12/23/05

Bonzi Wells is expected to miss at least three weeks with a groin injury and Peja Stojakovic is out a week or more with an injured back.  As a result Kevin Martin will be getting more playing time at SG and this could be sustained considering the prognosis for Wells.  In his last two games Martin has averaged 38.5 min, 15 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, and 1.5 stls. Although a shooting guard, Martin does not have three point capabilities shooting only 19% in his career (1^st round, 26^th pick, 2004 NBA draft).  He is good at the line and has averaged 7 FT attempts in his last two games.  He may be worthy of an interim roster spot depending on the size of your league. 

In his previous five games Ike Diogu played a total of 20 minutes but tonight got hot and was given 31 minutes of playing time.  He finished 13-15 FG for 27 pts and 7 rebounds.  However no assists, steals, or blocks.  He is likely available in your league as a result of his lack of playing time this season and is worth consideration.  Perhaps this performance will at least get in back into the Golden State playing rotation.  Box Score 

12/22/05
Ron Artest missed his seventh game since being put on the inactive list.  During this time Danny Granger has averaged 24 mpg.  Before Artest left he had been averaging around 13 mpg (as I recall) including mixing in some DNPs.  In his last two games he has been in double figure scoring for the only times this season including his season high of 16 yesterday.  He has also been showing his multi-category potential in the past couple games in particular blocks where he has a total of 5. 

This article mentions a trade possibility that would send Nene (injured) and Earl Watson for Artest and Anthony Johnson.  It is apparent the Pacers won't get full value back with whatever eventual deal materializes.  While it is unlikely this particular trade proposition will be the one, if it did, Artest would play a significant role with the team he was traded to.  Under this scenario, Danny Granger should also maintain his recent increase in playing time. 

I have changed my mind that Artest might end up being a support player (conceivably backing up a player such as Lebron James) with a big hit in fantasy value.  It is also apparent the Artest will not fall back to the Pacers despite his recent attempt at reconciliation.  Perhaps due to the holidays and the complexity of working out a likely 3 team swap, a deal won't get done by the end of the year, but you would think it realistic for it to happen at the beginning of the year.  That may give fantasy owners the opportunity to try to acquire Artest at a reduced price (just like the Nuggets are trying) and then enjoy him getting most of his value restored via a trade. 

If you have Artest, perhaps try to wait it out a little longer unless you get a trade offer with most of Artest's value.  If you have a playoff system and you can qualify without Artest playing the week or two, there is more incentive to hang on. 

12/20/05

The second overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Marvin Williams, had his best game of the year statistically getting 26 pts, 7 reb, and 2 stl.  The game through the mid point of the third quarter was for the most part a lay-up drill for Shaquille O'Neal who was 13-15 FG.  The last time Williams had a good game was when the Hawks were blown out by the Phoenix Suns on Dec 4th.  The game had a similar pattern in that it was over after three quarters and then the Hawks outscored the opponent in a meaningless fourth quarter.  Nights like tonight have been the exception for Williams who is shooting only 38% FG on the year despite not taking many three pointers - he is actually shooting better from three point territory at 41.7%.  Williams may be available in your league and perhaps worth a shot although you can not expect much from him.  Realize he has not shown too many statistical strengths on a per minute basis other than recently some life in the steal category.  All of the Heat players played limited minutes in particular Dwyane Wade who left the game with an injury but then returned. 

If Stromile Swift does not show some spunk in the Rockets next game he may not this season as Mutombo and Yao Ming are expected to be out and force Houston to play Swift some extra minutes.   If he is available in a shallow daily league give him a chance to earn a spot on your roster. 

12/18/05

Sebastian Telfair has a thumb injury (ligament) however his return date is not certain.  Some reports have him out up to five weeks while others have him day to day.  One thing that is certain is that Steve Blake had 19 pts, 13 ast, 2 stl, and 2 treys in his stead Friday night and has the potential to have some sustained value - although not at the level he showed on Friday.  Box Score 

In 7 games in December, Luther Head has shot only 34% from the field and has seen his playing time diminish.  At the same time Houston has been winning more so his period of emergence appears to be over. 

