In previous years, Tuesdays were one of the weakest days for games of the season (Thursdays still the lowest). The NBA always loaded up Wednesday and Friday and as a result, Thursday and Tuesday were a bit light. This year, no such luck. We have a litany of back-to-back sets for teams which helps explain why we have 11 games tonight. It's pretty awesome.
The heavy load will end the two-night hiatus of Pick-N-Roll and it will make its triumphant return tonight to recap all the action. Before we get to that point, let's check out some headlines from this morning and some guys worth watching or spot-starting.
The Tuesday Guide after the jump:
Follow @MikeSGallagherI tweet like a mad man during the games with all sorts of injuries and subsequent instant analysis. Follow at your own peril.
Headlines
Jeff Green (BOS)- There's good news to report here that Jeff Green had successful surgery on his aortic aneurysm. There are three main types of aortic aneurysms and the details of Green's diagnosis have been disclosed (although it's probably not the abdominal one; even though taller people with longer limbs are more susceptible to AAA). All of them are treatable and we're all really hoping that Green can make his return next season.
Stephen Curry (GSW)- The Warriors are expected to announce some sort of plan for Curry's perpetually injured ankle. He is expected to sit out for at least a couple more games to get him back to 100 percent and lower the chances he aggravates it. We'll certainly be discussing this news once it is released on PNR tonight.
Until then, Brandon Rush is an intriguing player to own and his emergence has rained on the Dorell parade. Nate Robinson is also a player that has seen some minutes and is able to produce since he shoots the three. Klay Thompson also has some allure, too.
Michael Beasley (MIN)- There are reports that Beasley will come off the bench once he returns from his mid-foot sprain. Foot sprains are very tricky injuries since they can last from days to months. Beasley is no longer a must-own player with this news for some shallow formats. He still has plenty of value in most standards though and owners could buy low at an extreme discount.
This makes it abundantly clear that Derrick Williams should be owned in most leagues given the way he has performed in the past two games sans Beasley. He hit four treys in the first game and came up with a 13-8 line on Monday.
Ty Lawson (DEN)- Lawson landed awkwardly and missed a few minutes of last night's game with a foot injury. The X-ray was negative and Ty-Law was diagnosed with a foot strain. A strain means there's a small pull of a muscle in his foot and this is much less severe than the foot sprain (Beasley). He'll probably be OK, but owners in deeper leagues might want to keep an eye on Rudy Fernandez, who has been playing well, if for some reason Lawson can't give it a go.
Iman Shumpert- 21 Shump Street must not have any farmer's markets near by with the overwhelming amount of leg cramps Shumpert has been dealing with this season. Monday marked the third time he had cramps in his legs. I've had a running joke on the Pick-N-Roll show about how he need more potassium in his diet to help the problem. This problem shouldn't lower his value more than a spot or two on season rankings and he's a must-own Knick.
The Games
J.J. Hickson should be in line to grab a large portion of the minutes left vacant by Chuck Hayes. Hayes will miss close to a month with a dislocated shoulder injury and only really Jason Thompson serves as J.J.'s competition. Hickson is a very strong player to own even though he doesn't block much and isn't very helpful for percentages.
Tyreke Evans is getting hot and this spells trouble for Jimmer. Jimmer is still worth owning in most leagues, but if there's an owner that hastily cut someone in a shallower league, I could see grabbing him instead.
Nikola Vucevic has been playing well and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him hit the 20-to-24 MPG mark in the immediate future. Doug Collins was in love with his first-round pick and he should be taking away some minutes from waiver-wire wonder Spencer Hawes not before long. If you have Hawes, it's not a bad idea to think about selling high. Deep leagues might want to grab Vucevic (who was my fifth-ranked rookie in my rankings a month ago for his upside).
Elton Brand has to step it up. Period. He's still worth owning unless your league is really shallow. Brand's struggles could also allow more minutes for Vucevic or Thaddeus Young.
Amir Johnson had his best game of the season last year with a 19-11 gem on Monday. He's must-own material and Ed Davis should probably be on the appropriate waiver wire right now. James Johnson still can't completely beat out Rasual Butler; JJ is producing though.
If I see one more person on Twitter say they'd rather have Ricky Rubio over John Wall I'm going to, well, I'm going to be really mad. So there. The Rashard Lewis saga is on and that opens up the door for rookies Chris Singleton and Jan Vesely. Two games ago Singleton had a monster game as far as waiver-wire guys go (12 points, seven boards, two steals, three blocks and two treys), then cooled off with a dud last time out. Vesely probably has the higher upside, but I haven't seen any plays run to him and he's not truly part of the offense. Singleton is the better own at this time, but that could change quickly.
