October 14^th Preseason Notes

Kevin Martin was with the first unit as a starter in the Kings first preseason games.  How much time he gets compared to John Salmons will determine his fantasy value.  This will be monitored during the preseason.  In his first preseason game he had 12 pts and 7 reb in 22 min.  For a guard he is a decent rebounder (he is listed as 6’-7”) 

Last Thursday, rookie Maurice Ager led a short handed Mavs team in minutes and scoring with 14 pts (although he did have 5 TO and no assists).  This is a nice offensive effort but he is not expected to have fantasy value during the regular season. 

Those who draft Kobe will need to have faith when he says he plans to play one preseason game and start the regular season.  I tend to believe him.  His surgery was back in July. 

Nick Collison had a second straight good preseason game with 20 pts and 2 steals (although he had 6 TOs).   

Brian Skinner appears to be the short term replacement for Andrew Bogut.  He will likely split time with Dan Gadzuric.  On Friday he had 8 pts, 8 reb, and 2 bl. 

Okafor redeemed himself somewhat in his second preseason game in that he played 32 minutes and did not commit a foul.  He continues to struggle with his shooting as he went 2-9 from the field.  He did get 9 reb, 2 st, and 2 bl. 

Sean May is a sleeper in fantasy points leagues.  He had 17 pts and 9 reb in 30 minutes. 

Rookie Marcus Williams had 21 pts, 7 ast, 2 st, and 3 treys with Jason Kidd out.  With a thin bench and Eddie House out with an injury, Williams has sleeper potential. 

Delonte West played in his first preseason game after having issues with his back.  Seeing Sebastian Telfair and Rajon Rondo play well will be a motivation for him. 

Jason Maxiell (Det) had 16 pts and 3 blocks in 24 minutes.  He is somewhat of a long shot sleeper.  Antonio McDyess reportedly showed up to camp beefed up with muscle.  However typically you would think you want someone with past knee problems to show up lighter.  If McDyess goes down with an injury Maxiell could be a sleeper. 

Although Randy Foye played only 12 minutes in his second preseason game, he was 2-2 including a trey for 6 pts and had 2 steals. 

Eddie Griffin had 5 bl in 20 minutes of play.  He could be a free agent pickup if he can continue to produce off the bench. 

Peja Stojokovich has yet to play due to a strained quadriceps.  

Marvin Williams had 16 pts, 4 reb, 2 st, and 3 bl in 30 minutes.  This is the complete type of line he did not show much last season but he looks like he has made great strides in the offseason. 

Luther Head led the Rockets in minutes shot attempts and points in their last preseason game.  He had 20 pts including 4 treys and 6 reb.  Bonzi Wells DNP. 

Brevin Knight sprained his ankle (as usual) and will be out a couple weeks.

October 13^th Preseason Notes 

I am currently participating in an expert league draft.  You can follow it at:

http://rotoguru1.com/cgi-bin/kpeek.pl?110 

I also completed another on which was reported at:
http://www.rotoworld.com/content/features/column.aspx?sport=NBA&columnid=47&article=25908

October 12^th Preseason Notes 

Notes from last nights preseason games. 

Samuel Dalembert had 15 points and 18 rebounds.  He will be looking to have a bounce back season. 

Leandro Barbosa had 27 points including 5-8 3-pointers, 6 assists, and 6 steals.  This is his second encouraging performance in the preseason.  

Danny Granger had 16 points, 4 reb, and 1 stl in 19 minutes.  He should get steady playing time during the regular season. 

Second year player Antoine Wright (NJ) had 23 points, 7-10 FT, and 4 reb.  Looking at the Nets roster I see plenty of opportunity for Wright to get playing time off the bench during the regular season so his preseason performance should continue to be watched.  Note that Vince Carter did not play in this game. 

Rookie Jorge Garbajosa (Tor) has been getting playing time in the preseason.  Yesterday he had 18 points including 4-8 3-pointers.  It is still too early to say if he will have fantasy value in the regular season.   

Fred Jones played 39 minutes in an OT game and had 14 points on 2-11 FG (0-5 treys), 10-11 FT, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.  His battle for playing time will continue but this is a fairly complete line (despite the poor shooting). 

