It now appears that Amare Stoudemire will be out for at least a week perhaps putting on hold the potential Sun's lineup volatility discussed in a previous email.

With return of Amare Stoudemire, the Suns become an even deeper team and for players other than Nash and Marion, it could mean very inconsistent fantasy value from here on.  Contributing to varying playing time is the fact that Phoenix is pretty much locked into the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs.  The Suns will spend the last couple weeks of the season experimenting with the best ways to assimilate Stoudemire back into their offense. 

Jermaine O'Neal has also returned and his impact will be more concentrated on a particular player (Jeff Foster) rather than on the whole team as is the case with Phoenix. 

Although Dallas and San Antonio have run away together with the best record in the Western Conference, they will likely still have incentive to play (and not give extended rest to starters) throughout the season as whoever has the second best record will have the 4^th playoff seed compared to the 1^st playoff seed.  Note that the team in the Western Conference in the 5^th seed spot may actually have some incentive to drop to 6^th seed in order to play a team like Denver instead of San Antonio or Dallas.  Perhaps this could contribute to Memphis or the LA Clippers giving more rest to starters towards the end of the season. 

In the Eastern Conference it may be expected that at some point the Pistons start to back the minutes off of their starters as they 'rest' for the playoffs.  Antonio McDyess has already seen a couple extra minutes lately and has been productive.  He would be a candidate to come into fantasy value in some leagues in the last couple weeks of the season. 

Teams with the incentive to continue to give their best players extended minutes as they fight for a playoff spot include Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, Sacramento, Utah, and New Orl/OKC.


3/25
With TJ Ford and Mo Williams both day to day with injuries, Charlie Bell may get more opportunities for playing time.  In his last four games he has scored in double figures and he is averaging 5 apg over this period.  However in the last game in which both Ford and Williams played (March 17^th), Bell played only 17 minutes so he would be a risky pickup. 

Robert Swift is coming off a 17 pts, 11 reb, and 4 bl game.  The Sonics have started Johan Petro at center the last 15 games however it has been 8 games since Petro had a ten rebound game.  The 32 minutes logged by Swift was his most in his last 11 games since returning from an injury. 

Both Bell and Swift are considerations in deeper leagues for teams hoping to get lucky with a last minute free agent move.  Bell would make more sense for teams with TJ Ford.


3/23
Rasual Butler had been playing around 20 mpg with Desmond Mason as the starter but now should see 30+ minutes with Mason out until April with a sprained knee.  In his last game Butler hit 7 treys on his way to 32 points.  If you take him to supplement your points and treys, be prepared for other nights when he misses most of shots and gives you not much of anything else in the other categories. 

With Chris Mihm out, Kwame Brown has been getting some playing time at center for the Lakers.  Like Butler, he can be hit or miss with last night being a hit with 21 pts, 12 reb, and 1 bl. 

Over his last five games Greg Buckner has been averaging 28 min, 2.6 treys, 10 pts, and 1.4 steals.  He has been getting extra playing time with Earl Boykins out. 

Darko Milicic had an opportunity to start when Dwight Howard was benched for being late to a shoot around.  He responded with 13 pts, 7 reb, and 4 bl.  It is that time of the year where this information is used for speculating on next year's projections. 

3/17
It was not long ago the Sixers tried to give away Steven Hunter but now he is coming off a 20 pts, 7 reb, and 6 block game and may be establishing himself over Samuel Dalembert who signed a six year $58 million last August.  Over his last five games Dalembert has consistently played around 15 minutes compared to 27 minutes for Hunter.  I see the Sixers more than any other team, and in a shot of Dalembert on the sideline at the end of a miserable Sixers loss you could tell he did not care and was not affected by the loss (Korver and Webber on the other hand were obviously distraught).   

Sammy's attitude combined with several bone head plays could be what is leading to his reduced playing time.  Being able to block a lot of shots in the real NBA does not always translate into playing time. The Sixers tip off in about 15 minutes from now and it will be interesting to see if Hunter can continue his emergence.  He has shown himself to be worthy of a free agent pickup and the question is how long it can last.  Those in particular with Dalembert should try to get Hunter as insurance for Dalembert's potential loss of fantasy value. 

3/14
In his first game in a while with both Al Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins in the lineup, Ryan Gomes played 29 minutes (Box Score). This game was played on Sunday.  In his 8 games prior to that he had averaged 38 minutes - or nine minutes more than he had been playing with both Perkins and Jefferson out of the lineup.  Gomes plays tonight and we will see if the trend continues to be sub-30 minute games or whether he goes back to the higher playing time averages.  Although he still had a double double playing 29 minutes, his chances for success are reduced without the regular extended playing time.  Most other analyst have predicted continued strong output from Gomes with Perkins and Jefferson back making my concerns about diminished playing time/productivity in the minority. 

With David Wesley out with a cracked rib (in addition to McGrady being out), Luther Head logged 40 minutes yesterday.   This represents a considerable increase from his recent playing time.  Wesley is expected to be out about a week with his injury.  Although Head had only 9 points in his 40 minute run, he has the potential to make an impact given that kind of playing time. 

Over his last three games, Jake Tsakalidis has averaged 27 min, 14.3 pts, 11 reb, and 1.33 bl.  Lorenzen Wright, the other Grizzlies center, during this period and before has been available but Memphis has chosen to start Tsakalidis over the past 8 games and give him more playing time than Wright. 

