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Kyle Lowry sprained his right ankle early on Wednesday but was able to finish with 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists on 5-of-11 shooting in a win over the Sixers. |
He played well late in the game and can probably use the All-Star break as much as any player to get healthy. Expect a big second half from Lowry, who has struggled at times recently. Goran Dragic is finally over the flu and had 11 points and three assists off the bench, but has very little value as long as Lowry is healthy. |
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Kevin Martin played 36 minutes and had 16 points, three assists and two 3-pointers in Wednesday's win over the Sixers. |
Martin has now scored in double figures in five straight and is averaging 19 points and two 3-pointers over that stretch. He could end up back in Kevin McHale's doghouse at any time, but for now it looks like the funk is over. |
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Nikola Vucevic came off the bench on Wednesday, but got hot to finish with a career-high 18 points to go along with eight rebounds, a steal and three blocks in 28 minutes. |
Lavoy Allen started and had four points and six boards in 17 minutes, but Vucevic clearly looked like the better player tonight. He had struggled over his last two games coming in, scoring just 2 & 8 points, but took a major step tonight. Spencer Hawes is due back at some point after the break, and after tonight's line, Vucevic looks like a nice add until Hawes is finally healthy again. |
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Quentin Richardson returned to action on Wednesday from a quad injury, but missed all three of his shots and failed to score in 20 minutes. |
Hedo Turkoglu was iffy coming in with an injury of his own, but was able to play tonight. As long as Turkoglu is healthy, Richardson has no fantasy value. |
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Jrue Holiday picked up a bad foul late in the first half, his third, which drew the ire of the Sixers coaching staff. He never recovered and finished with just six points, two assists and a steal on 3-of-9 shooting. |
Holiday had 22 points and four dimes on Tuesday, but didn't have it tonight. He's had a disappointing first half and heads into the All-Star break on a real downer. But he's being encouraged to shoot more and could be primed for a nice second half. Now is the perfect time to make some low-ball offers for Holiday, as his owner is probably fed up with the inconsistency. |
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Darko Milicic returned from a stomach muscle injury on Wednesday but had zero points and one rebound in six minutes. |
Nikola Pekovic is now and locked and loaded as the starting center for the Wolves, meaning Manna from Heaven should be dropped in almost all fantasy leagues. |
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Michael Beasley played just nine minutes and hit 1-of-3 shots for two points in Wednesday's win. |
Beasley could be headed to the Lakers at some point, but has cooled off considerably, scoring six or less points in four of his last five games. Get him benched until further notice, and if you have to cut him for a hot free agent, it makes some sense based on his last five games. |
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J.J. Barea scored a season-high 22 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists, and tied a career high with five 3-pointers in Wednesday's comeback win over the Jazz. |
He played 26 minutes and got hot, as Luke Ridnour (17 points, 35 minutes) and Ricky Rubio (32 minutes) also played a big role in the win. We're not sure how Barea is going to do this on a nightly basis while splitting time with Ridnour, but he's at least worth a look in most leagues now that he's finally healthy again. |
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Nikola Pekovic, who was doubtful coming in with a sprained ankle, started and had 15 points and 12 rebounds on 3-of-11 shooting in Wednesday's dramatic win over the Jazz. |
Pekovic has been a beast over the past couple weeks and pleasantly surprised owners by giving it a go tonight. He hit 9-of-10 free throws to salvage his fantasy line, as the Wolves overcame a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit for the win. Pekovic has rendered Darko Milicic even more useless than normal, and is a must-start fantasy center the rest of the way. |
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Luke Ridnour had 17 points, six assists and a 3-pointer in 35 minutes on Wednesday, and hit a late floater to cap off a 16-point fourth-quarter comeback win over the Jazz. |
Somehow Ridnour managed this line on the same night J.J. Barea scored a season-high 22 points. The two are going to share time at shooting guard and we doubt they'll both be able to stay so productive while splitting minutes, but it happened tonight. |
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Josh Howard started again for Raja Bell (strained adductor) and scored a season-high 19 points to go along with six rebounds, a steal and a 3-pointer on 8-of-15 shooting in Wednesday's tough loss to the Wolves. |
Howard might have won the starting job with tonight's performance, and is finally healthy. His next injury could be just around the corner, but if he does continue to start, he'll be worth a pickup in most leagues. |
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Devin Harris had 10 points, eight assists and two steals on 3-of-7 shooting in Wednesday's loss to the Wolves. |
Harris, who has struggled all season, is warming up, averaging 10 points, five assists, a steal and a 3-pointer over his last five games. If he was dropped in your league, he's playing well enough to help an owner desperate for help at point guard. |
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Ronnie Brewer had 15 points in Wednesday's win over the Bucks. |