Rajon Rondo (Bos) had 29 points including 1-12 FT, 5 assists, and 3 steals.  This is an eye opening performance but realize Delonte West and Wally S did not play in this game.  Also note that Telfair and Rondo were both on the court for a substantial amount of time. 

Ricky Davis had 22 points including 7-11 FG and 4-5 3-pointers.  He has the potential to lead the Timberwolves in scoring this season. 

Randy Foye had an unimpressive debut.  I will be fairly quick to reduce his projections with another performance like last night. 

Marko Jaric had 13 points and 5 rebounds.  He is coming off a season where he saw diminished playing time throughout the season. 

Rookie Shelden Williams (Atl) had 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 turnovers.  He has potential but may get stuck behind Marvin Williams on the Hawks depth chart. 

Rudy Gay had 15 points.  This is his second game leading the Grizzlies in shot attempts.  It seems he wants to inherit the primary scoring role from Pau Gasol. 

Rookie Alexander Johnson (Mem) had 13 points and 5 rebounds.  Should Stromile Swift not pan out he has the potential to be a sleeper. 

Nick Collison had 11 points and 12 rebounds.  This is a good effort but at this time he is projected to be playing behind Chris Wilcox. 

Jarrett Jack and had 15 points and 4 asts.  At this time he is projected to be the starting point guard for the Blazers and could be a good late round selection. 

October 11^th Preseason Notes 

Notes from last nights games

Amare Stoudamire played 19 minutes in the Suns preseason game against the Sixers.  It will be interesting to see how his knees respond to that.  In that time he had 5 TOs and 4 fouls so it seems as if he is rusty. 

Leandro Barbosa was aggressive offensively taking 17 shots (9 three pointers) in 31 minutes.  He finished with 20 pts.  Note the Suns had a player rotation in this game that did not seem much off from what they would have during a regular season game. 

Sixers rookie Rodney Carney had 14 pts, 2 treys, 7 reb, 2 stl, and 1 bl.  That is a pretty complete line.  If he keeps it up he could challenge for a starting spot.  Yesterday the Sixers started Willie Green and Kyle Korver with Dalembert coming off the bench.  Korver may lose playing time if Carney continues to produce.  However Korver had a good game himself with 20 pts and 7 reb. 

Rookie Rajon Rondo had 11 pts, 8 ast, and 4 stls.  However he still must be considered a long shot to have fantasy value this season due to competition with Sebastian Telfair and Delonte West. 

Second year player Gerald Green (he turns 21 in January) led the Celtics in playing time with 35 minutes and had 14 pts, 6 reb, and 2 stl.  Recall he was considered to have great potential but slipped in the NBA draft. 

Anderson Varejao led the Cavs in playing time with 24 minutes and had 10 pts, 7 reb, 2 stl, and 2 bl.  He is good on a per minute basis but it is unlikely his playing time during the regular season will exceed 24 minutes often. 

Grant Hill had 18 pts in 16 minutes and his health has continued to receive positive assessments.  Hedo Turkoglu missed the game with an illness that has not been diagnosed yet. 

Adam Morrison had 19 points in 25 minutes but had only 1 rebound and no assists, stls, or blks.  So believe it or not, this debut gives me concern since in a typical 8 category roto league getting just points will not get in you in the top 100 - particularly when your fall away three pointer at the buzzer rims out. 

Okafor had a horrible opening game fouling out in 9 minutes with no points.  He was not able to handle Dwight Howard.  How much his ankle is still affecting him will need to be assessed. 

Devin Harris DNP with a strained hamstring.  This is the type of injury that can potentially make a player miss a lot of time (recall Carlos Boozer).  Reports now are that Harris will miss a week or two of the preseason. 

David West led the Hornets in scoring with 17 pts in 24 minutes.  Note his new contract will be a priority for him and the Hornets. 

Rookie Rudy Gay took more than twice as many shots as any other Grizzly player.  He ended up 5-18 with for 14 pts with 3 stls in 24 minutes. 

Yao Ming missed the game with another toe problem.  This should be some cause for concern until he returns to play.  Chuck Hayes started and had 10 reb in 25 minutes. 

