With Kyle Lowry and Andrea Bargnani out of the line-up due to injury concerns, Jose Calderon started for the Raptors and finished with a triple double (18 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists), plus a block and a steal. Eventually, Lowry and Bargnani will come back and there will likely be no place left for Calderon besides the bench, but for me, Jose will always have some value. He still remains in the top 12 in APG, while he won’t be having double digit assists every night (who is he, Rajon Rondo?), if he produces half of what he did on Sunday, that’s still excellent value for where you got him (probably waivers, given how many people dropped him). Besides Jose Calderon, there were some other highlights from Sunday evening, including the following:
Omer Asik – I was not aware that the proper way to spell Omer’s name is Ömer Aşık. It reminds me a bit of a underground metal band, or Homer Simpson’s name translated into Turkish. Anyway, the Omersexual grabbed 13 rebounds to go with 7 points and a steal. It’s his third game in a row with double digit rebounds, which, given his ups and downs the past month, means he will have 3 games of 7, 6 and 8 rebounds, followed by 11, 13 and 10 rebounds.
James Harden – I don’t need to discuss this guy, really, but I was impressed by his 14-15 free throws. He seems to get more fouls than a Tyson Chicken plant. For the season, he’s gone to the free throw line at least 9 times in 13 of 22 games. On November 23, he took 16 free throws, making all 16. He also took 16 on December 8, missing but one. Roughly 2/3 of his 25 PPG come from the free throw line, where he has a .850 shooting percentage. I find this fascinating. Guys I like, such as Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin, should really be ashamed of themselves. They aren’t just sloppy, but they hurt their teams by their inability to hit a bloody free throw (real teams or fantasy teams, that’s your preference). Anyway, Harden finished with 28 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.
Carlos Delfino – With 10 points, 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal, Delfino will comfortably stay on people’s watch lists. He’s 6-20 from the three point line over the past 4 games, including 2-7 last night.
Alan Anderson – With Mickael Pietrus and Jonas Valancuiunas both scoring 2 points each, Alan Anderson stepped up for 24 points to go with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 of 7 from downtown. Before you pop the champagne bottle, AA should be approached sober. I don’t see him approaching his points total again, even with the injuries hurting Toronto. Still, if you are hurting or looking for a streamer, he could have some minor short term value, maybe 10 PPG with a handful of peripheral stats.
Metta World Peace – The Lakers put together a nice game (for a change), and the player formerly known as Ron Artest was a big part of that, finishing with 19 points (including 3 from deep), 16 rebounds (5 offensive), an assist, 4 steals and 2 blocks. I’m surprised he’s still under 70% owned. Even inC a 10 team league, he’s worth owning.
Chris Duhon – He will be starting for the next week or two, at which point Steve Nash will return. As mentioned a few days ago, Duho will have short term value. Last night, he hit 4 (of 10) three pointers to wrap up the night with 14 points, 4 assists and a steal. Given the Lakers offensive performance, I would hope to see more than 4 points, but, you know, don’t drop anyone of value to carry Duhon.
Antawn Jamison – Saw 13 minutes of court time and finished with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 0 points.
Nick Young – With Jrue Holiday resting his sore foot, Young took over with 30 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. The highlight was Young swishing 6 of 12 from behind the arc.
Spencer Hawes – He had an explosive night by his standards, going for 16 points, 6 rebounds, an assist and 2 threes. He’s averaging 11/6.5/1 over the past 2 weeks, not counting this game. That’s…curious. I don’t trust Hawes, but he’s certainly making a case for himself.
Tyreke Evans – He left the game early after aggravating his sore knee. All you were able to get out of him were 2 points and a rebound.
Isaiah Thomas – He didn’t shoot well (3-10), but, as discussed earlier, if you make your free throws (in this case, 13 of 15), you can still contribute. Thomas had 20 points, which led the Kings, despite his 30% shooting from the floor. He also had 3 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.
Jason Thompson – He and DeMarcus Cousins (19/11/1) had double doubles for Sacramento, with JT putting up 16 points, 10 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and a block. He’s been good for about 12 points and 10 rebounds all month.
Kosta Koufos – Despite only one block, Koufos had a fine game with 12 points, 7 boards (4 offensive) and an assist.
Andre Iguodala – Iggy wrecked some balls last week after James touted him, and last night, Andre finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and a steal. If I had to guess, this will probably be the last time we ever discuss Andre Iguodala, ever, ever, ever again. I mean, what could we possibly need to talk about, right? Yeah, right.
Ryan Anderson – Say what you want about Ryan Anderson, but if they aren’t nice things, you’re wrong. On the night, Anderson accumulated 26 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 7 three pointers. Anderson, he’s your Forward.
Austin Rivers – With 33 minutes, and given his past few games, we’re hoping for a big show. Drum roll, please…8 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and a three. Hm. I really do need to own a paddle going down this Rivers.
Greivis Vasquez – I wonder if General Greivis will be in any of the new Disney produced Star Wars movies, or if Disney will even acknowledge the prequels much at all. As we ponder that, Vasquez dished out 11 dimes and hit 9 of 20 shots to finish with 23 points. In fact, he nearly had the triple double with 8 rebounds. When you get that kind of production, you have to ignore the 6 turnovers.
Nicolas Batum – Hell of a night for the string bean, with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals, 5 blocks and 3 threes. If you just looked at Batum, Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alridge highlights, you’d think the Blazers were actually good.
Damian Lillard – Speaking of my choice for rookie of the year without being halfway through the season, He hit 4 three pointers, including the game winner, and concluded the festivities with 16 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, aa steal and a block.
