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| Josh Howard scored 24 points and pulled down seven rebounds in Dallas' loss to the Celtics on Thursday night. Howard's near 20 points and seven rebounds per game challenges veteran Dirk Nowitzki for top offensive numbers on the team. |
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| Tony Allen, who has been replacing the injured Ray Allen, was inactive for the win in Dallas with a bruised lower back. Allen has little fantasy value if teammate Ray Allen is healthy and active. |
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| Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points and registered 19 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as Dallas fell to 0-7 against teams with winning records since perennial All Pro Jason Kidd arrived in Texas. Dirk continues to reward his fantasy faithful and his season average of 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists make him a top-tiered option in any format. |
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| Paul Pierce scored 22 points and a recorded a season-high 13 rebounds helping Boston keep the best overall record, 55-13, in the league. It was Boston's 14th win in 15 games, and the team's first win in Dallas since 2000. Pierce continues to be a top fantasy contributor averaging 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game. |
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| Ray Allen returned from a three-game absence to an ankle injury and scored 21 points in 31 minutes helping the Boston Celtics complete the Texas hat trick with a win over the Dallas Mavericks 94-90 on Thursday night. The Celtics are getting healthy and gelling at the right time as they swept all three Texas teams this past week, a feet that Boston hadn't completed since the day of Bird and McCale. |
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| Luol Deng led the slumping Bulls in Thursday's 102-80 loss to San Antonio scoring 18 points and registering seven rebounds. It's the 20th straight game that Deng has scored in double figures. His 17 points and nearly seven rebounds per game this season make him a solid fantasy option. The issue with Deng has been the 19 games he's missed to injury. |
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| Tim Duncan registered a double-double in Thursday's win over the Bulls on Thursday night. Duncan, who rested the entire fourth quarter, scored 22 points and added 10 rebounds in the 102-80 rout over Chicago. |
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| Tony Parker scored 23 points as the San Antonio Spurs ended a four-game losing streak with a 102-80 rout of the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
The defending NBA champs avoided their first five-game losing streak since the 1996-97 season and maybe more important, Parker were able to rest the entire fourth quarter as crunch time approaches in the NBA. |
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| Ray Allen was back in the starting lineup for Boston on Thursday. An ankle injury had the Celtics All Star questionable for the game. Ray Allen, when healthy, subdues the fantasy value of backup Tony Allen. |
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| Isiah Thomas made it clear Thursday he's playing for the future by revealing the Knicks probably will not use Zach Randolph the next two games, this according to SI.com.
With starters Stephon Marbury and Eddy Curry out for the season and Quentin Richardson questionable, the Knicks could be missing nearly their entire starting lineup when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.
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| Kirk Hinrich did not dress for Thursday's game against the Spurs with a sprained right ankle. Ben Gordon replaces Hinrich in the starting lineup.
Hinrich originally suffered the injury when he landed on Larry Hughes' foot during the first half of Tuesday's victory over the Nets. The team considers their guard day-to-day. |
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| Mickael Gelabale was lost for the remainder of the season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, this according to SI.com.
Gelabale was injured in practice on Tuesday. He underwent an MRI on Wednesday and team physicians confirmed the injury Thursday morning. The team has yet to announce the date for his surgery. Gelabale was averaging 4.3 points and 1.5 rebounds per game this season. |
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| Gordan Giricek, who missed the Seattle game with a quadriceps contusion suffered in a collision with Portland’s James Jones on Tuesday, is expected to be back for the Rockets game on Saturday night. According to the East Valley Tribune his availability isn't set in stone until he can get through practice on Friday.
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| As expected, Raja Bell will miss Saturday’s game against Houston, this according to the East Valley Tribune. Bell sprained his right ankle late in the third quarter of Wednesday’s win over the Seattle Sonics.
Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni said Bell won’t play against the Rockets and that Leandro Barbosa will start in his place. Bell is considered day-to-day but could be available for the opener of a four-game road trip Monday in Detroit. |
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| The Rockets will sign center Loren Woods to a 10-day contract on Thursday night, this according to the Houston Chronicle. The ex-Raptor will fill the Rockets' lone roster spot. The team hopes to have Woods ready to join the team by Friday's game against the Golden State Warriors.
The 7-2 center out of Arizona has averaged 2.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 208 NBA games resulting in zero fantasy value. |
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| Carlos Boozer is expected to play Thursday night, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. He is expected to play after suffering a lower back strain against the Raptors. Boozer said, "It's been nagging for about two months and it finally pulled in the Toronto game." Boozer is averaging 21.4 points and 10.6 boards per game this season and would be a big boost for the Jazz to get him back tonight against the Lakers.
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| Mehmet Okur will try to play through his flu on Thursday, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. He commented, "I'm here, but I'm not. Do you know what I mean?" He is averaging 14 points and 7.1 boards per game and hopefully he can return and be effective. |
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| Ray Allen is listed as probable for Thursday, according to The Sports Network. Allen missed his previous three games due to a bruised left heel. Allen is averaging 18.3 points per game this season. |
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| Chris Wilcox sprained his pinkie finger during battle with Phoenix on Wednesday night, and will be questionable for the team's upcoming two-game road trip. This according to the Tacoma News Tribune. Wilcox is averaging 13.4 points and seven rebounds per game and his services will be missed if he ultimately cannot go. |
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| Amare Stoudemire posted good numbers on Wednesday night (20 points and 6 boards) but he played sloppy as he committed nine turnovers and only hit 6-of-11 free throws. After the game he commented, “My passes, my catches, my free throws, it was all no good. But it’s all about the fourth quarter and I was able to finish strong and we closed it out.” This according to the East Valley Tribune.
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| Raja Bell sprained his right ankle during battle with Seattle and could miss a few games, according to the East Valley Tribune. Bell commented, “The foot was in my landing area when I came down. That happens when you challenge shots. The sprains when you are in the air and bring your whole weight down on them tend to be the most serious. I’m usually not a guy who swells, and this one is swelling, so that’s not good. It’s pretty sore. I’ll probably have a better feel for it today." Bell notably hit all six long range shots before getting hurt, and is averaging 12.1 points per game.
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| The Clippers may have suffered another loss, but Al Thornton put his best foot forward against the Golden State Warriors. The rookie played nearly 45 minutes, posting 24 points with 13 rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Thornton is going to be a bright note for the Clippers in the years to come and tonight is just a flash of his full potential. He’ll be a key ingredient in the Clippers climb back to prevalence, but for now, he is too volatile for fantasy responsibilities. |
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| Monta Ellis has come on strong in recent weeks for the Golden State Warriors and once again pushed his team to victory, defeating the Clippers 116-100. Ellis posted 28 points with six assists and three rebounds on the evening. Only Stephen Jackson scored more for Golden State (29). Ellis has polished his offensive prowess and seems to be following the lead of veteran Baron Davis. He has a long way to go to reach that level, but the journey has been started. |
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| Steve Nash found his groove and posted a double-double in the Suns’ win over Seattle (110-98), scoring 23 points with 11 assists. Nash has struggled in recent weeks and seems to have lost a step with Shaq in the fold, but tonight shows that the team may finally be formulating the chemistry needed to make noise in the West. |
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