NBA Search Market: Week 9

Pure Excitement

Danny Granger – Lost teeth, the flu, and a concussion can't keep Granger down. Hopefully we'll know more today, but it is unlikely that Granger's concussion will keep him out more than a few games. UPDATE: It appears that Granger is in the starting lineup for today's Sunday night game.

Want to see what Granger's teeth looked like after Paul Pierce sat on his head?

Granger prefers a blocked shot to a three pointer.

Getting to know your Granger.

Cautious Optimism

Stephen Jackson – After initially trying to play through his injuries, Jackson decided it was best to shut it down for a few games. His owners were probably okay with this decision, as Jackson was in a horrible shooting slump. A four-game rest seems to have done him wonders, as he returned to score 28 points in a victory over the Boston Celtics. Assuming he doesn't suffer any setbacks, his minor injury problems seem to be behind him.

Paul Millsap – It's looking increasingly likely that Boozer is out for the year, making Millsap a valuable commodity. Millsap's current injury is not serious (out 7-10 days with a sprained PCL), so now might be a good time to put your trade offers in.

Mike James – Mike James is a 33-year-old point guard who once scored 20.3 points a game for a season (2005-06). Here is far as I'm willing to go with James: he can probably help your team. You will never fall into wild Stuckey love with James, but he probably won't break your heart like a Tyrus Thomas, either. If he's getting more than thirty minutes a game, he should shoot in the low forties and put up 10-15 points and 4-5 assists. At best, think of him as Luke Ridnour-ish.

*Do you think Mike James has long-term value? Give it a thumbs up or down.

Kevin Martin – Of all the perpetually injured players on this list, Martin might be the most intriguing. You are essentially deciding if you believe one of two pieces of information on him: 1. That Martin still has pain all around his ankle and 2. Martin has practiced recently and has improved "leaps and bounds" according to his coach. While there is still no timetable for his return, this latest news might change his status from "mostly scary" to "perhaps worth targeting."



Mike Miller in leagues where bad hair doesn't matter – He's missed four straight games in a sprained ankle but should return this week. More problematic, however, is the fact that nearly all Miller's numbers are down. While Miller's ankle is a short-term issue, his minutes and numbers are most likely a long-term issue.

Unmitigated Wariness

Gilbert Arenas – The latest Arenas report is that the Wizards will get Arenas on the court as soon as his knee heals. Apparently, all that talk about the terrible Wizards saving Arenas for next year is bogus.

The plot of Gilbert's new reality show: "Gilbert Arenas is determined to open a quaint Bed and Breakfast called 'Nacho Pillows,' except he has no money after installing a million-dollar poolside grotto..."

Tyrus Thomas – Suggesting anything about Thomas is a risk. He's probably been owned and subsequently dropped at least once by every single person reading this sentence. If you still have interest in Thomas, your first question should be, what do we see as Thomas' ceiling? Well, he's actually averaging more points in 20 minutes as a sub then he is in his nine games as a starter with 25 minutes. Which is strange. But if he somehow manages to get 30-35 minutes, it is possible that he'd get 13 to 15 points a game, 6-9 rebounds, one assist, and two blocks. What you need to decide is how much you want to invest in a player who might end up being a guy who is solid in six categories (points, rebounds, blocks, turnovers, steals, free throw percentage) but might hurt you in three (three pointers made, assists, field goal percentage).

Perhaps it will be instructive to compare a guy like Wilson Chandler with Thomas. The first row is Tyrus' current 2008 stats (in 22min/gm), the second column is Tyrus' best case scenario stats (completely made up by me), and the third column is Wilson Chandler's 2008 stats (in 33min/gm):

 

Player	FG%	FT%	3PTM	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO

Tyrus	40.0	78.8	0.1	7.7	5.5	0.7	1.0	1.6	1.6

Tyrus?	44	78	0.1	14	8	1	1.5	2.0	2.0

Wilson	42.7	81.8	1.2	13.9	5.8	2.0	0.9	0.9	1.9

So yes, I completely made up Tyrus' best case scenario stats, but maybe this will help you believe me when I say that Tyrus will probably never be as good at Wilson Chandler this year, and it is ulikely he'll be a top 100 player this year. Still, he might be able to help your team in the short-term, as half of his teammates are injured.

Doctor Steve on picking up Tyrus: a tentative "yes."

Active Worry

Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy – Boozer has a third MRI scheduled for this Monday (December 29th), so hopefully owners will get some answers at that time. Not sure what a third MRI will show that the first two did not. As for Dunleavy, there has been absolutely no news on him since we were told that he practiced for ten minutes last week.

Dunleavy practiced for 10 minutes!

NBA Search Market: Week 8

Pure Excitement

Boris Diaw – Diaw was my first major mistake of the fantasy NBA season. He was on the waiver wire in my ten-team league, and once there was a whiff of a rumor that he'd be traded, someone else in my league picked him up.* Man, I wish I had him now. Getting a guy free off the wire who is averaging 16.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 1.4 3PTM is gold. Pure gold. Diaw is a career 50% FG shooter, and a career 70.3% FT shooter, which are great averages for a big man. Or for anyone. He's turning the ball over a lot (3.0 per game) but his turnovers will decline as he becomes more comfortable with his new teammates. It really looks like Diaw will mostly duplicate his 2005-2006 breakout season, only this time he'll score a few more points and hit a few more three pointers. Pure excitement!

Diaw is the Bobcats' easy button.

Could Diaw become a Knick?

A Diaw Xbox interview from back in 2006.

Diaw gets his own archetype.

Diaw: "I don't date American girls. I have them."

Diaw is one of Stroup's five on the rise.

*Did you get lucky enough to pick up Diaw? Give it a thumbs up or down.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas – After missing three games with a sprained ankle, Big Z returned to score 23 points. If you own Big Z, you've got to feel pretty happy about how his season is going. He's shooting over 80% from the line, over 50% from the field, and his scoring is up. But, perhaps more importantly, he's on a juggernaut of a team that will, on most nights score more points then their opponent. Keep an eye on the player who replaced him during his three-game absenence, though. I think you'll start to see Anderson Varejao (Big V?) begin to steal minutes from Big Ben, and if he does that he should be a guy who gets a double double on most nights.

Freedarko has praise for Big Z: "All-important sidebar: Big Z has suddenly turned into that Euro big man everyone was trying to draft around 2002. The guy just a hair above Dirk in terms of size, but nearly as much of a shooter, and passes for day. It's funny how much I've come to like him, after years of total indifference."

Cautious Optimism

Dwight Howard – Someone needs to break the granny-style free throw barrier, and I'm here to suggest that Howard might be the guy. Consider: the guy who starts shooting his free throws underhand needs to not care what others think of him. Howard is doing dunks in superman capes and putting stickers on backboards. Cool? Sort of. Goofy? Definitely. If you are a Howard owner, just imagine how dominant Howard would be if he were shooting, say, 74% from the line.

As for Howard's health, he'd been a little off since his return from a "sore knee." There are some reports that he could battle knee soreness all year. I'm not convinced. Superman will be just fine. For me, the litmus test is whether or not Howard is blocking shots. If he stops blocking shots, be worried. But he has two blocks in each of his last two games. He'll be just fine.

Some granny-style free throw verbiage.

More advice on how to train Dwight Howard.

Can Howard learn how to shoot free throws by taking advice from Tiger Woods?

Ron Artest in daily formats – Artest is playing through torn ligaments in his ankle. Sure, his game-time decision thing is a little annoying, but the bottom line is that if he plays, he produces. He's played in his last three games, so perhaps his ankle isn't bothering him as much any more.

Ron Artest becomes the fifth Houston Rocket to endorse Chinese basketball shoes.

Unmitigated Wariness

Gilbert Arenas – The Wizards have only won four of their twenty four games so far this year. It seems highly unlikely that Arenas will be back anytime soon. I don't own Arenas in any leagues, but I'd certainly be tempted to hold onto him if I did. There is a lot of doom and gloom surrounding Arenas' status these days, but at the end of the day I'd ditch the worst player on my roster for the potential of Arenas' unique combination of strong play and absurdity.

The plot of Gilbert's new reality show: "Gilbert Arenas is determined to open a quaint Bed and Breakfast called 'Nacho Pillows,' except he has no money after installing a million-dollar poolside grotto..."

Ron Artest in weekly formats – Until Artest sheds this game-time decision thing, he's going to be completely unusable in weekly leagues. And get this: his ankle will bother him all year. If I owned him in a weekly league, I'd wait for him to string together a few good games and then sell him off to the highest bidder. Why? Even if he looks good now, you just know that he's going to aggravate his ankle again at some point in the season, and if you start him and he re-injures his ankle Monday, you will most certainly lose your weekly game.

Active Worry

Carlos Boozer and Elton Brand – Just two weeks ago, I was aggressively trying to trade for both these guys. Two weeks later, I wouldn't touch either of these guys with a ten-foot pole. Thank goodness all my trade offers were rejected. Brand might be back from his dislocated shoulder in one month, but when he does come back there is a 50/50 chance that he reinjures his shoulder and is out for the year. Boozer's situation is less defined but could also include surgery. Yikes.

FreeDarko on the Boozer-as-traitor talk: "It just strikes me as totally disingenuous to see Miller and Sloan trash Boozer when he's got every reason to try and gain some leverage..."

Corey Maggette and Kevin Martin – Both are still out indefinitely. Maggette will start traveling with the team, but remember that he does have a hamstring tear, and so he should be out a few more weeks, minimum. Martin is a non-international man of mystery. All we know is that he's been out since November 9th and he feels pain all around his ankle.

Mike Dunleavy – Dunleavy briefly fell out of the Search Market top ten but returned with the news that he's been doing some on-court drills. His coach has also said that he he won't return until January, which optimistic folk might turn into "might" play starting in January. Temper your expectations. It is still unlikely that he takes the court at all this year. But I understand all the searches because if you nab Dunleavy up off the wire at just the right time and he does return, it would give your team a huge boost. At this point, however, I'd rather have nabbed Diaw off the wire.

Dunleavy practiced for 10 minutes!

For all the Manute Bol fans out there.

NBA Search Market: Week 7

Pure Excitement

Gerald Wallace – Mr. Gerald Wallace has risen to the sixth slot of the NBA Search Market in Week 7, presumably because he missed three games while attending his grandmother's funeral in Sylacauga, Alabama. Well, you need not search for Mr. Gerald Wallace any longer, as his first game back featured a 22 point, nine rebound, three steal effort. Speaking of steals, Wallace is currently eighth in the NBA in steals on a per-game basis. Sometimes I wonder if Wallace's amazing steal ability keeps his shooting percentage artificially high, as his steals lead to lots of easy dunks. The NBA Hotspots site somewhat confirms this hypothesis, as he is 30-of-88 (or 34%) on shots taken from outside the key. I'm not really sure what this means, except that his shooting percentage might go down if he suddenly stops being the steals monster he's always been throughout his career.

Rodney Stuckey – Stuckey is starting! Stuckey is starting! Great news for Stuckey owners, but I think it is also great news for owners of any Detroit Piston, as well as any Detriot Piston fan. The Pistons are searching for their identity right now, and at this point it is unclear how long that process will take. With Joe Dumars involved, you have to feel good about the Pistons' chances of finding their identity sooner rather than later. And once it happens, and once each Piston is clear on what his role is, I think you'll start to see Stuckey turn the ball over less, dish out more assists, and have his field goal percentage increase. And I think you'll start to see the Pistons start to win.

Not every Piston fan agrees. A Piston fan friend of mine went to the recent Pistons-Wizards game, which also happened to be Stuckey's first start. He lamented the fact that the Pistons looked completely lost on the court. His thought was that Chauncey Billups had been responsible for the team's focus and that Rip and Sheed (who both had good games that day, statistically speaking) were in their own worlds without Billups, as they spent most of the game wrapped up in their own one-on-one head games (versus Caron and Blatche, respectively) against an inferior team. He doesn't think the Pistons can be fixed without another trade, and he might be on to something, as Sheed is reportedly on the trading block. Either way, I have faith in all things Dumbledore Dumars, and my sense is that Stuckey will grow to become the "fix" (or part of the fix) that the Pistons need.

Here is Stuckey's NBA Hotspot for the last ten games:It appears he's been pretty successful at getting into the lane and hitting mid-range jumpers. Also, for a guy who's been called Rajon Rondo-lite, he's actually starting to hit some three-pointers.

If you only click on one link in this column, make it this one. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have put this link under the "excited" section.

Rotoworld's Steve Alexander was calling Stuckey the hottest sleeper in fantasy sports way back on July 24th of this year: "We still haven't seen the shakeup in Detroit that Joe Dumars promised, but there's a long way to go before the season starts. Stuckey is already possibly the hottest 'sleeper' in fantasy hoops, despite not having a starting slot secured. If the shakeup does occur, his stock will climb even higher. Stuckey is a guy I wouldn't be afraid to drop a seventh-round selection on this year, at least as of today." Now that is some excellent foresight. As a recent addition to the Stuckey bandwagon, maybe I'm over-compensating here, but Stuckey should be higher than 104th in the Season Pass top 200 rankings.* He should be, at worst, in that 90th slot right behind Beno. (Or maybe even 84th, as Steve originally predicted with his 7th-round pick suggestion, assuming he meant the 7th round of a 12-team draft.) Perhaps this is only a 14-spot quibble, but the point is that Stuckey's stock is soaring right now, at least in markets of my mind.

*Should Stuckey be ranked higher than 104? Give it a thumbs up or down.

Cautious Optimism

Nate Robinson – Nate is back! After missing seven of his last eight games with a groin injury, Robinson returned to the court and dropped 19 points on Sacramento. Last week I warned about Robinson's field goal percentage. This week I'll try to stay positive. Robinson's coach recently stated that the starting shooting guard spot will be Robinson's for the rest of the season. Which makes sense, as his only real competition, Cuttino Mobley, just retired due to a heart condition. This is great news for owners, as it seems like any player getting serious minutes in the Mike D'Antoni system is a fantasy all star. As an aside, is anyone else surprised, nay, amazed, to see Chris Duhon, he of 7.3 ppg, 4.8 assist career average, suddenly be a 12.1 / 8.6 guy? Duhon is only behind Chris Paul in total assists. Craziness. Anyway. Good luck trying to sell high on any Knick at this point in the season. You can always try, but my guess is that people won't really start to believe in any of the Knazin' Knicks until January, as that is the month when fantasy owners realize 1. Their team isn't as good as they thought it was and they need help and 2. The Knicks will have been producing for two plus months by then, and it is difficult to be a fantasy faker for two plus months. Update: Robinson will come off the bench for the next two games. Until he is a starter for a week or so, I'm going to keep him in this "cautiously optimistic" section.

Watch the Knicks score with ease.

Rotoworld's Ryan Knaus makes a great case for Robinson being a buy low candidate.

Dwight Howard In H2H Format – Howard has been a great head-to-head asset this year. That said, Howard recently came down with the dreaded "sore left knee" syndrome that has been going around the NBA. More alarming, perhaps, is the rumored oblique strain. Hopefully this is just a day-to-day thing (he is likely to miss his game on Monday at this point) and he isn't entering the late Shaquille O'Neal stage of his career already.

