Daily Dime #2: Return of the Kings

DET 85, NJN 107

I think Vince Carter likes it in Jersey.

Tonight he went off for 41 PTS, 11 REB, and 5 AST, to go along with 2 threes, 2 BLK, and 2 STL. Only three turns. 14-27 (.519) FG and 11-13 (.846) FT. If only I'd acquired him when he wasn't trying... Too late now. It's off the races for the rest of the season in the Meadowlands if his knee and Achilles and motivation hold out.

After games like his last two, Chauncey Billups was bound to give some back. Tonight he did, in a big way, going 3-10 from the field and 0-4 from three en route to 9 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST... and here's the kicker: 6 turnovers. Yikes.

Very clean performance from Tayshaun Prince. 17 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 1 TO, 1 three on 6-13 FG and 4-4 FT. But you know what the best part is? 4 BLK.

Detroit really got played like bitches in this game.

Darko even got some run at the end of this one and the no-longer-so-early returns confirm early diagnoses of his uselessness. In five minutes he missed one shot, grabbed one board, and committed one foul.

IND 84, ATL 79

Another nasty game for the boys in Indy and Atlanta.

DJ Jermaine scored 38 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, dropped two dimes and turned the ball over thrice. He went 15-23 from the field and 8-9 from the line. Would asking for at least one block or one steal be asking too much?

Tinsley sat this one out with a bruised left foot.

Stephen Jackson, back from his most recent suspension, really shat the bed.

I'll swallow my pride enough to acknowledge that both Al Harrington and Antoine Walker had very valuable fantasy nights, but I won't tell you exactly what they did, for fear you'll start thinking they're good, and then go do something stupid, like acquire one or both of them.

MIL 94, WAS 112

Mark my words: if Mike James keeps playing anywhere in the neighborhood of the 37 minutes he played tonight, he'll be a great add. 22 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST, 8-17 1-2 9-10. Nice.

Kukoc is dusting off those knees for another run at fantasy usefulness.

It looks like the Juan Dixon train has come to an inexplicable end in Washington. He played only 17 minutes tonight and did not impress. Steve Blake played 18. Jarvis Hayes played 32 and looked pretty umimpressive himself. Trust me: Juan Dixon is better than Jarvis Hayes, and he's much better than Steve Blake.

Etan Thomas had a bit of a breakout game with 23 points and 8 boards on hot FG shooting. He played 30 minutes. The force is strong with this one, particularly in rebounding and potentially in blocks. Keep an eye on him.

ORL 92, CLE 101

Grant Hill continues to do his thang thang despite a sore wrist, going for 17 PTS 6 AST 4 REB 2 STL 3 TO. The only thing that's suffering is his FT, and most teams can afford that hit.

Franchise: 9 AST/7 TO. He is not a point guard. Move him over to SG and I guarantee his turnovers will go down, his shooting percentages will go up, and his teammates will be happier.

LeBronius did 30 PTS, 9 AST and 6 REB to go along with 2 STL and only 1 TO. 9-21 FG and 12-13 FT. He's a manchild. Um, he shouldn't be on your wire, but just in case... he looks like a good add right now.

Drew Gooden had a nice night of 16-10-4.

Zydrunas forgot how to shoot tonight and he didn't feel like blocking shots.

But he still looks like that guy from FARGO.


Zydrunas Ilgauskas & Peter Stormare

CHI 97, MIA 108

Just when you thought the Bulls were starting to look good again, Scott Skiles decides to start dicking with his lineup. Skiles, known for being a screamer, and never the most patient teacher, feels like he needs to get "some more energy" into the lineup.

So he inserts Othella Harrington into the starting lineup and proceeds to play him a grand total of 4 minutes. Genius. Pure genius.

Basketball players are people, too. Having defined roles helps them succeed. Scotty doesn't seem to get this.

Kirk Hinrich's shooting has been icy-cold for a while now, and I feel I'm being punished for gloating about him so much. He played 31 minutes before fouling out and went for 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 three, and 1 turnover on (wait for it) 6-19 shooting from the field. If this is one of his bad nights, I can handle it. Look for him to go on a hot streak--like a seriously hot streak--sometime in the next two weeks, once Scotty has gotten the bunch out of his panties and Kirk knows the guys he'll be playing with on a nightly basis.

