I’ve never been a huge fan of his, but at least Mo Williams makes it really easy to have a punny title…
I would’ve said you’re as high as Busta Rhymes if you told me Mo Will was about to drop 50 last night. What a crazy, crazy world we live in where the T’Wolves finally break out of their 15-game losing streak behind a franchise record 52-point game. Some really weird biguns for the Wolves, remember when Corey Brewer put up 51 last year? So both of those guys stay in the franchise record books as better scorers than Kevin Love or Kevin Garnett. Go figure. Makes me wanna headbutt something! Mo with an unbelievable line of 52/4/7 hitting 19-33 FG (6-11 3PTM 8-9 FT). Where to even start with the crazy?! Mo hadn’t scored 30 since MARCH 2012 (!!) according to our friends at Rotoworld. I would look at his game-logs to fact check, but we don’t fact check! And as good as this game is, he’s not even a good pickup! I think that’s the craziest thing… Ricky Rubio is almost back to retake the PG minutes, and even if Flip wanted to run some combo guard lineups out there, Kevin Martin (so many Kevins in Timberwolves history!) is almost back. Plus this game should make him easier to sell in the NBA. Might get the Wolves a first rounder. So while Mo is maybe worth an add for the very short-term (only 32% owned on Yahoo late last night), I’m certainly not losing anyone of value for him. Here’s what else went down on a crazy and injury-riddled night of NBA action:
Gorgui Dieng – Choo choo! With the impending return of Nikola Pekovic, the Dieng train keeps on chuggin’ with a 10/10/6/3/2 rainbow line even after getting pile drivered. The Dieng train is chuggin’ along faster than the Snowpiercer!
Zach LaVine – Played four minutes, had 2 fouls and one turnover. Four minutes with two fouls and one turnover is John Madden’s late night snack.
Andrew Wiggins – Wiggin’ out for Wiggins! Playing great and even with Mo Will overshadowing with his nutso game, the rook ended up with 20/3/4/0/1 and 6-6 FT. The free throws are flowing and he’s shooting pretty well – I’m a little worried for K-Mart stockerholders. Both the business and Kevin Martin…
Roy Hibbert – Choo choo! Not a big fan of the Dieng train. Tackled him and got ejected with a flagrant 2. Played 21 minutes for 10/8/1/0/1, yet that’s still better than most of his games in the second half last year…
Rodney Stuckey – Came off the bench, but had a solid outing for 13/5/1/2/1. He’s had some mild usefulness here and there, but even though he was coming off food poisoning I think he’s best suited for that 6th man role.
Austin Daye – New nickname! “The Magic Man”! “Now you see me, now you don’t!”
Kevin Seraphin – I’ve mentioned a few times I’ve been impressed with his game and strides forward this year, and got rewarded with minutes down the stretch over Marcin Gortat last night. Ended up with a 17/8/1/0/1 line hitting 6-8 FG and 5-5 FT in 20 fantastic minutes. Sure the Spurs struggle with interior defense, but that actually makes the fears for Gortat even worse as he’s a big bruiser vs. Seraphin more a finesse guy. I don’t think Gortat will ever get yanked from the starting 5, but Seraphin is surely on the map.
Al Horford – Man, are the Hawks all the sudden the Spurs of the East?! Coach Butthole put Jeff Teague, DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap all in the roost, letting Horford rack up all the stats he could against a horrific Sixers team. I watched a good bit of this game and it was sloppier than a drunk Snooki eating a sloppy joe (could’ve gone a lot worse there). Horford looked like he was playing against a high school team, and got one of the most ridiculous, orchestrated – – almost like Budenholzer had money in Vegas that Horford had 3,000:1 odds of getting his first career triple-double. 21/10/10 with a swat and 8-10 FG and 5-6 FT. Sell high!
Dennis Schroder – 13/1/6/1/0, but had 4 TO and didn’t look quite as good as…
Shelvin Mack – …who got a dimebag in the junk time! It’s a shwag dimebag… 12/1/10/2/0 with a couple of treys. He’s a really solid player that’s found his way into a lot more Hawks minutes than anyone would’ve expected in his brief career. Maybe he gets a shot down the road somewhere…
Tony Wroten – Sprained his knee in the second half last night and is already doubtful for tonight. A knee issue cost him some time earlier in the year, so this could be something lengthy again. Unless they wanna rush it and trade him…
Michael Carter-Williams – Had his 5 TO which is par for the course, but given how bad this game was he had a really good line for 20/9/4/1/1 on 8-13 FG and 3-3 FT. No Wroten should mean even higher MCW usage and minutes. Which could be a good or bad thing…
LeBron James – He’s back! The king is back! All is right in Cleveland! Anddddddd, they lost to the Suns… BronBron looked sharp though, shooting 11-18 FG (3-8 3PTM 8-13 FT) for 33/7/5/1/0. He had a nice +4 while…
Kevin Love – …is so friggin’ terrible. Boosted his career numbers by being on a bad T’Wolves team! Shoulda given more rock to Corey Brewer! 9/9/0/0/1 on 3-11 shooting in 27 +/- -20 minutes. Sure it’s a Suns team that likes to go small, but they made Love’s numbers go even smaller!
J.R. Smith – Sometimes ya hot, and sometimes ya not. And this ThrAGNOF was hot! 10-19 FG for 29 Pts including 8-14 from deep. Still wasn’t enough for a W.
Markieff Morris – M-V-P! M-V-P! 35/7/1/1/0 on 15-21 FG with a couple of treys. Unguardable! LeBron wasting all that energy on O gave him a tiny d.
Miles Plumlee – As Slim mentioned on the Pod yesterday, Brandan Wright is getting his minutes at C (13 last night) and it’s death blow to the elder Prof. Plum. 3 minutes off the bench. Youchie.
Alex Len – Doesn’t help that Len played a TON of minutes. 37 for 13/10/3/1/1 on 5-8 FG and 3-4 FT. Back-to-back 30+ minute games and 3 straight over 29. Lensanity!
Andrew Bogut – Started at C against the Jazz, did virtually nothing in 26 minutes, Marreese Speights played 22 minutes off the bench for meh, and David Lee had the nice line, going 10/8/4/2/2 in a rainbow in 24 minutes. Now, Draymond Green only played 24 minutes as well which certainly won’t continue, especially when you factor in the Jazz play three Cs at PF & C more or less. Still not buying any Warriors front-courter other the #Occupy.
Rudy Gobert – You don’t start me, no problem! 32 minutes for 16/11/4/2/3 on 4-9 FG and 8-11 FT. Absolutely ridiculous. And on top of it, Enes Kanter starts and plays 32 minutes with Derrick Favors playing 30. It’s a three-headed beast, and while I’m higher on Gobert than coming into the night seeing this distribution, Trevor Booker had a stomach issue and sat out. Not that he’s a big factor or anything, but that’s maybe 10 minutes to cut out somewhere…
Kobe Bryant/Nick Young/Wesley Johnson/Ronnie Price/Carlos Boozer – The Lakers need to change their team name to The Labradoodles. These schlubs for a combined 9-55 from the field. And yet the Heat still BARELY won. Although they definitely have a good reason…
Tarik Black – He’s not particularly special, but I liked his motor and I think sticks with a 20ish minute role for deep leaguers (cough, me in REL) even when everyone is healthy. 9/9/2/2/0 last night, and I think could be a dubdub threat. It’s at the cost of no blocks and bad FT%, but I’m keeping an eye on the minutes there.
Jordan Hill – Who Black really impacts, and Hill “might have” hyperextended his knee last night which could give Black some extended run. The Lakers will find any reason not to play Hill in a bigger role even when he’s healthy, and maybe Hill just can’t handle it… 12/6/0/0/0 last night, and firmly behind a lot of the hot young bigs emerging even if he doesn’t miss time. Like…
Hassan Whiteside – …man, how many teams passed on a chance for this guy?! I’d guess 29! 15/9/0/0/5 on 7-9 FG and I’m all-in now with the masses. He’s a monster. I’d still take Gobert over him but vs. Jamba Jusuf Nurkic is totally needs based. Might have played a few more minutes if not for 2 early fouls too. That’s the big knock on him is the high foul rate, but high projections for Whiteside’s blocks ROS seem pretty warranted after watching him last night.
Dwyane Wade – Left with a strained hammy. He said it’s not as bad as the one that cost him 7 games earlier, but it’s gramps Wade we’re talking about. Certainly will be out tonight and it’s why you can’t trust him down the stretch. Not that I’m saying anything new.
Mario Chalmers – Pick him up! Owned in 54% of Yahoo leagues late last night, Hearts of Chalm was dropped in a ton of leagues and is a must-own for when Wade is out. 19/3/8/2/0 last night and always ballin’ without King Koopa hogging the ball.
DeMarcus Cousins – Quaddub alert! 32/16/9 with 9 TO. Why wouldn’t his best game – minus the TO – on the year be against me in the REL?
Rudy Gay – A big reason Cuz went usage-hangry. Hurt his knee, and already had an MRI that revealed nothing but a strain. I’d guess he misses at least one game, but looks like we dodged a big Gay bullet.
Derrick Williams – Thrust himself into the Gay void for 12/10/2/2/0 in 36 minutes. Meh. No way I would stream him for the Kings next game on Friday…
Ben McLemore – Took a shot to the eye and didn’t return in OT. It was a nice shiner, so he might miss a game. Nik Stauskas or Ray McCallum might get a fluky batch of minutes if Ben Mac is out.
Tyson Chandler – Rolled his ankle and he’s old. He stayed in the game, but could easily swell into a kankle situation by tomorrow. Stay tuned to see if he suits up.
Rajon Rondo – This is getting comical. Has a fine game (21/5/7/4/0) but ANOTHER o-fer at the stripe?! 0-3 last night, and has fallen below making 1/3 of his FTs. Granny shot time?
Monta Ellis – Whoa, dimebag alert! Who woulda thought Ellis would be slingin’ dimebags over Rondo?! 28/4/10/4/1 last night with a couple of treys. One of Ellis’ best on the season.
Streamers/Cheap Daily League Picks:
Greivis Vasquez (8% owned) – Ewwwwww! I just recommended a Twerp… But he’s had some decent games lately off 16/3/4/1/1 last Monday night. You know I like to start with guys against the Sixers, and even though Wroten is a TO factory and is out, JaKarr Sampson is now the backup PG for junk time and is even clumsier.
Bismack Biyombo (2% owned) – It’s almost become a credo of the season that you should except big games from your post guys against the Spurs! Off his best game of the year going 14/11/1/1/1 against the Knicks, the Spurs don’t really have any stretch bigs in their rotation except Boris Diaw (and I guess Matt Bonner, but he’s barely playing lately), so I see a healthy dose of the Bismack tonight.
Thanks for dropping by, and good luck to your squads on a busy Wednesday!
