Paul Out Thru All-Star Break?

It was a busy weekend as we head into Week 11 and there is plenty of injury news, surprising performances and fantasy news to fill several doses. Unfortunately, there’s only room for one.

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Games Played for Week 11

4 Games: ATL, BOS, BRK, DAL, DET, MIN, NOP, ORL, PHI, PHX, WAS

3 Games: CHA, CHI, CLE, DEN, GSW, HOU, IND, LAC, LAL, MEM, MIA, MIL, NYK, OKC, POR, SAC, SAN, TOR

2 Games: UTA

Chris Paul could be out until All-Star break

CP3 suffered a Grade 3 right shoulder separation and while he won’t require surgery, he’s expected to miss about six weeks of action. If he misses exactly six weeks he’d be back for the final 27 games of the season. Assuming he plays in the first game after the All-Star break, he would return on Tuesday, Feb. 18 when the Clippers face the Spurs. In the meantime, Darren Collison is as must-own as they come, while Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes could each see a boost in playing time.

Nicolas Batum dodged a bullet with a broken middle finger on his left hand, as he’s not expected to miss any time for the Blazers with the injury. He could have some trouble handling the ball and the pain could impact his game a bit, but considering the alternative, owners have to be thrilled with the diagnosis.

Check the Rotoworld Injury Report for updates on Eric Bledsoe, Russell Westbrook, Ryan Anderson, Nikola Vucevic, Carlos Boozer, Tiago Splitter, Jarrett Jack, Kyrie Irving, Rodney Stuckey, Tony Allen, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marc Gasol, Danilo Gallinari, Mario Chalmers, Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Shawn Marion and Draymond Green, who are all dealing with various injuries right now.

Pau Gasol for Andrew Bynum trade rumors

While nothing is imminent it appears the Lakers and Cavaliers will continue to try to work out a Pau Gasol-Andrew Bynum swap before Tuesday, which is the deadline for the Cavs to cut him without financial penalty. If Gasol does end up in Cleveland he would immediately become their starting center, while Anderson Varejao could displace Tristan Thompson at power forward. There’s a lot of chatter out there, but like I said, there is no indication that this deal is definitely going to happen. It also sounds like the Cavs are not willing to include Dion Waiters in the deal. And in case you missed it Pau is hot and went off for 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, a steal and three blocks on Sunday night.

Courtney Lee for Jerryd Bayless agreed upon

It appears that Courtney Lee is headed to the Grizzlies in exchange for Jerryd Bayless on Monday. That’s going to make things interesting for Boston PG Jordan Crawford, as he and Bayless could find themselves in a straight timeshare. As for Lee, he will share minutes with Tony Allen and Mike Miller at shooting guard in Memphis, but that shouldn’t cause many fantasy waves.

Dwyane Wade shockingly plays in back-to-back

Dwyane Wade surprised everyone by playing in back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday, and owners now have to hope he didn’t jeopardize any games in the upcoming week. The Heat go back-to-back again this week on Thursday and Friday at New York and Brooklyn, but with just three games this week, it’s conceivable that Wade could play in all three games. I’m starting him in weeklies.

J.R. Smith unties Shawn Marion’s shoe

Click here to see J.R. Smith untie Shawn Marion’s shoe while lined up for free throws. It’s pretty funny/clever/stupid and may or may not have anything to do with Marion limping off the court after hitting just 1-of-6 shots on Sunday. It will be interesting to see if Smith’s move earns him disciplinary action, but my guess is that it will. What if Marion would have stepped on his shoelace and fallen? Or what if his mysterious injury is related to his shoe being untied? In any case, you have to give Smith some credit for knowing how to get under someone’s skin.

Larry Sanders and Gary Neal go at it

Sanders and Neal got into a screaming match after Saturday’s game, when Sanders allegedly questioned Neal’s attitude during another loss. Neal didn’t smell what Sanders was cooking and made some comments about Sanders’ big payday, despite not really having proven himself. Both guys probably have a point and the only thing that would be surprising to me is if there wasn’t feuding in the Bucks locker room.

Kevin Love chokes on Saturday

Yes, the headline is harsh, but it’s hard to look at it any other way. Love went to the line to shoot three free throws with two seconds left in the game and trailing by two points. He missed the first, then the second, and then missed the rim when he was trying to miss the third, resulting in a loss to the Thunder. If this is the worst thing Love does to his fantasy owners this year, we’re all in pretty good shape.

Kevin Durant does not choke on Saturday

In the same game, the other Kevin, as in Durant, went nuts in the fourth quarter when he scored 23 and finished with an NBA season-high 48 points and a full stat line. He hit 16-of-32 shots, and has been shooting it 23 times per game since Russell Westbrook went down again. Durant’s numbers (35.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.0 3-pointers) over his last five games are ridiculous and he’s easily the best player in fantasy this season.

