Day 58: Recapping the Christmas day games

(Illustration courtesy of Patrick Ortega/Five magazine, K1X)

So, yesterday was the NBA's marquee Christmas day showcase, and unfortunately for the league, most of the games were pretty horrible. And for some reason, ABC and ESPN thought it'd be a good idea to have like nine different ads featuring Kevin Hart air at once, so that it felt like Kevin Hart was personally sponsoring the NBA yesterday, or perhaps it was the other way around. On the bright side? Those custom Christmas day uniforms which looked so, so hideous in press releases actually didn't look too bad in real life. I can't pretend that I loved the new unis, but I didn't despise them, which is really all that matters to me when I watch a game.

Blurbs!

• Poor Aaron Brooks. It's bad enough that Jeremy Lin came back earlier than expected (13 points, 8 assists), but even James Harden had to come back early yesterday and put up 28-6-and-6. As such, Brooks only played 14 minutes on Christmas and produced 6 points and no assists. Sadly, the universe has conspired to damage what appeared to be an awesome moment to own Brooks. Because Patrick Beverley is out, Brooks should still get a good chunk of playing time off the bench and isn't an atrocious fantasy option. But he's nowhere near as attractive as he was a week ago, when all the indications had him being the Rockets' primary point guard for a week or longer.
• Jordan Farmar made his return to the court yesterday, which was kind of fitting since yesterday was the birthday of the most famous Jew ever, and Farmar is one of the few Jews in the NBA. (I'm Jewish, so I'm actually kind of stoked to be able to recommend a member of the tribe as someone you should own in fantasy basketball, because the NBA doesn't feature a lot of us, sadly. But anyway...) Farmar was unspectacular for the Lakers, putting up 3 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 33 minutes, while going on 1-7 from the floor. But a little rust was to be expected, especially against a team like Miami. The Lakers look like they'll go the next month without any other point guards (Kendall Marshall didn't play at all yesterday), meaning that Farmar is in a glorious position to be a fantasy monster. If you need a point guard, he is absolutely a must-own player.
• Nick Young scored 20 points in the Lakers' loss yesterday. Young, as one might have expected with Kobe Bryant out of commission, is having an outstanding season for the Lakers. Sure, he doesn't do a hell of a lot else, and there isn't a more notorious ball-hog in the NBA. But he's scored in a double-figures all but three times this year and has scored at least 18 in his last six games, which makes him quite the fantasy asset, low production in other categories aside.
• Kirk Hinrich returned to the Bulls, scoring 6 points and notching 4 assists in 20 minutes. D.J. Augustin, meanwhile, played 33 minutes off the bench and collected 13 points and 5 assists. Neither is a great option in standard leagues, as the Bulls don't exactly generate a ton of offense. But Hinrich is better add so long as he can stay healthy.
• Russell Westbrook posted a triple-double against the pathetic Knicks: 14 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists. Good job, Wes.
• Serge Ibaka went for 24 points, 3 rebounds and a block yesterday. Not a lot to report on him, as he's again having a terrific season, though I at least wanted to justify my use of him in the article header above.
• Terrence Jones was fantastic on Christmas, scoring 21 points and adding 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jones is a rather inconsistent player, but his ceiling is so high that he absolutely should be owned everywhere. Omer Asik ain't going anywhere (for now), so Jones should be viewed as a fantastic grab if he happens to be available on your waiver wire.
• With Carmelo Anthony in street clothes, J.R. Smith started at small forward for the Knicks and produced 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 38 minutes. Smith may not be the most efficient scorer in the league, but it doesn't really matter, since the Knicks seem perfectly okay with him jacking up as many shots as he wants -- particularly with Melo out.
• Amar'e Stoudemire was the one bright spot for the Knicks in their 29-point destruction to the Thunder: 22 points on 10-16 shooting in 27 minutes. Stoudemire has been momentarily brilliant this season, though never for long enough bursts that he can be considered a great fantasy option. So long as he's coming off the bench (which is kind of inexplicable so long as Carmelo is out), he's just not a great option. If only he could get traded to a team that would actually use him in their starting lineup...