The Portland Trail Blazers reached 30 wins faster than any other team and claim second place in the Western Conference. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost their fifth straight game, dropping them to 19-19.

HOSPITAL WARD

After months of reporting at least one injury every Friday and Sunday, the streak ends.

In lighter news, LeBron James' hair plugs are coming in nicely. He may no longer require a headband once he returns from his two-week hiatus.

M.I.A.

• Cleveland
  • LeBron James (back/knee)
  • Shawn Marion (hip)
• LA Lakers
  • Kobe Bryant (rest)
• Memphis
  • Quincy Pondexter (unavailable)
  • Tayshaun Prince (unavailable)
• Portland
  • Robin Lopez (hand)
  • Allen Crabbe (knee)
• Sacramento
  • Ramon Sessions (back)
  • Omri Casspi (knee)

ROTATION NOTES

Hassan Whiteside started the second half over Chris Andersen. It was a no-brainer after he totaled 12 first-half points. Whiteside closed with a career-high 23 points (10-13 FG, 3-4 FT), career-high 16 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in a season-high 29 minutes. He scored all of his points on putbacks and lobs, benefitting from DeAndre Jordan showing on the pick-and-roll and mostly disregarding him on offense. I called him a flier in 18-team leagues last week, completely underselling his value. After this performance, he can safely be added as long as you temper expectations and salivate over blocks.

While I doubt Whiteside can maintain the numbers he aggregated against the Clippers, he doesn't have much in the way of frontcourt competition. Andersen's minutes will always be capped, Udonis Haslem plays garbage time, and Justin Hamilton missed a ton of time due to a concussion. Power forward threats like Shawne Williams and Danny Granger can't be trusted. Chris Bosh will moonlight at center, so Whiteside's minutes are somewhat unstable. He was hovering near 20 minutes per game prior to this explosion. In the one game he played 27 minutes against the Nets, Whiteside tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds, a more realistic representation in my opinion.

Brandan Wright made his Suns debut, scoring seven points in 15 minutes. The final minute's tracker on Alen Len was skewed since the game required two overtimes, permitting Len to enter the first overtime, after Goran Dragic fouled out, only to earn his sixth foul in the second overtime, lasting 31 minutes in all. Regardless, Len produced 14 points (5-9 FG, 4-4 FT), 13 rebounds, two blocks, and one steal in extended run. Miles Plumlee played 10 minutes, signifying the end of his fantasy usefulness.

Every Grizzlies starter played at least 41 minutes in their double-overtime victory. Tayshaun Prince and Quincy Pondexter didn't play as the world waits for the league's approval on a proposed three-team deal that should net the Grizzlies Jeff Green. In Green, the Grizzlies receive a durable player who hasn't missed a game the last three seasons, who burst onto the season after Rajon Rondo tore his ACL and averaged 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 33 minutes per game the final 38 games (17 starts) of the 2012-13 season surrounded by Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry. Green can assert himself as long as he isn't the number one option and focal point of the defense. That said, Tony Allen, Vince Carter, and Courtney Lee will compete with Green for wing minutes, hindering Green's long-term fantasy value. The Grizzlies don't play again until Wednesday, so feel free to drop Green if a player emerges between now and then.

Timofey Mozgov replaced Tristan Thompson in the starting lineup. Even though the game was over by halftime in favor of the Kings, Mozgov played 33 minutes to Thompson's 23 minutes. Mozgov finished with 14 points (6-8 FG, 2-4 FT), 12 rebounds, and two blocks, reducing Thompson to 16-team relevance. Mozgov can anchor this defense, but there are too many mouths to feed in Cleveland. I don't expect him to play 35+ minutes a night once LeBron James returns, and his nightly production will fluctuate much like Anderson Varejao's did. It'll be interesting to see how coach Blatt uses him against the Suns on Tuesday.

Kobe Bryant rested for the second straight game and sixth time all season. Wes Johnson returned from a hip injury and replaced Ryan Kelly in the starting lineup. Johnson led the Lakers with 17 points (7-14 FG, 3-5 3Pt) in 31 minutes. Bryant is the story here. Coach Scott said he'll revisit the idea of shutting him down after the All-Star break, admitting that he pushed Bryant too hard earlier this season. The Lakers are 12-26, nine games back of the final playoff slot. Their first round draft pick belongs to the Phoenix Suns unless the ping pong balls yield the Lakers a top-five selection. All signs are pointing in the wrong direction. Get out while you can, or accept your fate as a Bryant owner.

FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT

DeMarcus Cousins went Rick James all over Timofey Mozgov's couch, nearly missing a 5x5 game with 26 points (11-23 FG, 4-6 FT), 13 rebounds, five assists, four steals, three blocks, and only one turnover in 35 minutes. Since returning from a meningitis scare, Cousins is averaging 24.5 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game. Only Draymond Green boasts similar per game blocks, steals, and assists in that time frame. The 3.9 turnovers per game obscures Cousins' true fantasy value if you fixate on nine-category rank.

BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS AND ODDITIES

In the 120-89 win over the Wizards, eight Hawks scored in double digits, led by Kyle Korver's 19 points in a team-high 32 minutes. They tallied an impressive 34:8 assist-to-turnover ratio, made 16-of-31 three-pointers, and prevailed in 22 of their last 24 games.

The Wizards were derailed by a top-5 defense. Marcin Gortat grabbed two rebounds, John Wall committed eight turnovers, and Bradley Beal continued his inefficiency streak, converting 4-of-12 from the field for 12 points. Kevin Seraphin was the lone bright spot, recording 13 points (6-9 FG, 1-1 FT), six rebounds, four assists, and three blocks in 24 minutes.

