• Monta Ellis will be back in the starting lineup and play 20 to 30 minutes for the Warriors on Friday. We have no choice but to wait and see how prophetic Don Nelson’s quote turns out to be:
“I was very concerned that he would maybe never be the same player again … he severed two tendons in his ankle, and they had to surgically repair them and put pins in them and a whole bunch of stuff — and I was thinking he may never be the same again, but I can assure you that he will be,” Nelson said.
Some things to contemplate heading into Ellis’ debut here (you’ll also note that his contract situation remains heated behind the scenes).
• Elton Brand is also ready to return and the plan is that he’ll do so on Saturday, as a reserve and in five-minute stretches while he works to improve his conditioning. An interesting note: given there recent success, there is speculation that the Sixers could try going small against some teams moving forward, with Brand playing center.
• Other injury notes: Marcus Camby practiced Thursday without issue and he may play on Friday – his status will be determined after the morning shootaround .. As for Baron Davis? No good news here .. Devin Harris is doubtful for Friday .. Jose Calderon went full speed at practice on Thursday and all signs point to a Friday return .. While their respective returns remain up in the air, Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest did return to practice on Thursday .. Andrew Bogut is still having back problems.
• The Grizzlies fired Mike Iavaroni on Thursday, citing the poor record and lack of player development. The Grizz are exactly on pace to match their 22-60 record from last season (currently at 11-30), they continue to get zero production from the point guard position (last in the league at 16.6 assists per game), and Rudy Gay appears to have regressed. Struggles are to be expected for a young team with so little depth, but the death knell was that players gradually began to question the system Iavaroni had in place. Lionel Hollins will take over on an interim basis (Avery Johnson has already turned down an offer to take over).
The change could provide a temporary spark for the team, but the roster remains the same (a new take on the Conley/Sessions delay here) and there are still plenty of questions that need to be answered. Was the problem at point guard the system or the talent? Gay and O.J. Mayo clearly are great talents, but are they a mismatched pair? Could a lack of motivation for Gay be part of the problem? Is the rookie wall about to rear it’s ugly head?
• Here’s to hoping that Andrew Bynum‘s domination of the Clippers’ and Wizards’ depleted front lines over the past two games (combined 65 points on 25 of 36 shooting, 29 boards, and 4 blocks) is a springboard to a huge second half. Bynum has now scored in double figures in nine straight games, averaging 20.4 points on 61 percent shooting over that stretch (albeit, also with a disappointing 7.1 boards and 1.3 blocks).
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I’m really curious to see how Brand’s return affects Iguodala. If Philly indeed opts for a small-ball approach, Iggy theoretically won’t take a huge hit.
Matt, any thoughts on how Iavaroni’s firing affects Memphis’s ‘role players’ (guys like Gasol, Warrick, etc.)? As a Gasol owner, I’m a bit concerned.
given the dearth of talent, anyone that takes over mid-season (1) shouldn’t try to make wholesale changes immediately and (2) should simply put their best players on the floor as often as possible. unless a veteran coach takes over soon, i wouldn’t expect drastiaclly different gameplans. and i don’t see anyone on that roster as a real threat to gasol’s PT, and warrick is clearly the #1 option among the team’s second unit (i like the arrangement with arthur starting), so they should be pretty safe moving forward
I’m a bit concerned on how the return of calderon will affect AP’s production going forward or will it?? Grant Hill is on my wire and i’m thinking about pulling the trigger on this?
his assists will certainly go down.. i’d probably go with hill over parker, but you may wait a day or two to see if calderon has a set-back(?)
They should just stop updating Baron Davis’ news feed on Yahoo, so that I stop getting excited when I see the red and yellow note next to his name every few days, thinking it will be announcing his return, only to read about another setback.
Rudy Gay has been a little disappointing this year. he hasn’t been awful or anything, but i thought i was getting a steal by getting him at the turn of 4th-5th round. any ideas on the interim coach’s philosophy or on potential coaching replacements besides Avery? maybe a sam mitchell or someone who will go up-tempo…
Hola forum. I’m looking to add some blocks and saw that Sean Williams has been recently recalled from the D LEague. In the past he’s been a terrific shot blocker when he gets some minutes.
