Daily Basketball Fantasy Diagnosis: 3.24
Beast of the Night: Jason Kidd celebrated his 37th birthday last night by putting up 26 points, 6 rebounds, 12 assists and a steal, hitting 6 threes in the process. He shot 48 percent (10-21) from the floor and shouldered the offensive load after Dirk got heated and picked up two technical fouls. Will his age ever catch up to him?
Noteworthy Lines:
Gerald Wallace – 5-17 FG (29%), 6-7 FT (86%), 1 3ptm, 17 Pts, 19 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 TO; He’s shooting 35 percent from the field over his last three games. Crash has managed to remain relatively healthy this season despite playing a career-high 41:47 per game.
Andray Blatche – 2-5 FG (40%), 4 Pts, 2 Blk; He only played 7:31 last night and it appears that coach Flip Saunders wasn’t pleased with Blatche’s defensive effort. He’s probably going to be benched tonight, which is a terrible thing to arise during his owners’ playoff periods.
Chauncey Billups – 5-13 FG (39%), 14-15 FT (93%), 1 3ptm, 25 Pts, 1 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; His free throw shooting has made up for his lackluster shooting from the field lately, as Billups has shot 27 percent over his last four games.
Carmelo Anthony – 14-26 FG (54%), 8-8 FT (100%), 36 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 TO; He’s gunning without conscience lately, averaging 28.2 shots and 33 points in his last five outings.
Danilo Gallinari – 7-19 FG (37%), 9-10 FT (90%), 5 3ptm, 28 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; Gallo is now averaging 26.3 points over his last three games and seems to be getting his second wind this month.
Danny Granger – 8-20 FG (40%), 11-14 FT (79%), 5 3ptm, 32 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; He hasn’t disappointed this season but his shaky health will knock him down a few picks in next year’s drafts.
Tayshaun Prince – 6-12 FG (50%), 1-1 FT (100%), 1 3ptm, 14 Pts, 9 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 TO; His resurgence this season has been a nice surprise. Prince has had his rough patches in March but should be starting in most leagues.
Drew Gooden – 8-21 FG (38%), 10-10 FT (100%), 26 Pts, 20 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; He was probably a bit motivated by playing against his former Mavs squad but this was a huge line. Many of his owners probably had him on their benches after some mediocre play lately, which is a shame.
Brendan Haywood – 4-5 FG (80%), 4-5 FT (80%), 12 Pts, 10 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 Blk, 1 TO; That’s two straight solid lines for Haywood but he didn’t start this one and his minutes continue to be limited, which is a bad sign. He should only be starting in deeper leagues right now.
- Waiver Wire Appeal:
JaVale McGee – 14 Pts, 12 Reb, 2 Blk, 4 TO; This was his first double-double since March 5 and McGee is still too inconsistent to be starting in most leagues.
Toney Douglas – 16 Pts, 2 3ptm, 2 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 TO; He continues to start and play major minutes for the Knicks and should be owned in almost all leagues.
Brandon Rush – 20 Pts, 5 3ptm, 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk; He’s on a nice little roll lately, averaging 15.8 points and 3 threes over his last four games.
Earl Watson – 7 Pts, 1 3ptm, 3 Reb, 13 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 TO; He’s still starting and playing big minutes with T.J. Ford out and deserves a look in deeper leagues.
Injuries:
Will Bynum (back): day-to-day
Kyle Lowry (ankle, knee): check his status
Jordan Hill (ankle): unlikely tonight
Luke Walton (back): will return soon
Lou Williams (back): out tonight
Thaddeus Young (thumb): ditto
Mike Miller (ankle): played through it last night but check his status
- For Tonight:
See if Chris Paul’s minutes are ramped up tonight against LeBron and the Cavs.
Nick Young, James Singleton and Randy Foye should get extra minutes tonight if Blatche and Miller sit out.
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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March 24th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
dagwaller says:
Let me shine some light on Danny Granger.
He scores, hits threes, steals, blocks the ball…and also shoots a terrible percentage, an even worse percentage from 3, and turns the ball over a TON. The most unforgivable offense to me is that he shoots SO much that his percentages will invariably weigh you down in those categories.
