Big Monday

Huge night of games tonight, 13 in total so this might not be the most specific entry...

- Started off in Charlotte, where the Cats played the Spurs well (lost 95-86 however). Surprising start on the SA end with Jeremy Richardson at center (only played 11 minutes and hit one 3). SA won in SA fashion.

- Washington sweeps the season series against Dallas at home today (102-84). Josh Howard had 32 points, while Caron Butler had 25pts, 9rebs, 5assts and 5stls.

- Boston killed New York in MSG 109-93 in an NBA version of the Super Bowl, except the Knicks are far from making any sort of championships. Rondo returned in this game for 14pts, 4stls.

- Portland beat Atlanta in the south in OT. Travis Outlaw is "Mr. Clutch" for the Blazers, scoring a team high 23pts and playing more minutes than 4 starters (with the exception of Roy). Joe Johnson did all he could with 37pts, 7assts, 4 treys and no TOs. Anthony Johnson missed this game and Acie Law started in his place, although Tyronn Lue outplayed Law and played more minutes (18pts to 7pts and 24mins to 19 mins).

- Indy won in Philly 110-103. Jermaine O'Neal is still out and Kareem Rush started in his spot, scoring 25 pts. He's only useful for scoring so pick him up if you need points. Otherwise, he's relatively useless.

- T-Mac came off the bench to play 29mins and score 16pts, as Houston won at home against the lowly Sonics. Yao had 30pts, 17rebs. Bonzi Wells got the start at SG and scored 16pts as well. Jeff Green had 15pts on 7-17 shooting as I dropped him for a spot start tomorrow for Yi Jianlian (4pts, 6rebs tonight...).

- Bringing us to the beatdown of Milwaukee at the hands of New Orleans. Tyson Chandler was the story with 20pts, 15rebs for the Hornets to win 106-92. The Bucks got 13pts, 15rebs from Bogut. Royal Ivey started at forward to play 16mins, scoring 5pts, as Bobby Simmons came off the bench for 8pts in 23mins.

- Utah pounded the Clips at Staples, with 7 Jazz in double figures, but none over 20pts in a balanced effort. The Clips are just not very good.

- Minnesota got a rare win in Oakland, as they beat the Warriors 109-108. Gomes had 35pts, 11rebs to lead the way. Monta Ellis scored 28, but it wasn't enough as the captains Stephen Jackson and Baron combined for 10-27 from the field for 33pts.

- Memphis won in a showdown of bad teams at home 104-90 against the Bulls. Mike Miller and Rudy Gay both had 24pts and 10rebs to lead the way for the Grizz. The Bulls got Luol Deng back, who started and scored 13pts in 26mins. Thabo and Kirk started at the guards and should continue to start since Chris Duhon was inactive in this one. Thabo is a good option at guard if he continues to start. He's got good length and athletic ability, making him a good all-around fantasy contributor in steals, rebounds and points (may be a little erratic).

- Orlando took down Detroit at home, as the Magic needed a solid win with their recent struggles. The Pistons played a great team game with 6 players in double figures, but the Magic had Hedo Turkoglu down the stretch who had 26pts, 8assts total in the contest. Mo Evans got the start, but was outplayed 2:1 by Bogans, in terms of PT. Evans played 16mins, Bogans 33.

- Cleveland brought their mini-win streak (3 W's) into Miami, who had lost 13 straight. They extended their own win streak to 4, while creating more questions in Miami. The Heat, two seasons removed from a title, have not lost 14 straight. That's ridiculous. This team needs to do something, but it really can't with Shaq on the books for another 2 seasons and $40+ million and D-Wade's huge contract. On the Cavs' side, Lebron was a beast again (28pts, 5 dimes and 4stls) and Anderson Varejao (4pts, 10rebs, 2blks) continues to play more minutes than both starters Big Z and Drew Gooden (33 to 30 and 26, respectively). He should not be available in any leagues considering the center eligibility factor.

- The final game was the second of a doubleheader at the Staples Center in LA, where Denver was the second visiting team. LA held the lead for most of the game and eventually beat the Nuggets handily, 116-99. Carmelo Anthony left the game in the 2nd quarter with a sprained ankle and didn't return, but it was reported the MRI came back negative. Wait for further news before panicking about this injury. He sounds like he will be day-to-day. Kenyon Martin returned in this game and played well (16pts, 11rebs, 8-11 FG's), while Linas Kleiza came off the bench again and was very productive (20pts, 4 treys). The Lakers was a complete team effort with Kobe leading the way even if he only took 7 shots, making 5, and scored 17pts. He led the Lakers to this victory as well as any other player in the league and had a season high 11assts. He's putting his name into the conversation for MVP for sure if the Lakers continue to win without the services of Andrew Bynum, who's out for another 7 weeks.