Day 27 of 170: Perfection, Thy Name is Pau Gasol

Categorized as: Author: Patrick, Ballin Outta Control, Fantasy Basketball
Posted on: November 22nd, 2010

Line of the Night: Pau Gasol (2.87) did not miss a single shot last night as the Lakers disassembled the Golden State Warriors until all that was left was a D-league team and Stephen Curry. Gasol shot 10-10 from the field and 8-8 from the line on his way to 28 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks. Gasol was no doubt helped along by the fact that the Warriors’ front court consisted of the paper mache twin-towers of Andris Biedrins and Vladimir Radmanovic (please do not touch the defenders on your way by). Ironically, Matt Barnes also put up a perfect shooting night for the Lakers a couple nights ago, which is a clear indication that Phil Jackson sold his soul for an opportunity at basketball immortality.

Honorable Mentions: Austin Daye? He is SO October 2010. Instead, Charlie Villanueva (1.65) is bouncing back as we speak from a disappointing first season with the Pistons. Last night, he used an overtime game against the Wizards to score 25 point, adding 11 boards and 4 threes. Despite not starting a game this year, Villanueva is second on the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game. He is a super streaky player, but the minutes should continue to be there for Charlie V, and Pistons definitely could use his scoring ability on the court.

Richard Hamilton (0.80) scored 12 of his 27 points in overtime to help the Pistons win that game. For the Wiz, JaVale McGee (0.84) did his best Pau Gasol imitation, going 9-13 from the field with 20 points, 16 rebounds and 2 blocks while Gilbert Arenas (0.59) impersonated a franchise player with 19 points and 16 assists.

Just how majestic is Chris Paul (1.61)? On a night when his shot isn’t falling (Paul was 2-12 from the floor against the Kings) he was still able to produce one of the best fantasy lines of the night with 7 rebounds, 14 assists and 5 steals. One of the beneficiaries of all those assists was Trevor Ariza (1.17), who helped the Hornets go to 11-1 by scoring 16 points, with 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Ariza is what he is – and that is a solid role player on a good team – and not the star he attempted to be on the Rockets last year. I hope you drafted accordingly.

Lamar Odom (1.07) also had a great game against the Warriors with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks with some good percentages. Odom is averaging a double-double so far this season, which is no doubt giving the Lakers the ability to take it slow with Andrew Bynum.

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Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Who’s house is this? It’s Amir Johnson’s (1.52) house. Well, at least today it is. Johnson scored 17 points, added 11 rebounds and hit 2 free throws with seconds left on the clock to give the Raptors’ a surprising 102-101 win over the Boston Celtics. If you can live with some inconsistent nights from him, Johnson is worth an add in most leagues, especially if your league counts ridiculous contracts as a stat cat.

Pick Up Lines: Nate Robinson (0.80) got the start at PG for the Celtics – who were without Rajon Rondo due to a sore hamstring – and he did exactly what you’d expect. Nate Rob came out gunning (he tied with Ray Allen for the most shots on the team with 14) and scored 22 points, hitting 3-6 threes. Rondo’s injury isn’t serious, so leave Robinson as a free agent for now.

Donte Greene (0.77) got his second start at SF for the Kings and responded with 15 points and 10 boards in 32 minutes. Paul Westphal’s rotations change with the wind, so ride Greene while he’s hot or not at all.

It’s a Leandro Barbosa (0.64) sighting! The Brazilian Blur is rarely seen out of his natural habitat of the bench in street clothes, but the Raptors’ shipping away Jarrett Jack freed up some room for him to roam the court. I don’t think anyone is pining for more Barbosa in their lives, so see if he can repeat the performance a couple more times before thinking about picking him up.

Biggest Loser: Monta Ellis’ (-0.92) biggest enemy is himself. But Kobe is probably a close second. Ellis was 2-10 from the field scoring 5 points with 3 turnovers before banging his hip in the third quarter and sitting out the rest of the game. Little known fact: 99% of Ellis’ ego is stored in his hips.

On Tap: Denver (7-6) at Golden State (7-6) – The Warriors don’t have much time to dwell on the awesomeness of Pau Gasol as the Nuggets hit town today. If the trend holds true, Nene should make 110% of his shots tonight (all of his shots, plus 10% of Vlad Rad’s shots that he takes at the wrong basket). Monta Ellis is expected to play in this one.

Orlando (9-3) at San Antonio (11-1) – The Spurs are rolling and both Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are off to some of the best starts of their career. Both are possible sell high candidates, but who, exactly, is paying a premium for them? You might be better off just riding them like stallions for as long as possible. On the other hand, Tim Duncan is off to a horrible start. But wait, I thought he was in great shape this year?

Most lopsided Game of the Day: New Orleans (11-1) at LA Clippers (1-13) – which of course means that the Clippers will probably pull out a victory in this one. Jack should be in the lineup for the Hornets, but seeing as he’s Chris Paul’s backup now, he should definitely not be in yours. And oh yeah. Blake Griffin? Respect.

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Tags: Amir Johnson, Charlie Villanueva, Chris Paul, Donte Greene, Lamar Odom, Leandro Barbosa, Monta Ellis, Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza