NBA Around the League 11/17: Brandon Jennings, Josh Smith and More

News

Rookie phenom John Wall missed Tuesday’s game between the Wizards and Raptors with a sprained left foot. Though Wall was seen in the arena on crutches, but don’t be too worried of his status. This doesn’t appear to be anything more than a sprain and should heal fairly quickly.

Brandon Roy missed the Blazers’ game against the Grizzlies Tuesday night. The recent news about Roy’s knee is that it is bone on bone and will be that way for the rest of his career. This could mean a decrease in Roy’s minutes as Portland attempts to maintain his health over the course of the season. Wesley Matthews should see the bulk of the minutes left by Roy.

Phoenix has signed seven footer Earl Barron to take the place of the injured Robin Lopez.

Theo Ratliff underwent arthroscopic surgery as planned on his left knee Tuesday. The loss of Ratliff has the Lakers on the market for another big man. Eric Dampier has been the name most mentioned to fill the void. Neither guy has any fantasy significance to speak of.

Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala has been having Achilles’ problems and missed Tuesday night’s matchup with Cleveland due to that injury. This is the third game Iggy has missed with this injury, although they have not all come consecutively. Iguodala played Sunday but informed coach Doug Collins Tuesday that he was again experiencing soreness. Collins put no timetable on Iguodala’s return.

Notes

Filling in for Brandon Roy, Wesley Matthews scored 30 points against the Grizzlies on Tuesday night. 

Who does Josh Smith think he is? Seven blocks? Wow. He also had 25 points, but that’s not really noteworthy. I guess I just noted it, though.

Roy Hibbert had a double-double last night with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Neither of those are ridiculously higher than his season averages, but a double-double always deserves mention.

The Wizards backcourt had a good night against the Raptors on Tuesday. Kirk Hinrich went double-double with 13 points and 12 assists. In the shooting guard role, Gilbert Arenas is starting to find his rhythm. In the last two games, he’s scored 50 points. His 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists on Tuesday look more like the old Arenas than anything we’ve seen in a while.

Shannon Brown has had a few very nice games this year. Against Milwaukee last night, he scored 21 points in as many minutes. Derek Fisher’s age means Brown should continue to get plenty of time on the court. He’s shown he can score on this team, so he might be worth a pick up in deeper leagues.

A couple of Milwaukee players had big nights in their loss to the Lakers on Tuesday. Point guard Brandon Jennings scored 31 points while Drew Gooden had 22 points and 13 rebounds. Gooden hasn’t been having a very good year, so the last two games have been a big encouragement to the Bucks and his owners. Gooden may finally be turning the corner on the way to a solid season.

Landry Fields had himself a huge game starting at the two-guard for the Knicks last night. Fields scored 21 and pulled down 17 boards.

Derrick Rose had 33 in a win over the Rockets. There’s no debating his scoring ability, but he needs to better develop his court vision if he is to make the next step in his development as a point guard.

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