Tracy McGrady had a good game but I still have concerns that regardless of how he says he feels now, at some point during the regular season his back will flare up. 

Nazr Mohammed led the Pistons in playing time with 31 minutes and had 16 pts, 8 reb, 4 st, and 2 bl.  That is a real good start. 

Dwyane Wade was 1-3 three pointers in 20 minutes.  His projections show an increase in production from three point territory this season. 

Deron Williams had 16 pts, 5 reb, and 5 ast.  Derek Fisher's arrival should not impact his playing time this season. 

October 10^th Preseason Notes

The number one overall pick Andre Bargnani played in his first preseason game.  He received positive feedback but note that his 5 fouls in 14 minute is an early indication of what will likely be a chronic foul problem throughout his rookie season. 

Anthony Parker is effectively a 31 year old rookie who made a name for himself playing in Israel.  He started last night for the Raptors.  He will be battling for playing time and a starting role with Fred Jones and Joey Graham.  A couple more preseason games may show where this is headed.  I had not projected stats for Parker yet as I wanted to get a feel for where he would fit in.  I will do this soon. 

Coming off a season where he played in only 21 games, Jarvis Hayes was second to only Gilbert Arenas in scoring for the Wizards last night however he registered no assists, steals, or blocks.  Note that Arenas had 29 points.  He is the type that brings it every night even in the preseason.  In roto leagues with the trey I feel he warrants a top five selection but usually goes after that.  In that respect I feel he is slightly undervalued by fantasy managers. 

At this time the Warriors are projected to typically start Jason Richardson, Baron Davis, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, and Mickeal Pietrus.  The winner here if it came to pass would be Pietrus however how long will the Warriors keep this unit on the floor as Dunleavy gets torched by the likes of Garnett, Brand, and Duncan while trying to defend the PF position.  Note that Jason Richardson may miss the beginning of the season as he recovers from surgery.  It has been reported that Dejuan Wagner could get the interim starts.  On a side note, Wagner has become one of my personal favorites to root for as he is recovering from a serious medical condition called ulcerative colitis (via having his colon removed).  A member of my family has the same condition so I know what it is like.  Anyway, he has been impressive in training camp all things considered. 

With 7 more preseason games tonight we should start to get some more real news to base new projections on. 

Bogut Update

Reports now are that Andrew Boguts injured leg will cause him to miss 6-8 weeks including the beginning of the season.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2618484&campaign=rss&source=NBAHeadlines 

Candidates for extra playing time early in the season to take (or share his minutes) are Brian Skinner and Dan Gadzuric.  Considering Jamaal Magloire is no longer with the Bucks this could represent a substantial short term boost to their minutes.  Gadzuric in particular is capable of racking up rebounds and blocks and should be watched. 

October 9^th Preseason Notes

Amare Stoudamire missed the Suns first preseason game with pain in both knees.  I have reduced his projections for the second time this preseason and strengthening the recommendation to avoid him even at a discount. 

The Rockets don't have too many attractive options at power forward this season.  Juwan Howard is marginal at best and will be even less productive this season.  I like the rebounding potential of Chuck Hayes but he may be somewhat undersized to be a regular there.  Speaking of under-sized, there has been some discussion of Shane Battier spending sometime at the PF position, perhaps even starting.  This would be good for the playing time of Bonzi Wells and Battier assuming it comes to pass. 

Tony Parker, who did not play in the world championships because of a broken finger, appears to be fully recovered as he scored 27 points in an exhibition game in France on Sunday.  Ginobili also played in this game after reports he might sit out with ailments. 

Andrew Bogut left a Bucks scrimmage with an injured knee but it appears to just be a bruise that should be fine before the season begins. 

Jameer Nelson may miss some preseason games after getting a concussion during a scrimmage.  At this time this does appear as if it will affect him for the start of the season. 

The Washington Times reports that during training camp Etan Thomas is battling Brendan Haywood for the starting center spot.  This could represent some upside for Thomas if he is successful.  

Washington and Toronto play in the only preseason game tonight.  I will be interested to see how Joey Graham does for the Raptors as I feel he has some sleeper potential and I can tell you in an expert league draft I participated in where 168 players were taken he was not one of them.  So he truly is a sleeper.