Rockets at Bobcats
Samuel Dalembert and Chandler Parsons got the starts for Houston and both were disappointing. Dalembert is a phenomenal shot blocker and should remain owned in most leagues until further notice. As for Parsons, I feel he's passed Chase Budinger and is a better player to own. The Gator has filled up all sorts of categories with a nice amount of blocks, steals, threes and boards.
Kyle Lowry is suiting up to play. Courtney Lee is out and Terrence Williams is a decent spot-start in deeper daily leagues with no roster restrictions. Kevin Martin has the flu and is a game-time decision. Goran Dragic would actually be a sneaky plug-n-play since he could play point guard and Lowry could get some minutes at the two (a position he played a little at Memphis).
Byron Mullens really cooled off last night with only 17 minutes and a 4-3 line. I got into some debates about owning Marreese Speights over him and Mullens pretty much put that argument to bed last night. He's definitely worth watching and owning in deep leagues though.
Roddy Beaubois has done well in limited minutes even though Delonte West got the start sans Jason Kidd. Kidd should miss a couple more games and I'd take Roddy Buckets over Delonte for upside for those looking for some plug-n-play action. I've been talking about Ian Mahimni since the preseason and he's making me look pretty good. He has played more minutes than Brendan Haywood (only one games with foul trouble) in his last five. He is probably owned in deeper leagues, but those in shallower formats should check out how it plays out tonight. This will definitely be covered on PNR.
I love Brandon Knight even if Stuckey comes back strong. The Pistons (2-7) are really bad and Knight should get the keys to the offense to give him experience. Jonas Jerebko is falling off a bit and has lost a bit of his luster in some standard leagues.
Do I really have to talk about Pop's rotation? It's a complete mess and it looks like Gary Neal has a leg up on Daniel Green. I'll take Neal over Green, but I'll take about 130 guys over Neal. DeJuan Blair was gimpy on Sunday and maybe Tiago Splitter gets some more burn. Blair has terrible news and Pop should take it easy with him.
Andrew Bogut is back tonight. Still, Drew Gooden is rolling and should be owned in most leagues until proven otherwise. Carlos Delfino is trash and owners should have no reason to own him in anything but a really deep league.
J.J. Barea lead the team in scoring on Monday with 16 points and looked really good returning from his hammy issue. He's worth a look in deep leagues and it puts a damper on Ridnour's value.
The Bulls have their rotation figured out for the most part. Noah has to improve.
Thunder at Grizzlies
I hate Scott Brooks.
Watch Marreese Speights with a very close eye tonight in all leagues.
Kyrie is really heating up and I've maintained my stance that he's a top-50 player in eight-cat leagues. Ramon Sessions isn't playing all that great and is not exactly a must-own. Alonzo Gee is playing well enough and should be taking over at the two not before long (Casspi got ripped for not getting back on D).
Gordon Hayward had a big game and should be watched closely. As much as I love Alec Burks, it looks like Josh Howard has a leg up on him. Beware that Howard tore his ACL in 2010 and he has been dealing with some leg ailments this year.
Clippers at Blazers
The Clippers have a surplus at guard with CP3, Billups, Mo Wiliams and Randy Foye. The order just listed is the pecking order and only Paul and Billups should be owned at this point. Caron Butler has been picking it lately and even put up 20 points in 35 minutes. His torn patella tendon looks like it's in his rear-view mirror and owners should expect him to produce until he has something pop up on him.
Nicolas Batum played in 24 MPG in his last five games and has a fairly serviceable line with averages of 10.4 points, 4.8 boards, 1.0 blocks, 0.8 steals and 1.2 3PM. The minutes are discouraging, but the numbers make him worth owning in almost any league. Especially with the oft-injured Marcus Camby and Gerald Wallace on the roster.
Heat at Warriors
LeBron James is amazing right now and we'll be watching the Cole-Chalmers battle all year. Neither guy should be on 10-team rosters.
We touched on the Curry stuff above. Another interesting aspect is Kwame Brown. The one-time monumental bust got a whopping 31 minutes and handed in an 8-7 line on Saturday; he also had 34 minutes and a 12-6 line on Friday. He's on the radar at least until Andris Biedrins shows he can produce again.
On January 2nd before Markieff Morris' arrival I backed him as my deep-guy and he has really yet to let up (here's proof in the tweet). Channing Frye had a good game last time out so the Morris-for-Frye talk has subsided a bit. Morris is a multi-cat stud and is probably already owned in the leagues where he needs to be. He could have a big game tonight and he could emerge as a 10-team league asset. Marcin Gortat is red hot after a slow start.
Matt Barnes is ripping it up with wonderful lines in his last two including a 15-point, 10-board, three-block, one-steal and two-three explosion in 35 minutes on Sunday. Barnes hasn't really been consistent for quite a while, but another line like that tonight would put him in some 10-man league territory.
Thanks for reading! We're picking and rolling tonight, so post some questions or comments you'd like me to answer below.