Nolan

Smith

Smith’s status for Thursday’s game against the Nuggets is uncertain, but he offers little to no fantasy impact.

Felton was with his mother in South Carolina, but he’s now returned to the team and will resume his starting role, sending Nolan Smith back to the bench. He’s had his best month of the season in March with averages of 12.7 points, 5.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 30 minutes per game.

Jonny Flynn came off the bench for 11 points and seven dimes in 25 minutes, and if Felton is shut down, the duo will split minutes the rest of the way for the hard-luck Blazers.

Felton had already been held out of the last two games so the Blazers could get a look at younger players. Now he’s leaving the team to attend an uncle’s funeral. At this point, it would be a surprise to see Felton again this season. Nolan Smith has averaged 15.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals over the last two games.

The big news here was that Jamal Crawford was an unreported DNP-CD, so maybe the Blazers are finally ready to shut him down, too. Raymond Felton (Achilles) bullied his way into action tonight, and he simply needs to be considered a wild card going forward. For Smith’s part, seeing him produce like this takes a bit of the risk away when deciding if he’s worth a play on Thursday against the Jazz. Jonny Flynn (18 minutes) scored nine points with three assists and a triple in the loss.

Felton told media that it was his decision about whether or not to play, which has the ability to be inflammatory within the organization if the Blazers have asked him nicely to allow the young guys to play. The announcement that he was starting was very hectic earlier today, with a few reversals, so it’s hard not to believe that something odd is afoot. Just consider him questionable for Thursday’s game against the Jazz until we hear more.

Even if Felton had the so-called say and had any intention of playing, it would be very hard to trust a report given his standoffish relationship with the Portland media. It would be a small miracle if he’s in the Blazers’ future plans, and thus his chances of playing this season aren’t good at all.

Felton shook things up just a bit by saying that it was his decision regarding whether or not he would play tonight, but at this point he is a tough guy to believe given his standoff with the Portland media. Smith has averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals in the last three games, and he’s a pretty good bet to hit those numbers tonight. Jonny Flynn could also be worth a look, as he has outproduced Smith on occasion, too.

Felton said earlier that he would decide whether or not he would play, and it appears he played that card and won tonight. Nolan Smith and Jonny Flynn are no longer fantasy options in most formats. Felton himself is a bit of a risk, given the injury and the fact that the Blazers want to play the young guys.

Nate McMillan has been slow to incorporate his rookie PG, but the struggles of Raymond Felton seem to have finally forced his hand. Deep league owners should watch Smith in case Felton continues to play poorly.