Monthly Archives: December 2009

Daily Lies & Statistics: Break out the bubbly

Posted on December 31, 2009 by Jeff Andriesse| Leave a comment

2009. The most painful opening to a fantasy basketball season I can remember. I can’t wait until midnight tonight so I can french kiss January. Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? If only.

Things aren’t getting any better as we careen towards a new decade. Troy Murphy is my latest victim, out a week with an ankle injury, and word on the street is that Rajon Rondo is dealing with a potentially serious hamstring problem. Tyreke Evans, another one of my guys, is probably out for a few more games, missing a juicy four-game week when I need it most. And how much longer can Kobe Bryant drop 40 points on people with every limb in danger of falling off at any moment?

Jeff is waiting to find out Friday morning that the ball dropping in Times Square injured three of his players.

There are actually five games on the slate tonight, including a 3 p.m. EST tilt between the Bulls and Pistons that could force people to start drinking early just to get through. The night games are intriguing, such as Jazz at Thunder and Heat at Spurs, but are intruding on a new episode of Jersey Shore. By the time the Sixers and Clippers tip at 9:30, I could be in no shape to handle Chris Kaman in HD, but you best believe I’ll be celebrating at midnight with all of my might if my eyes are still open at that time. I desperately need a fresh start in basketball.

In keeping with this forward thinking, I won’t spend too much time on Wednesday’s shenanigans. Here are the Need to Knows from last night:

LaMarcus Aldridge went down with a sprained ankle, playing just six minutes. Portland’s frontline is now Juwan Howard, Jeff Pendergraph, Dante Cunningham and a newly-signed Shavlik Randolph. The Blazers still beat the Clippers, 103-99.

Chris Douglas-Roberts returned to the Nets lineup and put up an encouraging 17-5-4 in 37 minutes. Even better, Yi Jianlian was still tremendous with 22 points. Are four Nets now must-owns in fantasy?

Luther Head started and scored 30 points in 40 minutes for the Pacers, who have now lost eight in a row. I wouldn’t rush out to pick Head up, but keep an eye on this situation. Indiana is banged up, desperate and willing to try just about anything that works.

Kevin Love had one of the pleasantly surprising lines of ’09 with 17 points, 11 boards, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 threes. He’s been the best Timberwolf in fantasy lately.

With Tyreke Evans sidelined, Donte Greene and Omri Casspi each scored 21 points for Sacramento and will be the primary beneficiaries should Evans’ injury linger.

A great sign for Lou Williams: 22 points in 40 minutes of action playing with Allen Iverson.

Enjoy the last day of 2009, everyone. We’ll be back next week. Be safe out there. I’m referring, of course, to the players I own.

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Daily Lies & Statistics: The Big (Easy) Three — CP3, DW30 and EO50

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Tom Lorenzo| 2 Comments

Raise your hand if you’re a Hornets fan? Now raise your hand if you’re a fantasy owner who has Chris Paul, David West or Emeka Okafor rostered and could care less that they blew a fourth quarter lead last night against the Rockets. Yeah, I thought so. I happened to be watching the Hornets-Rockets game with great pleasure (fantasy pleasure!), yet had no vested interest in who won or lost. That’s how I role sometimes. I won’t lie to you and tell you that the end result is not important to me. But I can tell you that sometimes you watch games that you’re less inclined to pay attention to simply because you have a player on one of your fantasy teams involved in it. David Stern needs to embrace the game! There’s no other reason why we should sit through a performance like the one the Hawks put on in the fourth quarter last night. But we did. Not as Hawks fans, but as fantasy owners. Willing Josh Smith to pick up another block or two.

Chandler: "You know one day I'm gonna throw it all away." Curry: "Why not start now?"

Well, if you own Chris Paul and aren’t a Hawks fan all you cared about was the triple-double he posted (16 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks) and not that the Hornets couldn’t finish off the Rockets who came from behind to pull off the victory, outscoring NOH 34-18 in the fourth quarter. If you have David West on any of your teams you got a career-high out of him last night — 44 points on 18-of-30 shooting, 12 rebounds, 2 threes, and two steals. The tallest of the ‘big three’ broke out of his three-game defensive slump with 5 blocks in 31 minutes. This also happened to be the first time in his last 8 games in which Oak touched 30 minutes. Who cares that they blew the lead, right?

What are we talking about this morning?

Kevin Durant scored 35 points on 12-of-19 shooting with three treys, 11 rebounds and a steal. Durant has now scored 30 or more points in each of his last five games. He’s also shot nearly 60 percent from the floor in that span. Ladies and gentlemen, your fantasy basketball player of the month. Sorry, Zach Randolph.

LeBron James couldn’t find his ‘J’ last night. He shot 6-of-20 from the floor and scored just 14 points against the Hawks. This was the fourth time this season that King James failed to score 20 points in a game. Other than his woeful shooting (0-for-5 from beyond the arc) James contributed nicely — 10 assists, eight rebounds, five steals and a block. I would bench him — only if you’re playing against me this week.

Kobe Bryant? Yeah he had his shot last night. He scored 44 points on 13-of-27 shooting, 16-of-16 free-throw attempts, and dished a season-high 11 assists.

The Knicks held their 11th straight opponent to under 100 points. Huh? This is their longest streak of holding teams below the century-mark since the 2000-01 season. Even though last night it was the Pistons — the fourth worst scoring team in the league — who they held to 87 points, it’s still worth giving the Knicks credit for their strong defensive effort over the last 11 games. They held the Pistons to 41.8-percent shooting from the floor and were out-rebounded by the Knicks 44-33. Richard Hamilton remains off his game. He shot 5-of-21 last night and is now 11 for his last 41 since returning on Monday night. Rip, more like…Sip (cause his game is coming along slowly?).

