Kobe Bryant is great at passing, just ask him

The Black Mamba hit an assist milestone on Sunday and used the occasion to troll haters.

On Sunday, in a rare Lakers win, Kobe Bryant passed the 6,000-assist mark for his career. He becomes the first player in NBA history with at least 30,000 points and 6,000 assists. Kobe, ever disrespected, used it as an opportunity to lash out at those who criticize his reluctance to share the ball.

Kobe on getting 6,000 assists: "It means I pass more than people say."

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) December 1, 2014

How true. Although ...

Kobe Bryant, now in his 19th season, has 6,000 career assists. LeBron James, in his 12th season, has 5,898.

— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) December 1, 2014

Kobe finished with a triple-double, and became the oldest player in NBA history to record a 30-10-10 game. He also has roughly 29,000 career shooting possessions (including free throws) for those 6,000 assists, and shot 5-18 in the second half Sunday as the Raptors roared back. Kobe missed both of his regulation game-winner attempts this week.

Kobe contains multitudes. But never let it be said he's not one of the best quotes in the business.

Kobe: "You know the saying happy wife, happy life? Same thing goes around here, man. If I'm upset, everybody is going to have a bad day."

— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) December 1, 2014

Kobe forever.

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Fantasy football waiver wire, Week 14: Delanie Walker silenced

A week after a huge game, the Tennessee tight end did nothing Sunday. We break down the fantasy implications.

A week after 10 targets, five catches and 155 yards, Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker was held quiet Sunday. The tight end had only one catch in Tennessee's 45-21 loss to the Houston Texans.

Walker was targeted three times Sunday, bringing in only one of them for six yards. It was Walker's worst game of the season -- excepting the one he missed with injury -- and only the second time he's had fewer than three fantasy points.

Fantasy impact: Walker is still in that unknowable tier of tight ends. Once you get past the top four or so guys, every tight end, whether it's Walker, Travis Kelce, Larry Donnell, Jason Witten or another guy, has the possibility of getting you 12 fantasy points in a game, but they all could offer a zero as well.

Walker is one of the best bets of that group, as one of his team's few weapons. He's around seven or eight among tight ends, but not significantly different from sixth or 13th.

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Fantasy football waiver wire, Week 14: Kendall Wright, Nate Washington find end zone

Two of the team's top three receivers scored touchdowns, but that doesn't clarify much. We break down the fantasy implications.

The Tennessee Titans' wide receivers have been wildly inconsistent this season, with Justin Hunter and Kendall Wright taking turns as the team's top target, and Nate Washington occasionally jumping in. On Sunday, it was Wright with a taste of Washington, and Hunter was almost shut out of the Titans' 45-21 loss to the Houston Texans.

Wright caught seven passes for 132 yards and a touchdown in the game. Washington added five catches for 61 yards and a score himself. Hunter, meanwhile, caught only one pass for 18 yards. Wright and Washington were targeted nine times apiece, compared to only three targets for Hunter.

Fantasy impact: Who knows, really. Through 12 games, Wright has averaged 7.5 fantasy points a game, with Hunter at 5 and Washington at 4.7. That includes multiple games of three or fewer points for each guy, with no player offering any back-to-back games of eight or more fantasy points.

If you're buying in on one Tennessee receiver, it's clearly Wright, though that's been the case all season long. Ultimately, none of the three is reliable or consistent enough to use on a weekly basis.

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Good morning. The Lakers own the East.

That and more in Monday's NBA newsletter.

Good morning. Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. Let's basketball.

END CONFERENCES PART 2: Since our last newsletter, I've pubbed my plan to end conferences and balance the NBA schedule. There's a map, there's a prescription and there are lots of comments. Enjoy.

KG HAS GONE FULL BATSH-T: Yes, that is photographic evidence of Kevin Garnett trying to bite Joakim Noah's hand. To be fair, Joakim's hands do look delicious. KG followed up with a killer quote, of course.

HE'S BAAACK: Russell Westbrook came back Friday. Like he reeeeally came back.

LAKERS! They beat the Raptors in overtime at home to go 3-0 against the East, and in the process won the rights to Ambassador Drake, apparently. Drake hung out with the Lakers on the bench at the end of the game. He's a Raptors employee. He went Raptors to the Lakers real quick.

ASTERISK: The Lakers beat the Raptors without DeMar DeRozan, who is out a month or so. How will Toronto fare without him?

SUNDAY SCORES: Check out what happened on Sunday, including a surprising loss for the Suns.

CHRIS PAUL IS GREAT: What a lovely thing CP3 did for a superfan who lost his mother.