Carlos Boozer – I do not think you need to be wary of Boozer. Yet. Let me explain. You see, I have a theory, and it goes something like this: you should be worried about injuries that sound really harmless but keep a player out for a long time. Mike Dunleavy, for example, had "knee soreness," and now he hasn't played in a game yet this season. So it concerns me a little bit when Boozer is missing games because of a "strained" quad. Isn't a strained quad a fifteen-minute injury? It's essentially like bumping your shin: you think you're going to die when it first happens, but fifteen minutes later you're removing a beehive out of the attic at the behest of your spouse.

So the fact that he's missed thirteen games is concerning. They do this in the NFL a lot. A player will leave the game with a "bruised" arm and then you find out a day later a more accurate description is he "ripped his triceps muscle clean off the bone." Anyway, not trying to be needlessly alarmist, here. I still think Boozer will be back soon. But if he isn't back by next week, he's going to drop into the "wary" section below.

Unmitigated Wariness

Corey Maggette – I used to think that I could be a scout for the NBA. I watched tons of college basketball, and at that time I really didn't think it was that difficult to determine if a player was NBA-worthy. This changed after the 1998-1999 season when Corey Maggette was drafted after his freshman year at Duke University. Maggette had played only 17.7 minutes a game for Duke, and while his dunks were spectacular, he often looked lost on the court, especially during the NCAA championship game against UConn. And yet this was the guy that scouts had decided should be the thirteenth pick of the draft, one pick ahead of a starter on his own team, point guard William Avery.

Well, those scouts must know something, as Maggette is in the middle of his tenth productive NBA season, while William Avery is playing for, at last check, AEK Greece.

So, as you probably heard, Maggette is out indefinitely with a small tear in his right hamstring. This seems more likely to be something that will keep Maggette off the court for weeks or months rather than days and his injury is certainly cause for concern if you are his owner. But before we go and get teary-eyed about it, let's wait for a doctor to tell us how long it will take before he can come back.

Maggette's college stats, as well as a scouting report: "Weaknesses: Defense, decision-making, ability to play team ball, and hamstrings."

Even before Maggette was injured, some folks started to get tired of him: "Five games, five Golden State losses and a more than 2:1 turnover-to-assist ratio. Maggette's selfish play hasn't gone unnoticed by other players. According to sources, after the final buzzer against Boston, Celtics forward Kevin Garnett turned to Maggette and shouted, 'Way to get your numbers.'" Then again, anything Garnett screams while on the court should be taken with a grain of salt.

Are the Warriors better without Maggette?

Stephen Jackson – I wonder how many times a week Jackson's first name is incorrectly spelled as "Steven." Stop and think: do you have any friends named "Stephen?" And when you Facebook your friend Stephen, are you sure that you don't slip up and write "Steven" by accident? I don't want to make too big a deal out of this, but at the same time, I don't want to make Stephen Jackson angry. We all know what happens when Jackson gets angry. Jackson, who is trying to play through a few injuries, including a toe and an injury to his non-shooting hand, is the number one most-searched player on Rotoworld this week. So far, playing through his injuries hasn't been working so well as he's shot a terrible 30% in his last six games. Anyone else think he could miss a few games in the upcoming week? Consider yourself warned.

Steven, I mean Stephen Jackson and a friend. Apparently Jackson is a White Sox fan.

Free Darko says that Stephen Jackson sometimes strikes him "as really Jewish."

Active Worry

Dwight Howard In Roto Format – It is statistically impossible to win a roto format fantasy basketball league with Howard's 56% FT percentage dragging you down.* I have no proof of this, but have enough anecdotal evenidence that I feel confortable saying it as if I do have real evidence. Even though I have no evidence. Which I already said. Okay, maybe I'm wrong. But at the very least, I'd be surprised if you were able to win your roto league with Howard in your lineup.

*Is D-Ho nearly impossible to win with in Roto format?

Josh Howard and Kevin Martin – Out indefinitely. Two words no owner wants to hear. I wouldn't put these two players in Dunleavy territory yet when it comes to worry, but you should remain very concerned until you get wind of some sort of timetable for their respective returns. Both are intriguing buy low candidates. In fact, Steve Alexander calls Josh Howard "one of the best buy-low candidates of all time." I'm not quite as high on Howard, but if you can get him on the cheap...

Mike Dunleavy – Ten days ago we were told that Dunleavy was going to test out his knee in 10-14 days. No word on if that happened or if the idea was scrapped. What we do know is that our trusty Rotoworld news blurbs are openly admitting that Dunleavy might be out for the entire year. Yikes.

If you believe that Dunleavy's top five ranking each week for the first six weeks of the season indicated that fantasy owners still had hope in his return, then you should note that Dunleavy fell to ninth in the search market this week. I don't want to read too much into this, but perhaps owners are finally losing hope?

I lived in Durham, NC when Mike was going to college at Duke and I frequently saw him around town. One time I saw Mike at the Macaroni Grille. Another time I saw Mike at the movie theater. And yet, the thing that made the biggest impression on me was this picture of Mike getting kicked in the face by Ira Newble.

NBA Search Market: Week 6

The Lingering Injured

Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy, and Josh Howard – Target Boozer in trades. When healthy, he can sometimes be slightly overrated, as he doesn't block much for a big man. In fact, last year, according to basketballmonster.com, he had negative value for three pointers made, assists, blocks, turnovers, and free throw percentage. Still, his huge positive value for field goal percentage, as well as his solid points and rebound totals more than made up for his negatives. Until his injury, he was putting up similar numbers this season. As far as setting lineups, the Jazz have three games next week and you should count on Boozer to play in zero of them. He's missed ten games so far and right now it looks like he'll be playing again after his 12th or 13th missed game.

Dunleavy has been in the top ten of the search market every single week of this year, which probably means his poor owners are obsessively searching for updates on his status. The latest is that he's going to test out his knee in a few days, but I wouldn't get your hopes up too much. Remember that in mid-November, he "practiced hard" for two straight days and "looked strong." So power to you if you decide to cling to your Dunleavy, as you certainly have more patience than me. As I said last week, I would leave Dunleavy on the wire in my ten-team league if some other owner were to drop him.

Howard has been out since mid-November. That's a long time. And before that he had a recurring wrist injury. And now he is out "indefinitely." You might consider waiting for him to have a few big games if/when he returns and then selling him off to the highest bidder.

Hope that's difficult to believe in: Dunleavy's local paper says he's getting closer to returning.

The Latest Wounded

Nate Robinson and Elton Brand – Robinson has been having a very good year so far. The injury and re-injury to his groin will certainly slow down his momentum, and you have to think that the Knicks won't throw Robinson back out there until he's completely healed. He missed four games the first time he injured his groin, so I'll speculate that he'll miss double that this time around. One other word of caution on Nate Robinson: He shot 43% from the field as a college player and has never shot better than 43.4% in any season as a pro. His current 46.5% field goal shooting percentage might be a bubble waiting to pop. Still, Robinson is a guy who went to college on a football scholarship and then walked onto the basketball team and ultimately decided to go the basketball route, a decision that took some guts as NFL scouts liked him, but as you can probably guess, the 5'8" Robinson really had to prove himself on the court. So, maybe his ample amount of guts will help him shoot 3% better this year than any other year in his career.

Much like Boozer, I've been trying to trade from Brand. Philly is a bit of a mess, but the one constant has been that Brand is the focal point of the offense. He's currently day-to-day with a strained hamstring, and this makes him a decent bet to play Philly's next game, which isn't until Wednesday. Still, I wouldn't start him in weekly leagues. I tend to be cautious when it comes to injuries because I fear getting a goose egg from a roster spot.

