Sorry for the delay in getting this one up. Late night + Patriots Game + Alcohol + A 6:30 am alarm + Early morning family event – Sleep = Me struggling through this post at 1 pm today.
Quote of the Night: “I actually didn’t feel great, but somebody was smiling on me and a bunch of shots went in.” -Steve Nash
Line of the Night: Today it was Steve Nash (5.7) who shook off the stomach flu to lead Phoenix to a 122-114 win over Mill-e-wah-que. Only 7 assists for the Nashster - instead he shunned the pass to add a season high 35 points on 13-17 shooting with 5 threes. The only weak part of Nash’s game was his post game quote about Boris Diaw. “An unbelievable player… he’s a fantastic talent.”
Honorable Mentions: Chauncey Billups (5.5) went for 27 points with 7 assists and 3 steals; Mehmet Okur (4.9) is seemingly back from the dead after having 4 good games out of his last 5. His latest included 29 points, 8 rebounds and 4 threes; Manu Ginobili (4.7) had 5 steals; Francisco Garcia (4.6) had 22 and a career high 12 boards; Andrei Kirilenko (4.5) was back in the lineup after missing three games to put up 16/7/8; Rip Hamilton (4.5) had a nice line of 26/7/8, but was only 9 of 25 from the floor.
Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Rashad McCants (4.3) – who went for 17 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists - had the highest game score of the night out of all the guys who are likely to be available on waivers. To say that his season has been a rollercoaster ride is an understatement. It’s more the feeling a rollercoaster would get if it was riding another rollercoaster. McCants is currently sitting at 97 on the 8-cat player rater, meaning he’s worth owning in just about every league despite the fact that his season has been all over the place.
Rise with Us: Travis Diener (4.2) had a good game backing up Jamaal Tinsley. Keep an eye on him in case Tinsley goes down again. Boris Diaw (4.2) is an unbelievable talent. If he could just score 21 points and pull down 11 boards every night, it would be fantastic.
The Biggest Loser: While no one would argue with Al Thornton (1.2), who had 2 points, or Sebastian Telfair (1.6), who played 40 minutes, Ray Allen (2.3) brings higher expectations with him. Not only did the Celtics lose to the Wizards (5 losses now, break them up!), but Allen shot 3-13 (2-8 for three) scoring 8 points with 1 rebound and 1 assist.