With Corey Magette out (has missed 6 games with a sprained foot), Shaun Livingston managed 10 assists in 27 minutes.  At the same time he had only 1 TO in the Clippers victory over the hot Rockets.  Box Score 

A break came to owners of Donyell Marshall in the form of a sprained ankle to Drew Gooden. The prognosis for Gooden at this time other than day-to-day. Box Score 

Eddie House has scored over 20 pts in his last two games with James Jones and Barbosa out with injuries.  He has had at least 10 FG attempts in his last six games.  His main attributes are points and treys and this run may be short lived if the Suns get back to full strength. Box Score  

Mike Miller got 40 minutes of playing time WITH Shane Battier in the lineup.  This may have been a specific matchup for playing the Suns but Miller owners can hope that this is a breakthrough for him.  Box Score 

In his last five games Andrew Bogut is shooting 60% FG but he has only played 27 mpg.  He has been contributing some steals and blocks as well. 

Devin  Brown's playing time has increased slightly lately to a level warranting consideration in deeper leagues.  He can contribute some points, treys, and steals and is shooting nearly 90% from the free throw line.  Box Score 

 12/16/05

Derek Fisher has scored in double figures in 8 consecutive games including 21 points, 4 treys, and 6 assists tonight.  His potential future downside would be the return of Mikael Pietrus which is expected by the end of the month.  Those with Fisher should consider shopping him around as he has been playing over his head including year-to-date field goal percentage 5% greater than his career average. 

Ike Diogu got a DNP tonight.  I will research to see what is going on as I have not found an injury report for him. 

Jamaal Tinsley returned to action however Sarunas J still got to start and played 29 minutes.  This bodes well for his future fantasy value as the Pacers have shifted Stephen Jackson from shooting guard to small forward.  Tonight Sarunas had 11 pts, 1 treys, and 4 ast. 

Tonight Al Harrington and Joe Johnson were a combined 12-13 from three point land with each making 6.  Harrington has made 9 treys in his last two games whereas before tonight he had a season trey average of 0.4 per game.  I would expect him to settle back into hitting around .5 treys per game. 

Jamal Crawford was 4-4 from three point land and 8-9 overall FG from the field.  Coming into tonight he had scored a total of 11 points in his previous three games.  On the season he is getting 5 fewer FG attempts than he got last year with the Knicks. 

Bobby Simmons missed his third consecutive game with a shoulder contusion.  Maurice Williams filled in with 24 pts, 9, reb, and 4 ast.   

Andre Miller averaged 7 assists in 16 games in November but in December has averaged over 10 assists per game including 13 assists tonight to go along with 24 points. 

Greg Buckner played only 7 minutes and Earl Boykins DNP tonight - I have not seen an injury report for Buckner.  Dermarr Johnson and Earl Watson each got some additional playing time and were relatively productive.  Box Score 

Marcus Camby was a DNP tonight again.  His owners really should ship him out next time he plays a number of consecutive games particularly if you are in a league with weekly transactions. 

Iverson sprained his thumb in the first half however continued to play and score 35 points.  But he was only 7-16 from the line so perhaps his thumb was bothering him there. 

Shavlik Randolph once again looked good with 8 pts and 10 reb in only 19 minutes.  He has gotten some additional playing time with Michael Bradley out.  He is the type of guy who could see his playing time evaporate immediately but his double double ability is apparent.  I have seen some of his past two games and he plays with confidence and the Sixers really like him. 

Grant Hill had a good game tonight with 28 pts and 10 reb.  Hedo Turkoglu has managed to maintain decent value in Hill's first two games back.  Tonight he had 17 points and three treys.

12/15/05
Yesterday the Sixers Shavlik Randolph had 12 reb including 7 offensive in only 14 minutes.  The offensive rebounding contributes to him getting a decent number of shot attempts on a per minute basis.  Consider yesterday Andre Iguodala had 5 FG attempts in 38 minutes, the same number that Randolph had in 14 minutes.  Projecting Randolph's season numbers to an optimistic 20 mpg, he would get 8.5 reb, 1.2 stls, and 7.9 rebs (assuming he could maintain the same energy level).   

