The Bug Keeps Biting
The injury bug continues to rip through the league, as superstars like
Tim Duncan,
LeBron James,
Chris Bosh and now
Kevin Martin are stuck on the sidelines. However, in the real world and in the fantasy realm, one man's misfortune is another man's opportunity.
Jamario Moon,
John Salmons,
Kurt Thomas and
Beno Udrih are just a few of the players that have taken advantage of their increased minutes with some strong production recently. We'll take a look around the NBA in this edition of
The Week Ahead and preview Week 7 of the fantasy hoops season.
Game Totals in Week 7:
Four games: ATL, DAL, DET, GS, IND, LAC, MIN, MIL, NY, ORL, PHI, POR, SAC, SEA, TOR, UTA
Three games: BOS, CHA, CHI, CLE, DEN, HOU, LAL, MEM, MIA, NJ, NO, PHO, SA, WAS
Two games none
Keep An Eye On:
(statistics exclusively from November 22 – December 4)
Antoine Walker, MIN 7 G, 13.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 14 3-pointers
Jason Maxiell, DET 6 G, 13 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.5 BPG
Jamario Moon, TOR 6 G, 9.5 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 2.3 BPG
Juan Carlos Navarro, MEM 6 G, 17.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 19 3-pointers
Travis Outlaw, POR 6 G, 15 PPG, 6.7 RPG
Sebastian Telfair, MIN 7 G, 12.1 PPG, 4.6 APG, 2.6 RPG, 1.3 SPG
Carlos Delfino, TOR 6 G, 15 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 15 3-pointers
Antonio Daniels, WAS 6 G, 10.5 PPG, 6.3 APG, 4.2 RPG
Al Horford, ATL 6 G, 9.2 PPG, 10.8 RPG
Daniel Gibson, CLE 7 G, 12.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 17 3-pointers
Rajon Rondo, BOS 6 G, 6.7 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.8 RPG, 1.5 SPG
Lou Williams, PHI 7 G, 10.8 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 3.6 APG
Jordan Farmar, LAL 7 G, 10.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.9 APG, 14 3-pointers
Kelenna Azubuike, GS 7 G, 10.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG
Beno Udrih, SAC 5 G, 15.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.2 SPG
Interesting Matchups/Schedule:
Wednesday, Dec. 12 - Utah @ Phoenix: This game features two of the top-three highest scoring teams in the NBA, and division leaders in the Northwest and Pacific divisions. With
Deron Williams and
Steve Nash handling the ball for each squad, you can expect a high-scoring and competitive barnburner.
Thursday, Dec. 13 - San Antonio @ L.A. Lakers: TNT's late game consists of the defending champs vs the two-time defending scoring champion. Hopefully,
Tim Duncan (ankle) will be able to return for this one, as the Lakers took two of three last season.
Friday, Dec. 14 - Orlando @ Charlotte: Dwight Howard has taken his game to the next level this season, and is likely the MVP of the league after a month of play. Averaging 23.2 PPG, 15.1 RPG and 3.0 BPG, Howard is this generation's Shaq. The 2004 draft's No. 1 selection will go against the No. 2 selection,
Emeka Okafor Friday in North Carolina. 2004-05 Rookie of the Year winner Okafor is averaging a modest 13.1 PPG and 11.4 RPG early on.
Sunday, Dec. 16 - Boston @ Toronto: Last season, the Raptors were one of the most improved teams in the league, winning the Atlantic division behind All-Star
Chris Bosh (groin, questionable). They'll take on the new top team in the East Sunday as the Celtics come to town for a bigtime Eastern Conference matchup.
Team-by-Team Injuries/Schedule:
Atlanta Hawks @orl, TOR, @det, CHA
Speedy Claxton (knee) – out indefinitely
Zaza Pachulia (head) – day-to-day
Lorenzen Wright (hamstring) – day-to-day
Tyronn Lue (calf) – day-to-day
Boston Celtics SAC, MIL, @tor
The Celtics continue to be the league's best team through six weeks with a sizzling record of 15-2. They currently have a four-game winning streak, a perfect 9-0 home record and a 5-0 division-mark. The Big Three are all scoring at least 19.5 PPG and continue to get strong play from role players
Eddie House,
James Posey and
Glen Davis as well.
Charlotte Bobcats LAC, ORL, @atl
Adam Morrison (knee) – out for the season
Sean May (knee) – out for the season
Ryan Hollins (shoulder) – day-to-day
Keep an eye on
Jared Dudley with the Bobcats. He was recently inserted into the starting lineup and has responded by averaging 9.4 PPG and 6.6 RPG in his past five contests, and looks like he's going to see regular time for the immediate future.
