HOOPLOG: Brevin Knight

Bobcats dealing Knight?

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 09:42:19 -0800

Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff said he had a conversation with point guard Brevin Knight, after Knight said in Saturday's Observer he'd rather be with a contender if his role with the Bobcats were greatly reduced next season. "If I thought...

Rookie Revue

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 08:54:10 -0800

It’s been about a month and a half since we checked in on this year’s rookies. There are two developments that will go on in the next few weeks that will have drastic effect on rookies. One is a negative: the vaunted “rookie wall” that threatens to hurt rookie numbers across the board. The actual effect of the rookie wall isn’t too clear, and it’s not definitely going to affect anyone in particular, but it’s something to think about. The other development is a positive: with a half a season under their belt, some rooks are going to start figuring out the game, force their way onto the court, and start putting up fantasy-starter-like numbers (see Raymond Felton as a perfect example). Anyhow, let’s go down the list:

Plug n’ Play

Andrew Bogut – Despite Joe Smith’s return to the court, Bogut is still a dependable second center in almost all formats. He doesn’t do anything particularly well other than shoot from the field (53%), but he does chip in enough points, boards, steals and blocks to be a fixture in your lineup.

Chris Paul – He’s the ROY. He’s getting consideration for the All-Star Game (which he shouldn’t, but that’s another story). Needless to say, he’s a great play and if you drafted him this year, odds are you got a steal. However, he’s also a classic candidate for the “rookie wall” effect, as he’s played major minutes all year, he’s small, and he’s charging all over the court at 100 mph every game.

Channing Frye – He’s in Plug n’ Play, but just barely. Less Antonio Davis means the potential for more minutes for Channing, but he’s just not earning them – his shooting is down since the new year and he’s still struggling to top 20 mpg. If he didn’t qualify at Center, he wouldn’t be here.

Charlie Villanueva – We’ve been hyping him since day one, and he’s starting to show some returns. Since the Rose trade, he’s put up 17/7.8 with 2.8 3’s and 1 block, starting numbers in any format. He’s a possible Donyell Marshall clone – and I mean that in a good way. But we’ll see how Antonio Davis cuts into his PT.

Raymond Felton – Felton is a brand new FBB favorite. He starting getting it together in January, and now in February he’s got 20/6.3/8 with 2 3’s and 2 steals. He’s also playing well alongside Brevin Knight, and while we don’t think he’ll maintain these numbers, he should put up at least 15/4/6 with a steal and a three.

Just Not There – Yet.

Sarunas Jasekivicius – I think it’s safe to leave Sarunas on the waiver wire at this point. We’ve waited all year to see him get starter’s minutes, but for whatever reason, he hasn’t gotten them. When Jamaal Tinsley went down with an injury (or eight), the minutes went to Anthony Johnson – not exactly a ringing endorsement for the ex-Terp. Still, we’ll keep him in this category.

Danny Granger – He’s very close to being a Plug n’ Play. In fact, I’m sure I’ll get a lot of flack for this. His last five games have been extremely encouraging, but let’s see him keep it up for another week or two.

Marvin Williams – I don’t think he’ll ever justify being drafted ahead of Chris Paul, but I’ve been impressed with Williams of late. He’s quite simply still learning to play the game. But his athleticism is unquestioned, his improvement has been steady, and he’ll be worth a late-round flyer next year. He’s no Darko.

Nate Robinson – If he can’t get minutes under Larry Brown with Stephon Marbury out, I don’t see any reason why he’ll get any sort of reliable minutes over the rest of the year. If he gets traded, though, there’s always a chance.

Nice Try - Maybe Next Year

Ike Diogu – Last month’s hot pickup is this month’s hot drop. He’s got promise, just not for this year.

Jarrett Jack – Listen – if you try and take minutes from our boy Steve Blake, you’re in for a rude awakening. Still, Jack has played very well and could be a nice fantasy player in the future.

Deron Williams – Milt Palacio? Really? Still probably worth a roster spot – if you’ve got room on your bench.

Luther Head – Last month’s hot pick … oh wait, I already used that line.

Salim Stoudamire – He’s not gonna get the minutes he needs to be productive, but he’s got Allan Houston-esque potential down the line.

Already Maxed Out

Jose Calderon – He’s a backup point guard on a poor NBA team. I don’t think there’s any reason to think he’ll be more than a complimentary piece this year, or even in later years.

As the Point Guard Turns

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 08:11:04 -0800

Chicago

Kirk Hinrich’s a tough dude. After leaving the season opener with an ankle injury and being questionable the next night, he came out and went for 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting with 3 3s. After being knocked out with a concussion against Dallas, he did miss a game, but then came back with averages of 24/4.5/10 in his next two games. You’ve got to like that. I normally leave players on the bench for a game to let them get back into the swing of things after an injury, but after Hinrich’s last performance I made sure to get him back in. Of course, it should be noted that Captain Kirk saw an average of 43 minutes in those two games due to the absence of Ben Gordon.

I should have known better than to give Chris Duhon any credit. He promptly had four absolute nightmare games before exploding for 24 points, 7 assists and 6 3s against, of course, the goddamn Wizards. Duhon’s still worth keeping around because he’s one of the few players you can tell Scott Skiles actually likes. His steals and 3s are still solid, but he’s starting to lose some of his assists to Hinrich. His minutes have remained fairly consistent, but it was a good thing he had that great game before Ben Gordon came back, because then things would have gotten interesting. ESPN’s Player Rater isn’t the gospel, but it’s an effective tool; as of Saturday night, Duhon was right in between Richard Hamilton and T.J. Ford. Numbers don’t lie, right?

Miami

Was I a little too early in proclaiming the death of Gary Payton’s fantasy relevancy? Looks that way. With Jason Williams nursing a bum knee, Payton has played 42 mpg in two starts, averaging 17/3.5/3 with 2.5 3s and 1.5 steals in his last two. His shot looked especially strong last night in a game against the Wizards THAT WAS HANDED TO THE HEAT BY THE OFFICIALS. Sorry, lost my composure there a bit, the last two Wizards games have been especially brutal. But that was a fucking fraud. Anyway, the 3-pointers are the big news here. Payton hadn’t been a serious long distance threat since the 00-01 season when he averaged 1.3 per game. But The Man Formerly Known as The Glove is putting them up at a high rate this season. Against the Wiz he was spotting up in the corner on multiple occasions – these were designed plays. In his four starts Payton – who topped 8 apg in six straight seasons in the prime of his career – has had more than 3 assists just once, so these 3s are huge for his value, especially since he’s nowhere near the pickpocket he used to be. If he’s going be seeing roughly 40 minutes per games there’s no problem with using him. In weekly leagues he makes a possibly excellent play – the Heat play four games, but who knows when Williams will return?

Atlanta

In case you didn’t notice, there’s a new starting PG in the league. You’d be forgiven for not noticing, of course. Royal Ivey has started the last three games for the Hawks and after a somewhat promising debut in which he scored 14 on 7-of-10 shooting, he still hasn’t seen more than 20 minutes in any of those starts. Tyronn Lue is still seeing just about the same amount of time even though he’s now coming off the bench. Actually, I should probably just stop now. The title of this section is Five Situations to Pay Attention To, and unless you play in the deepest league in the entire country, this is certainly not a situation worth your attention.