David Lee scored a season-high 30 points on 13-of-19 shooting and recorded his 16th double-double of the season adding 15 rebounds and five assists. Sometimes I hate when he complains about not getting calls, but I have to say that in NBA2K10 I always make sure I have Lee on my team. A recipe for success.

Mike Bibby has scored 4.3 points on 20.8-percent shooting over his last three games. With Jamal Crawford actually leading the team in scoring in three of their last four games, it’s about time that Bibby hits the fantasy bench.

Charlie Villanueva scored zero points and pulled down just one rebound in 12 minutes against the Knicks. How’s that plantar faciitis working out for you? Bench him.

T.J. Ford was back starting at point guard for the Pacers with Earl Watson moved to the bench. Really neither stood out last night against the Bulls. Watson had 10 points, four rebounds and six assists in 19 minutes after he struggled to even make a single field-goal in each of his last two games. Ford wasn’t much better with nine points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes. The Pacers have struggled on offense scoring fewer than 100 points in each of their last seven. Neither is a sure-thing right now.

John Salmons must be loving his new role coming off the bench. I know I’m not complaining about it. He scored 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, three treys and five assists in 28 minutes. Starter Kirk Hinrich started off hot, though finished with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, two three-pointers, four rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes. Both should be owned in standard and deep leagues as far as I’m concerned. Even with Salmons recent struggles from the floor.

Tyrus Thomas pulled down a team-high 15 rebounds and added three blocks and one steal against the Pacers. He didn’t start this one, but I can’t see how he’s not in the starting lineup going forward. He’s one of my favorite guys to own. And I know Jeff is waiting to hold that against me with a low-ball offer. Any day now…

Shane Battier was dropping threes like it was our business to take notice. He hit 5-of-8 on the night and has now made at least one three-pointer in each of his last eight. For a guy ranked 64th overall, it’s a wonder that he’s still available in most standard leagues.

Ronny Turiaf and Anthony Randolph each blocked 5 shots against the Lakers. Keep Turiaf in mind. He has similar value to Chris Andersen.

Ron Artest (battered husband syndrome?) missed last night’s game. Strange things are happening in Artest-land. Lamar Odom started at small forward in his place and posted 11 points and 11 rebounds. Once Artest returns I think Odom is going to go back to having minimal value.

Troy Murphy left last night’s game with a sprained ankle. Let’s hope it’s not serious. If he does miss time you should look at adding Roy Hibbert or Hansbrough once he returns.

Etan Thomas (flu) sat out against the Wizards. Sorry, I know he’s a low-impact fantasy player, but Syracuse held on to beat Seton Hall last night. I was feeling a bit Orange.

Will Bynum (ankle) missed the game against the Knicks. He’s listed as day-to-day, though should be sat now that Gordon and Hamilton are back.

Tyler Hansbrough (ear) missed last night’s game. This allowed Josh McRoberts to play a season-high 27 minutes — the most playing time for McRoberts since December 20 of last year. McRoberts is not much of a McAdd unless both Hansbrough and Murphy miss time.

Delonte West picked up some of the scoring slack for LeBron — 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, one three-pointer, five assists, two rebounds, and two steals in 29 minutes. He had been on a nit of a shooting slump scoring 18 points over his last three, but has done enough elsewhere to make up for the lack of scoring — 4.3 assists, two steals and 0.7 blocks per game over his last five. Keep him on your radar.

James Harden, after shooting 0-for-10 from the floor on Monday night, hit 3-of-7 field goals on his way to scoring 11 points in 16 minutes. Rooks will be rooks.

Ten games tonight! Jeff should be here tomorrow morning to take you through the action. After that we’re done until the next decade. Have a great new year ya’ll!

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Daily Lies & Statistics: Randolph the Red-Hot Grizzly

Posted on December 29, 2009 by Jeff Andriesse| Leave a comment

Just spent five days with a 5-year-old and 4-year-old, so it will take a few weeks to get certain holiday-themed songs out of my head. After a while you just start making up your own lyrics, as I’ve done with Zach Randolph. If you ever saw him before this year, you’d never even say he glowed.

Zach Randolph is giving End-of-Days enthusiasts reason to prepare by actually thriving on and helping a young Grizzlies team

Until now, that is. Z-Bo’s last five: 28.2 ppg, 18.2 rpg, 58.2 FG%. Z-Bo’s December: 23.3 ppg, 14.3 rpg, 51.4 FG%. Z-Bo’s season: 20.0 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 50.6 FG%. He’ll go down in history for this stretch of play, as any fantasy owner who probably drafted him in the late rounds is beaming right now. Randolph went off last night vs. Washington for 23 & 19 and is as regular a double-double machine as there is in the NBA right now.

The Grizz beat the Wiz without Rudy Gay last night, as O.J. Mayo picked up the slack with a 28-7-6 and Mike Conley (22-4-5) and Marc Gasol (20-11) also were excellent. Memphis is now 14-16 this year, while Washington fell to a fetid 10-19. This was with Gilbert Arenas dropping 30 and his sidekicks Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison each contributing 24. When all three are healthy and playing well, and they still can’t win, it is time to consider some major changes. Nothing would shock me as we move toward the deadline in terms of what the Wizards will do to blow this team up. It might be time to take the dream to the vet and put it to sleep.

So I’m in a surly mood as the Celtics lost consecutive games to the Clippers and Warriors. Both without Paul Pierce, but still. Fantasy owners had to be thrilled with Rajon Rondo‘s 30-3-15 with three steals, but this was an inexcusable two-game turd. Oh, Monta Ellis can score in case you hadn’t noticed. Thirty-seven more in the scoring column for Monta last night, which was 37 more than my last-minute start in the Damn Lies league, Stephen Curry, and 37 more than Andris Biedrins, who I also have but didn’t start. Biedrins had missed the last 24 games with what can only be described as “me owning him”. I’m legendary for the kryptonite affect I have on nearly every player I ever draft.

