Day 148 of 170: The Bulls Have that Playoff Smell

Categorized as: Author: Patrick, Fantasy Basketball
Posted on: March 24th, 2009

Line of the Night: I generally try not to feel bad for millionaires, but poor Antawn Jamison (1.02). Caron Butler is out with a hamstring injury, Gilbert Arenas – complete with a new huge contract – has decided to take the year off. And yet, Jamison is out there last night trying to single handedly lead the 16-56 Wizards to a huge fourth quarter comeback against the Bulls. The comeback fell short and the Bulls squeaked out a 101-99 win, but there was nothing wrong with Jamison’s game: 34 points, 12 rebounds with 3 threes.

Honorable Mentions: No one really, it was a pretty low key night for fantasy lines. Dwight Howard (0.65) went for 29 and 14 with 4 blocks against the Knicks, but as usual, the FT% (5-11 from the line) killed his game score. You do not miss free throws and expect player rater love.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: An embarrassment of free agent riches yesterday. Ronald Murray (0.97) continues to be the 6th man extraordinaire for the Hawks, as he came off the bench to score 30 points on 12-18 shooting. He was also 5-8 from three and dished 5 assists. You could do a lot worse than Murray if he’s available in your league.

Courtney Lee (0.91) scored a career high 22 points against the Knicks. His efficiently was impressive – 6-8 from the field, 2-3 from three and 8-8 from the line. That means, of course, he fails my 70% shooting free agent test, so leave him as a free agent for now; and Joakim Noah (0.81) grabbed 12 boards and blocked 4 shots for the Bulls. That’s 10 blocks in the last three games for Noah, which is good because his offensive game is basically non-existent. Still, as long as he’s boarding and blocking, you’ve got a decent backup center.

The Biggest Loser: Eric Gordon (-0.52) and Rudy Gay (-0.52) both scored 8 points (not together, they were playing in different games). Gordon shot 3-12 on the night with 5 turnovers against the Celtics, while Gay was 2-9 from the floor and had 4 turnovers.

All Eyez On Me: Detroit (34-35) at Chicago (33-38) – Arron Afflalo is still the man as Rip Hamilton is doubtful for this game. Get him in your lineup, he’s due for a good game. And Tyrus Thomas is back to sucking after three good games in a row, which isn’t much of a surprise to anyone who has followed Tyrus Thomas.

Houston (47-25) at Utah (43-26) – I know that Shane Battier is Mr. Super Intangibles and all, but I’d love to see ONE stat that shows he’s an above average player. It’s clear that none of the stats used in fantasy basketball do.

The Golden Ticket: Golden State (25-45) at San Antonio (45-24) – In a surprising move, Matt Bonner was replaced in the lineup by Kurt Thomas for the Spurs last game. No one knows why this was done or if it is a permanent move, but Bonner’s fantasy value is gone if he’s moved to the bench.

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Tags: Antawn Jamison, Flip Murray, Joakim Noah, Matt Bonner, Shane Battier