Wednesday night was a phenomenal one for Tyson Chandler. And while Carmelo Anthony has (rightly) been getting all the attention over his phenomenal scoring numbers so far in April, Chandler is quietly having an historic season on the offensive end of the floor to go along with his world-class defense.
Chandler helped the New York Knicks to an enormous win over the Milwaukee Bucks without missing a single shot. He took six field goals and seven free throws, making all of them, and he's now averaging 12.2 points and 13.6 rebounds on 71.4 percent shooting from the floor over his past five games. At 68.1 percent shooting for the season, he's got a good shot of posting the best field goal percentage for a season by any player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1972-73 (if Chandler can get up over 68 percent, he'll have the second highest percentage for a season ever, period). It's a major part of how Chandler has managed to be a top-30 fantasy player this season, and it makes him an even more interesting player heading into next season's fantasy drafts.
Looking Back
• Lester Hudson just keeps putting up big numbers off the bench for the Cleveland Cavaliers. In a loss to the Indiana Pacers, he had 19 points, six rebounds, and two assists, but it's worth pointing out that it took him 20 shots to get his 19 points and he also had six turnovers to go with his two assists. So, yeah, he's not a model of efficiency, but with Kyrie Irving still out of the lineup, Hudson isn't a bad place to look if you need some backcourt help.
• Spencer Hawes has been a whole lot better in April than he was in March after returning to the Philadelphia 76ers lineup; on Wednesday he had 10 points, four rebounds, and four blocks in 22 minutes against the Toronto Raptors, and is averaging 9.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 2.0 assists over his past five games.
• Mickael Pietrus returned to the lineup for the Boston Celtics against the Atlanta Hawks, and while he was relatively unproductive (eight points and six rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench), the fact that he got a lot of playing time -- even if it was in an overtime game and Ray Allen was out of the lineup with a sore right ankle -- bodes well for him moving forward. He could be a good source of 3s down the stretch, so keep an eye on his playing time over the next game or two.
• Markieff Morris has put together back-to-back big games for the Phoenix Suns, averaging 19 points, six rebounds and a 3-pointer in games against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies. He's a good add in most leagues for now, and also has the potential to make some 3s over the next few games.
• It might get lost in all the hubbub over Andrew Bynum's 30-rebound night against the Spurs, but the Los Angeles Lakers also got a big performance out of Metta World Peace, who had 26 points on 10-for-15 shooting from the floor including five made 3s. If you had the foresight to play World Peace this past week, you reaped the benefits of his averaging 16.6 points on 59.3 percent shooting from the floor over his past five games. There's no guarantee that he'll keep it up, but if he does, he'll also be a great source of 3s and steals, and probably should be owned in most fantasy leagues.
Looking Ahead
• Kevin Love played just eight minutes in the Timberwolves' loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night because he had to leave the game after suffering a mild concussion. No word yet on his status going forward, but the Wolves are firmly out of the playoff race and won't take any chances with their superstar power forward. Meanwhile, Anthony Randolph and Derrick Williams both had huge games picking up the slack for Love with 28 and 27 points, respectively, and both should be in fantasy lineups for Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
• The big question heading into Thursday night's matchup between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls is whether Derrick Rose will play, but you may want to spend time considering the point guard situation for the Heat, as well. Mario Chalmers has been a total disaster in two games against the Bulls this season, averaging just 4.5 points in 27.5 minutes and shooting just 18 percent from the floor. Norris Cole hasn't been much better, so you may want to do yourself a favor and just ignore the Heat point guards for fantasy purposes this time around.
• Nate Robinson had another big game for the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, and with rookie point guard Charles Jenkins struggling a bit, they'll need Robinson again on Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Robinson has played the Mavs just once this year, but in that meeting he put up 21 points, five rebounds, and three steals in 25 minutes, so he should have plenty of confidence this time around.
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