Daily Lies & Statistics: Raging Rondo

So we’re getting to the point where fantasy teams are starting to figure out who they really are. And that means trades! Just this weekend in a 10-team, 12-cat experts roto league I was offered Steve Nash for Rajon Rondo straight up. This one took me a few days to ponder. I was getting a top 10 talent who could score, shoot free-throws, and drain treys for a young point who is starting to realize his potential more and more, yet he’s unable to hit free throws, score more than a dozen points or hit

Sit on it, old man.

any threes. Gaaahhh! At this point I an in first place with 72 total points (1st in steals and assists, 4th in threes, 2nd in points and ft%) and the second place team has 61.5 points. If it ain’t broke? Well, after Rondo went for 13 points, 15 assists and 3 steals last night against the T-Wolves I couldn’t justify fixing what wasn’t broken. Maybe I’ll kick myself down the line, but it’s hard to make a deal like that when you’re talking about giving up one of the top young point guards in the game — a guy who I said will be a first-round draft pick next season! Denied.

Enough about me, let’s talk about last night. I thought we had a nice time… zing! To the games!

First things first — Jameer Nelson could be ready to go for Monday night. Pick this dude up!

Second things second — Tyrus Thomas took part in full-contact practice this weekend. He has a target return date for Saturday. Pick this dude up!

Noteworthy news and performances:

Chris Paul: He tweaked his sore ankle again last night, but managed to play through it. After putting in 30 points and 19 assists on Friday, it’s tough to swallow his 10 point, 8 rebound, 7 assist performance against the Raps. The same Raptors who don’t play any defense.

Jarrett Jack: With no timeline in the return of Jose Calderon, Jack has put up some solid lines. Including last night — 15 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and zero turnovers. Look at Jack as a flier while Calderon is out, though this week he may not be so helpful with the Raps playing only twice.

Ty Lawson: He was held scoreless in 17 minutes after getting the start for the injured Chauncey Billups. Lawson was out-played by Anthony Carter and probably lost a few minutes after this performance. Billups is questionable for Wednesday’s game.

Zach Randolph: Isiah Tomas has to be proud. Randolph scored 32 points and pulled down 24 rebounds in a win against the Nuggets. Props to Randolph who is shooting 50% from the floor and his second lowest per game shot attempts (15.5 per game) since the 2002-03 season. Greg Fox just threw up in his mouth, ladies and gentlemen.

Tony Allen: After taking over back-up guard position from Eddie House, Allen has gone off and scored 25 points on 60% shooting and four blocks over his last two games. He get’s a nightly ‘Tommy Point’ as well, if that’s a category in your league. He’s starting to make the case for being a deep league add. Just don’t tell that to his ACL.

Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant: There’s not much to talk about as the Lakers had their way with the Pistons — no surprise. Kobe and Artest, however, combined for 11 steals. That seemed noteworthy to me.

Ben Gordon/Richard Hamilton: Ugh. Both sat out (ankles). Both are day-to-day. Both went to UCONN. Both are probably really nice guys. Both could sit out the rest of the season for all I care. I luckily don’t own either.

Delonte West: Scored 30 points over his last two games and looks like an intriguing add. The only concern I have is that he’s hit just one trey all season long, after making 91 last season. He’s close to being a standard league add.

Tim Thomas: He scored a team-high 22 points against the Cavs last night. I guess it’s worth noting that he started in place of an injured Dirk Nowitzki, who got the old ‘teeth in the elbow’ injury. He’s questionable for Tuesday night’s game, but hopefully will return soon enough so that I don’t have to write about Tim Thomas anymore.

Gerald Wallace: Wallace sat out against the Knicks due to “severe headaches.” I too get severe headaches watching Tyson Chandler play, so I don’t really blame him. Chandler did have 13 points and 14 rebounds, but even a (edit: broken) clock is right twice a day, isn’t it?

Andre Miller: Now he’s starting to get it. Miller scored 17 points and dished 4 dimes in 31 minutes last night. He looks like he might understand his role in Portland. Swish and dish!

Quentin Richardson: You gotta give it to him — 7-of-7 from the floor, all three-pointers!  Shoot it! He has value as a three-point shooter who can occasionally breakout on the offensive end. Plus he tweets a lot.

Jonathan Bender: Hit the double-digit mark in just his second game played since 2005. He hit all 3 of his 3-point attempts, scoring 11 points in 15 minutes. He’s made all 4 of his 3-point attempts on the season. Nice story, but not worth a fantasy add.

Tonight — Five games: MIL @ IND, UTA @ ORL, SAC @ CHI, LAC @ SAS, and CLE @ PHO.

Spot starts: Omri Casspi, Ersan Ilyasova, Brandon Rush, Taj Gibson, Delonte West, Anderson Varejao.