Fantasy Related But Good Info........
Tale Of Woe In Portland
Wednesday, as usual, was a big night with one major headline after another. Greg Oden will miss another entire season due to microfracture surgery, this time to his left knee. Brandon Roy's MRI results are in on his knee injury, yet we don't know much more than we did before. John Wall and Andre Iguodala missed another game, LeBron James posted an amazing line in just 23 minutes, Sonny Weems had a career night, Paul Westphal tried to get creative in Sacramento and C.J. Miles went down for the Jazz. And that's not even all of it.
On a side note, my e-mail volumes are out of control this year and I'm having trouble getting to all of them. I've been pretty on top of emails for the last eight years or so, but that run might be coming to an end.
Pain & Suffering In Portland
As if Brandon Roy's knee injury wasn't enough for Portland fans to worry about, the surprise announcement that Oden's season would never start was just sad. The press conference in which the Blazers' brass talked in detail about Oden and the knee injury was emotional and you have to think he's, if there is such a place, beyond devastated. Maybe it would have been tougher news to swallow had this happened to a healthy and dominant Oden who had never been injured before and was just coming into his own while challenging Kevin Durant for the MVP award. Unfortunately, that is the fairy tale version of his career. It's been a nightmare since he suffered that wrist injury in college and his body – especially his knees - apparently wasn't meant for professional sports. Add in the fact that he doesn't have a contract extension and you have to think there's a decent chance Oden has played his last game for the Blazers. We will at least see him in an NBA uniform again, as many teams are going to take a chance on him in hopes that he can finally get healthy one day – he's still just 23 years old. But whether he ever makes it out of training camp and into a real NBA game again remains to be seen. Did you really think Michael Vick would be back as the best player in the NFL three years ago? Hopefully Oden has a similar fate. I think he deserves it.
As for Roy, he's out the next two games and will be evaluated again in about a week. He doesn't need surgery right now, but again, that's simply because he has no meniscus to repair. The bone-on-bone situation isn't going away any time soon and Roy's season could be a long mess for both the Blazers and his fantasy owners. Portland has just two games next week, so Roy should be benched for both of those. And then we'll have to hope that we have a better feel for what his outlook will be going forward. But if you can still trade Roy for a decent player, it's a good idea to unload him. And if you're not depressed enough after all of that, just take a look at this.
Shake It Up
Paul Westphal decided to throw a monkey wrench into his lineup, or possibly consult a Ouija board, and came up with a nearly unthinkable plan to start Jason Thompson, who hadn't played in the two previous games, and Luther Head, sending Omri Casspi and Beno Udrih to the bench. Beno still managed to score 18 points, but I still have no clue as to what he did to earn the demotion. He'd started every game since late-February of last season, but that streak was broken last night. Thompson and Samuel Dalembert were useless, Carl Landry was solid in a start at small forward (and should be owned in all leagues again), while Head played fairly well in the start. I can't imagine Head holding much fantasy value, but you never know. I'm pretty sure Westphal is currently writing each of his players' names down on an index card and taping them to the wall. Then he'll either use a set of darts or put on a blindfold and play pin-the-tail-on-the-starter in order to figure out his next lineup. Until then, ignore players not named Tyreke Evans or Carl Landry in Sacramento. If I own Beno, I'm just going to sit tight for a couple days and see what happens next.
Injury Round Up
Andre Iguodala spoke about his achilles injury yesterday and basically said he is day-to-day and unsure of when he'll be back. It could be Friday against the Bucks or he could be out several more games. He's a good buy-low target right now as his owners are probably panicking, while we've yet to see him at full strength yet. Doug Collins has said he hasn't looked right all year. Is there some risk involved? Yes, but unlike Roy, gambling on Iguodala seems to make sense.
John Wall was out for a second straight game with a foot injury and whoever made the call to allow him to return to Saturday's game after he suffered the injury – well, let's just say that person should probably be held accountable. It was a
terrible decision, obviously. Wall will hopefully be ready to return on Friday against Memphis, but we still don't know for sure.
Steve Nash nearly missed last night's game against the Heat with a groin injury, but decided to gut it out. He had 17 points, but just two assists, and is now a game-time decision for tonight against the Magic.
C.J. Miles, who I had just picked up and thrown into a couple lineups, went down with a lower back strain last night and is a game-time decision for Friday.
Jeff Green is questionable for Friday with his lingering ankle injury.
Darren Collison sounds doubtful for Thursday with a sprained left ankle, which is a tough pill to swallow for his owners. Collison, after the injury and a freakish assist-less game last week, could at the lowest price he'll be at all year.
Mo Williams remains iffy for Friday at New Orleans with a groin injury.
Andrew Bogut says he will play through his arm pain on Friday night.
Carlos Delfino's status remains a mystery, but it does appear that he's not likely to play this week due to a concussion, or neck injury, depending on whom you believe.
Toney Douglas has been playing with a strained back for the last two weeks, which might help explain his slump.
