Daily Notes for Wednesday: Manu set for big night
| Time | Visitors | Opp. PPG | Opp. FGP | RPG Diff. | Home | Opp. PPG | Opp. FGP | RPG Diff. | |||
| 7:00 p.m. |  | San Antonio Spurs | 91.5 | .456 | +1.3 | @ |  | Washington Wizards | 98.0 | .451 | +1.1 |
| 7:00 p.m. |  | Los Angeles Lakers | 101.3 | .442 | +1.4 | @ |  | Atlanta Hawks | 95.8 | .451 | +0.6 |
| 7:00 p.m. |  | New Jersey Nets | 99.3 | .456 | +1.8 | @ |  | Orlando Magic | 100.4 | .449 | +0.5 |
| 7:30 p.m. |  | Los Angeles Clippers | 98.9 | .456 | -3.6 | @ |  | Boston Celtics | 88.2 | .419 | +3.0 |
| 7:30 p.m. |  | Indiana Pacers | 105.4 | .449 | -0.3 | @ |  | New York Knicks | 100.5 | .472 | +0.3 |
| 7:30 p.m. |  | Miami Heat | 100.1 | .466 | -3.2 | @ |  | Detroit Pistons | 89.9 | .438 | +1.2 |
| 8:30 p.m. |  | Milwaukee Bucks | 100.8 | .471 | -0.1 | @ |  | Dallas Mavericks | 95.9 | .448 | +2.5 |
| 9:00 p.m. |  | Utah Jazz | 99.1 | .458 | +2.2 | @ |  | Denver Nuggets | 103.9 | .447 | -0.7 |
| 9:00 p.m. |  | New Orleans Hornets | 93.8 | .453 | +2.1 | @ |  | Phoenix Suns | 103.3 | .450 | -6.0 |
| 10:00 p.m. |  | Seattle SuperSonics | 104.2 | .450 | +0.4 | @ |  | Sacramento Kings | 102.3 | .461 | -1.8 |
| 10:00 p.m. |  | Chicago Bulls | 97.3 | .446 | +1.1 | @ |  | Portland Trail Blazers | 95.5 | .441 | -2.2 |
All times are ET.
Key: Opp. PPG = Points per game allowed to opponents. Opp. FGP = Field goal percentage allowed to opponents. RPG Diff. = The difference between team's rebounds per game and its opponents' rebounds per game.
Out
Kevin Garnett, PF, Celtics (abdominal strain)
Udonis Haslem, PF, Heat (ankle)
James Jones, SF, Trail Blazers (knee)
Day-to-day
Marcus Camby, C, Nuggets (knee)
Eddy Curry, C, Knicks (flu)
Pau Gasol, PF/C, Lakers (back)
Jeff Green, SF, SuperSonics (ankle)
Kirk Hinrich, PG, Bulls (ankle)
Yi Jianlian, SF/PF, Bucks (shoulder)
Chris Kaman, C, Clippers (shin)
Andrei Kirilenko, SF/PF, Jazz (flu)
Brad Miller, C, Kings (finger)
Michael Redd, SG, Bucks (knee)
Quentin Richardson, SG/SF, Knicks (ankle)
Nate Robinson, PG, Knicks (quadriceps)
Jerry Stackhouse, SG/SF, Mavericks (hamstring)
Wally Szczerbiak, SG/SF, SuperSonics (ankle)
Tim Thomas, SF/PF, Clippers (back)
Wednesday should be a huge night for San Antonio's Manu Ginobili, who will have to continue to pick up some of the scoring slack with Tony Parker out. In his past five games, Manu is averaging more than 21 points. He's been shooting poorly from the floor and behind the 3-point line, but the Wizards are among the league's worst teams at defending the 3, which should allow Ginobili to get back on track. … Similarly, Orlando's Hedo Turkoglu has been tearing it up lately, averaging 25 points, 7 boards and 5 dimes in his past five games, on 55 percent shooting from the floor. He's proven to be a go-to playmaker, and at 6-foot-10 is a tough matchup for most teams because he can put the ball on the floor. I'm expecting him to have a big game; I think he has a little too much size for New Jersey's Richard Jefferson. His presence could force the Nets to go small, which means they'd have to double Dwight Howard, leaving Hedo and Rashard Lewis alone for 3s. … The matchup between the Celtics and the Clippers should be a good one for both point guards, Rajon Rondo and Sam Cassell. Cassell doesn't have the foot speed to keep Rondo out of the lane, which will be a problem as Chris Kaman won't be his usual shot-blocking force as he recovers from the flu and an injury to his shin, while Rondo occasionally has a tough time matching up with bigger points like Cassell. Each guy should be able to hurt the other one on offense. … Think about sitting Kirk Hinrich for the Bulls against the Blazers. He had to leave Monday's game against Seattle, and he tends to have trouble against big, athletic 2-guards, so Brandon Roy could give him a lot of trouble at both ends, while Chicago's Ben Gordon reaps the benefits of going up against Portland point guard Steve Blake.
James Posey has been a force for the Celtics in recent games, grabbing two steals and knocking down three 3s per game in his past three games. I think he'll see big minutes against the Clippers, who play a lot of big, quick small forwards like Tim Thomas, Al Thornton and even Corey Maggette. Posey is Boston's best option for guarding all three of those guys on the perimeter and in the post, and when he gets minutes -- as he has recently with Kevin Garnett out of the lineup -- he produces. … With Udonis Haslem and Shaquille O'Neal both out for the foreseeable future for Miami, they will need to look to Dorell Wright to provide them with quickness and rebounding from the forward spots. I would avoid starting him Wednesday against Detroit, but he's a good option going forward for the next couple of weeks after that. … Brad Miller is listed as questionable heading into Wednesday, so if you need a spot start from an available center, try looking to Sacramento's Mikki Moore. His season's numbers don't jump out at you -- eight points and six boards in 29 minutes -- but his field goal percentage is extremely high at 55 percent, and the Kings will need someone to grab some rebounds against a poor Seattle team. Expect a double-double on great shooting from the floor. … I like New York's Nate Robinson a lot against Indiana's point guard tandem of Travis Diener and Jamaal Tinsley. However, Robinson was held out of Monday's game with a strained quadriceps. If he's ready to go, then his size shouldn't hurt him against either Diener or Tinsley, and I don't see either of them being able to keep Nate-Rob out of the lane. He's coming off a poor 0-for-9 performance against Seattle, but if you are looking for assists and rebounding from the point guard spot, he's a pretty good place to look on Wednesday if he can go.
Seth Landman is a fantasy basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
