Daily Fantasy Diagnosis: 11.20
Beast of the Night: Pau Gasol had a very smooth return to the tune of 24 points, 13 boards, 3 assists, 1 block and 2 turnovers. He shot 60 percent (9-15) from the field and perfect (6-6) from the free throw line. His owners have waited a long time for Gasol to play his first game this season and he looks ready to justify his first-round draft position in most leagues. Now the question is which Gasol brother will finish the year with better fantasy value.
Noteworthy Lines:
Peja Stojakovic – 9-19 FG (47%), 7 3ptm, 25 Pts, 13 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 TO; He’s playing well lately and is picking up the slack for the struggling Hornets. The rebounds were an abnormality and he won’t hit seven threes on a consistent basis, but when he’s healthy Peja will hit a few of those each game.
Kobe Bryant – 7-21 FG (33%), 7-8 FT (88%), 21 Pts, 9 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Not the best line he’s had this year, but a nice overall game for Bryant. His groin issue will linger for a while but it shouldn’t hinder his production. Also, with a healthy frontline, Kobe will have his offensive load lightened a bit, which is good for his productivity down the stretch.
Joakim Noah – 6-12 FG (50%), 0-3 FT (0%), 12 Pts, 15 Reb, 4 Ast, 4 Stl, 2 Blk, 4 TO; This was a great line from Noah, who is playing very well so far this season and is showing no signs of letting up. His owners are reaping huge rewards, especially if they drafted him in the latter rounds of their drafts.
Paul Millsap – 8-12 FG (67%), 4-5 FT (80%), 20 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Blk, 1 TO; This makes four decent games in a row for Millsap, who has quickly turned things around. He benefitted from the absence of Mehmet Okur and should remain on fantasy radars all season, especially given the fragile starting frontline for the Jazz.
Andrew Bynum – 5-12 FG (42%), 1-2 FT (50%), 11 Pts, 8 Reb, 1 Blk, 2 TO; He only played 24 minutes, partly due to foul trouble and partly due to a blowout victory, but Bynum looked active and should maintain solid fantasy value so long as he’s healthy.
Waiver Wire Appeal:
Jared Dudley – 17 Pts, 5 3ptm, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO; He’s not consistent, but Dudley’s proving to be the Suns’ best bench player so far this season and deserves a look in deeper leagues.
Darren Collison – 15 Pts, 1 3ptm, 5 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; He’s filling in nicely for Chris Paul and should remain valuable so long as CP3 is out.
Devin Brown – 19 Pts, 2 3ptm, 6 Reb, 5 Ast, 3 TO; That’s his second straight solid line. Brown looks ready to take advantage of his increased role while Paul is sidelined.
Injuries:
Andrew Bogut (leg): left leg strain, will be out two to four weeks
Okur (flu): probable for Saturday
LeBron James (wrist): likely to play tonight
Tyson Chandler (back): unlikely to play tonight
Michael Redd (knee): will return Monday at the earliest
Anderson Varejao (hip): could return tonight
Shaquille O’Neal (shoulder): out tonight
Jamario Moon (ankle): unlikely tonight
Marcus Camby (back): will miss a few games
Quentin Richardson (back): day-to-day
Udonis Haslem (shoulder): likely tonight
Andres Nocioni (hip): unlikely tonight
Chris Andersen (knee): will miss some time
Anthony Carter (hip): unlikely for tonight
Devin Harris (groin): will come off the bench Saturday
Troy Murphy (back): questionable tonight
Jeff Foster (ankle): could return this weekend
For Tonight:
See if King James’ wrist hinders him at all as he takes on Danny Granger and his tender heel – and the Pacers.
Elton Brand tries to keep the boulder rolling as the Sixers host the Grizzlies.
Expect Stephen Jackson to try to get some revenge on Brandon Jennings after getting torched by the rookie when he was still with the Warriors.
Look for some big lines from the Magic and Celtics as they take each other on in what’s sure to be a battle with playoff intensity.
For Next Week:
4 games: DAL, DEN, LAC, MEM, MIL, MIN, NJ, NY, ORL, PHI, POR, SAC, SA, TOR
3 games: ATL, BOS, CHA, CLE, DET, GS, HOU, IND, LAL, MIA, OKC, PHO, UTA, WAS
2 games: CHI, NO
Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.
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November 20th, 2009 at 10:36 am
mules says:
yo doc,
Who do you like out of Dudley, Thornton, and Hickson? Thanks in advance.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:24 am
MadBij says:
Hey Doc, should I trade Al Jeff and Maggette for Iguodala and Okafor?
Thanks a lot !
November 20th, 2009 at 11:30 am
SJ says:
@Doc- I like how you put “as he takes on Danny Granger and his tender heel – and the Pacers.” Feel free to leave the “and the Pacers” part out of that if you’d like. You could maybe add Hibbert and Jones to there, but I wouldn’t add any others.
Also, aside from his horrid FG% (which I see happen a lot with Kobe… maybe I just see his lines when he has bad FG%, though), this was a GREAT line. He was on the verge of a trip-dub. I would prefer the extra assists and rebounds over 10 more points any night!
