Peja-riffic!
I will be hosting a
Live Fantasy NBA Chat every Monday at 2 p.m. EST and I look forward to talking to you this Monday. I've had a few email issues recently, but this should be a great way for you to ask your questions. A link will be provided in Monday's Daily Dose.
The Hornets are the story of the NBA, especially after Tuesday's win over the Lakers that pushed them to 4-0 on the season.
Peja Stojakovic and
Chris Paul set the fantasy world on its ear last night. Peja buried 10 threes on his way to 36 points, while Paul had 19 points and 21 assists. In addition,
David West added 22 points and eight boards and
Tyson Chandler just missed a double-double with 10 and 9.
Games like Stojakovic's and Paul's only come around once or twice in a career and it's strange that they both happened on Tuesday. If you own them both, you might be feeling like I was on Sunday night when one of my football teams included Joseph Addai, Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, Lee Evans and J.P. Losman.
The missing ingredient here is
Morris Peterson. I'll be the first to admit that I was wrong on Mo Pete this year. He's getting minutes and has the starting job for the Hornets, but he's hit 16-of-31 shots on the year and is averaging just less than 10 points, and is at a paltry 1.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists. On the plus side, he could get better and has hit six threes in four games. I'm not ready to declare him a full-fledged bust for the season, but we could be headed in that direction. It also looks like he's being pushed by
Rasual Butler for minutes, so it's time for Mo-Pete to get going, or I'm going to look like a Mo-Ron for pimping him all summer.
News and Notes from Tuesday's Action Raymond Felton escaped serious injury to his left knee last night when test results showed that he didn't suffer any significant damage. I picked up
Josh Childress last night, but then dumped him for
Jeff McInnis, just in case. By the time the news broke at 3 a.m. that Felton was going to be OK, Childress had been swiped by another owner. Luckily,
Bonzi Wells was still floating out there, so I grabbed him instead after his 14-points and 15-boards.
Emeka Okafor and
Chris Bosh had the kind of lines last night that make owners cringe. Luckily, both players simply struggled, and do not appear to be injured. They combined for 0-of-10 shooting, one point and nine rebounds on the night, but should both bounce back strong in their next game.
Amare Stoudemire says he will play tonight against the Hawks, which is bad news for
Al Horford and company. The Hawks have traditionally made average centers look like All-Stars, and All-Stars look like Hall-of-Famers, but this is a different Hawks team. Still, I would be surprised if Stoudemire doesn't light the Hawks up tonight. If Stoudemire sits, look for another big game from
Boris Diaw, who had 16 points and 11 assists last night. And even if Amare plays, Diaw appears to be back in form this season.
Plenty of bench players had big games in a couple blowouts last night, including
Jared Dudley (16 points, 11 boards) for Charlotte, and
Juan Dixon (20 points) and
Kris Humphries (16 points, nine boards) for the Raptors. There's no reason to pick one of these guys up unless you're in a 30-team league.
Josh Smith just missed a 5x5 game with 18 points, seven boards, six assists, five steals and four blocks against the Nets. He even hit a couple threes, although I'd like to see him just leave the bombing to
Joe Johnson and company.
Acie Law started at point guard and struggled, but it looks like he should be the starter the rest of the way for the Hawks. Pick him up if he's available, and stash him on your bench until he gets hot. I mentioned Childress earlier, and he was nice last night with 18 points and seven boards after struggling in his first two.
Antoine Wright has scored in double figures in three of the Nets four games and could be a nice find in real deep leagues. I'm not sure how he's scoring with
Vince Carter around, but he is.
Linas Kleiza had 18 points and a couple threes in a start for the Nuggets and is a deep sleeper. He should have some value, at least until the Nuggets get some of their guards healthy again.
Eduardo Najera was also nice with 13 points, nine boards and a three.
Kenyon Martin was out for precautionary reasons and Nene started, but Najera should get some run as long as he can stay healthy. He's worth a look in deep leagues.
J.R. Smith returned from suspension, but hit just 2-of-6 shots, which were both threes. He also attempted some awful shots, as usual.
The Knicks saw four players (Crawford, Randolph, Curry, Marbury) score 20-plus points as they beat the Nuggets in the "Brawl Rematch," but
Quentin Richardson's struggles continued. He, like Mo Pete, can be cut if you want to pick up a hot free agent. Just beware that both players will probably get it turned around at some point.
Jameer Nelson was a late scratch with a mild concussion, allowing
Carlos Arroyo to start. Nelson's injury isn't thought to be serious, so he should return soon.
Dwight Howard and
Al Jefferson had an intriguing matchup and combined for 53 points, 26 rebounds and zero blocks. How those two managed to put up those kind of stats without a block is beyond me.
Greg Buckner started at small forward for the Timberwolves, who moved
Ryan Gomes to PF and Jefferson to center with
Theo Ratliff sidelined.
Rashad McCants was injured in the game, meaning
Corey Brewer and
Marko Jaric both got some extra run. I get the feeling that the Wolves' secondary players are going to be tough to get consistency out of, but Jaric, Brewer and Buckner are worth a look right now.
Desmond Mason hit all 10 of his shots for 21 points for the Bucks, while
Charlie Villanueva played just 18 minutes against his former team. CV will be better at some point this year, but you have to think about cutting him in normal-sized leagues.
Bonzi and
Yao Ming were big for the Rockets, while the struggles of
Rafer Alston continued. I'm going to have a hard time cutting Skip, but another game or two of nothing and that's where we're headed.
www.houstonrockets.ws
Clipper
Chris Kaman played well through his leg injury, while
Cuttino Mobley blistered the Bulls for 33 points.
Ben Gordon and
Ben Wallace both struggled for the Bulls again. I'd let Gordon shoot his way out of his slump, but Wallace should be benched until he shows signs of life.
Add
Earl Watson to the lists of disappointments, as his shot just isn't working. He is probably on the verge of getting benched and savvy owners will keep a close eye on
Delonte West, who should be in for more run.
Wally Szczerbiak blew up for 32 points last night, but it remains to be seen whether it was a fluke or if he's going to be a solid contributor. Either way, he was worth a late-night pickup if you made the move.
Brad Miller looked better last night, giving his owners some hope for the future, while
John Salmons and
Kevin Martin were big in the Kings first win.
Francisco Garcia is the starting (and most effective) point guard for the Kings right now, so give him a look if he's still available in your league.
indianapacers.com LeBron James just missed a triple-double last night and
Daniel Gibson hit five treys in the absence of
Larry Hughes for the Cavaliers. Hughes is going to miss more time with a bruised knee, so take a look at
Sasha Pavlovic. He struggled last night, but will have value at some point. For the Warriors,
Monta Ellis was strong off the bench with 22 points, six boards, an assist, three steals, two blocks and three 3-pointers. Wow. He's good enough that he should be starting for your team whether he's starting or coming off the bench