1/29/07

It is possible that injuries to Andre Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer could present Paul Millsap the opportunity to start and get decent minutes.  Using his per minute averages you might expect 12 pts, 9 reb, 2 bl, and 1.4 steals for every 30 minutes of play.  Given the recent negative vibes regarding Kirilenko, one might wonder if this might permanently take a bit out of his playing time even after he returns.  Last Saturday, Millsap had 15 pts, 17 reb, and 2 bl in 35 minutes. 

Eddie Jones has put together 3 decent games in a row whereas his season to date had been pretty bad.  Therefore he still might present the risk of becoming bad once you manage him into your lineup. 

An injury to M. Ginobili was responsible for him coming off the bench in the Spurs recent game however his replacement Brent Barry did not fare so well.  Ginobili owners should not hit the panic button. 

V. Radmanovic started for Luke Walton who will miss some time with a sprained ankle.  This could give him some short term value. 

1/26/07

LeBron James will miss tonight's game against the Sixers with a toe injury.  Lets just say those who bought a ticket in advance expecting to see Iverson and James will be disappointed.  After tonight James will have played in 272 out of a possible 281 games for the Cavs over 4 seasons.  Larry Hughes is a prime candidate to see increased scoring without James however he is shooting only 35% FG over his last ten games.  James' absence can be expected to be brief. 

Charlie Villanueva, who has missed all of January due to shoulder tendonitis, may play tonight.  Check and see particularly if he is available.  His return could pose a threat to Reuben Patterson and Charlie Bell. 

My instincts tell me that Willie Green's run of fantasy value for points may be at an end due to potential chronic knee soreness.  Why should they push it as they maximize their chances for Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. This would present an opportunity for Rodney Carney to produce some points. 

The Bulls have been starting P.J. Brown at PF with Andres Nocioni coming off the bench.  I presume this is to provide bench points in a role that Ben Gordon served prior to starting. The result though has been to remove the fantasy value of Nocioni and make Brown a consideration in deeper leagues. 

Marcus Williams and Bostjan Nachbar seem to have been the primary beneficiaries to Richard Jefferson's absence. 

1/25/07 

Miami activated Shaquille O'Neal.  Alonzo Mourning still played 31 minutes but the end could be near for his run of fantasy value. 

Rodney Carney (Phi) had 18 points including 7-10 FG.  Carney has started the last two games as Willie Green is day to day with a sore knee.  His playing time will likely go away when Green returns. Right now he is showing himself to have mediocre fantasy potential on a per minute basis.  Teams in deeper leagues could give him consideration for points if Green's condition turns out to be more serious.  

S. Hunter has started the last 4 games for the Sixers and with Webber gone this could stick at least until Shavlik Randolph returns.  He can provide rebounds and blocks. 

Kendrick Perkins had 15 points and 12 rebounds.  He had started the last 8 games for the Celtics but this is the first time he has seen double digits in points or rebounds during that period.  It is possible that this is a sign of things to come however there are also reports of him aggravating an injury. 

Eddie Jones  had 19 points including 7-11 FG including a game winning shot at the buzzer.  Jones value has plummeted this season so one should not react on this isolated performance. 

Sergio Rodriguez (Por) had 18 points and 2 steals however did not give his usual strong per minute output in the assist category. He has had some bright moments including a 23 pts, 10 ast, and 3 stl performance on Jan 14 but right now he plays behind Jarret Jack.  He does represent a threat to the value of Jack. 

Earl Boykins had 36 points including 13-20 FG and 5-9 3-pointers and 5 assists.  Can anybody guard this little guy? 

With the return of Bobby Jackson we can probably stick a fork in Jannero Pargo. Jackson had 17 pts, 6 reb, and 6 ast.  

1/23 

M. Pietrus so far has survived the arrival of Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington as he started yesterday and scrounged for 14 pts, 14 reb, 2 st, and a block.  Matt Barnes was not as fortunate as he got a DNP-CD with no word of an associated injury.  Monta Ellis has come off the bench in the two games since the trade and looks as if he will be able to maintain the majority of his fantasy value.  I expect him to claim some additional minutes from Stephen Jackson. 