Charlotte topped Milwaukee last night, 94-84, in a game that saw Scott Skiles bench several of his starters for the entire second half. The announced attendance for this barnburner was 15,473 Charlottans (like that?), but I suspect they were counting both people in seats and individual popcorn kernels at the concession stands to arrive at that number.

If I’m looking for a drug that will make me dance around like a maniac and have unbelievable sex with my girlfriend, I’m going to try some Yi. Jianlian that is. With 29 points and seven boards last night against the Thunder, he is now averaging 22.7 and 7.0 in the three games since he’s returned from injury. He’s the classic “As Soon As You Insert Him Into Your Lineup He’ll Finish With 5 and 3″ guy, but this is rather intriguing news for his fantasy owners. The Nets, at 2-29, have nothing to lose except games on the road to the John Wall sweepstakes, so I think Yi will perform pretty well even when the law firm of Chris Douglas-Roberts returns to action.

The Suns handled the Lakers last night, 118-103, and there are some chinks in L.A.’s armor after that Christmas Day game (The Foam Finger Massacre – let’s see if that catches on). Kobe Bryant is playing hurt, admirably he’ll have you believe, and you could probably chop off his arms and he’d still more than double anyone else’s shots on his team. The Suns got 26 points from a player whose nickname is “Stat”, Amar’e Stoudemire. It would be nice if “Stat” notched a block once in a while. Phoenix does have one of the league’s most surprising success stories in Jared Dudley, who poured in 19 points in 28 minutes last night and is shooting 50.9 percent from three-point range for the year. Dudley has definite deep league value right now.

Philadelphia had a nice win at Portland until you realize the Blazers were trotting out Juwan Howard and Jeff Pendergraph at center. Portland’s gotta make a deal here soon, so keep your antennae up. It might be worth hanging on to a Jerryd Bayless in case the Blazers move Andre Miller or Steve Blake in efforts to grab a big man.

Carmelo Anthony went down shooting at Sacramento, taking 35 shots to score 34 points in a 106-101 loss to a Tyreke Evans-less Kings squad. Ty Lawson owners should expect Chauncey Billups back any day now to try to stem a three-game skid. The Kings, meanwhile, are doing a very good Rockets imitation by comparatively thriving without Kevin Martin. It is always fascinating to see teams do much better without their supposed “best player”. Tracy McGrady is learning, much to his surprise, that he’s not needed or wanted any more. Will the same happen to Martin? The Kings say they want to roll out a Martin-Evans backcourt, but Beno Udrih is playing so well with Martin gone, and Evans has done much more damage as a two-guard, that things could really get messed up. In Martin, the Kings have a great chip to use go after another big man (but please, guys, not Emeka Okafor or Sam Dalembert and their albatross contracts) and turn themselves into a pesky potential playoff team. C’mon Maloofs, make a deal!

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Daily Lies & Statistics: The Pistons are full

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Tom Lorenzo| Leave a comment

And we almost lost Detroit... this time.

Can you believe it? The Pistons are at full strength! I never thought this day would come. And to think that Ben Gordon, Richard Hamilton and Tayshuan Prince all returned for the same game — Sunday’s. Rip Hamilton tried to make up for lost time, shooting 6-of-20 from the floor. I guess with the Pistons putting together one of the worst offensive schemes in the league this season it might be in John Kuester’s best interest to tell Hamilton and Gordon to just go out and shoot the ball — “see what happens!” Gordon was a bit rusty himself going 4-of-15 from the floor. Again, are you going to defer to Ben Wallace? Is Charlie Villanueva any good anymore? Do fantasy owners really care that Prince returned on Sunday? He’s a better basketball player then he is a fantasy contributor. I have little interest in Prince. Except, of course, if you’re talking about Prince Rogers Nelson. Game…blouses.

There was some pretty awful basketball last night. So let’s not beat around the bush. On to the lines!

Dahntay Jones: Zero points in 16 minutes. He was outplayed big time by Dwyane Wade. With Brandon Rush waiting in the wings, I think Jones’ best days are behind him — 4.4 ppg over his last five. Drop!

Earl Watson: Ooh remember when he stole the starting point guard gig from T.J. Ford? Those were the days. Watson scored zero points last night in 16 minutes. I’ve seen that line elsewhere, but I can’t recall where…anyway, after two straight busts it’s time to stop lusting over Watson. Move on (dot org).

Mike Dunleavy: Dude shot 1-of-10 last night from the floor. He’s made just 6 of his last 36 attempts. I hope you already traded Junior.

Tyler Hansbrough: Probably my favorite line of the night — a double-double on 0-of-5 shooting from the floor. He hit all 10 of his free-throw attempts and pulled down 10 rebounds in 27 minutes. Kevin Love? Is that you?

Jarrett Jack: 17 points, 5 assists and a trey — keep ‘em coming. There’s no definitive timetable for Jose Calderon’s return. Keep Jack in until Calderon returns.

Trevor Ariza: This guy CANNOT shoot. He went 2-of-10 from the floor last night. Last season after Stephen Jackson decided that he didn’t want to make any more than 30% of his FGA, I vowed never to own him again. Ariza…you are dead to me!

David Lee: The “Big Ups” line of the night — 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting, 10 rebounds, two steals and a block. One of the easiest guys to own.

DeJuan Blair: He nearly double-doubled last night, playing a career-high 35 minutes. The fact that he’s still starting at center and his minutes continue to increase. We went through this early on in the season, though this time it just feels right. He’s worth the add as far as I’m concerned.

