Court Report: Philly blues

The future may be bright for the Sixers, but they've got some problems in the present. Tuesday night's NBA action also featured big games from Wesley Matthews(notes) and Derrick Rose(notes).

• The 76ers extended their losing streak to four games with their second loss to the Cavs in less than two weeks, proving that it’s not always sunny in Philadelphia after all. Their 2-9 start is the franchise’s worst since the ’95-’96 season, when they won just two of their first 15 games, finished the year 18-64, and landed Allen Iverson(notes) with the #1 overall pick in the ’96 draft. Sixers fans aren’t exactly calling for Doug Collins’ head, but let’s just say that the Eddie Jordan era doesn’t look half as bad right now. Collins has taken it upon himself to pin the team’s slow start on a tough schedule, but the fact remains that: A) the 76ers have had just the 14th strongest schedule so far, and B) their offense is even worse than it was last year, ranking in the bottom third in offensive efficiency.

• Philly has gone from boasting four players in the top-100 (Andre Iguodala(notes), Louis Williams(notes), Samuel Dalembert(notes), Elton Brand(notes)) to just two (Brand, Jrue Holiday(notes)), even with an added 3.4 possessions per game – yes, the 76ers have actually upped their pace under Collins. Andre Iguodala continues to be hampered by an Achilles injury, and is out indefinitely until he gets right (something he hasn’t felt all season). With the way things are going right now it’s hard to envision a scenario where Iguodala doesn’t get moved at the deadline to a contender like Dallas or Portland; all the more to worry about his value moving forward. Holiday and Brand have been the two lone bright spots so far, and after a fairly fluky first week that saw Holiday struggle and Brand play out of his mind, the two have settled into more sustainable production levels over the past two weeks (Holiday at 42nd in per-game value; Brand at 54th).

• Thaddeus Young(notes) led the way on Tuesday with a team-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds, and has shown that he at least warrants a roster spot in standard leagues. The minutes just haven’t been there this season, but keep in mind that amongst qualifiers (5 GP, 15+ MPG), Young is tied for 48th in per-minute value. There should be no shortage of opportunities/minutes with Iguodala sidelined for the immediate future, so pick him up now if he’s still there. As for the other three 76ers – Williams, Evan Turner(notes), and Andres Nocioni(notes) – I’m not at all sold yet. Williams’ field-goal percentage spike last season was highly fluky, and what we’re seeing now is just standard normalization in that area compensated by an abnormally high free-throw rate. Turner has impressed me on the glass, boasting the fourth-highest rebound rate amongst shooting guards, but has to make considerable strides in his shooting and foul rate. He’s taking way too many long twos and converting only 31 percent of them (average for swingmen is 38.8%), and is fourth amongst shooting guards with 4.2 fouls per 40 minutes. Nocioni is just generally underwhelming, and a large portion of his categorical positives comes from turning the ball over just one time a game. Besides threes and some blocks, there aren’t many counting stats to be had.

• Daniel Gibson(notes) led the way for the Cavs with 18 points, eight assists, and three treys, and remains a very useful fourth guard. I’m not too worried about Mo Williams(notes) cutting into his production either. My outlook on Williams remains quite dim, as I think his season was doomed from the get-go with all the off-season reports of him being highly discouraged by LeBron James’(notes) departure. Joey Graham(notes) proved to be the difference maker in this one, scoring 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting off the bench, but don’t mind him. He has scored 23 points in two games against the 76ers this season but just two points in his other eight games. Anderson Varejao(notes) (ribs) returned wearing a flak jacket he got from the Cleveland Browns but was rather quiet (9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block). J.J. Hickson(notes) continued to contribute next to nothing in the assists-steals-blocks department (0 assists, 0 steals, 1 block). His poor rebounding (5.3 per game) may cause Byron Scott to soon remove him from the starting lineup in favor of Antawn Jamison(notes).