If you’re playing in a league where percentages etc don’t matter, no big deal. But if you ever get him in a league where percentages are a factor…yeesh.
March 24th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
hahns says:
@dagwaller – i feel like much of his shooting woes this season are due to his inconsistent time on the court. fg% is a career low and his 3pt% is lowest since his rookie year
March 24th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
dagwaller says:
hahns – I traded for him right before his big injury. He was even worse BEFORE the injury, I think. Good stats though.
March 24th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
chris says:
absolute +/- is the ultimate fantasy stat (82games.com)
best 5 in the league thru 3/23 are
durant 16.2, LBJ 15.1, Dwayne wade 14.0, horford 14.0 and kobe 13.7; next best 3 are rudy gay 12.6, josh smith 12.4 and nowitzki 11.7. oh yeah, and monta ellis sucks (-12.1)
March 24th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Kevin H says:
Hey Doc, which two out of these 3 players would you take?
1. Terrence Williams
2. Kirilenko
3. Tyrus Thomas
considering injuries and everything else.
???
March 24th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
boomshakalaka says:
Horford consistently gets beasted by Dwight Howard. Should i expect the same to happen today? i’m leaning towards benching him.
March 24th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Kevin H: I like AK-47 and Williams the rest of the way, in that order. TT seems like he’s lost some steam.
March 24th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@boomshakalaka: If you have a decent option that would be a savvy move.
March 24th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
Conrad says:
My current ‘low-end’ Fs are Taj, Diaw, and Wilson Chandler. In looking to perhaps upgrade for the next scoring period, I have these options: CJ Miles, Reggie Williams, and Brandon Rush. This is an avg-based league, where pts, reb, ast(2X), blks, and stls accumulate fantasy pts. Who of those 3 guys best fits the bill (in addition to a favorable schedule for the final 2 weeks)? I’ll be dropping Tmac for one of those guys, because my guards competing for the bottom 2 starting guard spots are Jrue and Toney…Thanks as always, Doc! You da man!
March 25th, 2010 at 12:04 am
dagwaller says:
@ Conrad – pretty sure that Wilson Chandler is out for the rest of the season, so you might look to drop him as well. Brandon Rush is pretty good, Williams is such an unknown commodity at this point. Can’t speak on CJ Miles either.
March 25th, 2010 at 12:37 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Conrad: Yeah, Chandler’s the one to drop since his chances of returning this season are slim. Rush and Williams are the guys to run with and I’d actually roll the dice with Williams.
March 25th, 2010 at 2:50 am
Matt says:
Doc,
I am thinking about dropping Kevin Love. It’s the playoffs and his playing time has been too erratic for my taste. Would dropping Love for Reggie Williams or Danilo Gallinari be a good idea?
March 25th, 2010 at 3:32 am
DBZ says:
Hey Doc,
I am also thinking about dropping Kevin Love. Would you recommend dropping him for james singleton if i already have 3 centers, or continue to hold on to him? I currently have a bye week this week.
Thanks
March 25th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Conrad says:
Thanks for the thoughts Doc & dagwaller…You really think Wilson might not be back for the next scoring period, or even the final scoring period in 2 weeks? I’d hate to drop him and someone pick him up and beat me in the playoffs. Also, I can’t physically start Tmac with the format I play in (4 guards + 1 flex) because I have Wade, Monta, Westbrook, Jrue, and Toney.
Also, Regg Williams had another nice game last night, so I think I might go with him (in his last 5, he’s been 19-5-3).
March 25th, 2010 at 11:13 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Matt: I like either swap.
March 25th, 2010 at 11:15 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@DBZ: That’s a bit risky but Singleton is in line for more minutes. If you’re willing to reach a bit, go for it.
March 25th, 2010 at 11:17 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Conrad: I’d definitely give Williams a look. Yes, Chandler stands a good chance of not returning this season.
March 25th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
DBZ says:
thanks for all the help doc appreciate it
March 26th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
TerribleT says:
C’mon get with the program holmz,this is old news. What be happnin’ 2day in the NBA,u know like who should I start and who should I sit?