Beast of the Night: Derrick Rose trucked the Celtics last night with 30 points, five rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a pair of three-pointers. He shot 56 percent (9-16) from the field, 100 percent (10-10) from the foul line and had three turnovers. This made up for his mediocre line (19/3/4) from Tuesday.
Lines for Discussion:
Rajon Rondo: 3-10 FG (30%), 1-3 FT (33%), 7 Pts, 5 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl; Just when it looked like Rondo was getting it all together, he fades away. He was outmatched against Rose last night and is finishing the season looking like a mere shell of his monstrous self back in November.
Nicolas Batum: 9-13 FG (69%), 1-1 FT (100%), 2 threes, 21 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; Batum started last night thanks to Marcus Camby‘s injury. He’s been very solid in recent weeks and should finish the season strong whether he starts or not.
Devin Harris: 9-16 FG (56%), 3-3 FT (100%), 5 threes, 26 Pts, 2 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Blk, 7 TO; He’s finally back after missing seven games with a hamstring injury. Harris said after the game that his hamstring felt fine, which is a great sign. If you were patient enough to hold onto him, he might give you a nice boost in your finals matchup.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Gordon Hayward: 10 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl; He had a rough shooting night (1-of-5 from the field) but started at shooting guard. He’s worth a stash if you have dead weight to spare.
Derrick Favors: 8 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl; He didn’t start but still put up a decent line off the bench. Favors is worth a look in deeper leagues.
Injuries:
Josh Smith (knee): will miss the Hawks’ next two games
Shaquille O’Neal (calf): out tonight
Stephen Jackson (hamstring): expected to miss tonight’s game
Tyson Chandler (back): optimistic that he’ll play tonight
Andris Biedrins (ankle, personal): granted an excused family absence
Chris Kaman (knee): day-to-day
Dwyane Wade (thigh): could play tonight
Chauncey Billups (thigh): questionable tonight
Quentin Richardson (suspension): suspended for two games for shoving Gerald Henderson in the face
Dwight Howard (suspension): will serve his one-game suspension Sunday, thanks to his 18th technical foul
Leandro Barbosa (finger): game-time decision tonight
Jose Calderon (hamstring): out tonight
Andrea Bargnani (ankle): ditto
Von Wafer (calf): day-to-day
Andy Rautins (knee): out for the season
DeMarcus Cousins (shoulder): expected to tough it out
For Tonight:
Monitor news about Deron Williams‘ status.
Jerryd Bayless and Ed Davis should be strong starts once again, as the Raptors visit the Sixers.
Toney Douglas could be set for a big night for a potentially Billups-less Knicks team that will visit a potentially Williams-less Nets squad.
For Next Week:
2 games: ATL, BOS, CHA, CHI, CLE, DAL, DEN, DET, GS, HOU, LAL, MEM, MIA, MIL, MIN, NJ, NO, NY, OKC, ORL, PHI, PHO, POR, SAC, SA, TOR, UTA, WAS
1 game: IND, LAC
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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