• On a night when Joe Johnson(notes) struggled to find his shot (4-for-12 FG, 0-of-3 3PT), the Hawks relied on their depth to cruise to a 10-point win over the Pacers. The Hawks posted six players in double-figures (Josh Smith(notes) 25, Mike Bibby(notes) 16, Al Horford(notes) 15, Johnson 11, Marvin Williams(notes) 11, Jamal Crawford(notes) 11). Smith had his best game of the season, sending away seven shots and grabbing eight rebounds on top of his 25 points. The seven blocks weren't a career single-game high (swatted 10 in Dec. 2004), but his season average of 3.3 per game is. Jeff Teague(notes) played well in limited time (12 minutes, 6 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 threes) but is still having a tough time with Bibby playing surprisingly well.

• As expected, Danny Granger(notes) (22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Roy Hibbert(notes) (18 points, career-high 15 rebounds) led the way with Darren Collison(notes) and Tyler Hansbrough(notes) both out with sprained left ankles. The Pacers continued to get next to nothing out of the power forward spot as Josh McRoberts(notes) continues to underwhelm (2 points, 7 rebounds, 1-of-3 shooting). Tyler Hansbrough is having his own troubles with the playbook, potentially opening the door for James Posey(notes) to sneak into the starting five at some point. Definitely a platoon you want to avoid if possible moving forward.

• With John Wall(notes) out due to a sprained left foot, Gilbert Arenas(notes) saw his first start since early January and didn’t disappoint, turning in a very balanced line (20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 treys). Arenas has really found his form this past week, averaging 25 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 threes, and 1.5 steals in his last two contests. Let’s not get too far ahead ourselves here considering he put up duds in the two games prior and is still shooting just 37.4 percent from the field, but in the words of Herm Edwards, “WE CAN BUILD ON THIS!”. And by build, I mean sell high. I’d be lying if I told you that seeing him shoot 46.3 percent from deep (35.9% career) and sport a 1.3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio inspired much confidence on my end. I buy Wall as a top-end point guard and Hinrich as a reserve guard, but can’t say I’m at all on board with Arenas. Pawn him off if you can and let him be someone else’s headache. Same applies to Andray Blatche(notes), who shot over 50 percent for only the second time in nine games this season. Nick Young(notes) scored an efficient 20 points in just 29 minutes, but as has become customary, should go back into hiding for the next handful of games.

• There was nothing too noteworthy to report on the Raptors’ end as they shot just 40.7 percent as a team from the field. Linas Kleiza(notes) returned from a two-game absence from an Achilles injury to score 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. It’s time to get him at least back on your radars in standard leagues and rostered in deeper leagues. Sonny Weems(notes) poured in a team-high 16 points for his fifth straight double-digit scoring output, and seventh in 10 games this season. Weems is a nice short-term add, but Kleiza is the better long-term bet. Leandro Barbosa(notes) missed his fourth straight game with a strained left shoulder and should be dropped in most formats.

• Wesley Matthews, wow. Need I say more? Coming into the game with paltry averages of 9.5 points per game on 41.8 percent shooting from the field and 19 percent from three, Matthews dropped a career-high 30 points (11-of-19 FG, 5-of-10 3PT) in place of Brandon Roy(notes) (knee). In his previous 11 games Matthews totaled six threes, five steals, and one blocked shot. On Tuesday he totaled five threes, two steals, and one block alone. This is too big of a performance for Matthews to remain unrostered for now, especially with such a big injury cloud hanging over Roy, so go ahead and pick him up as a speculative add, but I’m going to need to see a couple more games before I fully endorse him moving forward. His game was not at all fantasy-friendly in the 11 games prior, and one big performance in a 12-game sample size isn’t (and shouldn’t) be enough to completely sway you the other way. Remember, coming into Tuesday’s contest, he was tied for 244th in per-game value behind the likes of J.J. Barea, Jeremy Lin(notes), and Dan Gadzuric(notes). And that was with 21.3 minutes per game. I can’t say I’m fully convinced that he’ll have more value than Rudy Fernandez(notes) the rest of the way.

