fBasketballBlog

Curry was hot last night. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

Beast of the Night: Stephen Curry owned the Jazz last night, finishing with 29 points, five boards, 12 assists, three steals and a pair of threes. He shot 71 percent (10-14) from the floor, 88 percent (7-8) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. This was a nice bounce-back game for Curry, who had just 18 points on 7-of-23 shooting in his previous two games. For the season, he’s averaging top 10 numbers, which is right in line with expectations. Now let’s hope his ankles stay intact.

Lines for Discussion:
Derrick Rose: 12-26 FG (46%), 6-9 FT (67%), 2 threes, 32 Pts, 4 Reb, 13 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; Rose has scored 32+ points in four of his last five games

Amar’e Stoudemire: 16-27 FG (59%), 2-4 FT (50%), 34 Pts, 11 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; STAT has been a huge disappointment so far this season and inconsistency will plague him the rest of the way, but there’s still a reasonable dose of optimism to be had here

Landry Fields: 7-10 FG (70%), 0-1 FT (0%), 3 threes, 17 Pts, 4 Ast, 1 Stl; in his last nine games, Fields is averaging 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 threes, good for top 40 value (continue reading…)

That anonymous hand on the right represents the hand of all Lowry's owners this season. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Beast of the Night: Kyle Lowry lit up the Lakers for 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and four three-pointers. He shot 42 percent (8-19) from the field, 100 percent from the free-throw line (2-2) and turned the ball over twice. Believe it or not, Lowry is putting up top three overall averages so far this NBA season.

Lines for Discussion:
D.J. Augustin: 10-18 FG (56%), 2-2 FT (100%), 4 threes, 26 Pts, 4 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; so far, he’s putting up better numbers than he did last season

Boris Diaw: 0-5 FG (0%), 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk; scorching start was unsustainable, but he’ll get back on track

Kyrie Irving: 8-10 FG (80%), 2-2 FT (100%), 2 threes, 20 Pts, 3 Reb, 6 Ast, 2 Blk; he’s averaging 14.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.8 steals, a block and 1.2 threes through the first five games of his NBA career (continue reading…)

Aldridge had a surprising 2010-11 season. Let's see if he can build on it. (Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

Depth chart:
PG: Raymond Felton, Armon Johnson, Nolan Smith, Patty Mills**
SG: Wesley Matthews, Brandon Roy, Elliot Williams, Jon Diebler
SF: Gerald Wallace, Nicolas Batum, Luke Babbitt
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge
C: Marcus Camby, Greg Oden**, Earl Barron, Chris Johnson

** restricted free agent (continue reading…)

Aldridge continues to play like a star. (Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

[Read the full post at DimeMag.com]

Weekend Wonder: LaMarcus Aldridge averaged 36.5 points, seven rebounds, 2.5 assists, two steals and 1.5 blocks in two games over the weekend. He shot 62 percent from the field, 84 percent from the line and averaged 2.5 turnovers. Aldridge has been on a tear lately and is posting top-five averages in the last month. His owners have to hope that things don’t change too much once Marcus Camby returns later this week.

Lines for Discussion:
Brook Lopez (2/11): 14-27 FG (52%), 3-6 FT (50%), 31 Pts, 11 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO

J.J. Hickson (2/11): 12-19 FG (63%), 3-3 FT (100%), 27 Pts, 14 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 Blk, 7 TO (continue reading…)

No one could keep up with Augustin last night. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

[Read the full post at DimeMag.com]

Beast of the Night: D.J. Augustin put up 31 points, four rebounds, eight assists, one steal and three three-pointers last night. He shot 65 percent (11-17) from the field, 100 percent (6-6) from the line and had three turnovers. He has exceeded most owners’ expectations so far this season by averaging top-50 numbers so far, and is in the midst of having his best month yet.

Lines for Discussion:
Andre Iguodala: 7-11 FG (64%), 5-9 FT (56%), 19 Pts, 5 Reb, 5 Ast, 4 Stl

Thaddeus Young: 9-14 FG (64%), 3-3 FT (100%), 21 Pts, 6 Reb, 2 Blk, 2 TO (continue reading…)