Fantasy related but good info......
KG And Others Are Down & Out
Friday's New Year's Eve schedule is tricky, as there are four 3 p.m. Eastern tip offs. Hornets @ Celtics, Nets @ Bulls, Wizards @ Pacers and Warriors @ Bobcats all go early today. Then you've got Toronto @ Houston at 7, Atlanta @ OKC at 8, Detroit @ Phoenix @ 9, and the Sixers at Lakers @ 10:30. In other words, don't wait any longer than necessary to set your lineup.
Things Just Getting Good…
Kevin Garnett's MRI was negative, meaning he doesn't have a devastating injury, but it does sound like he'll miss a couple weeks with his calf injury. Things were just going too well for KG, who looked like a vintage version of himself until going down in Wednesday's game. Two weeks might be optimistic, as Doc Rivers is pretty conservative with his injured stars. And KG's recent history suggests there's no reason to rush him back, while it's also worth noting that he was day-to-day with a knee injury before sitting out for months and months a couple years ago. Bench him until further notice and grab Glen Davis if he's still available in your league.
Rajon Rondo is a game-time decision for Friday with his lingering ankle injury. I'm guessing he sits out this afternoon, so keep him benched unless we have a good-news update shortly before game time. The Celtics play at 3 p.m. on Friday.
www.miamiheat.ws
Shut 'Em Down
Brandon Roy and the Blazers are now considering shutting him down for the entire season. Even if he decides to keep playing through his knee injury he's a low-end option going forward. I would probably cut him in most leagues, unless I could stash him long-term without hurting my team. This is a pretty sad story, but it's starting to look like he will never be the player we all thought he would before his chronic knee problems put a stop to such a promising career. He's been on waiver wires in a couple of my leagues, and I expect to see him showing up on more and more of them in the near future.
Achilles Last Stand?
Andre Iguodala missed Thursday's practice and remains iffy for Friday's game against the Lakers due to his achilles injury. He sounds like a game-time decision, but I'm guessing there's a better chance he's out than playing. If he is in street clothes, Andres Nocioni is a decent option if you need someone to plug up a hole in your lineup.
Dinosaur Jr.
Jose Calderon (foot), Sonny Weems (back) and Jerryd Bayless (ankle) all missed practice on Thursday. All three are iffy for Friday, but only Calderon should be given the green light in fantasy on Friday if we learn he will play. And if he and Bayless are out, Leandro Barbosa looks like a great short-term fantasy option. Andrea Bargnani (calf) hasn't even rejoined the team and isn't likely to play on Friday. Joey Dorsey, Ed Davis and Amir Johnson will all get extra minutes in his absence.
Darko On The Edge Of Town
Darko Milicic sat out practice with his hip injury and is day-to-day. He's so banged up right now with various injuries it's best to get him benched and wait until he's healthy again. Hopefully the Wolves give him a couple days off to get his body right.
Injury Roundup
Marvin Williams is out for Friday's game at OKC with a back injury. The Hawks will probably start their big lineup, featuring Jason Collins at center. Marvin is day-to-day with a back injury, but could miss the Hawks four-game road trip.
Kirk Hinrich is listed as day-to-day with a left thigh contusion, meaning John Wall and Nick Young remain must-starts, and are probably worth using whether Hinrich is healthy or not.
Chuck Hayes left Thursday's practice in a wheel chair with an ankle injury and is expected to miss anywhere from two to four weeks. He had been playing very well, but Brad Miller and Jordan Hill are going to see a boost with Hayes out for an extended period.
Carlos Boozer missed Friday's practice for personal reasons but is expected to play on Friday. Keep him active, but watch for updates to make sure he's good to go against the Nets.
Jordan Farmar will have an MRI on his bum knee and is not expected to play for the Nets on Friday. He's really cooled off, which means this injury news isn't likely to hurt many fantasy teams, as Farmar should have already been on the bench.
Andrew Bynum will remain the starting center for the Lakers as long as he's healthy. This isn't an automatic death sentence for Lamar Odom's fantasy value, but it's also not ideal. If you remained patient with Bynum over the last month or so, he's going to start paying off (if he can stay on two legs).
Keep reading for Fantasy Game Recaps from Thursday.
