Day 17: Iguodala hits game-winner, Asik gets benched and Lin keeps on beastin'

(Stay thirsty. Illustration courtesy of Tyson Beck/Posterizers)

I was watching TNT's NBA double-header yesterday, as I often do on Thursday nights (when I'm not saving the world from total destruction of course, but, you know, I don't like to brag about it), and something dawned on me. It was around the fifth or sixth time Ray Liotta appeared on my television, glaring dismissively at anyone not masculine enough to enjoy 1800 Tequila, that it dawned on me that there are a crapload of hard liquor ads during these NBA games. Like, an usually-high amount of them.

In the second half of TNT's double-header, there were ads for Belvedere, Grey Goose, Crown Royal Maple and Hennessy, and that doesn't include the numerous hard liquor ads in the first half of the double-header, including a few for 1800 Tequila, or the numerous other vodka labels that I can recall advertising on TNT's NBA block -- labels like Ciroc, Dos Equis, Absolut and Bacardi. Essentially, if you want to see a vodka ad on TV, there's no better place to turn to than TNT's NBA double-header, because you will literally see every major vodka brand on display.

So here's the thing. I'm not mentioning this in an admonishing, how-dare-TNT-allow-this sort of way, because I honestly don't care who TNT sells their ad space to. Lord knows, we all need to make money (me especially). Still, the sheer number of these ads is quite puzzling to me. Why is it that liquor companies seem to have universally latched onto TNT's NBA telecasts? Is there some study out there that I'm not aware of saying that 34% of the people watching these games are heavy drinkers, or are really depressed, or both? NBA games probably hit the sweet spot in terms of target demographics, but so do a lot of programs. What makes these NBA games so tantalizing to liquor distributors? I'm genuinely curious.

Now, if I was writing this for a major sports publication, the following few paragraphs would be meticulous follow-ups to the question I just posed, featuring interviews and research and data and all that good stuff. But... I don't feel like doing that. So, I'm just going to let this question hang awkwardly in the air for you all to consider: Why do you think there's such a swath of vodka ads during TNT NBA games?

And while you're thinking about it, allow me to relax your mind with a nice, cool, refreshing glass of fantasy basketball update blurbs.