I’d assume that Lopez has firmly cemented his spot in New Jersey, but was curious to see if anyone had a perspective in which Williams becomes a 3 block a game type player again.
It also seems that he had big motivational issues earlier in the year, but I know very little about this team.
Any thoughts?
williams could without a doubt be a 3 block/game player .. if he had stayed in the d-league. he’s a lost cause
Charlie V!!!working out to be my best wire pick-up this year, patience is a virtue!!
You put a poll up regarding Yao Ming staying healthy, and look what happens to him… Way to jynx him Matt, you should be ashamed.
Hahaha! Yeah Matt , way to go!
Is it time to drop Azubuike now that Monta is back?
fairly safe, but it depends who you’d be picking up
is it fair to drop shane battier? Battier continues to underachieve even with t-mac and artest out for significant periods of time. I consistently start him over better options (ariza, deng, etc.) hoping that he’ll become the 1+ 3/blk/stl player hes been in years past. is it his foot? is he just old? emergence of wafer? this guy is killing me.
Depending on who’s available, I might drop Battier. Wafer available?
More importantly, I’d be benching easily for deng, perhaps Ariza, until battier shows he’s out of his funk.
drop him like a hot-potato, he’s done
mr bob dobalina … love that .. anyway yeah battier has been a disappointment so far, and is likely to continue to be marginalized. nice game friday after yao left though (2 3pt, 12 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk)
Matt and anyone else,
I need trade advice..
In my keeper league I was just offered Granger for Durant. When I first acquired Durant, I asked the guy if he’d trade Granger for him straight up. He said “no” pretty much immedietely. But I’m not surprised that after Durant’s monster game last night, he’s seeing if I still want Granger for him.
My other 4 keepers are Lebron, Chris Paul, Bosh, and Westbrook/Bargnani.
If this was a normal league, I’d obviously take it. But it’s a keeper league and Durant is only 20 years old. I’ve already said I feel like he can end up being the closest thing to Lebron… Better FT% but fewer assists. All the other stats I think will be similar to Lebron’s once Durant reaches his prime.
In my gut I’m saying reject. But I hate rejecting people’s trades.. Maybe because I’m a girl. And I’ll feel bad saying no because I offered him the trade a couple weeks ago.
So what do you think?
Thanks
Keep Durant, his all-around game is above and beyond Granger’s…how the heck did you end up with a loaded team like that??nice line-up!! Durant will never give you what Lebron does, ever…
FG% Ft% RB AT ST BL TO PPG
Lebron- 49 77 7.2 6.8 2.1 1.3 3.1 27.9
Durant 46 86 6.6 2.6 1.3 0.8 3.2 24.7
I don’t see durant ever approaching lebron’s assists, or steals, obviously he is better at the line but Lebron has improved quite a bit there this year
I said “closest thing” to Lebron. You have to look at Durant’s numbers since he change to SF. His averages over the last month:
48% FG, 90% FT, 1.3 3ptm, 26.7 ppg, 9 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.7 bpg
He just turned 20 like 4 months ago, so not bad.
Year 2 for Lebron he averaged 1.4 3ptm, 27 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl, 0.7 blk
Pretty similar to Durant’s numbers this year.
In 80 games last year, Durant made 59 3′s at 28%.
In 43 games this year, Durant has made 57 3′s at 42%.
So I like the progression.
This is the 4th or 5th year of the keeper league. It’s my 2nd year. Two years ago me and another new manager replaced two managers and drafted from their two teams and the FA list. It’s a 3-sport keeper league, and since he got to pick first in baseball. I got to pick first in basketball. And Lebron was available, by the grace of God. So I drafted him.
So that’s how I got him. I had Granger, but traded him for Gay. Oops! (But if you compare their numbers last year, you can’t blame me for pulling the trigger.. Gay and Granger had similar numbers, and Gay was only 20! I expected Gay to do what Granger is doing this year)
I traded Roy, Al Jefferson, and my #1 pick for Chris Paul.