• There were plenty of nice lines in this one from both sides – Andre Miller(notes) (19 points, 9 assists, 5 steals – the most steals by a Grizzlies opponent this season), Rudy Gay(notes) (20 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals), Zach Randolph(notes) (19 points, 14 rebounds), and Mike Conley(notes) (16 points, 6 assists, 2 threes). O.J. Mayo(notes) also chipped in 17 points, his highest point total since November 5 against Phoenix (23).

• Let Shannon play (in the fourth quarter). After a very mediocre 12-minute second quarter stint (2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls), Brown was picture perfect in the fourth quarter, hitting all six of his shots (four of them threes) for 16 of his 21 total points. He has dramatically improved his shooting this season (+9.6% FG, +18.5% 3PT, +10.5% FT) and is averaging a career-high 1.1 steals. Now if you’re one of my loyal readers you’ll know what to make of this for his long-term prospects. But that doesn’t mean you don’t ride out the hot streak while it lasts. Kobe Bryant(notes) (31 points, 7 rebounds, 11-of-11 FT) and Pau Gasol(notes) (18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks) continued to put up elite-level production, while Lamar Odom(notes), as always, found a way to fill the stat sheet (13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal).

• Brandon Jennings(notes) took advantage of a very defensively challenged Lakers point guard duo, tying Kobe with a game-high 31 points to go along with six dimes and four treys. Drew Gooden(notes) had his best game of the season with season-highs in points (22), rebounds (13), and threes? (2). He clearly appears to be over his early-season struggles (15.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals in his last four games) and warrants universal ownership. Corey Maggette(notes) found a way to hurt his team, though this time it wasn’t his fault, as he undercut Andrew Bogut(notes) when trying to contest a pass to Kobe – video of it here. Bogut put his arms down to brace his fall and appeared to re-injure his elbow. Bogut says the elbow is just sore, which is generally positive news, and he’ll have two days off to recover before Friday’s game against the 76ers.

• Derrick Rose does what Derrick Rose wants. After sitting out the final five-plus minutes of the third quarter with four fouls, Rose preceded to check back in at the start of the fourth quarter, put an abrupt end to a 11-0 Rockets run, and answer right back by leading the Bulls to 18 unanswered points (14 of which were his). Oh, how I ever regret doubting you. D. Rose currently sits at 32nd in per-game value, a direct result of marked progress in threes, steals, and blocks (points and assists as well), three areas that had previously limited his fantasy potential. Now he won’t average 24.7 points when Carlos Boozer(notes) gets back, but he has shown enough progress to be considered a great bet for top-50 numbers the rest of the way.

• Luis Scola(notes) and Brad Miller(notes) went to work on the Bulls’ frontcourt, combining for 48 points on 19-of-32 shooting. Scola has scored at least 24 points in four of his last five games and has just cracked the top-12 in per-game value. Scola proved just what he could do when given an opportunity last year yet he was once again severely underrated by most. Miller has clearly emerged as Adelman’s center of choice with Yao Ming(notes) (leg) sidelined and remains a great short-term plug-and play.

• The Knicks and Nuggets both easily surpassed the century mark as almost every notable player delivered a substantial line. Most notable from the Knicks was Landry Fields(notes), who set career-highs in points (21) and rebounds (17). He has re-emerged as D’Antoni’s shooting guard of choice with Toney Douglas(notes) in the midst of a massive shooting slump, hitting just 11 of his last 43 shots. The dynamic between Fields and Douglas will be an interesting one to monitor, as there are only so many minutes at the 2 spot available. Fields will be the steady hand with the lower ceiling, while Douglas will be very hot-and-cold but has the potential to put up huge numbers when hot. Nene Hilario(notes) is doing his best to silent his early critics with a string of four straight double-digit performances (averaging 15.5 points over that stretch), but the rebounds and steals aren’t quite there yet. He’s still a guy I’m not close to giving up on and one that actually makes for a decent buy-low. J.R. Smith(notes) was benched (played one minute) and is clearly in the doghouse now after showing up late for shootaround Monday morning. Feel free to cut ties here. Rookie Gary Forbes(notes) made the most of the extra minutes, scoring a season-high 19 points off the bench and falling just one rebound short of a double-double.

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