Daily Notes for Thursday: Kirilenko back to old tricks
| Time | Visitors | Opp. PPG | Opp. FGP | RPG Diff. | Home | Opp. PPG | Opp. FGP | RPG Diff. | |||
| 8:00 p.m. |  | Detroit Pistons | 91.8 | .445 | -0.7 | @ |  | Miami Heat | 95.5 | .444 | -0.5 |
| 9:00 p.m. |  | Houston Rockets | 92.1 | .429 | +2.5 | @ |  | Utah Jazz | 98.6 | .455 | +5.5 |
| 10:30 p.m. |  | Phoenix Suns | 102.9 | .457 | -2.3 | @ |  | Seattle SuperSonics | 102.0 | .476 | -1.4 |
All times are expressed in Eastern Time. Statistics from 2006-07 regular season.
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:
Rodney Stuckey, G, Pistons (hand)
Robert Swift, C, SuperSonics (knee)
Dwyane Wade, G, Heat (shoulder, knee)
Day-to-day
Leandro Barbosa, G, Suns (ribs)
Raja Bell, SG, Suns (ankle)
Boris Diaw, F, Suns (ankles)
Jeff Green, F, SuperSonics (ankle)
Richard Hamilton, SG, Pistons (ankle)
Matt Harpring, G/F, Jazz (knee)
Luke Ridnour, PG, SuperSonics (broken nose)
Miami's Smush Parker should see extra playing time while Dwyane Wade is on the mend, both at shooting guard and backing up Jason Williams at the point. ... Dorell Wright (who shot only 24 percent from the field in the preseason) might be starting ahead of Anfernee Hardaway at small forward for the Heat, but don't start either of them until someone claims the job outright. ... Andrei Kirilenko is showing signs of being his old multi-category self. He nearly recorded a triple-double and had five blocks in the opener. Look for AK-47 to come out firing against the Rockets; his 27 field-goal attempts against Houston last season were his second-highest total against any opponent. ... With a number of Suns nicked up, it's ironic that Grant Hill actually might be a relatively safe play against the Jazz on Thursday. Hill averaged 14.8 points and shot 93 percent from the line in the preseason. ... Kevin Durant appears to be over his ankle injury, and should be Seattle's primary scoring option after averaging 18.8 points in the preseason.
Jason Maxiell could pay immediate dividends as the Pistons' sixth man if Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace get into foul trouble trying to defend Shaquille O'Neal. ... Jarvis Hayes led the Pistons in preseason scoring with 13.6 points per game, but is a marginal prospect at best. ... Luis Scola is a hot free-agent pickup after averaging 8.3 points and 7.2 rebounds and leading Houston in minutes played in the preseason. However, not only did he not start in the opener, but he received just nine minutes of action. ... Ronnie Brewer is starting at shooting guard for the Jazz after leading the team in preseason scoring with 17.1 points per game. He scored 18 on opening night and added four steals. ...
Tony Targan is a fantasy basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