Drew Gooden: He led the Mavs with 19 points on 8-of-8 shooting and 10 rebounds. Only eight Mavs played, while seven of them scored in double-figures. Gooden has been battling injuries and fighting with Erick Dampier for minutes in the middle. I’m not sold on him as a 12-team add, though if your other options are Juwan Howard or Blair, I would go with Gooden.

Ty Lawson: Another game, another start. Chauncey Billups sat out last night, so Lawson got the start — 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in 30 minutes. Billups is doubtful for Monday night, so take the plunge with Lawson if you’re looking for a point.

Glen Davis: (thumb) In game two we started to see the real ‘Big Baby’ with his eight-point, six-rebound performance last night in 15 minutes. He probably only has about 15-18 minutes with his name on them, especially once Paul Pierce returns to action. A deep league add for sure, but not quite ready for standard leagues.

Tony Allen: No Paul Pierce, means huge line for Allen — 10 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Love the steals and thanks for the rebounds. Allen is a value add until Paul Pierce returns. Even then I’d still put him as the sixth most valuable Celtic.

DeAndre Jordan: Without Marcus Camby (knee) in the lineup, Jordan (the raw one) started and played 36 minutes. His line was so-so — 6 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 blocks — but when given a chance I think he’s worth a look for blocks and rebounds. That is until Blake Griffin returns in three weeks.

Seven games tonight — no Billups, no Pierce, and no Tyson Chandler. But you don’t want Chandler on your team anyway.

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Daily Lies & Statistics: Bull Market

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Jeff Andriesse| Leave a comment

The NBA world is all aflutter this morning after the Chicago Bulls blew a 35-point lead to the Sacramento Kings and lost. At home. To the – I’ll say it again – Sacramento Kings. Bring Michael Jordan back from the golf course or something.

As a Celtics fan, I vividly remember how terrified I was last Spring when Derrick Rose and company were pushing my Cs to the brink in the first round in one of the best playoff series ever to feature Brian Scalabrine prominently. Rose was unstoppable, but so was John Salmons, who routinely buried killer jumpers and finished interesting drives with aplomb and sometimes two plombs. Kirk Hinrich was also a pest, one of those legitimately underrated Caucasians who looks easy to beat off the dribble but rarely let’s anyone breathe on the offensive end. I hated 6-11 annoyance Joakim Noah so much that it circled back around and I actually loved him during that series. Regardless of how it turned out, it was a classic and we all knew the Bulls were gonna be good for a while.

I think the Bulls have stopped listening to Vinny Del Negro

But here we are, a scant eight months later, and these Bulls are 10-16 with the year’s most embarrassing loss now hung around their necks. Do they miss Ben Gordon and Tyrus Thomas that much? Salmons has been bricking up shots for nearly two straight months now, and without any other three-point threats, Rose can’t quite find the space he needs. Thomas brought them athleticism and shot blocking, two things that an aging Brad Miller wasn’t even known for when he was in his prime. And Vinny Del Negro is coaching this team with the look of a doe straddling the center line of the Autobahn.

It’s hard to believe last night’s debacle won’t lead to some changes, perhaps a lineup shuffle or trade but maybe even Del Negro being made to walk the plank. So what to do, in fantasy? Salmons has been a “buy-low” guy forever, but I still say its time to go get him. He did have six steals last night against his former employer. Rose is someone who could probably be had on the cheap, but seeing how his rep is bigger than his fantasy game, even when he’s scoring in the mid-to-high 20s. It might be time to sell. Damn Lies blogger Greg Fox just jettisoned Rose to one of our league-mates for D-League guard Josh Smith, a 6-2 combo from the Idaho… wait, for the other Josh Smith? From the Hawks? Naw. Let me double check that and get back to you.

Furthermore, I give you the go-ahead to pursue forgotten man-freak Ty Thomas, who is returning nigh from injuries sustained from me drafting him this year. He may get traded (pray it’s to the Knicks) or at the very least be showcased on a team heading nowhere in the HOV lane. Noah and Luol Deng are both playing at a high level, and remain the two Bulls I’d hang on to because you likely snagged them at such a great value.

Let’s see how they respond tonight at the Knicks. You might think it can’t get worse than blowing a 35-point lead at home to the Kings, but it can: what if Nate Robinson sees the court against you? The ultimate indignity.

More Monday Morsels:

Cleveland won handily at Phoenix in a game that should remind anyone who thinks that a front line of Amar’e Stoudemire and Channing Frye is going to cut it against physical teams should be committed. Delonte West (12 pts, 6 ast, 3 stl, 0 concealed weapons) has three straight double-figure scoring games and should probably be considered for a fantasy roster spot. It’s easy to forget how valuable he is when going well.

Every once in a while Andrew Bogut has a line like the one he put up against the Pacers last night – 31 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks. It’s hard to predict when these are coming, but his season numbers of 16.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG and 2.0 BPG have turned out just fine. Next time Bogut throws up a stinker, make an offer to his owner. (Aside: “Owner”, like Bogut’s a dog or something. Ha.)

Five more blocks for Dwight Howard, who has 23 in his last five games. The Magic held off the Jazz, 104-99. Paul Millsap is showing signs of life with 18 and 20 points, respectively, in his last two games. He’s averaging 12.7 points in December, but just 4.7 boards. It would be nice to see him get going a little bit.

Finally, the Spurs beat the Clippers 103-87 in an exhibition contest. No San Antonio starters played more than 27 minutes, as they are resting in preparation for the regular season.

There’s a healthy nine-game slate tonight. How will Lou Williams do in the starting lineup at Washington? Can the guy eat solid foods yet? Now he knows how I feel. Will the Warriors and Grizzlies produce the smorgasbord of a box score we’re all expecting? Why does the NBA schedule so many back-to-back games? Indiana has to go to Boston a night after hosting Milwaukee? Chicago (snicker snicker) hosts the Kings and then has to play the next night in New York? And why did Jesus go around with all of dem reindeers?

