Day 128 of 170: It was a Good Night, but it Wasn’t

Categorized as: Author: Patrick
Posted on: March 3rd, 2011

Line of the Night: Now that Aaron Brooks is shipped out of Houston, things are looking good for Kyle Lowry (1.95), who led the Rockets (to a loss) with 24 points and 11 assists. He also had 3 threes and a couple steals in 35 minutes on the court. It’s Lowry’s second 20+ point, 11 assist game in a row if you happen to counting at home. I wouldn’t necessarily make him a keeper if you play in a keeper league, but he should be Jennifer Lawrence hot to end the year.

Honorable Mentions: Who would have expected Kevin Garnett (1.78) and his surgically-repaired knees to actually gain momentum as the year rolled on? Against the Suns, he scored a season high 28 points (going 12-14 from the field) and added 11 rebounds and a couple blocks. It’s the big man’s 6th double-double in a row. Rajon Rondo (1.62) had 16 points, 15 assists, 3 steals and the quote of the night, saying, “It was an intense game, but it wasn’t.”

The Gerald Wallace effect hasn’t reached Nicolas Batum’s (1.65) airspace as we expected it would. Batum played a team high 44 minutes against the Kings, finishing with 17 points, 3 threes, and 3 steals. Wallace again came off the bench and played 33 minutes, finishing with 12 and 5 with a steal and a block. They’ll continue to both play these minutes, unless they don’t. DeMarcus Cousins (1.37) had the best performance for Sacramento with 28 points and 11 rebounds and had a rare good shooting night overall.

Stephen Curry (1.61) finished with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists against the Wizards; strong>Kevin Love (1.41) had yet another 20 point, 20 rebound game, also adding 2 blocks against the Pistons; and Blake Griffin (1.40) was Griffin-strong with 20 points and 14 rebounds in the Clippers win.

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Waiver Wire Line of the Night: With Chauncey Billups sitting out last night with a bruised thigh, Toney Douglas (1.55) got the start for the Knicks and responded with a Billups-like 24 points, 4 threes, and 5 assists. He was also a very un-Billups like 10-13 from the field. Come to think of it, 10-13 is also very un-Toney Douglas like as well. Douglas has value only as long as Billups is out, which should not be long.

Pick Up Lines: Marcus Thornton’s (1.43) ownership rate is slowly creeping up to 50% with another great performance for the Kings. This one included 26 points, 4 threes and 2 steals in 33 minutes off the bench. If you read this blog, you don’t need us to tell you to pick up Thornton if for some crazy reason he’s still hanging out as a free agent in your league.

Alright, here is the deal with the Cavs. Samardo Samuels (0.68) did replace Antawn Jamison is the Cavs starting lineup and made my soft recommendation for him look weak and flaccid as he exploded for 23 points and 10 boards in the start. Alonzo Gee (1.13) also replaced Christian Eyenga in the starting lineup at SF and had a good game with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Both these guys are available in nearly all leagues and are worth a look as long as they are starting.

Shawne Williams (1.20) scored 16 points with 4 threes off the bench for the Knicks. He’s averaged about 28 minutes a game over the Knicks’ last three games and appears to be a significant part of their rotation post-Melo trade. Williams is far from a good offensive player, however, and even the force of Mike D’Antoni might not be enough to save him. Consider him a deep leaguer for now.

Injuries! Kevin Durant (1.45) scored 21 points against the Pacers, but more important than that was the fact that he left the arena with a walking boot on his left foot after rolling his ankle in the third quarter of the game. He says he’s ok and the injury is minor, but we’ll find out more today.

Biggest Loser: Danny Granger (-0.95). Oh, Danny, boy, was 3-11 from the field as the Pacers were blown out by the Thunder. He scored 9 points, with no rebounds and 1 assists in only 18 minutes on the court thanks to some early foul trouble.

Eric Gordon was welcomed back to the Clippers lineup last night, which means a quick goodbye to Randy Foye (-0.71), who scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting and added 5 assists in 20 minutes off the bench. If you grabbed Foye when Gordon went down, thank him for his service and drop him now.

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Tags: Alonzo Gee, Danny Granger, Gerald Wallace, Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, Kyle Lowry, Marcus Thornton, Rajon Rondo, Randy Foye, Samardo Samuels, Shawne Williams, Toney Douglas