I was calling it “Bizarro Night in the NBA” on Twitter and looking back on the whole thing, I might have been right. The Spurs got destroyed by the Rockets after Gregg Popovich decided to bench Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, and then the Blazers destroyed the Mavericks, even though Dallas didn’t intentionally try to lose. And in the midst of it all, I had two great $1 Fanduel lineups in and finished third in two separate big tournaments. It was a slow night and my big job this morning is probably to pull Kawhi Leonard owners back in off the ledge. It’s going to be OK, guys. Three out of the four teams in action last night were from Texas. Ironically, my wife and I had a trivia question last night that was very relevant. Who is known as the ‘father of Texas?’ My wife swore it was Sam Houston, but I knew better. We went with Stephen F. Austin, and we were right.

Editor’s Note: Rotoworld’s partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $175,000 Fantasy Basketball league for Friday’s NBA games. It’s $25 to join and first prize is $15,000. Starts at 7pm ET on Friday. Here’s the FanDuel link.

Rockets blitz Spurs 98-81, but it really wasn’t that close

The Rockets are now 6-0 and James Harden is the leading MVP candidate in both fantasy and reality. He didn’t blow up on Thursday and hit just 3-of-6 free throws, but still had 20 points, six boards, six dimes, a steal and two blocks in the cakewalk. If you own Harden, prepare yourself to be bombarded with lame offers that include multiple players. If you trade him, make sure you’re getting a couple studs in return. Dwight Howard was fabulous against Matt Bonner and Aron Baynes. Are you surprised? Trevor Ariza struggled to hit just 2-of-10 shots for seven points and some miscellaneous stats. He was disappointing, but is having a nice season for the Rockets. Patrick Beverley sat this one out with his lingering hamstring injury, so Isaiah Canaan started and had 12 points and two 3-pointers. Not a great night, but he’s worth a pick-and-play anytime Beverley is out. Jason Terry had 16 points and four 3-pointers in 21 minutes, and also benefitted by the absence of Beverley. Donatas Motiejunas started in place of Terrence Jones (leg), but failed to even score. That’s just more proof that you should hang onto Jones at any cost.

The Spurs rested Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, while Tiago Splitter (calf) and Marco Belinelli (groin) sat out with injuries and are day-to-day. That should have meant that Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard and a few other Spurs would go off last night, but that wasn’t the case. Cory Joseph led the way with 18 points on 9-of-11 shots, but did almost nothing else, Parker was awful and Leonard looked lethargic. If you own Leonard, don’t panic. He’s off to a bad start and it’s possible his eyes are still a problem. If anything, he looks like a nice buy-low target, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets it going this week. I just hope you didn’t spend a first-round pick on him. Carmelo Anthony’s owners feel the same way, but both of the league’s top small forwards will get through this. Aron Baynes started for Duncan and had 12 points, 12 boards and a steal. If you started him in Fanduel, it turned out to be a smart move. Leonard hit just 2-of-10 shots for seven points, but still kind of filled the stat sheet. Parker struggled too, hitting 3-of-8 shots for six points and one assist. The days when he would explode when Ginobili is out might be over, but he’ll bounce back from this. Danny Green had a big opportunity last night but hit just 3-of-13 shots for 10 points and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. The Spurs looked like they were playing in a scrimmage that didn’t mean anything. Thanks, Pop. Boris Diaw was also unimpressive with seven points and five turnovers, but has been a decent fantasy option on most nights. Kyle Anderson hit just 1-of-8 shots for San Antonio, but added four points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in the loss. He’s worth a daily look the next time Pop gives his studs the night off.

Blazers rip Mavs 108-87

Nicolas Batum was catching some heat after a disappointing first half last night, but finished with eight points, nine boards, nine assists, a block and two 3-pointers on 2-of-8 shooting. He’s about to get hot. @CoffinArtClass asked me on Twitter to explain why Batum is scared to shoot the ball and handling it like a hot potato. I don’t know that I have the answer, but he’s likely deferring to Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Wesley Matthews. I thought his unique Twitter handle was good enough to make the column. Lillard had 18 points, five boards, six assists, a steal and a 3-pointer last night. He’s off to a slow start, but it’s only a matter of time before he starts killing it. And speaking of killing, his late scoring spree ruined a couple of my Fanduel teams, pushing me from first to third in both of them. Chris Kaman looked like a beast off the bench, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds and a block in 18 minutes. He made all six of his shots and is being picked up in many leagues as I write this. But he played just 18 minutes, and this is likely as good as it gets for the artist formerly known as Shaggy. C.J. McCollum had 13 points, three assists and three 3-pointers off the bench, and is worth keeping an eye on. Aldridge had 20 points and seven boards, Robin Lopez had eight and eight, and Matthews had 12 points, four boards and two 3-pointers in the romp. 

