fBasketballBlog

Harden can flick anything he wants after last night's huge performance. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

Beast of the Night: James Harden ruined the Suns last night, dropping a line of 40 points, seven rebounds, three assists, four steals and five treys. He shot 71 percent (12-17) from the floor and 100 percent (11-11) from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over three times. For the season, Harden has been a top 30 asset, which is in line with rosier expectations heading into the season. Coming off the bench or not, Harden is a fantasy basketball stud.

Lines for Discussion:
Nene: 7-12 FG (58%), 0-1 FT (0%), 14 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Blk; as a Wizard, Nene is averaging 14.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals and a block per game, while shooting 55 percent from the field — the problem is that Nene has only played in seven games since joining the Wizards

Glen Davis: 12-16 FG (75%), 3-6 FT (50%), 27 Pts, 7 Reb, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; in April, Davis is averaging 18.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.4 steals per game — top 50 numbers

Paul Pierce: 9-14 FG (64%), 11-12 FT (92%), 29 Pts, 5 Reb, 14 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 TO; Pierce has been an adept distributor whenever Rajon Rondo has missed time this season

Marcus Camby: 5-11 FG (46%), 1-2 FT (50%), 11 Pts, 17 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; you’ve got to hand it to Camby for battling through a bad back and putting up this killer line (he’s an unrestricted free agent after this season is over)

Pau Gasol: 7-16 FG (44%), 8-8 FT (100%), 22 Pts, 11 Reb, 11 Ast, 3 Blk; in his last seven Mamba-less games, Gasol is averaging 21.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 0.4 steals, 1.4 blocks and 2.3 turnovers, while shooting 47 percent from the floor and 81 percent from the charity stripe

Waiver-Wire Watch (four stars = must add; one star = keep an eye on him):
Samardo Samuels: 15 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Blk (*)

Jan Vesely: 8 Pts, 10 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO (**)

Richard Hamilton: 22 Pts, 4 threes, 2 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 TO (****)

Taj Gibson: 9 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 1 TO (**)

Bismack Biyombo: 7 Pts, 13 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 Blk (**)

Alan Anderson: 15 Pts, 2 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO (**)

Sundiata Gaines: 18 Pts, 4 threes, 6 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO (***)

Jerome Dyson: 24 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 TO (*)

Vince Carter: 23 Pts, 1 three, 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO (**)

Luke Babbitt: 16 Pts, 2 threes, 5 Reb, 2 Stl, 1 Blk (**)

Injuries:
Nate Robinson (hamstring): day-to-day

Reggie Evans (flu): day-to-day

Gilbert Arenas (finger): day-to-day

Chris Bosh (rest): monitor his status

Larry Sanders (illness): day-to-day

Shelden Williams (knee): day-to-day

Jared Jeffries (knee): day-to-day

Jamal Crawford (rest): monitor his status

Ray Allen (ankle): day-to-day

Rajon Rondo (back): day-to-day

D.J. Augustin (knee): day-to-day

Luol Deng (ribs): day-to-day

Wilson Chandler (hip): surgery knocks him out for the rest of the season

Kevin Martin (shoulder): nearing a return

Kobe Bryant (shin): will play Friday

Ronny Turiaf (hamstring): day-to-day

Emeka Okafor (knee): expected to miss the rest of the season

Baron Davis (hamstring/stomach virus): day-to-day

Hedo Turkoglu (face): looking at a return for the playoffs

Grant Hill (knee): day-to-day

Raymond Felton (Achilles): day-to-day

Joel Przybilla (illness): day-to-day

Rashard Lewis (knee): unlikely to play again this season

Andray Blatche (calf): ditto

For Tonight:
Anthony Randolph and Anthony Tolliver should get plenty of run tonight, as the Timberwolves visit the Pistons.