LeBron James felt, for a fleeting moment, like Bruce Springsteen. A stadium full of Midwesterners wearing t-shirts with his face on it, signs requesting that he do stuff; all waiting for the man of the night to put on a show. And he did. The Cavs, in turn, felt for a fleeting moment the energy of a team bound for the playoffs this season. But both moments weren’t called fleeting because they linger, Captain Antonym. They’re called fleeting because they lasted about as long as Cleveland’s competitive nature on Thursday night. They weren’t yelling “Broooooce!” LeBron. Maybe they were yelling “LeBrooooooooooon!” but probably not. Either way, it’s nothing he’s not used to. It’s nothing a little 38/5/8 performance won’t soothe. Oh, and that playoff lovin’ feelin,’ Cleveland? You lost that.
Hey! There were two games on last night. Here’s how they went, you fantasy basketball fans you:
James Jones – Bonus James coverage! After going 1-for-14 from the arc two weeks ago, he’s gone 12-for-21 in his last four, including 5-for-7 last night. ‘Tis what ’tis. Dude can shoot, that’s why he’s got two Js in his name.
Daniel Gibson – Scored a season-high 21 points on the strength of four treys. It first appeared Gibson was the booby prize (ithankyou) among owners who weren’t able to draft Mo Williams. Turns out, this season it’s Boobie who’s the tits.
Mo Williams – Shot 2-for-8 with 11 points and six assists. Couldn’t take seeing LeBron, I reckon. Wouldn’t it be funny … wait. ‘Funny’ isn’t the right word. Fitting. That’s the word. Wouldn’t it be fitting if by January, every Cav that was projected to start in the preseason comes off the bench? Williams-Parker-Moon-Jamison-Hickson were widely projected to start. One of those guys lost the starting gig, one never had it, two of them have been benched at one point and might return, and one of them is Williams, who looks and played basketball last night like John Legend.
Joel Przybilla – Should return on Friday. Get excited! Okay, fine. Will you at least get mildly pleased of his return if Marcus Camby‘s sore knee isn’t as healthy as he thinks it is?
Earl Barron – The Barron of Earl started for the first time in his five game-season and played his season-high 25:21. He made one of his four shots and turned the ball over thrice. Anyone with that many noble ranks in his name is almost certainly a royal pain. The minutes may be there, but the talent isn’t.
Channing Frye – 10/10. Grabbed double-digit rebounds for the first time since November 5. He’s averaging more rpg than than he did last year, but fewer rpm. Vroom!
Grant Hill – Scored 24 on Thursday and has scored at least 20 in four of his last seven. If he were six years younger, he’d be owned in more than 70 percent of fantasy leagues. If he were six years younger, he’d also have replaced his Walkman by now.
Andris Biedrins – Played almost 24 minutes, earned a 4/3 line, then left the game sick to his stomach. I know that feeling. He must own himself in fantasy.
Monta Ellis – 38 points on 27 shots. Monsta was beasting on Thursday. It was a beauty.
Dorrell Wright – His shot was off (4-for-13), but he led the team in rebounds and supplied a bit of everything else. IYACYOC!
David Lee – On Wednesday, I predicted Lee would go 26/8/6 in this game. He went 25/8/5. To be fair, my oracle’s fives look like sixes.
Stephen Curry – 9/1/7 with four steals. His 4-for-10 shooting was partially caused by getting poked in both eyes. Call him Stephen Blurry today, but he should be fine for Golden State’s next game.
Chris Kaman – Hopes to return and play limited minutes tonight against Denver. He was probably hoping to return to some other team besides the Clippers though.