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Daily Lies & Statistics: Raging Rondo

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Tom Lorenzo| Leave a comment

So we’re getting to the point where fantasy teams are starting to figure out who they really are. And that means trades! Just this weekend in a 10-team, 12-cat experts roto league I was offered Steve Nash for Rajon Rondo straight up. This one took me a few days to ponder. I was getting a top 10 talent who could score, shoot free-throws, and drain treys for a young point who is starting to realize his potential more and more, yet he’s unable to hit free throws, score more than a dozen points or hit

Sit on it, old man.

any threes. Gaaahhh! At this point I an in first place with 72 total points (1st in steals and assists, 4th in threes, 2nd in points and ft%) and the second place team has 61.5 points. If it ain’t broke? Well, after Rondo went for 13 points, 15 assists and 3 steals last night against the T-Wolves I couldn’t justify fixing what wasn’t broken. Maybe I’ll kick myself down the line, but it’s hard to make a deal like that when you’re talking about giving up one of the top young point guards in the game — a guy who I said will be a first-round draft pick next season! Denied.

Enough about me, let’s talk about last night. I thought we had a nice time… zing! To the games!

First things first — Jameer Nelson could be ready to go for Monday night. Pick this dude up!

Second things second — Tyrus Thomas took part in full-contact practice this weekend. He has a target return date for Saturday. Pick this dude up!

Noteworthy news and performances:

Chris Paul: He tweaked his sore ankle again last night, but managed to play through it. After putting in 30 points and 19 assists on Friday, it’s tough to swallow his 10 point, 8 rebound, 7 assist performance against the Raps. The same Raptors who don’t play any defense.

Jarrett Jack: With no timeline in the return of Jose Calderon, Jack has put up some solid lines. Including last night — 15 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and zero turnovers. Look at Jack as a flier while Calderon is out, though this week he may not be so helpful with the Raps playing only twice.

Ty Lawson: He was held scoreless in 17 minutes after getting the start for the injured Chauncey Billups. Lawson was out-played by Anthony Carter and probably lost a few minutes after this performance. Billups is questionable for Wednesday’s game.

Zach Randolph: Isiah Tomas has to be proud. Randolph scored 32 points and pulled down 24 rebounds in a win against the Nuggets. Props to Randolph who is shooting 50% from the floor and his second lowest per game shot attempts (15.5 per game) since the 2002-03 season. Greg Fox just threw up in his mouth, ladies and gentlemen.

Tony Allen: After taking over back-up guard position from Eddie House, Allen has gone off and scored 25 points on 60% shooting and four blocks over his last two games. He get’s a nightly ‘Tommy Point’ as well, if that’s a category in your league. He’s starting to make the case for being a deep league add. Just don’t tell that to his ACL.

Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant: There’s not much to talk about as the Lakers had their way with the Pistons — no surprise. Kobe and Artest, however, combined for 11 steals. That seemed noteworthy to me.

Ben Gordon/Richard Hamilton: Ugh. Both sat out (ankles). Both are day-to-day. Both went to UCONN. Both are probably really nice guys. Both could sit out the rest of the season for all I care. I luckily don’t own either.

Delonte West: Scored 30 points over his last two games and looks like an intriguing add. The only concern I have is that he’s hit just one trey all season long, after making 91 last season. He’s close to being a standard league add.

Tim Thomas: He scored a team-high 22 points against the Cavs last night. I guess it’s worth noting that he started in place of an injured Dirk Nowitzki, who got the old ‘teeth in the elbow’ injury. He’s questionable for Tuesday night’s game, but hopefully will return soon enough so that I don’t have to write about Tim Thomas anymore.

Gerald Wallace: Wallace sat out against the Knicks due to “severe headaches.” I too get severe headaches watching Tyson Chandler play, so I don’t really blame him. Chandler did have 13 points and 14 rebounds, but even a (edit: broken) clock is right twice a day, isn’t it?

Andre Miller: Now he’s starting to get it. Miller scored 17 points and dished 4 dimes in 31 minutes last night. He looks like he might understand his role in Portland. Swish and dish!

Quentin Richardson: You gotta give it to him — 7-of-7 from the floor, all three-pointers!  Shoot it! He has value as a three-point shooter who can occasionally breakout on the offensive end. Plus he tweets a lot.

Jonathan Bender: Hit the double-digit mark in just his second game played since 2005. He hit all 3 of his 3-point attempts, scoring 11 points in 15 minutes. He’s made all 4 of his 3-point attempts on the season. Nice story, but not worth a fantasy add.

Tonight — Five games: MIL @ IND, UTA @ ORL, SAC @ CHI, LAC @ SAS, and CLE @ PHO.

Spot starts: Omri Casspi, Ersan Ilyasova, Brandon Rush, Taj Gibson, Delonte West, Anderson Varejao.

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Daily Lies & Statistics: Post players need not apply

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Greg Fox| 1 Comment

Thursday was a slow night in the NBA, but it was certainly eventful. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around The Knicks/Bulls game for more than 12 hours. I actually watched most of the first quarter in this one and saw the New Yorkers take a 33-16 lead as Al Harrington, Chris Duhon and Danilo Gallinari were all dialed in pretty early on.

I came home to a 98-89 loss in which my heroes launched a preposterous 47 threes and more or less played a six-man rotation. Larry Hughes was injured and did not play last night yet Mike D’Antoni still didn’t request the services of sparkplug Nate Robinson. Despite what the coach says publicly, Li’l Him is clearly in D’Antoni’s puppy palace and it will be interesting to see if he sees any daylight tonight at home against the Clips in the second of a back-to-back.

