More Injuries

Tonight's games were all pretty close and exciting. The biggest of which was Boston @ Detroit. Since these team last met, both have been undefeated since. Needless to say, this game was an opportunity for either team to show their supremacy in the East and maybe even the whole league. Boston pulled out the nailbiter in the fourth quarter with a 92-85 road win. No real fantasy implications in this one as both teams played hard.

I'm just going to list some of the absences and injuries I noted from Friday night:

Tracy McGrady is still out as the Rockets beat the Knicks like everyone else has. Aaron Brooks was the story in this game as he put up a career high 22 pts and played more minutes down the stetch than starter Luther Head, who played decently scoring 10 pts. The guard story continues to intrigue in Houston, especially with McGrady being out. Luis Scola scored double digits again and could be a decent option while Mcgrady's still hurt. On the Knick side, it doesn't look like David Lee will be starting again anytime soon as Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph have been starting games again. Curry had another decent scoring game, but with Curry that's really all you're going to get. Nate Robinson also had a big night with 25 pts, but Stephon Marbury's back so I expect him to start for the time being. I personally try to stay away from all Knick players because none of them are perennial fantasy options

Out of Chicago, Luol Deng missed his first game tonight after injuring his left achilles. Thabo Sefolosha was activated as a result. I don't think he'll be the benefactor, but Tyrus Thomas potentially could be. He almost had a double-double with 15 pts, 9 rebs as well as 3 blocks. He was hot toward the beginning of the season, but he's as streaky as any player in the league fantasy-wise. Note, Andris Nocioni was the one with the start in Deng's place and had a huge game (26 pts) and will have his production while Deng remains out, so at the end of Deng's injury, he could be a player you try to deal high. Sacramento looked at the same situation it's had all season with Bibby, Martin and Artest still out.

This one hurts...David West missed the NO@PHX game tonight with his bruised hip, and a couple of scary moments happened late with Mo Peterson taking a similar spill as West's last night and Chris Paul was hit in the face on a fast break. Both remained in the game in the fourth quarter as Chris Paul took over yet again on the road to lead his young Hornets team to a victory in a hostile environment. As expected Steve Nash and Paul put on a show for the Phoenix crowd, each having monster games, but it seems that late in games, Chris Paul trumps any player that's thrown at him. Something to look at, which I've been worrying about is Paul's minutes. He played the ENTIRE game tonight without a minute of rest as David West was injured and the Hornets' bench is already one of the worst in the league. These minutes are going to be a factor eventually. Jannero Pargo was the starter in West's place. He's shown in the past he can be a scorer given the minutes and he did just that tonight with 19 pts. He's a decent option if you need a guard and points for the time being. On Phoenix' side of the ball, Raja Bell started the game, but left after only 3 minutes of action with flu-like symptoms. He was actually sent home also. Leandro Barbosa and Marcus Banks filled in well with 28 pts and 11 pts, respectively. I wouldn't expect much from this since at worst, Bell will only be day-to-day.

In the Utah @ Portland matchup, Andrei Kirilenko was absent with back pain and CJ Miles replaced him in the starting lineup. Miles is a solid option as he's put up some good games as a reserve, but he doesn't do anything specularly so unless you are in a deep league, I'd look past Miles and check some of the bench players on Utah, including Paul Millsap, who's gotten regular minutes all season off the bench, and Kyle Korver, the newcomer who extends the court for the Jazz. Without AK-47, the Jazz will have to work harder on defense and Deron Williams will have to shoulder even more of the playmaking load. It's not known how long Kirilenko will be out for yet, but if he is to miss an extended period of time, which he has been known for, I would expect Deron's scoring to go down a bit, while his assist numbers go up. Role guys like Matt Harpring, CJ Miles and Kyle Korver will get more playing time and I'd expect them to score a bit more. On the Trailblazers side, I could write a paragraph on Martell Webster's game, but he scored a career high 26, including 20 pts in the third quarter as the blazers began their dominance of the Jazz in the second half. I don't know if this will create another string of great shooting games for Martell, but as a fantasy option, he'll give you scoring and not much more. Brandon Roy sustained a couple of injuries in the Thursday night game in Chicago, but he started the game, played ten minutes and didn't return to action in the second half. The fact that he felt okay to start this game should mean he'll be okay and not miss much time, if any time. In his absence however, Sergio Rodriguez was the benefactor in the fourth quarter, which he had not been playing in all season. Sergio is a high energy player who can spark the Blazer team, but I don't believe he'll be a factor fantasy-wise. If Roy is to miss time, Martell and Travis Outlaw would the biggest benefactors.