Towards the end of the year I got Bynum for real cheap since he was out for the season.
My keepers last year were Lebron, Chris Paul, Rudy Gay, Bynum, and Zach Randolph.
This year I traded Rudy Gay, Andrew Bynum, and my 1st rd pick for Chris Bosh and his 3rd rd pick.
I traded Randolph to get Biedrins.
I traded Biedrins and Duhon for Calderon and Westbrook.
I traded Calderon, my 2nd rd pick, and my 3rd rd pick for Durant and his last 2 picks.
So that’s how I got to where I am now with Lebron, Paul, Bosh, Durant, and Westbrook.
I don’t have a 1st or 2nd round pick, but in my mind it’s worth it… There are so many sleepers every year, I’m confident I’ll be able to draft a great team around my keepers.
I have Forte, Fitzgerald, and Calvin Johnson in football.
I have Lincecum, Braun, Josh Hamilton, Quentin, and Kinsler in baseball.
But my commish won’t recognize me as GM of the year
I’d say it depends on whether your league has playoffs. Indiana has the fewest possible games in the playoffs at 15 (6 and 9) while OKC has 17 (7 and 10). And you’d want to observe if Granger’s production will take a slight hit with Dunleavy’s return, particularly his scoring.
Yeah, I’ll most likely be in the playoffs. I’m 7-1 heading into today’s games. 3rd place, 5 games out of 1st.. And the 1st place team is currently losing 2-6.
The top 3 have separated themselves from the rest. 8 weeks left and a 15 game lead over 7th place, I should easily finish in the top 6.
I e-mailed Steve Alexander of Rotoworld and he responded.. Good question but yeah, 2 years from now durant will be THE MAN. But its a good offer. I’d just rather have durant.
So I rejected.
Then this morning he offered Al Jefferson, Scola, and Marvin Williams for Durant, Westbrook, and Gallinari… Because I guess that’s better??
So I countered.. Durant, Westbrook, and Bargnani for Granger and Al Jefferson.
That would give me Lebron, Paul, Granger, Bosh, and Jefferson as my keepers… Haha. But I doubt he’ll accept.
it makes sense to stick with durant, although i don’t agree with the statement that his “all-around game is above and beyond Granger’s”
I’d do the trade for Granger for your team if it was me. Granger’s stats are really good across the board but he is putting in over 2.5 threes/game this year and none of your other keepers are likely to put up more than 2/gm. that’s my 2 cents
Yeah the 3′s and the all-around game are nice from Granger.. But 3′s aren’t a need on my team. I get plenty of 3′s from Cook, Fisher, Butler, Bargnani, Lebron, Moon, and Parker. The last 2 weeks my team has made 51 and 52 3′s. I have 41 so far this week.
And I mentioned in a previous post that Durant almost has as many 3′s this year as he did last year, in about half as many games. And he’s shooting 3′s at 42% this year compared to 28% last year. I don’t know how many 3′s he made in college, but I feel like he can be a good source.
Keep Durant, he is going to be a beast. Even though you really cant go wrong because Granger is playing lights out and will continue playing that way for a long time. They both have a solid all-around game so there really isn’t a bad choice when picking between those two guys.
But I do need some team advice. I have been in first place in my league even though I have been battling injuries the whole year and my top 2 seeding for the playoffs is secure (top 2 seeds get byes).
Here is my team:
PG: Billups
SG: Roy
G: Terry
G: Gordon
SF: Dunleavy
PF: Nowitzki
F:D. Lee
F: Nene
C: Duncan
Util: Wafer
Util: Garcia
Util: Bargnani
Util: Bonner
Bn: Collins
Bn: Melo
Bn: Jordan
Bn: Delonte West
Bn: Kaman
Bn: Ilgauskas
Melo and Big Z are coming back this week but should I just wait until West and Kaman come back, if they ever come back? I could use some more assist but since my league also counts TO’s, I split those two cat’s. With Kaman being hurt, im merely above average when it comes to blocks but of course those are hard to come by via trade without hurting your other cat’s. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
I have both players in one of my leagues, I’m waiting for West, and I quit on Kaman. First, his return keeps getting pushed back, and I do wonder what the long term effect of this particular injury would be to him and his playing time considering Zach and Camby would likely be long back by then–and those 2 do gel well. If you can get somebody who could fill in admirably, I’d say quit waiting. Oh, and if you really need blocks, and just that, I’m sure Turiaf would do admirably.
