Day 9 of 170: Kobe isn’t Going Anywhere

Categorized as: Author: Patrick, Fantasy Basketball
Posted on: November 4th, 2010

Line of the Night: Chris Paul’s (1.33) 25 point, 7 rebound, 8 assist, 4 steal night may have been the best fantasy line on Basketball Monster, but Kobe Bryant’s (1.26) 30/10/12 triple-double against the Kings is the line that is going to impress everyone today. I was in an auction the other day (yes, after the season started) and Kobe went for a ridiculously low amount (about 2/3 the price that Paul went for) due to worries about his health and the general fact that he’s Kobe Bryant. I think this is his way of telling us he’s not going away any time soon.

Honorable Mentions: Elton Brand (1.2) has been such a non-factor the last couple of years that this is the first time I remember writing about him in the three years we’ve been doing this thing. But the 31 year old Brand is off to a huge start this year, adding 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Sixers absolutely destroyed the Pacers.

Talk about good starts – you could argue that Rudy Gay (1.08) is off to the best start in the league. Gay put up 35 points in 45 minutes against the Warriors and is now averaging 26 points a game on the season. If he keeps this up, he might actually be worth his contract.

Tim Duncan (1.01) just wins basketball games. He also collects double-doubles like Hilary Swank collects Oscars, delivering 25 points and 17 rebounds in a win over the Suns.

Dorell Wright (1.00) is making you look smart if you drafted him as a sleeper this year. Wright hit 7 threes on his way to 25 points for the Warriors and is attempting a league leading (and insane) 8.3 threes a game.

I was watching the Boston feed of the Celtics/Bucks game last night (rather than the ESPN one). So, just in case I was not aware that Rajon Rondo (0.87) just broke the all-time record for assists through 5 games (he added another 15 last night), Tommy Heinsohn made that abundantly clear about 300 times. Rondo is averaging 16.4 assist per game on the season.

And I couldn’t not mention Dwight Howard (0.59), who blocked 8 shots in a mere 23 minutes as the Magic obliterated the Wolves, 128-86. Tough stretch for the Wolves right now, as they’ve been blown out three straight games.

Pick Up Lines: Grant Hill (0.89) – owned in 29% of leagues – does not get a lot of fantasy love at this point in his career. But while Hedo Turkoglu (-0.09) packed up his ugly game from Toronto and brought it down to the Suns, Hill has been quietly efficient again this season. Last night was more of the same as Hill put up 15 points, 8 boards and 2 blocked shots.

If you leave Richard Jefferson (0.75) alone in the corner, you WILL get burned. Well, at least last night you would, as Jefferson was 4-5 from the corner three against the Suns and scored a team high 28 points. Jefferson had an unusually bad three point shooting year last year, so it’s not too surprising he’s bounced back so far this season. And as long as the three keeps falling, it won’t be surprising if it continues.

Rashard Lewis moved down to SF for the Magic as Ryan Anderson (0.74) got the start at PF. He only played 19 minutes, but Anderson responded with 19 points and 3 blocked shots. It’d be tough for him to produce consistently with only 20 minutes a game, but keep a close on the situation and pounce if the minutes start to increase. Given that Anderson is only owned in 8% of leagues, chances are he’s available.

Eric Bledsoe (0.55) got the start again for the perpetually injured Baron Davis and put up 17 points and 8 assists; Brandon Bass (0.52) had a 19 and 8 for the Magic, but it came in a blow out win against the Wolves.

The Biggest Loser: It’s got to be Kevin Durant (-0.47). Durant finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds, but he was forcing up so many shots the ball had to get a restraining order against him after the game. KD finished 6-24 from the floor and 0-10 from three and added 6 turnovers for good measure as the Thunder gave the Clippers their first win of the season.

On Tap:

Light Thursday schedule today as the NBA rolls on with just two games. New York heads away from their asbestos-filled arena to go to Chicago to face the Bulls. You have to be drooling right now if you are a Derrick Rose owner. Carlos Boozer got the cast removed from his hand and is on track to return in a few weeks.

In the other game, OKC goes to Portland to take on Brandon Roy and the Blazers. Durant is most certainly going to bounce back in this one. Not because Portland is bad, but Durant is too good. Guy to keep an eye on for the Blazers: Wesley Matthews, who seems to be pushing Rudy Fernandez out of the guard rotation more and more by the day.

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Tags: Chris Paul, Dorell Wright, Elton Brand, Eric Bledsoe, Grant Hill, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Rajon Rondo, Richard Jefferson, Rudy Gay, Ryan Anderson