Daily Notes for Monday: Thornton, Murphy on hot streaks
| Time | Visitors | Opp. PPG | Opp. FGP | RPG Diff. | Home | Opp. PPG | Opp. FGP | RPG Diff. | |||
| 7 p.m. |  | Toronto Raptors | 96.9 | .456 | -1.4 | @ |  | Charlotte Bobcats | 100.6 | .466 | -3.1 |
| 7 p.m. |  | Miami Heat | 100.6 | .470 | -4.9 | @ |  | Indiana Pacers | 106.1 | .459 | -1.8 |
| 8 p.m. |  | Atlanta Hawks | 99.1 | .458 | +1.0 | @ |  | Memphis Grizzlies | 106.2 | .478 | -2.7 |
| 9 p.m. |  | Washington Wizards | 98.3 | .457 | -0.0 | @ |  | Utah Jazz | 100.3 | .461 | +2.6 |
| 10 p.m. |  | Denver Nuggets | 105.7 | .455 | -1.1 | @ |  | Phoenix Suns | 105.2 | .455 | -3.5 |
| 10:30 p.m. |  | Dallas Mavericks | 95.6 | .443 | +3.2 | @ |  | Los Angeles Clippers | 100.6 | .468 | -3.8 |
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
Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Mavericks (ankle/knee)
Day-to-day
Ronnie Brewer, SG, Jazz (stomach virus)
Daequan Cook, PG, Heat (concussion)
Grant Hill, SF, Suns (groin/wrist)
Andrei Kirilenko, SF/PF, Jazz (calf)
Shawn Marion, SF/PF, Heat (back)
Jermaine O'Neal, PF/C, Pacers (knee)
Mehmet Okur, C, Jazz (stomach virus)
Tim Thomas, SF/PF, Clippers (Achilles)
The wildly underappreciated Troy Murphy is a great bet to have yet another huge game on Monday when his Pacers meet the Heat. Murphy is averaging some ridiculous numbers over his past four games: 19.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 50 percent shooting from the floor, 89 percent shooting from the line and 3.5 3-pointers made. Now, I'm not sure anyone could post those numbers for an entire season, especially Troy Murphy, but if the question is whether he can put them up against the Heat on Monday, then the answer is yes, he can. ... You may want to think about sitting Mike Miller and Juan Carlos Navarro for the Grizzlies when they face the Hawks. In their meeting earlier this season, the Hawks defended the perimeter well and took away the 3-point shot. Memphis was only 1-for-15 on 3s, and both Navarro and Miller were total non-factors. Without Pau Gasol to loosen up the defense this time around, the Grizzlies could be in even more trouble against a Hawks team still in a frantic fight to make the playoffs. ... With Ronnie Brewer suffering from a stomach virus and Andrei Kirilenko dealing with calf spasms, I don't see how the Jazz will be able to defend the Wizards' Caron Butler. Butler has been shooting the ball a bit better of late, hitting 45 percent of his shots over his past five games as opposed to just 40 percent over his past 10, and he has been living at the line and making almost every free throw he takes. Utah's main weakness is defending athletic wing players, and Butler should be able to exploit that. ... The Nuggets' J.R. Smith is averaging 14 points this year in two games against the Suns. That doesn't sound so impressive until you consider that he has played only an average of 12.5 minutes in those two games. It's worth noting, then, that he's played 23 minutes per game over his past five, and has contributed with 17.2 points per contest over that stretch. Put all of this together, and it's reasonable to expect that he can exploit Leandro Barbosa and Steve Nash and put up some big numbers against the Suns this time around. ...
If you need 3-pointers, take a look at the Raptors' Carlos Delfino. The last time the Raptors played the Bobcats, Delfino led the team with 17 points, including four 3s, in 34 minutes off the bench. He has played 30 or more minutes in five of his past six games, so he's a good bet to receive plenty of playing time on Monday, and he is available to pick up in almost every fantasy league. ... Heat forward Stephane Lasme has been getting more minutes off the bench over his past two games, playing 29 minutes against the Knicks and 23 against the Pistons. He's still not putting up big numbers, but his potential as a shot-blocker remains. His opponent on Monday, the Pacers, are among the worst teams in the league in blocked shots allowed. As such, Lasme's a good bet to produce against them. ... You may want to go ahead and pick up Al Thornton while you still have a chance, especially in keeper leagues. He has struggled against the Mavericks this season, but this Dallas team is different from the one he has faced because they are worse on the defensive end. Normally, it would seem the Mavs could just stick Josh Howard on Thornton and call it a day, but Howard is expending more energy on the offensive end with Dirk out, and I wonder whether he will have the energy left to defend an athletic scorer like Thornton. Add to that the fact that Thornton is coming off a 39-point effort against the Grizzlies just two games after an impressive 21-point effort against the Spurs, and it seems that Thornton is easily the best scoring option available on the waiver wire right now. Grab him while he's still there.
Seth Landman is a fantasy basketball analyst for ESPN.com