Triumphant Return

Jared Jeffries and Andrei Kirilenko – In his first two games back, Jefferies has been averaging 6.5 points in 19 minutes of play. The best thing I can say about him is that coaches throughout his career have insisted on playing him at all. I'm a little baffled by the interest in Jefferies as he's a guy who did his most "damage" in his 2004-05 season when he averaged 6.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 26 minutes of playing time. My guess is that some owners are after his rebound potential, as there are usually fewer than 25 guys on the waiver wire who are getting more than even five rebounds a game.

AK47 is one of those guys that some owners look and at shake their heads, as they remember how good he used to be, while others got him for relatively cheap this year and are fairly pleased with his current level of production. He really does a little of everything, but unfortunately the emphasis between "little" and "everything" is more equally weighted than some owners would like. In his first game back from his sprained ankle, he scored seven points, had five boards, six assists, two steals, and two blocks.

Eric Gordon better than Ben Gordon?

Eric Gordon – Status update: Eric Gordon is averaging 13.1 ppg as a starter so far this year. Ben Gordon is averaging 21.2 ppg as a starter. Last week, I guessed that Eric would end up being 80% as good as Ben this year. Eric is currently only 62% as good as Ben (at least when it comes to scoring).

Still, a good 32.5% of you are convinced Eric will be the better Gordon this year. You might be right, but I'm sticking to my 80%-as-good-as-Ben number.

Gordon vs. Conley and Oden back in HS.

Can We Agree to Forget and Forget?

Stephon Marbury – I said what I had to say about Marbury here. All sorts of rumors are flying around about him right now, but I continue to you advise you not to care, unless you like getting emotionally invested in soap operas. At this point, any value Marbury has is likely to be the backup point guard type.

Marbury and game theory.

Marbury on D'Antoni: "I wouldn't trust him to walk my dog across the street."

Free Darko defends Marbury.

Marbury a good fit in DC?



Gilbert's Wax Statue is In Uniform; Gilbert is Not

Gilbert Arenas – When Gilbert says his knee is currently is the "high 80's" and that "if it were up to him he'd already be playing," you really can't believe him. I'm more inclined to believe his coach who says they don't yet have a plan for his return. Personally, I'm crossing my fingers for February. My birthday is that month, and getting Arenas back to his usual self would be an excellent birthday gift.

A rap song about Agent Zero.

You tell us: When should Arenas return?

Interested in studying Gilbert?

Arenas' latest blog entry is about his Obama tattoo.

NBA Search Market: Week 5

The fate of Marbury Version 2008-2009 might be decided on Monday. My response: there is no evidence that anyone should care. Yes, I know he's averaged 20 points, 8 assists over the course of his fourteen-year career, but I refuse to believe that he will ever gain fantasy relevance, and you should only pick him up in the deepest of leagues. If you are deciding between Marbury and Goran Dragic, fine. But if you are deciding between Marbury and anyone else, pick up anyone else instead. Not to be overly flip, but part of me is hoping that Marbury shoots himself in the leg sometime this week.

To prove my point, I want to once again look at the 2007 stats of two point guards, both of whom played an average of 34 minutes per game:

 
Player  FG%   FT%   3PTM  PTS  REB  AST  STL  BLK  TO
A       41.9  71.6  1.2  13.9  2.5  4.7  .9  .1  2.0
B       39.4  71.5  1.9  13.1  3.5  5.3  1.3  .2  2.2

Which player would you rather have, Player A or Player B? Neither, right? Well, Player A is Marbury, and Player B is Rafer "Skip To My Lou" Alston. What this says to me is that even if Marbury lands on a team that needs a starting point guard, and even if Marbury is getting 34 minutes a night, and even if he isn't rusty from not playing in games, and even if he isn't out of shape from not practicing, he still will probably only put up stats as valuable as a 2007 Rafer Alston. That's not much of an upside. Throw in the fact that Marbury may or may not be a jerk, why are we even wasting our time talking about this guy?

Marbury to the Suns or the Spurs?

The latest Marbury zingers.

The Knicks might pay to make this Marbury creep go away.

"Are you going to get in the truck?"

"One day I might be able to buy the Knicks."

The Lingering Injured

Kevin Martin and Mike Dunleavy – If someone in my league were to drop Dunleavy, I wouldn't drop the worst guy on my team's bench to pick Dunleavy up. His injury is being now being called "serious" and there is still no timetable for his return. If Dunleavy is on your team, one strategy would be to drop him and then monitor his status closely so you can be ready to pick him up in the unlikely event that we get some good news regarding his injury and/or return.

Martin has now missed twelve games, but he claims that he's going to try to play on Tuesday of this week. Bench him until he proves that he is healthy.

More on Dunleavy's knee.

The Latest Wounded

Carlos Boozer and Cuttino Mobley – Mobley (heart) should be back this week while Boozer (quad) will miss at least one more week. I'm curious to see how Mobley fits in with the Knicks. If the Knicks keep scoring a billion points a night, Mobley could have value. If he starts at shooting guard, fifteen points a game and two three pointers might be the best you get from him, although ten points and one three pointer per game feels more likely.

Proof of Concept

Deron Williams, Michael Redd, and Jason Richardson – All three of these players have recently played in "Proof of Concept" (PoC) games. They're back, and they are better than ever.

Well, not quite. Williams says his ankle might bother him all year, and so he looks like he might become more of a 10 point, 12 assist guy. Still good, but just know that he might not score as many points as in the past. Think of him more as a Deron mutant who is good but has slightly different strengths. (Maybe we should call him Darin or Darren until he returns to his old self.) Deron still needs to prove that his ankle can stand up to the rigors of playing three or four games a week. You should have your answer by this time next week.

After a long wait, Redd owners were rewarded with a 20-point effort. Plug and play.

After missing seven games, Richardson is back, and he played his usual messy style of game on back-to-back nights. But I must confess that every player on Charlotte and Golden State worries me, and Richardson is no exception. I dislike being at the whim of Larry Brown and/or Nellie, and I have been trying to trade every player I own who is on either team. Perhaps this is overly neurotic. Fine. Speaking of fine, Richardson should be fine going forward, so you can get him into your starting lineup.

Career High In Points

Eric Gordon – Gordon gets two weeks (or more) to prove himself now that Ricky Davis out with a busted knee. Does that mean your knee-jerk reaction should be to pick him up? Yes, actually. Although, the hamstring injury that Gordon sustained in his Nov. 29th game is some cause for concern.

Since Gordon's injury doesn't seems serious, I'm going to discuss his value as if it doesn't exist. Before the NBA season started, some scouts considered Eric Gordon to be, at best, a rich man's Ben Gordon. His worst-case scenario? Shannon Brown. Let's assume he's closer to 80% of a Ben Gordon until further notice.

Is Eric Gordon about to become Baron Davis' new Monta Ellis?

Eric Gordon isn't used to sitting.

Eric Gordon scout drool.



A New Starter

Russell Westbrook – Westbrook helped the Thunder break a fourteen-game losing streak in his first start. However, before you pick Westbrook up, it is important that you set reasonable expectations for his near-term production. The rookie is shooting 34.9% from the field and he's not exactly prolific from behind the three-point line (0.4 made per game), and he turns the ball over 2.4 times a game in the 27 minutes per game he's been playing so far this year. In college, he only shot 68.5% from the free throw line and only 35% from behind the college three-point line, and he turned the ball over 2.5 times a game. He only had seven blocks in his entire final college season. Think of him as a sexier Rafer Alston who doesn't hit threes. Sorry, did that comparision just kill your enthusiasm? Don't dispair, as there is plenty to like. Here are the stats that are for real: rebounds, assists, and steals. As a starter getting 35 minutes a game, he might average 15 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Just realize that the FG% could remain low, the FT% might dip below 80%, he doesn't take many threes, and his turnovers will increase with more playing time. He could also lose the job, as his coach his said his promotion is "not set in stone." His next game is Wednesday of this week.