The Mavs got 17 points, three rebounds and two 3-pointers from Dirk Nowitzki last night. His rebounding has been off this season, as Tyson Chandler and Brandan Wright appear to be stealing them from him. Dirk will be fine, so just hang in there with him. Devin Harris hit just 2-of-7 shots, but had seven points, three rebounds, four assists and a steal. He still looks better than Jameer Nelson, but things are going to get messy when Raymond Felton returns in a week or so. Tyson Chandler didn’t make a shot last night, and had four points on free throws. He also had four rebounds and three blocks, but isn’t doing enough to be in starting lineups right now. Al-Farouq Aminu looks good in a Dallas uniform. He’s playing very aggressively and had seven points, four rebounds, two steals, a block and a 3-pointer in just 16 minutes last night. He’s worth keeping an eye on. Monta Ellis scored 14 points and Chandler Parsons had 11 points. Neither player shot it well, but both should bounce back in their next one.

News and Notes

The Pacers signed point guard A.J. Price. He could hinder Donald Sloan a bit until George Hill is ready, but I’m neither worried about Sloan, nor rushing to pick up Price. And speaking of Sloan, it’s possible he could play shooting guard once Hill is back, or vice versa. In other words, don’t drop him until we see how things shake out in Indy.

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving shared some heated words after Wednesday’s loss, as the sky is falling in Cleveland. Let’s see where these guys and this team is a month from now. Yes, they’re having some growing pains, but LeBron is far from washed up and the Cavs will still be one of the best teams in the league when it’s all said and done. Coach David Blatt had to actually tell his team that LeBron and Kevin Love should “eat first” on offense, which is laughable. You mean it’s not Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson? Well I’ll be damned.

Injury News

Nerlens Noel – ankle – Says his injury “wasn’t bad at all,” but is not expected to play on Friday. Brandon Davies and Henry Sims have a real opportunity to do something tonight.

Chris Paul – jaw – Paul is fine after getting popped by a Stephen Curry elbow on Wednesday. Of Curry’s apology, Paul said “it doesn’t make my jaw feel any better.” A tense Paul vs. Curry rivalry is just what the NBA needs these days.

Michael Carter-Williams – shoulder – Participated in 5-of-5 drills and is targeting a return date of Nov. 13. Tony Wroten owners have a right to be nervous, but there’s a decent chance he keeps his minutes at shooting guard. Don’t be desperate to move him.

Joakim Noah – illness – He’s questionable for tonight, but I bet he plays, which is bad news for Taj Gibson. Gibson is listed as probable, but I don’t see how he doesn’t go. And yes, Gibson is probably worth owning, even when Noah is in the starting lineup.

Derrick Rose – ankles – He’s questionable again but gutted it out on Wednesday. Rose’s owners should check the tension in their seatbelts. If you own Rose, you might as well keep Aaron Brooks on standby.

Jimmy Butler – thumb – He’s probable for tonight and I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t play. It looks like a breakout season is happening before our eyes.

Avery Bradley – elbow – He missed practice on Thursday and while he’s expected to play on Friday, owners should watch for an afternoon update. He’s been hot lately and I like the idea of picking him up, if available.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – ribs – He’s now listed as probable for tonight and was hot before the injury. Gerald Henderson and Gary Neal take a hit if he plays.

David Lee – hamstring – He’s going to miss at least two more games, meaning that if you own Draymond Green, you should hang onto him until further notice. I dropped him in a league where I own Carmelo Anthony and Thaddeus Young, and we only start eight players. But I kind of regret that move. It’s possible Lee has lost his starting job to Green.

Kyle O’Quinn – ankle – He’s questionable for Friday, but with Channing Frye healthy, he shouldn’t be in your lineup either way.

Kevin Durant – foot – He’s no longer in a walking boot, but nothing has changed. We don’t know when he’s coming back and some time in December is still the best guess we have.

Perry Jones – knee – Missed another practice on Thursday and information is lacking here. Consider him day-to-day and look for a real update in the next day or so. He sounds doubtful for tonight’s game against the Grizzlies.

Andre Roberson – foot – Missed practice Thursday and is expected to miss about a week. It’s Reggie Jackson and Sebastian Telfair time in OKC. 

Jeremy Lamb – back – Had a full practice on Thursday and is expected to make his season debut tonight. Perry Jones got hot and became a popular pick up and with all the injuries in OKC, the same thing could happen with Lamb.

Anthony Morrow – knee – Practiced on Thursday and appears to be ahead of schedule from his knee sprain. He could play tonight and if you have someone to drop, adding Morrow to your standard-league team is not a bad idea, given that fact that most of his teammates will be wearing street clothes every night.

Mitch McGary – foot – He’s out of his walking boot, but is still limping around. Unless you’re in a 30-team league, nothing to see here.

Jeremy Lin – foot – He’s dealing with a sore foot but it doesn’t sounds serious and the Lakers are off until Sunday. Something tells me the next two days will be very peaceful and relaxing for Lakers fans.