Allen Iverson’s(notes) departure from the 76ers should mean good things for Louis Williams’(notes) fantasy owners.
• Welcome back, Louis Williams! He got the start Tuesday with
Allen Iverson (family) and Willie Green(notes) (shoulder) out of the lineup
and went off to the tune of 26 points, five threes, 10 boards, 7
assists, and three turnovers in 40 minutes of 110-102 win over the
Warriors. It seems quite possible that even Eddie Jordan will recognize
this as a sign that Williams is the rightful owner of an everyday
starting spot. All signs point to Iverson having played his last game of the current season.
• Corey Maggette’s(notes) hamstring injury will keep him out until at least the second week of March and maybe much more.
He underwent the same platelet-rich plasma treatment that Brandon Roy(notes)
did for his hammy, and it’s doubtful that anyone will push the issue in
terms of a return this season if he shows anything less than
significant progress in the interim. This
news is a boon for Anthony Morrow(notes), who has averaged 21.2 points on
49-percent shooting, 3 treys, 6.3 boards, 3.2 assists, and 2.3
turnovers while starting the past six games.
• Andris
Biedrins(notes) and Ronny Turiaf(notes) combined for zero points and zero blocks in
32 minutes in the loss to the 76ers. Biedrins playing just nine minutes
and was benched by Don Nelson
for not showing "any life" while he was on the court. In five games
since the All-Star break, Biedrins has averaged 2 points on 42-percent
shooting, 8 boards, 1 steal, and 0.8 blocks in 22 minutes. Keep an eye
on this situation – we could see Turiaf or even Chris Hunter(notes) join the
starting five, as Biedrins is clearly on Nelson’s bad side.
• There’s a decent chance that Marcus Thornton’s(notes) 37 points in 31 minutes Tuesday will be enough to push him back into the starting five. It seems even more likely when you factor in Morris Peterson’s(notes) two points on 1-of-5 shooting … Another big night from Darren Collison(notes) (22 points, 4 boards, 10 assists, 6 turnovers, 1 steal), pushing his averages in his past 11 starts to 20.5 points on 48-percent shooting, 0.9 threes, 85-percent foul shooting, 4.5 boards, 9.7 assists, 5 turnovers, and 1.8 steals in 42 minutes.
• Antawn Jamison’s(notes) first start for the Cavs was a success by any measure (37 minutes, 18 points, 7-of-14 FG, 1 three, 6 boards, 2 steals) and a good sign for all involved parties. He’ll have to share the usage even more once Mo Williams(notes) (2-of-9 FG) gets back to 100 percent, but Jamison should still be a fantasy contributor of some consequence for the Cavs.
• The Timberwolves beat the Heat 91-88 without any one standout performance, but Dorell Wright(notes) was huge off the bench in the loss. He scored 26 points in his 30 minutes, adding six threes, seven boards, two steals, and three blocks. Wright is still only 24 years old – the same age as Darko Milicic(notes) – but the Heat are in "win right now" mode and have deferred minutes to veteran Quentin Richardson(notes). While a performance like this is certainly notable, it’s only actionable if the Heat also start thinking about demoting Q-Rich.
• Dwayne Wade was able to ditch his walking boot Monday, but he’ll need to go through a practice or two
before he’ll think about returning to the court. With the Heat off
until Friday, he’ll get the chance, but he’s still dealing with
soreness and had yet to resume running as of Tuesday.
• So how do you see the Tracy McGrady(notes) story playing out
for the rest of the season? What we’ve got thus far: they hype around
his 32-minute debut pushed it to mythic proportions, he was much less effective and limped off the floor
in his second game, and he labored through his third game (the second
of a back-to-back) and finished with six points on 3-of-8 shooting. My guess is that we get sporadic production and appearances the rest of the way … Danilo Gallinari(notes) scored fewer than 10 points (6) for the fourth straight game, and I’ll go as far as to say that his fantasy impact will be directly tied to Tracy McGrady’s availability. With T-Mac around, he’s drawing tougher assignments as the power forward on defense and seeing fewer looks on offense.
• If you’ve been waiting to pick up Sergio Rodriguez(notes), now mught
be a good time to do it. He played 38 minutes Tuesday (18 points, 3
treys, 5 boards, 6 assists, 3 turnovers, 2 steals, 1 block) while Chris
Duhon(notes) was saddled with a DNP-CD. The potential for inconsistency
remains, but so does some pretty serious upside, and the playing time
doesn’t appear likely to be an issue.
