Daily Fantasy Diagnosis: 12.8

Beast of the Night: Chauncey Billups rained on someone’s parade in Philly last night, putting up 31 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers. He hit 4 threes, shot 53 percent (8-15) from the floor and 100 percent (11-11) from the free throw line. Billups clearly wasn’t fazed by the frenzy last night and is on a nice streak. He remains one of the best fantasy point guards out there.
Noteworthy Lines:
Allen Iverson – 4-11 FG (36%), 3-4 FT (75%), 11 Pts, 5 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; A surprisingly solid all-around showing for A.I. in his much-anticipated return to Philadelphia. He logged 38 minutes despite admitting that he’s not in shape just yet. Though he was team-friendly last night, expect Iverson to take more shots and score more points as the month wears on.
Andre Iguodala – 11-21 FG (52%), 5-5 FT (100%), 4 3ptm, 31 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 Stl, 4 TO; The announcers were observing how A.I.’s presence opened things up for Iguodala, who stole the show from Iverson last night. This was especially encouraging given the reports of his bum ankle before the game. His value is still threatened by Iverson, but things look good so far.
Samuel Dalembert – 4-8 FG (50%), 8 Pts, 15 Reb, 6 Blk, 1 TO; Some may chalk this up to the overall boost Iverson injected into the Sixers last night, but Dalembert has been showing some signs of life lately.
Thaddeus Young – 10-21 FG (48%), 1 3ptm, 21 Pts, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl; This was a great line from Young, who some figured would be the big loser with the Sixers’ new lineup. He won’t get 21 shots on many nights and probably remains a good sell-high candidate.
Larry Hughes – 8-18 FG (44%), 1-1 FT (100%), 4 3ptm, 21 Pts, 6 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; He’s the NBA’s answer to Lindsay Lohan – you know he’s on the brink, but he just won’t go away. Nate Robinson’s ongoing role as a benchwarmer is helping Hughes’ is value.
Danilo Gallinaro – 4-10 FG (40%), 3-4 FT (75%), 3 3ptm, 14 Pts, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 1 TO; Gallo might be coming off the bench for a while longer but still has solid value in most leagues. His three-point shooting is well-known, but his combination of steals, blocks and low turnovers is underappreciated.
Stephen Curry – 9-14 FG (64%), 2-2 FT (100%), 2 3ptm, 22 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 4 Stl, 5 TO; This was probably his best game of the season. The rookie is finally getting enough minutes to produce, but Nellie’s nearing return is a looming threat for him and almost every other Warrior.
Waiver Wire Appeal:
Ty Lawson – 12 Pts, 1 3ptm, 6 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; The promising rookie continues to show flashes of fantasy relevance but should only be considered in deep leagues.
Jerryd Bayless – 14 Pts, 1 Reb, 2 ASt, 1 Stl, 1 TO; That makes two consecutive double-digit scoring games. He outplayed Andre Miller last night despite playing nine fewer minutes than he did.
James Harden – 26 Pts, 1 3ptm, 9 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 Stl; He could be on the verge of another streak akin to the one he had in the second half of November.
Matt Bonner – 28 Pts, 4 3ptm, 8 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 TO; He resurfaces from time to time but still only deserves consideration for teams in deeper leagues hurting for threes.
C.J. Miles – 10 Pts, 2 3ptm, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO; With a thin Jazz bench for the near future, Miles could make for a nice addition in deeper leagues.
Injuries:
Tony Allen (ankle): cleared to play tonight
Marquis Daniels (wrist, thumb): out tonight
Danny Granger (heel): MRI results today, looks to be out for a while
Jermaine O’Neal (personal): will rejoin team sometime this week
Andrea Bargnani (ankle): game-time decision tonight
Chris Bosh (cold): looks likely to play tonight, but monitor his status
Blake Griffin (knee): expected back in mid-January
Daequan Cook (pink eye): day-to-day
For Tonight:
Expect a good game in Dallas, where the Mavs host the Suns. The usual suspects should have solid lines and Shawn Marion could put some extra hot sauce on his game tonight.
