Beast of the Night: Monta Ellis was huge last night, finishing with 48 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, a block and three three-pointers. He shot 62 percent (18-29) from the field, 90 percent (9-10) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. Ellis is having himself another fine season, despite a rough patch late in January. He’s a top 40 fantasy asset so far this NBA season.
Lines for Discussion:
Darren Collison: 10-14 FG (71%), 4-4 FT (100%), 1 three, 25 Pts, 4 Reb, 5 Ast; Since George Hill went down, Collison has been getting 35+ minutes a night and averaging 17/5/5. Collison’s owners should think about selling high.
Jared Dudley: 7-9 FG (78%), 2-2 FT (100%), 3 threes, 19 Pts, 4 Reb, 3 Ast; His owners have to be breathing a sigh of relief that his thigh injury wasn’t serious. Dudley appears to be on track to recover some of that value he lost earlier this season.
Brandon Jennings: 1-4 FG (25%), 1 three, 3 Pts, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Jennings has accumulated just 11 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and one three-pointer in his last two outings. He’ll bounce back, but his magical run is kaput.
Michael Beasley: 7-21 FG (33%), 2-3 FT (67%), 1 three, 17 Pts, 14 Reb, 3 TO; He continues to be an overrated fantasy asset, especially given his poor accuracy from the field.
Waiver-Wire Watch:
Derrick Brown: 20 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 TO; He’s been a roller coaster lately but is worth a look if you need points in a deeper league.
Reggie Williams: 21 Pts, 2 threes, 3 Reb, 5 Ast, 3 TO; So long as Gerald Henderson is out, Williams is worth owning.
Michael Redd: 14 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 TO; Give him a look if you need points and threes in a deeper league.
Grant Hill: 13 Pts, 2 threes, 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl; He’s too inconsistent to be worth more than just monitoring at this point.
Ersan Ilyasova: 17 Pts, 1 three, 12 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Blk, 1 TO; He’s worth picking up in most leagues.
Nikola Pekovic: 23 Pts, 10 Reb, 3 Stl, 2 Blk, 4 TO; He’s definitely worth a look if you need a big man.
Daequan Cook: 17 Pts, 5 threes, 3 Reb; He’ll be a good source of threes so long as Thabo Sefolosha is out.
Injuries:
Rudy Fernandez (back): probable for tonight
Spencer Hawes (back): doubtful for tonight; will get an MRI
Marcus Camby (illness): expected to play tonight
Keyon Dooling (hip): day-to-day
Nene (heel): game-time decision tonight
Arron Afflalo (ankle, toe): expected to play tonight
Nate Robinson (groin): day-to-day
Chauncey Billups (Achilles): done for the season
Darko Milicic (ankle): day-to-day
Amar’e Stoudemire (personal): out tonight; will take a few days before returning
Carmelo Anthony (groin); out 1-2 weeks
Raymond Felton (foot): game-time decision tonight
Manu Ginobili (hand): should return to game action within the next week
Anthony Morrow (personal): will return tonight
For Tonight:
Pekovic could be in for another big night as the Timberwolves visit the Grizzlies.
The Jeremy Lin ride continues as the Knicks visit the Wizards.
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