• Carmelo Anthony will be back in the lineup on Friday after missing 10 games with a fracture in his right (shooting) hand. While it’s good to have him back, don’t be expecting sparkling offensive numbers from the outset, as neither his hand nor right elbow is actually fully healed at this point. From The Denver Post:
Anthony will have his middle and ring fingers taped together for the foreseeable future. “In this case it’s not going to be fully healed until about another couple of weeks, as far as the fracture goes,” Anthony said. The rest did some good for his banged-up right elbow, which caused him to miss three games in December, Anthony said. “It feels better,” Anthony said. “But that’s not something that’s going to get better in two weeks, three weeks. That’s going to take time to actually heal up.”
Melo made 48.2 percent of 4,506 field goal attempts and 80.1 percent of 1,867 free throw attempts during the past three seasons, but those numbers have fallen to a respective 43.7 percent and 76.8 percent during the current season.
• Other status updates: Danny Granger expects to be back in the lineup on Friday … David West will “probably” play Friday night … Gerald Wallace is out of the hospital and a long way from returning to the court … Andrew Bogut will return on a limited basis on Friday, and Luke Ridnour is not expected to miss any time after taking an elbow to the face on Wednesday … There’s a “pretty good chance” that Zydrunas Ilgauskas will return to the lineup on Friday … Shawn Marion’s groin is feeling better but he’s questionable for Friday.
• Andrei Kirilenko will undergo right ankle sugery on Friday to remove a bone fragment that has been causing him serious discomfort in recent weeks – he tried to delay the procedure until the offseason, but even three cortisone shots weren’t enough to allow him to do that. He’s expected to need three to four weeks of recovery. Jerry Sloan plans to spread out Kirilenko’s minutes evenly among some starters (Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles) and reserves (Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring).
• The Thunder have lost Desmond Mason, their starting shooting guard in 18 of the past 20 games, for the rest of the season due to a hyper-extended right knee. Despite the starts, Mason’s fantasy impact was negligible – he averaged 7.1 points on 43 percent shooting, and 4.1 boards in 29 minutes of 19 starts on the season. Deep leaguers will want to take note of the fact that there are now 30 minutes to fill in the rotation, however – the most likely candidate to play more is Earl Watson, although he is already averaging 28 minutes in January (along with 7.5 points and 5.5 assists). Scott Brooks says the rotation could be “very flexible” in terms of going big (Nenad Krstic or Chris Wilcox) or small (Watson or Chucky Atkins), depending on matchups.
• What are the chances that Baron Davis‘ field goal percentage (currently .355) improves in February? What about over the remainder of the season?
• If you were the Heat, would you rather pick up Jermaine O’Neal or Brad Miller for the next 1.5 seasons? Miller makes at least as much sense, particuarly if O’Neal can’t/doesn’t show much life leading up to the deadline. Miller/Thomas for Marion/Banks works in the trade machine.
AK-47 strikes again. Sooner or later, he was going to get hurt again. 3-4 weeks to recover from surgery seems a bit optimistic considering his history… what do you think, Matt?
To answer your questions: Baron’s FG% will not improve. As long as Dunleavy is not letting him run free, Baron will keep hoisting up ill-advised shots and will never be comfortable in that system. As for the Heat, I’d definitely take Brad Miller. Miller’s over the hill but he’s still got skills and can make plays. He’s certainly an upgrade over Joel Anthony and could make more of an impact than Marion has this year. JO is done. People are still treating him like it’s 2006 and he’s gonna bounce back. He’s not. If they trade for O’Neal, Joel Anthony will be back in the starting lineup soon enough because JO will just get hurt again.
Congrats to my main man Danny Granger for making the All-Star team. I definitely don’t regret taking him with my 1st pick (12th overall). I think Al Jefferson deserved a spot more than David West though; I don’t subscribe to the theory that only guys from good teams can be All-Stars. Save that for the MVP discussion.