Brandon Jennings gets his first taste of some Boston Celtics defense tonight, in Boston no less. He should struggle and learn a few lessons at the hands of Rajon Rondo.
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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December 8th, 2009 at 11:20 am
vince says:
Me, Kerry Washington & Jessica Biel.
December 8th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Michorizo says:
Donaghy says Chauncey is a dick to people
December 8th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Jason says:
Should I pick up Josh Howard and Biedrins? My forwards/centers are: Gomes, Brand, Bogut, Landry, Scola, Dampier
December 8th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
nick says:
doc,
am i giving up too much trading arenas and al jefferson for durant. 12 team head to head league.
December 8th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
SJ says:
Danny Granger will be out 4-6 weeks.
December 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Jooks says:
Doc, thanks for answering everybody’s qestions. You’re doing a great job, it’s really appreciated.
Do you think I should trade Al Harrington and Corey Brewer for Danny Granger? I think I can survive through a month with a dead spot…
December 8th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
SWAT says:
@ post 1 and 2…wht are yall talking about?
@doc ok who has more upside-pryzbilla or dalembert? i picked up pryz but he seems pretty suspect to me.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
vince says:
swat, its my daily fantasy.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Jason: Gomes is probably the best swap for either of those two. They’re both uncertain bets though.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@nick: Yeah, probably a bit too much, unless you’re really deep.. Try to get at least a decent bench player in return.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@SJ: Yep. Brandon Rush and Dahntay Jones just got more valuable, and Mike Dunleavy, too, if he can start playing more than 20 minutes within the next month.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Jooks: That’s not a bad idea if you’re optimistic about his chances at staying healthy when he returns. I’m not so sure and expect him to have at least one more string of missed games before all is said and done this season.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@SWAT: Dalembert, definitely.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
SWAT says:
appreciate ya doc. you have been pretty much dead on this season with ur info.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@SWAT: I’m glad I’ve been able to help in some way, and it’s always my pleasure.
December 8th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
ShaqFu says:
With Granger going down would you drop Anthony Randolph or Thaddeus Young for Brandon Rush? Dunleavy and Jones are already taken.
Thanks
December 8th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Hibachi says:
so i had oden and kirilenko then they got hurt so i dropped them and picked up k-mart and allen iverson. should i go and pick up randolph, diaw, t. young, carl landry, or dalembert instead of holding on to k-mart since he dislocated his finger. im afraid his shooting percentage and fg will decrease but he is a beast at stealing and avg rebounder. Also i got andre miller, should i consider dropping him
December 8th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@ShaqFu: Not just yet, though both are vulnerable to drops in value. Rush hasn’t shown he can be consistent enough to warrant a swap out of either of those two players yet.
December 8th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Hibachi: Landry is the best of that bunch and you should definitely consider swapping out K-Mart. Miller’s a tougher drop, but Diaw, Dalembert and Young might be worth the swap. Tough call there, but I’d probably make a switch.
December 8th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
MadBij says:
Doc, trade Lewis for Granger?
Thanks !
December 8th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Jason says:
Doc,
Someone offered me Andrew Bynum for Brandon Roy. Good or bad? According to basketballmonster.com, it’s a good trade for me, but I feel like Roy’s value will increase with Oden out, and Bynum’s has reached its ceiling unless Pau goes down again.
December 8th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@MadBij: If you can stomach the injury risk, sure. I don’t trust Granger at this point though.
December 8th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Jason: I like that deal if you’re in need of boards and blocks, but you’re right in thinking Roy’s value will increase with Oden out. If you don’t need the boards and blocks, feel free to reject.
December 8th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Milkboy says:
Doc,
Should I drop Nate Robinson for Ty Lawson from the waiver?
December 9th, 2009 at 1:47 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Milkboy: If you really need immediate help at the PG help, maybe, though there are probably better PG options out there for you. Nate still has a much higher ceiling than Lawson – he just has to find his way back into coach D’Antoni’s favor, or a trade to another team.