Curry played only 20 minutes but went 7-13 1-1 for 15 points. He also threw in 3 rebounds and 1 assist with no defense and no turnovers. I love Curry's offensive potential, but I can see why Scotty's a little upset: it's almost like Eddy is jumping out of the way of rebounds. And his block numbers, which had started to swell briefly to a point where Eddy was startable... well, they're no longer swollen. He's playing 23.0 minutes over his last five and going for 13 PTS and a little over 3 REBS in that time. Plenty turnovers. Not good.

Shaquille blew up ridiculous, going off for 26 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST, 5 BLK, 1 STL, 3 TO. BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE MAN would it kill you to do something about the free throws? He took 17 of them and he made 6. Damn, damn, damn. 8 year olds shooting granny style have better luck at the line than Shaq. Maybe he should try it. The average adult male would fare better while standing blindfolded at the line. It's just not acceptable, but those other numbers are so, so tasty that we can't stay mad at the Diesel for too long.

D Wade is the man. We all know this now. 25 PTS, 6 REB, 2 STL on 7-18 FG and 11-13 FT. Wade's uselessness from beyond the arc, his propensity to turn the ball over, and his unremarkable FT are the only things keeping him from being a truly elite fantasy guard. He's a great own and a great add, but look for him to improve these things before taking him in the first or second next year...

NYK 106, PHX 114

The Sun Show keeps rolling.

Not a game goes by where Nash's lines don't make me want to vomit. He's incredibly good. It's a career year in an already awesome career, and it's not going to change any time soon.

Nice (but just about average) nights for Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire in this one.

Joe Johnson and Q Rich both sucked tonight. Q Rich really really sucked. It looks like Jim Jackson might be taking some of Q's minutes. Maybe it's that killer Knick perimeter D that kept them so quiet.

Kurt Thomas had 4 points and 21 boards. Daaaaaamn.

Stephon went 33-4-6 with a steal, a block, and two threes. Great shooting, too. He's a keeper. But he's no Steve Nash.

NOR 92, UTA 108

Dickau is still blowing up, but not quite as ridiculous as games past. 14 points, 5 rebs, 4 dimes, 2 threes. Shooting didn't look so great, though, and he turned it over 4 times.

I'm already sick of Kirilenko's return to the lineup. He just too good and too not owned by me. I shan't discuss it.

GSW 91, DEN 107

Golden State looked tonight like the basketball wasteland that it is. Speedy brightened things only a little.

For what it's worth, Montgomery was never able to use his athletic players properly when he was at Stanford. We're talking about a guy who functions best with twelve white dudes playing half-court sets in suburban gymnasiums. This is a man who started Tony Giovacchini over Julius Barnes. What was the logic behind giving him a team full of NBA players?

K-Mart looking good. Carmelo looking overrated, again.

It looks like Karl's moving towards a pretty even minutes split between Camby and Nene. Good for Nene owners, bad for Camby owners.

CHA 99, SEA 113

Ray-Ray did it. So did Luke Ridnour, putting together an obscenely clean night. He played 40 minutes and Antonio Daniels played only 24. Keep an eye on this PT battle. Radmanovic made five threes and scored 23 points. This means that next time he goes scoreless, right?

SAC 108, POR 114

Webber, Stojakovic, and Mobley were all back in the lineup tonight after missing a few games each with nagging injuries.

Webber decided to celebrate for all three of them by dropping the old triple deuce, to the tune of 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. He also grabbed 4 steals and had the audacity to also drop a three pointer all up in that ass. Was he limping up and down the floor? My sources say yes. But that doesn't show up in the box.

Mike Bibby had a ridiculous night, scoring 35 points, grabbing five boards, dropping five dimes and 4 threes, all while finding the time to register one steal and one block against only 2 TOs.

So one would think that D. Miles and Zach Randolph would have regained their starting spots by now, but this is not the case. Randolph came off the bench to records 28 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes. D. Miles had 3 blocks and 1 steal in 22 minutes. He needs to start kissing Maurice's Cheeks if that's what it takes to get back in his good graces and playing more minutes. Do it for all of your fantasy owners, Darius. Ain't no shame in it.

Joel Przybilla continues to hint at his vast fantasy potential, grabbing 12 boards to go along with 8 points, 2 assists, and 1 block in 29 minutes. Either Godzylla or the Rattler is going to have to go back to the bench to make room for Randolph... The fact that Przybilla played 5 more minutes than Theo did gives me hope that Joel's tenacity on the boards will keep him in the starting rotation.