Hoops Lab: Crushing Game in the Jungle

I'm sorry, y'all. I know this is an NBA article, but I've got to talk some NFL right now. Consider it part of my therapy, so if you only want to talk NBA, scroll down to the Around the NBA portion below. But I've got to get this off my chest.

So, yeah. I'm a Cincinnati Bengals fan. And that game…yeah, that happened.

I think the worst part of it, for me, was watching them fight and claw all the way back from a 15-0 fourth quarter deficit, relying on grit because the team lacked talent without their star quarterback and managing to overcome and take the lead and the ball with less than two minutes left. The game was supposed to be over. It was SUPPOSED to be over. Ugh.

Upon reflection, it's funny how much that game played out like the nightmare version of a book or an epic movie. The classical epics, as you literature fans know, always have characters with foreshadowed fatal flaws. Because of that, you can often see that character's downfall coming before it actually happens.

The Bengals were like that on Saturday, everyone falling prey to their own fatal flaws. Jeremy Hill has had fumbling problems all season; that's why Giovani Bernard is typically the late-game running back choice. But with Bernard out with a concussion, Hill gets the crucial late carries and, of course, fumbles at the worst possible time.

Adam Jones has a long history of terrible decisions that almost cost him his career, back when he was going by PacMan. He has cleaned up his image and been a strong member of the Bengals but, of course, he lost his cool and shoved a Steelers coach at the worst possible time.

Vontaze Burfict…sigh. Burfict is one of the best defensive players on the team but he's also extremely hot-headed, and it can cost him. When the Steelers torpedoed Bernard in the face with a helmet, I leaned over to my wife and told her that Burfict was going to do something horribly illegal to a Steelers player and get himself ejected. I tried to mentally prepare for it, but he threw me off when he used his anger to turn himself into Lawrence Taylor for most of the fourth quarter. With his huge sack on Ben Roethlisberger and his late interception, Burfict was all set to be the hero until, of course, he let his temper get him in trouble with that cheap shot on Antonio Brown at the worst possible time.

In every case, you could just feel it coming. But I'm not done.

The refs. I know you're not supposed to complain about the refs, and the vogue thing to say is that they don't affect the outcome. That's BS. Refs absolutely affect the victory probability for each team, every game. Their calls may not pre-determine a winner, but they can strongly influence it. So when they call a defenseless receiver 15-yard penalty on the Bengals in the first half for a clean hit, while NOT penalizing the Steelers for a much more egregious helmet-to-helmet hit that led to a fumble, that affects the game.

And when those same refs, who already knew that the Steelers coaches were willing to bait the Bengals (see Mike Munchak pulling Reggie Nelson's hair in the first half), allow Steelers assistant Joey Porter to go stand in a Bengals huddle then penalize the Bengals for reacting to him, that affects the game.

Argh.

And to add insult to injury, my wife and her family are from Pittsburgh, which means I get to hear about this loss FOREVER! Ugh.

Outside of when I sat in the Staples Center with my 1-year old son, both of us wearing Kevin Garnett jerseys having flow cross-country for Game 7 of the 2010 Finals only to have the Celtics snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, this Sunday's Bengals loss was quite possibly the most painful loss of my career as a fan. And that is saying something considering how much of an art form the Bengals have made of losing in their history. So I needed to vent about the game so I could move on. Thanks for helping me get through this.

Around the NBA

• Anthony Davis has missed the last two games after injuring his back Friday when he dove into the stands to save a loose ball and landed hard on his back. The injury is not considered serious, so consider him day-to-day.

• Draymond Green may sit out Wednesday against the Nuggets and Thursday against the Lakers in order to get some extra rest. The timing is strategic, as the Nuggets and Lakers are both among the weakest teams in the league. Green has played in every game this season, averaging 35 minutes per game, but he already sat out Tuesday's practice and may sit for a couple of days.

• Carmelo Anthony sprained his right ankle Tuesday night and had to leave in the second quarter. Melo was back-pedaling and seemed to roll his ankle on either the referee's foot or a wet spot on the court. He attempted to play in the second half, but had to leave after 20 seconds. He had X-rays taken, which were negative, but it seems likely that he will miss Wednesday's game. Be on the lookout for official word, and consider him day-to-day.

