PRESEASON NOTES THE SECOND WEEK November 5, 1999 October 12 to October 18 The follow is a compilation of notes that I made during the second week of the preseason. They were delivered daily to subscribers during the preseason. To subscribe to the regular season 'Fast Break' Emailer and receive similar timely notes delivered to you personally (almost daily) go to the HoopsKlyce order page. 10/12 The Miami Heat had a 126-91 exhibition victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel last night. The Heat started what might be their starting lineup: PJ Brown, Mashburn, Mourning, Majerle, and Hardaway. I had previously written that the shooting guard spot would go to either Majerle or Lenard. This is a hint that Majerle is the front runner. By the way, Mourning had 5 personal fouls reminding me of that drag on his fantasy value. That is one reason he is not projected to play as many minutes as other players his caliber. Brian Grant is recovering from offseason surgery on his left knee and won't play in Tuesday's exhibition game against the Seattle SuperSonics. He may be available for the Nov 2 season opener. I am watching the Sprewell situation for any impact his no show might have on his fantasy value. I think the media has a tendency to over publicize all the no-show stories since there isn't much else to talk about before the preseason games begin. Subscriber Henry Anderson had the following comment regarding the topic of where to take a center in the 10/10 notes: "Centers seem to command quite a premium in our auction (from 40 to 55% percent of our roster budget for some teams). I have had some success, including one year when I won the enchilada, by letting the other teams blow their payroll on the 5 centers and picking up some 1-4 players at bargain basement prices." 10/13 There were 7 preseason games played last night. The Wizards-Lakers game was canceled because of a structural problem with the arena. Note the following sites show preseason box scores: http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/sportsticker/scoreboard/nbasbd.htm http://sports.yahoo.com/nba Here are some observations from last night: Tim Thomas led the Bucks in minutes played and shot attempts. He scored 17 pts. I think he could be a potential sleeper but he needs to be watched more considering the rotten year he just had. Tracy McGrady had 21 points and 7 boards as a starter. He is in a contract year and I think he will do well. Your rankings reflect this. To see a list of other players contract status visit http://www.nationwide.net/~patricia/. Alvin Williams scored 18 points but he needs to do that again before I think anything big is going on here. Gheorghe Muresan had 11 points and 8 rebounds in 16 minutes. Looks like he may be a potential sleeper. Stephon Marbury decided to shoot more than pass. That's good for his fantasy value. He finished with 32 points. Matt Harpring sat out with a sprained ankle and Anthony Parker led the Magic in minutes played. Bison Dele did not play for the Pistons last night nor did Christian Laettner who had back spasms. Larry Johnson DNP because of a sprained foot which should keep him out for a week. Marcus Camby started at center and had 5 blocked shots, 10 points, and 8 rebounds. I think he will have a big year with all the injury potential on the Knicks. Ron Mercer took 28 shots in a preseason game but had just 1 assist and 1 rebound. He finished with 31. I think he is a guy to leave to someone else. Only points from him. Elton Brand started with a very nice game. 18 pts, 11 reb, and 5 asts. Reuben Patterson started for the Sonics and had a good game. He could end up as a major sleeper. Shammond Williams scored 20 pts for the Sonics. Potential sleeper Jelani McCoy had a good game for the Sonics. Potential sleepers Bonzi Wells and Jermaine O'Neal had great games for the Blazers. Note this is the preseason and they would still need to crack the Blazers regular season rotation -- not an easy task. Potential sleeper Troy Hudson started for the Clippers. Did not see Eric Murdock in the box score. Hudson was 0-5 but had 5 asts. Lamar Odom scored 17 pts. Potential sleeper Adonal Foyle started for the Warriors. He had 7 pts, 7 reb, and 2 blocks. NOTE: Wilt Chamberlain: 8/21/36-10/12/99 Career 30 ppg, 23 rpg, 4.4 apg and never fouled out of a game. Rest in Peace 10/14 From last nights games: Anthony Mason is apparently healed having played 42 minutes in the Hornets first preseason game. He had 12 reb, 9 pts, and 5 asts. Note I neglected to put a write up on Mason in the report. He is strong in the PAR but weak elsewhere. He can get overrated by some owners in multi category leagues. Bobby Phills DNP stiff neck. David Wesley played strong. This type of play will keep Baron Davis on the bench. Paul Pierce started had small forward. I thought it had been the Celtics intention to start him this season at shooting guard. Calbert Cheany started the game at shooting guard for the Celtics. Eric Williams had 17 points but typically gave 0 ast and only 1 reb. Leave him alone. Muresan fouled out in 12 minutes -- but hey -- he played 12 minutes and had 8 points. Ilgauskas did not play because of an inflammation in his foot. This is a bad sign. Kerry Kittles did not play because of knee surgery. I will need to find out more on this. Keith Van Horn DNP sore neck. Note I don't know much about this. The Nets may just want to let the other guys play and let Van Horn rest a little. Marbury took 30 shots. NO