Beast of the Night: Chauncey Billups posted 30 points, five rebounds, nine assists, three steals, a block and five three-pointers. He shot 53 percent (10-19) from the field, 100 percent (5-5) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. This was especially good to see given that he missed the game before this with a knee injury, which appears to have been minor now. Trade possibilities aside, Billups has worked past his early-season struggles to be a top-25 fantasy player once again.
Lines for Discussion:
Pau Gasol: 8-13 FG (62%), 4-6 FT (67%), 20 Pts, 10 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Blk; Not enough can be said about how strong of a season Gasol is having. Through five games in February, he’s playing 38:17 per game and averaging 23.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 blocks. When Andrew Bynum misses his next set of games, Gasol will be an even bigger force.
Jason Terry: 9-17 FG (53%), 1-2 FT (50%), 6 threes, 25 Pts, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; Terry has scored 21+ points in each of his last four games. It’s almost as if he knows his role is at risk when Roddy Beaubois returns to the lineup in the near future. Monitor how that situation evolves.
Carmelo Anthony: 17-25 FG (68%), 3-3 FT (100%), 5 threes, 42 Pts, 7 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 TO; Ho-hum. His fantasy owners are probably looking forward to the passing of the trade deadline so they (and everyone else) can get on with their lives.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Kendrick Perkins: 12 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Blk, 3 TO; If you’re in the market for a big man, Perkins should be on your short list.
Reggie Williams: 16 Pts, 1 three, 4 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 TO; Williams has been getting consistent minutes lately and is on a three-game hot streak. Pick him up if you need a short-term fix.
Ekpe Udoh: 16 Pts, 7 Reb, 3 Stl, 2 TO; He got extra run in last night’s blowout loss to the Suns, but he’s worth monitoring in deeper leagues.
Jose Juan Barea: 17 Pts, 2 threes, 5 Ast, 2 TO; Barea should be owned in deeper leagues and is worth a look if you need some scoring, threes and assists.
Injuries:
Al Horford (back): doesn’t plan on playing on Saturday
Nate Robinson (knee): monitor his status
Kwame Brown (personal): expected to return tonight
Chris Kaman (ankle): doubts he’ll return before the All-Star break
Ronny Turiaf (ankle): questionable tonight
Brandon Bass (ankle): out tonight
Goran Dragic (toe): day-to-day
For Tonight:
See if Willie Green starts again for the Hornets, as they visit the Magic.
The Jazz play their first game in a while without coach Jerry Sloan, as they host the Suns. See if anything changes for that rotation.
Guys like Nikola Pekovic, Wes Johnson and Jonny Flynn could have nice nights as the nicked-up Timberwolves visit the Pacers.
For Next Week:
2 games: ATL, CHA, CHI, DAL, DEN, DET, GS, HOU, IND, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIL, MIN, NJ, NO, PHI, PHO, POR, SAC, SA, UTA
1 game: BOS, CLE, MEM, NY, OKC, ORL, TOR, WAS
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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