Chicago Bulls SEA, @ind, NY
It's been a long season already for
Kirk Hinrich, who is averaging career-lows across the board and struggling mightily with his shooting (35% FG). He was replaced by
Chris Duhon each of the past couple contests and could be in store for a permanent demotion if he doesn't break out this funk soon. Duhon has responded big-time though, averaging 12 PPG, 7 RPG and 7 APG in his past two games with the increased minutes and looks like he could surpass Hinrich as the Bulls starting point guard.
Cleveland Cavaliers IND, @nj, PHI
LeBron James (finger) – day-to-day
Larry Hughes (leg) – return late December
Donyell Marshall (wrist) – out indefinitely
After the Bobcats signed
Anderson Varejao to a three-year offer sheet, the Cavaliers responded by quickly matching the offer to keep their Brazilian rebounding machine. For some reason, Varejao said he didn't want to return to the Cavaliers, but it looks like he's going to be heading back to Ohio after all. Not sure why he wouldn't want to play on the Eastern Conference's defending champions along side superstar
LeBron James for $6 million per year, but Varejao was reportedly insulted by the Cavs offer. We'll see if he can put this month-long holdout behind him and play at a high level again. If and when he does return, the value of
Drew Gooden and
Zydrunas Ilgauskas will likely drop a bit.
Dallas Mavericks @ny, @tor, NO, @hou
Devean George (foot) – return early December
Eddie Jones (ankle) – return early December
Denver Nuggets @mem, @hou, ATL, GS
Chucky Atkins (groin) – return early January
Nene (thumb) – return early January
Detroit Pistons @mem, @hou, ATL, GS
Rodney Stuckey (hand) – return early December
Golden St. Warriors SA, @por, LAL, @det
Mickael Pietrus (head) – day-to-day
Coach Don Nelson is known for his musical chairs mentality with his starting lineup. Shooting guard
Monta Ellis has entrenched himself in the starting lineup though with his torrid play of late. The 22-year-old is averaging a jaw dropping 21.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 3.3 APG while shooting 54% from the floor in his past seven contests. The Warriors have six players averaging in double figures – with four scoring 15+.
Baron Davis,
Stephen Jackson, Ellis,
Al Harrington, and
Andris Biedrins are all quality plays, while
Kelenna Azubuike,
Matt Barnes and
Mickael Pietrus all have value as well.
Houston Rockets @phi, DET, DAL
Steve Francis (back) – day-to-day
Indiana Pacers @cle, CHI, TOR, @mia
Ike Diogu (calf) – return mid-December
Troy Murphy (Achilles') – day-to-day
Over the past couple weeks, there hasn't been too many more productive players than point guard
Jamaal Tinsley. In seven games, he's averaging 18.9 PPG, 9.4 APG and 2.9 SPG and has done his best to shake his "injury-prone" reputation. The Pacers are slated for four contests so the floor general should be in store for a monster week …
Mike Dunleavy has also picked up his game, averaging a cool 18.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG in that span.
L.A. Clippers @nj, @cha, @mem, @lal
Shaun Livingston (knee surgery) – out for the season
Elton Brand (Achilles') – might return in February
Sam Cassell (calf) – day-to-day
L.A. Lakers SA, @gs, LAC
Kwame Brown (knee) – return early December
Ronny Turiaf (concussion) – day-to-day
Memphis Grizzlies DET, LAC, @orl
Darko Milicic (ankle) – day-to-day
Mike Conley (shoulder) – return mid-December
Miami Heat @pho, WAS, IND
Smush Parker (personal) – out indefinitely
After playing in his first nine games of the season without a dunk,
Dwyane Wade slammed it home three times on Monday in Utah, and is almost all the way back. Flash said that his knee is feeling much better and it's just a matter of time before the Heat turn it around. They are just 3-7 since he returned from his knee and shoulder surgeries, but there's no way this team will continue playing this bad – at 4-13, they are currently the worst team in the East.
Milwaukee Bucks @sac, ORL, @bos, MIN
Minnesota Timberwolves @was, @phi, SEA, @mil
Randy Foye (knee) – out indefinitely
Marko Jaric (foot) – day-to-day
The TWolves should get combo guard
Marko Jaric back soon; he was able to practice fully Wednesday and might only have to sit out one more contest. He was playing well before going down, averaging 16.5 PPG and 6.3 APG in his previous four contests. He and
Sebastian Telfair should have decent value until Foye is finally able to return …
Antoine Walker is considered questionable for Thursday's contest with Atlanta because of a badly sprained ankle.