NO LOVE FOR THE NUGGETS: Among St. Louis's many problems right now, the police are beefing with the Rams. Denver PD wanted to show off its tight relationships ... but it forgot to mention that the cops of the Mile High City love the Nuggets. OOPS. Now we have beef. (We don't have beef.)

WELL! Kyrie Irving with a full-court, jump-pass assist. More please.

COLD: Carmelo Anthony got a technical for having the temerity to not enjoy a whistle being blown in his ear.

HOW TO END TANKING: Ken Berger notes that the NBA does actually have the power to punish the Sixers for being an intentional embarrassment.

WELL, IT IS SUNDAY: Joey Crawford is dancing again.

DERRICK ROSE WILL RUIN US ALL: Ricky O'Donnell with a smart, sad meditation on what it means to watch your team depend on Derrick Rose right now.

GIANNIS! There is some debate as to whether this is a legal play, but holy crap who cares the Greek Freak is Eurostepping from the three-point line! Plus: a good look at what Giannis is bringing to the Bucks beyond the highlights.

LIKE IT NEEDS TO BE SAID: Don't follow Nick Young's dating advice.

DARN GOOD QUESTION: Why are the Hornets so awful?

Happy Monday. See you next time.

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Fantasy football waiver wire, Week 14: Ryan Fitzpatrick has career day

Ryan Fitzpatrick, six touchdowns. Ryan. Fitzpatrick. Six. Touchdowns. We break down the fantasy implications.

We were about a month away from maybe never seeing Ryan Fitzpatrick as an NFL quarterback again. He had had a miserable season in Houston and been benched for Ryan Mallett, who looked at least competent. And then Mallett got hurt, Fitzpatrick got a start again, and he responded with a career performance in the Texans' 45-21 win over the Tennessee Titans Sunday.

Fitzpatrick completed 24-of-33 passes Sunday for 358 yards and six touchdowns, more than half as many as he had totaled in nine starts before Sunday. Fitzpatrick spread the ball around, as well, connected for two touchdowns to DeAndre Hopkins and one each to Ryan Griffin, Arian Foster, Andre Johnson and J.J. Watt.

Fantasy impact: This can't change much of anything about any evaluation of Fitzpatrick. He's always been good for a monster game or two on occasion. Yes, this -- 39 fantasy points -- is extreme, and higher than anything he's ever done before, but this is still Ryan Fitzpatrick, he of the 11:8 TD:INT ratio entering Sunday.

Going forward, he is who he was: a low-end quarterback who at least has enough upside to be a reasonable QB2 if things get desperate, but not anyone you can rely on. Congratulations on a big game, Fitzpatrick, but that doesn't change much of anything.

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Fantasy football waiver wire, Week 14: Jordan Reed has big return

Jordan Reed came back from injury and delivered impressive numbers. We take a look at his fantasy value moving forward.

If there were any concerns regarding Jordan Reed's return to a full workload, they're long gone after Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts. Reed caught nine passes for 123 yards after spending a week sidelined with a hamstring injury.

With quarterback Colt McCoy under center, Reed emerged as the favorite target on Washington's offense. leading with 11 targets. In comparison, DeSean Jackson was second in targets with six. Reed is proving to be a reliable security blanket for McCoy through several games. At this point, his risk lies in his ability to avoid injury.

Fantasy impact: Reed has always shown talent when he's on the field but he's only seen the field seven times this season. McCoy seems to have locked down the starting job at quarterback. As long as the two are in the mix moving forward, Reed is TE1.

He'll be on the low end of the TE1 discussion in Week 14. The St. Louis Rams have contained tight ends well all season. Regardless, the targets will be there.

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Fantasy football waiver wire, Week 14: Davante Adams remains risky fantasy prospect despite big week

Davante Adams had a big week against the Patriots. We take a look at his fantasy value moving forward.

It was only a matter of time before Davante Adams stepped up for a big game. His number was called on Sunday. With Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson seeing heavy coverage all afternoon, Adams drew plenty of looks from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Adams finished with six receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown against the New England Patriots. He tied for a team-high 11 targets. Adams has been the team's WR3 for the majority of the season, and the Patriots understandably focused their secondary to Rodgers' more preferred targets. Adams would have caught a second touchdown but failed to get both feet in the end zone.

Fantasy impact: Like most WR3 options on a strong offense, big days are bound to happen. Adams was simply the next man up with his teammates well covered for most of the afternoon. He'll remain a WR4 moving forward.

The Green Bay Packers don't face a secondary as talented as the Patriots for the remainder of the fantasy season. Starting Adams is a risk during the fantasy playoffs, but he's always capable of having games like this from time to time.

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