Last week in my schedule breakdown I wondered why the NBA did not schedule any games on Christmas Eve. I was really questioning that decision Wednesday night when I was struggling to find anything on television worth watching.
The situation was made even worse because TNT and TBS were both showing A Christmas Story. I suppose on some level it makes sense not to program against yourself when the Christmas Story marathon is ridiculously popular anyway. I just wish I would have had another viewing choice Wednesday night, since I consider A Christmas Story the most overrated Christmas movie of all time.
As I was thinking about this—I was pretty bored Wednesday—I realized TBS and TNT showing A Christmas Story is actually quite similar to the way Gregg Popovich periodically rests half of his players all at the same time. NBA fans would probably like it better if they got to see at least one of the Spurs’ better players in those games, but Popovich is probably wise to rest several players at once to give his team the best possible chance of winning the other games, just don’t tell that to anyone who has tickets to one of the resting games.
Another prominent NBA player got some rest this week, as Kobe Bryant missed a Christmas Day showdown with the Chicago Bulls. The obnoxious handwringing over Kobe Bryant’s shot selection reached an entirely new level of ridiculousness as the Lakers actually moved the ball and looked more aesthetically pleasing offensively than they have all season. Never mind that the Lakers never actually threatened the Bulls at any point, or that the Bulls looked completely disinterested in playing defense for the first three quarters. Kobe’s haters—they are everywhere—used that game as an opportunity to pile on even more. I wonder if any of those critics bothered to watch the Lakers shoot 36.4 percent against a Dallas team not known for its defense. Does anyone honestly think the Lakers could not have used Kobe in that game?
Resting players has become an increasingly common practice in the NBA as every head coach not named Tom Thibodeau realizes the smartest thing he can possibly do is emulate Gregg Popovich in every way. It is more important than ever for fantasy players to check their players’ starting status before tipoff, as you never know when Carmelo Anthony or Kyrie Irving will get an extra day off to rest a nagging ailment. With that in mind, we begin our weekly look at the latest NBA injuries with Bryant and his aforementioned holiday break.
Kobe Bryant has a pretty good chance to play Sunday after resting the previous three games, according to head coach Byron Scott. It is fair to wonder if Bryant would need so much rest if he was not taking 22.4 shots per game, but in any case he should be good to go moving forward.
Eric Gordon said Friday he plans to return to the court in about two weeks. His torn labrum has already caused him to miss a month. Gordon was averaging a career-low 9.5 ppg on .398 percent shooting, and he should not be owned in 12-team fantasy leagues. Austin Rivers has played reasonably well with Gordon out, and as a result Gordon could see fewer minutes when he returns.
Kevin Durant’s ankle sprain was called mild by the Thunder, but it has caused him to miss five consecutive games. Durant participated in some of Friday’s morning shootaround, which could indicate his return is imminent. Russell Westbrook is averaging 32.6 points per game over the five games Durant has missed, and he will likely come back down to earth a bit when Durant returns.
Ersan Ilyasova did not play Friday after taking a blow to the head Tuesday. He is dealing with concussion-like symptoms, and will be evaluated prior to Saturday’s game against the Hawks. It sounds like Ilyasova will return soon, though head injuries can be unpredictable.
David Lee played three games this week after returning from a hamstring injury, and the results were a bit underwhelming. Lee averaged 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in 17.7 minutes. His minutes have increased slightly in every game, which is encouraging, but until he starts playing 25 minutes or more he should probably remain on your bench.
Chris Bosh will not play Saturday, his eighth consecutive game missed with a calf injury. The Heat are extremely thin up front with Bosh and Josh McRoberts out and Shawne Williams questionable Saturday. Chris Anderson could be worth a shot for deep-league teams who need rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard remains out after re-injuring his hand last week. He still does not have a clear timetable for his return. Marco Belinelli is averaging 12 ppg over the last five games, and his fantasy owners can expect similar production until Leonard returns.
LaMarcus Aldridge did not play Friday due to an upper respiratory infection. Thomas Robinson started in place of Aldridge, though he played just 20 minutes as the Trail Blazers handled the 76ers. Robinson should continue to start and see increased minutes if Aldridge misses any more games.
J.R. Smith remains out with a heel injury, though it appears he is close to returning. Tim Hardaway Jr. has picked up the scoring slack with Smith out, though Hardaway will be droppable as soon as Smith or Iman Shumpert return. Shumpert is still about a week away from returning to practice.
Kyrie Irving was cleared to play Friday but held himself out after it was giving him some trouble in pregame warmups. Matthew Dellavedova started for Irving and played 36 minutes, though Dion Waiters played 33 minutes and scored 17 points on 14 shots. Waiters is a must-start with Irving out.
Irving of course was resting an injury, but as the season goes along we will probably see even more players resting while healthy, like Kobe Bryant did this week. Now all we need is for all of Kobe’s haters to give it a rest. The Lakers are a terrible team with or without him, so he may as well take 25 shots when he is out there.