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Leaving New York Never Easy
Gilbert Arenas and Jameer Nelson split minutes evenly on Thursday, each scoring 10 points in a win over the Knicks. The timeshare between Arenas and Nelson is becoming annoying, and owners can expect serious inconsistency from both players until further notice. Jason Richardson scored nine, while Hedo Turkoglu had 17 points, nine rebounds and two more 3-pointers in the win. Brandon Bass, J.J. Redick and Ryan Anderson each added 14 points in the win, and while all three are worth a serious look given their recent play, it just doesn't feel like it's going to last. Eventually, you have to think JRich and Arenas are going to turn it on, while Bass and Anderson will cancel each other out. You also have to think Arenas, Nelson and Richardson will eventually drown out Redick, but it hasn't happened yet. Let's just keep in mind this team has only been together for about a week. As for Turkoglu, he actually looks like he will continue to keep playing well for the Magic, which is apparently the only team he can play for.
The Knicks got 30 out of Amare Stoudemire, 29 out of Wilson Chandler and 15 out of Shawne Williams, who won't go away. Williams has been doing this every couple games or so, but would have to replace Landry Fields in the starting five to have real value. Raymond Felton struggled with his shot, Danilo Gallinari somehow attempted just five shots in 41 minutes, and Fields disappeared for the second straight game. Toney Douglas injured an ankle and is now iffy for Sunday. Felton will obviously bounce back, but I am getting a little concerned about Fields after two of his worst lines of the season. Let's give him a couple more games before panicking, as I'm guessing he's got a double-double coming soon. If he continues to struggle, his dream run could be over. But his coach loves him, he's earned his job and will probably bounce back once his slump is over. As for Gallinari, I have no idea how he got just five shots tonight. He had 10 points and seven rebounds, but this is not what his owners need from him. He'll bounce back, and will be especially effective if Fields is going to continue to struggle.
Texas Never Whispers
The Spurs took advantage of the absence of Dirk Nowitzki and beat the Mavericks in Dallas for the battle of Texas on Thursday. Tim Duncan, who has been written off by many for his recent slump, had 17 points and 11 boards on the night, while Gary Neal stole the show with 21 points, five rebounds and five 3-pointers on 6-of-10 shooting. I'm as surprised as anyone that Neal is still producing with George Hill back from his injury, but he did it tonight. Neal is worth a look in fantasy, but is going to be inconsistent as long as Hill is healthy. Hill had 12 points, while Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili had decent lines. DeJuan Blair was the odd man out tonight with just four points and one rebound in 12 minutes, and it's becoming clear that Gregg Popovich isn't going to play along with fantasy owners trying to squeeze juice out of Blair and Duncan. Good luck trying to figure out which player is going to go off and get minutes from night to night. Richard Jefferson struggled for seven points on 3-of-10 shooting, and can be owned or dropped in most leagues. He's the textbook definition of a borderline fantasy player.
Dirk remains day-to-day, but don't be surprised if the Mavs hold him out for another game or two in order to make sure his knee is fully healthy before running him back out there.
Jason Kidd had his 106th career triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, and also kicked in two steals, two blocks and two 3-pointers in the loss. Yeah, he hit just 5-of-15 shots, but fantasy owners should bow down to Kidd for saving his best week of the season for his five-game slate. I say trade him on Monday. Caron Butler, who was also a popular play this week with Dirk's injury, had a season-high 30 points and hit 9-of-9 free throws, but Shawn Marion struggled with just 10 points and two boards. But in a five-game week, Marion has still been worth starting, despite his last two lines of mediocrity. Brian Cardinal started for Dirk and had nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from downtown, but should be ignored in fantasy.
Short-handed Blazers Shock Short-handed Jazz
Andrei Kirilenko (back), C.J. Miles (flu) and Mehmet Okur (back) all missed Thursday's game against the Blazers, which probably contributed to the loss for Utah. Okur is awaiting results of an MRI, and while his injury isn't thought to be serious, I think fantasy owners might be chasing fool's gold by hanging onto him. He's been hurt too much this season and it's going to take him several weeks of healthy play to become a real contributor in fantasy leagues.
The Blazers made this win happen without Brandon Roy, getting a career-high 30 points from Wesley Matthews, who torched his former team, and big lines from LaMarcus Aldridge (27 points) and Andre Miller (16 & 10). Nicolas Batum had just nine points on 3-of-7 shooting, but with Roy being shut down indefinitely, he should be picked up in most leagues. Marcus Camby bounced back from a sprained ankle and exploded for four points, a season-high 20 rebounds, five dimes, two steals and two blocks in 35 minutes. Hopefully you were brave enough to start him in this one.
Deron Williams, Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap all played well for the Jazz, while Gordon Hayward scored 11 points in another start for Kirilenko. Utah is off until Saturday, while the Blazers don't play until Sunday.
