Day 14 of 170: Where Zach Randolph Plays All 42 Minutes

Categorized as: Author: Patrick, Fantasy Basketball
Posted on: November 9th, 2010

Quote of the Night, from of Zach Randolph: “We just finished the whole game… we played the whole 42 minutes.”

Line of the Night: Carmelo Anthony’s (1.19 score on Basketball Monster) great performance wasn’t quite enough for the Nuggets to overcome the Bulls, as Denver lost to Derrick Rose and company 94-92. You couldn’t ask for much more from Melo, however, as he finished with 32 points, 8 boards, 4 steals and 2 blocks. No, I’m putting the blame for Denver’s loss squarely on Nene Hilario’s groin.

Honorable Mentions: Stephen Curry (1.06) has been wearing a restrictive ankle brace after coming back last week from an ankle injury. But the brace was cramping his style, so he ditched it in the first quarter of last night’s game on his way to 34 points on 12-21 shooting. The ankle, so far, is ok with that decision.

Jarrett Jack (0.97) squeaks over the waiver wire threshold with 52% ownership in Yahoo leagues. Expect that number to jump up after Jack saw 38 minutes against the Warriors (compared to only 8 for Jose Calderon) and put up season highs in points and assists with 24 and 8, respectively. With Calderon fading away like Marty McFly’s brother and sister in Back to the Future, Jack could be a solid starting fantasy PG if he starts getting a consistent 35 minutes a game.

Zach Randolph (1.03) torched the Suns and their undersized frontcourt for 23 points and 20 rebounds; Manu Ginobili (0.99) was the best of the Spurs’ big three last night as he scored 26 points, going 5-11 from three in a 95-91 win over the Bobcats; and chalk up 15 more assists for Rajon Rondo (0.77), who added 5 steals and 11 points in a Celtics’ loss.

Pick Up Lines: Sorry to all you Brendan Haywood (-0.23) owners, Tyson Chandler (0.74) is the guy getting the bulk of minutes at center for the Mavs. Last night Chandler scored 12 points with 13 boards and a couple blocks. Granted, the bulk of the Celtics’ minutes at center went to the 6-7 Glen Davis, but Chandler played well and is getting props from Rick Carlisle for his “heart and soul,” which I think might be the title of Chandler’s newest music album.

It’s a familiar story: Jameer Nelson sat out for the Magic with a sprained left ankle. Chris Duhon (-0.33) got the start and just about did nothing in 25 minutes, but Jason Williams (0.48) came off the bench and put up an unusual 8 point, 8 rebound, 2 assist, 2 steal line. Nelson’s injury is not serious and should be back by the end of the week, so stay away from both Duhon and Williams until Nelson REALLY sprains his ankle in about two weeks.

Gary Neal (0.43) hit 5 three pointers in 15 minutes for the Spurs, which if my math is correct comes out to one three pointer in about the time it takes Bill Walton to finish a sentence. I love Neal’s per minute production – in 13 minutes a game so far this season – he’s averaging 2 threes per game. Of course, he needs more run that that to be useful for fantasy, but he’s an instant add if Manu Ginobili were to get injured.

Injury of the Night: Monta Ellis took a hard fall on his back in the 4th quarter of the Golden State/Toronto game and was down on the court for about 2 minutes. Ellis stayed behind in Toronto to get x-rays while the rest of the team flew to New York. Results of will be released today. If Ellis can’t go, swingman Reggie Williams will most likely get the start for GSW at SG.

The Biggest Loser: George Hill (-0.48) scored 0 points with 1 board and 2 assists in 21 minutes on the court, but expectations are rather low for him right now playing behind Tony Parker. How about Caron Butler (-0.4)? He did manage to score 11 points against the Celtics’ stringent defense, but it came off 5-13 shooting. The fact that he had 1 rebound, 0 assists and 3 turnovers did not help his cause either.

On Tap:

The Lakers and Hornets look to keep their undefeated seasons alive. Considering their opponents (the Wolves and Clippers) have one win apiece this season, the chances are pretty good.

The Knicks head to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks. The Bucks are dead last in the league in points scored at 89.6 and are shooting 39.9% from the field as a team. Andrew Bogut is their top scorer with 14.6 points per game. In short, their offense could use a visit from a team like the Knicks.

And the return we’ve all been waiting for: After missing 3 games with a sore knee, Antawn Jamison is expected back for the Cavs. No word on whether his game is expected back any time soon.

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Tags: Carmelo Anthony, Caron Butler, George Hill, Jarrett Jack, Jason Williams, Manu Ginobili, Monta Ellis, Rajon Rondo, Stephen Curry, Tyson Chandler, Zach Randolph