• Paul Pierce(notes) sat out Tuesday’s game in the hopes that a few days off would help get his sprained right thumb closer to 100 percent, but he was also feeling a bit under the weather. Marquis Daniels(notes) got the start and scored 14 points in his absence … Nate Robinson’s(notes) Celtics debut was fairly anti-climactic (16 minutes, 4 points) and I have a tough time seeing him being much of a factor as long as Ray Allen(notes) remains healthy.
• Brandon Roy’s numbers were a sight for sore eyes (37 minutes, 28 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 0 turnovers), and the fact that he went to the line 13 times is a great sign that he’s getting strength back in his hamstring. Sadly, the Blazers lost Marcus Camby(notes) to an ankle sprain after just five minutes. X-rays were negative, but he called himself doubtful for Wednesday … As a team, the Blazers shot 54 percent and had 23 assists against just three turnovers against the Nets. Portland’s starters combined for zero turnovers in 149 minutes.
• Kobe Bryant(notes) returned to the Lakers’ lineup in emphatic fashion Tuesday, scoring 32 points and adding three treys, seven boards, six assists, two turnovers, three steals, and two blocks in 40 minutes of the 99-98 win over the Grizzlies. And that’s all I have to say about that.
• Goran Dragic(notes) was excellent (40 minutes, 16 points, 2 threes, 4 boards, 10 assists, 6 turnovers) in his spot start for Steve Nash(notes), who missed the game to rest abdominal and back injuries … The Suns went small in their matchup with the Thunder, and Robin Lopez’s(notes) line is bound to suffer in that scenario (18 minutes, 2 points, 2 boards). As a starter overall (17 G), he’s been rosterable but not overly-productive (12.3 points, 61-percent shooting, 6 boards, 1 block).
• Russell Westbrook(notes) has been trending upward lately. His double-double Tuesday (21 points, 10 assists) was his fifth in seven games, and over the past 12 games he’s averaged 19.3 points on 48-percent shooting, 5.6 boards, 8.8 assists, 2.6 turnovers, and 2 steals.
• Just so you know, the Kings’ constant lineup changes and erratic player roles have been wearing on the players, too. It’s in everyone’s best interests that Paul Westphal make some decisions and actually stick with them for more than a game or two.
• Josh Howard(notes) has suffered a torn ACL in his left knee
and will miss the rest of the season. Howard’s hugely disappointing
campagin ends with a per-game rank of 205th, thanks to averages that
included 12.7 points on 41-percent shooting, 0.7 threes, 3.6 boards,
and 0.7 steals in 26 minutes. Al Thornton(notes) will step in as the starting
small forward for the Wizards moving forward, and should be a decent
source of points with little in the way of supporting stats.
Deep-leaguers should give James Singleton(notes) a look, as he’s got some
multi-cat potential and will back up both forward spots – in four games
since joining the Wizards, he’s averaged 7 points, 8 boards, 0.8
steals, and 1.3 blocks in 22 minutes.
• Chris Bosh(notes) (ankle) did not practice again Tuesday and it would be a surprise if he were to play Wednesday.
• Danny Granger(notes) missed the Pacers’ game Monday because of a "serious" family situation
and it’s unknown when he will return to the team. Mike Dunleavy got the
start for Granger and scored eight points on 3-of-9 shooting in 26
minutes.
• Joakim Noah(notes) doesn’t think his foot will be 100 percent for the rest of the season, and he’s going to see his minutes limited for at least the near future.
"They don’t want to push it too much right now and I have to sit for
another three or four weeks. They want me to be ready for when it
really counts."
This
isn’t your cue to drop Noah – they will gradually work him back into
his regular role if his foot reacts well. But all parties involved do
want to be cautious in how quickly they bring him along, so fantasy
owners are going to have to be patient… for now. And this is your cue to go pick up Taj Gibson(notes) if it’s an option.
• Trevor Ariza’s(notes) severe left hip pointer will keep him out for the rest of the week,
at which point he’ll be re-evaluated. He first suffered the injury on
February 6, it’s stuck with him since, and he aggravated it on
Saturday. Kevin Martin(notes) will replace Ariza in the starting lineup, and
Chase Budinger(notes) should see a few more minutes as a reserve. Budinger has
scored in double figures in five straight games, averaging 12.2 points
on 49-percent shooting, 2 threes, and 4.2 boards in 26 minutes during
that stretch.
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