S. Marbury has a sore knee that has limited his playing time.  This gives Nate Robinson some upside potential.  Robinson played 31 minutes yesterday off the bench. 

Richard Jefferson will be out at least a month with a knee injury. As a starter H. Adams had 3 steals in 22 minutes.  Another candidate to potentially emerge is B. Nachbar who can help teams in the three point category. 

Seems funny that D. West who has been day to day all season it seems has played 3 consecutive games over 40 min since returning from his latest injury.  The Celtics are doing everything they can to get him hurt again ASAP.  But he has been productive lately perhaps giving him a window of trade value. 

R. Gomes  has been on an offensive surge scoring in double figures in his last 5 games including one over 30 pts however he is one of those types to still have limited value due to lack of contributions elsewhere.  Check the last ten game rankings and you might be surprised at how low he is for your group.   

Eddie Curry's 26 pts was a pretty hollow line with practically no other contributions.   

J. Calderon started for T.J. Ford who is day to day with a sore ankle and had 19 pts and 11 ast.  He has scored in double figures in his last three games. 

M. Dunleavy had a very nice all round game yesterday playing 40 min as a Pacers starter.  I expect him to fall back into the average production he experienced in his best days with the Warriors. 

It looks like T. Murphy will be a regular starter for the Pacers giving him the opportunity to provide his fantasy teams rebounds. 

J. Tinsley is day to day with a back injury and sinus infection. D. Armstrong nearly had a triple double but is not worth taking a chance on. 

Andrew Bynum's fantasy value could be on it's last legs despite 10 points and 15 rebounds yesterday as Kwame Brown and Lamar Odom could be back in a week. 

1/19

With the incoming Golden State Warriors still not ready to play, Marquis Daniels played 39 minutes and had 23 pts.  Don't give up much to acquire him as he will likely go back to a reserve role or at least share playing time.  Also note that Daniels is not much of a three point shooter having hit only 4 all season. Danny Granger , who is likely already taken in your league, could thrive as a result of the big trade. 

Ersan Ilyasova recently got some playing time for the Bucks as a result of their injuries. He can hit the three pointer and is a consideration in deeper leagues. 

The Nuggets have been giving Steve Blake decent playing time having JR Smith come off the bench.  His playing should remain even after Carmelo Anthony returns.  He might be able to help in assists and threes. 

Jason Williams has had 8 or more assists in three of his last four games.  The return of Shaq should also help his assist totals.

1/17

Warriors-Pacers Trade
The Indiana Pacers traded Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, and Sarunas Jasikevicius to the Golden State Warriors for Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, and Ike Diogu  as part of an eight-player deal.  The Pacers traded two of their key players who had been starting and in return received players who had been playing in a reserve role for the Warriors.  This will give the players from Golden State, namely Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy, upside potential as a part of the trade. 

Players who had been getting substantial playing time for the Warriors that remain are at risk of losing time and value to the incoming Pacers, namely Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus.  Jeff Foster will likely see less playing time, not that he was a key fantasy player.  The Warriors will likely need to rely even more on Andris Biedrins as they made their weak rebounding team even weaker in that area as a result of the trade.  Ike Diogu should once again get a chance for consideration in deeper leagues as he leaves a system that did not believe in him.

1/16/07

R. Wallace has been struggling as of late.  The chemistry of the Pistons will now change with the addition of Chris Webber.  Although Webber's natural position is the same as Wallace's, I do not expect to see Wallace take a hit.  Nazr Mohammed along with Dale Davis will likely bear the brunt of the fantasy damage as the Pistons absorb the playing time of Chris Webber.  Jason Maxiell's upside will also be put on hold however don't forget about him for next year as he should benefit just practicing with Wallace and Webber.  Webber should be expected to have the same mediocre value he had with the Sixers but his chronic DNPs should go away. 