Some Westbrook scout drool.

Is Westbrook a higher scoring version of Rajon Rondo?

Westbrook's college stats.

Westbrook can certainly dunk with authority.

FreeDarko on Westbrook's upside: "Westbrook just has insane Dwyane-Wade-like upside and is fast becoming my favorite player in the league."

NBA Search Market: Week 4

I have a friend who can high jump two meters. She can high jump over Ben Wallace, even with his ‘fro out. The question she is most frequently asked is if she can dunk a basketball (she can’t). When she explains that she can’t, the asker often does not believe her and suggests it might be merely a matter of hand size and asks if she can dunk a tennis ball (she can’t).

Another friend of mine is excellent at math and is currently working as a mathematician. New acquaintances, he says, first groan when they hear what he does for a living, and then they say, “I’m horrible at math.” Sometimes they follow this up by stating how far along they progressed in the math world (I never made it past calculus, they might say to him).

A 6’ 8” friend of mine is repeatedly approached by complete strangers who ask him, “you ball?” (He does, sort of: volleyball.)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is frequently asked to sign his father’s memorabilia. Can you imagine if every day of your life someone stuck your dead father's hat or a shirt in your hand and asked you to sign it?

I once got into a cab in New York City and was surprised to see that the cab driver was female. While a small part of my brain knew that I shouldn't reference her gender because she'd probably had her gender referenced by nearly all of her passengers, a slightly larger part of my brain wanted to ask her about it anyway.

I thought I was being clever when I asked her, “what percentage of your passengers make some comment about you being female?”

She took her eyes away from the road and looked at me for a good half second, and then looked forward again. “Including you? One-hundred percent,” she said.

Let’s move on and discuss some frequently asked questions (FAQ) regarding Rotoworld’s most searched players:

The NBA Search Market: Week 4



The Lingering Injured

Deron Williams, Mike Dunleavy, & Michael Redd – These three players have been lingering in the top ten for a minimum of three weeks. If you own one of these guys, you have three options:
1. Hold
2. Trade
3. Drop
Owners that own all three of these guys have a fourth option:
4. Cry
The correct answer, in all three cases, is to hold (and/or cry). If you don’t own one of these guys, trading for them is an option. I have been actively trying to trade for Williams in my league. Dunleavy scares the heck out of me, even though the latest news on him is actually positive. If I had Dunleavy on my team, I’d wait for him to play a few games and then sell him, even if I didn’t get full value for him. Perhaps I’m being melodramatic, but the sort of injury he has (they are calling it tendonitis) could linger all year. Redd should be fine, but I’m not all that interested. I find it hard to get excited about a player that gets most of his value from scoring points and hitting three pointers. I would even rather have the messy stats lines that Andre Iguodala has been throwing up recently over the relative emptiness/cleanliness of a typical Redd stat line.

Either way, my guess is that Redd and Williams owners aren’t selling anyway. I have always found that trades are difficult to pull off when a player is surrounded by uncertainty. (It is possible that the current credit crunch is an example of this behavior. I’d be more certain of this if I new what the word “credit” meant. Crunch I understand. I like crunch in my granola.) Owners seem wary of making a foolish move. But maybe you have a bold owner in your league who likes to wheel and deal in times of uncertainty. If you do, why not make an offer?

FAQ – What is the timetable for return for these three guys? The minute I answer this question, some new Rotoworld blurb will pop up contradicting what I’ve just written. So if you own these guys, your best bet is to check for updates regularly. But is a synopsis of the latest news:
Williams – He is day-to-day. He was a game-time decision on Friday (11/21) but didn’t play. Williams has missed 10 games so far this year and counting…
Dunleavy – The poor guy had only missed 10 games in his entire career going into this season. He reportedly is participating in workouts and “looks good.” But what does this mean? Is he one week away? Two? Your guess is as good as mine. Dunleavy has missed ten games and counting…
Redd – He wanted to play on Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week (11/18 & 11/18) but was not ready. The logical conclusion to make would be that he’d be ready for his next game, right? But he did not play in his Friday (11/21) game. His next three games are on Saturday (11/22), Monday (11/24), and Wednesday (11/26). You have to figure he’ll come back for one of those games, right? He’s practicing, he’s listed as day-to-day, but he still has some residual pain. Redd has missed 10 games and counting…

Deron Williams is really getting into the games, even if he isn’t actually getting into the games.

The Latest Wounded

Kevin Martin – The president of the team says Martin isn’t ready to return anytime soon. Whatever that means. You probably can’t use him this coming week. FAQ – Is it just me, or does it seem like there are a lot of guys who have lingering ankle injuries this year? Martin has missed seven games and counting…

Proof of Concept

Jose Calderon – Interest in Calderon spiked when he tweaked his hamstring. After having what I call a “throat clearing” game in his first game back from injury, Calderon proved that he is healthy in his second game back when he set season highs in both points and assists. I call these sorts of games “Proof of Concept” (PoC) games. He’s back. FAQ – Did Calderon just drop 26 points and 15 assists on New Jersey? Yup.

Career Highs In Points

Andrea Bargnani – At any given moment, I have five or six guys I want to pick up. Bargnani, after his career high 29-point outburst on Friday (11/21), is an easy add in twelve-team leagues. He’s a tougher case in ten-team leagues, because he’s pulled this Tyrus Thomas rollercoaster act before, like when he had 15.1ppg and 4.7rpg in February of last year. But what if he keeps it up this time? Most owners have finite benches, and so the real difficulty becomes figuring out which guy to drop. I hate his microscopic steals and assist totals. But what has me so tempted this time around is his increased block rate (.5 in 2007, 1.5 in 2008) and percentages. If these numbers are for real, then Bargnani is a SF/PF/C eligible guy who can help you out in six or seven of the nine fantasy basketball categories. He’s currently ranked 48th on Basketball Monster, one slot ahead of Wilson Chandler. FAQ – Does anyone else think Bargnani looks a little bit like Pablo Schreiber (Nick Sobotka from Season 2 of the The Wire)?

D.J. Augustin – He scored a career high 26 points in his first game as a starter. So he can score. But what about the other categories? Well, he has yet to block a shot. He has only four steals all year. Before Friday’s 7-for-11 performance from behind the three point line, he had been 5-for-26 (19.2%) for the year. His shooting percentage is in the low forties. He shot 78.3% from the free throw line at Texas. He’s not immune from turnovers. So he doesn’t appear to be a guy who fills the stat sheet. FAQ – Pick him up? Yes, if you have someone to drop, but be reasonable.

D.J.’s college stats.

Anthony Morrow – Morrow followed up his career high 37-point game with a 25-point game. His seven point game on Friday (11/21) was considerably less impressive. So where does that leave us? Well, everyone is raving about him, and it seems that he can really play. FAQ – But will he get the minutes and/or shots now that Jamal Crawford is on the team? Will Morrow become a most dropped player by this time next week? My guess is that he’ll lose some value, but still be worthy of a roster spot. We’ll have to wait and see.

The Big Trade

Al Harrington – The trade will be fine for Harrington, but it might screw with the fantasy dreams of Wilson Chandler, Jamal Crawford, Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Morrow, among others.

