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Line of the Night: Most of the time when a guy gets so much fantasy hype going into the season, they end up disappointing in a big way (see Randolph, Anthony). Not Trevor Ariza (1.87). He’s done exactly what everyone hoped he would be able to do with the Rockets and more so far this year. His latest line included 28 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals against Sactown. Even the 4-12 from behind the arc works in trawling for fish kind of way.
Ariza has a lot to smile about
Honorable Mentions: Jason Thompson (0.97) continues to be one of the only bright spots for the Kings. He had 27 points, 11 boards and a couple blocks against the Rockets; and you don’t make Dirk Nowitzki (0.95) angry. You just don’t. Dirk scored 15 of his 20 points in the third quarter of the Mavs/Wolves game after arguing with Ryan Hollins about his over frenetic elbows. Dirk also added 11 boards and 3 blocks (overall, not in the third quarter).
Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Give it up for Shane Battier (1.22) and his 23 points. In no way am I recommending that you pick up Batter, especially since his 8-11 shooting and 4-6 from three won’t be repeated anytime soon. In fact Battier averaged less than 6 shots (shots, not actual baskets) in the 3 games leading up to this one.
The Knicks/Warriors game produced some nice fantasy lines, but anyone put money down on CJ Watson’s (0.98) line being the best in the game? Watson got a season high 27 minutes off the bench for the Warriors and hit 7 of his 8 shots to finish with 19 points. He added a couple steals, a block and two threes. Don’t bank on this happening again anytime soon (remember, it came against the Knicks) and don’t run out to pick him up off free agency.
Injury of the Night: Chris Paul (0.14) had to be carried off the court in the second half of the Hornets/Blazers matchup. Word is that he sprained his left ankle and will miss the next 1-2 weeks. In the meantime, grab rookie PG Darren Collison (0.44) if you’re really in need of a short-term fix. Rookie SG Marcus Thornton (0.53) might also see some additional playing time.
The Biggest Loser: Since there were no horrific, face-melting performances (ok, Brook Lopez (-0.37) got schooled by Dwight Howard), how about a list of guys that should no longer be on anyone’s team:
Rudy Fernandez (-0.71) was a small sleeper going into the year when we thought he actually might get minutes. Drop him; I was guilty of drafting Ramon Sessions (-0.52) in at least 1 league. Drop him; Julian Wright (-0.45) has been an absolute disaster to the point where the former starter got 1 minute on the court in yesterday’s game. Should already be dropped; You really didn’t think Darko Milicic (-0.45) was going to turn it around in his 28th season in the league, did you? Drop him; Peja Stojakovic (-0.38) has been so bad even his unborn grandchildren are missing three pointers. Drop him.
All Eyez on Me: A full slate of games today, including:
New Jersey (0-9) at Miami (6-2) – NJ looks for their first win of the year against the mighty D-Wade. But who cares about wins, I just want Brook Lopez to bounce back from his 4-point 5-board debacle against Dwight Howard on Friday. Chris Douglas-Roberts returned for the injury plagued Nets yesterday after missing 3 games with the swine flu, while Devin Harris sounds about 5-7 days away from returning.
New Orleans (3-7) at Atlanta (7-2) – The Paul-less Hornets travel to Atlanta for a beating. This should be a very nice fantasy game for all the Hawks involved as long as they can come down from the high of beating the Celtics.
Utah (4-5) at Cleveland (6-3) – Deron Williams left the team to deal with a family emergency and will likely miss this game. That means PG duties will fall on rookie Eric Maynor again, who had 11 assists in the Jazz previous game against the Sixers. I am going to guess that the Cavs will provide a tougher challenge for Maynor.
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Tags: Brook Lopez, CJ Watson, Shane Battier, Trevor Ariza
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