Line of the Night: Peja Stojakovic (0.88). Left for dead through the first two weeks of the season, the Chris Paul injury left the Hornets in desperate need of someone with even a minimal ability to create some offense. Well, as long as his shot is falling, Peja is the man for that job. In a 110-103 win over the Suns, Peja was stroking it hard and he finished the game with 7 threes, scoring 25 points and adding 13 rebounds. As long as Paul remains out, the Hornets are going to be Peja’s team. And if that doesn’t scare you Hornets’ fans, you really might want to get yourself evaluated.
Honorable Mentions: Straight off his dramatic CSI appearance, Pau Gasol (0.85) returned for the Lakers yesterday and jumped right into mid-season form with 24 points and 13 boards (Lamar Odom (-0.09) had an 11 and 8 in 26 minutes off the bench and – surprise, surprise – looks to be the guy hurt the most from Gasol’s return); Andrei Kirilenko (0.69) continues his walk down rejuvenation lane with 13 points, 8 boards and 3 steals in 33 minutes off the bench for the Jazz.
Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Jared Dudley (0.87). This much I know. There were not a lot in the way of great waiver wire performances in last night’s three games. In fact, Dudley’s 17 points off 5-6 shooting from three was just about the only one. The 27 minutes and the 5 threes were both on the high end of Dudley’s year-to-date performance and he’s a little too inconsistent to rely on in the majority of leagues out there.
The Biggest Loser: I’m not a Bulls fan or own him in any leagues, and yet Luol Deng (-0.44) still frustrates the hell out of me. I’d rather just move on.
At first glance, David West’s (-0.16) line looks horrible, but he sort of salvaged his 2-11 shooting night with 5 assists and a steal. At least that’s what you can tell yourself if you own the guy.
All Eyez on Me:
Cleveland (8-4) at Indiana (5-4) – With Shaq likely to miss the rest of the week with a shoulder injury, Zydrunas Ilgauskas becomes a viable short-term play. LeBron tweaked his wrist on a dunk in the Cavs last game, but should be ready to play tonight.
Orlando (9-3) at Boston (9-3) – Eastern conference finals preview? Maybe, although the Magic just lost PG Jameer Nelson for the next 4-6 weeks after he got surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. If you’re in need of a non-scoring PG, Jason Williams is worth an add in his absence for as long as the veteran can stay healthy.
The Golden Ticket: Portland (9-4) at Golden State (3-8) – The Warriors are currently rolling 8 deep thanks to all their current injuries, and yet Don Nelson is still finding a way not to play Anthony Randolph (24 minutes in the Warriors’ last game). Instead, Vlad Rad got the start and a good 28 minutes.
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