He's starting at shooting guard in place of Rip Hamilton, who has now missed 11 straight games with a groin injury. He's scored 15 and 13 points in his last two, but was struggling previously. He's worth a deep-league look for as long as Hamilton is out, but you have to think Hamilton will be close to returning shortly after the All-Star break. |
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Taj Gibson came off the bench for nine points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's win. |
Gibson had a nice game despite big lines from Joakim Noah (triple-double) and Carlos Boozer (20 & 7), and is averaging nine points, six boards, a steal and nearly a block per game over his last five, making him worth a look in deeper leagues, despite his bench role. |
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Joakim Noah had 13 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists and a block on 3-of-6 shooting for his first triple-double as the Bulls beat the Bucks on Wednesday. |
The Bucks were focused on shutting down Derrick Rose with traps, and Noah took advantage of the situation by playing some point-center. He's the first Bulls center to triple-double since Artis Gilmore went off for 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocks in 1977. |
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Carlos Delfino hit just 3-of-12 shots for seven points, but played a whopping 38 minutes in Wednesday's loss to the Bulls. |
Delfino is locked and loaded as the team's starting small forward, and should be better than this on most nights. Stephen Jackson missed another game with a hamstring injury, while Mike Dunleavy hit just 1-of-7 shots in 18 minutes. Delfino is worth owning in all leagues as long as he's starting and getting these kind of minutes, and just had an off night. |
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Jon Leuer started at center and had 14 points, four rebounds, a steal and a block on 7-of-11 in 20 minutes for the Bucks on Wednesday. |
He's worth keeping an eye on in deeper leagues, but it sounds like Drew Gooden should be back shortly after the All-Star break. And if that happens, Leuer will quickly become an afterthought. |
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Steve Novak hit 6-of-12 shots and five 3-pointers on his way to 17 points in Wednesday's easy win over the Hawks. |
Novak has scored 14, 5, 14, 8 and 17 points in each of his last five games, but the common thread is 3-pointers, as he's drained 15 of them over that stretch. If you need a 3-point shooter there may not be a better one on waivers, but it really depends on your league's format as to whether he's worth picking up or not. He's getting just over 20 minutes per game, and while he's been very productive with them, a slump would quickly end his run. |
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J.R. Smith had 12 points, five rebounds, five steals and a 3-pointer on 4-of-8 shooting in 25 minutes of Wednesday's win. |
Smith is going to be worth keeping an eye on going forward, but as long as Carmelo Anthony and Landry Fields are healthy, and Smith is coming off the bench, look for a mix of big lines and bad games going forward. Which is nothing out of the ordinary over Smith's turbulent career. |
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Carmelo Anthony had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals, a block and a 3-pointer on 7-of-16 shooting in 27 minutes on Wednesday. |
Melo hasn't exactly been a beast in nearly a month, but is at least healthy and playing again. The Knicks have one more game before the break and Melo should be back in fantasy lineups on Thursday. The hope is he'll come back fully healthy after the break and start playing well again, but with the emergence of Jeremy Lin and the arrival of J.R. Smith, that might be easier said than done. Melo was already averaging a measly 21.8 points per game on the season, and that number may continue to fall over the second half. |
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Jeremy Lin hit 6-of-11 shots and a 3-pointer on his way to 17 points, nine assists and two steals in Wednesday's easy win over the Hawks. |
It's become clear that Lin isn't going anywhere and owners planning to sell high on him better get an extremely good package in return. Lin had four more turnovers tonight, but the rest of his game is top notch. |
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Marvin Williams returned to the starting lineup after missing a game for personal reasons on Wednesday and missed all six of his shots, failing to score in 27 minutes. |
If he didn't request a trade to get him out of Atlanta, he didn't do anything to show his love for the team in this one. A change of scenery would probably do Williams some good, but whether or not the Hawks move him remains to be seen. |
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Jeff Teague hit 7-of-12 shots and two 3-pointers for 18 points in Wednesday's loss to the Knicks, but somehow managed to not hand out a single assist on the night. |
He did have three steals and a block to go along with the points and 3-pointers, and while his lack of dimes is annoying, he was slumping offensively in his previous two games, and needed a nice offensive game for his psyche. He's on the verge of being dropped in some leagues, but we'd recommend hanging onto to him and seeing how he looks after getting some time off over the All-Star break. |
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Willie Green started in place of Joe Johnson and had 16 points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a 3-pointer on 7-of-16 shooting in Wednesday's ugly loss to the Knicks. |
Green might be good for another fantasy start on Thursday with Joe Johnson out again, and has scored between 16 and 20 points in three of his last four games. |
Player News - Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
