Live and in person, I was at the Staples Center last night to witness Michael Redd’s 45-point outburst against the Lakers, helping the Bucks pull the upset, 109-105. Redd shot 16-30 from the field, including 5-9 from behind the arc, and finished with eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. He has developed into (arguably) the best pure shooter in the league and has passed Manu Ginobili on my list of the best second round picks of the last 20 years. Meanwhile, Kobe led the Lakers with 27 points, but shot just 7-23 from the field and seemed none too happy about Redd’s explosion at his team’s expense. As a longtime Bucks fan and Laker-hater, it was a great, great night – objectivity be damned.
The win puts the Bucks at 5-9, but their record is a bit deceiving. Even though the season is young, Andrew Bogut, Bobby Simmons and Charlie Villanueva have all missed time due to injury, but they’re able to join Redd and Mo Williams for some consistent action, the young Bucks should improve and make a playoff push in the second half of the season.
The Nets lost at home to the Bobcats, 96-92. I’m starting to see a trend in the New Jersey box scores. Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic all score over 20, while no other player hits double figures save Jason Kidd, who constantly seems to flirt with a triple-double. The point? There isn’t one…I’m just sayin’.
The other surprise score was Toronto’s 94-77 win against the Hornets. In fairness, NO/OKC was missing David West and Peja Stojakovic, who missed the game due to injury.
I am in my first BasketBall Fantasy Leauge t/y. Our scoring is based on a nightly lineup w/ 3 G’s, 3 F’s, 2 C’s & 2 Util & a 12 man roster / 12 team leauge. My question is C.Villanueva was dropped a few wks back, & as his return comes closer, I am tempted to pick him up. It would cost me a #3 PG to drop (N.Robinson), as he is my lowest producer. If I do this, I will lose out on all potential stats I could get from his play untill Charlie returns. Should I make this move now, or gamble & wait, or pass all together?
I picked up Charlie V. a few weeks back when he was cut in one of my 82-game max leagues. That means that I can only play 82 games at each position, so I’m not substituting in and out on a daily basis (like you probably are?). If that’s the case with your league, it makes the decision pretty tough. When do you pull the trigger on Charlie V.? On 11/16, he was supposed to miss 4-6 weeks with an elbow injury. That would put him back in 2-4 weeks.
Nate Robinson is only averaging 10.4 ppg on the season, but he has been pretty good lately scoring in double figures in nine of the last 12 games. The problem is that he doesn’t do much else.
I’d probably go ahead and pick him up. Villanueva will help you once he comes back. The other option is to wait until his status is updated on Rotoworld and then pick him up.