For the entire injury report click here.
Keep reading for News and Notes, Ice Cold and Free Agent Report.
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News and Notes
LeBron James had 20 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals in just 23 minutes last night. He now has nine or more assists in seven straight games and it's scary to think what last night's line might have looked like if the Suns had actually shown up to play with the Heat.
Chris Bosh finally woke up and went off for 35 points and six rebounds on 12-of-17 shooting, and also hit 11-of-11 free throws. My thoughts are that LeBron and Dwyane Wade made a conscious decision to feed him the rock yesterday, and this was somewhat of a fluke.
Avery Johnson told the Utah media yesterday that Troy Murphy isn't fully healthy, hinting to that as a reason he's been on the bench lately. But his story isn't consistent, as he didn't even mention Murphy's health when he talked about him on Tuesday. "Troy wants to play. But right now, we're trying to get to a starting rotation we can live with. Get a bench rotation we can live with," said Johnson. "Just unfortunately the last two games, he's totaled eight minutes and hasn't been a major part of it." And then there's this from back on Nov. 3, when things were looking much brighter. "He brings a lot of stability there," Johnson said of Murphy starting. "He's a proven NBA starter." Am I trying to buy low on Murphy right now? Nope. He's not in Indy anymore and it's obvious that Johnson is going to play mind games with him. Maybe he'll suddenly win Johnson's heart and start posting monster numbers, but with Kris Humphries playing well and Derrick Favors on the bench, I'm not holding my breath. (Thanks to Neil Elman for help with the quotes).
Michael Beasley had 33 points and the game-winner for the Wolves and is now averaging 32.6 ppg over his last five games. Yes, those are sell-high numbers, but since you basically got him for free to begin with, it probably makes just as much sense to hold on and let him ride out his dream season. Kevin Love added 24 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals, two threes and a block, and has finally been freed. Both players have been fun to own this year and I expect that trend to continue. Luke Ridnour returned from a hamstring injury for a nice stat line, but with Jonny Flynn on the verge of a return, the three-headed point guard (Ridnour, Flynn, Sebastian Telfair) is going to get ready to take over in Minnesota.
Derrick Rose hit 15-of-27 shots and two more 3-pointers for 33 points and four assists in a loss to the Spurs. He's hitting threes, can shoot the ball and the sky is now officially the limit on Rose.
Byron Scott gave J.J. Hickson a vote of confidence, saying that he will continue to start at power forward. But if he doesn't start rebounding soon he's going to start being dropped in a lot of fantasy leagues.
Anthony Randolph was a DNP-CD last night against the Kings and, as we've been saying, appears to have no hope unless he's traded out of New York.
Ice Cold
There were plenty of players who struggled last night, including…
Kyle Lowry was outplayed by Ishmael Smith for Houston, but is still guy to own.
Amir Johnson fouled out in just 13 minutes and can probably be dropped.
DeMar DeRozan disappeared last night, but will bounce back.
Linas Kleiza has a bad case of Sonny-itis right now.
Jarrett Jack looked like he forgot how to play basketball last night, but I'm holding.
Lou Williams was 0-for-7, but is still trying to get healthy.
Hakim Warrick had just five points, but the Heat stifled the Suns last night.
Gilbert Arenas hit just 3-of-9 shots for nine points. He's hit or miss this year.
Andray Blatche had just 10 points and three boards, but says his knee is better.
Ron Artest hit just 1-of-3 shots for three points, and I have zero interest in him.
Caron Butler returned from 3-game absence, but had just five points.
Travis Outlaw's on-again, off-again year continues – 1-of-12, three points.
Terrence Williams returned from injury, but failed to score in six minutes.
Taj Gibson is now 1-of-16 in last two as Drew Gooden nears a return.
Tiago Splitter was a DNP-CD and should be dropped in most leagues.
Free Agent Fodder
Sonny Weems had a career-high 25 points and is now near the top of heap when it comes to guys you should pick up. He's started in four straight, two of which included a healthy Linas Kleiza. He hit 10-of-18 shots and a three, and may have permanently locked up the starting SF job. He's scored in double figures in six straight games and may have rendered Kleiza, who hit 1-of-7 shots last night, useless for the time being.
Al-Farouq Aminu started again for the Clippers and hit 7-of-11 shots and three 3-pointers for 17 points and some other goodies last night, and is another guy we should no longer be sleeping on.
Channing Frye had 14 points, six boards, a steal and two threes for the Suns.
Evan Turner double-doubled again for the Sixers.
Kris Humphries had 15 rebounds while Murphy rots on the inactive
Landry Fields came back to earth with 10 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.
George Hill woke up with 14 points and a nice line for the Spurs.
Marco Belinelli bounced back with 17 points and three 3-pointers for the Hornets.
Austin Daye had 12 points, 7 boards, 2 blocks and a 3 in another Pistons loss.
Delonte West returned from suspension for 12 points and a full stat line, but the game was a blowout. Just put him on your radar.
