fBasketballBlog

Young went nuts from beyond the arc last night. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Beast of the Night: Nick Young makes an unexpected appearance here thanks to his 35 points, three rebounds, two steals and seven three-pointers last night. He shot 71 percent (12-17) from the field, 100 percent (4-4) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. After starting the season on the bench, Young has managed to give his owners reliable value as a scorer and three-point maker. So far in February, he’s averaging top 25 numbers.

Lines for Discussion:
Jeremy Lin: 9-20 FG (45%), 7-11 FT (64%), 2 threes, 27 Pts, 2 Reb, 11 Ast, 1 Stl, 8 TO; he’s officially the pickup of the year, partly for fantasy reasons, mostly for non-fantasy reasons

Amar’e Stoudemire: 8-22 FG (36%), 5-5 FT (100%), 21 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast; fantasy owners can expect his fantasy value to see a bit of a resurrection thanks to Lin’s command of the point guard spot

Jose Calderon: 11-17 FG (65%), 3 threes, 25 Pts, 7 Reb, 9 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; he’s on a nice roll right now but will probably hit another rough patch soon enough

DeMarcus Cousins: 10-20 FG (50%), 7-9 FT (78%), 1 three, 28 Pts, 17 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 Blk, 6 TO; in his last six games, Cousins has been a top 25 fantasy asset

Luol Deng: 6-17 FG (35%), 9-9 FT (100%), 2 threes, 23 Pts, 7 Reb, 11 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; he’s struggling this month but remains a top 40 fantasy asset this season

Arron Afflalo: 7-11 FG (64%), 4-7 FT (57%), 2 threes, 20 Pts, 1 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Afflalo is on fire right now, hitting 20+ points in each of his last three games (his owners should consider selling high)

Pau Gasol: 9-22 FG (41%), 1-2 FT (50%), 1 three, 20 Pts, 13 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 Blk, 1 TO; Gasol has double-doubled in all seven of his games so far this month

Waiver-Wire Watch (four stars = must add; one star = keep an eye on him):
Linas Kleiza: 15 Pts, 1 three, 11 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO (****)

Norris Cole: 20 Pts, 1 three, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 TO (**)

A.J. Price: 12 Pts, 1 three, 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl (*)

Tiago Splitter: 13 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO (***)

Courtney Lee: 13 Pts, 1 three, 4 Reb, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO (****)

Kyle Korver: 18 Pts, 4 threes, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO (**)

Markieff Morris: 21 Pts, 2 threes, 6 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 Stl, 2 Blk (****)

Michael Redd: 20 Pts, 3 threes, 6 Reb, 1 Stl, 3 TO (***)

Chris Andersen: 16 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Stl, 6 Blk, 1 TO (*)

Rudy Fernandez: 11 Pts, 2 threes, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl (**)

Injuries:
Jason Collins (elbow): rejoined the team but is doubtful for their upcoming five-game road trip

Jermaine O’Neal (shoulder): could return tonight

Mickael Pietrus (knee): doubtful tonight

Kevin Garnett (hip): ditto

D.J. Augustin (toe): expected to play tonight

Richard Hamilton (groin): at least a week away from returning

Nene (calf, heel): day-to-day

Danny Granger (ankle): left last night’s game early; monitor his status

George Hill (ankle): day-to-day

DeShawn Stevenson (knee): hopes to be ready for tonight

Brook Lopez (foot): practiced yesterday

Emeka Okafor (knee): questionable tonight

Thabo Sefolosha (foot): day-to-day

Mario Chalmers (hand): left last night’s game early; monitor his status

Shawne Williams (shoulder): day-to-day

LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle): left last night’s game early; monitor his status

Gary Neal (toe): day-to-day

Jimmer Fredette (flu): day-to-day

For Tonight:
Linsanity continues its raging path through the NBA as the Knicks host the Kings.

Dahntay Jones could be a good spot start if Granger can’t go for the Pacers, who visit the Cavaliers.

[See another version of this post on DimeMag.com]