Beast of the Night: Kevin Love busted out some magic of his own against the Wizards last night, finishing with 35 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and five three-pointers. He shot 72 percent (13-18) from the field, 100 percent (4-4) from the line and had just one turnover. The man hasn’t blocked a damn shot since Dec. 11, but he still manages to put up top-five averages.
Lines for Discussion:
Rashard Lewis: 8-13 FG (62%), 3 threes, 19 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 TO; The resurgence continues for Lewis, and the turnaround appears to be real. Kudos to you if you foresaw this and bought low on him when news of the trade broke.
Darko Milicic: 7-16 FG (44%), 14 Pts, 1 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk, 4 TO; Manna has really cooled off since his hot streak at the end of November. He’s still worth a spot in deeper leagues, but that’s about it.
Dwight Howard: 11-19 FG (58%), 17-20 FT (85%), 39 Pts, 18 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Blk, 2 TO; Good golly. It’s a shame he doesn’t shoot free throws this well every night. Through six games in January, Howard is averaging 25.7 points, 15.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.7 blocks and is shooting 71 percent from the kryptonite line.
Russell Westbrook: 11-22 FG (50%), 10-13 FT (77%), 32 Pts, 10 Reb, 13 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 1 TO; That’s his second triple double-double in his last seven games. Despite the buzz Derrick Rose is getting this season, Westbrook has had the better fantasy season so far.
James Harden: 3-7 FG (43%), 1-1 FT (100%), 1 three, 8 Pts, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 TO; That’s four straight games without hitting double-digit points. He’s averaging 8.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists during that stretch. The good times are over and it’s time to find another hot hand to ride.
J.R. Smith: 10-17 FG (59%), 8 threes, 28 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; These numbers shouldn’t be taken too seriously, given that the Nuggets crushed the Heat in a 130-102 victory. But Smith stands to benefit if he stays in Denver and if Carmelo Anthony leaves. Smith could be dealt as well, but he’s in the last year of his contract and will do all he can, wherever he is, to make sure he gets paid next season.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Al Thornton: 14 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; So long as Andray Blatche and Josh Howard are out, Thornton is a decent play.
Wayne Ellington: 11 Pts, 2 threes, 7 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; He’ll get his minutes while Michael Beasley is out, but don’t expect anything from him once Beasley returns.
J.J. Redick: 18 Pts, 4 threes, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 TO; This snapped a three-game cold streak. Redick remains an efficient player that can shore up the latter part of rosters fairly well.
Ryan Anderson: 15 Pts, 3 threes, 5 Reb, 1 Ast; He continues to be productive off the bench for the Magic and deserves a look, especially if you need threes.
Mike Miller: 4 Pts, 8 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; He got a season-high 33:21 of action in the blowout loss last night and did OK with them. Miller will benefit from however long LeBron James sits out with his ironic ankle injury.
Injuries:
Kevin Garnett (calf): participated in more than half of Thursday’s practice, but is out tonight
Nazr Mohammed (knee): should be back tonight
Anthony Parker (back): out both games this weekend
Daniel Gibson (ankle): rejoined the team and practiced Thursday, but is likely out this weekend
Dirk Nowitzki (knee): didn’t take part in team drills Thursday, leaving him doubtful for tonight
Chris Andersen (knee): out for a week to rest his knee
Kevin Martin (wrist): expects to play tonight, check his status
Chris Kaman (ankle): said he won’t return until early February
Marco Belinelli (ankle): not likely tonight
Brandon Roy (knees): will undergo arthroscopic surgery on both of his knees, could return later this season
Amir Johnson (back): should be ready tonight
Jermaine O’Neal (knee): will probably need surgery for his left knee, which could knock him out of the lineup for a while
Wesley Matthews (ankle): monitor his status
For Tonight:
If K-Mart returns tonight, see how it affects Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry, as the Rockets host the Hornets. Also, see if Trevor Ariza can keep up his hot shooting.
For Next Week:
4 games: ATL, BOS, CHA, CHI, DAL, DET, GS, HOU, IND, LAC, MEM, MIL, NJ, NO, NY, ORL, PHI, PHO, POR, TOR, UTA, WAS
3 games: CLE, DEN, LAL, OKC, SAC, SA
2 games: MIA, MIN
