PRESEASON NOTES THE THIRD WEEK November 14, 1999 October 19 to October 25 Preseason Notes: The Third Week The follow is a compilation of notes that I made during 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. 10/19 Lamond Murray will be out of action indefinitely with a sprained knee. A medical examination determined he has a sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. This will leave the starting small forward position to Cedric Henderson, a player who can play 30+ minutes and still not have much fantasy value. From Last Nights Games: Roshown McLeod, Atl - 19 pts, 5 rebs - He has been getting playing time in the preseason. Bimbo Coles- 23 pts, 7 ast, 2 stl - Fighting for the Atlanta starting point guard position with Jason Terry who was a DNP-CD. Voshon Lenard - 24 points, 3 treys - Could still wind up the starter Kelvin Cato - 13 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl, 4 blk, fouled out Steve Francis - 26 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, but 7 TO - He is showing some potential in the preseason. Latrell Sprewell - 27 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl - Have we forgotten about the no-show by now? Tracy McGrady - 18 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk - Are you a believer in this guy yet? Bryant Reeves - DNP knee injury - He could have aggravated last years injury. 10/20 Theo Ratliff is out at least three weeks with a stress fracture in his left leg after taking a fall in a preseason game last week. This may give an opportunity for Todd MacCulloch, the Sixers second round pick, to have more playing time. He probably won't be worth drafting to your team but worth consideration once the season begins as a free agent. Danny Fortson has a stress fracture in his right foot and will miss 8-12 weeks. This should give extra minutes to Tony Battie and increase his fantasy value until Fortson returns although Battie did not play last night because of a knee strain. Ricky Davis could miss up to four months with torn cartilage in his right knee. He had been projected in the 240-260 range for most leagues so this is not a real significant event fantasy-wise. There were 9 preseason games last night: Paul Pierce - 27 pts, 7 rebs Eddie Jones - 50 min, 31 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 3blk!! Bobby Phills - 23 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast (always a solid performer, good mid-round pick) Erick Strickland - 26 pts, 8 reb Michael Finley - 0-9, 0 pts (probably just an isolated bad game for him) Robert Pack started and had 13 pts and 7 asts. Note that Pack is always an extremely risky pick but because he is guaranteed to get hurt and miss games. Cedric Ceballos - 19 pts, 6 rebs (has scored well in the preseason) Vinny Del Negro - 21 pts, 5 ast Wally Sczczerbiak - 23 pts, 6 rebs, 3 ast, led the Wolves in FT attempts again at 6-7! Showing he can play in the NBA coming from a small school. Al Harrington - 18 pts in 18 minutes, could be a potential sleeper for Pacers Marbury - 22 pts, 8 asts, 3 stl Matt Harpring - 16 pts, 3 rebs (The Magic are unbeaten in the preseason!) Vlade Divac - 16 pts, 12 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl (A good center you can get after the first round) Elton Brand - 11 pts, 11 reb (not putting up the numbers like Francis and Odom) Maurice Taylor - 10 pts, 11 ast, 4 reb (This guy wants a zillion dollars but he cant rebound for your fantasy team that well - this assist total will be rare for him) Tyrone Nesby - 18 pts Shawn Marion - 19 pts, 4 ast, 5 stl, 3 blks (Shaping up as a nice sleeper pick) Bonzi Wells - 16 pts in 23 minutes (He scores a lot per minute off the bench - making a big case for playing time in the preseason) Note the Sonics have tried around 4 different guys at small forward in the preseason. A clear winner would be a potential sleeper. Last night Borrell started. Antawn Jamison - 18 pts, 7 reb, 3 stl Derek Fisher - 18 pts, 9 ast, 3 stl (a sleeper as the main point guard for the Lakers) 10/21 Sherman Douglas signed with the New Jersey Nets. Douglas played for the Nets in the 1997-98 season, averaging 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He started all three playoff games against the Chicago Bulls, averaging 18.3 points and 8.3 assists in place of the injured Sam Cassell. He will back up Stephon Marbury who will be less likely to give Douglas opportunities to play Toni Kukoc will miss the Chicago Bulls' exhibition game tonight with tendinitis in his right knee. Kukoc once again is giving indications he physically can not handle the minutes required from a key player. From last night: Stephon Marbury: 39 pts, 10 ast, 4 stls Keith Van Horn: 34 pts, 13 reb, 3 stl Jim McIlvaine: 34 min, 9 reb, 4 blk (If he sustains 30+ minutes during the season he will be worth adding to your team if your league has the block category) Kurt Thomas: 15 pts, 12 reb Latrell