is Larry Brown the most overrated coach in the game today, or does the blame fall primarily on Michael Jordan?

All Eyez on Me: Seven more games from the NBA today, including:

New Orleans (1-1) at Boston (3-0) – Can the Celtics’ strong defense shut down Chris Paul? The C’s opponents have shot 38% from the field on the year and while the Hornets have not looked great in their two games to start the season, it’s still Chris f**king Paul out there.

Portland (1-2) at Oklahoma City (2-0) – Battle of the first round draft picks. OKC looks to go a franchise first 3-0 on the year against a defensively challenged Blazers team. BlazersEdge likes the possibility of Oden having a big game because the Thunder don’t have a strong presence down low.

Atlanta (2-0) at Los Angeles Lakers (1-1) – How’s that Ron Artest/Trevor Ariza swap looking so far? Pau Gasol is questionable for this game. If he doesn’t play, look for continued strong outings from Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum.

***

What Are People Talking About?

Day 4 of 170: The Celtics are Frighteningly Good

Patrick — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:38:10 +0000

Bill Simmons told me so…

Line of the Night: At halftime of the Bulls/Celtics game, if you had told me that Paul Pierce (0.91) was going to end up with the best fantasy line of last night, I would have slapped you across the face with a fish. But when the third quarter started, Pierce came out firing from three (thanks in part to Rondo setting him up Misty May) and when the dust settled Pierce had 22 points (going 5-7 from three and 8-12 overall) with 8 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals as the Celtics dominated the Bulls in every way possible, 118-90.

The Pierce/Rondo connection, translated into women’s beach volleyball

Honorable Mentions: I’m not sure what else Chris Bosh (0.78) had to do to impress Basketball Monster*, but his 37 points, 12 boards and 2 blocks look like a winner to me. He even chipped in a three; Steve Nash (0.74) dropped 20 assists on the hapless, zombie-like GSW (it was the 6th 20 assist game of his career, so please don’t call him old); Paul Millsap’s (0.74) return to being a bench player extraordinaire has been successful so far, mostly because Millsap is some sort of machine. He had 23 points (off 9-12 shooting) and 9 boards in 25 minutes off the bench for the Jazz.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: This just in: The Suns like to run. And against the Golden State Warriors, the Suns predictably ran up the score in a 123-101 rout. Nash is mentioned above and Suns “center” Channing Frye (0.90) had the second best game score of last night by putting up a line almost identical to Pierce. Frye was 6-7 from three, adding 22 points, 8 boards and 3 steals. Frye is currently owned in 39% of Yahoo leagues and should be a necessary add for any team looking to get a bunch of threes out of their center.

If anyone in your league dropped Boris Diaw (0.46) after his piss-poor first game, I you might want to snatch him up after a 17/11/6 (admittedly double-overtime enhanced) line from the Frenchman. Diaw certainly lacks consistency, but don’t forget he averaged a 15/6/5 for Charlotte last season; and for those of you in super deep leagues, Eddie House (0.36) exploded last night for the Celtics, scoring 22 points and hitting 4 threes in their win. With Marquis Daniels joining the team this season, House can do less dribbling and more shooting, which plays to his one strength as a basketball player and will likely lead to more lines like last night.

The Biggest Loser: In a night lacking that one truly scary performance, let’s take the opportunity to point out that Jose Calderon (-0.31) has as many turnovers as assists yesterday (3). He still scored 15 points with good percentages, but Calderon owners can’t be happy with 3 assists.

Correction (I need to learn how to correctly query information from a database): Three of the five Bulls’ starters. Luol Deng (-0.50) and John Salmons (-0.32) had horrible shooting nights and Derrick Rose (-0.36) was Rondoed. On the plus side for the Bulls, Joakim Noah looked pretty good.

Injury of the Night: We’ll break this category out once in a while when a notable player goes down with an injury. And yesterday we had two. Vince Carter (0.22) rolled his left ankle on Devin Harris’ foot in the first half of his return to New Jersey. He limped off the court and did not return, although the good news is that the swelling was minimal and he’s optimistic about a quick return (no, really); and Caron Butler (-0.28) bruised his knee and sat out the second half of the Wizards’ game against the Hawks. Like Carter, he’s also day-to-day.

All Eyez on Me: Seven games today, including:

Portland (1-1) at Houston (1-1) – The Blazers look to recover from their epic loss to the Nuggets, by traveling to Houston, a place where they’ve lost the last seven games. While the verdict is still out on Oden, who has been in foul trouble in both of his games, it’s clear that the Blazers need to do a better job of getting him involved in the offense.

Dallas (1-1) at Los Angeles Clippers (0-3) – The Kidd/Marion connection looks like a big winner so far. You’re a better man than me if you took a chance on Marion going into the year.

Detroit (1-1) at Milwaukee (0-1) – Time to see if Brandon Jennings has an encore act in him. The 20-year old fell 1 board and 1 assist short of a triple-double in the Bucks’ first game against the Wolves. Regardless, I think this is the last we’ve seen of Luke Ridnour.

* Thanks to Basketball Monster for letting us grab these daily stat lines and scores. “Gratitiute is often a better payment than money”, is a phrase my grandmother never said, but sounds like something she might say.

***

Give Me The Rock

Day 11 of 170: Fall of the Unbeatens

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Day 10 of 170: Don’t Forget, Carlos Boozer Still Plays For The Jazz

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