• Andre Iguodala's terrific season continued on Thursday, with the freshly-acquired Warrior posting 14 points, 9 assists and 2 three's while also knocking down a crazy game-winning shot as time expired in the fourth quarter, though unfortunately, you don't get any bonus points for owning a guy who hits a game-winner. Iggy has been terrific for the Warriors, and now that Toney Douglas is out, Iggy has been thrust into bonus backup point guard duty, meaning he could very soon have triple eligibility as a PG/SG/SF. Even if he doesn't get that perk, he's still an immensely valuable player considering he gets to distribute to the Splash Brothers on a nightly basis.
• Carmelo Anthony was terrific last night, scoring 45 points on 17-30 shooting with 10 rebounds and 4 assists. For the life of me, I can't comprehend why Melo would want to leave this big-market Knicks team -- who also happen to play in his home state -- considering they've gone out of their way to structure the entire lineup in such a way that it perfectly accommodates him. But I digress. Melo should remain a top-10 fantasy option the rest of the way, with his biggest strength being that he's typically at his best during the fantasy playoffs in the last weeks of the year.
• Returning from a one-game injury absence, James Harden stepped right in and had a sensational outing at Madison Square Garden, notching 36 points and 9 rebounds. Even with the arrival of Howard and the steady play of Jeremy Lin, Harden is still averaging 26 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists on the season. He's much closer to Kevin Durant than anyone could have possibly imagined.
• Linsanity just keeps on rolling, huh? Even with Harden back, Jeremy Lin came off the bench and had a great night at his old stomping grounds: 21 points and 5 rebounds. Lin is playing the most efficient basketball of his career and, if nothing else, appears to be a serious early-season candidate to be the Sixth Man of the Year. Amazingly, CP3 and Steph Curry are the only point guards ahead of him on the ESPN Player Rater. Good company.
• The Omer Asik project hit a new low on Thursday, with the Rockets' backup center asking to be traded. In response, Asik got a DNP-Coach's Decision, which appears to spell the end of his career with the Rockets. Asik is such an efficient rebounder that there's a good chance he'll be worth adding if he finds a home where he can get regular playing time. But before that happens, there's no guarantee Asik will ever again suit up for the Rockets, meaning he needs to be ditched to the waiver wire if he hasn't been already. By the way, your humble writer here feels vindicated, as he happened to pen an article prior to the season titled: "Don't draft Omer Asik in fantasy basketball this year." I'd like to think I got that one right... (Notice I don't eagerly mention the things I got wrong. Hehe.)
• Andrea Bargnani is a fan favorite, I guess! Bargs scored 24 points on 9-12 shooting to go along with 3 three's. In typical Bargnani fashion, he posted just 4 rebounds and didn't have an assist, but that comes with the territory of owning this guy. He's been a consistent scorer since being elevated to the starting lineup in the wake of Tyson Chandler's injury, and should continue to be a steady scorer until Chandler returns, at which point he might not be Mr. Reliable anymore. But hey -- until that happens, the dude is worth rolling out there with confidence.
• Amar'e Stoudemire played just 5 minutes last night and failed to score. Stoudemire is making $21.6 million this year, the fourth-highest total of any NBA player, and yet he's averaging a puny 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in five games. It wasn't that long ago that Stoudemire was arguably the best offensive center in the entire league. Nowadays, he can barely get off the bench. Injuries suck, folks.
• Stephen Curry had his typical great performance, getting 22 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and hitting 4 three's. It's almost impossible to recommend another point guard ahead of Chris Paul these days, but Curry is the only man deserving of such an honor. If you own him, you have no excuse to ever lose three's in a head-to-head matchup.
• Harrison Barnes showed his talent, scoring 16 points off the bench for the Dubs. Playing behind Curry, Iggy and Klay Thompson (who had 27 and 6 three's) makes it difficult for Barnes to do a whole lot on a regular basis, but he's a drastically-improved player from where he was at the beginning of last year. If Iguodala or Thompson was removed from the picture, I would -- without hesitation -- anoint Barnes a gotta-own player. For now, he's just a fringe guy and is liable to flip-flop between good and bad outings seemingly at random.
• Steven Adams did absolutely nothing for the Thunder, getting 3 points and NOTHING else in 14 minutes of action. And so ends the great Steven Adams experiment -- may it rest in peace. Is he talented? Sure. But outside of one random good game a week ago, there was never enough to believe he'd be a reliable option. With Kendrick Perkins returning to the team this weekend, Adams can be dropped in all but the deepest of leagues.
• Kevin Durant had a "quiet" awesome game, scoring just 20 points and adding 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Durant has ramped up his passing in a big way and is still the odds-on favorite to take home the scoring title. He and LeBron James have more or less identical numbers 17 days into the season; it's almost a toss-up as to which one of them is the best small forward in fantasy.
• Serge Ibaka had his best game of the year, scoring 27 and adding 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. His numbers have climbed substantially since Russell Westbrook returned from an injury, which is noteworthy, since it was Westbrook's absence in the first place that was supposedly going to make Ibaka have a career year. Regardless of the reason, Ibaka's averages of 15 points and 10 rebounds are the best of his career. He's averaging less than 2 blocks a game, but they don't call him "Iblocka" for nothing, folks; expect more awesome lines from him the rest of the way.
• Russell Westbrook was awesome against the Warriors, posting 31 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, while also knocking down an incredibly-difficult three with just a few seconds left that would've been the game-winner... had Iggy not bested him moments later. Westbrook's recovery is putting Derrick Rose's to shame. He's showing no ill traces of his knee injury and is already running and gunning like he was pre-operation. Those who were courageous enough to take a chance on him in the middle rounds of the draft have been handsomely rewarded thus far.
• I'm not the most experienced cereal eater, but I have a hard time accepting that anything could be more delicious than Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It's very, very amazing and deserves to be eaten in the biggest bowl in your house.