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November 25, 2008, 11:33 AM

Daily Notes for Wednesday: Westbrook on the rise

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By Seth Landman
Special to ESPN.com
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Time	Visitors		Opp. PPG	Opp. FGP	RPG Diff.		Home		Opp. PPG	Opp. FGP	RPG Diff.
7:00 p.m.		Milwaukee Bucks	95.7	.441	+6.1	@		Atlanta Hawks	97.5	.445	-0.2
7:00 p.m.		Oklahoma City Thunder	101.8	.459	-1.2	@		Cleveland Cavaliers	93.1	.431	+3.2
7:00 p.m.		Charlotte Bobcats	92.0	.457	-2.9	@		Toronto Raptors	100.7	.462	-2.2
7:30 p.m.		Golden State Warriors	104.8	.455	-1.6	@		Boston Celtics	89.9	.397	+2.8
7:30 p.m.		Orlando Magic	93.9	.428	-0.7	@		Philadelphia 76ers	93.0	.434	+7.6
8:00 p.m.		New York Knicks	106.6	.482	-7.6	@		Detroit Pistons	96.6	.469	+0.7
8:00 p.m.		Phoenix Suns	97.9	.443	+1.1	@		Minnesota Timberwolves	99.0	.453	-2.5
8:30 p.m.		Indiana Pacers	97.7	.431	+1.8	@		Houston Rockets	90.0	.433	+0.3
8:30 p.m.		Chicago Bulls	101.4	.449	-0.8	@		San Antonio Spurs	93.2	.450	-3.5
9:00 p.m.		Memphis Grizzlies	97.9	.441	-1.6	@		Utah Jazz	95.3	.443	+2.9
10:00 p.m.		Miami Heat	94.8	.443	-2.8	@		Portland Trail Blazers	96.1	.470	+1.9
10:00 p.m.		New Jersey Nets	103.2	.455	+1.5	@		Sacramento Kings	104.9	.485	-1.4
10:30 p.m.		Denver Nuggets	97.2	.429	-0.9	@		Los Angeles Clippers	100.7	.455	-5.2

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7:30 p.m.: Magic-Sixers

All times ET.

Out
Keith Bogans, SG, Magic (thumb)
Carlos Boozer, PF, Jazz (quadriceps)
Josh Smith, SF/PF, Hawks (ankle)

Day-to-day
Leandro Barbosa, PG/SG, Suns (personal)
Luol Deng, SF, Bulls (hamstring)
Manu Ginobili, SG, Spurs (ankle)
Rashad McCants, SG, Timberwolves (back)
Jermaine O'Neal, PF/C, Raptors (knee)
Jason Richardson, SG/SF, Bobcats (knee)
Luke Ridnour, PG, Bucks (knee)
Rodney Stuckey, PG/SG, Pistons (wrist)
Deron Williams, PG, Jazz (ankle)

The Celtics have given opposing shooting guards some real problems this season, and they'll probably chase the Warriors off the 3-point line to take away that weapon as much as possible. As such, I might sit Jamal Crawford, who had his worst game of the season against the Celtics while still with the Knicks last Tuesday. … On the other hand, the Celtics do foul quite a bit (third in the league with almost 24 fouls per game), so I'd look for a big night out of Corey Maggette, who prefers to take the contact and live at the line anyway. … The Warriors and the Celtics both turn the ball over a ton, so if you are desperate for steals in your head-to-head league, you may want to play anyone you own on either team just in case. … It will be interesting to see how the Timberwolves' undersized front line is able to deal with Shaquille O'Neal and Amare Stoudemire when they face the Suns. Obviously, you're playing Amare, but Shaq is a tougher call because the Suns have been using the kid gloves with him on back-to-backs. Facing OKC and Minnesota isn't exactly a trying pair of games for Phoenix, but I'd see what happens to Shaq on Tuesday night before deciding what to do with him on Wednesday. Either way, I'd look for Amare to have huge games both nights. … In his first night back from injury, Manu Ginobili put up 12 points in 11 minutes. Let's just say I think the rust is going to wear off quickly. Start him against the Bulls; he won't be a dud.

If you can take a bit of a hit in field-goal percentage, I think it's a good bet that the Thunder's Russell Westbrook will put up some good numbers in points, assists and steals against the Cavaliers' point guards. In the Cavs' past three games, they've given up big numbers to the Nets' Devin Harris, the Pistons' Allen Iverson, and the Hawks' Acie Law (although Mike Bibby had a rough night). Plus, they'll be coming off the front end of a back-to-back against the Knicks. Westbrook is still unowned in most leagues, but I expect that to change over the next couple of weeks. … Nobody owns Tony Allen, but he is slowly working his way up on the Player Rater for the Celtics. If you need steals, he could be a good player to look at Wednesday night against the Warriors anyway, but I'd look for him to continue getting decent minutes and putting up some good scoring and rebounding numbers, too. … The Pacers' Rasho Nesterovic has been extremely productive of late, and is worth owning right now in all formats. He's got what seems to be a tough matchup Wednesday night against the Rockets, but the Rockets have actually given up some decent numbers this year to opposing centers. I'd pick him up and play him, especially if you need blocks.

Seth Landman is a fantasy basketball analyst for ESPN.com.