I almost never like when the players I own get traded, especially if they’ve been in a groove before the trade. Take Jamal Crawford. He will essentially be starting a new job and moving all at the same time. As someone who has moving phobia, it makes me anxious just thinking about it. Perhaps I’m still scarred from a 2006 Julio Lugo (yes, baseball) trade that ruined what could have been a career year for Lugo. But not all trades are bad. Last year, Devin Harris owners got a nice boost after he was traded to New Jersey. Who knows how this thing will shake out, but count me among the wary when it comes to the value of any player affected by the trade not named Al Harrington.

Steve Alexander on the trade.

Not everyone thinks Harrington will help the Knicks.

The Crawford side of the trade.

Free Darko on the trade.

Oh, That Was So Last Week

JaVale McGee – After two unimpressive games as starter, people are starting to lose interest in McGee. Maybe he’s like Ben Gordon, who seems to play better off the bench. He might get a chance to test out this theory if he keeps playing this way. FAQ – Do I hold onto this guy? Yes, if you can. Remember all that hype from last week? A lot of it was true. For example, the guy really is seven feet tall. He could click and start to throw up some double doubles. Hold him if you can, and if he’s on the wire in your league, keep one eye on him for the next few weeks.

NBA Search Market: Week 3

I recently invented four arbitrary rules for rooting against a team:
1. Each year, you may select one Team To Root Against (TTRA)
2. You can only root against one professional sports team per calendar year.
3. Once you publicly declare your TTRA, you must continue to root against that team for the remainder of that season.
4. You are allowed to pick one player on your TTRA that is not considered blameworthy.

Got it? Last year, using these rules, I actively rooted against the New York Knicks and gave David Lee the not-to-be-blamed slot (mostly because he shares the same name as my father-in-law). This year, however, the Knicks are a fun team. Jamal Crawford scores. Wilson Chandler is the exciting new rookie. Chris Duhon is the Charlie Ward-like point guard. I can root for that. Even Nate Robinson seems a little less of a ball hog this year.

So just like that, in a span of one year, the train-wreck 23 win, 59 loss Knicks have become the “upstart” six win, three loss New York Knicks (the quotes are not intended to show that I aware that the use of the word "upstart" is clichéd.). I haven’t picked a TTRA yet this year, but I’m leaning towards Chicago. With the possible exceptions of Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon, their team is filled with fantasy headaches. Still, I’m holding out hope that Luol Deng and Tyrus Thomas can cash in on their considerable talent and lead their team to a string of victories. I give the Bulls until the end of December to turn things around. After that, I just might slap the TTRA label on them.

One other administrative item: last week I pumped Roger Mason Jr., and he immediately tanked. In order to keep myself honest, I’m going to keep track of my predictions and prescriptions throughout the season and post them in this space. I haven’t completely finished generating my accountability mechanism, but is should by ready to debut next week.

Ok, now let’s check out how the search markets are doing:

The NBA Search Market: Week 3



10. Charlie Villanueva

Impetus for searches – Demotion, injury. When will he return, and when he does will he get enough minutes to be worth of a roster spot?

There is some good news – Villanueva started the first eight games of the season. In his ninth game of the year, he lost his starting job and then hurt his hamstring. In doing so, however, he made a guy in desperate need of a nickname fantasy relevant: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Vote on the nickname you think is best for Mbah a Moute:



But ultimately, the news is bad – The hamstring will heal. Villanueva is a risky play for Week 4, but after that his hamstring should be fine. The bigger concern is that the player Villanueva lost his starting role to, Mbah a Moute, doesn’t look like he’s going to give it back any time soon, as Mbah a Moute dropped 19 points and 17 rebounds on Memphis on Friday.

Suggested Reading:

Charlie might not be a star, but maybe it’s okay if he’s just happy to have made the league. Isn’t that enough, demanding fantasy owners?

9. Shawn Marion

Impetus for searches – Return from injury, performing below expectations. Will we ever see that consensus #1 pick in fantasy basketball Marion again?

There is some good news – Marion seems to have put his lingering groin injury behind him, as he went for 12 points, 12 rebounds in 29 minutes on Friday.

But ultimately, the news is bad – Fantasy owners didn’t spend a first round pick on Marion so he could go 12-12 in 29 minutes. That’s what you get on a good Andrew Bynum night, not a Shawn Marion night. What’s especially strange to me is that Marion, a career 82% free throw shooter, is somehow shooting in the sixty percent range since arriving in Miami. It really is almost as if he is a different player. So what can we expect going forward? Probably not as good as the 22 points, 12 rebounds he averaged in his 2005-06 season, and certainly not as bad as the 11 points, 10 rebounds he’s averaging this year. I’m guessing—a pure guess here—that he’ll settle somewhere in between, maybe at 15 points, 10 rebounds or so. If you are expecting more, you are probably going to be disappointed. He’ll still be a top twenty-five fantasy player and worth holding onto, so don’t panic and trade him away for peanuts.

Suggested Reading:

Marion’s tattoo doesn’t mean what he thinks it means.

8. Greg Oden

Impetus for searches – Return from injury. How soon, if ever, will he become a double-double machine?

There is some bad news – While it was great to see him back on the court, he only played 16 minutes in his first game back and looked pretty uncoordinated throughout his three point, two rebound, two block effort.

But ultimately, the news is good – In his second game back, he played 24 minutes and had 11 points,11 rebounds, and four blocks. In this third game back, he played 24 minutes and had 13 points and 8 rebounds and three blocks. Oden is one of those guys who some people really like and others think that he’s worthless. I happen to like Oden. It’s debatable whether or not he can stay healthy, but if he’s getting a consistent 25 plus minutes a night, he will probably post at least one double-double a week. And you have to think that he’ll occasionally have nights where he blocks more than five shots and/or gathers in 15 plus rebounds. I know the guy looks like the oldest player in the league, but give him a break, as he’s only 20 years old.

Suggested Reading:

The definition of the word “odenize.

7. Corey Maggette

Impetus for searches – Injury. Can Maggette owners start him in Week 4?

There is some bad news – Maggette recently returned to the court after missing four games with a hamstring injury. Maggette claims to be “doing all the necessary stuff” in order to keep his hamstrings healthy, but you have to be a little concerned because hamstring injuries can linger. Hold your breath for his first five games or so and hope he doesn’t suffer a setback.

But ultimately, the news is good – At the end of the day, Maggette only had a “mild” strain, so there really isn’t all that much to be concerned about. His first game back was a little rocky, but his 17 point, five rebound effort in 26 minutes his second game back should be enough to convince even the most cautious owners that he’s ready to be put back into the starting lineup.

Suggested Reading:

A Maggette teammate puts up an interesting line.

Deadspin claims Maggette will fit perfectly with Denver’s offense.

6. Devin Harris

Impetus for searches – Return from injury. Will his injury linger, or can I plug him right into my lineup?

There is some bad news – In his first game back from injury, Harris limped noticeably throughout the game.

But ultimately, the news is good – Sure, he was limping a little, but did you happen to notice that the also threw up 30 points? He was running more fluidly in his second game, and he scored 33 points. He now has three 30 plus point games in a row, and his trade value has never been higher.

Suggested Reading:

Devin loses a game of one-on-one to a regular bloke.

FAQ regarding Devin getting beaten in a one-on-one basketball game.

5. Deron Williams

Impetus for searches – Return from injury. When is Williams going to be back? Can I start him for my Week 4 H2H matchup?

There is some bad news – Williams returned from his ankle injury, but after playing 30 plus minutes in two straight games, he decided his ankle needed a little more time to heal. In the short term, it looks like Williams will be frustrating to own until his ankle completely heals, and it is probably better to keep him benched for Week 4 if you are in a weekly league.

But ultimately, the news is good – Now might a good time to trade for him, as his owners may have forgotten how good he is (although my experience has always been that owners holding onto slightly injured players tend to overvalue them, making a trade all but impossible). Give him another week or two, and he’ll be back to his old self.