With Pachulia out, Josh Childress received a season high 38 minutes and had 9 pts and 4 stls.  In his last five games he has averaged a decent 32.7 mpg.  His year to date stats include 51.2% FG and 1.5 stls.  While he must still be a disappointment, he has improved to a level recently where he is playable. 

In his last three games Darius Songaila has averaged 17.3 ppg whereas in the two games prior to that he averaged only 4.5 ppg.  Up and down performances as this will continue to make the Bulls front court rotation (Nocioni, Sweetney, and Chandler) volatile.  My sense is that Luol Deng should be more consistent. 

Yesterday Trevor Ariza played 33 minutes as a starter and had 10 pts, 7 reb, and 2 stls.  This was his second start in three games but his future playing time is unpredictable at this point. 

Yesterday Stephen Jackson had a season high 20 FG attempts but made just 5.   He finished with 18 pts.  The entire team shot 32.5% for the game.  Without Ron Artest he should continue to get plenty of shot attempts. 

In his last five games Emeka Okafor has shot 48% although his season FG% remains at just 40%.  His FT% year to date is 5% better than last season at 66%. 

The run that fantasy teams had with Alonza Mourning has come to an end although he should still be able to contribute some blocks in his more limited playing time. 

Shaun Livingston played 20 minutes in his first game of the season and had 5 pts, 0, assists, and 5 fouls.  While Sam Cassell is clearly the Clippers PG, there is a chance Livingston may scratch out enough playing time to have fantasy value. 

In his first three games back Kwame Brown has shot 71% FG and has averaged 7.7 ppg in 22 mpg.  This is a positive sign but he will need to keep it up if he is to get the 30+ mpg he was seeing at the start of the season. 

Shane Battier is out with a jammed finger and his return date has not been set.  In the meantime Mike Miller should see more playing time.  Yesterday Miller was 8-16 FG with 2 treys for 21 pts and 2 blocks. 

Rookie Jarrett Jack received 29 min yesterday and had 9 pts and 4 stls.  His future playing time though will be inconsistent. 

Ike Diogu has not scored for Golden States the last two games and has averaged only 10 mpg in his last five games.  He could be acquired cheap now as a result for those managers OK with taking gambles. 

12/12/05

 12/10/05

Ike Diogu continues to be brought along slowly by the Warriors but was given the opportunity yesterday to play important 4^th quarter minutes against the Pistons in a close game.  However he picked up a couple fouls and was forced to the bench.  He is aggressive and gets shot blocks and rebounds.  He can be expected to play progressively more minutes as the season goes on.  Also Troy Murphy and Adonal Foyle have been injury prone in the past and may give him an opportunity.  Yesterday Diogu played 16 minutes and had 6 pts and 2 bl.  

Victor Khryapa received 35 minutes of playing time before fouling out.  Zach Randolph was held out of the starting lineup for being late for a shootaround.  Note that Randolph also missed a practice recently dues to a sore knee.  Khryapa finished with 16 points, 6 reb, and 1 trey in the OT game.  He may get decent playing time in the near future with Miles still out with his knee problem. 

Joel Przybilla has averaged 12.8 reb and 1.8 bl in his last five games.  Theo Ratliff missed yesterday's game with a sore foot.   

Over his last five games Boris Diaw has averaged 36 min, 11.4 pts, 8.2 ast, 6.8 reb, and 1.4 bl.  Recall that Diaw was included in the trade that allowed the Hawks to pay an outrageous amount of money to Joe Johnson.  What a smart trade this looks for the Suns now.  It appears he will be getting regular playing time at least until Stoudemire returns. 

Channing Frye is averaging 30 mpg over his last five games and except for yesterday has been good from the field.  Note that he is shooting 86% from the FT line year-to-date. 

Reggie Evans is averaging 9.6 rpg over his last five games including 18 yesterday. 

