00-01 PRESEASON NOTES THE FOURTH WEEK 10/24/00 - 10/30/00 These are emailers that were sent out during the preseason. To receive similar emails during the regular season subscribe to the HoopsKlyce Fast Break regular season emailer. Subj: End of the Preseason Emailer Date: 10/30/00 12:17:57 PM Eastern Standard Time By Monday afternoon NBA teams must officially submit their injured lists. Players put on the list must wait at least five games before playing. An arbitrator will hold a hearing on Thursday regarding David Stern's decision to void past contracts between the Timberwolves and forward Joe Smith. It looks as if Joe Smith will not be playing until this mess gets straightened out. In a published article Evan Eschmeyer was named the starting Nets center. Those hungry for a big man may want to see how he does if he is still available. For those in leagues where there are no games limits I recommend the following site to follow the NBA schedule: http://rotoguru2.com/hoop/jscript/schedomatic.html Tomorrow is THE DAY we have been waiting for. Those reading this email have made the commitment to fantasy excellence by acquiring a 'professionally' prepared cheat sheet for their reference. I hope everyone gets off to a good start. Please remember to try not to over react to opening night stats lines either by jumping for someone who had a good game (like every stiff has on some nights) or by dumping a decent player on your roster who starts with a brick laying session. On the other hand, there will be players who start better than expected who end up maintaining a level of performance higher than initially anticipated. Through the Fast Break Emailer I will attempt to identify these emerging players. It seems at the beginning of the year there are more than any other time so it will pay to determine who is for real and who just got lucky. Those who subscribed to the regular season Fast Break emailer will get their first issue tomorrow. If you don't get yours email hoopsklyce@aol.com. I LOVE THIS GAME! Hoops Subj: 10/29 Preseason Notes Date: 10/29/00 9:52:09 AM Eastern Standard Time Dikembe Mutombo who had malaria will not be placed on the injured list so he could be playing within the first five games of the season. Lorenzen Wright will also not be placed on the injured list but he may not be back as soon. Paul Pierce looks to be 100% and is no longer playing with a special padding around his lower torso. Those who got Pierce at a discount in early drafts will be rewarded. Marcus Camby may miss the Knicks opener. Kurt Thomas will benefit with more playing time whenever Camby is out this season. The preseason is just about over. Those who did not order the regular season emailer but wish to upgrade their order to include it may do so by replying to this email. The additional fee would be $8 (two dollars less than going through the order page at hoopsklyce.com) Subj: 10/28 preseason notes Date: 10/28/00 12:46:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time The good news for those who have Derrick Coleman on their team is that he will not sprain his ankle during the first week of the regular season. The bad news is that he will not be playing while he continues to adjust to new heart medicine. Will keep you posted. Maurice Taylor may miss the season opener because of a broken finger. Rashard Lewis returned to action from a sprained knee and appears ready for the season opener. From today's Orlando Sentinel regarding Grant Hill who played just 15 minutes in the Magic's final preseason game: "Although Tracy McGrady was expecting to be a bookend with Grant Hill this season in the Magic`s push back toward prominence, he will be taking the stage on his own when the season begins. Hill, a five-time All-Star, still hasn't recovered well enough from off-season surgery on his left ankle, and he will open the season wondering how much help he really can be. "I `m not going to be 100 percent, but Tracy is ready for this," Hill said. "We`ve talked about it. We`re all going to be leaning on him early to start the season. I`ll be there at the end, and he can lean on me. For now, I`m not sure where I`m at." I recommend picking around Grant Hill in your draft. I think McGrady could wind up being a top ten fantasy player as well who you can get in the second round. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer regarding Ilgauskas: "When the regular season begins Tuesday, coach Randy Wittman said he will closely monitor the minutes of center Zydrunas Ilgauskas - particularly in situations when the schedule calls for playing multiple games over a short period. Ilgauskas, who underwent foot surgery in January, has played five regular-season games in two years. "He is progressing well," said Wittman, "but we will have to be particularly careful when we are playing back-to-back games or four games in five nights." The Cavaliers open the season with a back-to-back situation. In November, they play three-games-in-four nights twice and four-games-in-five-nights once." I did not project Ilgauskas in your depth chart as indicated in a previous emailer. The reason is that the number of games he will play is highly unpredictable. I would recommend waiting for 75 players to be taken but if you want to take the risk for a potentially good center you can try earlier. In my draft he was taken 49th overall (not by me). If you are really concerned about getting a center and don't want to take a player too early just to meet the center requirement, Michael Olowokandi is a consideration. He will be up and down, but I think he should be respectable this season and you can get him at fair value in your draft. Last night he had 17 pts, 10 reb, and 4 blocks in 27 min although his overall preseason stats were fair at best - perhaps that could be explained by an injury he had early on in the preseason. Darius Miles finished on a really good note: 17 pts, 9 reb, 6 blocks. Contrary now to the blurb in your player report regarding him, I think he should have some fantasy value this season. Subj: 10/27 Preseason Notes Date: 10/27/00 11:47:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time If you need to jump start a conversation at your next party why not try asking, "What was Jacques Vaughn's three point shooting percentage last season?" The answer is 41% and in Utah's eight preseason games he has shot 7 for 13 for 54%. In last nights game Vaughn had 17 points in 27 minutes. With Howard Eisley gone Vaughn, is the primary backup to John Stockton and appears to have the shooting range necessary to log some minutes at shooting guard should John Starks go cold. I am not