Suggested Reading:

D. Williams tried to play but his ankle just wasn’t ready.

D. Williams wilderness survival guide.

D. Williams not very good at paper basketball.

4. Josh Howard

Impetus for searches – Return from injury. When Williams returns from his wrist injury, will he play at a high level?

There is some bad news – Howard missed two games with a wrist injury.

But ultimately, the news is good – Wrist injury sounds scary, but he returned and went for 21-11 and 25-9 in his first two games back, and so it appears the wrist injury wasn’t serious.

Suggested Reading:

Howard will be fine. If you can’t calm down, maybe this Steve Nash comedy will help.

The Mavs should not be ashamed of Josh Howard.

A must-read interview with Josh Howard.

3. JaVale McGee

Impetus for searches – Hot pickup. Who is this guy, and is he worth a roster spot?

There is some bad news – He’s the sort of guy that people say has “upside,” which is really just a euphemism for a player who hasn’t done jack anything yet.

But ultimately, the news is good – He’s seven feet tall and Juan Dixon says there is no reason he can’t be “the next Dwight Howard.” While it is possible that Dixon was merely referring to McGee penchant for missing free throws (he’s shooting 48% from the line so far this year), he could also mean that McGee’s nine point, six rebound, 1 plus block per game averages could double with a little more playing time.

Suggested Reading:

Wizznutzz on JaVale.

The Big Secret.

Dwight Howard thinks McGee is going to be "nice."

The JaVale McGee FAQ.

2. Mike Dunleavy

Impetus for searches – Injured. When will Dunleavy get back on the court?

There is some good news – His current return date is indefinite, but if you are a T.J. Ford owner, you can at least feel good knowing Dunleavy’s absence may have helped Ford be more valuable fantasy-wise.

But ultimately, the news is bad – For the third straight week, Dunleavy makes the top ten most searched list. In his case, that is not a good thing. Owners are getting desperate for information, but there really isn’t any new information out there. Sure, it can be frustration to watch as other owners snatch up guys like McGee while you are forced to hold onto Dunleavy, but you can’t drop him yet. To review, Dunleavy has tendonitis. That’s what the Pacers are calling Dunleavy’s knee injury. Tendonitis, complicated by a bone spur. The injury has not shown improvement, and coach Jim O’Brien has expressed his concern, as has Dunleavy himself. There are three possible options, and two of them are bad: 1. Dunleavy heals and is playing in a few weeks or so. 2. Dunleavy’s tendonitis is chronic, and he never gets fully healthy all year. 3. Dunleavy, after realizing that the knee isn’t getting better, decides to have surgery. If you are a Dunleavy owner, you can’t drop him yet, and he has no trade value. Your best bet is just to hold onto him and to keep monitoring his status.

Suggested Reading:

Trade Dunleavy?

Dunleavy can’t say when he’ll be back: “Fans, teammates and even his wife have been in his ear about a return date from his right knee injury.”

How to predictcareer years?

Dunleavy takes a kick to the face courtesy of Ira Newble.

1. Michael Redd

Impetus for searches – Injury. When will he return to the court?

There is some bad news – There is uncertainty surrounding Redd’s injury, but more of the “when” kind and not much of the “if” kind. He has already missed seven games, which is a lot of games for an injury that was considered day-to-day.

But ultimately, the news is good – After initially scaring owners everywhere by calling his injury a “high” ankle sprain, it appears that the injury is just a regular sprain. He not the safest Week 4 start for owners in weekly H2H leagues, as he may or may not return on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. Be sure to check Rotoworld for updates before setting your lineup for the week.

Suggested Reading:

A Bucks blog that sometimes has some updates about Redd.

If you find yourself forgetting how good Redd is, watch this.

NBA Search Market: Week 2

My fellow Rotoworld searchites, I urge you to type Roger Mason Jr.’s name into the search area in the upper right-hand corner of your computer screen and then click that red “go” button. Do this a few hundred times if you have nothing better to do. Our goal is to have Mason in the top ten by Week 3.

Why, you ask? Simple. In standard nine-category leagues, only thirteen other players in the entire NBA are more valuable than Mason. Don’t believe me? See for yourself on Basketball Monster. Bottom line: Roger Mason Jr. is currently flying under the radar and he deserves to have top ten buzz.

You think I’m manipulating the market? You think I’m guilty of the NBA Search Market equivalent of insider trading? Perhaps. But that shouldn’t be your biggest concern. More of a worry is the fact that Mason is sure to lose minutes when Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker return from injuries in mid-December. But we can cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then, Mason is a must add in nearly all leagues. For the next few weeks, you can think of him as capable of putting up Jamal Crawford-like stats, only maybe even slightly better.

There, that should be enough propaganda to get the Mason hype machine purring like a kitten. So get searching. You only have seven days left to make Mason the king of the Rotoworld Search Market.

The NBA Search Market: Week 2



10. Chauncey Billups

Impetus for searches – Trade. How will his trade to Denver effect his value?

There is some bad news – Initially, you can expect some inconsistency from Billups as he his adjusts to his new environs. Billups has just had his entire life uprooted, so be patient.

But ultimately, the news is good – The conventional wisdom among sports writers is that Billups is more of a “true” point guard, and that he will bring pass-first mentality that had previously been lacking with AI. This explanation feels too easy and false and irks me, as it is a conclusion drawn more from persona than fact. Ultimately, however, it doesn’t really matter if Billups is a pass-first or pass-second or pass-seventh point guard, as long as he’s producing for his owners. Right? His debut was a little rocky, but better games are ahead.

Suggested Reading:

“It’s like I lost a brother, you know? We did a lot of special things together.”

9. Brandan Wright

Impetus for searches – Moved into starting linup. Is he worthy of a pickup?

There is some bad news – I read Steve Alexander’s Friday chat and was amazed to see the frequency with which Wright’s first name was misspelled. If you are in a league where spelling somehow factors in, this could become a problem. The only other bit of bad news is that Wright is still really young and is still developing. As he showed in his last two games, he has a little of the Tyrus rollercoaster in him.

But ultimately, the news is good – The bottom line is that if he’s getting a consistent 30 plus minutes a game, he’ll probably be worth owning and even starting. There is always the risk of some drama, given that Nellie and Harrington are involved, but you have to think that Nellie won’t mess with Wright’s head too much. As for Wright’s bio and skills, he was a one-and-done guy at UNC and has a long frame and is very good in transition offense and at blocking shots. He is an above-average rebounder. He’s still a little on the skinny side, so might have trouble banging with the bigger guys. He’s very good inside of ten feet. He’s got a great hook shot. His free throw shot is ugly, though. Unless he's improved significantly from college (where he shot 57% from the line), expect a terrible FT%. His outside shot is also ugly.

Suggested Reading:

Here is a pre-draft profile of Wright.

Fear The Beard, a Golden State blog, discusses Wright.

Wright is ready.

8. Matt Barnes

Impetus for searches – Pregnancy (his wife just gave birth to twins). When will Barnes return to the team? Can I start him for my Week 3 H2H matchup?

There is some bad news – Barnes’ wife was pregnant and due to give birth around Thanksgiving. When she unexpectedly went into labor earlier this week, Matt left the team to be with his wife.

But ultimately, the news is good – Twins! Barnes is scheduled to return to the team for his Monday game. Feel free to put him in your starting lineup. Fun fact: Steve Nash and his wife Alejandra Amarilla also have twins.

Suggested Reading:

Barnes has to pay for his tickets.

Barnes is another satisfied haircut customer.

MB explains his tattoos.

7. Corey Maggette

Impetus for searches – Injury. Can Maggette owners start him in Week 3?