Sprewell: 28 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl (He started at small forward) Byron Russell: 22 pts, 4 ast, 4 reb Antoine Walker: 25 pts, 2 stl but only 2 reb and 0 ast Glen Robinson: 19 pts, 7 reb, 3 stl Nesterovic: 36 min, 10 pts, 11 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl, 3 ast! (potential sleeper at C for Wolves) Kevin Garnett: 16 pts, 19 reb Alvin Williams: 27 pts, 11 rebs (He appears much improved this year) 10/22 Bison Dele has filed retirement papers with the NBA office in New York. This will give more minutes to Christian Laettner, Jerome Williams, and Don Reid. Michael Finley is sidelined with a sore foot. Finley was scheduled to undergo a bone which will determine if he has a stress fracture. The poor game he had the other day apparently may not be an isolated event if this injury persists. Steve Nash will be sidelined for the remainder of the preseason. Nash has a strained tendon in his right ankle. Robert Pack will have an opportunity to get some playing time although as said before he is a huge injury risk. Pack had 19 pts last night. From last night: Ilgauskas missed another game with a sore foot. Recall he has missed nearly 2 of his first 3 seasons with injuries. Alonzo Mourning: 29 pts, 9 reb, 4 bl Gugliotta: 17 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast, 2 bl Bimbo Coles: 18 pts, 11 asts (playing well still) Elton Brand: 15 pts, 1 bl, only 2 reb Steve Francis: 20 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast Larry Hughes: 19 pts, 13 reb!, 3 ast, 3 stl, Todd MacCulloch: 15 pts, 5 reb, 2 bl (potential sleeper) Malik Rose: 15 pts, 4 reb, 3 stl, 1 bl Samaki Walker: 8 bl, 10 pt, 10 reb (potential sleeper) John Thomas has had some good preseason games for Toronto. He had 12 pts last night. Ceballos: 23 pts, 6 reb Antawn Jamison: 17 pts, 7 rebs 10/23 Gary Trent will miss 2-to-4 weeks with a torn hamstring. Given this prognosis he may still be able to go when the season begins or he may miss this first two weeks of the season. His absence will give Dirk Nowitzki more of an opportunity to establish himself. Dee Brown has also returned earlier than expected from an injury and has been playing for the Raptors. It looks as if he won't miss the beginning of the regular season on Nov. 2. I had the opportunity to watch most of the second half of the Sixers-Nets game last night on TV. I was watching rookie center Todd MacCulloch with interest. He has shown the ability to play not only against the USA over the summer in the tournament of the Americas but also in the preseason. He has averaged 13 ppg and 6 rpg in 5 preseason games while shooting 59% although he has blocked only 3 shots. He is a risky pick because he was considered a project when drafted and has been projected to end up on the end of the bench or even on the injured list. But watching him last night I could see he has a certain agility that allows him to shoot a high percentage (in college he shot a very high percentage also). Matt Geiger and Tyrone Hill have both been missing games in the preseason and their return could take away MacCulloch's minutes. So my conclusion with him is to perhaps take a chance with him on a last pick --if you already have Geiger on your team that makes his selection a better move. Waiting for him to perform in the regular season would be another strategy --perhaps the best-- and then pick up as a free agent I have used the term last pick frequently with guys like MacCulloch that have upside potential. But the last pick for one manager in a league that plays 100 is a much different player than in a league that plays 160 players. For a guy like MacCulloch I am thinking beyond pick 150 so if your last pick is 100 you should probably not consider him. By the way, those with AOL can get some really good preseason stats by going to keyword STATS BK. I like Stats, Inc's box scores because you don't have to scroll down to see the block, three point, and turnover categories. From last night: Richard Hughes had 9 points for the Jazz in 17 minutes. He has been averaging 12 ppg in the preseason for them. Austin Croshere: 19 points, 7 reb, 3 ast - He is averaging 12.8 ppg in the preseason which is far beyond what he has done in the past. Jelani McCoy: 11 pts, 14 reb, 4 bl in only 21 minutes (potential sleeper) Gary Payton: 27 pts, 9 ast, 3 treys, 2 stl Popeye Jones: 11 pts, 12 rebs, 1 bl (missed much of last season) Raef LaFrentz: 19 pts, 8 rebs, 2 bl, 3 treys! (a center who can hit the three - fantasy gold) Jason Kidd left the game after one minute with a thigh bruise. Rodney Rogers: 32 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 bl, 3 treys! Shawn Marion: 20 pts, 4 stl (leading the Suns in scoring in the preseason at 16 ppg - potential sleeper but Rogers will give competition for playing time - last night Rogers and Marion both played since Gugliotta was ejected) Shaq: 37 pts, 14 rebs, 