Welcome to the first edition of Home Delivery, your comprehensive roundup of last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Read along each morning as we bring the headline news to you in a format your grandpa would appreciate -- wait, what's a newspaper?Man Ditches Agent Zero and Gets With Agent Hero
Gilbert Arenas returned to action Tuesday night against the Dallas Mavericks. As an Arenas owner, I'm a bit giddy over his performance -- 29 points, nine assists, 10-of-21 shooting from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. It's easy to look at his performance and state that he's "officially back," but we need to contain ourselves and play it cool. At least for one day.
More Fantasy Hoops: Browse Latest Player Notes | Replacing Blake Griffin
On the other side of the court, Dirk Nowitzki was a one-man wrecking crew. He scored 34 points and pulled down nine rebounds. More importantly, he drained two three-pointers and blocked two shots. Nowitzki owners have seen his three-point shooting and shot-blocking numbers drop over the past three seasons. It's a welcome sign to see those two categories return to his repertoire.
Also in the Headlines
Cleveland Cavaliers on Pace to Lose 82 Games
LeBron James dropped 38 points, eight assists, four rebounds, four threes, four blocks, and two steals on the Celtics in a losing effort. Shaquille O'Neal did his best to support the little diesel by posting 10 points,10 rebounds and a block on 5-of-11 shooting. James once again proved that he can hit free throws, making 10-of-13 from the line. He's still the top fantasy performer as far as I'm concerned.
Paul Pierce, however, wasn't as impressed. He led the Celtics to victory with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Garnett dropped a double-double -- 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. He too will have his fair share of headlines claiming that he's "back." Slow your roll, baby girl. I'll admit, though, I am glad to see him get off to a nice start.
Ladies Love Outlaws, Like Babies Love Stray Dogs
It was Travis Outlaw and his 23 points, four rebounds, two steals, three 3-pointers and one block on 9-of-14 shooting that led the way in the Blazers' victory over the Rockets. With Nicolas Batum out, Martell Webster stepped in and scored 14 points with two threes, two steals and a block. But Outlaw wasn't having any of it. Andre Miller came off the bench to add nine points, seven assists, four rebounds, and a steal on 3-of-11 shooting.
Aaron Brooks dropped 19 points, but went 0-for-6 from beyond the arc. Luis Scola, nursing a sprained ankle, had a quiet night -- three points, four rebounds, one block and one steal in 22 minutes. It was a heck of an effort by the Rockets, but not much doing from a fantasy perspective. Kyle Lowry played well, though -- 12 points, eight assists, two steals -- and could make for a nice add in deep leagues.
Los Angeles Goes on the Road and Loses to Los Angeles
After receiving his 2008-09 championship ring, Kobe Bryant went out and put up a "what up!" line -- 33 points, eight rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block. Andrew Bynum was no slouch either posting 26 and 13 on 9-of-15 shooting. Ron Artest had a ho-hum game and shot just 3-of-10 from the field. I was hoping the hair would inspire him to make better shot selections. Wrong. Chris Kaman, a guy who never goes quietly into the night, posted 18 points and 16 rebounds. I apologize, Mr. Kaman, for saying that you're a glance in the mirror away from missing 6-8 weeks. Give Eric Gordon the silver medal for his 21-point performance. Baron Davis? Made it through 13 drafts without having to deal with his 1-for-10 shooting from the field. Just awful.
Lost and Found
LeBron led the way defensively by blocking four shots and picking off two steals. Eh, he's alright.
Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo chipped in defensively last night with three steals apiece. Garnett and Rasheed Wallace patrolled the paint for the Celtics with three and two blocks, respectively. Rasheed isn't messing around this year. With Glen Davis out for an extended period I expect to see Wallace get extra minutes in the frontcourt.
Shawn Marion with three blocks and a steal last night. Isn't that exactly why you drafted him?
Caron Butler, interestingly enough, blocked two shots but picked up no steals. He boasts a career average of 1.7 steals and 0.2 blocks, so ripping is more his thing.
Two blocks and a steal from Andray Blatche. More on him later.
Drew Gooden picked two balls and blocked two shots. Not bad from a third center in most standard leagues.
Greg Oden was a force on the defensive side of the ball, blocking five shots and picking up one steal. His partner in crime, Joel Przybilla, picked up two blocks and ten rebounds in just 16 minutes.
The Lakers picked up 13 steals Tuesday night against the Clippers, highlighted by four from the Black Mamba himself, Kobe Bryant.
The starting backcourt for the Clips -- Eric Gordon and Baron Davis -- each added two steals and one block apiece. The two steals can be expected, but the blocks are an added bonus.
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I wrote earlier on Tuesday about Andray Blatche as an injury replacement for Blake Griffin and he did not disappoint -- 20 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, one steal, 8-of-14 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line. Flip Saunders decided to start Fabricio Oberto at the 'four' with Antawn Jamison out for the next 3-5 weeks. It was merely a formality. If you watched Blatche play the last thing that came to your mind was "this dude is raw." Blatche is a nice option, though I still suspect he'll have his ups and downs. Add him if you're looking for a big to replace one of the many injuries your team might be suffering from.Randy Foye is on the verge of being a must-add. Really, he proved Tuesday night that he's going to be a part of this rotation -- 19 points, two steals, and a three on 8-of-14 shooting in 30 minutes of play. If anything, he's shown that he can add value with Arenas in the lineup. I like him as an add in most formats.
Anthony Parker's final line was a modest one -- 10 points, four assists, three rebounds, two threes, two blocks and a steal in 40 minutes -- but he's a nice stat compiler who is widely available. While Delonte West remains out, Parker is a nice flier who should post a stat-line similar to Tuesday night's.
Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster are two intriguing adds, who I touched on earlier. I think Webster is a tad more consistent, but Outlaw has a better chance of an exploding stat-line, as we saw Tuesday night. I might give Outlaw the slight edge on this one, especially the way he was running alongside Andre Miller and the second unit.
We have a deep-league alert! Craig Smith took the lead in Blake Griffin's absence, putting up 12 points, six rebounds, a block and a steal in 19 minutes. I'm not buying him unless I'm in a league with 14 or more teams.
Sell
Honestly, not to cop-out on this section, but it's too soon to sell any players. Maybe the best I can do is admit I came out a little to strongly for DeAndre Jordan. He still needs a lot of work. He'll have one of those "breakout" games and I'll gush about him once again. Too soon to sell though on your key players.
Lotto Line26-2-33-5-5-7-5
As in Greg Oden played 26 minutes and scored two points on 33-percent shooting, but pulled down five rebounds and blocked five shots. He added seven turnovers and five personal fouls to fill out the lotto line of the evening. In a non-turnover league you can't get too disheartened. I know, the two points and 33-percent shooting are pretty awful, but on just 1-of-3 from the field, he didn't hurt in the way that Baron Davis did with his 1-of-10 showing. He's got three more games this week, so hopefully Oden will show us a little more offense and a little better handle of the basketball.
