Day 23 of 170: Blowouts on the Court and with Greg Oden’s Knees

Categorized as: Author: Patrick, Fantasy Basketball, Injuries, Player News
Posted on: November 18th, 2010

Line of the Night: It wasn’t a 31 point, 31 rebound game, but Kevin Love (2.96) continues to impress. Love had the best line of last night by scoring 24 points, adding 14 rebounds and 4 assists against the Clippers. He was also super efficient, shooting 7-11 from the field and 8-8 from the line.

Honorable Mentions: Kobe Bryant (2.48) had a 33/9/4 against the Pistons in only 32 minutes on the court. Rip Hamilton was tossed in the first quarter of this game for complaining about a call. After that, Ben Gordon and company didn’t stand a chance.

Chris Bosh (2.39) dropped a season-high 35 points on the Suns (shooting 12-17 from the floor and 11-11 from the line). No, we’re not in some alternate universe where Bosh still plays for the Raptors, but in this universe the Suns’ big men are currently Channing Frye and Hedo Turkoglu. Bosh only played 30 minutes as the Heat blew out the Suns, but I’d still like to see more than 6 rebounds from him.

Michael Beasley’s (1.97) ridiculous scoring run continues. He dropped 33 points with 7 boards against the Clippers and is now averaging 33 points over his last five games. He’s also shooting 56% from the field during this stretch, an indication that he’s been lucky as well as good.

Anthony Morrow (2.04) has been as streaky as my underwear, and last night’s 24 point, 7 rebounds game came after two stinkers in a row. Right now, Morrow is the fantasy equivalent of a crazy-ass girlfriend that every time you try to dump, she guilts you into giving her one more chance. This time will be different, Morrow promises…

Russell Westbrook (1.71) has been justifying his high draft position so far this year (and then some). Last night he scored 21 points, adding 6 boards and 12 assists as the Thunder blew out the Rockets 116-99.

You can breathe easy Tim Duncan (1.80) owners. After a stretch of three straight horrible games, Duncan finished with 16 points, 18 rebounds and 5 assists as the Spurs beat the Bulls.

Finally, we have to mention Blake Griffin (0.65), who is the singular ray of hope in the Clippers’ bleak existence (which of course means he’s going to get horribly injured at some point this year). Griffin scored 26 points with 17 boards in the loss to the Wolves.

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Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Not a whole lot of waiver wire value today. Luke Ridnour (1.59) returned for the Wolves after missing 5 games. He scored 12 points, with 8 assists and 3 steals in 25 minutes off the bench. Rindour can be a useful under the radar player when he’s actually healthy and starting, but with Jonny Flynn expected back soon, Ridnour’s value will be short-lived.

Just when we thought the Toronto PG timeshare situation was settled, Jose Calderon (1.15) goes out and thoroughly outplays Jarrett Jack (-0.68). Calderon had an efficient 12 points and 8 assists in 25 minutes off the bench, while Jack was 2-13 from the floor, scoring 6 points in 23 minutes. I wouldn’t add Calderon, since this is a dance we watched all last year, but it certainly does not help Jack’s value.

Al-Farouq Aminu (0.95) scored 17 points (going 3-5 from three) in another start for the Clippers. The kid can shoot and I’d consider him a deep league special. And Kris Humphries pulled down 15 rebounds while starting his fourth straight game for the Nets, while Troy Murphy pulled down another DNP. Murphy is supposedly “working back to game shape” which is code for “we need an excuse not to play him.” Sit tight Murphy owners, Avery Johnson will take his hand out of your ass eventually.

The Biggest Loser: Other than love?

Oh, poor Greg Oden. The guy’s career has gone about as well as Michael Douglas’ day in Falling Down. The Blazers announced last night that Oden will have microfracture surgery on his left knee this Friday and will be out the rest of the season. It’s Oden’s third season ending knee injury since being drafted in 2007. The Blazers also seem to be distancing themselves from the big guy, who is a free agent this summer. Is this the last we’ve seen of Oden in the NBA? Some silly team will take a chance on him, right?

In terms of on the court performances, Travis Outlaw (-1.05) was 1-12 from the field, scoring 3 points in 38 minutes.

On Tap: The typical three game Thursday schedule, led off with the must-see game of the LA Clippers (1-11) at Indiana (4-5). Darren Collison is expected to return for the Pacers after missing Tuesday’s game, while Baron Davis and Chris Kaman are most definitely not going to return for the Clippers. So, it’s going to be the Blake Griffin show once again.

In a couple better games, Phoenix (6-5) travels to Orlando (7-3) and Denver (6-5) visits Portland (7-5). Brandon Roy is out for the Blazers, so snatch up Wesley Matthews if he’s available in your league (but let Rudy Fernandez be someone else’s problem for now). I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Dwight Howard has his way inside against the Suns.

In the Bonus: Blazers Edge transcribes the press conference with Blazers officials about Oden’s surgery

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Tags: Al-Farouq Aminu, Anthony Morrow, Blake Griffin, Chris Bosh, Greg Oden, Jose Calderon, Kevin Love, Kris Humphries, Luke Ridnour, Tim Duncan, Travis Outlaw, Troy Murphy