Daily Notes for Wednesday: Big night for Toronto big men
| Time | Visitors | Opp. PPG | Opp. FGP | RPG Diff. | Home | Opp. PPG | Opp. FGP | RPG Diff. | |||
| 7 p.m. |  | New Jersey Nets | 98.9 | .453 | +1.8 | @ |  | Toronto Raptors | 95.2 | .451 | -2.0 |
| 7 p.m. |  | Memphis Grizzlies | 105.4 | .474 | -2.3 | @ |  | Philadelphia 76ers | 95.1 | .455 | +2.9 |
| 7 p.m. |  | Atlanta Hawks | 96.1 | .453 | +.5 | @ |  | Charlotte Bobcats | 100.8 | .468 | -2.9 |
| 7 p.m. |  | Denver Nuggets | 103.6 | .445 | -.8 | @ |  | Orlando Magic | 100.8 | .451 | +.4 |
| 7 p.m. |  | San Antonio Spurs | 91.3 | .453 | +1.6 | @ |  | Cleveland Cavaliers | 98.3 | .461 | +3.0 |
| 7:30 p.m. |  | New York Knicks | 100.4 | .471 | +.9 | @ |  | Boston Celtics | 89.0 | .421 | +2.7 |
| 7:30 p.m. |  | Indiana Pacers | 105.3 | .451 | -.9 | @ |  | Detroit Pistons | 89.8 | .438 | +1.5 |
| 8 p.m. |  | New Orleans Hornets | 94.6 | .455 | +2.1 | @ |  | Milwaukee Bucks | 100.7 | .470 | -0.0 |
| 8 p.m. |  | Los Angeles Lakers | 101.0 | .445 | +1.3 | @ |  | Minnesota Timberwolves | 100.9 | .464 | +.6 |
| 8:30 p.m. |  | Sacramento Kings | 102.4 | .461 | -1.6 | @ |  | Houston Rockets | 92.8 | .436 | +3.8 |
| 8:30 p.m. |  | Portland Trail Blazers | 95.6 | .442 | -2.0 | @ |  | Dallas Mavericks | 95.5 | .447 | +2.4 |
| 9 p.m. |  | Phoenix Suns | 103.8 | .450 | -6.0 | @ |  | Golden State Warriors | 107.3 | .460 | -5.2 |
| 10 p.m. |  | Utah Jazz | 99.5 | .457 | +2.1 | @ |  | Seattle SuperSonics | 103.9 | .447 | +.7 |
| 10:30 p.m. |  | Washington Wizards | 98.6 | .457 | +1.2 | @ |  | Los Angeles Clippers | 99.0 | .457 | -3.5 |
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
Shaquille O'Neal, C, Suns (hip)
Gerald Wallace, SG/SF, Bobcats (foot)
Day-to-day
Leandro Barbosa, PG/SG, Suns (flu)
Caron Butler, SF, Wizards (hip)
Tyson Chandler, C, Hornets (flu)
Erick Dampier, C, Mavericks (ankle)
Antonio Daniels, PG, Wizards (knee)
Mike Dunleavy, SG/SF, Pacers (knee)
Daniel Gibson, PG, Cavaliers (hamstring)
Drew Gooden, PF, Cavaliers (groin)
Stephen Jackson, SG/SF, Warriors (ankle)
Rashad McCants, SG, Timberwolves (ankle)
Kendrick Perkins, C, Celtics (shoulder)
Morris Peterson, SG/SF, Hornets (back)
Nate Robinson, PG, Knicks (respiratory)
Brandon Roy, SG, Trail Blazers (personal)
Luis Scola, SF/PF, Rockets (hand)
Jerry Stackhouse, SG/SF, Mavericks (hamstring)
Tim Thomas, SF/PF, Clippers (back)
Mo Williams, PG, Bucks (flu)
Expect big nights out of Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani for the Raptors against the Nets on Wednesday. The ability of the Toronto big men to step outside and shoot effectively from the foul line and deeper will neutralize the defensive abilities of Josh Boone and Sean Williams, neither of whom is well suited to playing perimeter defense. In one game against New Jersey this season, Bargnani scored 21 points to go along with six boards and six assists, and there's no reason to think he can't duplicate those numbers this time around. … Memphis' Darko Milicic is looking like a better fantasy option in the wake of the Pau Gasol trade, averaging 11 points, 11 rebounds and 2.4 blocks over his past five games. He has also increased his shooting to 48 percent over that same stretch, significantly besting his 44 percent shooting on the season. He's got the size to be able to score on Philly's Samuel Dalembert, making him a great start for Wednesday. … It might be a good night to sit Charlotte's Jason Richardson. He'll have to carry the offense alone without Gerald Wallace in the lineup, and the Hawks play excellent perimeter defense, holding teams to 34 percent shooting from behind the arc. Richardson might score some points, but the Hawks will chase him off 3-pointers and he'll likely have a tough shooting night from the floor. … I would not want to be Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut going up against the Hornets. Chris Paul will be able to get by Mo Williams whenever he wants, and Bogut will have to be the last line of defense stopping Paul, who is a great finisher, from getting all the way to the rim. I'd expect Bogut to get into foul trouble early, and if he doesn't, he still has to contend with the bigger Tyson Chandler when he's on offense. He's a good player, but you should sit him for this one. … Wednesday marks another exciting edition of the Suns/Warriors track meet. Start everybody, because the points will be flying up on the board, especially with Shawn Marion, the best defender on either team, now playing for Miami.
The Knicks' big men play terrible defense as a general rule, so it's a good idea to start opposing centers whenever possible. With Kevin Garnett and possibly Kendrick Perkins both out for the Celtics, if you are looking for rebounding and scoring, you may want to gamble on Glen Davis or Leon Powe. Against the Spurs on Sunday, both looked good, though Powe got into early foul trouble against Tim Duncan. Davis showed that he had the size and quickness to deal with Duncan on the block, and one would expect that his quick feet and hands on defense could give the lumbering Eddy Curry some problems. If I was going to pick one up, I'd ride the hot hand and go with Davis. As I've written in this space before, no one on the Knicks is averaging so much as even half a block per game this season. As such, Davis and Powe, given minutes, should be able to score. … Now is absolutely the time to jump on Milwaukee's Charlie Villanueva. Always talented, he's finally getting the chance to show it in Milwaukee with Yi Jianlian missing time. He's averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds over his past five games, and has the talent to be a great fantasy player for a long time. He's owned in roughly half of fantasy leagues, a 42 percent leap from a week ago, so now is your last chance to grab him while he's available. … Another guy who is a little under-owned is the Lakers' Derek Fisher. Fisher's numbers aren't flashy, but he scores 13 points per game, has great percentages for a guard, and hits more 3s than he commits turnovers. Now that the Lakers seem like a veteran team ready to contend, I'd expect to see Fisher get more and more minutes as we get closer to the playoffs. He's a great start against Minnesota, because the Wolves' lack of interior size will force them to double-team Gasol and Lamar Odom in the post. Both of those guys are great passers and will find Fisher for open 3s all game long. If he's still available in your league, pick him up now for the stretch run.
Seth Landman is a fantasy basketball analyst for ESPN.com