Chris Bosh, along with his buddy Hassan Whiteside, exposed the Clippers with 34 points (13-20 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 6-7 FT), seven rebounds, and two assists in 39 minutes. Since returning from the calf injury, he averaged 21.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.7 three-pointers, numbers akin to his season average. The one anomaly in those six games is the zero blocks and two steals he produced, well below his standards.

DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford underdelivered, combining for eight points on 3-of-12 shooting and eight rebounds in 55 combined minutes. It snaps a streak of 15 consecutive games with at least 10 rebounds for Jordan but extends his streak of at least one block to 26 straight games (longest active streak in the NBA).

Markieff Morris bounced back offensively, scoring 17 points (7-15 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT) two days after shooting 1-of-13 for three points. The rest of his peripherals sustained. His three-point shot is trending in the opposite direction this month after a great December. That's just his M.O. at this point in his career: one great shooting month followed by a tumultuous one.

Zach Randolph notched the team's first 12 points en route to a season-high 27 points (11-16 FG, 5-6 FT), 17 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and seven turnovers in 42 minutes. He abused Markieff Morris and the undersized Phoenix Suns on the low-block in just his second game back from a swollen right knee. If the knee concerns you, now is a great time to sell high. Even with the legitimate rise in field goal percentage, Randolph dominates three categories at the expense of the others. Those in leagues that use double-doubles as a category are better off holding.

Kevin Love attempted a season-high 21 shots, scoring 25 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in what may be his last game without LeBron James for a while. I mentioned selling high on Zach Randolph; now would be you best time to do so with Love. In the seven games sans James, Love averaged 21.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.7 three points, and 16.1 field goal attempts in 34.8 minutes per game. In the previous 31 games with James and without J.R. Smith, those numbers dip to 16.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.6 three-pointers, and 12.7 field goal attempts in 35.8 minutes per game. As you can see, James sucked the life out of Love's beard to fill in the top of his dome. He also cramps Love's statistical style.

Damian Lillard scored half of his 34 points (13-23 FG, 4-8 3Pt, 4-5 FT) in the fourth quarter. He leads the NBA with 232 fourth-quarter points. Chris Kaman played a season-high 32 minutes against his former team, the Lakers, and recorded nine points (4-10 FG, 1-1 FT), 12 rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Robin Lopez (hand) expects to return sometime around the end of the month, capping Kaman's value. Nevertheless, Kaman should only play 20-25 minutes until Lopez returns in order to preserve his health. Perhaps coach Stotts extended his playing time knowing the Trail Blazers have two days off before their next game.

Ronnie Price recorded a career-high 12 assists in 33 minutes. I watched all 12 because I was skeptical of the scorekeeper's legitimacy. Only two assists were questionable. The rest seemed valid. Price is averaging 3.9 assists per game this season, but he recorded at least eight assists in four of the six games Kobe Bryant missed. Jeremy Lin just can't catch a break. The trend contends Price is valuable when Bryant sits, which makes sense since he controls more of the offense.

Nick Young is in a slump, shooting 25 percent from the field over the past five games after last night's 3-of-11 performance. According to the numbers, Young is shooting 37 percent whether Bryant is on the court or on the bench, and last year he shot 44 percent from the field. The only differences this season are no Mike D'Antoni and Kendall Marshall to enable Young's shooting prowess, and 45 percent of his attempts are from behind the three-point line, compared to 40 percent last season. If Bryant were to shut it down at some point this season, Young looks to gain the most in terms of shot attempts. He's still a dicey fantasy option with most of his value dependent on three-pointers and free-throw percentage (27 consecutive makes from the free-throw line).

NIGHTLY LEADERS

Points

1. Chris Bosh, C, MIA: 34 points (13-20 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 6-7 FT)
2. Damian Lillard, G, POR: 34 points (13-23 FG, 4-8 3Pt, 4-5 FT)
3. Zach Randolph, F, MEM: 27 points (11-16 FG, 5-6 FT)

Rebounds

1. Zach Randolph, F, MEM: 17 rebounds (5 offensive)
2. Hassan Whiteside, C, MIA: 16 rebounds (5 offensive)
3. DeMarcus Cousins, C, SAC: 13 rebounds (2 offensive)
4. Alex Len, C, PHX: 13 rebounds (4 offensive)

Assists

1. Ronnie Price, G, LAL: 12 assists (3 turnovers)
2. Dwyane Wade, G, MIA: 10 assists (2 turnovers)
3. Jeff Teague, G, ATL: 10 assists (0 turnovers)

Steals

1. DeMarcus Cousins, C, SAC: 4 steals
2. Jeff Teague, G, ATL: 4 steals
3. DeMarre Carroll, F, ATL: 4 steals

Blocks

1. Marc Gasol, C, MEM: 4 blocks
2. DeMarcus Cousins, C, SAC: 3 blocks
3. Jordan Hill, C, LAL: 3 blocks
4. Kevin Seraphin, C, WAS: 3 blocks

Three-Pointers

1. Kyle Korver, G, ATL: 5-7 3Pt
2. Damian Lillard, G, POR: 4-8 3Pt
3. Mike Conley, G, MEM: 4-7 3Pt
4. Kyrie Irving, G, CLE: 4-7 3Pt

Minutes

1. Courtney Lee, G, MEM: 44 minutes
2. Zach Randolph, F, MEM: 42 minutes
3. Mike Conley, G, MEM: 42 minutes
4. Marc Gasol, C, MEM: 42 minutes
5. Eric Bledsoe, G, PHX: 42 minutes