Last night was full of NBA action as we followed up a two game slate from Sunday. With most teams in action there were lots of big nights and a few injuries. At this point it is becoming clear what trends are for real and which ones aren’t. This is the point in the season where you can truly evaluate players based on their seasons stats and evaluate your team in order to take it from where it is to where it needs to be.
Yesterday’s News:
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-Chris Paul turned in another one of those monster 
games that Chris Paul turns in. He scored 29 points to go along with 7 rebounds 8 assists and 2 steals. Paul had a couple of slow games recently and a slow start to the season, but there are only three players I would rather have on my squad than Chris Paul on any given night. If you can somehow still buy a little low on Paul, do it now.
-Danilo Gallinari looked poised to breakout last night with the Nuggets thin at both guard and upfront due to injuries. However, he hobbled off the court with what looked to be a sprained ankle. Further X-rays revealed what appears to be a chip fracture in his foot. This could be a couple week injury, but we won’t know until further testing is done. Aaron Afflalo and Rudy Fernandez would be the biggest beneficiaries while Al Harrington would continue to pick up extra minutes.
-Jeremy Lin should be owned in your league by now, if he’s not, he’s definitely smarter than you. Lin scored 28 points with 8 assists and 2 steals. Despite turning the ball over 8 times he appears to be the Knicks best option at point guard right now, so he is a must-own player in all leagues going forward.
-Andrew Bynum provided owners with the second 20/20 game of his career last night.. He could have had a much bigger game against the Sixers diminished frontline, but Kobe was gunning for Shaq’s 5th place spot on the all-time scoring list most of the night limiting Bynum to 13 FG attempts. Bynum cannot be stopped down low right now and the Lakers would be smart to go to him more over Kobe and Gasol early.
-Chauncey Billups also went down with a bad looking injury last night. A source close to him said it did not look good and he is likely to miss a few weeks at least. Mo Williams will be the biggest benefactor, but Randy Foye will likely take over the Clippers starting shooting guard spot.
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Injuries:
Danilo Gallinari – Out Indefinitely
Chauncy Billups – Out Indefinitely
Carmelo Anthongy – D2D
Derrick Rose – D2D
Strong Plays for Tonight:
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Ricky Rubio (MIN) - Rubio faces the Kings tonight who, day in and day out, have no interest in playing defense. Rubio should be able to find plenty of passing lanes as well as scoring oppotunities for himself. The Wolves will be without Kevin Love, so they are going to need guys like Rubio, Michael Beasley and Nikola Pekovic to all step up in his absence.
Bismack Biyombo (CHA) - Biyombo is the guy I am most excited about tonight. As I mentioned when I recommended Tyson Chandler against the Celtics last week, Boston has done a poor job of containing energy big men and Biyombo is the epitome of that. He should have a solid game in blocks, boards and steals while providing enough offense for him to have an immensely valuable game. The only caveat with Bismack is that he must stay out of foul trouble.
DeMarcus Cousins (SAC) - As I mentioned, Kevin Love will be out for the Wolves tonight as the Kings take them on. Cousins is coming off a huge game, so this isn’t really an out of the box recommendation, but I do feel like he has a very good chance of replicating his numbers from last night against the Love-less Wolves. Cousins has a chance to single-handedly dominate this game tonight.
Monta Ellis (GSW) - With Thabo Seflosha still out the Thunder they lack a true defensive stopper at the shooting guard position as both DaQuan COok and James Harden are offensive-minded players. This bodes well for Monta Ellis as he tries to break out of his recent struggles. When the Warriors start playing uptempo they almost always look better and you would think that Mark Jackson would start going that way more and more. Ellis is going to be a good play tonight if you need points, threes or free throws due to his volume shooting and are willing to take a hit for what will probably be a lot of missed fields goals.
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Let me simplify that question – would you drop (9-cat 12 tm, 3 on bench league) Tony Allen to grab Foye?
I don’t think Foye will be exceptionally good even with the increased minutes. Tony Allen would be the only one of those guys I would drop, but he can win you steals by himself. If you need help in other categories its not a bad move though.
3:03:17 am
As always, appreciate your the timely advice: If you wanted to grab Foye, Bayless, Kaman, Kleiza, or J-Rich in a 12 team league, who would you grab and drop from the tiny bench: Ariza, Reggie Williams, Pekovic, or (hurt) Tony Allen? Thanks!