On draft day, he went around the 27th pick and for about $28 in auction leagues. He’s averaged 11 assists per game on the season, plus 14 points to go with the dimes. He played like a top 20 point guard for the Celtics, and if you entered the heads of fantasy fans, he was a top 5 PG. Well, friends, Rajon Rondo is no more. If you have not already heard the news, Rondo tore the ACL in his right knee. If any of you just traded to get him, my condolences. In real basketball, this leaves a question of who fills in to fill the void. Courtney Lee (4/0/2) got the start, and Avery Bradley (9/4/0), Jason Terry (13/2/1) and Leandro Barbosa (9/3/4) all saw increased minutes. In fantasy basketball, do any of those stat lines fill you with hope? What if I told you those numbers came in a double overtime game? I’m sure some of you want to grab one of those guys as a speculative add, but it’s hard to recommend any of them. If you held a your fingers to my head in the shape of a gun, I’d probably say Barbosa. Here’s what else went on in the NBA:
Mario Chalmers – In 22 minutes, he took 3 shots, missed all of them, and finished with 0 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists. There was a time earlier this month when he looked like he was about to explode, but in the past 4 games he’s scored 4, 14, 6 and now 0.
Kevin Martin – He did not see 20 minutes of play time and finished with 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 0 assists. It’s the first time he missed double digit points since the 13th, and the first time he didn’t reach at least 20 minutes since the 16th.
Earl Clark – It seems like everyone is waiting for the other shoe to drop with Clark, but he’s still starting and he went for 11 points, 4 rebounds and a steal. Not really great, of course, but that is his lowest rebound total since D’Antoni started playing him this month.
Pau Gasol – The Leper of L.A. came off the bench for nearly 36 minutes and 16 poinys, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a block.
Andre Drummond – Finished with 2 blocks and 4 rebounds. He only took 1 shot that clunked off the rim. There doesn’t seem to be any injury-related reasons to his bad game and limited minutes.
Arron Affalo – Speaking of bad games, AA shot for 4 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists and a steal. This seems to be one of those crappy games he likes to sprinkle in every now and then.
Greivis Vasquez – The General took a team high 16 FG attempts and nailed 2 of them. Ouch. He finished with 5 points, 2 rebounds and a healthy 11 assists, so that balances out. No word on if he will make an appearance in the J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars movie.
Mike Conley – Hurt his ankle after only 4:20, and he was later seen in a walking boot with suspiciously red eyes. However, his coach said he would likely play Monday. I guess we’ll see! If not, there will be trouble afoot.
Kyle Korver – The dude went for 13 digits, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a block, plus he shot 2-6 from downtown. Since I called him a Buy on Friday, his ownership shot up to 60%. I don’t want to take credit for that…so I won’t.
Devin Harris – He finished with just 3 points, 4 boars, 2 dimes and 2 steals, but he also threw in a block. Weird that Korver and Harris were the only two guys with blocks for the Hawks.
Raymond Felton – It looks like he hasn’t missed any time, as his 12/4/10 line helped the Knicks win a game against a good team and ease concerns about their recent play. Obviously, you should be starting him.
Amare Stoudemire – Although he isn’t starting, he played over 29 minutes and finished with 18 points, 8 rebounds (4 offensive), an assist, and a block. If anyone isn’t rolling him out there on a regular basis, you may need to borrow STAT’s glasses so you can read those numbers again.
Shannon Brown – Played 15 minutes for 6 points, 3 boards, and an assist. On Saturday, he garnered the line of 4/2/1. I freely admit I am not always right, and my call on him as a “(soft) Buy” seems to be off. As everyone over the age of 7 knows, the phoenix is a mythical bird that rises from the ashes of its own basketball failure. I wonder if Brown will be inspired by his team’s city’s namesake. Ha, no really, that is stupid. At least, that is what my horoscope said. What I really hope for is that he will give us some more of those lines we just saw last week.
Shawn Marion – Quite a good game from him, with 18 digits, 9 boards, 5 dimes, and a steal. Curiously, he is averaging 2 steals in the past weeek, plus 11/7/2.5…his ownership numbers aren’t terribly high, so if you are in a sloppy league, he might be available.
J.J. Hickson – Enjoyed his 7th game in a row with at least 13 points as he produced 15 notches (couldn’t say points again), 9 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block.
Blake Griffin – He only played 3 quarters and still tallied 23 points (including 5-6 free throws), 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals. The reason he didn’t play the 3rd? The Clippers were already cruising to victory.
Eric Bledsoe – He reached 10 points (1 three) to go with 5 boards, 5 assists and a block. He also went 35 minutes without a turnover. This was his 4th game with double digits, and 7th in 9 games. During that stretch, he’s averaging about 5 rebounds and 4 assists. He has only had more than 3 turnovers once in January, when he went up to 4. He’s a great guy for those of you in leagues with A/T as a category.
Lamar Odom – It seems the “Kardashian Kurse” has shifted from him to Kris Humphries, as Odom earned 8 points, 13 rebounds, 6 dimes, and a steal. Ignore his prior game (where he had none), and Lamar has been averaging 10 rebounds per game. He’s not going to get more than 9 points per game (he last did that December 15 with 10), but he’s a good 8/8 guy right now. Deeper league candidate, if you will.
