The Four Games of Saturday

Lots of games on the schedule tonight, but there were only 4 last night, and here they are:

IND @ MIA: Miami finally won another game, snapping their 15 game losing streak, barely edging out the Pacers, 98-96. The Heat were again without the services of Shaq, with Mark Blount starting in his spot (19pts). D-Wade led the way with a very efficient night, especially by his standards with 35pts, 8rebs on 12-20 shooting and only 3 TO’s. Troy Murphy reentered the starting lineup for the Pacers in this one and played decently in 30mins, while Jeff Foster only played 17. Murphy had 9pts and 10rebs and if he’s starting, he can produce some points, rebounds and occasionally threes, so he’s more than productive when he’s got the time, but Jim O’Brien doesn’t seem to have a great rotation with this team, so outside of Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy, no one else is very trustworthy to keep on your roster. Jermaine O’Neal and Jamaal Tinsley have shown they are injury-prone, so if you’ve got them, I would try to get rid of them in trades or even drops in shallow leagues.

PHI @ CHA: Philly won this game in Charlotte 103-96, but the Cats were missing starting PG, Raymond Felton, who might be out for a few games with his ankle injury. I've hinted at the youth movement in Philly and last night might have signified the beginning with Thaddeus Young starting in place of Reggie Evans (Evans still play more minutes however (23 to Young's 18).

LAC @ MEM: This was the lone OT game of the night, with Memphis pulling it out at home 125-120. Lots of changes for Mike Dunleavy's Clippers squad with the absence of Chris Kaman to injury and the reinsertion of Cuttino Mobley into the starting rotation. Mobley was probably back into the starting lineup because the Clips are awful on O and having a "defensive stopper" like Quinton Ross in there doesn't help things. Mobley had 15pts, 6assts in 37mins. Kaman was replaced by Aaron Williams (I didn't even know he was still in the league), who only played 7mins in an OT game. Memphis started Kyle Lowry and Juan Carlos Navarro at the guards with Mike Conley and Pau Gasol out with injuries. I would suggest picking up Lowry since he's a great fantasy option given the minutes (better than Conley at this stage of their careers), but it sounds like Conley is due back soon. Navarro has been a good source of points and threes all season, although he will give you better, more consistent numbers while in the starting rotation. Neither Navarro nor Lowry are great long term options, but they could be decent for the next week or so. Lowry had 21pts, 8rebs and Navarro had 18pts with 3 threes. Top guys on each side were Rudy Gay (34pts, 12rebs, 4 treys) and Corey Maggette (35pts, 9rebs, 16-18 FT's and 3 treys).

- NOH @ SAS: This was easily the most surprising game that should have, by most standards, been the best game of the night. New Orleans went into San Antonio and killed the Spurs, 102-78, to show why they belong in the conversation as one of the best teams in the league. No one on either side had astounding games, although David West had 32pts and 7rebs on 15-19 shooting and I'd like to mention Ime Udoka, who is one of the better role players in the league. He's being overlooked right now because he's on the Spurs' bench and his main role is to play defense. The Spurs believe he's their next Bruce Bowen and I trust the Spurs' evaluation of talent more than most other teams. He had 13pts, 7rebs in 24mins off the bench behind Manu Ginobili in this game. This could just be one of those games for the Spurs, or it could be a sign that the Hornets are that good and the Spurs beginning to decline with age.