After another solid game of 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks, Marcin Gortat is looking like quite the deal from draft day. On Friday, he went 16/16 with 3 blocks, and on Halloween, he went 10/9 with 5 blocks. Before that, he had 14/11 with 4 blocks. In the preseason, I projected him at for 14.9 pts, 9.6 rbd and 1.4 blk. While the points and rebounds projections look spot on, I may have been way off on the blocks. He is averaging 4.0 BPG this season versus his career high last year of 1.5 BPG. It’s astounding, and if he keeps this pace up, he (average round pick: 4.4) can dethrone Segre Ibaka (average round pick: 2.4) as the king of blocks. Here’s what else happened Sunday (and even a few highlights from Saturday):
Jason Richardson – Before the first two minutes were up, he left the game after it appeared he twisted his ankle after stepping on a camera person’s shoe. He did not return. Rest in peace, Jason. You will be missed (until you return).
Lavoy Allen – If you need help at Center, Mr. Allen is not the option for you. He only played 25 minutes with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block.
Jrue Holiday – With 5 of 6 threes, he scored 27 points in a little over 40 minutes. He also had 7 assists but 6 turnovers. Frankly, I’m not sure why he played so many minutes, the Sixers were out of the game 30 seconds into it. Fantasy owners will take the assists, of course.
Spencer Hawes – He barely saw any Court time against the Knicks, playing 15 minutes for 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. He ran into some foul trouble early on and was basically benched for most of the game.
Thaddeus Young – Playing 36 minutes, he scored 16 points with 6 rebounds and 1 assist. I don’t know about you, but I expect a little more for that much floor time.
J.R. Smith – With nearly 35 minutes off the bench, he scored 20 points (including 2 threes), 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. If he keeps this up, he should be starting over Ronnie Brewer (9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal).
Jason Kidd – The old man scored 12 points with 6 assists and 3 steals. Even if he only plays 22-25 MPG, if he continues to have games like these with a few threes thrown in, he has value and should be on rosters beyond the 57% (in Yahoo! leagues) that he is in.
Brandon Roy – With 0-3 shooting, he still salvaged 4 points from the free throw line. Too bad he had 5 turnovers and 1 rebound, no assists, and 1 steal. Speaking of games, and I realize this has nothing to do with basketball, but I was going up against a random opponent this weekend in Hanging With Friends. Due to a generous arrangement of letters, I was able to play the following three words out of the gate: BUTTERY, JOVIAL, and QUILTED. My opponent, “01John01”, missed all three words and then sent me the following message, “I think ur cheating.” I was of course taken aback by such an accusation, as if the reason for his imbecility is that I was somehow playing unfairly. I responded by saying “I think I have a better vocabulary than you. Stay in school.” Johnny concluded our conversation (and game) with, “I no ur cheating and this is the new txt lang.” I thought Johnny was some dopey high school kid, but thinking terrible abbreviations is the “new” way people text makes me wonder if I was up against some middle aged twerp. Regardless of the age, I am sad for our country. Folks, if you take the time to read, you may learn a word like opprobrium. Anyway, before I lose my audience, let’s move on.
Andrei Kirilenko – His best days are behind him, but he still has some value, especially on this team. He shot 17 points to compliment 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. He must have been quite jovial after the game.
Landry Fields – Landry did not have a…*dramatic pause*…FIELDS-DAY against the Timberwolves, managing only 4 shots (hitting 2) for 5 points, along with 3 rebounds and 1 steal. It was still better than his Wednesday game, where he missed all of his shots. Baby steps.
DeMar DeRozan – He was a sexy name towards the back end of drafts, with plucky fantasy lads and lasses hoping for an accumulation of lustrous stats. Last night, he rewarded owners with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.
Kyle Lowry – This is what Toronto wanted from him, and fantasy owners will take it, too: 22 points, 7 rebounds (4 offensive!), 5 assists, and 3 steals. The night before, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 28 points.
Alan Anderson – Played nearly 31 minutes and scored 18 points, including 4 of 8 from downtown. I am not certain I have ever heard of him before and I am his father.
Hedo Turkoglu – He had surgery on his broken left hand on Saturday and won’t be back for at least four weeks.
Goran Dragic – Although he missed 4 of his 5 three point attempts, he finished the night with 12 points, 8 assists, and a steal.
Jared Dudley – Dudley Did Wrong with only 3 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in 25 minutes. He only has 2 points on Friday as well. I wouldn’t drop or bench him just yet (maybe I bench him in roto leagues), but he’s going to have to show something this week.