NOK Hornets @den, @dal, PHO
Morris Peterson (back) – day-to-day
New Jersey Nets LAC, CLE, @ny
Jason Kidd (migraine) – day-to-day
Marcus Williams (foot) – return in December
Antoine Wright (shoulder) – day-to-day
Josh Boone (head) – day-to-day
There's some speculation that Kidd did not miss Wednesday's game against New York because of a migraine, but because he is hoping to either get traded or ink a contract extension. Rumors are starting to swirl that the veteran could possibly be headed to the Mavericks, Lakers or Cavaliers. He openly denied asking for an extension recently, so we'll have to wait and see how this one pans out.
New York Knicks DAL, SEA, @chi, NJ
Mardy Collins (ankle) – day-to-day
Eddy Curry (ankle) – day-to-day
Stephon Marbury (ankle) – day-to-day
Orlando Magic ATL, @mil, @cha, MEM
Tony Battie (shoulder) – out for the season
Carlos Arroyo (personal) – day-to-day
Philadelphia 76ers HOU, MIN, SAC, @cle
Phoenix Suns MIA, UTA, @no
Portland Trailblazers @uta, GS, UTA, @den
Greg Oden (knee surgery) – out for the season
Darius Miles (knee surgery) – return date uncertain
Miles returned to practice for the first time in 13 months on Wednesday. He's still at least six weeks away from returning to game action.
Sacramento Kings MIL, @bos, @phi, @was
Mike Bibby (thumb) – targeting late January return
Shareef Abdur-Rahim (knee) – day-to-day
Kevin Martin (groin) – return late January
The Kings have been hampering bad by the injury bug throughout the season. After being without
Mike Bibby for the first couple months, they will now be without their leading scorer –
Kevin Martin – for the next 4-6 weeks. The sharpshooter left Tuesday's game with a groin strain and will be sidelined until the New Year. In his place, look for
John Salmons to pick up his game again – with
Ron Artest out for the first seven games because of suspension, Salmons averaged a respectable 22.6 PPG, 4.0 APG and 3.9 RPG.
San Antonio Spurs @gs, @lal, DEN
Tim Duncan (knee) – day-to-day
The Big Fundamental sat out last game with a high ankle sprain and remains day-to-day. The Spurs have insisted that the injury is not serious though and there's a 50/50 chance he could play on Friday. He was able to practice with the team on Tuesday so that's a great sign.
Manu Ginobili dropped 37 points vs Dallas on Wednesday in a nice comeback win. The Argentinean is averaging 20.3 PPG off the bench through 19 games and is a synch for the Sixth Man of the Year award at this point.
Seattle Sonics @chi, @ny, @min, @uta
Luke Ridnour (quadriceps) – return mid-December
Robert Swift (knee) – return early January
With the Sonics frontcourt dismantled by injuries,
Kurt Thomas has rekindled his youth in Seattle recently. The 13-year veteran is averaging a respectable 5.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG and 1.0 BPG in his past five contests and should continue having decent value until Collison or Swift return. While in this rebuilding phase, they will continue to give big men
Johan Petro,
Mouhamed Sene, Swift and Collison minutes when healthy, although Thomas could give them their best chance to win. Collison (nose) returned with 18 points and 17 rebounds Wednesday … No teams play only twice in Week 7 and Seattle is the sole team with two contests in Week 8.
Toronto Raptors @atl, DAL, @ind, BOS
Andrea Bargnani (knee) – day-to-day
Chris Bosh (groin) – day-to-day
Jorge Garbajosa (leg) – out indefinitely
With
T.J. Ford plagued by an arm stinger the past couple weeks,
Jose Calderon has played admirably as the Raptors starting point guard. He's proving he's one of the league's top backup point guards and is capable of averaging double-digit assists in a full-time role. Over the past couple weeks, he's averaging 12.2 PPG, 11.2 APG and 3.8 RPG. In fact, the Spaniard has dished out nine+ dimes in each of his past seven contests. Ford returned Wednesday with a 27-point game, but you can expect Calderon to continue having strong value for the foreseeable future.
Utah Jazz POR, @pho, @por, SEA
Washington Wizards MIN, @mia, SAC
Etan Thomas (heart) – likely out for the season
Gilbert Arenas (knee surgery) – return early February