J. Kapono has averaged 16 pts and 2.9 treys over his past three games.  He has been everything that Kyle Korver owners expected of him on draft day.  Importantly he has maintained his playing time despite James Posey and Antoine Walker returning. 

B. Cook had 25 points including 10-16 FG and 4-6 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks. In his previous 4 games as a starter he scored in single digits.  One can expect continued inconsistency until Lamar Odom returns. 

S. Livingston is day to day with a sprained ankle.  Since Sam Cassell has returned (past 4 games) Livingstons's scoring has decreased however he continued to get playing time. 

As anticipated W. Green has begun scoring more averaging 20 ppg in his last 3 games. 

A. Jefferson had 18 points, 17 rebounds including 8 offensive, 4 blocks, and 5 turnovers.  Over his last 8 games he has averaged 12 pts, 12 reb, and 1.4 bl. 

With Ben Wallace day to day with an injury, T. Thomas got a start and had 8 pts, 8 reb, and 5 bl.  Looking to next season, if his numbers are extrapolated to 30 mpg of playing time they would include 7.6 rpg, 2.6 bpg, and 1.5 spg.  The block and steal numbers are encouraging.  

E. Boykins had 30 points on 9-16 FG and 9-10 FT and 6 rebounds.  Over his last 7 games he is averaging 20 pts, 1.3 stl, and 2.3 treys while shooting good percentages. His numbers will go down when Maurice Williams and Michael Redd return. 

A. Bogut had 27 points including 12-15 FG, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. He has been excelling in the rebound category lately averaging 13.2 over his last 6 games.  He has also been giving decent contributions in assists and steals for a center. 

Matt Carroll continues to contribute three pointers getting 5 yesterday.  Gerald Wallace has missed games with a separated right shoulder and is considered day to day.  It is possible that Carroll will continue to have value after Wallace returns if he moves to shooting guard and Derek Anderson goes to the bench. 

1/11

Maurice Williams is expected to be out 2 to 3 weeks with a sprained shoulder. With Michael Redd also out, the Bucks will need to rely more on Charlie Bell who although he is coming off a bad game should be able to respond.  Earl Boykins, recently acquired in a trade, will likely play PG until Williams returns.

Boston placed Wally Szczerbiak on IL with ankle injuries.  Szczerbiak is expected to be out at least a week.  Those in weekly transaction leagues should seriously consider waiving him.  This combined with Tony Allen's season ending injury should spike up the value of Gerald Green who may be available after a stretch of low productivity.

Chris Webber was officially waived by the Sixers and will likely sign with the Heat, Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks, or Pistons.  Wherever he goes he will serve to dilute the value of some existing starters.

Trevor Ariza is likely out for some time with a sprained MCL in his knee.  This combined with Turkoglu out with an ailment will shift some fantasy values in Orlando with Keith Bogans perhaps emerging with some value for points.

Washington activated Etan Thomas.  Brendan Haywood still logged 29 minutes as a starter but could see cuts in playing time with Thomas back.

New York activated Quentin Richardson. Quentin Richardson had 19 points including 5-8 3-pointers in his first game back.

The LA Clippers activated Maggette who had 21 points including 11-11 FT in his first game back. 

Denver activated J.R. Smith.  Off the bench he had 12 pts and 2 stls in his first game back. 

Juwan Howard had 23 points and 11 rebounds.  He is averaging about 17 pts and 7 reb over his last five games but has marginal value with limited contributions elsewhere.  I would not bother with him unless you have over 160 in your league.

Chris Wilcox had 28 points including 12-17 FG and 13 rebounds however he is basically a younger version of Juwan Howard in terms of contributions elsewhere.

Delonte West did not play because of a bruised lower back. Sebastian Telfair took advantage of the opportunity and had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Jannero Pargo had 24 points on 10-15 FG and 4-5 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists.  This is a bounce back game for him and I can see him taking the starting job back from Devin Brown

Josh Childress has been getting substantial playing time for the Hawks and had 19 pts, 7 reb, and 2 stl yesterday.

