Fantasy related but good info...
Walking In Utah - Barely
Monday night featured seven games and more injury concerns for several superstars, including new ones for Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Millsap, Andrew Bogut and Brandon Bass. And in more a positive take, the Pacers and Roy Hibbert are ready for a rebirth, while Danny Granger, Andray Blatche and Gerald Wallace continue to wallow in a funk. And after a slow Monday night, things really crawl on Tuesday with just four games on the docket.
Be sure to stick around to the end to see my rankings of 20 Free Agents in what I like to call Biggie Smalls.
[SIZE=+1]
Injury Report[/SIZE]
All That Jazz
Andrei Kirilenko left in fourth quarter with what could be a severe left ankle sprain. I'm the only one calling it that, but it was bad enough to require X-rays (negative) and a walking boot, and leaves him very iffy for Wednesday's game. I'm hoping for positive news tomorrow, as he's the engine driving one of my teams this week. What hurts even more is he was on fire coming in, mainly due to the absence of Deron Williams, and had 13 points, 11 boards, three assists, two steals, three blocks and a three last night. And to no one's surprise, he missed Tuesday's practice.
Deron Williams missed his third straight game with a left wrist injury and was wearing a soft cast during the game. He hoped to test it today but sat out practice instead. He's still pretty iffy for Wednesday.
Paul Millsap dislocated the pinkie finger on his left hand and had it wrapped in ice for the remainder of the first quarter, but remarkably started the second quarter and finished with a double-double in a tough Jazz win. Go ahead and put him down for Rick Kamla's Warrior of the Week for Monday's fantasy show. He's a game-time decision for Wednesday, and while the fact he played through it last night is very encouraging, he's going to be in a ton of pain today and tomorrow. He's also got a swollen and bruised right thumb, but that seems to be a much smaller problem at this point.
Good News On Gordon?
Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith gave a very promising report during last night's Clippers game that suggested Gordon was on track to return to the lineup sooner than later, causing many of us to get excited. But the report may not have had much basis and I'm hearing that instead of day-to-day, he's really still on track to be out a few more weeks. Either way, owners of Gordon should simply keep him benched until further notice, expect him to miss significant time and hope that me makes an early return. Randy Foye had another 20-point game and should be owned in all leagues for now.
Boom Goes the Dynamite
Andrew Bogut, whom the Boom Goes the Dynamite kid calls Andrew Bo-Got, went down with a right knee injury very late in Monday's game and is set to have an MRI. X-Rays were negative and he had a nice game, but this injury is a little scary. "Hopefully it's just a knee bruise. It's swollen up already," Bogut said. Add this to the problems Bogut has dealt with all season, and it's pretty amazing that he leads the league in blocks at 2.8 per game.
John Salmons has missed eight straight games with a hip injury but finally sounds like he could be back on Wednesday. All that's going to do is turn the Milwaukee rotation into a true cluster-you-know-what, and Salmons is a guy I'm not even trying to own right now.
www.miamiheat.ws
King of Pain
Jason Thompson is out tonight for the Kings with a sprained right ankle and mentioned on Twitter that he was already bummed about the time he's going to miss. This clears the way for Samuel Dalembert to start alongside DeMarcus Cousins, and I'm expecting a big week from Sammy D. But beyond the next few games, it's tough to tell what Paul Westphal will do next.
Knick Knacks
Amare Stoudemire got Tuesday off from practice in order to rest and recover after being banged up in his last game, but sounds like a go for Wednesday. The Knicks should get Wilson Chandler (calf) and Shawne Williams (suspension) back on Wednesday night.
Great Salt Lakes
Andrew Bynum's knee pain doesn't sound like it will keep him out of Tuesday's game against the Rockets and the good news is it's his left knee, and not the one he had surgically repaired, that is giving him problems. Leave him in your lineup.
Bass-O-Matic? Not so much
Brandon Bass dropped with a sprained left ankle last night and I'm guessing he misses time with this one. He had to basically be carried to the locker room where X-rays turned out negative. Ryan Anderson's minutes and production have been a little funky in two of his last three games, including last night, but if Bass is going to miss a few games, Anderson should be a beast, and could even start. And what a great opportunity to revisit this gem.
Portlandia
Nicolas Batum is expected to return from his scary knee injury tonight and should be in most lineups until further notice. It sounded like he was seriously injured the night he went down, but it turned out to be a false alarm – something Portland could use a lot more of these days. Have you seen Portlandia yet?
Marcus Camby sounds like he's on track to return from his knee injury at some point in the near future, but it might not be this week.
Okafor Out
Emeka Okafor (left oblique strain) will be out one to three weeks, meaning his consecutive games streak will end at 306. Don't rush out to grab Jason Smith or David Andersen, as they should only offer value in very deep leagues.
Piston Pain
Ben Wallace was back at practice from a personal leave on Tuesday, which could be bad news for red-hot Greg Monroe. Rodney Stuckey still isn't doing much with his shoulder injury, ruled himself out for Wednesday and could miss the whole week. However, he also says he's feeling better, so we'll see what the weekend brings.
Keep reading for What We Learned On Monday
<!--RW-->
[SIZE=+1]
What We Learned Monday[/SIZE]
Technically Speaking
Dwight Howard picked up a very dumb technical foul late last night, that I saw referred to somewhere as "selfish," which is a good way to describe it. That make 14 for Howard, which means he's only two away from the magic one-game suspension that will come from his 16th. This one won't be rescinded, meaning he's got to make it through 33 more games with only one tech. Good luck with that one, Superman.
