Last night in particular, they were very impressive. Or else the Rockets were just very pathetic. HOU started off on a roll and went up 16 points early in the second. They then proceeded to suck it up for the rest of the game and ended up being routed by 29 pts. Here's some important notes I took away from the play-by-play:
2Q, 11:00 - HOU up 32-16, Aaron Brooks layup. Everything is still good.
2Q, 7:35 - HOU up 41-31, Vujacic made 3 (LAL already cut the lead by 6, HOU should've called timeout to reinsert some starters)
2Q, 6:54 - HOU up 43-33, Odom off. reb, layup (lead is still 10, but obvious that the HOU bench isn't making anymore gains, and 5 minutes have already elapsed. That should be enough rest for the starters, again, should've called a timeout)
2Q, 5:31 - HOU up 45-38, Bynum layup (FINALLY, HOU calls a timeout to reinsert Yao and McGrady, but not Artest?!? After coughing up 9 pts of their lead and over half of the second quarter over. LA counters with reinserting Kobe & Gasol)
2Q, 4:54 - HOU up 45-40, Kobe jumpshot (HOU calls another timeout, NOW puts in Artest)
By this point, what was looking like a rout of LAL is suddenly anyone's game. Why waste this timeout, when all three Houston stars should have been put in 2-3 minutes ago, when the lead was 10? Now all the momentum is on LAL's side and they're at home! By halftime, the score is 48-50, Lakers, and the Lakers never look back. Their bench (random 4+ Bynum and random 4+ Gasol) blow it wide open at the beginning of the fourth, turning a 9 pt lead to a 19 pt lead in the first 6 minutes, all while Kobe is on the bench. By the time Kobe enters at 5:54, the rout was on and the game was essentially over.
It's important to note that the HOU stars didn't exactly play big minutes. Yao (27), T-Mac (32), Artest (32). What the hell was Adelman saving them for. You're up 16 on the road against LA, you should be going for the knock out blow. They didn't play Saturday night and their next game isn't until Wed, why are they resting? If it's a real blowout, they can rest in the 4th, but don't let the opponent get back in the game in the 2nd quarter! Bah, it was just so frustrating to watch. Attention NBA: LA now officially have a "big four". Whether it's Bynum, Gasol, or Odom... odds are their bench lineup will have 1-2 better players than your bench. Opposing teams, you can beat LA. Just play your starters 35-40 minutes, else that LA bench will kill you. Saving your stars is gonna get you blown out.
Still though, I'd like to temper overly excited LA fans that their schedule hasn't exactly been tough. POR, LAC twice, DEN, and HOU. 4 of which were at home at Staples (including one of those @ LAC games). Their upcoming schedule will be a bit tougher, their next 6 games include 3 real road games (none of that Clippers @ Staples crap) against 3 (arguably 4) tougher opponents in DAL, NO, DET, and PHX. Gimmes against CHI and DEN round out the next 6 games. If the Lakers come out of that 4-2 or better, then maybe I'll admit they're really the team to beat.
All that LA ranting aside, it's also Monday, so it's time for another fantasy update. For the week, I went 2-1 in my Yahoo leagues and 2-1 in my CBS leagues. In the Yahoo format, I'm sure my initial 76ers/Jazz strategy doesn't look so great right now considering the slow start by all the 76ers and the continuing injury to Deron Williams. All I can say is stay postive. For the 76ers, it's all about team chemistry. There's nothing physically wrong with any of them (as far as I've read), so just hope that the team will "click" sooner or later. As for the Jazz, hopefully you picked up Boozer or AK too because both of them are putting up great numbers and should continue to do so. And if you got Okur too... oops, well, sorry to inform you that he's been given permission to return to Turkey today to attend to "personal matters". Not exactly sure what's going on, but it's probably serious for him to leave the team. And considering it's out of country and all, I wouldn't expect Okur to be back for at least a week or two. In the meantime, expect Millsap to pick up most of Okur's minutes, so give him a whirl if you're in need of some traditional big man numbers.
Other fantasy notes to be aware of....
- Hinrich is out for 3 months. I don't see any real pickups available though. Maybe a flyer on Hughes, but I think it just means more minutes for Ben Gordon. So if you have Gordon already, be happy.
- Parker is out a month. If he's still available, Roger Mason should see a bump in minutes and stats for the Spurs.
- Telfair and Love have both begun starting for the Wolves and are posting decent numbers. Both are worth a pickup if they're available in your league.
- Chandler has taken the starting job from David Lee. Despite his excellent preseason performance, it's long been known to Suns fans that D'A has never been a big fan of Lee's game. I'm still not convinced about Chandler, but if you have Lee, you can think about trading him or cutting him depending on your league's depth
- Sessions has been sent back to the bench by Skiles in favor of Ridnour. In 3 games off the bench though, Sessions has still managed to produce some very serviceable stats with avgs of 18.6 pts, 3 rebs, and 4.6 asts. Skiles is reportedly not happy with Session's defense and he's notoriously fickle with his rotation from his CHI days. Still though, Sessions remains a strong play. In fact, if you can manage to trade FOR Sessions without giving up too much, I'd definately do it.
- Brandon Wright and CJ Watson are both starting in GS.
- Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is putting up some steady stats in MIL.
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