Dropping Dimes On The Daily is all about the team looking at the previous night’s performances and mentioning those that did pretty goodly and those that did pretty badly.  Goodly is a word, right?  Anyway, this will be a quick look around the league, so don’t expect a ton of text, just some daily fantasy basketball goodness!!!  Please note that this is the fantasy basketball section of ElevationMag.com’s Daily Top Picks.  Check it out and see your daily rumors, quotes, headlines, and facts!  But read the fantasy section HERE!
Fig Cap: I am going to tell Jackie!

A slow night for the Association on Tuesday with only five matchups, however, there’s still enough info for fantasy ballers to digest. Let’s sink our teeth into the first match-up in NYC.

The Clippers are in the midst of a 7 game road trip and look like a tired bunch already, after only their third road game, which was against the Knicks last night. Elton Brand had his hard hat on and pounded out 22 points and 13 rebounds. Cuttino Mobley on the other hand took the night off for fantasy owners with zero points… ZERO POINTS?!?! There was no report that Mobley was hurt, so chalk it up as an off-night. Doug Christie got his most burn with 21 minutes since signing his 10-day contract. If Christie sticks for the rest of the season and Corey Maggette is not traded by the deadline, Christie may steal some PT from Maggette. I can envision Coach Dunleavy using Christie for defensive purposes and Maggette for offense off the bench. Nonetheless, leave Doug and Jackie Christie on the waiver wire.  How about Tim Thomas last night?! Thomas dropped six threes and finished the night with 22 points and 4 rebounds. Did you see the dunk Thomas crammed on David Lee?! If Thomas gets consistent burn then he should be a hot pick-up off the waiver wire.

Speaking of David Lee, the St. Louis native with the Chinese sounding name had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Coach Isiah Thomas had Jerome James in the starting line-up for the second game in a row. When will Coach Thomas realize what fantasy owners already know that Lee should be in the starting lineup?! If Lee is the yin with a good night then Channing Frye is the yan and is bound to have a bad night. Last night Fyre had 6 points with 3 rebounds when in the prior game he dropped 18 points   with 7 boards. How did Lee do in the last game? Lee’s line was 9 points with 6 rebounds. Eddie Curry and Jamal Crawford were monsters last night dropping 23 points each.

Quick guess, who had the most assists for the Detroit Pistons last night? You probably guessed Chauncey Billups, right. On most nights you would be correct but last night it was the masked one Richard Hamilton that dropped $1.10 worth of assists. Hamilton finished with a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists. Billups was the leading scorer for the Pistons with 24 points. He also dropped 7 assists and had 3 treys in the contest. Chris Webber is looking comfortable in the Detroit line up. Last night’s line for Webber 17 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Are you tired of Rasheed Wallace’s Jekyll and Hyde fantasy lines? Last night, Sheed was terrible with 8 points and 2 rebounds.

Don’t look know but Rajon Rondo had his second start for the Celtics and played well. Last night 8 points and 11 assists coupled with his first start of 23 points and 6 assists could make Rondo and intriguing waiver pick up. The real test is how the starting line up will look like with the return of Paul Pierce. Al Jefferson was in foul trouble again and could only muster 10 points and 9 rebounds. Ryan Gomes was the leading scorer for the Celtics last night with 19 points and 4 rebounds. The quest for more ping-pong balls continues for the Celtics. 

Tracy McGrady was vintage last night. Check out these numbers from McGrady, 33 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. If you look further you will see that he was 8 for 8 from the line meaning that he is back to his slashing ways. McGrady looks healthy for now and fantasy owners are happy. Please tell me how the ageless wonder Dikembe Mutombo grabs 13 rebounds and only score 1 point? If anyone is keeping tabs Shane Battier had 14 points and 6 rebounds against his ex-team and Rudy Gay whom Battier was traded for only had 5 points.

The only Grizzlies worth mentioning was Pau Gasol. He was a monster last night, 30 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks?! How can the Grizzlies get fair value if they trade Gasol? Mike Miller was cold from 3-point range, he was 0-8 from beyond the arc but still finished with 12 points 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Time to sell high on Earl Boykins and Charlie Bell. Boykins dropped 24 points with 6 assists and Bell had 20 points and 6 rebounds. It was no coincident that Mo Williams had an off night with 13 points and 8 assists. Once Michael Redd is back from his injury both Boykins and Bell’s fantasy value will take a hit. Reuben Patterson was on fire last night with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Looks like Charlie Villanueva is getting over his shoulder woes with his 22 points and 9 rebounds performance.

Keith Bogans had his best game as the injury fill in for Grant Hill, 19 points with 3 treys will make the coach smile. Bogans is not worth a waiver pick up unless you are desperate for a SG. Dwight Howard was back to his double double ways with 21 points and 11 rebounds. How did you like his perfect FG% (9-9)? Now if we could fix Howard’s FT%, he went 3-7 from the line. Jameer Nelson was suppose to light it up in Hill’s absence but he dealt fantasy owners triple 5s, 5 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists last night.

The Phoenix Suns were without Steve Nash last night, who is still nursing a tender shoulder. No worries the Brazilian speedster Leandro Barbosa took over the PG duties and was spectacular, 25 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 treys and 4 steals! Amare Stoudemire was imposing his will on Portland’s big men, finished with 36 points and 9 rebounds. Shawn Marion double dipped with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Matrix offset a slow night in scoring with 5 steals.

Portland’s franchise centerpieces of Zach Randolph and Brandon Roy had a good fantasy night. Zach doubled up with 33 points and 10 rebounds, he went 12-15 from the field and 9-9 from the line. Leagues counting turnovers will not like Zach’s 7 turnovers. Roy dropped 27 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists. Roy was slashing to the basket and it was evident with the 14 free throw attempts (he was 11-14 from the line). Travis Outlaw is back and worth to keep an eye on if you need help with steals and blocks. 

Gotta go, I have a burrito in the microwave!