There is some bad news – Here is Maggette’s coach discussing Maggette’s injury: “First of all, he doesn’t play worth a sh*t when he’s trying to play hurt.” Delicately put, Nellie. Maggette claims to be “doing all the necessary stuff” for his hamstrings, but you have to be a little concerned because hamstring injuries can linger. He’s certainly a risky play this week, and you probably should keep him on your bench until he proves that he’s healthy.

But ultimately, the news is good – He only has a “mild” strain and should return to full strength soon. Check back after his team’s Sunday game and see if there are any additional updates on his status.

Suggested Reading:

Deadspin claims Maggette will fit perfectly with Denver’s offense.



6. Ramon Sessions

Impetus for searches – Hot pickup. Is he worth a roster spot?

There is some good news – Sessions was in the starting lineup for two games while Luke Ridnour let his sensitive back heal. He also played 35, 20, & 34 minutes in his last three games off the bench, but that was largely because Michael Redd was out with a sprained ankle. Still, Sessions sneezes and he gets eight or nine assists. And, in case you missed it, he was really good when he started last year: in seven games as a starter in 2007, he averaged 13.1 points, 13.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, .4 blocks, .3 three pointers made, and shot 46.9% from the field and 73.7 percent from the line. Those of you in leagues with huge benches should save a seat for Sessions, as this fantasy tease could luck into some playing time and reward patient owners.

But ultimately, the news is bad – Most of you are not in leagues with huge benches, and as soon as Redd returns from his ankle injury on Monday of Week 3, Sessions won’t get enough minutes to warrant a roster spot. While it is counter-intuitive that a player who plays so well at the end of one year can be ignored by his coach at the start of the next, that is what is going on here. While you and I might believe in him, he will struggle for playing time as long as his coach does not.

Suggested Reading:

Who is R. Sessions?

Top five stat lines by a scrub.

No really…who is R. Sessions?

Is Ridnour the only point guard on the Bucks who has any value?

5. Stephon Marbury

Impetus for searches – Drama. Is he worth a roster spot?

There is some good news – He’s averaged 20 points, 8 assists over the course of his fourteen-year career. There is a 2% chance that he’ll be traded to a team that needs a starting point guard. If that ever happens, he may gain fantasy relevance.

But ultimately, the news is bad – A quick recap: Marbury’s coach won’t play him because the team is moving in a new direction. Marbury wants to play, if not in New York, than somewhere else. However, to be traded, Marbury will probably have to agree to cut his salary, something he is understandably unwilling to do. So, his coach has said he will ride the bench all year. Hard to say where things go from here (when dealing with Marbury, anything is possible), but putting all the drama and inevitable future drama aside for a second (for more on this, look at the suggested reading below), let’s look at the 2007 stats of two point guards, both of whom played an average of 34 minutes per game:

 
Player  FG%     FT%   3PTM   PTS     REB    AST   STL   BLK    TO
   A    41.9  71.6   1.2     13.9   2.5    4.7    .9     .1    2.0
   B    39.4  71.5   1.9     13.1    3.5    5.3  1.3     .2    2.2

Which player would you rather have, Player A or Player B? Before you answer, I should say that both point guards are 6’2”, both grew up in New York City, both are currently in their early thirties, and both are pretty washed up. So, what’s your answer? Neither, right? Well, Player A is Marbury, and Player B is Rafer “Skip To My Lou” Alston. What this says to me is that even if Marbury gets traded, and even if he gets traded to a team that needs a starting point guard, and even if Marbury is getting 34 minutes a night, and even if he isn’t rusty from not playing in games, and even if he isn’t out of shape from not practicing, he still will probably only put up stats as valuable as a 2007 Rafer Alston. That’s not much of an upside. Throw in the fact that Marbury may or may not be a jerk, why are we even wasting our time talking about this guy? Seriously. Drop him if he is on your team, and stop searching for him at Rotoworld if he isn’t. I declare, nay, I decree Starbury to be, forevermore, irrelevant.

Suggested Reading:

Marbury is scrambling for ridiculous ways to try to stay in shape.

“Are you going to get in the truck?”

“One day I might be able to buy the Knicks.”

Knick bloggers speak out regarding Marbury.

4. Deron Williams

Impetus for searches – Injury. When is Williams going to be back? Can I start him for my Week 3 H2H matchup?

There is some bad news – It is increasingly likely that Williams, who hurt his ankle on October 18th, will be out of the lineup for closer to 4-6 weeks, which is more than double the original two-week estimate. If true, then Williams wouldn’t be back until sometime between November 15th and November 29th.

But ultimately, the news is good – It is possible you will only need to wait one additional week, and then you be once again enjoying the statistic goodness of Mr. Williams. Be patient.

Suggested Reading:

D. Williams wilderness survival guide.

D. Williams not very good at paper basketball.

3. Allen Iverson

Impetus for searches – Trade. How will Iverson’s trade to Detroit effect his value?

There is some bad news – When you search for Iverson in Rotoworld, the search results reveal two options: AI, and Brad Iverson (BI), the quarterback-turned-wide receiver of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. BI and AI are not related. This news is really only bad news to BI, who has been secretly hoping that AI was his older brother. BI’s younger brother, Chad (CI) was also disappointed to discover AI was no relation.

But ultimately, the news is good – Joe Dumars has a pretty good track record for enabling his players to be sucessful, and AI owners have to feel pretty confident that AI will play well with the Pistons. Devin Harris did score a career high 38 points against AI, but don’t read too much into that. Iverson, who is 33 years old, may not approach the 26.4 points a game he scored last year, he’ll certainly score more than the 18.7 he was averaging at the beginning of this year before the trade. The 24 he scored in his debut sounds about right.

Suggested Reading:

Bethlehem Shoals on AI’s trade to Detroit.

Deadspin on AI’s debut.

Video highlights of AI’s debut.

Things you do not do after a trade.

1. (Tie) Michael Redd

Impetus for searches – Injury. When will he return to the court?

There is some bad news – Redd has already missed three games. While the injury is being called day-to-day, it is possible the injury is more serious than first reported.

But ultimately, the news is good – After initially scaring owners everywhere by calling his injury a “high” ankle sprain, it appears that the injury is just a regular sprain. He not the safest Week 3 start for owners in weekly H2H leagues. Be sure to check Rotoworld for updates before setting your lineup for the week.

Suggested Reading:

If you find yourself forgetting how good Redd is, watch this.

1. (Tie) Mike Dunleavy

Impetus for searches – Injured. When will Dunleavy get back on the court?

There is some good news – The Pacers, as of last week, were saying that Dunleavy might be back in two weeks. In the last week, however, that estimate has been abandoned. His current return date is indefinite, but if you are a T.J. Ford owner, you can at least feel good knowing that Ford has taken it upon himself to replace Dunleavy’s nineteen points per game.

But ultimately, the news is bad – Tendonitis. That’s what the Pacers are calling Dunleavy’s knee injury. Tendonitis, complicated by a bone spur. The injury has not shown improvement, and coach Jim O’Brien has expressed his concern, as has Dunleavy himself. There are three possible options, and two of them are bad: 1. Dunleavy heals and is playing in a few weeks or so. 2. Dunleavy’s tendonitis is chronic, and he never gets fully healthy all year. 3. Dunleavy, after realizing that the knee isn’t getting better, decides to have surgery. If you are a Dunleavy owner, you can’t drop him yet, and he has no trade value. Your best bet is just to hold onto him and to keep monitoring his status.

Suggested Reading:

Dunleavy can’t say when he’ll be back: “Fans, teammates and even his wife have been in his ear about a return date from his right knee injury.”

How to predict career years?

Dunleavy takes a kick to the face.