CONSCIENCE HERE. He made 10. Potential sleeper Jamie Feick is having a strong preseason. Points and rebs. Chauncey Billups DNP because of a hamstring injury Al Harrington logged 27 minutes for the Pacers. Maybe he will get some PT this season. Chris Mullin - DNP sore calf AC Green got the start for the Lakers at PF. Grant Long started at power forward for Vancouver but Othella Harrington also played 26 minutes. This will be another training camp battle to watch. Harrington is a potential sleeper. Karl Malone DNP because of a sore back. Could this be the season he has injury problems? Wally got the start at small forward with Joe Smith out. Anthony Peeler may be a potential sleeper coming off a bad year. He had 18 points and 5 ast last night. Potential sleeper Oliver Miller blocked 5 shots in 18 minutes. Rookie Shawn Marion had a strong opening game with 16 pts and 8 reb. Potential sleeper Kelvin Cato had a strong game with 11 pts, 10 reb, and 7 blocks for the Rockets. Will keep an eye on him. Steve Francis was shaky with start with poor shooting, turnovers, and fouls. Potential sleeper Jelani McCoy had another good game for the Sonics. 10/15 Kobe Bryant has a fractured bone in his right hand and will be sidelined a minimum of six weeks. We can assume he misses November. Unfortunate for those who got him before the injury since the Lakers play more games in November this season than most teams. Your updates will reflect his reduced fantasy value. His absence will give temporary fantasy value to Ron Harper and Rick Fox. Jonathan Bender broke his wrist in the team's exhibition game Wednesday night and will be sidelined 4-6 weeks. He wasn't going to have fantasy value with two perfectly good wrists this season anyway. The Jazz have stated that Karl Malone's strained back is not serious. From last nights games: LaPhonso Ellis did not play because of a strained calf. He is a player to continue to avoid because of chronic injuries. Bimbo Coles started for the Hawks and was 5-6 from the field with 6 ast. He finished with 12 points. His decent play will slow the fantasy development of Jason Terry who is expected to eventually become the starter. Nick Anderson scored 30 pts including a remarkable 8-11 from three point land. Christian Laettner suited up for the Pistons after sitting out the first Pistons game. He appears to be OK. He scored 13 points in 17 minutes. David Wesley followed up his sparkling preseason opener with a stinker -- 0-5 in 26 min for 0 points. His competition Baron Davis had 7 pts and 3 stls in 22 min but only 1 ast. Wally Szczerbiak fouled out in 22 minutes but scored 14 points. He had 0 steals and 0 assists feeding my concerns his fantasy value will be limited as a jump shooter. Sabonis and Brian Grant did not play because of injuries. I suggest before the season begins you find a couple injury reports on the web to put in your favorite places to keep up on things. I have listed three sites on the www.hoopsklyce.com under the title NBA Injury Reports. Mookie Blaylock and John Starks should get plenty of playing time this year since the Warriors are weak in the backcourt. Imagine all the balls flying through the air between those two! They will need to remain healthy despite considerable minutes played. Those with AOL can get preseason box scores by going to Keyword "basketball" and clicking scoreboard 10/16 3-point specialist Dee Brown underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee and could be sidelined for as long as two months or as little as two weeks. While he is out fellow 3-point specialist Dell Curry will have more fantasy value. It may also give a couple extra minutes to Tracy McGrady. I had been considering McGrady as a potential sleeper but the feedback I am getting from everyone indicates that his capabilities are well known which will decrease the chance of him slipping in your draft. Last night McGrady had 22 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, and 2 stl!! Also from last nights preseason games: San Antonio played in Italy. Malik Rose started but played only 9 minutes which is an 'injury box line.' I have not heard anything though. Avery Johnson had 18 pts, 12 ast, and 7 reb. David Robinson played 29 minutes. Dikembe Mutombo did not play because of tendinitis in both knees. Jimmy Jackson DNP sprained knee. Jason Terry was 1-8 in 22 minutes but had 4 ast and 3 stl. He and Bimbo Coles are competing for playing time. Coles had 10 pts and 5 ast in 24 minutes. Hmmmm - Eric Williams had a fairly complete game last night. I may have to recant all the bad things I've said about him if he continues to progress. 12 pt, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl. Brevin Knight outplayed Andre Miller last night in the Cleveland point guard battle. Miller was 1-8 in 18 minutes although he had 5 asts. Knight had 12 pts, 9 ast, and 3 stls in 24 min. Ilgauskas missed another game with a sore foot. Nick Van Exel took only 4 shots in 26 minutes -- remarkable. He also had only 4 ast. What was he doing out there? Chris Anstey scored 15 points for the Bulls. Vernon Maxwell scored 28 pts for the Sonics last night. His competition for playing time, Brent Barry, played well also scoring 20. Rick Hughes, a rookie for the Jazz scored 19 points and also had 3 steals. Malone sat out another game. Bryant Reeves played 35 minutes for the Grizzlies and had 10 pts and 13 rebounds and only 1 foul. This suggest his conditioning is much improved over last year. Grant Long left early in the fourth quarter of last nights game with a concussion after diving for a loose ball. Adonal Foyle: 15 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Looks to be a great late round pick. Mourning, Majerle, and Hardaway DNP because of minor injuries or perhaps so the Heat could look at some of the training camp fodder. Monty Williams had a nice game for the Magic. Still trying to figure out what their rotation will be. Lamar Odom showed his stuff last night with 25 pts, 8 rebs, and 3 blks. Troy Hudson got the start at point guard and had 9 pt, 7 reb, and 6 ast. Eric Murdock sat out with a sprained ankle. 