4 ast, 4 blk, 2 stl (but 5-15 from FT line - looks like he did work on this in the offseason - AGAIN) Ron Harper, LAL: 14 pts Keith Van Horn: 31 pts, 15 reb (will be near the top in scoring this season) Larry Hughes: 24 pts, 15 rebs (he started at small forward and showed he can rebound - this will give him more playing time) Todd Mac Culloch - 15 pts, 6 reb Wally Szczerbiak: 20 pts Radoslav Nesterovic: 11 pts, 8 reb, 4 bl, 2 st (might be a better sleeper center than MacCulloch since he should start and he rebounds and blocks shots better) Adonal Foyle: 10 pts, 8 reb, 3 bl, 2 stl (potential sleeper) Antawn Jamison: 0-8 (ouch) Derek Anderson: 23 pts, 5 stl, 4 ast Maurice Taylor: 18 pts, 11 reb, 3 bl (thats a nice stat line from him - lets see if he can keep the boards coming) Lamar Odom: 19 pts, 6 reb, 4ast, 2 bl, 1 st Isaiah Rider: 20 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast (He gets a lot of bad press but he is the best offensive player the Hawks have and they have to play him despite all his negatives off the court) Bimbo Coles: 20 pts, 3 asts (Jason Terry seems to be winning the backup role for now) 10/24 Otis Thorpe may miss 20 regular season games because of a fractured thumb. Thorpe was not going to be much of a fantasy impact player this season though. His absence may give Clarence Weatherspoon the additional playing time he needs to be added to a fantasy roster. Dee Brown apparently is injured again. He did not play last night. Also from last night: Vince Carter: 23 pts, 4 stl, 7 reb Alvin Williams: 10 pts, 4 ast (He is averaging around 14 ppg but for a point guard his assist totals have been low. Last night Mugsey Bogues played also and Williams minutes were limited indicating as long as Bogues is healthy Williams will struggle to have fantasy value) Glenn Robinson: 21 pts, 7 reb, 3 stl Marcus Camby: fouled out in 18 minutes Allan Houston: 27 pts, 4 ast, 2 stl Chris Webber: 17 pts, 6 reb, 4 stl, 3 ast Scottie Pippen: 22 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl (note that no Trail Blazer played over 30 minutes. This trend will continue into the regular season where all the Trail Blazers will struggle to have above average fantasy value because their depth limits everybody's playing time) Elton Brand: 16 pts, 9 rebs (He is the only Bull averaging double figures in the preseason. His fantasy value will be bolstered by the fact the Bulls will depend on him for points) Robert Pack: 14 pts, 11 ast, 3 stl (Hard to resist stat lines like that even with an injury reputation) Cedric Ceballos: 26 pts, 9 rebs (Averaging over 20 ppg in the preseason) Erick Strickland: 20 points (Averaging over 17 ppg in the preseason) Baron Davis and David Wesley are still fighting for the starting position at point guard. This battle may lead to both of them having minimal fantasy value. Bobby Phills: 31 pts, 7 ast, 5 reb, 3 stl, 1 bl, 11-11 ft! (Turning in a good preseason) Chris Whitney: 21 pts, 4 ast, 2 stl, 4 treys (Rod Strickland's backup showing his potential should he get the opportunity to play) Dana Barros: 8-9 FG, 22 pts, 3 treys (He will have some nights like this in the regular season but not very often) Karl Malone: DNP sore back (All these preseason DNP's would make me think twice before taking Malone with my first round pick) 10/25 Through Saturdays games the following players have been averaging double figures for their respective teams. There scoring has been more than most would have anticipated. Whether they can sustain it during the season and have fantasy value remains to be seen. McLeod, Roshown Atl Thomas, Jamel Cle Brown, Marcus Det Rogers, Carlos Hou Croshere, Austin Ind Williams, Monty Orl MacCulloch, Todd Phi Wells, Bonzi Por Funderburke, Lawrence Sac Walker, Samaki SA Williams, Shammond Sea Hughes, Richard Uta King, Gerard Was Williams, Alvin Tor From Last night: Jason Williams: 29 pts, 5 treys (He has a deceptively high fantasy value in leagues with the trey) Shareef Abdur-Rahim: 31 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast, 2 bl, 2 treys Shawn Marion: 22 pts, 10 reb, 2 bl Stephon Marbury: 25 pts, 8 reb, 11 ast, but 8 to Antawn Jamison: 27 pts, 7 reb, but 0 ast, bl, and stl (he needs to start doing some of the other categories in order to become a top 50 player) Devean George, LAL: 14 points (having a good preseason but he playing time will be uncertain in the regular season) Glen Rice: 6 pts (Not averaging double digits in the preseason. Seems as if he has not adjusted to the Lakers yet) Maurice Taylor: 27 pts, 9 reb, 2 stl (He is playing real hard for money this season) Troy Hudson: 21 pts (potential sleeper) Rashard Lewis: 17 pts, 10 reb, 2 stl (started at small forward for Sonics) Jerry Stackhouse: 8-13, 20 pts (He actually shot over 50% in a game!) Steve Francis: 22 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, but 11 to   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