I agree that Al Jefferson Darcy should be an all-star, but it should be over Shaq instead of West. I just can’t justify all-star when a guy who is healthy but isn’t playing in every game. It’s like Roger Clemens (pitching 5 innings a start) was being talked about as Cy Young when Chris Carpenter was clearly the better and more valuable pitcher (at least baseball got it right).
Yeah, considering Kirilenko’s history, I’m guessing the 3-4 weeks recovery period is absolute best case scenario. I’m struggling with whether to just drop him in a competitive H2H league I’m floundering in.
he’s yet to be dropped in any of my leagues, but if you are hurting to make the playoffs it makes sense to find a way to replace him with an active player. maybe shop him to the playoff locks (if there are any) and see what he might bring? be sure to sell him as “out a few weeks, but a difference maker down the stretch”
Baron Davis will not see an improvement. i rolled the dice with him last year and hit the jackpot, but i knew to stay away this year.
Brad Miller is the best option for the Heat if they want to be successful. JO is injury prone (even more than miller) and miller would probably fit a lot better with them since he is willing to actually set a screen and make contact with the defender (i guess JO is trying not to get hurt?) which would help wade a ton.
Baron Davis will shoot 39.1% from his return until the end of the year, and he’ll take about 17 shots a game. That’s such a brutal number to overcome in roto.
Agreed with RT, Brad Miller would fit well with the Heat. And maybe I’m a little bias but he’d look great spreading the ball around in Celtic green, wouldn’t he?
miller would look just fine on the celtics, but perk doesn’t need to be replaced. i think miller could be VERY nice for the heat, and that reminds me to go see what people want for hawes…
as for b-diddy, people shoulda known better. i wanted nothing to do with him where he went in yahoo leagues (ADP of 14.9)
hawes was just dropped in my 16 team league, my waiver priority isn’t that high, but is it safe to attempt to drop marquis daniels for him?
i figure worst case for hawes is miller doesn’t get traded and he gets 5 mins less than daniels per night (20 or so to daniels’ 25), but is more consistent. daniels was 0-5 shooting last night, at least hawes would get me some boards.
(it’s a points (not categories) league, so i don’t need rebounds more than pts or vice versa)
my other drop options would be derek fisher, beno udrih, leandro barbosa, and tyson chandler.
i think a gamble on hawes is a good one, and i do think daniels makes the most sense as a drop
Is now a good time to start shopping John Salmons? I am reluctant to give him up because he’s great all around and is a surprisingly good source of assists – and he’s even survived the return of Kevin Martin. But now I’m worried that a possible Brad Miller for Marion trade could hurt his production if Marion takes his place in the starting lineup, or if Salmons ends up being traded to a deep team and losing minutes. What do you think?
1 other question: I’m in a standard roto. league with no turnover category and I don’t know who to plug in as my final starter. My options are Brad Miller, Greg Oden, Marvin Williams and Drew Gooden when he comes back.
Should I keep rotating for match-ups or is there a clear choice there that I’m not seeing?
would need to know a bit more about where you are in the standings and your strengths/weaknesses. i’d be deferring to whoever of that group had a no-brainer matchup* on a given night and ranking them miller/williams/oden/gooden in general
*http://basketballmonster.com/teamdifficultyrankings.aspx
Now that Gallinari(not sure on how to spell) is back, would you recommend to drop Wilson Chandler for Francisco Garcia? based on overall production…
although he’ll play some, i don’t think gallinari’s back is going to allow him to be a real threat to chandler’s minutes this season. and i think 29 minutes off the bench instead of 32 as a starter could actually work in chandler’s favor (more efficient production)
garcia is a solid option in his own right – is chandler your worst player?
I think so considering how Thompson’s been playing lately. You think i should go get garcia? or should i just wait out chandler
i’d wait on chandler
It seems like things aren’t looking good for Kirilenko for the future. I have him in my H2H league and he is one of my few contributors to steals (i usually lose steals though). Should I drop him and pick up Kaman, who is sitting on the waivers? A boost in FG%, reb, and blocks would be helpful but I would definitely lose steals most weeks without Kirilenko. Or should I drop Kenyon Martin for Kaman instead and hope AK comes back strong. I want to get rid of Martin since I’m looking forward to the playoffs where he will contribute less than others.
you must have a stacked team if you are talking about dropping kenyon(?). with that said, steals are one of the strengths of his fantasy impact as well
Dalembert with sprained ankle… any fall out from this buser?
