Day 22 of 170: Betting on Black and Red

Categorized as: Atlanta Hawks, Author: Nels, Fantasy Basketball
Posted on: November 17th, 2010

Line of the Night: Josh Smith (2.11 on the player rater) threw a little block party in Indiana last night. Not only did he block 7 shots, but he shot 56% from the field, grabbed 8 rebounds, got 1 steal, and shot a very un-Smitty-like 6-7 from the line. While 7 blocks isn’t going to win the category by itself, it’s a pretty good start only 2 days in.

The Dean’s List: I have to mention my boy Derrick Rose (1.85) even though he was only #4 on the night. He added another 33 points to his season total, going 13-20 from the field, including 4 threes, adding 7 assists and 3 steals.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: So, it would start to seem that picking against Patrick and me might actually be a new fantasy strategy. Drew Gooden (1.99) took advantage of Carlos Delfino being out to show us how wrong we were to say he wasn’t worth a pick up in our podcast (that was a couple weeks ago, though, so he’s probably forgotten about it by now, right?). Technically, Gooden is ineligible due to his 73% shooting which led to 22 points, but he also grabbed 13 rebounds and had 1 block and 1 steal in 33 minutes. If he gets that kind of run while Delfino is out, he’s worth adding, especially in the brutality style leagues with daily changes and no max moves. Or maybe even daily changes with max moves. In weekly leagues, you can add him and see how it goes the rest of the week.

Pickup Lines: As opposed to Gooden (and again flying in the face of Patrick’s consistent Rudy Fernandez recommendation) Wesley Matthews (1.91) may be a good long-term add. He’s definitely a must add in any league where Brandon Roy is injured. I’ll give you that Matthews played 42 minutes last night, so his numbers are a bit inflated, but scale back a bit on his 30 points, 5 threes, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block and that’s still probably the best line you’re going to find out there.

On Monday, Fantasy Basketball Breakdown asked why you haven’t picked up Landry Fields. From the picture, you wouldn’t think he’s anything special, cause, I mean, he’s beating Darko to the hoop. But last night, Landry (1.52) posed the question to fantasy owners with his 21 points, 17 rebounds, and 2 steals.

The Biggest Loser: Well, I’m going to nominate JR Smith (-0.76) who may have lost his job. After sitting through the Nuggets game on the 15th, Smith played just 1 minute last night. He was late for a shootaround the first time, but apparently Panamanian Gary Forbes is playing well enough to get 23 minutes off the bench for the Nuggets in place of Smith. Forbes has only had 2 decent games, and he’s an undrafted rookie, but if he continues to play 20 minutes a game, he’s likely going to keep taking those minutes from Smith. Keep an eye on the situation if you want to be a true hardcore fantasy manager. I’m guessing the 9 rebounds are uncharacteristic since they game against the Knicks, but he does seem to be a decent 3-point shooter.

On Tap: Since there are no undefeated teams, we’ve got the next best thing (or at least, about as close as you can get) with the Mavericks (7-2) in New Orleans (8-1). I was also surprised to see that the Spurs are 8-1. They’re hosting the Bulls, who are on their annual Circus Trip, playing the SEcond GAme of a BAck to BAck (affectionately referred to as a SEGABABA). Perhaps Tony Parker’s confusion over whether or not he’s getting divorced will be enough of a distraction for the Bulls to take #2 of their seven game trip. I think that’s about all anyone is expecting of them anyway.

The Golden Rule: New York at Sacramento should mean good times for the Kings. Which is good cause I need Beno and Francisco to put up some numbers. I haven’t checked Phoenix’s “pace” numbers, but they’re playing Miami, so there’s bound to be some good fantasy lines in there somewhere.

In The Bonus: 5 Most Added | Time to Drop Anthony Randolph?

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Tags: Drew Gooden, Gary Forbes, Josh Smith, JR Smith, Landry Fields, Wesley Matthews