If Al Harrington played baseball, he'd swing at everything

Harrington, an extraordinary chucker, was 3 for his first 3 from beyond the arc and went 1-for-10 after that. The man, who I drafted in the Damn Lies league in the ninth round, has absolutely no conscience. He recorded a 42-point game earlier in the season by consistently driving the basketball, but is more comfortable dry heaving against smaller defenders.

Gallinari, who possesses the same proclivity as Harrington, came off the bench to fire up 15 threes in just 27 minutes and connected on six. At least he has pretty good touch.

The Bulls only played seven guys yesterday, one of them being Derrick Rose who I think suited up with a punctured lung. Luol Deng (24 pts, 13 reb) and Taj Gibson (12 pts, 10 reb) hurt the Knicks and their puny interior and both double-doubled.

Knicks defensive stopper Jared Jeffries produced his 400th consecutive triple-single with 6 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. In all fairness, Jeffries has been playing big minutes of late and delivering surprising blocks and steals totals.

Kirk Hinrich played 39 minutes off the Chicago bench and is worth keeping an eye on, particularly if John Salmons continues to smell.

Jeff touched upon him yesterday, and I will reiterate, on the chance that Chauncey Billups will miss some time, pounce on Ty Lawson. Billups strained his groin the other day, and as we saw with Devin Harris and Chris Douglas-Roberts, groin injuries tend to linger. Lawson is a controlled dynamo, capable of stupid numbers if given 30+ minutes in Denver’s high-octane offense.

Thursday’s Notable Performances:

Rashard Lewis: Inconsistency continues to mar Lewis’ season as he finished with just 9 points and 3 rebounds in the Magic’s blowout loss in Miami. Lewis should right the ship, but Orlando has too many weapons, including the ever-selfish Vince Carter, for him to maintain anything better than sixth-round value.

Michael Beasley: Beasley’s debutante season continued last night as he notched 22 points (8-15 fg) and 8 boards in the Heat’s win. His shot selection has improved immensely from his rookie year and he is proving that his collegiate rebounding numbers weren’t flukish.

Carlos Arroyo: Arroyo remained in the starting lineup and did not turn the ball over in 26 minutes. His numbers last night were a bit pedestrian (5 pts, 4 reb, 7 ast), but as long as the Heat keep winning, weekly leaguers should give Arroyo consideration during four-game weeks.

Grant Hill: It does my heart good to see Hill post 20 points and 3 steals as he did in last night’s 105-102 loss in Portland. Not enough credit is given to the now 37-year old legend, who was on his way to being an all-time great before ankle injuries derailed his studliness. Here’s a random Hill season for you: In ’96-97 for Detroit, he averaged 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.6 blocks and shot 50 percent from the field. First pick in a fantasy draft numbers, no doubt.

Jerryd Bayless: Bayless led all scorers in the Phoenix/Portland game with 29 points on 9-of-15 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers and 4 assists in 29 minutes. Will he continue to receive this kind of playing time? Probably not on a consistent basis, but the Blazers are trying to move Andre Miller, and if that happens, Bayless will be the man to scoop up.

Allen Iverson is sitting out tonight with a case of "I don't want to get embarrassed by Rajon Rondo"

Channing Frye: Frye drained five more threes last night on the way to a 17-point, 6-rebound, 1-block outing. He’s averaging a not-so-spectacular 12 and 6 this season, but he blocks just under a shot a game and his 2.6 threes per contest are among the league leaders.

There are 11 games tonight, including Sixers/Celtics, but no Allen Iverson, Andrew Toney, Mo Cheeks, Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson.

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Daily Lies & Statistics: Merry Hannukkah!

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Jeff Andriesse| Leave a comment

Hey Jewish kids! Feeling left out this holiday season by all the people waiting in line to see Santa at the mall? Tired of Christmas trees and mistletoe and getting teased for celebrating a, let’s face it, totally inferior holiday yourself (just kidding, Jews, but I know you guys got a sense of humor!)? Well never fear: Omri Casspi is here!

I can hear you now: “Who?” Well, guess what, Jewish child – you now have your own heroic holiday character who can tell if you’re naughty or nice and hit the occasional three-pointer! I ain’t kibbitzin’!

Somebody get this man a sleigh!

The Israeli-born Casspi is now starting for the Sacramento Kings, and I’m ready to pronounce that he’s the best basketball-playing Jew alive right now, finally surpassing Damn Lies & Statistics’ own Greg Fox, a 6-6 Saturday morning rec league menace who can score from anywhere on the court as long as he’s home by sundown. As someone whose glass is always half-Jew myself, I am extremely 50 percent proud of Casspi. Of course, since this is fantasy basketball, I’m 50 percent pissed off as I’ve been starting Spencer Hawes in a few leagues.

Hawes owners have to be furious right now as he played just eight minutes and had two points. Can he ever get it together? Regardless, Casspi is looking like the mensch to own right now in Sacramento. He finished with 22 points, five boards and two threes in 38 minutes in a win over Washington. It’s worth noting, as an aside, that the Kings are actually 11-13 this year. I wasn’t sure if they’d win 11 all season when we started, and this was with a healthy Kevin Martin. In the great holiday tradition of Tracy McGrady, you have to wonder if Martin’s return is going to screw up whatever the Kings have going for them. As a giddy Tyreke Evans owner (26-6-6 last night), I’d like to ask Mr. Martin to take as much time as he needs returning to the lineup.

There were a few other interesting developments on a busy Wednesday in, as the kids call it, “The Association”:

- With Mikki Moore undergoing heel surgery, the Warriors were stuck with Anthony Randolph at center, only this is the Warriors, so Don Nelson naturally played Vladimir Radmanovic there. The Radman will not be confused with Rodman any time soon. He managed one rebound and shot a less-than-sparkling 0-of-8 from the field.

