In case you haven't noticed, Smith is pretty good at this. (AP Photo/David Richard)

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Beast of the Night: Josh Smith beasted it with 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 7 blocks against the Pacers last night. He also hit a three, shot 56 percent (9-16) from the field, 86 percent (6-7) from the line and had four turnovers. Smith has improved his scoring, shooting, three-point-making, rebounding and blocking so far this season compared to 2009-10.

Lines for Discussion:
Gilbert Arenas: 7-14 FG (50%), 3-4 FT (75%), 3 threes, 20 Pts, 7 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO

Andray Blatche: 9-13 FG (69%), 3-4 FT (75%), 1 three, 22 Pts, 7 Reb, 5 Ast, 3 Stl, 4 TO

Daniel Gibson: 6-12 FG (50%), 3-4 FT (75%), 3 threes, 18 Pts, 4 Reb, 8 Ast, 2 Stl

J.J. Hickson: 4-9 FG (44%), 8 Pts, 2 Reb, 1 Blk, 1 TO

Roy Hibbert: 6-16 FG (38%), 6-8 FT (75%), 18 Pts, 15 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO

Drew Gooden: 8-11 FG (73%), 4-4 FT (100%), 2 threes, 22 Pts, 13 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO

Andrew Bogut: 5-13 FG (39%), 2-10 FT (20%), 12 Pts, 18 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 Blk, 1 TO

Derrick Rose: 13-20 FG (65%), 3-6 FT (50%), 4 threes, 33 Pts, 3 Reb, 7 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 TO

Waiver-Wire Watch:
Sonny Weems, Kirk Hinrich, Nick Young, Thaddeus Young, Shannon Brown, Wesley Matthews, Kyle Korver, Brad Miller, Landry Fields

Injuries:
Carlos Boozer (hand): cleared for light shooting

David Lee (elbow): on his way to full recovery

Dwyane Wade (knee, shoulder): expected to play tonight

Carlos Delfino (neck): out about two weeks

Robin Lopez (knee): updated status has him out for at least a month

Marcus Camby (ankle): injured his ankle last night but returned; monitor his status

Brandon Roy (knee): will have an MRI today

Leandro Barbosa (shoulder): could return Friday

Mehmet Okur (Achilles): increasing his participation in team drills

Yi Jianlian (knee): day-to-day

Andre Iguodala (Achilles): day-to-day

Andrei Kirilenko (knuckle): game-time decision tonight

Ron Artest (hip): playing through it

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D-Will was a bad, bad man last night. (Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Beast of the Night: Deron Williams put up 31 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal and 4 threes against the Thunder last night.  He shot 67 percent (12-18) from the field and 100 percent (3-3) from the charity stripe. Williams is back on track after a slow start and has upped his scoring, threes made and rebounding so far this season.

Lines for Discussion:
Rashard Lewis: 3-13 FG (23%), 2-2 FT (100%), 1 three, 9 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO

Michael Beasley: 12-25 FG (48%), 1-3 FT (33%), 3 threes, 28 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk, 2 TO

Tyrus Thomas: 8-11 FG (73%), 4-7 FT (57%), 20 Pts, 10 Reb, 2 Stl, 4 Blk, 7 TO

D.J. Augustin: 3-9 FG (33%), 2-4 FT (50%), 1 three, 9 Pts, 5 Reb, 11 Ast, 1 TO

Carmelo Anthony: 7-19 FG (37%), 6-8 FT (75%), 20 Pts, 22 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 6 TO

Serge Ibaka: 9-13 FG (69%), 4-4 FT (100%), 22 Pts, 11 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 Blk

Brook Lopez: 10-16 FG (63%), 4-4 FT (100%), 24 Pts, 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 Blk, 1 TO

Eric Gordon: 6-20 FG (30%), 16-20 FT (80%), 2 threes, 30 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO

Waiver-Wire Watch:
Darko Milicic, Anthony Tolliver, Corey Brewer, Peja Stojakovic, Hakim Warrick, Reggie Williams, Kris Humphries, Jordan Farmar, Eric Bledsoe

Injuries:
Jermaine O’Neal (knee): could be out 2-3 weeks

Delonte West (suspension): will return Wednesday

Kyle Korver (knee): out for the start of the Bulls’ two-week road trip

Anderson Varejao (ribs): questionable tonight

Mo Williams (groin/hip): ditto

Caron Butler (back): day-to-day

Darren Collison (ankle): injured it in practice on Monday, questionable tonight

Tyler Hansbrough (ankle): should be ready for tonight

Steve Blake (stomach virus): should return tonight

Lamar Odom (foot): MRI came back negative, check his status

Udonis Haslem (knee): sat out practice on Monday, should be good to go

Dwyane Wade (shoulder): ditto

Jeff Green (ankle): aggravated his ankle injury on Sunday, day-to-day

J.J. Redick (back): day-to-day

Robin Lopez (knee): out several weeks

Brandon Roy (knee): out tonight

Raja Bell (groin): day-to-day

Andray Blatche (knee): will play tonight

Marquis Daniels (personal): could miss Wednesday’s game

Marcus Thornton (thigh): day-to-day

John Wall (foot): was on crutches Monday, game-time decision tonight

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The smoke has cleared and Griffin's true fantasy value has been revealed. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

(Apologies for the lateness and slight outdatedness of this shortened post — took a quick vacation this weekend.)