Danny Granger starting to buzzkill Lance Stephenson

Granger played a season-high 26 minutes on Sunday and had 10 points and two 3-pointers. He’s still not doing enough to be in most fantasy lineups, but he may be starting to slow the roll of Stephenson. Stephenson is still getting about 34 minutes per game over his last four, but has scored 10 or fewer points in three of his last four games after hitting double digits in eight straight games from Dec. 10 to Dec. 28. It’s also possible that he was just on a hot streak during that time, but the difference in the numbers is concerning. During the eight-game streak of double-digit scoring, when Granger was out or just working his way back, Stephenson averaged 37.2 minutes, 18 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.0 assists. In his four games since, when Granger has been getting more run, those numbers dip to 34.0 minutes, 10.75 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists. The last four games is a pretty small sample size and Stephenson’s minutes have only dipped slightly, but my guess is the dropoff is a direct result of Granger’s return. I’m not worried enough to drop Stephenson, but I will be keeping a close eye on this situation going forward, and weighing my options before automatically starting Stephenson.

Weekend Studs & Duds

After a slow start to the season, Thaddeus Young has been on a crazy tear for he Sixers, scoring in double figures in 13 straight games, and topping the 25-point plateau in six of his last seven games. Over that seven-game stretch he’s averaging 26.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.0 3-pointers. I don’t see why he won’t keep playing well, but keeping up that kind of pace doesn’t seem possible. It’s time to float him to your league and see if you can move Young for a stud that might be more reliable as the season winds down.

O.J. Mayo got loose for 20 points, five assists and four 3-pointers on Saturday, giving his owners a glimmer of hope after he totaled four points in his previous two games. His minutes swing wildly under Larry Drew and it’s just hard to trust anyone in a Bucks uniform at this point. Mayo has played 31, 18, 9, 24 and 27 minutes over his last five games, and his scoring has followed suit: 20, 4, 0, 19 and 13. Mayo is a mess and is one of those players that if you start in a weekly league, you shouldn’t look at his numbers until Monday morning when it’s all over.

Kenneth Faried finally came through for Denver on Sunday with 17 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. It may have come at the expense of J.J. Hickson, who had just six points and five rebounds in 22 minutes, and it’s important to note that Hickson has seen his minutes drop heavily in two straight, as he played just 23 minutes on Friday after seeing 30-plus in four straight games. This was Faried’s first double-double since Dec. 1 and I just hope he can keep it going without completely ruining Hickson. We’ll see.

Timofey Mozgov is heating up for the Nuggets and had 20 points, seven boards, two boards and two blocks on Sunday, while Nate Robinson got loose for 21 points off the bench, and hung on the rim for what seemed like about seven seconds after a dunk. Mozgov had a similar line on Friday and could be in line for 20-25 minutes a game going forward, so keep a close eye on him if you need a center. The problem is that he played just 10 and 12 minutes in his previous two games, and as you can imagine, the production was poor on those nights. Robinson scored 15 on Friday and now that the Nuggets have won two straight games and these two guys played well in both of them, they could get more love from Brian Shaw going forward.

Jon Leuer came out of nowhere Sunday to tie his career high with 23 points, along with eight rebounds and two 3-pointers. And when I say out of nowhere, he had scored 11, 4, 0, 5, 6, 11 and 2 points in each of his previous seven games. Tony Allen was out for Memphis, but this looks like a fluke any way you slice it. Just keep an eye on him in case he’s ready to go on another hot streak like he did over the first two weeks of December. Ed Davis had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and has double-doubled in two of his last three, but had five points and two rebounds in between the two good games. He also played less than 20 minutes in each of his last two, meaning he can’t be trusted.

C.J. Miles stayed hot on Sunday night with 21 points against a stout Pacers defense. He’s averaging 18.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 2.3 3-pointers over his last three games and may finally be ready to go on a consistent run, especially with Jarrett Jack and Kyrie Irving currently missing games for the Cavs.

Reggie Jackson scored a career-high 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting with three 3-pointers for the Thunder on Sunday. He had just two assists, but I doubt any of his owners are complaining. Russell Westbrook is throwing out a vibe that he’ll returner sooner than later from another knee surgery, but Jackson has been a fun ride since Westbrook went down.

Kendall Marshall handed out a career-high (obviously) 17 assists to go along with nine points, six boards, two steals and a 3-pointer on Sunday for the Lakers. He also scored 20 points on Friday and is paying off in a big way to those of you lucky enough to pick him up. Keep rolling him out there until he falls off a cliff. Jodie Meeks scored 23 and Nick Young had 21, and all three players should be owned in all leagues at this point.

Danny Green, Mirza Teletovic, Anthony Tolliver, James Johnson, Andrea Bargnani and Marcin Gortat (benched on Sunday) are all struggling mightily right now and should not be in your lineup, and it’s questionable as to whether they should even be on your roster.

Good luck in Week 11!