Benched!
Monday Morning Injury Breakdown
Tony Allen – thumb – Out for rest of reg. Season.
Kevin Garnett – knee – Not likely to play this week, either.
Brian Scalabrine – concussion – No real value when healthy.
Gabe Pruitt – suspended – Back on Wednesday.
Luol Deng – shin – No stress fracture! Season back on.
Tim Thomas – leg – Strained quad. Day-to-day.
Ben Wallace – leg –May not return for regular season.
Sasha Pavlovic – ankle – Hoping for Monday vs. Heat.
Jason Terry – hand – Played on Sunday, which is fairly shocking.
Jose Juan Barea – teeth – Lost a couple, but should be fine.
Jerry Stackhouse – foot – Returned, but then shut down again.
Kenyon Martin – back – Playing through it for now, but numbers down.
Nene – knee contusion – Made early return, started on Sunday.
Allen Iverson – back – Sounds like he'll play Tuesday – off the bench.
Monta Ellis – ankle – Reportedly feels good. May play soon, but bench him.
Andris Biedrins – ankle – Played through it on Sunday – still tender.
Brandan Wright – shoulder – Nellie says he has no idea when he'll play.
Tracy McGrady – knee – It's official. Season over.
Carl Landry – ankle – Finally returned on Sunday.
Jeff Foster – back – Played through it, but still risky.
Mike Dunleavy – knee – Out for season, mulling surgery. Cut him.
Danny Granger – foot – Hoping to play on road trip. Risky.
Eric Gordon – shoulder – Iffy for Monday, more likely for Wednesday.
Zach Randolph – personal – Flew to Indy to be w/ father. Questionable.
Chris Kaman – foot – Only three Clips? Not likely this week.
Andrew Bynum – knee – Still no word on realistic return date.
Dorell Wright – knee surgery – Getting close, but no fantasy value.
Andrew Bogut – back – Season very much in doubt.
Michael Redd – knee – Done for the season.
Sebastian Telfair – groin – Sat Sunday, day-to-day. Risky play.
Al Jefferson – knee – Season over.
Keyon Dooling – hip – Missed Sunday, day-to-day. Bench him.
Eduardo Najera – ab strain – Not much value when healthy.
Morris Peterson – foot – Could return soon, may hurt
Rasual Butler a little.
Chris Duhon – ankle – Playing through it, has been inconsistent.
Eddy Curry – knee – Could play again, but no fantasy value.
Kevin Durant – ankle –Grade II. Says he may play, but doctors may not let him.
Desmond Mason – knee – Out for season.
Jameer Nelson – shoulder – Not likely to play again this season.
Elton Brand – shoulder – Season over.
Steve Nash – ankle – Missed three straight, but hopeful for Tuesday.
Amare Stoudemire – eye surgery – Done for regular season. Hello, Barnes.
Grant Hill – foot – Has looked good in last two, maybe it's behind him.
Greg Oden – knee – Not due back in "next few days," according to coach.
Martell Webster – foot – Likely done for season.
Drew Gooden – hernia – Waived and injured. Probably not done yet though.
Beno Udrih – foot – Hoping to play Tuesday. Mega-bust last week.
Manu Ginobili – ankle – Closer, but keep benched until more info.
Shawn Marion – flu – Barely played Sunday, iffy for Tuesday.
DeShawn Stevenson – back – Day-to-day, but no value this season.
Etan Thomas – knee – Trying to avoid surgery. Forget him.
Brendan Haywood – wrist – Not likely to play again this year.
Gilbert Arenas – knee – Wiz still want him to play 15 games. Why? Don't know.
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News and Notes
Kevin Garnett – There haven't been many updates on the status of KG lately, but the Celtics are going to take their sweet time in bringing him back and simply want to make sure that he's fully healthy for the playoffs. In fact, Doc Rivers may not even care about competing with the Cavaliers to get home court through the East as long as Garnett is at full strength for the playoffs. I doubt Garnett plays again this week and I'm even worried about how many minutes he will play when he returns at all. I kind of wish I'd just cut him in my "no-bench" league as soon as he got hurt, but I still own him in all leagues. I'm just not expecting much the rest of the way.