Devin Brown got a start for the Jazz yesterday and over his last five games has averaged 22 mpg, 9.4 ppg, and 95% FT. 

Al Jefferson's playing time was limited yesterday due to foul trouble.  In his previous two games he had averaged a double double.  He may continue to go two steps forward and one step back. 

Mike Sweetney had 22 pts, 11 reb, and 4 bl yesterday and has at least continued to be a starter.  He has not shown the ability to be consistent yet though. 

Over his last five games Loul Deng has averaged 35 mpg, 21 pts, 8 reb, and 1.4 steals.  This emergence has cost Andre Nocioni his fantasy value. 

Brian Cook has averaged 52% FG over his last five games.  This includes an 0-5 clunker.  Yesterday he was 8-11 FG before fouling out. 

Although Luke Walton was 0-6 yesterday, he contributed 7 assists and is still shooting 50% over his last five games. 

Devin Harris is averaging 11.4 assists, 2 steals, and 6.4 assists over his last five games.  Jason Terry is day-to-day with a strained hamstring. 

Over his last four games Gregg Buckner has averaged 31.4 min, 7.5 pts, 5 reb, 1.8 stl, and 1.3 treys.  He has started for the Nuggets at shooting guard the last three games. 

Shaq should be coming back soon.  It will be interesting to see the affect on Dwyane Wade's scoring.  Wade has averaged 31.2 ppg over his last five games.  I would expect to see him back around 25 ppg but with an increase in assists. 

Gerald Wallace's numbers have certainly come back down recently.  He has averaged 9.6 pts, 2.8 reb, 1,4 stl, 0.6 blk, and 0.6 treys all of which are below his season averages. 

Emeka Okafor was 7-15 FG yesterday but is only shooting 39% on the season.  I still expect his overall FG% to rise back to acceptable levels this season. 

Andre Iguodala scored 20 pts and had 8 FG attempts.  The 8 attempts was his most number of field goal attempts since Nov 19^th.  He also had a season high 6 stls. 

Jannero Pargo seems to have gone from a practice player to someone in the rotation for the Bulls having averaged 26 mpg in his last two games.  On Dec 7 he had 23 pts on 9-13 FG.

 12/6/05

The potential is there that Darius Miles will miss an extended period of time due to his knee.  He is seeking a second opinion after an MRI was evaluated and surgery was suggested.  This could represent a stinging blow to his fantasy teams as he was likely a bargain this season considering the numbers he was putting up. 

Rookie Martell Webster started in the Blazers last game and played a season high 31 minutes.  Had he not been 2-11 FG perhaps he would have received more playing time.  His high in playing time in his 9 previous games was 18 minutes.  Although he was 1-6 from three pointers he is still shooting 37.5% from three point range - so he has the potential to help teams in the three point category (however likely not any other category).  But as a young rookie he could easily lose playing time at any given time, including being placed on the inactive list. 

Ruben Patterson has completed his timeout for saying naughty words to the coach regarding his playing time.  When he said play me at least 25 minutes or not at all I thought that would be the last we would see him in a Blazers uniform however he has apparently reconciled with the team - this was most likely prompted by the injury to Miles.  Unlike Webster, Patterson was productive in the first game without Miles playing 27 minutes and going 8-10 FG from the field.  He would seem to be the prime candidate to benefit most from Miles' potential absence.  He is a career 51% shooter (w/o three point range) and in recent seasons has shown some ability to contribute in the steal category. 

Tonight the Blazers play their second game without Miles and may give more evidence of who might emerge and claim some of the 38.5 minutes he was averaging. The Blazers have candidates to inherit minutes in addition to Reuben Patterson and Martell Webster including Travis Outlaw and Sergei Monia.  So it may end up not giving anyone a pronounced increase in value - although Patterson will at least go from DNP's to something assuming he behaves.

 Outlaw is a player who in the past has shown skills on a per minute basis.  But like Webster, he is a young guy who may not be ready yet for substantial playing time on a regular basis.  Oddly in the first game without Miles Outlaw played only 5 minutes whereas in his previous 7 games he had received at least 17 minutes.  If he could grab 13 of the 38.5 minutes Miles had been playing he would be up to 30 mpg and be worthy of a free agent pickup.  Tune in to the Blazers game tonight to see if someone takes the lead in grabbing Miles' minutes. 