- What’s gotten into Pau Gasol lately? Is he tired of the press clippings his brother has been getting this season? Is he really pissed off that he’s not getting enough shots? Whatever the case, Gasol is averaging 19.5 rebounds per game in his last four. Last night he went for 26 points, 22 boards and four blocks, while his great teammate, Kobe Bryant, scored 39 and broke the Bucks’ heart with the game-winner. Kobe broke his finger? Are we sure?

- Hey, a Michael Redd sighting! Neat. Redd had 25 points vs. the Lakers and while we wonder if his knee will hold up, he’ll produce as a much-needed secondary outside threat alongside Brandon Jennings. Jennings had just 11 points last night and his 55-point game seems like a thing of the distant past right now. He’ll get a second wind eventually, but it might be time to see what you can get for him while his buzz is still worthy.

- Troy Murphy has been a disappointment this season no matter how you look at it, but he’s showing signs of life. His 26-points, 15-rebound, 5-three effort last night reminded his owners of the 2008-09 Murphy, which gosh damnit we drafted him to be. Keep this up, please, Murph. In fluky Pacers news, T.J. Ford dished out 13 assists last night, a total aberration for someone who has been dishing them out at the rate of a backup center this season. You’d think Ford was a point guard in an up-tempo offense or something.

- Marreese Speights returned to the Philly lineup and had 14 points off the bench in 22 minutes. He’s now joining a second unit that includes Elton Brand (11 and 7, 33 minutes) and I have no idea what to tell you about this situation. I’d be inclined to avoid both guys and might consider a long look at Jrue Holiday, who had nine assists and two steals last night in 37 minutes. It looks like a small lineup with a white hot Thaddeus Young at power forward and Allen Iverson at shooting guard.

- There ya go, Shane Battier! The guy was making me look bad for suggesting folks pick him up this week. He had 11 points, four boards, four assists, two steals, three blocks and three threes last night at Denver.

- Oh, Chauncey Billups is going to have an MRI on his strained left groin. If he misses any time at all, Ty Lawson should be added, by force if necessary.

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Daily Lies & Statistics: (T-)Mac the Knife

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Tom Lorenzo| Leave a comment

Tracy McGrady played last night for the first time since February 8, 2009. I remember the game like it happened just yesterday. T-Mac played 25 minutes and shot 11.1 percent from the floor. Or wait, was that Nov. 11, 2008, against the Lakers. No, he went 1-for-11 that night. Yeah, last season was pretty sweet for Mr. McGrady. He shot 38.3 percent from the floor, missed 47 games over the span of the year — injured six times. Some things you just refuse to forget.

"It's 'passed' away, not 'past' away"

So, McGrady made his debut playing eight minutes (all in the 1st quarter), spending most of the time hovering around the three-point line. He made just 1-of-3 field-goal attempts (a three-pointer) and looked about as sluggish and lazy as I remember. If you care to know, I have little faith in T-Mac. In fact, don’t own him in any of the dozen leagues I’m in. His name happens to be more valuable than his game, so at the very least you can pick him up and trade him. He’s one of the leaders in All-Star voting and has only played EIGHT MINUTES. Somebody out there loves McGrady. Just know that I’m not one of them.

Trevor Ariza missed last night’s game (suspension, punch), giving Chase Budinger a chance to play to log 40 minutes for the first time in his young career. He posted 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Budinger should revert back to the 15-18 minute range once Ariza returns. You also have to love the fact that Aaron Brooks shot 10-of-20 from the floor. Just two nights after shooting 6-of-20. The one concern you have about Brooks is that he’s only made three of his last 18 three-point attempts. The other thing working against Brooks (and the rest of the Rockets) is the return of Tracy McGrady. I may be crazy, but I think that T-Mac may be the worst thing to happen to this team — especially given how well they’ve played early on. Anyone?

The other story of the night was the 42-point performance by Kobe Braynt. He started hot, scoring 20 points in the first ten minutes. The Bulls, on the other hand, were anything but hot. They were… not? They shot 38.5 percent from the floor — John Salmons (1-of-5), Derrick Rose (9-of-22), and Joakim Noah (4-of-16) were the main culprits. For the third time in four games, the Bulls failed to score 90 points. I wonder when the Vinny Del Negro ‘watch’ will come to an end anytime soon…Lawrence Frank anyone?

Other performances of note:

Tim Duncan: scored a season-high 34 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in a loss to the Suns. Nice to see a 30 and 10, as he’s playing a career-low 32 minutes per game on the season. You may not see another one in quite a while.

Roger Mason: Hit 5 treys last night on his way to scoring 19 points. Remember when we saw this Mason on a regular basis last season. Don’t expect him to return often this season.

Jerryd Bayless: Scored 14 points AND finished the closely contested game while Andre Miller sat glued to the bench. At this point, neither are reliable in standard leagues. Bayless has a nice future, but he’s not ready to contribute on a regular basis.

Rafer Alston: Skip scored 20 points, draining 4 treys in 18 minutes. Both Keyon Dooling and Chris Douglas-Roberts missed this one, opening up more minutes and more touches — also, Courtney Lee couldn’t buy a bucket (8 points on 3-of-14 shooting).

Jared Jeffries: Traaaaaiiiid Baaaaiiiiit! Jeffries had 6 steals, 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. The Knicks are loving his performance, but fantasy owners need not get too excited.

Chris Duhon: …on the other hand, here is a guy worth adding. Duhon continues to raise his dreaded FG%. His play has been pretty stellar — 18 points, 6 assists, 3 treys and a steal. I would add Duhon if he’s available in your league and ride him out. Then I would look to trade him as his value rises. Remember, Duhon burned out last season after the All-Star break. With D’Antoni playing just 7 or 8 guys, I fear that Duhon can’t keep the pace all season long. I also fear that I am iron deficient.

