Tip-In Points: Ben Folds
Anyone can suggest adds and drops for the NBA fantasy fans out there, but few make those suggestions from the gut. We’ve also sprinkled in tons of helpful stats for all fantasy formats too. Because that’s the kind of fantasy help you deserve.
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Ben Gordon, DET Ejected. Rejected. Dejected. Choose whichever one you’d like. They all pertain to Ben Gordon last night. He had seven points in 21 minutes and celebrated by getting thrown out with six minutes left in the game. His ankle may or may not be better. His groin may or may not be a healthy groin. The Pistons may or may not be rummaging through their desk drawers looking for the return receipt and the Chicago Bulls’ phone number. Top story? Has he done well at all this year? What was his best game this year?
The first nine games of his season were just as Ben Gordon-y as ever (24 / 3 / 4), but even before his nagging injuries he began scoring quite infrequently. He scored 20+ points in eight of those first nine games and only four in the next 25.Part of this is because of his injuries, part of this is because Rodney Stuckey has emerged as a minor offensive force. But Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah and Luol Deng (in theory) were all minor offensive forces last season and that didn’t stop Gordon.
If you’ve already dropped him, there’s no reason to pick him up. If you can’t pull the trigger I’d at least start thinking about it. He might not be hurt enough to miss another three weeks, but that might also mean he’ll never be healthy enough again this year to average 20 points a game.
Here are guys whose heads are not as peanut-shaped as Gordon’s (spoiler: Jason Terry will not be discussed in today’s post)
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Earl Watson, IND He’s averaged 7.75 assists over his last four games. And remember, this Indiana. So you know those were hard-earned assists. Because the Pacers are no good at scoring, you see.
Tony Parker, SA He scored 28 points in his first game in nine days. He attempted three three-pointers on Wednesday and made two of them. He’s only attempted that one other game this season.
Tim Duncan, SA Weird game. Tim missed 19 of his 23 shots, but grabbed 26 rebounds. I really never thought he’d make good on my dare to shoot a game’s worth of shot with his eyes closed.
Mike Miller, WAS 17 pts/ 6 rbds/ 5 asts/ 5 3ptm in 44 minutes. With Gil, ‘Tawn and all gone, the Wizards may legitimately now be Mike Miller’s team. /Josh Howard’s scoff
Andray Blatche, WAS … Or maybe it’s Blatche’s team. He had a 33-point, 13-board double-double (both season highs). That’s his fourth double-double of the season. The fun part will be seeing how fast he can double this input. Blatche has per-game averages of 16 points and eight rebounds in 10 games without Antawn Jamison in the lineup, compared to 7.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in the other 40 games.
Richard Hamilton, DET A season-high 37 points. It was also the first time in six games he managed to shoot over 38 percent from the floor. Oddly, he’s gone a perfect 23-for-23 from the stripe in his last four games. Is that odd? I dunno. Is anything that goes on with the Pistons odd anymore?
Amar’e Stoudemire, PHO Had a 15/10 double-double halfway through the second quarter (Ended with 34/14). Didn’t matter. No trade. He ain’t going nowhere. This is why you don’t badmouth your friend’s ex until after he starts dating someone else. There’s always the chance they’ll get back together. Then you’re just screwed.
Hedo Turkoglu, TOR One point on 0-for-5 shooting, plus a rebound and two assists in 29 minutes. How do you say “bleech!” In Turkish? “Ben atmak isterim.” Oh. Cool. Thanks.
Chris Bosh, TOR The anti-Hedo. 32 points/ 10 boards but won’t be playing on Friday due to a dinged ankle.
Brad Miller, CHI Startin’. Ballin’. 27 points, 10 rebounds for his second deuce-deuce of the season. If this were the ’80s, I’d jokingly say that “it’s Miller time!” If this were the ’80s, I’d also have a group of busty models with cutoff jean shorts and teased blonde hair standing next to me while I said it.
Taj Gibson, CHI 14/16 double-double, Taj’s sixth of the season. Time for a sweet-ass invisible blues guitar solo!
Wilson Chandler, NY He scored 26 points last night. Make sure to bench him before his next game. In the past five he’s scored 19, 6, 35, 10, 26. Anyone who got over a 600 on the math portion of their SAT knows what’s coming next.
Jason Kidd, DAL Seven steals. He also had 18 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists. As far as fantasy goes, this guy is still an all-star … He’s what…? He made this year’s All-Star Game? This year? For real? Like at the Skills Challenge…? The actual game!?! It’s a crazy world.
Dwyane Wade, MIA Flash scored eight points in a little over seven minutes. Sadly, Wade only played the game’s first seven minutes before exiting with a strained calf. He’ll likely miss both weekend games. He won’t miss them – he’ll be there. He just won’t play in them.
Quentin Richardson, MIA Second consecutive double-double. Settle down. He’s still chunky.
Corey Maggette, GSW Played only one quarter, mostly because of his sore hammy and a little because the game was a blowout. He might not play Friday, but it’s no more serious than that.
CJ Watson, GSW Hit 15 of his first 16 shots on his way to a career-high 40 points. Apparently it doesn’t matter who plays guard for the Warriors, they’re destined to score a ton of points. “Nu-uh!” – Mookie Blaylock
Stephen Curry, GSW Scored 24 points whilst dishing out 15 assists. Did you like the addition of “whilst?” It’s classy.
L I N E O F T H E N I G H T
41 min / 69% FG / 85% FT/ 33 pts / 17 rbds / 3 asts / 7 blk / 1 to
Dwight Howard, ORL I don’t need to discuss tonight’s counting stats. You were there. You saw it. It’s Dwight. He’s capable of these numbers every single night. What makes this the best game of his season was his 11-for-13 free throw shooting. Howard’s only shot 84 percent or better from the line six times this season, but only three of those games consisted of more than 10 free throws.
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Photos courtesy of Yahoo! Sports via Getty Images
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