Steve Blake left Tuesday's game briefly to get five stitches in his chin, but he returned to finish scoreless with four rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes.
Blake, who shot 0-of-5, actually started the second half over Nicolas Batum. Unfortunately his fantasy value is minimal right now, despite the continued absence of Brandon Roy.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, four steals and four turnovers in Tuesday's loss to the visiting Thunder.
The rebounds tied a season-high, the steals were a season-high, and the assists were just a few shy of his season-high. He's averaging better than 22 & 10 in February, as the absence of Brandon Roy has forced him to carry a heavier burden offensively.
The Trail Blazers fell at home to the Thunder on Tuesday in spite of Andre Miller's solid evening -- 22 points (9-of-18 FGs, 3-of-3 FTs), six rebounds, six assists, one block and four turnovers.
In the four games since his 52 point explosion, Miller had been averaging just 10.3 ppg. His true value lies somewhere between those extremes -- he's averaging just 13.2 points this season, but raised that average to 18.8 during the month of January.
Trail Blazers reserve forward Dante Cunningham got hot for a stretch of Tuesday's game and wound up with 14 points, six rebounds and one steal in 21 minutes.
He had exactly one double-digit scoring game prior to this, and we're not reading anything into this fluky performance.
Blazers swingman Martell Webster took a hard fall during Tuesday's game -- he left for the locker room but has since returned to action.
Webster may be sore for the next few days, but shouldn't be in danger of missing Wednesday's game. If you're planning on using him, however, it never hurts to double-check his status.
Jerryd Bayless has been removed from the Blazers' starting lineup.
Coach Nate McMillan is going with Nicolas Batum's defense over Bayless. We're not sure if this lineup change will stick, but Bayless' value is shot when Brandon Roy (hamstring) returns anyway. Owners in normal-sized leagues can safely drop the explosive Bayless.
Nicolas Batum will start for the Blazers against the Thunder on Tuesday.
We're not sure yet if this is a permanent move or simply made for defensive purposes tonight. Don't run out and add Batum because Brandon Roy (hamstring) will eventually return and Batum is very raw offensively. We wouldn't expect him to attempt more than 7-9 shots per game even if he gets 30 minutes. Jerryd Bayless will slide to the bench tonight, although he should still be good for his 15-20 minutes.
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