Raymond Felton: Add this dude. Like Duhon, Felton has been playing great ball of late. He added 4 more steals last night. That’s 15 over his last four. He’s also scored 14 or more points in four of his last five and dished 5.3 assists. He’s feelin’ it.

Jarrett Jack: What a dick. Six points, one assist and 5 turnovers in 32 minutes. Wasn’t he supposed to treat us well while we waited for Jose Calderon to return? I’m still starting him. He can’t get rid of me that easily.

Carlos Arroyo: He started in place of Mario Chalmers and scored 12 points and dished 3 dimes in 20 minutes. The news here is that Chalmers has been sent to the bench. He still has more value than Arroyo, but things aren’t looking good for the second-year point.

Richard Hamilton: He’s back for sure. 21 points last night (without Gordon and Bynum in the lineup). You can safely get him back in your lineup. Hey that’s great news.

*12 games on Wednesday night.

Sit: Ryan Gomes, Calderon, Douglas-Roberts, and T-Mac.

Check the status of Ben Gordon and Will Bynum.

Watch: Elton Brand, Allen Iverson and Jrue Holiday in Philly. Who gets what minutes?

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Daily Lies & Statistics: Gettin' ready for the tens

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Greg Fox| Leave a comment

As the aughts draw to a close, I reflect on the decade in horror as I’ve been an abject failure as a friend, husband, confidant, brother, uncle, son and mammal, but at least I’ve done pretty well in fantasy hoops. Until this year that is. The 2009-10 season has been absolutely brutal as I languish in eighth place. As my broadcasting idol Marv Albert would say “not what the Unhappy Hairstons had in mind.”

Jeff has been saying it for years – after the first week of the season it is impossible to move up or down in the standings.

With the seventh pick in the Damn Lies draft, I stuck myself with Amar’e Stoudemire, who pretty much stands like a statue on both ends of the floor and waits for Steve Nash to work a miracle and lead him for a dunk. The one thing he has going for him is his athleticism, but he remains glued to the ground on the defensive end, hence his 1.0 blocks per game. He is beginning to resemble an aging Olden Polynice.

Amar'e Stoudemire had a tough day at the office with all of that standing around

Owning Stoudemire and Devin Harris (my second round pick) this year is like having a case of rheumatoid arthritis. It’s a painful thing, but not bad enough to do something drastic. I think it takes great character to simply bitch and moan.

You know what else stinks? Owning players on Los Angeles, Miami, Oklahoma City and Denver who are not named Bryant, Wade, Durant or Anthony. No one else on those teams is allowed to shoot the ball in the fourth quarter. Rack up whatever points you can through three quarters fellas because it’s time to defer to the superstar.

After squeaking by a pathetic Golden State team at home to break their losing skid, the Bulls were housed by the Celtics the other night 106-80, but Vinny Del Negro still has a job.

The Sixers snapped their 12-game slide last night with a convincing 117-101 victory over the Warriors in front of a sparse crowd in Philly. The AI lovefest is screeching to a halt. Time to offer free tickets at the local Valero with every full tank of gas.

Monday’s Notables:

Hasheem Thabeet: The Grizzlies stayed in the game with the Celtics last night and Thabeet totaled 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in just 18 minutes of work. He recorded 5 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks in 21 minutes the other night at Miami and is worth keeping an eye on. His shot-blocking potential is staggering, but Marc Gasol has been too good for him to seize additional PT.

TJ Ford: Ford’s corpse was exhumed before gametime yesterday and he finished with modest totals (13 pts, 6 reb, 7 ast) in Indiana’s 106-98 loss at Orlando, but those are probably his most impressive numbers of the season. I had high hopes for the little man coming into ’09-10, but he has been a major disappointment. Maybe last night will get him going, but don’t give up draft picks for him just yet.

Mike Dunleavy: Dunleavy poured in 26 points in a starting role last night and his minutes limit must be a thing of the past as he played 33. He can help in several categories, especially 3-pointers, and would be a fine addition to any family looking for a very white 6’9″ man.

Thaddeus Young: Young has quietly been on a buttered roll the past few weeks and yesterday exploded for 26 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in the win over Golden State. With Elton Brand harnessed to the Sixer bench for long periods, Young has been rebounding with authority and should be in starting lineups moving forward.

Jose Juan Barea: Even with the return of Josh Howard, Barea has been seeing consistent time the past two weeks and last night erupted for 23 points on 10-13 from the field in the Mavs 94-90 win over the Hornets. If Jason Kidd were to ever go down, scoop up Barea immediately.

Chris Andersen: The Birdman exploited Nene‘s foul trouble to the max in Denver’s 102-93 win over the Thunder. He notched 15 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals in 32 minutes for easily his best performance of the season. While Nene is healthy Andersen will be far too inconsistent to start, but games like these lead to a good night’s sleep for his owners.

Jonny Flynn: The rookie point guard torched the Jazz for a career-high 28 points, including the game-winning bucket, as he led the T’Wolves to a surprising 110-108 win. He nailed 4 threes and handed out 5 assists along the way, and is a Ramon Sessions trade away from being a weekly must-start. He did get his derriere handed to him by Deron Williams last night (38 pts, 13 ast), but the talented Flynn is rounding into form.

Caron Butler: Butler finally posted the monster line (20 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, 5 st) that we expected to see regularly this season. What is not odd is that he did much of his damage while Gilbert Arenas was on the bench with foul trouble.

Eric Gordon: The second-year guard led a massive Clipper comeback win over the Wizards with 29 points (10-15 fg), 3 threes and 5 steals. He is back, he finally appears healthy and should be a staple in starting lineups.

Seven games tonight, including Knicks at Bobcats. Can’t wait to see the Nielson ratings on that one.

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