Over his six games with the Suns, Tim Thomas has averaged 30 min, 13 pts, 2 treys, and 4.7 reb.  Even the past couple games with House, James Jones, and Barbosa available, Thomas has received 35 mpg.  As with other players, joining the Suns has translated into dividends for Thomas in the three point category.  The potential return of Amare Stoudemire could have potential impacts on Thomas, however there is not a set return date for him and there is a possibility yet he will not return during the regular season.

3/12
Breaking News:  Allen Iverson was carried off the court with a sprained ankle (I did not see the game).  John Salmons could stand to benefit if Iverson misses games as a result of today's injury.

3/11
Tracy McGrady could miss up to five weeks with another back injury caused by a fall he had in a previous game.  The Rockets are attempting to win the last playoff spot in the Western Conference and will rely on other to increase scoring with McGrady out.  Luther Head could potentially gain fantasy value for his three point shooting as a result.  Other candidates with the potential to improve their scoring are Juwan Howard and Rafer Alston. 

Bulls forward Darius Songaila has a fractured right foot and will be sidelined up to eight weeks.  Songaila had been averaging 22 minutes over his last five games.  The absence of Songaila could translate into Malik Allen or Andres Nocioni deserving a roster spot in your league.  I would be most enthusiastic about the potential for Nocioni with Songaila out. 

3/10/06
In ten games in February, Malik Rose averaged 14 mpg for the Knicks.  In his past three games he has averaged 31 minutes and is on a streak of three double doubles.  In his most recent game he also added 4 steals.  His next game is Saturday and he could very easily be demoted at that time to a 14 mpg bench player once again given the history of Larry Brown's playing rotation this season.  It certainly makes no sense that Channing Frye, the Knicks brightest young prospect, has received only 15 mpg (essentially switching roles with Rose) over the past three games.   

Deron Williams was recently in the same situation as Channing Frye - a young player with potential playing behind a veteran with no upside.  However recently Jerry Sloan has opted to once again give Williams playing time - and Sloan isn't quite as fickle as Larry Brown about his playing rotations so perhaps Williams period of playing time will be sustained.  Over his last five games, Williams is averaging 35 min, 15 pts, 5 ast, and 3 treys.  For the last ten games, Williams' P,A R,S,B,3,FG%,FT ranking is 79 compared to his YTD ranking of 147 for the same group.  Chances are he has shown a similar jump in all scoring systems.   

With Keith Van Horn out until late March, and Josh Howard out with no set return date, Devin Harris may have the opportunity to once again see some substantive playing time.  Over his last two games he has averaged 32 min, 12.5 pts, 5.5 ast, and 1.5 stls.   

With each day of DNP, the pressure builds for fantasy owners holding on to Emeka Okafor.  There is no set return date and with Charlotte just playing for the lottery there is no real incentive for him to return in terms of helping his team.  All I can say in this situation is Murphy's law may prevail - If you cut him from your team he will likely come back the next night and post a double double.

Reggie Evans started and grabbed 20 rebounds in 39 minutes for the Denver Nuggets as Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby did not play.  Evans however did not score.  In his five prior games to tonight Evans had been averaging 8 rpg in 22 mpg.

3/8
Over his last four games, M. Bonner has averaged 3 treys per game for the Raptors.  Tonight Toronto started Charlie Villanueva at center and Chris Bosh at PF.  This opened up a number of minutes for Bonner at SF off the bench. Box Score 

Ryan Gomes continues to deserve his starting spot with another very solid performance tonight.  Box Score 

The following CBS piece is exceptional:  autistic basketball manager 

3/6
Over his last five games Ryan Gomes has averaged 13.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg, and 66% FG.  With Al Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins either out or playing limited minutes, Gomes has averaged about 38 minutes over his last ten games.  Through January, he had averaged only 9 mpg.  Al Jefferson has played the past three games averaging 14 minutes off the bench and Gomes has continued to play over 30 minutes as a starter.   

Jefferson has been productive during his recent limited minutes and one would expect him to get progressively more time as he continues to recuperate from his sprained ankle.  Also, Perkins should be back in a week or so.  That being said, those who have Gomes should anticipate an end to his recent run.  I would recommend to continue to start him in leagues with daily transactions but would look for alternates in weekly transaction leagues.  Jefferson owners should continue to be patient and wait for the right time to activate him.  If Jefferson is available as a free agent, consider claiming him in anticipation of more playing time on the horizon.  

3/5
With Kenyon Martin out, Reggie Evans played 29 minutes and had 12 pts, 10, reb, and 1 st.   While Elson actually started, Evans played 29 minutes and was a key in the Nuggets victory.  Such a performance should lend to him getting minutes in the future.  Martin has been in and out of the lineup this season with knee problems and his perpetual day-to-day status will likely cause Evans to get unpredictable playing time. 

Ruben Patterson has averaged 30 minutes in his last four games with the Nuggets and yesterday as the starting SG had 21 pts, 8 ast, 5 reb, 3 st, and 1 bl.  His defensive skills have contributed to him getting starts and playing time and yesterdays performance should also earn him more opportunities. 

3/2
Over his last three games Rashad McCants has averaged 17 pts, 1.3 st, 1 bl, and 2.3 treys.  Over his last five games he is averaging 2 treys while shooting 50% from three point territory.  He is a candidate to help teams in the three point category and perhaps others he if continues to develop.  Box Score

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