Brand's Year Ends Early
Another Lost Season for Brand
Elton Brand is reportedly being shut down for the season in order to have shoulder surgery on Monday. While this doesn't come as much of a surprise, I am still wondering why we got that positive report about him from ESPN on Wednesday. What is surprising is that one of the league's most reliable studs hasn't been worth owning in the past two seasons. Maybe next year.
Marreese Speights,
Thaddeus Young and
Andre Iguodala should all benefit from the loss of Brand.
It's also hard to believe that the Clippers somehow managed to lose him for a season in which he hardly played. Brand would fit in perfectly with the Clippers' injury-fest this season, but bolted for the Sixers instead.
Boozer Targeting Feb. 17, Kirilenko Getting Closer
Carlos Boozer set a target date of Feb. 17 to return from his knee surgery. I have been pretty down on Boozer and his intended return after the All-Star break, and it's important to note that he set a couple early return dates for his return from a quad injury that were pushed back earlier in the season. I have serious doubts that he will return on the 17th, but I could obviously be wrong. He says he's "chomping at the bit" to return to the court and if he does,
Paul Millsap's playing time will take a hit. I still think Millsap will hold some value, but owners who looked to trade Millsap a couple weeks ago probably capitalized on a sell-high opportunity. I still don't have much faith in Boozer, and hasn't returned to practice, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Andrei Kirilenko says his rehab from ankle surgery is going well and he hopes to return shortly after the break. It's time to grab him if he was dropped in your league, but keep in mind he hasn't even started running yet.
Ray Allen an All-Star
Ray Allen, and not
Mo Williams, was named as the injury replacement for
Jameer Nelson on the East's All-Star team yesterday. I thought it would be Allen and said so in a previous Daily Dose, but received the following email shortly thereafter:
No way is Ray-Ray gonna be named to the all star team…with two Celtics already and Mike Brown as coach. Pencil in Mo Will!! Look at his numbers recently and realize that at weeks end the Cavs WILL BE the number 1 team in the NBA. Mark my words…
Um, Ok.
And Cavs' owner Daniel Gilbert is even more furious than that guy and sent the following email to the Plain-Dealer.
"Ben Wallace was right when he called Mo originally being passed over for the All-Star Game a 'shamockery,'" Gilbert wrote in an e-mail on Thursday. "But not naming him as the natural and obvious replacement for the unfortunately injured Jameer Nelson is stupidiculous, idillogical and preposterageous."
If there is another injury to an Eastern All-Star, Mo-Will could still make the team, but I wonder if Stern may purposely pass him over after that e-mail.
Luke Thumb Breaker – May the Force Be With You
Luke Ridnour reportedly broke a thumb in Thursday's practice. The Bucks have not commented on Ridnour's status, but the report said he
could miss up to four weeks with the injury. How much time he misses would likely depend on which thumb it is, and we'll let you know when we find out details. Remarkably, the Bucks sent back up point guard
Tyronn Lue to the Magic for
Keith Bogans just minutes before Ridnour broke his thumb, leaving
Charlie Bell as
Ramon Sessions' back up. Sessions is, as usual, a must-own, while Bell should become relevant. It seems like I keep mentioning Bell at least once a week, but he has yet to produce. If Ridnour is really out for a month, that's bound to change. As for Lue, he won't join the Magic until Saturday, leaving
Anthony Johnson and
Courtney Lee at point guard tonight against the Pacers.
Augustin to Start?
D.J. Augustin may get to start alongside
Raymond Felton while
Gerald Wallace is out with his broken rib. We still don't know how long that will be, but it's time to pick DJA up again.
Granger Talks About Resting
Danny Granger was in pain again last night and talked about getting some rest after last night's game. "Maybe man, but I just don't like that idea," he said of taking some nights off. "It might be the best idea, but like I said, we need these games. We're losing. I just can't take this time off." I have been teased a bit for my "gloom and doom" approach to Granger, but this is some pretty scary stuff. The Pacers aren't likely to make the playoffs and if Granger's knee continues to bother him, you have to think some DNPs are headed his way. Yes, he is a warrior, but even warriors get injured. Granger will play through some pain, but there seems to be a decent chance that he might need surgery at some point.
Playing on back-to-back nights is a real issue for Granger right now and the Pacers play the Magic tonight. I think you have to consider Granger a game-time decision tonight and they have three more sets of back-to-backs this month after this one. To me, that means that Granger might take three or four games off over the next three weeks, but that's just a guess. But once the Pacers fall out of the playoff race, there are no guarantees on Granger. He said he "couldn't do anything" in the second half last night and hit just 1-of-8 shots after the break. Again, I'm not trying to create a panic for his owners, but it is what it is.
Amare On the Block
Disgruntled
Amare Stoudemire is reportedly on the trading block. It looks like the Suns have more interest in moving him than they do replacing
Terry Porter. Amare's not a great locker room guy and he came very close to being traded to the Hawks the summer before last. I have no idea where he may be heading if he is traded, but Atlanta might be a possibility. And if they can do it without losing a key piece (
Joe Johnson,
Josh Smith,
Mike Bibby) the Hawks could actually make a run at winning the East. We'll see.