Do you think E-Brand will fall off the planet again or do you think he’s got his groove down?
November 20th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@mules: Dudley’s the best all-around player, but Thornton will play more minutes until Griffin returns. Hickson’s a two-cat player on most nights and his playing time will take a hit when Shaq and Varejao return.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@MadBij: Pretty fair exchange there. I’d prefer to have Jefferson and Maggette by a few inches but I can’t fault you if you lean toward doing it.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@SJ: Kobe was solid last night indeed. Brand won’t be consistent for a while, but he does seem likely to have a better handle of things. With Speights out, his minutes should be less threatened, which is a good thing for his numbers.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Parker says:
Camby is questionable for tonight and he told the LA Times that he is playing….doesn’t sound like out for a few games.
Marcus Camby’s lower back contusion will leave his as questionable for Friday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets. Camby insists that he will be in the lineup. “I’ll definitely be out there…and give it a go,”
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-clippers-fyi20-2009nov20,0,1236024.story
November 20th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Ger says:
Hi Doc, had a trade offer
Give Diaw and Battier to get Troy Murphy and Jonny Flynn
What are your thoughts?
November 20th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Ger: I like the deal for you.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Parker: Thanks for the update.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
FC says:
Hey doc, what do you think of a trade offer of carmelo + caron butler for granger + westbrook?
November 20th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
BrickLayer says:
Hey Doc,
What do you think of this trade
i get granger and josh smith, i give up dwade, arenas and okur
Cheers
November 20th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@FC: I like the Granger/Westbrook side.
November 20th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@BrickLayer: I’d dig it if you got a decent third bench player in that deal. If you think you have the depth or waiver wire pickup to do without it, it seems fair to me.
November 20th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Kyle says:
Okay, so there was this trade in my 2nd year keeper league. It’s a 18 team, standard roto, 5 person keeper with no max years of keeping them. Kobe Bryant for Brandon Jennings straight up. Only 7 out of 18 people vetoed it and it went through. Crazy postings on the message board and everything, trying to figure out if it was a fair trade.
Doc, just want to know you think of the trade?
November 20th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Grandmama says:
Help Doc!
Like the dumb Knick fan I am, I dropped CDR to pick up Iverson (afer today I am now officially a Net fan btw) though at least Devin Harris comes back Saturday and C. Lee soon after so I think he should come back to earth with Josh Childress/Grant Hill type numbers from here on in.
I picked up Larry Hughes for Iverson once the Knicks broke my heart for the 500th time, but was pretty bummed about it.
Other options were C. Lee, S. Battier, M. Conley, R. Fernandez, Marvin Williams, Jason Williams (I have J. Nelson benched), B. Wallace & Ersan Ilyasova.
Or try to pick CDR back up if he clears waivers, which I seriously doubt.
My worst categories are FG%, FT% and Asts though just got Gasol back so FG% should pick up.
Thanks again!
November 20th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
@Duck says:
@FD
Continuing on from yesterday’s post,
you said that Luis Scola and GWallace for my Tim Duncan would be a good trade, but then you said Luis is inconsistent because of the fact that when T-Mac comes back, he will be affected by it.
Scola won’t lose any minutes, but his stats would go down correct? So does that still mean that the Scola/Wallace trade for Tim is benefiting me, or should I just wait it off?
November 20th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Grandmama: You’re not alone. Hughes is a decent pickup for the time being. I also like J-Will, Ilyasova, Fernandez and Lee. Keep an eye on CDR but his numbers are likely to deflate a bit this weekend.
November 20th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Madbij says:
Doc, I really need your help. I just got offered Butler, Lewis and Ty Thomas for my Al Jeff, Maggette and D.Collison. This looks like better than Iguodala and Okafor for me.
Should I accept it?
Thanks Doc; you’re the man.
November 20th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Kyle: The guy who got Kobe sold high in the best way possible, but in view of the keeperness of your league, it might not be as unfair as it seems. I would’ve pressed the veto button, but I can see the logic behind it. Don’t hate too hard on it just yet.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Duck: Scola will be inconsistent even without T-Mac in the picture, but yes, his stats might be negatively affected when McGrady plays a lot of minutes.
I still like the trade for you, as you gain depth, boards, steals and points and sell off Duncan at a high point, given his health and DNP risk.
If you don’t think you need the depth and are willing to take Duncan’s health/DNP risks, I have no problem with you waiting on it or outright rejecting it.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Madbij says:
Hey Doc, I got offered Lewis, Butler and Ty Thomas for my Al Jeff, Maggette and D.Colisson. Should I accept this?
Thanks Doc.
November 20th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Richard says:
Hey Doc,
I got offered Russell Westbrook for Andre Miller. Should I accept this offer?
November 21st, 2009 at 9:10 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Madbij: If you need threes and can wait on Thomas, who might not pay off as much as you’d like, I’m fine with it.
November 21st, 2009 at 9:12 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Richard: Westbrook’s FG% and TOs make him a slight downer, if you’re OK with those, he’s the better player to own.