DeQuan Jones – With the injury to Jameer Nelson, Jones got the start but only lasted 16 minutes. The 2 point performance wasn’t cutting it.
Nikola Vucevic – Another possible draft day bargain, Vucevic double doubled with 18 points, 13 rebounds (6 offensive), 3 assists and a steal. I expect (hope for?) more performances like this and less like his prior game.
J.J. Redick – With 3 threes, J.J. tallied 24 points to lead the Magic. He also had 6 assists.
Etwaun Moore – Almost led the team in minutes (38:00), scored 15 points and racked up 6 assists and 3 steals.
Kyle Korver – He hasn’t had a season of double digit PPG since the last year of the G.W. Bush administration. If he keeps producing games like this (4 points, 1 steal, 1 assist), I’m wondering who is going to roster him, let alone start him.
Louis Williams – Lou-Lou played 27 1/2 minutes off the bench for 19 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals. If he didn’t miss 5 of 6 threes, it would have been an even better game.
DeShawn Stevenson – Although he played over 34 minutes, he only had 8 points and 5 rebounds. Hell, he only took 9 shots, but he missed 5 of 7 from downtown.
Al Horford – In less time than Stevenson, he scored 23 points with 12 rebounds, 3 assists and a block.
Serge Ibaka – He had his usual 3 blocks to go along with 14 points, but only had 5 rebounds. He didn’t start at Center, either. He already has dual PF and C eligibility, so it’s no benefit either way, but if you like random bits of information, there you go.
Kevin Martin – He did not start, he did not even play 30 minutes, but he did lead his team with 28 minutes, including 6 of 6 from beyond the arc.
Rodney Stuckey – Went 0-6 with 3 assists and 1 rebound. He entered the game just 1-for-17. Some things are cold. The polar ice caps, the bottom of the ocean, outer space. Stuckey may be colder than all of them.
Brandon Knight – Speaking of cold, Knight went 1-8 for 2 points. He at least managed 6 assists, although the 5 turnovers were unpleasant. The Pistons in general were off. The starters combined for 27 of the team’s 79 points. As for Knight, his production has not been overwhelming, but he has been good for double digit points and a healthy number of assists.
Jonas Jerebko – Led his team with 18 points and nearly 29 minutes of Court time, which admittedly came in some junk time as the Lakers annihilated the winless Pistons. He has otherwise averaged 12 PPG with nothing exciting in the peripheral statistics (1 APG, 2.3 RPG).
Jordan Hill – In 19 minutes off the bench, he scored 11 points with 7 boards and a block. That’s an improvement over his 1 and 2 point performances last week. Pro-tip: I would not have Jordan Hill on a team, unless you are in some kind of hellish 20 team league with 20 roster spots.
Metta World Peace – Ron Artest actually had a good game after three duds, going for 18 points (including 3-6 from deep), plus 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.
Kevin Seraphin – We always get questions about the fiery six winged celestial being, so this ones for all of youse guys out dere – on Saturday, he came off the bench and scored 19 points wth 4 boards, 4 dimes, and 2 takeaways. It seems like he is not being bothered by the calf anymore. “Moo.” – Calf
Isaiah Thomas – Although the game went into double overtime on Saturday, Thomas managed all of 5 points with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
Reggie Evans – In only 15 1/2 minutes on Saturday, he had 13 rebounds (plus 2 points, 1 block).
Omer Asik – On Saturday, he grabbed 15 rebounds but only shot for 4 points. He also had 2 blocks. Omergawd.
Mike Dunleavy – He exploded off the bench for 29 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
Anderson Varejao – He had 17 rebounds and 20 points on Saturday. 10% of Yahoo! leagues do not have him rostered. I guess 10% of Yahoo! leagues have 5 or fewer teams.
O.J. Mayo – He was on fire with 7 threes adding up to 30 points. In fact, he was a bit of a ball hog and only managed 3 assists, but hey, 30 points from a guy that isn’t named Kobe or LeBron is pretty good.
Jamal Crawford – Off the bench, he scored 27 points, including 4 of 8 threes. This goes with his earlier 21 and 29 point performances. It is too early to call this a comeback, but like a Russian submarine, he should be on your radar (still only 78% owned)
Blake Griffin – He double-doubled (19/11), but more interestingly, he hit 11 of 16 from the free throw line. I think people that avoided him did so to their own harm.