Speedy Claxton left the game with a potentially serious knee injury.  So who is going to play PG in Atlanta?  Perhaps Joe Johnson if Lue can not go.  

1/10

J. Foster had 8 points including 2-7 FG, 17 rebounds including 7 offensive, and 3 steals. He has had 8 reb or more over his last 9 games. 

R. Murray had 12 points and 12 assists. He has averaged 7 ast over his last 4 games.  This production will go away after Chauncey Billups returns.  

Willie Green had 16 pts.  This is his highest scoring since Dec 16^th.  He has the potential to average this type of scoring as he recovers from a previous injury.  He will hit some treys and get some steals but in general does not do much beyond points.  

A. Bargnani had 22 points including 4-7 3-pointers.  He is scoring in double figures regularly with three point contributions.  This should continue for the rest of the season. 

J. Calderon had 16 points and 12 assists. This is his second 12 ast games in his past three games.  TJ Ford was cold in this game. 

B. Nachbar has hit at least 1 trey in the last 10 games he has played in for the Nets. 

M. Moore is averaging 15 pts and 9 reb in his last 2 games. 

R. Gay has averaged 27 min as a starter in his last 4 games.  He can contribute points, bl, and steals. 

L. Aldridge had 17 points including 6-8 FG and 6 rebounds including 5 offensive. He has scored in double figures in his last two games.  The last time he did that was Dec 5 and 6. 

Joe Smith had 13 points and 10 rebounds including 7 offensive.  Assuming Chris Webber does not play for the Sixers again, he could have some value in deeper leagues. 

M. Okur's stat splits show his production has been dropping in recent games. 

N. Collison had 29 points including 12-18 FG, 21 rebounds including 8 offensive, and 3 steals.  This is his second game as a starter.  Grab him and ride it while it lasts. 

E. Watson has started the last two games over L. Ridnour and is getting regular playing time averaging 10 assists over his last three games. 

Da. Jones has averaged 2.4 treys per game over the last 4 games. 

Damon Stoudamire had 16 points including 3-4 3-pointers and 6 assists. Over his last 4 games he is averaging 16 pts, 9 ast, 1.5 st, and 2.5 treys for the lowly Grizzlies.  

1/8

L. Aldridge scored a season high 14 pts and had 2 blocks in 31 minutes off the bench.  This could be a sign of things to come as the Blazers should focus on developing their young talent.  A drawback for Aldridge is that one of the Blazers better players, Zach Randolph, plays his natural PF position. 

J. Kapono fantasy value survived the return of Dwayne Wade.  Kapono started as other SF candidates Antoine Walker and James Posey are out as they get their body fat down to the team standards.  One would think their return would end Kapono's run (not that any of them will have fantasy value in his place.) 

B. Cook,  T. Ariza, and  M. Barnes all had clunker games recently after having shown some enticing box lines.  Ariza and Barnes in particular had sustained runs so they still have a chance to be worth owning.   

Looking at Golden States lineup you would think they would want the services of a true power forward in  I. Diogu giving him some upside in my mind despite some recent DNPs. In terms of rebounding differential, Golden State is the worst in the league averaging 5.4 less rebounds than their opponents. 

A. Bynum first two games as a starter were good but then he had a mediocre game with 6 points and no rebounds.  This is to be expected from a young player and I suspect he will continue to have general value until Kwame Brown returns. 

M. Ellis has come back strongly in his first two games averaging 21 pts and 2.5 steals. 

Undrafted Golden State rookie K. Azubuike has played only 4 games but brought some attention to himself by getting 16 pts, 2 st, and 1 bl yesterday.  I would guess he falls back into having no value soon as it not uncommon for an unknown player to do well initially as defenses assume he can be ignored. 

De. West's last couple games have been respectable as a starter in place of Sebastian Telfair as he has averaged 36 minutes.  Considering his frequent absences though he is not recommended for leagues with weekly transactions. 

