Amare sits with sore knee
Amare Stoudemire missed Sunday's game with a sore knee and is officially listed as day-to-day. While I can't say I'm surprised that he has already missed a game due to injury after not sitting out a single game last year, it is concerning. The fact he made it through last season is incredible and he obviously won't pull off the same accomplishment this time around. Maybe this will be the only game he misses this season, but unfortunately, I don't think that will be the case. I reported over the summer that part of the reason I thought he wasn't traded (even though he was involved in some pretty serious discussions) was because he will likely need more knee surgery at some point. And shortly thereafter he went under the knife for a minor procedure. I doubt it's the last time he'll have knee surgery and the next one could be of a more serious nature.
That said, there's a decent chance he will make it through the season without any major knee problems. If you own him and are nervous about the future, feel free to move him. However, make sure you wait until he's back and has played a couple games before doing so.
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In Amare's absence last night,
Boris Diaw stepped up and had 16 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Diaw has been much more effective early than he was last season, and if Amare is going to miss some games this year Diaw will look even better. Diaw is guaranteed minutes as a backup center with
Kurt Thomas in Seattle, so make sure he's not available in your league.
The Suns beat the Cavaliers last night behind 30 points and 10 dimes from
Steve Nash, while LeBron had 27 points, five boards and eight assists in the loss. The Suns are off to a 2-1 start, the only blemish coming at the hands of the Lakers, which featured a late-game shouting match between Phil Jackson and Mike D'Antoni. The Cavs are just 1-2 and welcomed back
Sasha Pavlovic on Sunday, although he was just 1-of-5 for two points in 17 minutes.
Anderson Varejao is probably going to sign at some point, although early reports are that he's out of shape. That's probably good news for
Drew Gooden owners, who is off to a hot start and had 22 points and 14 rebounds yesterday.
The Hornets beat Denver and are off to a surprising 3-0 start, led by
Chris Paul's 15 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and four steals in this one. He's going to be a fantasy monster this year, but there will always be questions about his durability.
Marcus Camby is going to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award again if he stays healthy, as he had 21 rebounds and five blocks last night. He only scored eight points, but you didn't draft him to score for your team.
In other Nuggets news,
Mike Wilks joined the rest of the Nuggets' point guards on the injury report with a strained hamstring and it sounds like
Carmelo Anthony is going to share the point guard duties with
Allen Iverson until Wilks,
Anthony Carter and
Chucky Atkins get healthy. This is just another thing that will give Melo increased fantasy value.
J.R. Smith's 3-game suspension is over, but I'm not sure he'll be worth owning. He's only reliable for threes, will hurt your team's field goal percentage and his playing time will be sporadic given the fact George Karl doesn't seem to like him. All the backcourt injuries should help him in the short time, but he's going to have to have a major attitude overhaul if he's going to offer consistent value.
Peja Stojakovic was just 1-of-10 from the floor for five points, but at least he looks to be fairly healthy. That said, he could start missing games at any time if his back flares up, so tread carefully with him.
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The Hawks got 23-5-4 from
Joe Johnson and
Josh Smith added 13 points, 10 boards, two steals and five blocks in a tough, one-point loss to the Pistons, but hit just 4-of-17 shots on the night.
Richard Hamilton returned from an absence for the birth of his son and hit 10-of-15 shots for 21 points, while super-sleeper
Jason Maxiell had 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks off the bench. Pick him up if he's available in your league. The Pistons
Rodney Stuckey is recovering ahead of schedule from his broken hand, so feel free to pick him up and stash him on your bench in deep leagues.
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The Heat lost their third straight regular-season game last night and are now 0-10 if you include their winless preseason. Shaquille O'Neal played better last night, while
Udonis Haslem continued his hot start with 18 points and 10 boards.
Dwyane Wade still hasn't put a timetable on his return, although it sounds like he could come back this week. Look for him to possibly come back earlier than he would like in an attempt to stop the bleeding for the Heat, but that should also be a concern for his owners. It probably won't take much to aggravate his shoulder or knee injuries.
The Heat were beaten by the surprising Charlotte Bobcats, who are off to a 2-0 start and led by
Jason Richardson's 29 points and six threes in the win.
Ryan Gomes had 19 points and seven boards as the Timberwolves fell to Knicks to go 0-2 in Week 1. The Knicks got a much needed win in the Garden, led by
Jamal Crawford who had 24 points, seven dimes, two assists and a three.
Quentin Richardson is really struggling, which comes as a surprise. He was scoreless on 0-of-2 shooting last night and is going to be pushed by
David Lee, who had 14 points and seven boards off the bench. QRich will probably break out of his funk soon, so keep your eye on him in case he's dropped in your league.
Kobe Bryant had 33 points, five boards, three assists, three steals, two blocks and a three as the Lakers beat the Jazz to improve to 2-1 on the season. One of his blocks was a highlight-reel job on
Andrei Kirilenko, and so far, so good for Kobe and the Lakers.
Derek Fisher finally woke up and had 19 points and five assists.
Lamar Odom may be on the verge of returning from his shoulder injury, but an exact target date is unknown. Keep him on the bench until you're sure he's going to play.
Carlos Boozer wrapped up a big week for the Jazz with his fourth double-double, finishing with 23 points, 12 boards, six assists, two steals and a block in the loss. He's going to do some serious fantasy damage if he can continue to post numbers in categories other than points, rebounds and field goal percentage.
The Celtics are 2-0 after a tough overtime win in Toronto on Sunday as
Kevin Garnett had 23 points, 13 boards, six assists and three steals on the day.
James Posey returned from suspension and had 11 points and three treys, while
Ray Allen had 33 points and seven threes on the day. Allen will have several games like this and should find himself wide open as defenses collapse on Garnett and
Paul Pierce, who are both great passers.
For the Raptors,
Chris Bosh had 19 points, 10 boards and five blocks. His knee and foot are always a concern, but he looks great right now.
T.J. Ford blew up for 32 points, five assists and three 3-pointers, which was also nice to see.
The Sonics dropped to 0-3 in a loss to the surprising Clippers, who are 2-0 after Week 1.
Nick Collison was 0-of-6 but did have 10 rebounds.
Robert Swift's knee is going to bother him for some time, so Collison should continue to start in the middle for the foreseeable future.
Damien Wilkins stayed hot with 22 points, five boards and six assists and looks like a solid play for the upcoming week.
Kevin Durant's assault on the ROY race continued Sunday as he posted 24 points, eight boards, five assists and three 3-pointers on 10-of-19 shooting.
For the Clippers,
Cuttino Mobley quietly had 17 points and six boards, while
Chris Kaman (10-15-5 blocks),
Tim Thomas (20 points, four threes) and
Corey Maggette (27 points, 6 boards) were also solid for the Clips.
Mike Dunleavy says he's going to try to keep
Sam Cassell's minutes around 25 per game and he had 11 points, five boards and five assists on Sunday.
Brevin Knight should get plenty of assists off the bench, but he looks to be a one-category player.
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