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Friday Injuries
Brad Miller,
Chris Bosh,
Chris Paul,
Tyson Chandler,
Steve Blake and Ridnour (Saturday) are not expected to play through their various injuries on Friday. The Hornets are tired of the
Hilton Armstrong experiment, so you can cut him if you haven't already.
Sean Marks or
Melvin Ely will start tonight in Chandler's place,
Spencer Hawes will start again for Miller, Jermaine O'Neal and
Andrea Bargnani should play well with Bosh out, and
Antonio Daniels will probably start for Paul again.
Devin Brown had a nice line off the Hornets' bench on Wednesday and might be a better short-term option than Daniels.
Jose Calderon (hamstring) is expected back tonight, while
Deron Williams should be able to play again after last night's big game. Hopefully his knee feels good when he wakes up today.
Chauncey Billups (ankle) plans on playing tonight, and I'm guessing that
Caron Butler returns from the flu, although I haven't seen any news on them this morning.
Russell Westbrook was said to have injured his wrist Wednesday, but played through it. I assume he's good to go tonight. Amare tweaked his ankle Wednesday but I'm guessing he plays tonight as well.
Corey Maggette has been receiving a lot of treatment on his back, but is expected to play tonight against the Suns. It also sounds like
Joe Johnson, who missed Thursday's practice with the flu, is a game-time decision for the Hawks.
Marquis Daniels expects to play through a back injury, while Granger is iffy with his knee.
Thursday's Action
Lakers Win at Boston in Overtime, Snap C's 12-Game Streak
The Lakers came from behind to take out the Celtics in an overtime thriller last night, halting the C's 12-game winning streak. There were officiating issues late, with
Ray Allen saying he was fouled at the end. He also said he tweaked his ankle, but I don't think it can be classified as an injury.
Kevin Garnett returned from the flu for 16 points, six boards and three blocks before fouling out, while
Rajon Rondo flirted with a triple-double with 16 points, eight boards and 12 assists. Rondo also got in
Kobe Bryant's face, clearly ticking him off. That looked like the turning point in the game to me.
Eddie House scored 16 and hit four more threes, but had totaled just 10 points in his previous three games. House is intriguing and is fantasy gold if you can figure out which nights to play him. And unfortunately, that's an impossible task.
Lamar Odom had 20 points, six boards, three assists, two steals and a three while
Pau Gasol had 24 points and 14 boards. Gasol and Odom are money now that
Andrew Bynum is gone, while Kobe finished with 26 points, 10 boards, five dimes, a steal, two blocks and four 3-pointers in the overtime win. Just another day at the office for Kobe, who suddenly looks a lot better than he did a month into the season.
Dalembert Leads Sixers Over Pacers
Samuel Dalembert, who was on many fantasy benches this week with a tender ankle, had 18 points, 20 boards and a block in a dominant performance against the Pacers' suspect big men. Dalembert could really start to turn it on the second half of the season, but I bet he doesn't score 18 in another game.
Thaddeus Young had 14 points, seven boards, five steals and a block last night, and should be owned with the Brand news.
Andre Iguodala flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 20 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.
The Pacers got just 18 points, two rebounds, two assists, one 3-pointer and three blocks from Granger, who hit just 6-of-18 shots on the night.
T.J. Ford was awful, finishing with just two points on 1-of-6 shooting, while
Jarrett Jack came out of nowhere for 18 points in 36 minutes. Hopefully Ford didn't tweak his back in the loss, as he had been playing very well until last night. This morning's report states that Ford just had a bad night and he's expected to play against the Magic.
Roy Hibbert played very well in limited minutes, but is too inconsistent to own in most leagues.
Mike Dunleavy had 21 points, three steals and four threes on 7-of-18 shooting. So far, so good for him and his bum knee.
Marquis Daniels sat out with a back injury, but is expected to go tonight vs. the Magic.
Jazz Blitz Mavericks
The Jazz waltzed over the Mavericks last night, led by
Deron Williams and his 34 points, 12 dimes and five treys on 11-of-20 shooting. He returned from his knee/quad injury and will hopefully be able to go again tonight.
Ronnie Brewer had 17 points and eight boards, while
Kyle Korver scored 20, grabbed nine boards and hit four threes in his
first-ever start for the Jazz. Keep an eye on Korver.
C.J. Miles was out with bronchitis (which is why Korver started), but is traveling for their two-game trip to Sacramento and Golden State.
Jason Kidd had just seven points, one board and eight assists in the loss, while
Dirk Nowitzki was just 6-of-20 for 14 points and six boards. They'll try to regroup and prepare for the Bulls on Saturday.
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=subHead vAlign=top colSpan=3>Granger iffy for Friday due to sore knee </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=vaLabel colSpan=3>Danny Granger - G/F - IND - Feb. 6 - 10:30 a.m. ET</B> </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>Danny Granger said after Thursday's game he was unsure if he would be able to play on Friday at Orlando due to the on going issues with his knee.