Los Angeles Lakers

Call me crazy, but I think Sasha Vujajic might actually have some fantasy value at some point this season. The triangle offense doesn’t need a traditional point guard to run it, but Parker barely even resembles a point guard. He’s certainly more of a swingman, and his 1.65:1 assist/turnover ratio backs this up. He’s been putting up decent numbers, but the majority of his production has come early in games. On Saturday he had no production at all; no points, no rebounds, 3 assists, missed all 7 of his shots in 24 minutes. Vujacic wasn’t much better, making only 1-of-3 and he didn’t register a single assist in his 24 minutes. The Lakers have been playing better lately, but they still have very little margin for error. Vujacic’s 3.9:1 assist/turnover ranks fourth in the league, behind only Eric Snow, Brevin Knight and Chauncey Billups. It’s not hard to envision Jackson getting fed up with Parker and making a switch. But what kind of value would Vujajic have if he could find regular PT? Marginal, to be sure. He’s not going to be in there for his scoring, and his 31% shooting so far in his career is almost historically bad. I see him similar to Duhon in that he could hit enough 3s and steals to be a marginal play in weeks when he has enough games, or as a guy to keep on your bench and plug in when the inevitable injuries hit.

Denver

Say this about Earl Boykins: his 26 mpg usually means 26 minutes. In 18 of his 21 games the little man has received between 22 and 29 minutes, which makes him a little easier to deal with than guys that fluctuate between 17-33-24, etc. But the last four games show why Boykins just isn’t a reliable player. Through the season’s first 16 games Boykins was averaging 0.8 3s and 1.1 steals – not great numbers, but enough to merit a utility spot in deep leagues. But that’s about as good as it gets for Boykins in those categories, and you know that he’ll never grab any boards or shoot above 42%. Lots of people have been hoping for Earl to sneak into the starting lineup, but this is a guy who has started 10 games in his 379 game career. His role seems pretty defined. With Andre Miller on one of his hot streaks and piling up the assists, there’s no point in shifting him over to SG in favor of Boykins. You can do better.

Comet Gain

Gilbert Arenas – That was a brutal shooting game last night, but he’s starting to rack up the steals and fills up the box score every night. Think of him as the new AI.

Brevin Knight – Owners don’t have him for scoring, but certainly won’t complain about 17.5 ppg to go along with 9 apg and 2.7 spg in his last six.

Sarunas Jasikevicius – A little bit of everything in his five starts: 11.0/4.2/5.4 with 1.6 3s, 1.0 steals on 52% and 94% shooting. Liking my Brent Barry comparison more and more.

Mo Williams – He’s back on the bench now, but those numbers in his four starts – 19.3/1.5/7.0 with 2.5 3s and 1.3 steals – and his consistent 3-point gunning off the bench make him worthy of at least a bench spot.

Baron Davis – Yeah yeah yeah, he can’t shoot. But optimists will look at his 41% career number and think that means he’ll shoot around 43% from here on out. Hey, it’s possible.

The Hold Steady

Chauncey Billups – How nice is it to have a guy like this on your team? Holding strong with that career high assist number.

Derek Fisher – Last two games were especially encouraging – no 3s, but still managed to average 16.5 with 1.5 steals. You know my non-starter policy, but if you’re desperate…

Tony Parker – After no steals in first four games, averaging 1.6 since then. In a bit of a shooting slump, but that was to be expected.

Marko Jaric – Life without Hudson is nice; 15.5/5.5/6.0 with 2 3s and 1 steal in 37.5 minutes in last two. Sell high? If you can…

Delonte West – I’m becoming a believer; eight straight games of 30+ minutes and just enough steals, blocks and 3s to merit that final roster spot in your lineup.

The Fall

Deron Williams – Jerry Sloan can’t take all the blame; 31% shooting and 17/12 assist/turnover in last four just won’t cut it.

Sebastian Telfair – You don’t look for rebounds from PG, but four in his last six games is flat-out pathetic;

Jameer Nelson – Back to the bench with Francis back; he’s crippling in leagues that count TO.

Damon Jones – A forgotten man in most recent game; hard to see him making an impact any time soon.

Luther Head – As expected, he’s slid off to irrelevance with the return of McGrady.

Bosh, Raptors beat slumping Bobcats (AP)

Sat, 10 Dec 2005 19:38:42 -0800

Chris Bosh had 30 points and 11 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors handed the Charlotte Bobcats their seventh straight loss, 111-103 on Saturday night. With Toronto Leading 99-98, Bosh hit two free throws, then blocked Brevin Knight at the other end, leading to Morris Peterson's driving layup that made it 103-98 with 2:05 left.

Weekend Preview: 11/4-11/6

Fri, 04 Nov 2005 10:08:58 -0800

Here comes the first weekend of regular season basketball action in … well … in a long time. And here at FBB we couldn’t be more excited. 25 games, three days, and we’ll start to see some separation in the fantasy basketball standings. Coming out of the gate strong is important for sure, but making that key pickup is even more important. This weekend is going to be where statistical anomalies turn into real trends, and here’s what we’re going to be looking for:

How are those rookies doing?
Now, odds are you won’t be finding Chris Paul or Andrew Bogut on your waiver wire right now. And if you are, we’d like to join your league. But there are plenty of other rookies who are fighting for playing time and establishing themselves in rotations. Mid-first-rounders like Nate Robinson, Hakim Warrick, Johan Petro, Danny Granger and Joey Graham will either be high-risk pickups or complete waiver-wire fodder after this weekend.

We’ll also see a couple of rookies who were drafted in a lot of leagues prove to be worthless. For example, Channing Frye, who is having trouble finding the court with Larry Brown standing in his way. Raymond Felton is caught fighting for minutes with Brevin Knight – which was expected, but still.

Minutes, Minutes, Minutes
If you’re new to FBB, you might want to brace yourself, because if there’s one this we love to talk about (other than point guards), it’s minutes. And you’re gonna hear a LOT about minutes this year from us. Early surprises are Antoine Walker’s 42.5 mpg for the Heat, and Ron Artest seeing 40 mpg so far for the Pacers considering the depth of both teams.

Injury Reports
Shaq (surprise!), Baron (double surprise!) … does “I told you so” mean anything to you guys? These next few days will be pivotal to both these guys and their backups.

Free Agents Fitting In
Here in Washington, we’re quietly chuckling at the Lakers and their big offseason acquisition, Kwame Brown. But we’re also watching Raja Bell and James Jones in Phoenix, Bonzi Wells in Sacramento, and all the new faces in Cleveland.

Game of the Week(end)
Atlanta Hawks at Los Angeles Clippers, Friday, 10:30 PM.
Now, don’t laugh. The FBB version of Game of the Week has absolutely nothing to do with high-profile match-ups, future playoff teams, or anything like that. We’re looking for games that will be of interest strictly from a fantasy standpoint. Here are two teams with a bunch of question marks in terms of PT and the value of some of their big-name players.

For the Hawks, Joe Johnson found out pretty quickly that you pick up a lot more assists dishing to Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudamire than you do dishing to Josh Childress and Zaza Pachulia. Meanwhile, Al Harrington’s ankle injury throws another wrench in the ongoing Childress/Josh Smith/Marvin Williams

For the Clippers, the big question is if Chris Kaman will be able to recover from his 5-TO, 19-minute performance Wednesday night. Plus, who is this James Singleton guy who went for 14 and 10? Also we’ll be watching to see if Corey Maggette is back in the lineup, and if so, how effective he is.

Reading Preseason Box Scores

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 10:23:10 -0800

So here at FBB HQ, we were discussing what to talk about this week, now that we’ve finished off ranking just about everything there is to be ranked. Here’s a quote from DM: “We could do some preseason stuff (as in DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO PRESEASON STATS).” To which I say: “really?”

Sure, the majority of preseason stats are of little to no value. Players aren’t getting the minutes they normally would, they’re not playing full speed in a lot of cases, and they’re often on the floor against future CBA-ers. But there’s still some important stuff going on. I mean, come on – it’s been like 4 months since we’ve had a box score to look at. So what should you be looking for when checking out the numbers? How 'bout this:

Rookie Projections
Before you roll your eyes, I’m not trying to tell you that what a rookie does in the preseason is what he’ll do ion the regular season. Because it’s not. But a lot of rookies will change their games when they enter the NBA. One thing to look for is any sort of unexpected stats from rookies. For example, Chris Paul grabbed ten rebounds last night against Denver. And two games before that, he pulled down seven against Atlanta. This is a guy who averaged 4.5 rpg last year in college – good, but not great - so it’s safe to say that those kind of numbers are a bit unexpected. All you have to do is look at Jason Kidd to know how much strong rebounding numbers can help a PG’s fantasy value.

Here’s another example. Last year with Connecticut, Charlie Villanueva took a total of twelve 3-pointers all year long – making six of them. Over the last five preseason games with Toronto, Villanueva has gone five for twelve from the arc. Where did this come from? Who knows, and who cares. The important thing is that if Villanueva keeps shooting the long ball, he’s going to have more value than many thought.

Position Battles
Here in Washington, we’ve got a nice little position battle between Chucky Atkins and Antonio Daniels, who are fighting to be the new backcourt mate of Gilbert Arenas. Last night in Houston, each got over 34 minutes, and Atkins way out-performed Daniels, as has been the case throughout most of the preseason. Should Atkins end up winning the battle and getting 30+ mpg for the Wiz, he’ll be worth a late round draft pick.

Similarly, there are battles to be won in Atlanta (three of them, really), New York (PT at center), and a number of other spots across the league.

Injury Watches
Nagging injuries in the preseason generally will turn into non-issues during the regular season. But sometimes, there’s truth to them. Shaun Livingston, for example, probably shouldn’t be drafted any more. Quentin Richardson should be sliding down the draft board. Brevin Knight’s elbow could be something to watch. It’s not a terrible idea to spend a late round pick on a guy who’s doing some injury fill-in work, and knowing who’s injured, obviously, is a good way to do that.

So as you can see, preseason games aren’t totally useless. If you know what to look for, there can be some useful information in them. I mean, it’s a basketball box score – it’s gotta be good for something.

Overall Rankings: 91 to 120

Thu, 20 Oct 2005 17:00:35 -0800

1 to 30
31 to 60
61 to 90

91. Jamaal Tinsley – The ultimate tease; few can match his 3s/steals/assists combo, but he plain cannot shoot or stay healthy.
92. Eddie Jones – Certainly on the downside of his career, but can handle lots of minutes and hit 3s with the best.
93. Al Harrington – Won’t ever have a huge breakout like some had hoped, but should be solid as long as minutes are there.
94. Morris Peterson – See above.
95. Gerald Wallace – His big numbers (for his position) in steals and blocks will do a lot to offset his seriously lackluster shooting.
96. Ricky Davis – He’ll start, yes, but averaged 33 mpg last year and wasn’t anything all that special.
97. Sam Cassell – Could be a disaster, but Livingston is young and injury-prone; can’t forget how consistently awesome Sam was the three years before last.
98. Mike James – As long as he’s starting, he’ll be well worth using.
99. Mike Sweetney – Needs to lock down starting job, but will be a rebound/FG% monster if he does.
100. Sebastian Telfair – If he could shoot the 3 he’d be better, but 6.7 apg and 1.4 spg in April make him an OK option.
101. Mehmet Okur – As always, potential is there, but he’s usually frustrating to own with Sloan getting much of the blame.
102. Joel Przybilla – Ask the folks who drafted Mark Blount and Samuel Dalembert last year how reliable big men who finish strong are.
103. J.R. Smith – Hasn’t shown he can do anything but shoot a bunch of 3s; don’t go crazy with the kids.
104. Troy Murphy – We’re never too high on non-hustle stat guys, but if the Warriors run enough he should have some value.
105. Ben Gordon – Have to think he’ll break into the starting lineup eventually; still is a pretty one-dimensional player.
106. Raja Bell – Someone will probably jump the gun thinking he’ll replicate JoeJohn’s numbers from last year; that’s quite unlikely, but he should be solid.
107. Al Jefferson – Pick him up in January after the guy who drafted him too early gets frustrated and drops him.
108. P.J. Brown – Keeps on plugging away; needs to get that FG% back up to around 47%, but will be underrated as usual.
109. Wally Szczerbiak – His strong percentages make him worth having around, especially if he can get back up to 15 shots per game.
110. Nenad Krstic – Another one of those strong-finish big men to be wary of, especially since he doesn’t block many shots.
111. Brendan Haywood – OK, a bit of a homer pick, but it’s not unreasonably to expect 2 bpg with very nice boards and FG%.
112. Erick Dampier – He might be interested, he might not. His 12/12 with 2 blocks from a couple years is hard to ignore, but honestly, you probably should.
113. Eddy Curry – All of the big men in this batch have major questions, so just pick one you like. Could be an offensive force, but don’t expect any rebounds or blocks all of a sudden.
114. Jameer Nelson – He seems to be buried right now, just can’t understand why; 14.9/4.0/4.6 with 1.5 spg and 1.2 3pg after the break shows he’s more than ready.
115. Bonzi Wells – Is slated for lots of PT, but doesn’t have the greatest game and can get on coaches’ bad sides quickly.
116. Theo Ratliff – Even in a very off year averaged 2.5 bpg; if Przybilla isn’t for real should get a chance to reclaim his starting job.
117. Darius Miles – Perennial tease, but Portland is very thin this year and he does get a decent number of steals and blocks for his position.
118. Eddie Griffin – Yet another perennial tease, but he can be very effective with only 25-28 mpg.
119. Raymond Felton – We think he’ll get there eventually…
120. Brevin Knight – But until then, these two are going to hurt each other’s value.

Eastern Conference Preview - South East Division

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:00:33 -0800

Miami Heat

What can anyone say about a team with Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade? Of course the Heat will be the favorites to go to the NBA finals.

As great as the Heat were last season, look at what they have done in the off season. They acquired Jason Williams and James Posey from the Grizzlies, signed free agent Antoine Walker and now solidified their bench with the *gulp* veteran Gary Payton. That's right, if you read the Atlantic division preview, the HEX is still on. Actually the HEX is on for two reasons, the "glove" just adds to the old HEX i put on Alonzo Mourning for being sick, too sick to play in Toronto, but not sick enough to hang from Shaq's nuts like Payton is. Good thing Shaq's got two, right?

Is there another guard capable of taking the spotlight off of Lebron James? Dwayne Wade may be the only one right now, in the way that he cuts to the basket and plays defense with no fear and no regard for his own body.

Shaquille O'Neal must look at this year as the year to take it all again. O'Neal is definitely on his way down, his skills are going to erode rather quickly as they usually do with big men. Too many years of pounding on those knees and ankles and too much abuse from the double and triple teams and hack-a-shack's. How many more Shaq "quality" years are left?

This is another lineup that looks as deep as can be. Williams starting at the point backed up by a future Hall of Famer in Gary Payton, Walker starting at power forward backed up by Udonis Haslem, who had a break out year last year (we'll just pretend it had nothing to do with playing next to Shaq), and of course, Shaq backed up by, *uh-hem*, Alonzo Mourning.

I will understand if they Heat win a championship. Wade deserves that kind of success, i just don't like those "cleaner fish" who travel from team to team, only looking for a way to win a championship. Learn from Reggie Miller people...

My Picks:

Best Player: Shaquille O'Neal
Best Rookie: Wayne Simien
Prediction: 1st (Central), 1st (East)

Washington Wizards

I'm the wiz. I'm the wiz. The Wizards laid down the law last season. It was impressive to see a team heading into the playoffs not taking any crap from a player. In 2001, Kwame Brown was the first high school player ever taken with the first pick of the draft. Attitude and injuries always seemed in the forefront with Brown and only one of those can be tolerated, not both.

Brown was traded to the LA Lakers in return for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins. A good move in my opinion, trading a guy that no longer fits into the work ethic of the team for two talented far from superstar players.

The big loss for Washington was having Larry Hughes leave for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It will be difficult to replace that kind of scoring and defensive presence. The Wizards were able to land Antonio Daniels as a free agent, but that's far from replacing anything Hughes gave the team.

The team's strength this year will come from point guard Gilbert Arenas who can score from anywhere and has ice in his veins and the collection of talented big men, led by Antawn Jamison who found new life after coming to Washington from Dallas last season. Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas are two nasty post players to be pitted against, those guys fight for every point and fight hard.

If the Wiz can get over the loss of Hughes and plug the hole with a combination of Daniels and Butler, there is no reason they can't compete in the SouthEast, although taking on the Miami Heat will be tough.

My Picks:

Best Player: Gilbert Arenas
Best Rookie: *
Prediction: 2nd (Central), 4th (East)

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic are a little bit of an enigma to me. With last season's personnel shuffle following the Tracy McGrady trade, sometimes it looked like the players weren't all on the same page. Doesn't a team led at the point by Steve Francis always seem that way? I thought the same of the Houston Rockets when he was there.

What a great sight to see last year, Grant Hill returning to the court and playing effectively was definitely a sweet story and although his season was cut short towards the end, there is hope that he is fully recovered from his series of ankle surgeries and will return to the court again this season, hopefully more confident and more like his old self than last year.

Dwight Howard, "man child" proved that he can play in this league and will someday be a dominant post player, after all, he was just drafted out of high school and he still averaged a double-double through his rookie season. When is the last time that feat was accomplished? I don't hear enough hype about that. Emeka Okafor averaged a double-double as well, but he was drafted out of the college ranks.

I have to say, it would be nice to see Jameer Nelson get some more starters minutes. It seemed the Magic played a more fluid game when Nelson started at the point and Francis was shifted to shooting guard.

It will be interesting to see if Kelvin Cato and Tony Battie can stay healthy this year. I remember thinking before last season that Tony Battie was a big gamble for the Magic, considering his bad knee history while with the Celtics and Cavaliers, but it didn't play as big a factor in Orlando as i thought. That's not to say the injury is completely over with, but if Battie and Cato can spell each others minutes, I'd be ready to let Howard have a bigger role in the post.

What the heck happened with the Fran Vasquez pick? Vasquez was rated one of the top big men available in this years draft and was taken with Orlando's first pick, 11th overall. Shortly after the draft, we started hearing about Vasquez not going to come to the Magic, rather he would stay in Spain and play for Real Madrid. This is a long standing issue with the NBA draft. Players can enter themselves for eligibility, but it doesn't mean that they actually have to commit to the NBA team that picks them. This was an 11th pick though, if an NBA team knows the player has no intention of coming to the league, then they could use that pick on someone that has shown that interest. Come to think of it, i guess the blame could be laid on the Magic organization as well for not doing their homework properly. They just went into the draft thinking, once picked, they could convince Vasquez to come to Orlando.

"I've said, 'No,' because I was afraid to adapt to the American way of life, and of not giving the level they have asked. I'm not a coward, but I prefer to stay in Spain, progress, and who knows? Maybe jump to the NBA in a few years."

Does that sound like a man ready to commit to the NBA? Could they not have known that before the draft? The lure of the NBA life isn't what we think it is, i guess.

My Picks:

Best Player: Steve Francis
Best Rookie: *
Prediction: 3rd (Central), 10th (East)

Charlotte Bobcats

Expansion what? I remember when the expansion Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies came into the league. The two teams didn't look like they had a hope in hell of improving in their first few seasons. It's a different story for the Bobcats through, you can look at that roster and the way Bernie Bickerstaff has drafted and signed talent and see the improvement coming rather quickly.

I had some questions about the drafting of Emeka Okafor. I had heard the stories of his back problems and how it would hinder his play in the extended NBA schedule. Well, i was wrong to doubt the pick, wasn't i? Okafor played above and beyond expectations and from all accounts is learning and developing this off season in hopes of being a bigger part of the team's offense.

There were too big surprises for me when watching the Bobcats last season. Primoz Brezec, who couldn't bribe his way unto the court in Indiana was picked by Charlotte in the expansion draft and proved to be a steal. The guy can play, he can score and rebound with the best of them, and he's young. Now, who the heck would have thought that Brevin Knight would have been among the league leaders in assist, almost averaging a double-double for the season with points and assists.

This season should be interesting for the Bobcats again and there's no reason to believe they won't improve. The Bobcats drafted a great college point guard in Raymond Felton and they are surely hoping the lack of size Sean May has won't be as big a hindrance as people think.

I just don't think the improvement will be significant enough to get them into the playoffs, but it will bring some more excitement to Charlotte.

My Picks:

Best Player: Emeka Okafor
Best Rookie: Raymond Felton
Prediction: 4th (Central), 11th (East)

Atlanta Hawks

Oh woe, the Hawks ended up having another disappointing season. I've been silently pulling for the Hawks for years. The lovable losers of my life.

Just look at their lineup this season and you can see the potential is incredible, but there is much seasoning to be done. Even the addition of Joe Johnson this off season won't bring the Hawks into the playoffs, the supporting staff in Atlanta is not what it needs to be this season, not that it won't be in the future, it's just not there right now.

Much like the Toronto Raptors, you have to question the choice of selecting a player that occupies the same position as your draft pick of the year prior. Marvin Williams is a great talent, but Josh Childress will have something to say about Williams' playing time.

The Hawks would have taken a huge step into respectability if they had signed Eddy Curry to an offer sheet this off season, but the issue of Curry's irregular heart beat and his unwillingness to be tested by Hawks' doctors just soured that deal to such an extent, there was no getting by it.

Because this team is still so young, there is no way to properly judge the future, other than to say it's going to be good, but whether or not the Hawks can hold on to their young guys beyond their rookie contracts is going to be the question.

My Picks:

Best Player: Joe Johnson
Best Rookie: Marvin Williams
Prediction: 5th (Central), 15th (East)

Friday roundup: Bobcats re-sign G Knight

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 09:44:37 -0800

Knight gives Bobcats experience at guard

by Associated Press

Charlotte Bobcats: Brevin Knight re-signed, giving Charlotte an experienced point guard as rookie Raymond Felton adjusts to the NBA.

Knight averaged 9.0 assists last season, second in the league. He is expected to lose his starting job to Felton,...

Free Agent Point Guards

Mon, 16 May 2005 10:12:41 -0800

Danny has mentioned adding a point guard to our roster. Which makes it the 20th consecutive year (give or take) that its been one of the team's top offseason priorities. So you'll excuse me if I'm not sold that we'll find the next Jason Kidd this summer. Still, it can't hurt to bring in some experienced help for Flash and Cash. So lets look at some potential free agent candidates.

Marco Jaric - Like greasy Euros? Here's your man. Maybe we should pick him up just so Chad Ford will give us some love. I fully admit I've seen him play maybe once, so I have no scouting report other than what I read on the net. One such report says that he's good in the open court, but not a natural playmaker. However, I can tell you he's a restricted free agent, which means anyone trying to sign him will have to do the 15 day waltz with the Clips. Bill Simmons doesn't seem to like him, so take that for what its worth.

Earl Watson - He's my early favorite. Still pretty green himself, but he's shown that he can run an offense and play defense. Hard to put too much stock in a guy that backed up White Chocolate, but he might be one of those point guards that "get it" after his first few seasons. Think Marcus in 2-3 more years. Could be had for under or at the MLE as well.

Sarunas Jasikevicius - Another Chad Ford dreamboat. He's in Europe right now and a free agent. He's got quite a resume, and even his own website (featuring his cheesy glam shot and freaky eyes pic). Still, he's a winner and a veteran. Will his game translate (bad pun intended) well to the NBA? Could be worth a gamble.

Antonio Daniels - He's a guy that I've coveted for a long time because he's young, talented, and already gone through his growing pains years. He can play defense and run the point and hit an occasional jumper. What more do you need? He has a player option to get out of his contract. Might be a little expensive if the bidding gets high, but definitly worth a look.

Damon Stoudamire/Jeff McInnis - You have to wonder if any former Jail Blazer not named Rasheed could be worth picking up, especially with Danny preaching character. But you never know. Danny did bring in Davis, and that worked out well. Both have skills. Neither excites me much.

Others: Dan Dickau, Tyronn Lue, Darrell Armstrong - Eh. Meh. Neh.

There are a lot of teams desperately seeking point guards, and the Rockets will likely lead the charge. If Danny continues to pursue value players, I'd look for Earl Watson. If he decides to gamble big, it might be Jasikevicius. Or he's got the trade route to pursue as well.

Update: I guess I forgot to mention Brevin Knight. Its possible I forgot more. I don't have any negative feelings towards Brevin, but I know hagrid does (I'll let him explain why). Brevin seems like a pass-first point that won't make a lot of mistakes.

In other news, the carnival is back in Chicago.

Weekend Review

Mon, 14 Mar 2005 16:56:00 -0800

For the first time since I can remember, Selection Sunday came and went and I really couldn’t have cared less. Rather than watching the Big Ten or ACC Finals, I was busy peeking in on Dallas/Minnesota and Houston/Sacramento. I’m not sure what that says about me, but keep this in mind – the NCAA Tournament is a great chance for you to sneak in and make some great pickups while everyone else is distracted by opening weekend. Remember, no matter how much studying and thinking you do regarding the NCAA Tourney, you’ve got no chance. None. Zero. Okay? Good. Now on to Fantasy Basketball…

FBB Roadtrip!

That’s right, I was out of town on "business" Thursday and Friday. I know, you’re shocked that FBB doesn’t provide enough income on it’s own, but it doesn’t. Anyhow, I was able to take advantage of being in lovely Philadelphia by going to the Sixers/Bobcats game on Friday night. It wasn’t much of a game. After keeping it tied after one quarter, the Bobcats seemingly gave up. The Sixers opened the second with a 19-2 run, and never looked back, winning 112-80. With most starters resting in the 4th quarter, the game did not really provide all that much fantasy insight. But a couple of things did strike me:

Allen Iverson is one of the best passers in the NBA. A lot of guys rack up assists by passing to a guy on the perimeter who knocks down a jumper. Not AI. At least 3, maybe 4 of his 12 assists that night were on spectacular alley-oops. A couple more were thread-the-needle passes to cutting teammates. A very impressive evening from AI, and I think he’ll be running the point for years to come in Philly.

Kyle Korver could be worth drafting in the middle rounds next year. His repartee with Iverson is great. One thing that Iverson’s never really had is that knockdown 3-point shooter. Other than Iverson, Aaron McKie – he of the .352 career 3pt% - has been the leading three-point shooter on the squad for most of the past 5 years. Now with Iverson playing the point, he’s doing more driving and kicking out, which means more 3’s for Korver. Plus, he’s a huge fan favorite in Philly.

Emeka Okafor is the only Bobcat worth playing every single night. The rest will simply not get the minutes to be effective. Primoz Brezec, Marvin Ely and Malik Allen overload the frontcourt, and even with Brevin Knight out, Jason Hart played only 21 minutes in the game. Maybe next year, Charlotte.

Miller? Damn near killed her!

Well I guess this is why you trade Webber for 3 decent bigs. With Brad Miller out for what is likely the rest of the regular season, all the Kings horses and all the Kings men are going to see a significant bump in stats. Brian Skinner has averaged 10.9/10.6 with 2.7 blocks in 34.4 minutes since taking over for Miller, and will be a decent starter at center over the rest of the year. The Big Three of Peja, Cuttino Mobley and Mike Bibby will be counted on for the majority of the scoring, as evidenced by the fact that they took 61% of their team’s shots in their loss to Houston on Sunday. Something tells me that Peja still isn’t healthy, as evidenced by his horrendous line on Friday. In 38 minutes, he had 6 points, 1 board, 1 assist, no steals, no blocks, and shot 2-10 from the field. This, from a first-round pick in most leagues this year, with no Brad Miller or Webber in the lineup? He may have recovered somewhat on Sunday, but keep an eye of this situation.

Miller? Damn near killed her! Part 2

Reggie Miller isn’t done producing just yet. Sure he’s 39 years old and still possibly the skinniest player in league history, and sure he gets banged around a lot, but Reggie just keeps coming back. And how! Over his last 5, he’s averaged 21.4 points, with 1.6 3’s and 97.1 FT%. Yes, those are the only categories he’ll ever help you in, but if you need help in those categories, by all means go get him if he’s available.

Weekend Review

Mon, 07 Mar 2005 09:33:28 -0800

Boy, this was a rough weekend. There were tons of little injuries and flare-ups, and huge warning signs all over the place. One league of mine, which generally sees about 5 or 6 moves in a weekend, had 13 separate waiver wire transactions involving 22 players on Saturday and Sunday. So you KNOW there was some action going on in the "L" this weekend. Let’s try to recap:

Major/Minor Injuries

There were plenty of minor injuries to major names this weekend. Yesterday, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley sat out and the Mavs responded with a season-low 69 points (their previous low this year was 80). Sacramento played without Brad Miller and Cuttino Mobley, but managed much better as they defeated the Pistons by 15. Tim Duncan sat out the last half of the Spurs’ victory on Sunday, and might miss Tuesday’s game against the Nets. Antawn Jamison left the Wizards’ game early on Sunday with a sore knee. Ah, the second half of the season. Players are breaking down, games are becoming less important for certain teams, and you’re going to see a lot of unannounced missed games for your players. You’re going to have to simply work through these, though. Don’t be afraid to start a lesser player on your bench when you know a starter of yours is going to miss a game.

What’s going to be much more important than these minor injuries to stars, though, is how you react to the more major injuries, and the clusters of injuries that are happening to certain teams. For example, the Wizards are facing injuries to Jarvis Hayes and Jared Jefferies, and now that Jamison is having injury issues, Kwame Brown and Brendan Haywood become much more valuable as the default 3rd and 4th scoring options. They are both great plays this week. Their opponent on Saturday, the Bobcats, are going to be without Brevin Knight for at least a couple of games, meaning Jason Hart will also have great value this week.

Other injuries that should have you scanning the waiver wires include:
· Luol Deng’s bum ankle keeping him out of Chicago’s rotating lineup for a couple weeks.
· Jamaal Tinsley’s continual injuries of one sort or another killing his value for the season.
· Zach Randolph and Ruben Patterson missing time, giving Shareef Abdur-Rahim unexpected value.
· Doug Christie proving that the Magic, as we suspected, pretty much gave away Cuttino Mobley for absolutely nothing.

Tim Thomas Alert

Did you make it through the trading deadline without getting suckered in to trading for Tim Thomas? I’d hope so. He’s on one of his classic, "Look! I can have value!" runs right now, but don’t be fooled. He might be available in some shallow leagues, but you shouldn’t be thinking about picking him up. Sure his points can look nice every once in awhile, but when you have a small forward who doesn’t get 4 boards, or even 2 assists, or a steal, or a block, well, that’s a big problem.

As the Point Guard Turns

Mon, 28 Feb 2005 15:05:54 -0800

Ah, the frustrations of fantasy basketball. Two players who I ve been begging to get more playing time finally get put into situations where they are going to see that time and I miss out on both of them. Bah. Lots and lots of post-deadline PG situations to look at today, so let s get to it. With most fantasy trading deadlines fast approaching, this could be the last real chance to improve your team for the stretch run.

The Celtics situation is far from resolved. After Gary Payton was shipped to Atlanta, Delonte West who played a total of 120 minutes in the NBA prior to the trade stepped directly into the starting lineup the past two games and in 37 mpg put up 17.5/5.0/2.5 with 2.5 3s, 1.5 steals and 1 block on 64% shooting. Wow. The assists are low, which isn t surprising, and he should be looked at as more of a SG than a PG. But the 3s and steals are very welcome, and he s obviously a hot pickup. That said, Payton could be back in the fold very shortly. The Celtics will probably welcome him back if he wants to come back, but you have to wonder, should they? In their two games without him, with their new lineup featuring the rejuvenated Antoine Walker and West, they ve won tough road games at Utah and (an admittedly Steve Nash-less) Phoenix. It could be that this lineup of fresh legs is the way to go. Grab, West, hold on to Payton, but if The Glove comes back, I wouldn t be surprised to see them both have middling value at best. In his first game with C-Webb, Allen Iverson racked up 14 assists. The guy s just having a phenomenal year. If the 76ers can get past the Celtics for the Atlantic Division crown, it will be hard to deny him the MVP. Jason Kidd is #7 on the 30-Day Rater. He ll be one of the more interesting draft choices next year. He s obviously still worthy of a first-round pick, but how many people will be scared by his knee? A quiet week for Rafer Alston, both production-wise and blowup-wise. I m sure his owners will take it, though. Only 29.7 mpg in his last three isn t reason for concern, but it s a slightly interesting trend to watch. If you can buy low on Stephon Marbury right now, I d do it. The Knicks only have three guards on their active roster and one of those is the always-fragile Penny Hardaway. Expect Steph to see close to 40 mpg from here on out and to put up big numbers.

The Pistons are clicking on all cylinders. Wait, I didn t even mean for it to come out that way. Even if Shaq is completely healthy come conference finals time, the Pistons are looking like the team to beat in the East. Chauncey Billups continues his strong play and Carlos Arroyo is thriving in his backup role. The Pistons will have one of the best PG duos in the league over the next three years should they hold onto both of them. I suppose that technically Jeff McInnis is the PG in Cleveland, even though I talk about LeBron here all the time. But I mean, there s no news to report and it sure is a lot more fun to talk about LBJ than Jeff McInnis. Random LeBron thought of the day: I have one of these. I was thinking it d be going for more. Oh well. It was bittersweet seeing Kirk Hinrich lay it on my beloved Wiz on Friday night. Check out his mpg in the last six 42.8. Expect this to continue as the Bulls push not only for a playoff spot, but first round home-court advantage. He s still not getting as many assists as you d like, but he s going to be a stud from here on out. As for Chris Duhon, well he s seen 29.8 mpg in his last four, including three games of 30+. He s hitting open 3s, getting assists and a few steals. That said, he s #119 on the 15-Day Rater. Still, if you have PG games to make up, he s not a bad option. I do other things besides obsess fantasy basketball. In fact, I m in a band. (We both are, actually.) One thing I always have problems with is writing lyrics. Always drawing a blank. Maybe I ll write a song about how much I hate Jamaal Tinsley. The chorus could go, Day-to-day, why don t you just go away? Does that sound like a hit to you? Hmm, oh well. In any case, Tinsley is on the short list for most frustrating player in the league this year. Great numbers when he s out there, but he s absolutely killing his owners right now by being on the bench (not the IL), at a time in the season where most owners are cycling through all of their players in order to use their games in hand. It s really starting to look like he won t be a contributor the rest of the year. (Yes, I m trying reverse psychology. Yes, I realize that actually saying that means it won t work.) Anthony Johnson is still not an option he needs to play basically a perfect game just to be an average fantasy contributor. We re past the point of saying Mo Williams should be picked up. The question is who are his comparables as far as value for the rest of the season. BV pointed out his numbers earlier today, and they are tasty. Here s his deal: plenty of assists, very few 3s, average steals and scoring. Think normal Andre Miller for a good comp. If you need assists more than 3s, he s your man.

The Damon Jones binge continues. I like him better than Quentin Richardson for 3s from here on out. Gilbert Arenas got in one last monster game before Larry Hughes returns, going for 43/7/3 with 7 3s and 2 steals. Watching him and Mike Bibby duel was really a treat. There was also a Steve Blake sighting, which I couldn t let pass. In 34 minutes he went for 17/5/5 with 2 3s and a steal. It s all about opportunity, people. There s just not that much separating Blake from Dan Dickau. Remember when the Magic were one of the year s better stories? When they finish 37-45, four games out of the playoffs, those memories will be even more distant than they are now. Still, at least they re getting Jameer Nelson in there. I was clamoring for it, and in his first two starts he was good for 13.5/8.0/6.5 with 1 steal on 50% shooting. Now there s some talk that he creates bad defensive matchups and that his spot in the starting lineup isn t completely secure. Eh. I d still take my chances. I maintain he ll be a Jamaal Tinsley type, although it looks like he ll be more valuable on the boards and he might not his as many 3s as of yet (it took Tinsley a few years). Hopefully he won t inspire me to write hateful songs about him. Oh right, I didn t get him, so he won t. As for how this affects Steve Francis he s still the same incredibly overrated player he s always been. And now he ll have fewer assists. Brevin Knight has seen 30+ in two straight. You know what you re getting. He s like a rich man s Rick Brunson. Or something like that. Tyronn Lue alert! In his four games since returning from injury, he s received 36 minutes, and put up 15.3/2.8/7.0 with 0.5 steals and 1.0 3s. Solid, but a few things to notice: The assists are a bit high, expect him to be closer to 5. The 3s and steals are about right. He should be closer to 1.5 3s, but he s never been a top thief. He s seeing plenty of PT now, and should for the near future. But I ll echo the rest in thinking that those 13 year-old kids at the end of the Hawks bench might start taking his time as we get closer to April.

There s an emerging trend in San Antonio, and that s of Tony Parker being the secondary scoring option behind Tim Duncan. He averaged 20.4 ppg in February compared to Manu Ginobili s 16.5. Man is that PG situation in Dallas frustrating. After scoring 18 points in three games, Jason Terry goes off for 27 on Saturday. Don Nelson needs to keep him in the lineup, although it should be said that in Terry s two best games in February, the Mavs lost both times. That probably doesn t mean much. You have to stick with him and hope that maybe Brad Miller lays another one into Devin Harris, and Darrell Armstrong too, while he s at it. Although that would certainly upset this guy. It s just wrong, I tell you. Who s the one who s been yapping endlessly about Mike James all year? Me. Who snagged him the moment he got traded to Houston. BV. That stands for Bastard Verymuch. Hmm, I could have probably done better. Oh well. So out of all of the newly valuable PGs, it should come as no shock that I like James the best. Bob Sura s on the IL, Rod Strickland was given the boot, Andre Barrett s on the IL yeah, Moochie Norris and his hair are around, but this is James s show, and that was very evident as they put him in the starting lineup in his first game and he was good for 19/2/3 with 3 steals and 3 3s in 34 minutes. This is an especially good game, but he will be solid. Don t expect tons of assists, but the 3 and steals will be there. Until Sura gets back, he s got every chance to be as good as, say, Chucky Atkins. Remember, Atkins is the 62nd best player in the league this year, fantasy-wise. That s good. Ho-hum in Memphis. Jason Williams is the man, but you ll have to deal with games like Saturday when Earl Watson is the better player and J-Will gets only 23 minutes. I like Mike James more as long as Sura s out, unless you really need assists. We got our first look at post-trade deadline New Orleans and it wasn t pretty at all. That s a very Hubie-esque looking box score, with 10 guys seeing at least 14 minutes and no one logging more than 35. Dan Dickau stepped up with 22 points, 3 assists and 3 3s, but if you can sell high right now, you might want to try. He s playing for a contract, so you know he ll look to put up numbers, but his PT is in the hands of Byron Scott. As for Speedy Claxton, he might be able to salvage some value, but if they keep sharing time like that in the Big Easy, it will be tough for anyone to really distinguish themselves.

We re approaching 2,000 words. Sports Guy would be proud. My employer wouldn t be. Luke Ridnour is on the verge of uselessness. I guess you can throw out yesterday s game because it was a blowout early on, but that s still one decent game out of his last four. He s lucky Antonio Daniels has hit a rough patch as well. It s unlikely Ridnour will be removed from the starting lineup all season, but he s no Mike James. Sam Cassell has been every bit as frustrating as Jamaal Tinsley this year. Even more so. Sammy owners, I feel for ya. He s slowly working his way to the point where he can re-enter the starting lineup. With Latrell Sprewell looking like he might have finally turned it around (someone should fine me for saying that), if Sammy can come back the Wolves can make that push to get swept by the Spurs in the first round. Continue to be patient. But then again, what else can you do? You think Andre Miller was glad to see Earl Boykins banished to the bench. Maybe it s a mental thing. Boykins still saw almost 30 mpg off the bench, just slightly below what he was getting as a starter, but it still made all the difference in the world for Miller. Hopefully George Karl makes this a permanent change. It s best for everyone; even Boykins might hold his value. But probably not. He won t make it to the line 16 times every game. Yesterday was the first time Damon Stoudamire was held to single digits since Jan. 2. He s been over 20 only once in the past five games. Is his run over, or should you buy low? The minutes are still there, so I m buying (relatively) low. Keith McLeod should be a top point guard option from here on out. Ha, just making sure you re still paying attention this far in. You should be, I mean, is your job really any more exciting? Well, it s gotta be more exciting than the Jazz PG situation, at least.

Leandro Barbosa got plenty of PT with Steve Nash out (36.3 mpg), but didn t light it up, all things considered: 15.3/4.7/3.7 with 1.7 steals and 1 3. Very solid, but on the Suns it s easy to have high expectations. Since Nash is likely to miss a couple more games as we wind down, he s a good guy to have around for single game fill-ins. I always say how much I love Mike Bibby. No, not that like that. Not entirely like that, at least. He s always been better in real life than fantasy, but this is the year that s changed, and with Chris Webber taking his Monistat 7 to Philly, Bibby will be a total stud the rest of this year and next year and the year after, etc. He s #13 on the Rater, #4 in the last 30 Days and just might be a late-first rounder next year. Maybe. Chucky Atkins will be up and down with Kobe Bryant back, but his 3s will keep him valuable. Rick Brunson is fine for those of you who need assists, but he just doesn t shoot/score. He was getting a lot more 3s last time he saw lots of PT. Not this time. Poor man s Brevin Knight, right? And finally, the Warriors. Good to see Baron Davis out there. Hard to see him coming off the bench too much longer, and the Warriors probably want to keep his minutes down so as not to risk an injury in a meaningless season (insert Warriors meaningless season joke here), but he might want to show his new home crowd that he s still got it. Derek Fisher owners should get ready for the letdown. After averaging 43 mpg in his last four, he was back down to 33 last night. Still put up an awesome 19/4/2 with 3 steals and 3 3s, once his minutes slip into the 20s, his time will be up. That said, it s not like he isn t signed for another 5 years, so the Warriors might as well keep running him out there because like it or not, he s a part of their future.

As the Point Guard Turns

Mon, 21 Feb 2005 08:42:34 -0800

Not too much to cover with the short week, but here s the rundown nonetheless.

The entire Atlantic division is pretty ho-hum when it comes to point guards. You know what to expect from Gary Payton, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Rafer Alston and Stephon Marbury. I can t see Kidd getting traded this week, but that s just me. Both him and Iverson are injury concerns the rest of the way, but with their teams fighting for playoff spots, expect them to tough it out.

The Pistons are really clicking right now, having won each of their past four games by at least 18 points. That s why Chauncey Billups PT is slightly down. He s hit 15 3s in those four games and is really on fire. He s above Ray Allen on the Player Rater. The only people higher than LeBron in assists on the Rater are Steve Nash and Marbury. Damn. It was good to see Kirk Hinrich participate in the Rookie/Soph game. The fact that he played far outweighs the fact that he missed all of his shots. He always misses all of his shots. He should be good to go for the stretch run, and I wouldn t be surprised to see him average 40 mpg. I d still avoid Chris Duhon, just like I d avoid most other players getting 25 mpg. Will Jamaal Tinsley be back tomorrow night? Who the hell knows? He s definitely at the point of believe it when I see it. It would be nice to think he ll be back to his productive self for the final 31 games, but there s just not much to support it. That said, I d avoid selling low. The Milwaukee situation looks like it won t change this year. If you grabbed Mike James during his hot stretch, it s probably safe to let go now.

Damon Jones owners sure hope the all-star break didn t cool him down. You have to think that his being snubbed for the 3-point contest helped contribute to the 23 3s he put in during the team s last four games. Keep an eye on Gilbert Arenas once Larry Hughes comes back. It was when Hughes went down that Gilbert really turned things on, so it will be interesting to see how Hughes s return affects his numbers. I would expect a slight hit, but he s still a top-15 player. Steve Francis finds himself at #17 on the Player Rater now, but at #23 when taking it by averages. He s clearly not a first-rounder anymore. Jason Hart got the start, but Brevin Knight got the minutes and the production on Wednesday. It looks like he s fine and will probably be back starting and worth using. Keep Hart on speed dial, though. The Hawks will be a team to watch. Whoa, that looks weird in print. Just for fantasy purposes of course, although now that everyone not just NBA Fastbreak regulars know about Josh Smith, they probably have more buzz than in many years. J-Smooth was seeing some time at the point earlier this year, and since Josh Childress certainly doesn t deserve to lose any PT with Al Harrington coming back, it will be interesting to see if the Hawks go back to that with Tyronn Lue still out. Nobody will be racking up too many assists, either way.

Tony Parker is at #47 on the Player Rater. It s looking like he ll be a top-4 round pick for many years. Just when we all thought Jason Terry was safe, Don Nelson strikes again. Terry saw just 24 and 25 minutes in the last two games, while Darrell Armstrong saw 23 and 20 and Devin Harris saw 31 and 18, just for good measure. Ugh. Stick with Terry and hope for the best. Might be a decent time to sell high on Bob Sura. It looks he s past his injury problems, which is good for his trade value, and if you need the help in 3s and steals you might be able to get a PG that will help more in those categories. Jason Williams was healthy enough to play in the last game of the break, so he s fine. Earl Watson still saw 30 minutes, but he has no value right now. Who the hell knows with Baron Davis? Same as Tinsley, we ll believe it when we see it. It goes without saying that I m stuck with both of these guys. It certainly doesn t seem like the Hornets or Davis are in any rush for him to return. As long as he's out, Dan Dickau is more than solid.

Luke Ridnour owners hated seeing him put up 2/2/3 in 24 minutes while Antonio Daniels went for 19/4/4 Wednesday. No more than 31 minutes for Ridnour in his last four. Prior to that he saw at least 33 minuets in 11 straight. Interesting. OK, so Troy Hudson s got nothing. Sam Cassell and his hamstring better be back in there soon. I maintain he ll be solid from here on out. Don t ask me why I feel that way. Andre Miller is in a major, major funk right now, hitting rock bottom with a 2/1/1 in the last game before the break. He just doesn t play as well with Earl Boykins in the lineup. Damon Stoudamire looks to be on his way to a second consecutive top 40 Player Rater finish. He might even sneak into the top 30. It ll be interesting to see where he ends up this offseason and it what type of role. Supposedly Raul Lopez will be ready to go after the break. We ll see. Keith McLeod should be back soon, too. We ll see. I d rather use Chris Duhon than any of the Jazz PGs.

Steve Nash and Gilbert Arenas are exactly tied on the Player Rater. I say Gilbert edges him out. But then again, Gilbert is my hero. Mike Bibby is just below AI and right above Steve Francis on the Rater. I say good things about him all the time and he deserves them. What s with his 75% free throw shooting this year, though? He was at 82, 86 and 80 the last three years. Chucky Atkins has averaged 41 minutes in the two games since Kobe Bryant has been back. This is fantastic news for his owners, as he s attempted 19 3s in those two games. Ah, Rick Brunson, back in effect. He s surely been grabbed by now, and with good reason, as the Clippers have no one to even back him up. They ll sign someone, and even if (when) it s no one you ve heard of, remember that when Darrick Martin came aboard earlier when Marko Jaric and Shaun Livingston were out, he took some time away from Brunson. Brunson will get plenty of assists, and you just have to hope he throws in some 3s and steals. The Warriors would be silly to take either Derek Fisher or Speedy Claxton out of the lineup when Troy Murphy returns. Silly, I tell you. Hopefully Mike Montgomery will do the right thing.

Mid Season: Southeast Division / Charlotte Bobcats

Tue, 15 Feb 2005 16:50:33 -0800

There is nothing better for an expansion team to build around than a great rookie player. The Bobcats in their first season have exactly that in Emeka Okafor.

Okafor had questions raised about him before he was drafted. It was thought that he had already reached his potential and with his back bothering him before entering the league, could his health hold up throughout the long NBA season?

erformed better than expected and has helped make the Bobcats a team finding themselves in every game they play, currently ranking 4^th in the league on RPG (11), 1^st in offensive rebounds (4), 6^th with 27 double-doubles to go along with his 14.8 points per game.

The other secret to the Bobcats is the fact they picked up some very desirable players in the expansion draft. Jason Hart, Primoz Brezec and Gerald Wallace were cast-aways from other teams and just needed the playing time to show their skills. We can see them now.

The free agent signing of Brevin Knight has also yielded a surprising result. Knight is currently second in the league in assists per game with 8.8.

There are two weaknesses with the Bobcats. One is their bench strength and the other is lack of finishing ability. The Bobcats stay in most games but towards the end of games, the opponent tends to kick things into that extra gear and the Bobcats don t really have one.

Count On: Emeka Okafor
Best Addition: Brevin Knight
Rookie To Watch: Emeka Okafor
Spark Plug: Gerald Wallace