10/17 I accidentally skipped over Kelvin Cato's box line from Rockets Oct 15th game in yesterdays notes. He had 20 pts, 13 reb, and 12 (twelve) blocks! You should hope other fantasy managers in your league skipped over it to. Cato has the potential to be a huge steal if he keeps this up. If you have already drafted and he is available you should pick him up as a free agent. From yesterday's games: Tim Duncan carried the Spur's to the McDonald's championship in Italy with 32 points, 18 reb, and 2 blocks. Duncan can carry your fantasy team too. He was also 4-5 from the free throw line -- perhaps he will continue to improve his percentage there this season. Patrick Ewing missed the Knicks second preseason game. I would avoid taking him in your draft and then hoping he actually will play when the season opens. Latrell Sprewell played 40 minutes in his first preseason game indicating he is in good condition as usual. He had 10 pts and 7 reb. Shawn Kemp left the game last night in the second quarter with a lower back strain. Lamond Murray sprained his left knee in the first half and will have his condition reevaluated in Cleveland on Monday. Center Todd MacCulloch is a potential sleeper for the Sixers. Last night he had 19 pts and 10 rebounds (5 were offensive). Larry Hughes had 22 pts, 5 ast, 5 reb, and 4 stls. He will be much improved this year. Marcus Brown, who played overseas last year, is a potential sleeper for the Pistons. He scored 18 points last night. The Mavericks had their first preseason game. Potential sleeper Dirk Nowitzki had 20 pts, 8 reb and 3 blks. Potential sleeper Cedric Ceballos had 19 points and 8 rebs. Sean Rooks started for the Mavericks at center. Jason Williams had 21 points including 5-8 from three point range. Darrick Martin has had a better than expected preseason for the Kings. He had 15 points in yesterdays game. It is still doubtful he will have fantasy value when the real season begins though. Derek Anderson had 19 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, and 3 stl for the Clippers. He is a potential sleeper but has been an injury risk in the past. Nesterovic started for the Wolves at center in place of the injured Dean Garrett. He had 12 pts, 8 reb, and one block. Wally Szczerbiak led the Wolves in free throw attempts. This is a good sign that he is not settling for jumpers which should be good for his fantasy value. He also had 3 asts to go along with 17 total points. He should get decent PT immediately for the Wolves because of the injury to Joe Smith. 10/18 Karl Malone is expected to miss the next four preseason games because of a lower back strain. While some player's miss games to let others play during the preseason this sounds like it is a little more serious. Its hard to believe that someone who has missed only 6 games in 14 seasons would be an injury risk during the preseason but that is the feeling I am getting the news out of the Jazz camp. Malone's status for the final two preseason games has not been determined. A good source of information regarding injuries is the team reports listed on the left side of www.hoopsklyce.com. I find The Sporting News team reports in particular often give information beyond what you would get in a typical injury report. They are normally updated twice a week during the season. Regarding the status of Patrick Ewing, the following was sent in by subscriber Dale P. Rech: "ESPN reported that Ewing cannot even run on a treadmill, and will not play until January. This was confirmed by a friend who has Knick season tickets." From last nights games: Ron Mercer scored 24 points for the Nuggets including 12-13 from the line. But the grand total of his rebounds, assists, steals, and treys was only 3. Very typical of him. The Nuggets first round pick James Posey scored 19 points. McDyess DNP because of an ankle injury. Don't know if this is serious or not yet. You may want to check the team reports if your draft is coming up. Othella Harrington had 14 points and 11 rebs while Grant Long sat out with a concussion. Cedric Ceballos had 18 pts and 11 reb (7 offensive). Sean Rooks started in place of Sean Bradley again at center and had 8 pts and 10 reb while Bradley played only 11 min. Grant Hill had 24 pts and 12 ast but only 1 reb. Don Reid has been starting for the AWOL Dele. Jason Williams: 25 pts and 7 ast Rick Smits: 20 pts but only 4 reb and 0 blk Steve Francis: 27 pts, 7 ast, 5 reb, 2 stl, but 9 TO Kelvin Cato: 15 pts, 4 reb, 3 blk Carlos Rogers, Hou: 20 pts Michael Doleac: 21 pts, 4 reb, 6 PF Bonzi Wells: 23 pts, 11-13 ft, 4 stl, 4 blks! (potential sleeper!?) Oliver Miller: 23 min, 8 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk (potential sleeper   Previous Article Next Article Copyright © Hoops Klyce 1999 - All Rights Reserved Website Designed by Lelnet Failed to execute script '../cgi-local/ax.cgi': Win32 Error Code = 2