Prior to tonight Jarvis Hayes had started the last six games with relatively mediocre results for the Wizards.  In three of his last four games he did not achieve double figure scoring.  However tonight he found a groove in an OT game going 8-15 FG including three treys, 8 reb, and 2 stl.  Although the game was against Toronto, one of the worst teams in the leagues, it still would make him a candidate as a free agent acquisition.  Just don't get your hopes up too much though if you take a chance on him. 

Danny Granger started and played 28 minutes which was nearly double his average playing time in his previous five games.  He got the opportunity with Austin Croshere out (day to day with an abdominal strain).  However Granger's performance was modest with 9 pts on 2-7 FG and 7 reb.  Keep an eye on him to see if he gets another opportunity. 

12/3/05

Ronald Murray scored a season high 24 points on 7-11 FG and 8-10 FT.  He also had 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, and 1 bl.  He has averaged 22 mpg in his last three games but at this time remains only a consideration in deep leagues as he won't always get playing time and be hot as he was yesterday. 

Ray Allen is currently averaging an 11 year career best 1.9 steals per game.  He had 4 yesterday. 

Brevin Knight has had at least 8 assists in his last five games.  Raymond Felton has had a total of 2 assists in his last 2 games and is shooting on 27.6% over his last five games.  Expect better results from Felton in the second half of the season and when Knight misses some games with an ankle sprain as he commonly does. 

Okafor is averaging 12 pts, 12 reb, and 2.6 bl over his last five games but continues to struggle with his shooting.  He is shooting only 39.9% on the year.  This should gradually increase through the remainder of the year. 

Over the last two games Adonal Foyle has averaged 31 mpg, 11 pts, 12.5 reb, and 3 bl.  He is averaging 1.9 bl and 7 reb on the season. 

Over his last five games, Troy Hudson is averaging 13 pts and 2.2 treys.  His future upside would include the injury history of the starter Marko Jaric. 

Brian Cook and Smush Parker each responded with threats to their playing time for lack of performance with productive games although the Lakers lost.  Box Score 

Sarunas Jasikevicius had 14 points as a starter for the Pacers as Jamaal Tinsley sat out with a sore groin.   

Kurt Thomas had his third consecutive productive game with 16 pts, 16 reb, and 4 bl.  All these numbers at least double his season averages. 

Andre Iguodala was on the court for 38 minutes but only scored a season low 2 pts.  He should get hot again (not just scoring) at some point in the near future.  Webber and Iverson at some point will need to look for the open man. 

On the season, Richard Hamilton is averaging 22.6 ppg on 52.4% FG.  This is about 4 ppg more than last season. 

Jamal Crawford has gotten hot lately scoring 28 and 22 in his last two games.  Last night he also had season high 6 ast and 3 st. 

Pau Gasol was 5-6 FT last night however remains only 63% for the season which is 14% lower than he shot from the line last season. 

DeShawn Steven had a season high 22 points and has consistently providing points this season but not much else (as expected).  Jameer Nelson was not able to do much with his opportunity to start with Steve Francis out. Box Score 

Those who own Pierce know how good he has been this season including career high averages of 26.9 pts, 49.6% FG, and 9.1 reb.  The rebs are a sharp increase over his previous career high. 

With Bobby Simmons out with a sprained ankle, Maurice Williams had a career high 35 points as a starter including a walk-off three pointer.  Bobby Simmons may see fewer minutes when he returns. Simmons had been averaging 40 mpg over his last 4 games. 

Caron Butler continues to outperform the starter Jarred Jeffries including 27 points yesterday.  However he has struggled with three point shooting having not hit one in 8 attempts this season. 

Villanueva had one of his better games as of late with 22 pts, 10 reb, and 4 blocks.  He has struggled at the FT line though shooting only 50%.  He can contribute something everywhere else on the stat sheet.