Beast of the Night: Joakim Noah rose to the challenge of playing against a stacked Lakers frontline and finished with 11 points, 20 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 6 blocks and 3 turnovers. He missed a bunch of tip-ins and ended up shooting just 25 percent (4-16) from the field and 75 percent (3-4) from the line, but his overall line was too good to overlook for this honor. He continues to exceed expectations this season.

Noteworthy Lines:

Wilson Chandler – 6-13 FG (46%), 3-4 FT (75%), 1 3ptm, 16 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 3 TO; A great line from Chandler, who seems to have found his offensive groove nowadays.

Boris Diaw – 3-4 FG (75%), 6 Pts, 8 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 TO; This was decent considering he only played 19 minutes due to foul trouble, but Diaw is really difficult to own right now. Owners who want to give up on him certainly can’t be blamed, but he shouldn’t be deserted just yet.

Kobe Bryant – 15-26 FG (58%), 11-15 FT (73%), 1 3ptm, 42 Pts, 2 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl, 8 TO; Yours truly had the honor of seeing this performance in person. He scored 20 points in the first quarter alone and had a good amount of the Chicago crowd cheering for him, with smatterings of “MVP!” and “Ball hog!” shouted simultaneously. The turnovers were awful, but his owners should be happy to see that his bum finger doesn’t seem to be an issue so far.

Pau Gasol – 3-8 FG (38%), 4-4 FT (100%), 10 Pts, 16 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk, 2 TO; This was his fourth straight double-double, and Gasol is now averaging 18.7 rebounds in his last three games. His feasting on the boards is hurting Andre Bynum’s value, but they should both find a happy equilibrium by the end of the year.

Richard Hamilton – 10-22 FG (46%), 1 3ptm, 21 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 TO; He played nearly 30 minutes and didn’t have to compete with Ben Gordon or Will Bynum, who are still recovering from ankle injuries. The ride will get rockier once they return, but so far, so good for Hamilton.

Tracy McGrady – 1-2 FG (50%), 0-2 FT (0%), 1 3ptm, 3 Pts, 3 Reb; T-Mac is finally back, but it’s obviously going to take some time before he starts contributing major numbers. His giddy owners might be itching to insert him into their lineups soon, but they’d do well to wait until he shows what he can actually offer.

Tim Duncan – 14-22 FG (64%), 6-7 FT (86%), 34 Pts, 14 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Ast, 3 Blk, 1 TO; An awesome night for TD, who’s having a great season so far. He’s still a DNP risk as the season wears on, so selling high on him wouldn’t be the worst idea.

Andre Miller – 2-10 FG (20%), 4 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast; He finally starts without Steve Blake as his backcourt sidekick and this is what he does with it? Trade possibilities grow with each passing day, but with stats like these don’t help that cause.

Waiver Wire Appeal:

Rafer Alston – 20 Pts, 4 3ptm, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; Skip continues to maintain some good value, even with Devin Harris fully back.

Jared Jeffries – 11 Pts, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 6 Stl, 2 Blk; Coach Mike D’Antoni loves his versatility and he’s putting up some notable lines lately.

Brad Miller – 15 Pts, 8 Reb, 6 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; He’s still not owned in the majority of leagues but with a starting job (for now), Miller deserves consideration in most leagues.

Kirk Hinrich – 11 Pts, 1 3ptm, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 Blk, 2 TO; Captain Kirk is ailing with a few nagging injuries but he remains the Bulls’ best sixth man option.

DeJuan Blair – 12 Pts, 6 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl; What shoulder injury? He put this up in under 13 minutes and remains worthy of stashing in deeper leagues.

Injuries:

Delonte West (personal): reminder of why he’s still risky to own

Ryan Gomes (ankle): could miss two weeks

Keyon Dooling (hip): eyeing Saturday return

Yi Jianlian (lip): stitches removed, will practice again next week

Allen Iverson (knee, shin): missing practices [insert joke here], monitor his status

For Tonight:

See if Mike Dunleavy can continue his string of impressive performances against the Bobcats’ stifling defense. Also, monitor Brandon Rush’s production, as he should play more aggressively.

Expect Duncan to get plenty of rest in a second game of a back-to-back against the Warriors tonight.

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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