fBasketballBlog

Jefferson had a pristine line last night. (AP photo/George Frey)

Beast of the Night: Al Jefferson posted 25 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, one steal and three blocks last night. He shot 56 percent (9-16) from the floor and 88 percent (7-8) from the free-throw line, and had no turnovers. This is about as perfect as a big man’s line gets. Jefferson has been a top 10 stud so far this season. His value has been boosted by his improved assists (2.2 per game, up from 1.8 last season) and steady turnovers (1.2 per game, down from 1.3 last season).

Lines for Discussion:
Stephen Curry: 5-7 FG (71%), 2 threes, 12 Pts, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl; not bad for a shade more than nine minutes of work in his return

Nick Young: 9-14 FG (64%), 3-4 FT (75%), 4 threes, 25 Pts, 2 Reb, 1 Stl; Young’s triumphant return was bad news for Jordan Crawford, who finished with 5/3/2 on 15 percent shooting from the field

Kevin Love: 13-25 FG (52%), 8-11 FT (73%), 5 threes, 39 Pts, 17 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 TO; in his last two games, Love has racked up 81 points, 27 rebounds, 10 threes and six assists

Danilo Gallinari: 1-3 FG (33%), 1-2 FT (50%), 1 three, 4 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl; he’s finally back after a 13-game layoff, which means bad things for Arron Afflalo and Corey Brewer

Marcus Camby: 3-6 FG (50%), 6 Pts, 16 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; Camby deserves some credit for putting up some solid lines for his owners every now and then

Waiver-Wire Watch (four stars = must add; one star = keep an eye on him):
Gordon Hayward: 23 Pts, 2 threes, 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl (**)

Klay Thompson: 18 Pts, 4 threes, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 TO (*)

James Johnson: 13 Pts, 1 three, 7 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO (****)

Jerryd Bayless: 15 Pts, 2 threes, 6 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 TO (***)

George Hill: 17 Pts, 2 threes, 1 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO (**)

Ronnie Brewer: 12 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 3 TO (**)

Kendrick Perkins: 7 Pts, 14 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO (***)

Derrick Williams: 15 Pts, 3 threes, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 TO (***)

Kenneth Faried: 20 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 1 TO (****)

Marco Belinelli: 18 Pts, 1 three, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 TO (****)

Injuries:
Jerry Stackhouse (illness): day-to-day

Reggie Williams (knee): doubtful tonight

Richard Hamilton (shoulder): wearing a sling; day-to-day

Jeff Foster (back): out at least one week

Ryan Gomes (flu): day-to-day

Nikola Pekovic (ankle): day-to-day

Amir Johnson (knee): day-to-day

Devin Harris (knee): monitor his MRI results

Joe Johnson (knee): day-to-day

Jermaine O’Neal (wrist): if he has season-ending wrist surgery, he’ll be waived by the Celtics

Anderson Varejao (wrist): timeline for his return will be determined this week

Brendan Haywood (ankle): might miss a game or two

Brandan Wright (head): day-to-day

Rudy Fernandez (back): day-to-day

Ben Gordon (ankle): said he’ll play tonight

Jordan Hill (knee): hopes to play for the Rockets’ upcoming road trip

Zach Randolph (knee): took part in a full-contact scrimmage Monday, but his return is “not imminent”

Luc Mbah a Moute (knee): day-to-day

Brook Lopez (ankle): out three weeks

Rashard Lewis (knee): day-to-day

Tracy McGrady (knee): questionable tonight

Willie Green (back); ditto

For Tonight:
Kirk Hinrich and Jannero Pargo could be decent spot starts in deeper leagues if McGrady and Green can’t go tonight for the Hawks, who visit the Pacers.