• Derrick Rose had to leave Tuesday night's game with left patella tendonitis. He attempted to return, only to have to leave again and return to the locker room. The game would go down to the wire, so it was clear that Rose couldn't return. Consider him (very) questionable until further information comes available, but anytime you hear "Derrick Rose" and "knee injury" in the same sentence you have to be very uncomfortable.

• DeMarre Carroll had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and is expected to be out for six to eight weeks. Carroll had been battling the sore knee off and on for months, so it is actually good that he finally is taking care of it. His upside isn't high enough that he has to be kept on fantasy rosters until his return, but if he is cut in your league, set an alarm for him as a possible late-season pick-up.

• Mike Conley has sat out the last four games due to a sore Achilles. He practiced on a limited basis Monday but didn't show enough improvement to be cleared for Tuesday's game. Mario Chalmers has been starting and receiving the bulk of the point guard minutes in Conley's absence, and he has shown himself to be a worthy DFS play most nights and potentially a short-term pick-up candidate in season-long leagues.

• Elfrid Payton has missed the last four games with an ankle injury, and he was unable to practice Monday. The Magic don't play again until Thursday, so he still has some time to recover, but he should be considered day-to-day at best. In Payton's absence, Victor Oladipo has returned to the starting lineup and played very well, averaging 18.8 points (55.3 percent FG, 90.9 percent FT), 6.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks in 37.8 minutes per game.

• Omri Casspi was a full participant in practice Tuesday and will play Wednesday against the Pelicans barring a major setback. Casspi had missed four straight games with soreness in his upper back, but he has practiced on consecutive days and seems close to full health. He's expected to return to the starting lineup and get his usual minutes, making him a regular consideration in DFS again.

• Derrick Favors has now missed 10 straight games with a sore back, an injury that was considered minor and has had him listed as day-to-day. He took part in the pre-game workout Sunday, and he is still considered to be close to a return. He could return Wednesday, which would reunite him with Rudy Gobert, who is also back from a long injury absence.

• Like Kyrie Irving last week, another point guard has moved beyond his minutes restriction after recovering from injury. Jrue Holiday spent the early part of the season playing partial games, while playing only half of each back-to-back. He started playing both games of back-to-backs last month, and last week he finally moved beyond his minutes restriction. In his first two no-limit games, Holiday averaged 22 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.5 steals and even a blocked shot in 35.5 minutes per game. Without the restriction, Holiday is an impact player.

Back-to-backs 1/13– 1/20
TW: Celtics, Mavericks, Rockets, Pacers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Knicks, Thunder
WT: Warriors, Kings, Jazz
TF: Bulls, Cavaliers
FS: Hawks, Nets, Celtics, Hornets, Bucks, Trail Blazers, Wizards
SS: Lakers
SM: Mavericks, Rockets
MT: Pelicans

New Additions and DFS value

Ian Mahinmi (41 percent owned in Yahoo! Leagues): Mahinmi has been in this space previously, but a cooler spell took him off some radars. However, he has found himself recently, averaging 12.8 points, 9.5 boards and 1.8 blocks per game over his last four.

Tony Allen (40 percent) and Mario Chalmers (25 percent): Both players are primarily short-term DFS adds, as Chalmers has been starting for the injured Mike Conley while Allen was starting for Courtney Lee. Lee returned Tuesday, but Allen played well anyway, starting in place of Matt Barnes and producing 17 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals in 32 minutes. If injuries conspire to get Allen another start, he is worth a look in DFS games. Meanwhile, Chalmers has averaged 15.8 points, 6.5 assists and 5.0 boards per game while starting in place of Conley and is worth a DFS look and possibly a short-term add if Conley continues to sit.

Manu Ginobili (28 percent): Ginobili is a classic, and he plays limited minutes off the bench, but as long as it isn't a game in which he's sitting, he can provide solid value. He is averaging 8.7 points, 4.0 assists, 2.7 boards, 1.3 steals and 1.0 treys per game over his last three, and while those numbers aren't anything to write home about, he produces enough to remain on the fantasy radar. He's certainly worth considering as a cheap shooting guard option most nights in DFS.