Day 93 of 170: Unstoppable

Categorized as: Author: Patrick, Fantasy Basketball
Posted on: January 27th, 2011

Line of the Night: Not even Denzel Washington could have stopped Kevin Durant (3.99) last night. Durant was on fire from everywhere and anywhere on the court, scoring a career-high 47 points and grabbing a career high 18 rebounds in an overtime win against the Wolves. Durant also hit 4 threes, was 13-14 from the line and hit the game winning shot in OT.

Honorable Mentions: He may not have scored 47 points, but Kevin Love (2.39) was not too shabby in the Thunder/Wolves game either. Love finished with 31 points and 21 rebounds for his seventh 20/20 game of the year. How high does Love go in fantasy drafts next year? First round is certain, but does he become a top 5 pick?

I don’t care if it looks like Steve Nash (2.75) is turning into a vampire (the little known secret to the Steve Nash diet is human blood… its true). Nash hit 11-15 shots (and 4 threes) against the Bobcats on his way to 27 points and 15 assists. The rest of that Suns team though… yikes. That all went to hell fast.

Manu Ginobili (1.91) had 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists in a win over the Jazz, while Chauncey Billups (1.76) took his old team to school with 26 points, going 6-9 from three.

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Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Out for over two months with concussive symptoms (sounds like me since I had my first kid), Carlos Delfino (1.31) recently made his return to the Bucks and has slid right back into their 6th man role. Last night against the Hawks, Delfino got 32 minutes of run off the bench and made the most of that time, hitting 5-9 from three on his way to 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. The Bucks have an abundance of mediocre small forwards, but Delfino is their best three point shooter and he should get decent minutes going forward because of that. I’d much rather own him than Corey Maggette, for example.

Pick Up Lines: With Eric Gordon out the next 3-4 weeks with a sprained wrist, Randy Foye (0.07) and to a lesser exist Eric Bledsoe (1.02) should see extended minutes. Foye got the start, played 33 minutes, and scored 20 points, while Bledsoe had the better fantasy line thanks to a roto-riffic 6 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Still, if you’re looking to add someone, you’ve got to go with Foye since he’s starting.

At this point, the 2010-11 version of Tracy McGrady (1.02) has established himself as a guy who can jump in the Wayback Machine and look vintage one game, then put up a horrible looking game the next. Last night was vintage, as McGrady put up 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists in a start against the Nuggets. He’s available in over 70% of leagues, and is worth the risk if you’re in desperate need of some assists (he’s averaging 5.1 a game in January) on your team.

The Suns continue to start Robin Lopez so he can stand around with silly hair for 15 minutes a game. Meanwhile for the past couple of weeks, Marcin Gortat (0.83) has generally been getting about 28-30 minutes of run off the bench. In 29 minutes last night, he had 16 points, 7 rebounds and a block. That’s not crazy numbers, but good for a center in deeper leagues.

Biggest Loser: What is wrong with Roy Hibbert (-1.44)? Oh, just about everything from a decrease in minutes to poor shot selection to him not making adjustments. Last night against the Magic, Hibbert was shut down by Dwight Howard, as the big man finished with 4 points 2 rebounds in only 15 minutes on the court. It’s tough to cut Hibbert unless you are in a shallow league since we all know his potential, but for now all you can do is join the Fire Jim O’Brien Facebook page.

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Daily rankings and stats come from the GMTR H2H Player Rater (beta version).

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• Day 109 of 124: Waiver Wire Team Assemble! (19)
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• Day 90 of 124: Sorry Love, OKC Wins at Fantasy Basketball Too (9)
• Day 79 of 124: You’ve Just Been Bismacked (8)
• Day 53 of 124: GUSTAVO! (37)

Tags: Carlos Delfino, eric gordon, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Marcin Gortat, Randy Foye, Roy Hibbert, Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady