Hache Man
"Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak"
Still LA?s Other Team
The Clippers have worked so hard to emerge from the shadow of their stadium co-tenant, the Lakers, but it's obviously no easy task.
After finishing slightly ahead of the Lakers last season with a young, exciting team that seemed on the cusp of greatness, the Clippers have found so far this season that overtaking the Lakers is much easier said than done.
The gulf in becoming a true Western Conference powerhouse never seemed more difficult to bridge as it did this past week when the San Antonio Spurs sandwiched a loss to the Lakers between two absolute shellackings of the Clippers, by a combined score of 51 points. In the second loss on Monday, the Clippers completely lacked energy, which is shocking considering they should have had all the motivation they needed after getting hammered by this same team just three days earlier. Missing Chris Kaman, out with a stomach virus, really hurt as the Spurs exploited LA's lack of presence inside.
In between its two embarrassing losses to San Antonio, Los Angeles managed to beat the Grizzlies, which isn't exactly going to prove anything to anyone. However, it was the team's first road win of the season ? making the Clippers the last NBA team to win a game away from its home building this season. Before the Clippers have any designs on being LA's team, they better learn how to win away from the Staples Center. Good teams have to be able to win on the road.
So after getting off to a promising 6-2 start, LA now finds itself back to .500 at 10-10, tied for third place in the Pacific and currently out of the Western Conference playoff picture. This was not in the plans the Clippers drew up to capture the city's heart.
With the Clippers, it's all about the perimeter game ? they live by it, and they die by it. LA has held its opponents to a 30 percent mark from beyond the arc, the best in the NBA. Conversely, the Clippers are dead last with just 2.9 treys and only 9.7 3-pointers attempted per game.
Making matters worse, LA is starting to resemble a M.A.S.H. unit this week. In addition to missing Kaman on Monday, the team was also without Corey Maggette (bruised left knee and tendinitis in his left Achilles') and lost another two key players as Tim Thomas could only play four minutes because of a finger injury while Sam Cassell had to exit in the second quarter with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
Let's try to piece together what's left of a team that's already employed eight different lineups this season.
At point guard, Shaun Livingston regained his started gig last week, and with Cassell getting beat up lately, he may run with the job for a while. While there have been plenty of glimpses, we're still all waiting for Livingston to live up to his potential. He's improved his shooting this season, and this past week, Livingston has stepped up his playmaking with 17 assists in the last two games.
Cuttino Mobley mans the two-guard, and he's seen a bit less action this week as he's struggled offensively. Prone to shooting slumps, Mobley's PT has been in decline for the past two years. He was reportedly part of a package that the Clippers offered to Philly for Allen Iverson, but because Mobley still has three years and almost $30 million left on his contact, the Sixers took a pass.
Small forward has mostly been the domain of Quinton Ross, but Maggette got a rare start there Friday (was the team showcasing him?). With Maggette out Monday, Ross stepped up with 11 points. He's improved this season, but is still a defensive specialist whose offensive contributions are too few to be fantasy worthy. For instance, Monday marked his first double-digit scoring effort of the month.
At the four, Elton Brand has been the man. Owners got excited when Brand started at center on opening night, but he hasn't been back since, so multi-position eligibility won't be happening. The former Bull has been inconsistent this season with plenty of talk that he's tired. Brand's not logging quite as many minutes as he did during his breakout season last year, and fantasy owners who took him in the first round (myself included) are suffering as Brand struggles to rediscover his 2005-06 form.
Kaman is the normal starting center, but an earlier ankle injury and his illness this week have given plenty of starts to Aaron Williams. Kaman is also having a tough time building on last season's breakout, especially at the free throw line. However, he's a key building block for LA, and as such the Clippers have told Philadelphia he's off the table in any Iverson talks.
Among key bench players with value, Cassell, when healthy, still has a ton to offer, and with his expiring contact, he could be headed to the Sixers in the A.I. deal. He's not getting the touches he did last season, but can still contribute. Thomas, who's struggled from beyond the arc this year, is in the same boat with an expiring contract, so he could be on his way out. Maggette has also been rumored to be on the block for months, despite LA's claims that he isn't being shopped. His PT has been on the decline since his big season in 2004-05, so a new home might be just what Maggette needs to get back on track.
Thanks to all the injuries Monday, three players who don't normally see much action, if any, got significant minutes. Daniel Ewing played 25 minutes, but the youngster hasn't had much of a role with the team this year. Rookie center Paul Davis also played 25 minutes, and he was impressive, scoring 15 points. He could become a factor and render Aaron Williams to a lesser role. Finally, James Singleton got to play 21 minutes, and he came through with 10 points, six boards and a steal. Singleton is still young enough to have some upside, and he got some traction last year in a position battle with Ross, but has been somewhat of a forgotten man on the Clippers this season because of the addition of Thomas.
Monday even brought with it the season's first Yaroslav Korolev sighting. Now here's a kid the Sixers might definitely be interested in.
Memphis
Things have gone from bad to worse for the struggling Grizzlies, losers of three straight and eight of 11. Monday they managed just 10 first quarter points in getting blown out by the Nets. Slow starts like that are going to necessitate more lineup changes, but there's already been plenty of tinkering.
At center, Stromile Swift started the week poorly, getting into foul trouble on Wednesday and then missing Friday altogether with a stomach virus. He's also been fighting knee pain. Swift's been coming off the bench behind Jake Tsakalidis since returning but Monday, he finally got some significant minutes and he responded with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting with five rebounds and a steal. With Tsakalidis struggling to generate offense, expect Swift to regain the starting gig soon.
PG Damon Stoudamire returned this week and made quick work in regaining the starting job that Chucky Atkins has owned for almost a month. The former Jail Blazer is starting to score, and he's drained seven 3-pointers in the past three games, so he looks like might run with the starting role for a while. Atkins, however, is not ready to go quietly. The Grizz went small on Monday, so he played significant minutes alongside Stoudamire and wound up leading Memphis with 26 points. These two could wind up negating each other's value, similar to last season when Atkins and Bobby Jackson took turns as the starter with Stoudamire injured most of the year.
Lawrence Roberts was just starting to earn significant minutes, coming up huge on Wednesday, when his right knee started acting up. Next thing you know, he had to undergo surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus. He's gone for four-to-six weeks, stripping the club of another of its young, improving players.
Dahntay Jones' minutes are down this week as both Tarance Kinsey and Eddie Jones have been activated. Defensive specialist D-Jones is still scoring, with a combined 22 points in the past two, so he should keep the starting two-guard spot for now. Kinsey got some decent minutes on Friday, but has played just one minute combined in the last two, so forget about him. Eddie Jones, on the other hand, back after a 12-game absence because of an injury to his right Achilles' heel, started getting significant minutes Monday. He's still rusty as an old nail, sinking just 1-of-7 free throws in two games, but expect him to make a run for the shooting guard starting spot at some point.
Brian Cardinal has been seeing sporadic minutes, and he should get some of the PT that Roberts was logging. He's a hard nosed veteran capable of delivering offense in spurts, but without steady PT, he's not a useful fantasy commodity.
Roberts' injury also opened the door for an Alexander Johnson sighting. The rookie played some decent minutes off the bench on Friday, but just as quickly, the former Seminole has disappeared again.
Even steady starters like Mike Miller and Hakim Warrick have suffered, each seeing reduced PT on Monday as the Grizz took another beating that led too Coach Fratello emptying the bench. Miller is third on the team with 13.6 PPG, but he got a goose egg Monday after three early fouls limited his minutes. Warrick, meanwhile, seemed to be getting more consistent over the past few weeks, but then he pulls another Jekyll and Hyde act this week. Friday night, he goes off for career bests with 31 points and 13 boards, but in the two games since, he's combined for just 18 and eight. And with Pau Gasol due back as soon as this weekend, Warrick's days as a prime fantasy asset may be numbered.
New York
The Knicks have lost two out of their past three and allowed the Celtics to pass them in the standings, but of course, a winning streak of one in the Titanic Division can send you from worst to first. New York has dropped 15 of 23, but somehow is very alive, just a game out of second place, and that's apparently enough to keep Isiah Thomas' job safe until the end of the regular season. Good thing Larry Brown and his circus have left the building.
Steve Francis' knee is hurting and it doesn't sound good ? surgery has been mentioned as a possibility. On Saturday, he was replaced by Jamal Crawford and that may not change for a while. Or, it could change tonight. Jared Jeffries returned Monday, and is supposed to take over Quentin Richardson's starting job at SF, with Q-Rich taking one of the guard spots. And now that Francis is out, that will force Starbury to man the point, so it may be Crawford that heads back to the bench. Or maybe Q-Rich (who slumped on Monday). Of course, until Channing Frye (ankle) returns, Jeffries will likely continue to come off the bench. Or not. Got that straight? Super.
Francis has been quite dependable at times, but he was struggling before going down. Crawford also runs hot and cold, which makes him maddening to own. Saturday, he went off for 25 points (10-of-18 shooting), with nine assists, five boards and a steal, but Monday, he managed just 5-of-17 for 13 points. Like I said ? maddening.
Stephon Marbury got hurt on Friday, leaving early with an arm contusion, so Nate Robinson got to play some significant minutes for the first time in a week. Marbury was back to his usual load on Monday, and back to getting booed by the Garden faithful.
Renaldo Balkman got some significant minutes on Monday, and he's been a nice surprise at times, but his PT has dried up again.
Malik Rose was getting some decent minutes last week, but he's again a non-factor. In fact, his name was mentioned in a far-fetched report that suggested Allen Iverson could be dealt to the Knicks. I'm not holding my breath on that one.
Milwaukee
The Bucks are starting to turn things around after a sluggish start found them sitting at the bottom of the Central Division. They've won three of their past four, and are finally taking care of business at home with three straight wins.
Mo Williams shook off the back injury he had last week and was playing some heavy minutes most of the week. Last night, he didn't play as much as his chief backup (Charlie Bell) is no longer starting beside him at SG. The return of Charlie Villanueva to the starting five shifted Ruben Patterson back to SF, Michael Redd back to SG and sent Bell to the bench. Still, Williams has been doing a splendid job of distributing the ball lately. Although he wasn't in attack first mode Tuesday (just 12 points), he recorded a second straight nine-assist game, so Williams looks to be settling in very nicely as a starter.
Bell is back on the bench, but it's not necessarily for good. Coach Stotts claimed that Villanueva was inserted into the starting five against Seattle because of matchups and that the change may not be permanent. So wait a few games and see how this shakes out before dumping Bell.
Patterson has not only proved to be very versatile in his ability to shift positions, but he has really cranked up the offense this week, his only off game coming when Villanueva returned and played off the bench, cutting into his PT. In the three Bucks' wins since Wednesday, he's scored 26, 30 and 21 points. Last night, Patterson added four steals and four assists to help Milwaukee grind out a come from behind victory.
Andrew Bogut is also playing heavier minutes this week, except for Saturday when the Bucks lost. Despite the PT, he's been pretty quiet so he really needed Tuesday's night's huge performance ? 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting, nine rebounds and six assists. That's the kind of game we've been expecting to see more regularly from Bogut as he slowly develops into a top NBA center.
Bogut's increased PT has affected the minutes of Brian Skinner and Dan Gadzuric. Wednesday, Skinner took a DNP, and he's not playing enough to be even remotely useful, although he remains one of the top shot blockers on the Milwaukee bench.
On Saturday, Gadzuric got significant minutes as the Bucks struggled to find a way to guard suddenly good Eddy Curry (yes, we've opened an X-File on him). Gadzuric came through with a big game, but his minutes have evaporated since, and at this point in his career, he's just a solid defensive player off the bench ? not exactly fantasy worthy unless you're in a very deep league and need a fifth center or something.
Rookie David Noel's PT has been all over the map, but with Patterson shifting back to the three, it will probably dry up. He's had a few games this season with significant minutes, but those games have been too few and too scattered for Noel to have any value. He got to play 20 on Friday, as the Bucks built up a huge lead through three quarters, allowing Michael Redd to get a bit of rest.
Speaking of Redd, his numbers are down this week with Patterson emerging as a scoring option. Redd came up big on Wednesday, but hasn't topped 25 points since. For a mere mortal, that's no biggie, but this is Michael Redd ? the NBA's third-leading scorer ? so a stretch of three straight games of 25 or less constitutes a slump. Once he returns to his normal amount of touches, Redd's numbers will rocket again.
Charlie V got a scare in practice on Monday when his elbow was bashed again, but he's obviously fine and is back rolling with 39 points in the past two games including a couple of key buckets late to help the Bucks win last night.
Back-up point guard Steve Blake had a nice run of PT this week, but his role will diminish now that Bell has shifted back to the bench. The whole Jamaal Magloire for Blake and spare parts deal hasn't really worked out, other than to suck the value of each of the main participants of the trade. Neither man can be particularly happy with his new home.
Fast Breaks
Orlando SG: With SF Hedo Turkoglu going down last Friday with an ankle sprain, Orlando's depth has been tested. Grant Hill shifted over to the three and in Hill's spot at the two-guard, first Keith Bogans came off the bench to start for him on Saturday, but he didn't last long, spraining his ankle as well. So now Keyon Dooling (out himself on Wednesday with back spasms) has been pressed into duty in the starting five. Turkoglu is out at least another week, so Dooling should get some significant minutes this week. He's not much of a fantasy option, but he did manage 10 points on Monday. You would have expected J.J. Redick to get his first real look this week, but instead he's been inactive twice and taken one DNP over the past three games. Trevor Ariza has seen a slight uptick in PT and we even had a Travis Diener sighting on Monday.
Indiana frontcourt: I'm not sure you can read much into all the Pacer lineup happenings this week. Combine several blowout games, Stephen Jackson's Saturday blowup and subsequent team-imposed one game suspension and the rampant food poisoning that left the team with three new starters on Monday, and you've got one big mess. But one positive definitely emerged from the insanity and that was the debut of rookie Shawne Williams, who looked very impressive in dropping 6-of-9 shots for 13 points with two blocks and a steal in 27 minutes. The team's decision to not send Williams to the NBDL will look even more prudent if he can claw his way into the rotation ? something that could be bad news for Danny Granger.
Minnesota C: Mark Blount has more or less been getting the job done offensively, but where he really needs to help the T-Wolves is in rebounding, and with just nine in the past three, he's not doing enough. We know Eddie Griffin can rebound if given the minutes, but he's just not seeing the PT. Mark Madsen? Oh, he's out with a partially dislocated right shoulder. So Blount's job appears safe for now, but Coach Casey likes to play around with his rotations, so when the Wolves go small, we could possibly see more Justin Reed, a player that had been stapled to the bench until getting some decent PT on Monday.
Chicago backcourt: The Bulls have been involved in several one-sided affairs lately, so starting PG Kirk Hinrich's PT has seen some big swings. Much of that has to do with foul trouble, which he's finding himself in more often this season. Chris Duhon and Ben Gordon are both seeing heavier minutes in the past week. Duhon is picking up his limited offensive game lately, scoring 10 on Monday, while Gordon is on one of his hot streaks, with 44 points in the past two. With these two picking up their games, the PT of bench backcourters Thabo Sefolosha and Adrian Griffin has disappeared. I really like Thabo, and for a while, he was outplaying the Bulls' more highly-touted rook, Tyrus Thomas, but it's hard to outplay anyone from the bench. Griffin, meanwhile, got some decent PT for a couple of games, but he's back near the end of the bench.
The Clippers have worked so hard to emerge from the shadow of their stadium co-tenant, the Lakers, but it's obviously no easy task.
After finishing slightly ahead of the Lakers last season with a young, exciting team that seemed on the cusp of greatness, the Clippers have found so far this season that overtaking the Lakers is much easier said than done.
The gulf in becoming a true Western Conference powerhouse never seemed more difficult to bridge as it did this past week when the San Antonio Spurs sandwiched a loss to the Lakers between two absolute shellackings of the Clippers, by a combined score of 51 points. In the second loss on Monday, the Clippers completely lacked energy, which is shocking considering they should have had all the motivation they needed after getting hammered by this same team just three days earlier. Missing Chris Kaman, out with a stomach virus, really hurt as the Spurs exploited LA's lack of presence inside.
In between its two embarrassing losses to San Antonio, Los Angeles managed to beat the Grizzlies, which isn't exactly going to prove anything to anyone. However, it was the team's first road win of the season ? making the Clippers the last NBA team to win a game away from its home building this season. Before the Clippers have any designs on being LA's team, they better learn how to win away from the Staples Center. Good teams have to be able to win on the road.
So after getting off to a promising 6-2 start, LA now finds itself back to .500 at 10-10, tied for third place in the Pacific and currently out of the Western Conference playoff picture. This was not in the plans the Clippers drew up to capture the city's heart.
With the Clippers, it's all about the perimeter game ? they live by it, and they die by it. LA has held its opponents to a 30 percent mark from beyond the arc, the best in the NBA. Conversely, the Clippers are dead last with just 2.9 treys and only 9.7 3-pointers attempted per game.
Making matters worse, LA is starting to resemble a M.A.S.H. unit this week. In addition to missing Kaman on Monday, the team was also without Corey Maggette (bruised left knee and tendinitis in his left Achilles') and lost another two key players as Tim Thomas could only play four minutes because of a finger injury while Sam Cassell had to exit in the second quarter with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
Let's try to piece together what's left of a team that's already employed eight different lineups this season.
At point guard, Shaun Livingston regained his started gig last week, and with Cassell getting beat up lately, he may run with the job for a while. While there have been plenty of glimpses, we're still all waiting for Livingston to live up to his potential. He's improved his shooting this season, and this past week, Livingston has stepped up his playmaking with 17 assists in the last two games.
Cuttino Mobley mans the two-guard, and he's seen a bit less action this week as he's struggled offensively. Prone to shooting slumps, Mobley's PT has been in decline for the past two years. He was reportedly part of a package that the Clippers offered to Philly for Allen Iverson, but because Mobley still has three years and almost $30 million left on his contact, the Sixers took a pass.
Small forward has mostly been the domain of Quinton Ross, but Maggette got a rare start there Friday (was the team showcasing him?). With Maggette out Monday, Ross stepped up with 11 points. He's improved this season, but is still a defensive specialist whose offensive contributions are too few to be fantasy worthy. For instance, Monday marked his first double-digit scoring effort of the month.
At the four, Elton Brand has been the man. Owners got excited when Brand started at center on opening night, but he hasn't been back since, so multi-position eligibility won't be happening. The former Bull has been inconsistent this season with plenty of talk that he's tired. Brand's not logging quite as many minutes as he did during his breakout season last year, and fantasy owners who took him in the first round (myself included) are suffering as Brand struggles to rediscover his 2005-06 form.
Kaman is the normal starting center, but an earlier ankle injury and his illness this week have given plenty of starts to Aaron Williams. Kaman is also having a tough time building on last season's breakout, especially at the free throw line. However, he's a key building block for LA, and as such the Clippers have told Philadelphia he's off the table in any Iverson talks.
Among key bench players with value, Cassell, when healthy, still has a ton to offer, and with his expiring contact, he could be headed to the Sixers in the A.I. deal. He's not getting the touches he did last season, but can still contribute. Thomas, who's struggled from beyond the arc this year, is in the same boat with an expiring contract, so he could be on his way out. Maggette has also been rumored to be on the block for months, despite LA's claims that he isn't being shopped. His PT has been on the decline since his big season in 2004-05, so a new home might be just what Maggette needs to get back on track.
Thanks to all the injuries Monday, three players who don't normally see much action, if any, got significant minutes. Daniel Ewing played 25 minutes, but the youngster hasn't had much of a role with the team this year. Rookie center Paul Davis also played 25 minutes, and he was impressive, scoring 15 points. He could become a factor and render Aaron Williams to a lesser role. Finally, James Singleton got to play 21 minutes, and he came through with 10 points, six boards and a steal. Singleton is still young enough to have some upside, and he got some traction last year in a position battle with Ross, but has been somewhat of a forgotten man on the Clippers this season because of the addition of Thomas.
Monday even brought with it the season's first Yaroslav Korolev sighting. Now here's a kid the Sixers might definitely be interested in.
Memphis
Things have gone from bad to worse for the struggling Grizzlies, losers of three straight and eight of 11. Monday they managed just 10 first quarter points in getting blown out by the Nets. Slow starts like that are going to necessitate more lineup changes, but there's already been plenty of tinkering.
At center, Stromile Swift started the week poorly, getting into foul trouble on Wednesday and then missing Friday altogether with a stomach virus. He's also been fighting knee pain. Swift's been coming off the bench behind Jake Tsakalidis since returning but Monday, he finally got some significant minutes and he responded with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting with five rebounds and a steal. With Tsakalidis struggling to generate offense, expect Swift to regain the starting gig soon.
PG Damon Stoudamire returned this week and made quick work in regaining the starting job that Chucky Atkins has owned for almost a month. The former Jail Blazer is starting to score, and he's drained seven 3-pointers in the past three games, so he looks like might run with the starting role for a while. Atkins, however, is not ready to go quietly. The Grizz went small on Monday, so he played significant minutes alongside Stoudamire and wound up leading Memphis with 26 points. These two could wind up negating each other's value, similar to last season when Atkins and Bobby Jackson took turns as the starter with Stoudamire injured most of the year.
Lawrence Roberts was just starting to earn significant minutes, coming up huge on Wednesday, when his right knee started acting up. Next thing you know, he had to undergo surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus. He's gone for four-to-six weeks, stripping the club of another of its young, improving players.
Dahntay Jones' minutes are down this week as both Tarance Kinsey and Eddie Jones have been activated. Defensive specialist D-Jones is still scoring, with a combined 22 points in the past two, so he should keep the starting two-guard spot for now. Kinsey got some decent minutes on Friday, but has played just one minute combined in the last two, so forget about him. Eddie Jones, on the other hand, back after a 12-game absence because of an injury to his right Achilles' heel, started getting significant minutes Monday. He's still rusty as an old nail, sinking just 1-of-7 free throws in two games, but expect him to make a run for the shooting guard starting spot at some point.
Brian Cardinal has been seeing sporadic minutes, and he should get some of the PT that Roberts was logging. He's a hard nosed veteran capable of delivering offense in spurts, but without steady PT, he's not a useful fantasy commodity.
Roberts' injury also opened the door for an Alexander Johnson sighting. The rookie played some decent minutes off the bench on Friday, but just as quickly, the former Seminole has disappeared again.
Even steady starters like Mike Miller and Hakim Warrick have suffered, each seeing reduced PT on Monday as the Grizz took another beating that led too Coach Fratello emptying the bench. Miller is third on the team with 13.6 PPG, but he got a goose egg Monday after three early fouls limited his minutes. Warrick, meanwhile, seemed to be getting more consistent over the past few weeks, but then he pulls another Jekyll and Hyde act this week. Friday night, he goes off for career bests with 31 points and 13 boards, but in the two games since, he's combined for just 18 and eight. And with Pau Gasol due back as soon as this weekend, Warrick's days as a prime fantasy asset may be numbered.
New York
The Knicks have lost two out of their past three and allowed the Celtics to pass them in the standings, but of course, a winning streak of one in the Titanic Division can send you from worst to first. New York has dropped 15 of 23, but somehow is very alive, just a game out of second place, and that's apparently enough to keep Isiah Thomas' job safe until the end of the regular season. Good thing Larry Brown and his circus have left the building.
Steve Francis' knee is hurting and it doesn't sound good ? surgery has been mentioned as a possibility. On Saturday, he was replaced by Jamal Crawford and that may not change for a while. Or, it could change tonight. Jared Jeffries returned Monday, and is supposed to take over Quentin Richardson's starting job at SF, with Q-Rich taking one of the guard spots. And now that Francis is out, that will force Starbury to man the point, so it may be Crawford that heads back to the bench. Or maybe Q-Rich (who slumped on Monday). Of course, until Channing Frye (ankle) returns, Jeffries will likely continue to come off the bench. Or not. Got that straight? Super.
Francis has been quite dependable at times, but he was struggling before going down. Crawford also runs hot and cold, which makes him maddening to own. Saturday, he went off for 25 points (10-of-18 shooting), with nine assists, five boards and a steal, but Monday, he managed just 5-of-17 for 13 points. Like I said ? maddening.
Stephon Marbury got hurt on Friday, leaving early with an arm contusion, so Nate Robinson got to play some significant minutes for the first time in a week. Marbury was back to his usual load on Monday, and back to getting booed by the Garden faithful.
Renaldo Balkman got some significant minutes on Monday, and he's been a nice surprise at times, but his PT has dried up again.
Malik Rose was getting some decent minutes last week, but he's again a non-factor. In fact, his name was mentioned in a far-fetched report that suggested Allen Iverson could be dealt to the Knicks. I'm not holding my breath on that one.
Milwaukee
The Bucks are starting to turn things around after a sluggish start found them sitting at the bottom of the Central Division. They've won three of their past four, and are finally taking care of business at home with three straight wins.
Mo Williams shook off the back injury he had last week and was playing some heavy minutes most of the week. Last night, he didn't play as much as his chief backup (Charlie Bell) is no longer starting beside him at SG. The return of Charlie Villanueva to the starting five shifted Ruben Patterson back to SF, Michael Redd back to SG and sent Bell to the bench. Still, Williams has been doing a splendid job of distributing the ball lately. Although he wasn't in attack first mode Tuesday (just 12 points), he recorded a second straight nine-assist game, so Williams looks to be settling in very nicely as a starter.
Bell is back on the bench, but it's not necessarily for good. Coach Stotts claimed that Villanueva was inserted into the starting five against Seattle because of matchups and that the change may not be permanent. So wait a few games and see how this shakes out before dumping Bell.
Patterson has not only proved to be very versatile in his ability to shift positions, but he has really cranked up the offense this week, his only off game coming when Villanueva returned and played off the bench, cutting into his PT. In the three Bucks' wins since Wednesday, he's scored 26, 30 and 21 points. Last night, Patterson added four steals and four assists to help Milwaukee grind out a come from behind victory.
Andrew Bogut is also playing heavier minutes this week, except for Saturday when the Bucks lost. Despite the PT, he's been pretty quiet so he really needed Tuesday's night's huge performance ? 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting, nine rebounds and six assists. That's the kind of game we've been expecting to see more regularly from Bogut as he slowly develops into a top NBA center.
Bogut's increased PT has affected the minutes of Brian Skinner and Dan Gadzuric. Wednesday, Skinner took a DNP, and he's not playing enough to be even remotely useful, although he remains one of the top shot blockers on the Milwaukee bench.
On Saturday, Gadzuric got significant minutes as the Bucks struggled to find a way to guard suddenly good Eddy Curry (yes, we've opened an X-File on him). Gadzuric came through with a big game, but his minutes have evaporated since, and at this point in his career, he's just a solid defensive player off the bench ? not exactly fantasy worthy unless you're in a very deep league and need a fifth center or something.
Rookie David Noel's PT has been all over the map, but with Patterson shifting back to the three, it will probably dry up. He's had a few games this season with significant minutes, but those games have been too few and too scattered for Noel to have any value. He got to play 20 on Friday, as the Bucks built up a huge lead through three quarters, allowing Michael Redd to get a bit of rest.
Speaking of Redd, his numbers are down this week with Patterson emerging as a scoring option. Redd came up big on Wednesday, but hasn't topped 25 points since. For a mere mortal, that's no biggie, but this is Michael Redd ? the NBA's third-leading scorer ? so a stretch of three straight games of 25 or less constitutes a slump. Once he returns to his normal amount of touches, Redd's numbers will rocket again.
Charlie V got a scare in practice on Monday when his elbow was bashed again, but he's obviously fine and is back rolling with 39 points in the past two games including a couple of key buckets late to help the Bucks win last night.
Back-up point guard Steve Blake had a nice run of PT this week, but his role will diminish now that Bell has shifted back to the bench. The whole Jamaal Magloire for Blake and spare parts deal hasn't really worked out, other than to suck the value of each of the main participants of the trade. Neither man can be particularly happy with his new home.
Fast Breaks
Orlando SG: With SF Hedo Turkoglu going down last Friday with an ankle sprain, Orlando's depth has been tested. Grant Hill shifted over to the three and in Hill's spot at the two-guard, first Keith Bogans came off the bench to start for him on Saturday, but he didn't last long, spraining his ankle as well. So now Keyon Dooling (out himself on Wednesday with back spasms) has been pressed into duty in the starting five. Turkoglu is out at least another week, so Dooling should get some significant minutes this week. He's not much of a fantasy option, but he did manage 10 points on Monday. You would have expected J.J. Redick to get his first real look this week, but instead he's been inactive twice and taken one DNP over the past three games. Trevor Ariza has seen a slight uptick in PT and we even had a Travis Diener sighting on Monday.
Indiana frontcourt: I'm not sure you can read much into all the Pacer lineup happenings this week. Combine several blowout games, Stephen Jackson's Saturday blowup and subsequent team-imposed one game suspension and the rampant food poisoning that left the team with three new starters on Monday, and you've got one big mess. But one positive definitely emerged from the insanity and that was the debut of rookie Shawne Williams, who looked very impressive in dropping 6-of-9 shots for 13 points with two blocks and a steal in 27 minutes. The team's decision to not send Williams to the NBDL will look even more prudent if he can claw his way into the rotation ? something that could be bad news for Danny Granger.
Minnesota C: Mark Blount has more or less been getting the job done offensively, but where he really needs to help the T-Wolves is in rebounding, and with just nine in the past three, he's not doing enough. We know Eddie Griffin can rebound if given the minutes, but he's just not seeing the PT. Mark Madsen? Oh, he's out with a partially dislocated right shoulder. So Blount's job appears safe for now, but Coach Casey likes to play around with his rotations, so when the Wolves go small, we could possibly see more Justin Reed, a player that had been stapled to the bench until getting some decent PT on Monday.
Chicago backcourt: The Bulls have been involved in several one-sided affairs lately, so starting PG Kirk Hinrich's PT has seen some big swings. Much of that has to do with foul trouble, which he's finding himself in more often this season. Chris Duhon and Ben Gordon are both seeing heavier minutes in the past week. Duhon is picking up his limited offensive game lately, scoring 10 on Monday, while Gordon is on one of his hot streaks, with 44 points in the past two. With these two picking up their games, the PT of bench backcourters Thabo Sefolosha and Adrian Griffin has disappeared. I really like Thabo, and for a while, he was outplaying the Bulls' more highly-touted rook, Tyrus Thomas, but it's hard to outplay anyone from the bench. Griffin, meanwhile, got some decent PT for a couple of games, but he's back near the end of the bench.
