As a very fair skinned, freckly and tall guy (makes me closer to the sun) I have had my problems beating the heat. One time in college (I went to UNCW so on the beach) I got burnt so bad on my legs it made me get shaky and more loopy than Joseph Gordon-Levitt. My friends thought I pulled an Ewan McGregor and snuck in some heroin. Suffice to say, I got some serious additional freckling on my calves. With their long slender shape and pretty much invisible blonde hairs, I could pass them off as Lindsay Lohan’s legs. Enough celebrity mentions already!
Unfortunately for the Celtics, St. Patty’s didn’t carry on into Monday night as the Heat led by LeBron James’ 37-7-12 (including this abuse of Jason Terry) were able to keep the streak alive at 23. Although the city of Boston probably would have gotten blackout drunk again either way. With no Kevin Garnett, the C’s gave another start to Jeff Green who exploded his green-ness on the Heat like Nickelodeon gak. He was the Green Monstah last night, going for a career-high 43 with 5 3PTM, 7 Rebs, 2 Asts, 2 Stls, and 4 Blks. Easily one of the best fantasy lines of the year for who is becoming a huge pickup for owners who nabbed him. Speaking of getting nabbed, check out this guy nabbing a few boogers on national TV. Proves you can do anything if you have the charm. Just look at that wink with the debonair of Mark Harmon/Dennis Quaid. I thought no more celebrity references!
Let’s take a look at what else went down last night across the NBA:
Kobe Bryant – After trying to pull a Curt Schilling, the Mamba’s ankle gave way and now he’s got the flu, keeping him out of two straight games. The fact he was back even for a quarter one game after the injury is encouraging, but my extensive medical background reminded me that your joints swell when you have a sickness, so it still might be a little while.
J.J. Hickson – No signs of injury, yet Terry Stotts gave a middle finger to fantasy owners limiting Hickson to 16 minutes and a 4-6 game. A bit concerning if you need the double-double a night.
Jrue Holiday – Your my boy, Jrue! Two straight 27 Pt games going 27-8-6-1-1. And the Sixers won a game!
Dorell Wright – The Price is Wrong bitch! Well even when you go 5-14 off the bench, you can have value as Wright hit 2 3’s, scored 16 with 8 Rebs, 4 Asts and 3 Blks. Still in kind of that fringy “to be on my fantasy team or not to be” but if you need 3’s and a smatter of other stats, I nab him.
Gerald Henderson – Another big scoring game, which isn’t too surprising, but he added in 8 assists to his 27 points in a Bobcats win over one of my best friend’s Wizards. I told him break up the elite Bobcats. Plus Bismack Biyombo posterized Emeka Okafor, former Bobcat and former good defender. Ok maybe that’s a bit harsh.
John Wall – Continues to play at an elite level, going 25-4-5-2-1. Glad I stashed him on my teams. At the behest of Michelle Pfeiffer, I did get high on my own supply.
Garrett Temple – Remember when he was a flavor of the week in December? With Bradley Beal and A.J. Price out, Temple has very quietly put up double-digit scoring in his last four, averaging 37.5 minutes. Went an uber-efficient 6-8 FG (2-2 3PTM) 17 Pts 5 Rebs 3 Asts 2 Stls and 1 Blk last night. Worth a look if you need minutes.
Trevor Ariza – Probably the most mentioned player since I have taken over the reigns (well maybe besides questions asking when Derrick Rose will be back), and went a decent 7-5-4 with a 3. I know that’s not gonna cut it, but coming off an injury and still getting those minutes (29) is encouraging enough for me. Unless there’s great options on the wire, I stand pat.
Tyler Hansbrough – With David West missing last night due to a lower back spasm, Psycho-T got the start and got a double-double in only 23 minutes. If you’re in a deep league and West is out again tonight, Hansbrough’s worth a spot start.
Gerald Green – Put up 20 Pts last night out of nowhere. He’s played in only 2 other games in his last 15. I need to see more.
C.J. Miles – Scored 21 Pts off the bench last night as Dion Waiters had to prematurely exit with a sore knee. Can’t tell you how many times that happened to me. If Waiters misses any time, Miles could be a 20-a-night kinda guy, but with paltry peripherals.
Darren Collison – Had one of his biggest nights of the season throwing up 24 against the Hawks, but he hasn’t scored that much in over 70 days. Still a good fantasy option though.
Devin Harris – Got the start alongside Jeff Teague and promptly did virtually nothing, going 10-1-2-1-1. Not that that’s horrific, but he won’t get blocks and still only played 23 minutes. Just because he’s a “starter” it doesn’t boost his value.
Will Bynum – I like Bynum more than Nate Robinson (although that isn’t saying much), but Bynum decided to throw up N-Rob numbers going 8-19 18 Pts 5 Rebs 6 Asts and a Stl. Ok so that’s not too shabby. With Brandon Knight still ailing with the ankle and post-DeAndre Jordan
PTSD, expect Bynum to continue to have value.
Nate Robinson – I guess after slamming him I do have to mention Robinson’s game last night. 34-1-7-2 with 6 3s. Yea if you think that’s a typical night he can have, I can sell you this car that’s working great, I promise, it just needs a tune-up. Speaking of I have to get my oil changed today and BMW’s have to get synthetic. If that’s not a wallet rape I dunno what is.
Wilson Chandler – Another huge outburst from Wilson, going 13-21 FG (1-2 3PTM) 35 Pts 9 Rebs 4 Asts and 2 Stls. He’s sporadic, but going at Oklahoma City tonight, they’ll need his hot hand.
Corey Brewer – One of my favorite under-the-radar guys, C-Brew went 7-13 FG (2-6 3PTM) 16 Pts 4 Rebs 2 Asts and 3 Stls. If you need a guy who can do it all, forget Jason Bourne or Val Kilmer in Spartan, go with Brewer. Speaking of Brewers, go Crew!
Nikola Pekovic – Second game back after missing a few weeks with ab issues, and went an underwhelming 3-9 FG 9 Pts 5 Rebs and a block. I watched this game and he looked fine to me, just needs more minutes (24 last night). A lot of those misses were tough layups inside. I’m excited for playoffs with Peks.
Jarrett Jack – An ugh game for sure. 4-9 FG 9-2-5-1. Wahhhhh I’m Jarrett Jack!
Eric Gordon – Still sitting out the second game of back-to-back matchups. I guess when you’re out of it and about to change team names, you might as well not hurt your players on top of your image.
Los Angeles Lakers – No Kobe? No problem! Well that’s what the team shrink told them all. Only managed 76 points against the friggin’ Suns. Shot 33.3% from the field. Yikes. The Suns starting lineup? Goran Dragic, P.J. Tucker, Wesley Johnson, Markieff Morris and Jermaine O’Neal. If that doesn’t instill fear into other teams, I don’t know what will.
New York Knicks – Actually won on the road. Might have to reconsider taking Stevie Nicks.
Don’t forget to challenge the Razzball Nation with your picks in the Razzball NCAA Bracket Challenge. If I don’t win, I will doctor all your brackets to say you all picked La Salle to win it all.
Games Tonight: I’ve got Magic at Pacers then Clippers at Kings. After filling up Yahoo highlights with Hansbrough plays, I then get to watch the Clippers murder the Kings. Shoot your comments below and I’ll throw out a few live tweets tonight (@jbgilpin) following the action. Good luck in the playoffs if they have begun!