The Bucks Stop Here
Carlos Delfino barely showed up, Ersan Ilyasova can't miss, Corey Maggette is streaking, Brandon Jennings is on a minutes count, Andrew Bogut has a bum knee, Keyon Dooling is still clinging to a little value and the Bucks rotation is as messy as ever.
All of these guys, along with John Salmons once he's back from his hip injury, are going to cancel each other out every other night. Clearly Delfino, Ilyasova, Maggette, Jennings and Bogut have fantasy value, but if you choose to roll with any of them, expect plenty of headaches along the way. Delfino looked like a must-start player this week and had just four points on 2-of-9 shooting. Good luck choosing your spots with these guys if you own them. As for Jennings, it sounds like his minutes cap might be over and he could be back in the starting five on Wednesday.
Free At Last
The Pacers crushed the Raptors last night with Roy Hibbert going off for 24 points, 11 boards, two steals and two blocks. Yes, it came against Andrea Bargnani, but coach Frank Vogel was shouting encouragement to Roy throughout the game and he was running around like a kid on Christmas after the game. Much like when Al Jefferson was shipped out of Minnesota, things are coming up roses for Hibbert again and the Pacers are going to go to him.
Danny Granger was awful again, hitting just 3-of-15 shots, and I don't know what it's going to take for him to get back on track. I'm trying to trade him for Tyreke Evans, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not. Darren Collison was also giddy after the game and rookie Paul George filled the stat sheet with 16 points, four rebounds, a steal, two blocks and a 3-pointer. He also earned his new coach's trust by playing meaningful minutes with the game on the line, and he could end up negatively impacting Mike Dunleavy's minutes going forward. I think he'll get 30 minutes a game on nights when he's feeling it, and 20 minutes on the other ones. I also think he's worth owning in most leagues that have 12 teams or more.
Tyler Hansbrough returned from his walking pneumonia and had 14 points and six rebounds in just 15 minutes, while starter Josh McRoberts played 33 minutes for four points and six rebounds. I don't know how long McBob will keep the starting job, but I do know that Hansbrough is getting ready to make some noise. I like him as a pickup in most leagues, along with George, depending on your needs.
Chairman of the Board?
Mike Miller had another double-double last night and has done so in three of his last five games. I have no idea how he's getting to the glass with such ease, but he is. Like most of the Bucks, I think Miller's worth owning and is even startable, but you have got to be ready for some really quiet nights to go along with the good ones. And speaking of quiet nights, Chris Bosh had just 10 points and seven boards as the Heat crushed the Cavs.
Crash In A Funk
Gerald Wallace was not a good basketball player again last night and I don't know what his problem is. He took just seven shots and scored seven points, which marks his unlucky third straight seven-point game. He's scored seven or six points in four of his last six and things can't get much worse for Wallace. The good news is there is no way he keeps this up the rest of the way and he should only get better from here, as long as there's not some unknown injury, and now is the perfect time to swoop in and make a deal to land Wallace.
Blatche's Bad Double-double
A quick look at Andray Blatche's double-double last night and owners were probably pleased with his 16 points, 13 boards and a block, but he hit just 4-of-17 shots after hitting 4-of-12 in his previous game. Like Danny Granger, Blatche is standing out there firing up ill-advised bombs instead of working the post and playing like a big man. I have a feeling Flip Saunders is about to get in Blatche's face about his shot selection and expect it to improve in the upcoming week. We'll see.
Teammate JaVale McGee was back from the flu last night, coming off the bench and then quickly picked up two fouls, as usual. His early foul trouble has become a major fantasy headache, as few players are as inconsistent as McGee. Luckily, I also own Hibbert in most of the leagues that I have McGee in, and am planning on benching JaValevator until further notice. His 6-block double-double games are fun, but he disappears on too many nights to be counted on in fantasy.
Quick Hits
Mike Conley had his first 20-10 game with 26 points, 11 assists and four threes.
Devin Harris had a career-high 18 assists last night.
Brook Lopez had four rebounds to go along with 27 points.
Kenyon Martin quietly returned, but will likely sit on Friday or Saturday.
Travis Outlaw had a nice game for Nets, but don't trust him.
Anthony Morrow scored 18 and is worth picking up.
Manny Harris scored 20 for the Cavs, but is headed out of the starting 5.
Yi Jianlian double-doubled for the Wiz, but don't get too excited.
Jason Kidd turned a 3-of-8 shooting night into a fantasy goldmine.
Dirk Nowitzki proved he hasn't forgotten how to shoot a basketball.
Tyson Chandler had 18 & 18 despite tweaking an ankle.
Kwame Brown might be turning back into Kwame Brown.
D.J. Augustin isn't slowing down.
DeAndre Jordan had 16 & 7 with 5 blocks, and Dunk of the night
Blake Griffin is still a Beast
Free Agent Frenzy
I'm getting a ton of questions about who to pick up, so here's how I rank the hot players right now.
Biggies
1. Roy Hibbert
2. Marcin Gortat
3. J.J. Hickson
4. Samuel Dalembert
5. Amir Johnson
6. Greg Monroe
7. Tyler Hansbrough
8. Chuck Hayes
9. Josh McRoberts
10. Kwame Brown
Smalls
1. Randy Foye
2. Ben Gordon
3. Paul George
4. Mike Miller
5. Anthony Morrow
6. Wesley Johnson
7. Daniel Gibson
8. Gilbert Arenas
9. C.J. Miles
10. Marcus Thornton
Carmelo Anthony - F - Nuggets </TD></TR><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=bodyCopy>Carmelo Anthony said Monday that he is willing to become a free agent after the season is over despite concerns over the new CBA.</TD></TR><TR><TD>
