Daily Fantasy Basketball Diagnosis: 3.6

Beast of the Night: Al Jefferson posted 25 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, one steal and three blocks last night. He shot 56 percent (9-16) from the floor and 88 percent (7-8) from the free-throw line, and had no turnovers. This is about as perfect as a big man’s line gets. Jefferson has been a top 10 stud so far this season. His value has been boosted by his improved assists (2.2 per game, up from 1.8 last season) and steady turnovers (1.2 per game, down from 1.3 last season).

Lines for Discussion:
Stephen Curry: 5-7 FG (71%), 2 threes, 12 Pts, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl; Not bad for a shade more than nine minutes of work. Curry might not return to the starting lineup or his regular load of playing time for a few more games, but his owners have to be happy that he’s finally back, again.

Nick Young: 9-14 FG (64%), 3-4 FT (75%), 4 threes, 25 Pts, 2 Reb, 1 Stl; He came off the bench but did serious damage in 25:35 of playing time. Young’s return was bad news for Jordan Crawford, who finished with 5/3/2 on 15 percent shooting from the field. Expect these two guys to eat into each other’s production so long as they’re both healthy.

Kevin Love: 13-25 FG (52%), 8-11 FT (73%), 5 threes, 39 Pts, 17 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 TO; In his last two games, Love has racked up 81 points, 27 rebounds, 10 threes and six assists. In typical Love fashion, he’s accumulated just one steal and zero blocks in those two games, not that anyone’s complaining.

Danilo Gallinari: 1-3 FG (33%), 1-2 FT (50%), 1 three, 4 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl; He’s finally back after a 13-game layoff. His return means bad things for Arron Afflalo and Corey Brewer.

Marcus Camby: 3-6 FG (50%), 6 Pts, 16 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; Though he hasn’t been a stud by any means, Camby deserves some credit for putting up some solid lines for his owners every now and then, not to mention missing just three games so far this season.

Waiver-Wire Watch:
Gordon Hayward: 23 Pts, 2 threes, 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl; He came off the bench, a change that could hold for the rest of the season. Still, Hayward is worth a pickup in deeper leagues.

Klay Thompson: 18 Pts, 4 threes, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 TO; The rookie’s only worth a look in deep leagues.

James Johnson: 13 Pts, 1 three, 7 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; He should really be owned in your league by now.

Jerryd Bayless: 15 Pts, 2 threes, 6 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 TO; Bayless can product usable lines when given 20+ minutes of run, but his inconsistency is a bit of a downer.

George Hill: 17 Pts, 2 threes, 1 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; Hill is worth scooping up in deeper leagues.

Ronnie Brewer: 12 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 3 TO; Brewer has been a roller coaster lately, but he’s doing just enough to warrant consideration as a guy to round out your bench.

Kendrick Perkins: 7 Pts, 14 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; Perkins has picked things up lately after a pretty slow start to the season, though he’s only helpful for field-goal percentage, rebounds and blocks.

Derrick Williams: 15 Pts, 3 threes, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 TO; Five of his last six games have been solid, making Williams a strong pickup candidate.

Kenneth Faried: 20 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 1 TO; In his last 11 games, Faried has been a top 35 fantasy player.

Marco Belinelli: 18 Pts, 1 three, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 TO; If you need a shooting guard, he’s your man.

Injuries:
Jerry Stackhouse (illness): day-to-day

Reggie Williams (knee): doubtful tonight

Richard Hamilton (shoulder): wearing a sling; day-to-day

Jeff Foster (back): out at least one week

Ryan Gomes (flu): day-to-day

Nikola Pekovic (ankle): day-to-day

Amir Johnson (knee): day-to-day

Devin Harris (knee): monitor his MRI results

Joe Johnson (knee): day-to-day

Jermaine O’Neal (wrist): if he has season-ending wrist surgery, he’ll be waived by the Celtics

Anderson Varejao (wrist): timeline for his return will be determined this week

Brendan Haywood (ankle): might miss a game or two

Brandan Wright (head): day-to-day

Rudy Fernandez (back): day-to-day

Ben Gordon (ankle): said he’ll play tonight

Jordan Hill (knee): hopes to play for the Rockets’ upcoming road trip

Zach Randolph (knee): took part in a full-contact scrimmage Monday, but his return is “not imminent”

Luc Mbah a Moute (knee): day-to-day

Brook Lopez (ankle): out three weeks

Rashard Lewis (knee): day-to-day

Tracy McGrady (knee): questionable tonight

Willie Green (back); ditto

For Tonight:
Kirk Hinrich and Jannero Pargo could be decent spot starts in deeper leagues if McGrady and Green can’t go tonight for the Hawks, who visit the Pacers.

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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