I am in a 16 team league and have had Speights on the end of my bench. Think, if he got 25+ a night, that he would be relevant?
he absolutely would be with 25 mpg. in the 12 games where he’s played at least 20 minutes, he’s averaged 12 points on 57 percent shooting, 5.7 boards, and 2.1 blocks
i can see the sixers trying a small lineup with brand at center if sammy d goes out as well
Yeah, I’m not sure DiLeo really wants to put additional pressure on Brand though as the only capable front court rebounder. If Brand moves in the starting lineup, and Sammy isn’t available, I would think DiLeo may throw Theo in there as a nominal starter.
All speculation though. Maybe there will be some info available tomorrow on this, although Philadelphia beat writers are pretty horrible for basketball.
“weatherman tell us it aint gon rain / now we sittin in the droptop soakin wet” Andre3000′s classic line reminds me of how bad rotowire’s injury updates are. i got an awful night from chalmers instead of big Z’s double-double and ariza’s ‘intangible’ line. speaking of ariza, it looks like josh smith is pulling a page out of his quintuple-single book (probly better for my teams %s).
Ariza and Battier are neck in neck for the quintuple single award. There stats are incredibly similar over the last month. And quite deceptive to most owners, which is why they are often on the FA wire, despite consistently ranking in the Y! top 100. However, if Battier picks up his steals a bit, he can come away with the elusive sextuple single. (Last month, Ariza #90, Battier #92; Ariza: .469FG% .800FT% 1.03PT 8.6PT 4.3RB 1.5A 1.4ST 0.4BL 0.9TO; Battier: .375FG% 1.000FT% 1.13PT 5.6PT 6.1RB 2.1A 0.7ST 1.1BL 0.9TO.) Of course, Battier is a bit more brittle. If he gets healthy, I am looking for him to pick up his numbers a bit. Guys like these on the bottom of the roster subtly picks up stats across the board, and are more valuable then some of those with gawdier stats. Maybe Josh Smith is ready to join this club.
Boris Diaw’s last 5 games: 19 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.6 spg, 1.2 bpg, 2.2 threes.
Any chance he can keep that up with Wallace out? I’m assuming he can keep his shooting around 45% FG% and 65-70% FT% over the long term, and my league is TO-free.
I have Diaw as well, getting him in a trade for M. Daniels right after he was traded to the Bobcats. He has to be one of the most versatile players in the league, and gives production across the board. With Wallace out, he is going to be playing SF and possibly back-up point guard, so his assists should improve as well. Juwon Howard will pick up some of his minutes at PF.
yep in general figure on diaw doing VERY well while wallace is out
Quick scenario question:
I am already in line to make the playoffs and its pretty much a guarentee.
My worst players are : randy foye, al harrington, richard jefferson
Players on the waivers: Al horford, Ak47, Boozer, Kaman, G.wallace
Do you recommend that I start dropping some of my players to invest in the playoffs?
H2H format – 9 category
Current strengths: FG/rebs/blks
Current weaknesses: ast/TO/FT
sorry, eliminate ast and blks
I’m in a H2H league with no turnovers category and I don’t know who to plug in as change on my roster. My options are Andrei Kirilenko, Delonte West, Greg Oden, Jamario Moon and Steve Blake on the waivers. So who do I pick up and waive who?
Current roster:
PG – Chris Paul
SG – Joe Johnson
G – Devin Harris
SF – Andrea Bargnani
PF – Zach Randolph
F – Brook Lopez
C – Al Jefferson
C – Big Z
Util – Manu Ginobili
Util – Rudy Gay
BN – Chris Kaman
BN – Al Harrington
BN – Luke Ridnour
*Trade in pending: Diaw/Jamison for Harrington/Gay
Current strengths: 3pt, pts, ast, stl
Current average: reb, blk
Current weaknesses: fg, ft
All the people who thought Bynum deserved a suspension for simply being physical… Perkins made it pretty clear what a REAL flagrant foul looks like last night.
