Hardwood Recap "Smarting Sonics"

When ESPN went from the end of the Nets Cavs game to the Mavs Sonics game, it was already about 5 minutes in and just as I was getting excited to see the stud of my fantasy season Rashard Lewis, I realized he was not on the court. Lewis left the game early in the first quarter with what is being called strained tendons in his hand. While x-rays came back negative, I am definitely worried about this injury. With Allen already out for the Sonics, they still put up a fight against the Mavs. Allen is expected to come back Saturday and I hope Lewis will be able to play alongside him again. Dirk Nowitzki also left the game with an ankle injury leaving the nationally televised game with no star power whatsoever(but the game was actually very entertaining). Dirk's injury appeared to be rather serious, but the x-rays did come back negative. I think he may miss a few games with a sprained ankle though. 24 teams were in action last night and to be honest with you, not enough people are reading this site yet for me to care about giving all the info I can. Therefore, with so many games, I will only report important information.

Philidelphia 76ers
It looks as though Willie Green will be the 76ers' starting SG going forward and I think he has the potential to score almost 20 points per game, so if you need a scorer, look into Willie Green.

Utah Jazz
Mehmet Okur scored 30 points on 11-17 shooting including 4 treys while snatching 10 rebounds. I thought Okur was slowing down, but he proved me wrong in this game. Okur is a legitimate fantasy stud.

Atlanta Hawks
Joe Johnson proved he is over his calf injury with 27 points. Josh Smith has been a monster after a slow start. He went for 23 and 12 last night while adding 4 blocks. Josh Smith has excelent value if you play him at SG. His rebounding and blocking numbers are much better than any other SG. I think Smith has a good chance of leading the league in blocks by the end of the season.

New Orleans Hornets
First I have to mention Chris Paul's dunk on Dwight Howard. Make sure you watch Sportscenter at some point and watch that play. Rasual Butler and Desmond Mason had 15 and 14 points respectively and I think those are reasonable averages for those guys while David West and Peja Stojakovic are out.

Orlando Magic
I have been preaching Darko Milicic for a while now, promising that he would soon be starting, but it is starting to seem like he may not start this season and if there are guys you want on your waiver wire, you can drop Darko. Grant Hill scored 21 and added 7 rebounds and I would just like to give him props for never giving up and coming back after such serious injuries. Even if this is his last season, Hill should be remembered for his courage.

Charlotte Bobcats
Gerald Wallace had another outstanding game. He went for 28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 5 steals. It looks like Wallace is ready to have a big time fantasy impact.

New York Knicks
There is so much that can be said about the Knicks. 2 straight wins at home! Both coming in overtime or double overtime! Both coming on buzzerbeaters from Marbury and David Lee! It's been an exciting week to say the least at Madison Square Garden. An embarrassing brawl, and then back to back overtime wins. Marbury didn't play as well last night as he did against Utah. Marbury had just 10 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists even though he played 52 minutes. Crawford had a big game going for 25 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists, but missed two game winning shots in regulation and in the first overtime. David Lee is now everyones favorite white boy. Not only did he have 10 points and 19 rebounds, but with .1 seconds left on the clock in double OT, he tipped in the inbounds pass from marbury to give the Knicks one of the most stunning wins in franchise history. Channing Frye was huge for the Knicks going for 30 points and 6 rebounds. Fantasy owners have been waiting for Frye to come alive and this game could be the spark he needed. Eddy Curry also came up big with 29 points and 9 rebounds. But everyone knows if Curry didn't go 6-12 from the FT line, the Knicks would've won the game in regulation. It still baffles me that NBA players, Professional Basketball Players, they get paid to play basketball, their job is to make shots whether it be a three-pointer, a dunk, or a free throw, yet some players shoot under 50% from the FT line. Thats 15 feet from the basket with nobody in your face, nobody trying to block you. Just you, the ball, and the hoop, and you can't put it in from 15 feet away? Pathetic. Sure Eddy Curry has been great lately, but honestly, it wouldn't kill him to work on some free throws in practice.....pathetic.

New Jersey Nets
The Nets took on Lebron and the Cavs, and although Lebron did score 37, the Nets made him work for it with constant double teams and sometimes tripple teams. Anyway what I'm saying is, even though he put up 37, the Nets did a good job defensively and they came out with the win. The key player for the Nets was Vince Carter who came up big with 38 points after going 3 straight games with under 13 points. Kristic was also huge shooting 8-10 for 18 points. Jason Kidd didn't get the trip dub last night, but he came close with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists.

Milwaukee Bucks
Mo Williams dominated the Heat as he logged a tripple double with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. This guy is a solid PG and seems to be the Bucks 2nd scoring option behind Michael Redd who finished the game with 28.

Los Angeles Lakers
Kwame Brown started at center for the Lakers, but Andrew Bynum had a better game with 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks, compared to Brown's 6 points, 5 rebounds and 0 blocks. There is talk of the Lakers putting both of their big men on the court at the same time but Zen Master Phil Jackson says they are not ready for that. I think the move could happen soon and if it does, look for both players to have increased value.

Minnesota Timberwolves
Despite being up 10 going into the 4th quarter, they were outscored 34-7 in the final period and lost 111-94 to the Lakers. This is yet another dissapointing season for Garnett and the T-Wolves and you have to think there is a chance Garnett will get traded before the deadline. Garnett was great as he always is going for 22, 11, and 8 assists, but nobody else on the team comes to play except sometimes Ricky Davis and every once in a while, Mike James will decide to score. But this team is pathetic right now and it could be time for Garnett to go, just as it was time for Iverson to leave Phili.

Toronto Raptors
T.J. Ford was questionable for the game last night be he ended up playing and had 14 points and 9 assists. His injury was not serious and you should feel comfortable keeping him in your starting lineup.

Seattle Supersonics
Rashard Lewis left with an injury in the first minute of the game. He is being called day-to-day, but if he and Allen miss much more time, Wilcox will flourish. With the 2 studs out, the only playable guys for the Sonics are Ridnour, Wilcox, and Earl Watson.


~Brian Melnick aka Big Mel
Contact Brian at bigmel2k5@yahoo.com