Who are the top players available in your league? West is out about 5 more weeks, right? I’d probably drop him. And you have some solid big men. If you need blocks, drop Kaman for Turiaf.
Redd injured his knee last night and is having an MRI today. If he sprained a ligament and has to miss a couple weeks, I’d add Sessions. He was putting up pretty solid numbers the last time Redd was injured.
There’s something that’s disappointed me far more than Brand and Baron put together. ‘Buser sports’. Was that the best name you could come up with? What about Carlos Buser.com, or Hoops A-Buser.com, the Buse Brothers.com, maybe Buse Chips.com, and Nick Nolte could do a weekly rant. The possibilities seem endless to me.
Anyway, enough of the sparkling repartee. It’s early days yet but what’s your thoughts on Danilo Galinari? I’ve taken a flyer on him over Nenad in the hope that once he gets some parquet time, those blocks at SF will be useful.
Agreed about the Galinari question, his potential line is so tempting to pick up and hold in hopes of more minutes.
Also, any thoughts on Joe Johnson’s awful FG% lately? How much does his value dip if he stays around 40% from here on out? I just traded him straight up for Josh Smith, mostly because of certain roto. needs(FG%, blocks, and surplus of assists and FT%).
I don’t like that Gallinari won’t be playing in any back to back games, for now atleast. Bulging disc in his back? Is it not any better? He just missed 2 1/2 months… Why didn’t he just have surgery or whatever is required to fix it. So I’m thinking about dropping him for Chalmers. Chalmers put up 20 pts, 6 ast, 3 stl last night, he might be boucning back.
As for Joe Johnson. I’m from Atlanta, I go to UGA. I think Woodson is a horrible coach who got bailed out because his athletic team pushed Boston to 7 games in the playoffs.
But if you look at the players.. Horford, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson… Where’s the progression? I blame coaching for that.
Johnson went up to 25 ppg in ’06-’07, but down to 21 ppg last year. And his numbers this year are almost identical to last years numbers.
Josh Smith is an athlete, not a basketball player. He needs to go to the GS Warriors because they play streetball-style, just like Smith. You might think he’s a great defender because of his blocks and steals, but he’s not. He plays HORRIBLE defense. 64% FTs, 23% from 3. Look at his numbers from the past 3 years. He’s hit a plateau at 16 pts, 7.5 reb, 3 ast, 1.5 steals, 2 blk and poor shooting. Your career year shouldn’t come when you’re 22..
Marvin Williams – Bleh. Another guy who was supposed to have a ton of upside, and hasn’t lived up to it. 15 pts, 6 reb, and little else last year. 13 pts, 6 reb, and little else this year. Just another guy who hasn’t progressed over the last 3 years.
Al Horford – I know it’s still early in his career. But isn’t it obvious that he’ll be nothing more than a 12/10 guy who blocks 1.5 shots a game?
I have no Hawks on my roster. I believe Joe Johnson hit a wall last year as well, so I wouldn’t count on him to return to 25 ppg.
Woodson needs to go..
Wow.. MICHAEL REDD TORN ACL. OUT FOR SEASON.
Add Sessions?
I’d say sessions is the winner (if that’s even possible given the gravity of a season-ending injury). Experts are citing Charlie Bell as the early favourite, but I think Skiles will roll with Ridnour, Sessions, Jefferson, Villanueva, and Bogut, before long.
Quick question, an owner in my league dropped Steve Blake, and I currently have two Blazers rostered. Would you drop Rudy Fernandez for Blake for the rest of the season?