Game watch:
4 games: DAL, DEN, LAC, LAL, MEM, NJ, NO, NY, OKC, PHO, TOR, UTA, WAS
3 games: BOS, CHA, CHI, CLE, DET, GS, HOU, IND, MIA, MIL, MIN, ORL, PHI, POR, SAC, SA
2 games: ATL

Waiver-wire watch:

• Eric Bledsoe: as Baron Davis continues to ail, Bledsoe will continue to get minutes
• Mike Dunleavy: continues to start and had a solid week
• Rudy Fernandez: could be a winner in the “Brandon Roy’s bum knee” sweepstakes
  
• Keith Bogans: he’s finding some offense
• Brandon Rush: stuck on the bench for now, but still offers a great mix of stats
• Tyler Hansbrough: “Psycho T” does a lot with the minutes he’s given
• Austin Daye: showing signs of life
• Amir Johnson: the sleeper is waking up
• Jordan Hill: should benefit from Yao Ming’s absence
• Chuck Hayes: ditto
• Shannon Brown: produces nice lines every now and then
• Andres Nocioni: streaky, but good for some threes
• Travis Outlaw: fun guy to own if you like roller coasters
• Kris Humphries: had a monster game on Wednesday, could be decent as Nets big men suffer
• Ishmael Smith: Kyle Lowry’s still getting his legs back

Stock watch:

↑ LeBron James: finding his groove

↑ Jrue Holiday: finally making strides

↑ Gerald Wallace: rebounds, steals and blocks are falling into place

↑ Nicolas Batum: bouncing back after a couple clunkers, will benefit from Roy’s health issues

↓ Brook Lopez: looks absolutely miserable so far

↓ Chauncey Billups: minutes, scoring, FG%, 3ptm, rebounds, assists are down, turnovers are up

↓ Brandon Roy: knee issues are cause for serious concern

↓ Blake Griffin: the hype and big lines have died down and his weaknesses (low FT%, blocks) are becoming clear

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Nash is doling out the love lately. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

[Read the full post at DimeMag.com]

Weekend Wonder: Steve Nash averaged 24.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 1 steal and 1 three in two monster games over the weekend. He shot 65 percent from the field, 82 percent from the free-throw line and turned the ball over just once per game. After a sluggish start to the season, Nash has notched double-doubles in his last four outings.

Lines for Discussion:
Kevin Love (11/12): 11-26 FG (42%), 8-10 FT (80%), 1 three, 31 Pts, 31 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO

Tyson Chandler (11/12): 3-4 FG (75%), 5-7 FT (71%), 11 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 1 TO

Russell Westbrook (11/12): 12-22 FG (55%), 11-12 FT (92%), 1 three, 36 Pts, 7 Reb, 7 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO

Blake Griffin (11/12): 8-15 FG (53%), 2-5 FT (40%), 18 Pts, 18 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 3 TO

Brook Lopez (11/13): 9-17 FG (53%), 5-6 FT (83%), 23 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Blk, 3 TO

Gilbert Arenas (11/13): 11-22 FG (50%), 1-2 FT (50%), 7 threes, 30 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 5 TO

Elton Brand (11/13): 4-8 FG (50%), 8 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Blk, 1 TO

Andrew Bogut (11/13): 4-12 FG (33%), 0-2 FT (0%), 8 Pts, 17 Reb, 7 Blk, 2 TO

Tim Duncan (11/14): 2-7 FG (29%), 2-4 FT (50%), 6 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Blk

Jason Richardson (11/14): 13-20 FG (65%), 2-4 FT (50%), 7 threes, 35 Pts, 8 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 TO

Waiver-Wire Watch:
Brad Miller, DeMar DeRozan, Sonny Weems, Eric Bledsoe, Mickael Pietrus, Nazr Mohammed, Ramon Sessions, Marco Belinelli, Nate Robinson, Sebastian Telfair

Injuries:
Brandon Roy (knee): remains to be seen if he’ll miss games, questionable for Tuesday

Caron Butler (back): questionable tonight

David Lee (elbow): out two weeks

Chase Budinger (ankle): day-to-day

Steve Blake (stomach virus): day-to-day

Carlos Delfino (neck): day-to-day

Luke Ridnour (hamstring): should return Wednesday

Ronny Turiaf (knee): day-to-day

Robin Lopez (knee): sprained his left knee on Sunday, day-to-day

Yi Jianlian (knee): day-to-day

Andray Blatche (knee): monitor his status

Lamar Odom (foot): will have an MRI today

Jeff Green (ankle): questionable for Monday

John Wall (ankle): could miss a few days, check his status

Baron Davis (knee): could miss a few weeks

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