Thank you Perkins.
Come on Ashley, Bynum’s foul was about equally bad as Perkins (surprising that both players play for the team’s the NBA wants to win). Perkins was a little worse since he was clubbing the guy on the back of the head, but Bynum’s was still deserving of a suspension.
Fine, Bynum’s foul was a flagrant foul. But I’m sure he wasn’t trying to hurt Wallace. I think what Bynum did was good. Everyone thinks that Bynum and the Lakers are too soft to win it all. Bynum is finally trying to emerge as a major factor, and all the attention he got for his foul is helping his new image.
I’m even seeing “hockey goon” being associated with him now. If I was an NBA center I’d rather be known as a “goon” than a “softie” so I’m sure would take that as a compliment.
RT you’re killing me. Bynum simply put his arms up and got in front of Wallace. And the fact that Bynum is 275 lbs and Wallace is glass, Wallace broke.
Perkins put Maxiell in a headlock and literally threw him to the ground.
I don’t see any similarities.
the difference is clearly what we are ‘seeing’ – as in, you saw a guy who weighs a lot ‘simply put his arms up’. in my book, not a big difference between the two fouls themselves, even if their intentions were obviously different. (at some point, we’re going to need to agree to disagree on the whole thing)
I see you’re a lakers fan, no big deal. i’d have preffered you just admit it
and i could accept your bias without qualms.
Nope, not a Lakers fan. And I don’t have Bynum on my fantasy team. So no bias. I just think that this is all being blown out of proportion because we’re dealing with Gerald Wallace and he got a broken rib and punctured lung out of the collision. 9/10 players would’ve gotten up from that hit and there wouldn’t have been an issue with the foul.
Sorry, but maybe it’s because I’m a girl.. I expect men to act like men. Especially in PROFESSIONAL sports.
I’m sick of seeing defensive players getting called for personal fouls in football because they hit the QB a half second after he releases the ball or because a defender puts his hand on the QB’s helmet.
I can’t stand guys like Baron Davis because he misses a month due to a “bruised tailbone” and there was even an update recently saying he had some “chest congestion.”
But maybe I’m expecting too much out of these guys. I guess I should get used to these babies who cry everytime they get a boo-boo.
We need more players like Kobe.. Playing with a torn ligament in one finger and a dislocated finger on the other hand. Didn’t sit out the Olympics to rest. If Baron dislocated a finger, would he return to that game a few minutes later…? Or miss 2 months. It’s pathetic.
you make some fair assessments, but we still clearly disagree with the Bynum play. I think illegal fouls (in football or basketball) that result in the opposing player getting injured (much more the case in football) require consequences. If it were up to me in football, if you injure a player with a helmet-helmet hit (concussion, broken jaw, etc) then you shouldn’t be allowed to play until that player is ab;e to retun. it’s the steve bertuzzi principle. While i don’t think Bynum’s deserved more than a 1 game suspension + fine, i think you have to send a message that those types of fouls cannot be tolerated.
looks like AK’s timetable needs to be extended…
http://deseretnews.com/article/0,5143,705281581,00.html
I think we better stay away from AK47 on waivers for now. I was thinking of grab Delonte West for Luke Ridnour instead of wasting my time on AK47.
I’ve regretted dropping Luke Ridnour ever since i did it (and i eventually ended up with Dunleavy). he doesn’t wow your every night but at the end of the week he always helps your team win.
D12 A.I Richard Jefferson Al Harrington 4 CP3 ???
DEAL OR NO DEAL??
with players such as horford,boozer,kaman,ak47,peja,j.r smith,G.wallace,Chandler,Tayshaun on the waivers
forgot to mention format is 9 category H2H
I’d take CP3.
Deal. CP3 is the most dominate force in fantasy b-ball.