recommending drafting Vaughn but I would watch to see how he develops. Somewhere out there as you read this, Robert Pack is probably nursing some sort of developing strain. He had one of those nights yesterday that attracts the attention of fantasy owners when he scored 20 pts in 22 minutes and had 5 assists. The strain will worsen until you put him on your team at which point he will be unable to play anymore. Beware of Robert Pack's numerous 'injuries'. Shandon Anderson has been missing preseason games since his mother passed away. A specific date has not been set for his return and he could miss some regular season games as far as I can tell. After reading more on the Joe Smith situation it appears unlikely he will end up back in Minnesota. Miami and Chicago have the most amount of money to offer him. With Smith out of Minnesota, Radoslav Nesterovic will be needed to play a bigger role and should get some additional minutes. I doubt Joe Smith's value will change much (at least initially) as he will need to learn a new system wherever he goes. Mike Ruffin may actually be a starter for the Bulls when the season opens. Last year Ruffin was a good rebounder on a per minute basis. Jonathon Bender had another decent scoring game with 19 pts but remains weak in shot blocking and rebounding. Shawn Bradley finished the preseason on a strong offensive note with 19 pts game. But those who drafted him for his shot blocking might be interested to know he averaged only 0.75 blocks in eight preseason games. I would expect more from him though in the regular season. As Penny Hardaway nurses his injury recovery Tony Delk may have some fantasy value. Delk scored 21 pts in the Suns game against the Lakers. Subj: 10/26 Preseason Notes Date: 10/26/00 7:02:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time Joe Smith is now a free agent and will most likely end up with the Bulls or back in Minnesota. He should have a similar role with either team. Vince Carter is playing some heavy minutes in the preseason averaging over 35 minutes in the Raptors 8 preseason games. This comes after playing in the Olympics. Imagine the minutes he will log in the regular season - 40 plus most likely with tons have stats to come with it. Jamal Mashburn scored 38 pts in a yesterdays Hornets game. He has not been too much in the steal and rebound categories in the preseason has been getting around 4 assists per game. Lorenzen Wright will be out two or three weeks because of a knee injury. Latrell Sprewell did not start in the Knicks exhibition game since he showed up late. Bryant Reeves played 43 minutes and had 8 pts and 10 rebs before fouling out. He reportedly showed up to training camp in good shape but my expectations remain low for him. Chris Webber played last night and had 22 pts and 6 reb in 31 min. That is a good sign for those who drafted him to their team. Ruben Patterson had 24 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, and 2 st last night. Realize though that Rashard Lewis did not play and he is projected to start at small forward. Subj: 10/25 Preseason Notes Date: 10/25/00 7:02:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time Chauncey Billups appears to have won the starting shooting guard position for Minnesota and could be a sleeper pick in your draft considering the season he is coming off of. I suspect that at some point in the season Don Maclean, now with the Heat, may have some fantasy value. The Heat could use someone who can score and Maclean has never been shy about shooting. In his first preseason game yesterday he took 16 shots in 21 minutes and end with 12 pts. Walt Williams had 18 pts, 8 reb, and 4 treys in yesterday's game. Perhaps he will play to his potential the entire year rather than part of it like last year. Kendall Gill showed the kind of numbers he can put up with Kittles and Van Horn out last night: 24 pts, 7 reb, and 3 st. Kenyon Martin had 11 rebounds in yesterdays game which is encouraging for him considering he had been averaging only five rebounds in his previous four preseason games in 30 minutes. His shot blocking remains below expectations though with only two blocks in five games. Greg Buckner led the Mavs in scoring in their exhibition victory last night with 16 pts. At this point though don't think he well have regular season fantasy value. In a game where he played 38 minutes Iverson reverted to the form where he can aggravate his fantasy owners going 6-18 from the field. In the same game fellow gunner John Starks made his shots and went 9-13 for 22 pts. On other nights Starks will be 4-13. If Anfernee Hardway misses some regular season game Tony Delk may have some temporary fantasy value. Last night Delk had 17 pts, 7 reb, and 2 st. Othella Harrington logged 40 min in a preseason game while rookie Stromile Swift struggled in his 23 min on the court going 1-9. It may take some time for the Harrington to Swift transition to occur. Subj: 10/24 Preseason Notes Date: 10/24/00 8:58:37 AM Pacific Daylight Time Chris Webber has not been playing lately due to soreness in his ankle. In the preseason the translation for soreness or strain type of injuries is often "the player did not feel like playing". For a star player such as Chris Webber in a contract year that is most likely the case but we will really find out when the season begins. For now I am not changing his projections. You will notice that Webber is already projected to play fewer games than players of his caliber due to the history of missing games he has established in his career. Eric Williams may win a starting position for the Celtics. Williams in the past has been a miserable fantasy player due to a dearth of output in the non-scoring categories. His preseason stats suggest he has not changed: 11 ppg but only 2 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.6 spg, and 0.2 bpg. Granted this is in only 20 minutes per game but don't let his double digit scoring fool you. Leave him off your roster. His biggest fantasy impact might be in removing the value of Adrian Griffin. Alvin Williams has been playing decent for the Raptors averaging 12 pts and 4.1 apg for the Raptors. His fantasy value though will remain limited with Mark Jackson as the starter. Rashard Lewis is currently slowed with a sprained knee which may cause him to miss a game or two at the start of the regular season. Don't forget that Jason Williams is suspended for the first five games of the regular season.   Previous Article Next Article Copyright © Hoops Klyce 2000 - All Rights Reserved Website Designed by Lelnet Failed to execute script '../cgi-local/ax.cgi': Win32 Error Code = 2