Daily Notes for Thursday: Barnes emerging under Gentry
| Time | Visitors | Opp. PPG | Opp. FGP | RPG Diff. | Home | Opp. PPG | Opp. FGP | RPG Diff. | |||
| 8 p.m. |  | Cleveland Cavaliers | 90.6 | .427 | +3.3 | @ |  | Houston Rockets | 94.9 | .449 | +3.2 |
| 10:30 p.m. |  | Phoenix Suns | 104.3 | .455 | +1.3 | @ |  | Los Angeles Lakers | 100.6 | .449 | +3.3 |
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 a team's rebounds per game and its opponents' rebounds per game.
Out
Sasha Pavlovic, SG, Cavaliers (ankle)
Day-to-day
Carl Landry, PF, Rockets (ankle)
Steve Nash, PG, Suns (ankle)
Delonte West, PG/SG, Cavaliers (wrist)
Steve Nash's injured right ankle will be evaluated Wednesday. Nash rolled his ankle and was helped off the court in the third quarter of Tuesday's win against Charlotte. Although he returned briefly in the fourth quarter and made a key 3-pointer, he couldn't finish the game. … Jason Richardson was sent to Phoenix in December, but now that Alvin Gentry is on the bench, J-Rich has arrived. He has averaged 23.0 points, 2.8 3-pointers, 1.8 steals and 65.4 percent shooting in four games with the new Suns coach.
Fantasy owners who grabbed Delonte West after he dropped five 3s on the Pistons on Sunday received a rude surprise when West missed Tuesday's game against Memphis. His surgically repaired right wrist, which had caused him to miss 16 games, stiffened up after the Detroit victory, so West was held out against the Grizzlies. Fortunately, it doesn't appear he'll miss any more time. So keep adding West, who's still available in 70 percent of ESPN.com leagues. … As Houston's new starting point guard, Aaron Brooks (who can be had in more than 90 percent of leagues) is looking like a slightly better version of Rafer Alston. In three starts since the Rockets dealt Alston to Orlando, Brooks is shooting just 40.9 percent, but his 15.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and, especially, 2.0 3s make him worth adding to your roster in most leagues. Of course, he and the rest of the Rockets have a killer matchup against the Cavs, who allow the fewest points and second-lowest opponents' field goal percentage. … Matt Barnes, a fantasy nonfactor for most of this season, is quietly coming on. With a pair of 3s in each of his past three games, Barnes is a decent Thursday fill-in for deep leagues, given that the Lakers allow the fifth-most buckets from downtown. Of course, Phil Jackson makes you pay for those 3s -- Lakers opponents have the sixth-lowest shooting percentage from distance.
Neil Tardy is a fantasy basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