M. Ginobili has been hot lately scoring at least 25 pts in his last three games and providing gobs of steals and treys. 

J. Graham has recently been more in favor averaging 17 pts, 1.5 stl, and 6.5 reb in his last two games.  The most recent game came with the Raptors at full strength.  His per minute season averages though for steals and treys are low indicating limited fantasy potential at this time.   

N. Collison started yesterday at C for the Sonics and had 6 pts, 10 reb, and 2 bl. 

James Jones suddenly went for 25 pts yesterday.  You would like be best served to ignore this episode.  

M Redd has a strained tendon and is expected to miss some games.  Reuben Patterson and Charlie Bell are candidates to benefit.  

Potential back issues with Jason Kidd will give backup Marcus Williams some upside.   

1/4/07

The good news for Eddie Curry owners is that he is averaging 18.5 pts and 7.2 reb.  The bad news is low output in assists, steals, and blocks and a 57.5% FT, 3.3 TO per game, and 3.4 PG per game.  For the stat group P, A, R, S, B, 3, FT%, FG%, TO, and PF he ranks 156 YTD, one behind Andrew Bynum.  After his good game yesterday, his owners should consider trading him to someone who may overvalue him (and be in need for a center). 

While Jarred Jeffries has shot low percentages in his first 9 games, fantasy owners should have known before the season began he is the type who can play over 30 mpg and not have value.  It looks like unless ANOTHER bad I. Thomas contract unless he can play defense like Bruce Bowen. 

Willie Green was expected to see a spike in scoring after Iverson left but he has not been too productive in three games since returning from a calf strain.  Owners should give him a few more chances before waiving.  He still has the potential to contribute significantly in the points category. 

Speaking of the points category, Matt Barnes had 36 yesterday.  Wonder what he has been drinking as for his career he averages 0.31 points per minute whereas this season he is averaging 0.45 points per minute.  He has scored double figures his past 7 games and has hit 12 treys in is past two games. 

After averaging less than 1 trey attempt per game, Damien Wilkins (or his coach) decided to take 10 yesterday and he made 5.  If this continues it will enhance his fantasy value greatly. 

Randy Foye had 19 pts in 41 min whereas Mike James had only 6 pts in 16 min.  The emergence of Foye will be bad news for James. 

Dikembe Mutombo has had double digit rebounds in his last 4 games. 

S. Swift continues to show potential with 26 pts, 9 reb, 3 stl, and 4 blk yesterday. 

Little used Darrick Martin had 4 treys yesterday and 10 assists the game before for the Raptors. 

Chris Bosh returned and had 26 pts, 14 reb, and 2 bl.

1/2

M. Blount seems to be slowly improving to the point where he can be considered a serviceable second center.  He is averaging 12.1 ppg which is a career high and 1.1 bpg which is his best since the 03-04 season.  Yesterday he had 21 pts, 7 reb, and 2 bl. 

A. Morrison should see some extra playing time as a starter with Gerald Wallace out.  Morrison can be expected to contribute mostly points.  His 5 assists yesterday are uncommon and the steal he had yesterday was his first in his past nine games.  Wallace is expected to miss at least the next two Bobcat games. 

M. Carroll has now hit 13 treys in his last three games and is averaging 22.6 ppg over this stretch.  Those with the trey category would be justified in acquiring him but be aware his production could evaporate the moment he is active in your lineup.  Those who do take him should monitor the anticipated return of Brevin Knight. 

T. Allen has now scored in double figures in his last ten games. This includes a game where he took only 1 FG attempt.  Those who pick him up should realize this production will go away when Paul Pierce returns in a couple weeks. 

Shaquille O'Neal is expected back in a couple weeks. 

Chris Bosh is expected to return within the week, perhaps for tomorrows game.  

Kwame Brown will likely be out a least a month with a sprained ankle.  Now may be a time to take a chance on Andrew Bynum as I expect he is the top candidate to benefit with Brown out.  Recall the Bynum had some decent games last November when Brown was out. 

Owners of Allen Iverson may want to consider trading now that his numbers are high in anticipation of them going down when Carmelo Anthony returns.   

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