Paul Pierce played almost 40 minutes and went 0-for-10 from the field, and 1-for-2 from the line. Forty minutes, bro!?! I get that sometimes players have off nights, but half his shots were from behind the line. Scoot up and maybe make a shot, huh, Paul? You gotta figure the reigning three-point champ was 0-6 and thought, shooter’s just gotta shoot, and I’m going to ensure I do so by standing as far away from the basket as is reasonable to break my cold snap. Except that when you’re cold as shizz, three feet away from the hoop is about as far away as is reasonable. Just six more feet. Tell Garnett to start barking and stand near him. Defenders hate getting next to Cagey when he’s in full-on dog mode. Besides Pierce, only two other players in the last quarter century have played 40 minutes, taken 10 shots and missed them all. A quarter century!?! That’s like back when cowboys roamed the earth with dinosaurs!
Look at what else happened in fantasy basketball yesterday:
Kendrick Perkins – 9.3/9.5, with 1.3 blocks in six games this month. Also carrying your team in the Scowls Per Game category.
Rajon Rondo – Triple-doubled (11/10/10) and turned the ball over just once? The league’s in trouble if he can keep those turnovers down. He can’t, which is good. That’d be like dolphins developing opposable thumbs.
Dwight Howard – 31/13, with three blocks last night. His mpg has increased steadily every month this season, ending in the 40+ he’s averaging in February. He’s averaging 24.3/15.9, with 1.5 blocks this month.
Brandon Bass – Returned after being out since January 31 and ended with 6/8/1. He’ll have better games than this and worse games than this. So will Ryan Anderson, but really, when both are healthy, both values decrease.
Brian Cook – 17/6 in 25 minutes. DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin both accumulated five fouls. So unless that becomes a strategy for the Clips, Cook shouldn’t become a strategy for your team.
Eric Bledsoe – He’s averaging 12/6.7/3 in his last three as Randy Foye has been on tilt lately. Doesn’t matter. Neither player will be worth much once Eric Gordon‘s boyband beard graces us with its presence again.
Amir Johnson – Returned from injury. Played as if he was still quite injured. Keep him benched until he looks less gimpy.
Ed Davis – … And pick up Ed (13/14, with three blocks) Davis if you’ve got room. Dude’s getting minutes. Keep your eyes wide, your chance may not come again. The times are a-changing.
Andre Miller – 15/12, perfect from the field. Turned the ball over nine damn times. Swingandamiss.
Rodney Stuckey – 0-for-3 yesterday and hasn’t shot better than 45 percent from the field more than once in the last eight games. Also, five assists in a game is a distant pipe dream for ol’ Rod Suckey.
Mo Williams – After double-doubling in his return on Friday, Williams landed a 10/3/8, 7 tovs line. The Cavs only play once this week. Keep him situated on your bench and see what happens. Did the Cavs win Friday? Yup! Didthecavswinlastnight? Go check.
Josh Howard – Started for the first time all season. Lasted a season-high 25 minutes and ended with 16/5/2, with 2 steals and a block. This was easily his best game since, like, the ’90s. Until he parties like it’s 1999 a few more times (with Rashard Lewis and Al Thornton in the lineup), I’d stay away.
James Harden – Left with a back injury and he might be out through the All-Star Break. If you’ve been playing him lately, your fantasy team is grateful for the respite.
Dorell Wright – Shooting .276 (16-for-58) in his last four games. Like your great grandfather saying racist things during Thanksgiving dinner, you’re stuck with him for better or worse. Live with it.
Samuel Dalembert – Re-emerged into the starting lineup, played 31 DeMarcus Cousin-less minutes and ended with an 18/15 line that included three blocks. He’s scored in double-digits the last three games and would like maintain such production if he played for any other team than the one he plays for now.
