Dropping Dimes On The Daily is all about the team looking at the previous night’s performances and mentioning those that did pretty goodly and those that did pretty badly.  Goodly is a word, right?  Anyway, this will be a quick look around the league, so don’t expect a ton of text, just some daily fantasy basketball goodness!!! 

The Fig Cap: Reggie goes up for a board and pulls down a Bavetta

Larry Legend was on hand in Indiana last night, but watched the Celtics maintain their undefeated streak by topping the Pacers.  Paul Pierce led the way with 31 points, 11 boards and six assists while chipping in two steals and a block.  The Big Ticket Kevin Garnett quietly contributed 18 and 11 with three steals and two blocks of his own.

Danny Granger and Jamaal Tinsley were two of the main fantasy contributors for Indy.  Granger drained all five of his three-point attempts and finished with 24 points and seven boards.  Tinsley was right there with 14 points of his own, also adding eight assists.

The Magic pulled away early from the Sonics with Rashard Lewis handing it to his old squad.  Lewis drained four treys en route to a night of 22 points, six boards and three assists.  Dwight Howard only played 27 minutes but still managed to put up 13 points, 12 boards and three blocks.  A saving grace was the fact that he made seven of his 10 free throw attempts.  Well done, Dwight. 

Keep an eye on both Trevor Ariza (11 and 11) for Orlando as well as Jeff Green for Seattle.  Green has put up his third straight night of double-digit scoring and finished with 12 points, seven boards and three steals.

The Heat were awful last night, getting blown out by the Charlotte Bobcats.  Only Udonis Haslem and Shaquille O’Neal finished with double figures.  The ‘Cats, on the other hand, were supported by Gerald Wallace going for 19 points, seven boards and three assists (with a 1,1 and 1).  Jason Richardson chipped in four treys leading to his 18 points, eight baords and four assists, while Raymond Felton did the distributing with nine assists.

Yao Ming kept on scoring with 22 last night, but it was Tracy McGrady who celebrated the birth of his daughter by dropping 41 on the Grizzlies.  Regardless, it was the team from Memphis that came out on top with 20 points and six boards from Darko Milicic and 26 points from Pau Gasol.  Someone apparently told Gasol that the season started as he got to the line 17 times on the night - converting 14 of said attempts.  I wonder if this will make J.E. Skeets rethink his list that has Houston on top of the NBA thus far…

Kobe Bryant put up 18 points, nine boards, five assists, two steals and three blocks but didn’t manage to get to the line at all in the loss to San Antonio. 

Tim Duncan was awful on the scoring front, going 2-13 from the floor, but still managed to contribute on the blocks (three) and steals (two).  Bruce Bowen (23) and Tony Parker (26) led the way with the points.  Bowen was 6-of-6 from three-point land and Parker chipped in four boards, nine assists and solid percentages.

Andre Iguodala owners have to love the near triple-double, as the man went for 15 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.  However, I’m pretty sure they can do without the seven turnovers.  And your point leader for the Sixers last night?  No, not Thaddeus Young.  It was Samuel Dalembert with 18.  Dude also pulled down seven boards and blocked a shot.  Reggie Evans added 12 boards of his own - but as usual, failed to register much else.

This whole Stephon Marbury mess has the Knicks in a state of flux.  But that didn’t stop Fred Jones from putting up 19 points and nine boards.  He may have been a bit nervous though as he also coughed the ball up seven times.  Jamal Crawford added 21 and Nate Robinson put in 18.  Mardy Collins got the start in Starbury’s absence, but left with an injury.  Monitor this situation as he and Robinson should have a nice boost in value.

The Phoenix Suns had four players go for 20-plus, led by Amare Stoudemire who also chipped in 12 rebounds and four blocks.  And as I mentioned in my Wire to Wire this week, Grant Hill is still available in some leagues and this is rediculous at this point.  Yes, he’s a health concern, but when he’s putting up 20-plus on 7-of-8 shooting, he should be owned.  Daily transaction owners will definitely want to add him as the Suns play Thursday - a typically slow hoops day.

Portland finally beat the Pistons as they have failed to do so since trading Rasheed Wallace.  Tayshaun Prince had his best game since opening night and ‘Sheed himself put up 15 points and three treys, but it was LaMarcus Aldridge’s 22 and 10 along with Brandon Roy and Jarrett Jack each putting up 20 that got the job done.  Rotation watchers will want to keep an eye on Martell Webster and his second straight poor shooting game.  Travis Outlaw put up double-figures for the second straight and may see an increase in minutes.

Line of the night?  While he’s been pretty bad thus far in the season, I have to give it to Dirk Nowitzki.  Diggler went off for 21 points, 12 boards, and eight assists while adding two steals, three blocks and a three-pointer.  About time!

Sorry for the long-winded discussion today… Keep an eye out for Satten’s strategy piece later today!

Peace.