Luol Deng – Deng avoided catastrophe now that it's been announced he doesn't have a stress fracture. Instead he has a shin injury that could keep him out a few games, but ultimately leaves him day-to-day. Things were looking a little brighter for
Tyrus Thomas owners there for a minute, but now we're back in the land of the unknown. Like – it's unknown how many minutes
Vinny Del Negro will give Ty Thomas in his three games this week.
Jason Terry – Terry actually returned several weeks early from his broken hand and had eight points and two threes in 18 minutes on Sunday. I was really wrong about him, as I didn't think he'd play for another couple weeks. He's going to wear a protective glove for the rest of the season (so he says) and it may take him a week or so to get back in a groove. But as long as he stays healthy, his early return is big news for his owners and the Mavs.
Allen Iverson – Iverson mysteriously disappeared back to Detroit as soon as it was announced that he would be coming off the bench for the Pistons. He had his back checked out and it sounds like all systems are go for him to play on Tuesday. The question remains about what kind of attitude he's going to have about being benched. My guess is he will play along, but don't look for him to have any awe-inspiring performances, or to show too much emotion either way. I think he's going to take the approach of "I'm just going to go to work, do my thing, get my check and then go home and eat and drink."
Monta Ellis – Ellis could play at some point this week, and it sounds like he will play again this season, but until we get more concrete information you need to keep him benched.
Corey Maggette – We posted a blurb that he would miss Wednesday's game because he's not a young Warrior, but the article we used for that news has since changed. I would still not be surprised to see Maggette benched on Wednesday, but it is also not set in stone. Last I heard, Nellie was planning on sitting Maggette at some point, but the specific day has yet to be announced.
Andris Biedrins has been scheduled for a day off this Friday, so only count on him for three games this week. As far as I know,
Stephen Jackson and
Jamal Crawford should play in all four games this week, but then again, Nellie is going to do what he wants to do. And having Jackson in several lineups last night while he helped Nellie coach in street clothes was pretty painful.
Danny Granger – Granger hopes to return at some point on the Pacers' upcoming three-game road trip from a foot injury. I would bench him in weekly leagues unless you are stuck with a bunch of two-game options, but get ready to push him back into action in daily leagues.
Zach Randolph – Randolph flew to Indy after Saturday's game to be with his sick father. Given the fact they have a game tonight, it's quite possible he won't be in uniform. Hopefully we have an update before the games start, but as of now, Randolph is going to be hit or miss if you put him in your lineup in a weekly league.
Eric Gordon – Gordon hasn't been ruled out for tonight, but it doesn't sound like he'll play with a shoulder injury. The Clippers do want to get him back in action on Wednesday though, so start him at your own risk.
Chris Kaman – Kaman is supposedly still going to play in a bunch of games this season, but the 25 coach
Mike Dunleavy called for is now just a dream. The Clips only have 22 games left on their schedule and Kaman still doesn't have a return date set. I would not recommend putting him in fantasy lineups until we've seen him play at least two games. And I would not expect much of anything if and when he does return.
Andrew Bynum – There are still a lot of Bynum owners holding out hope that he's going to return for the regular season, but I'm still not feeling it.
Chris Duhon – His turnovers have been a concern but he played very well in his last game and might be on the verge of being over his ankle injury. Should be a safe play for three games.
Kevin Durant – Durant says he wants to play this week and that his ankle sprain isn't that big of a deal, but I bet the Thunder's medical staff disagrees. There's chatter that he could miss just a week, but others are hinting that he could be out for about a month, just like
Deron Williams was when he suffered similar sprain for the Jazz at the start of the season. Just bench Durant for now and hope he comes back next week.
Steve Nash – Nash has missed three straight games with a sprained ankle but says he wants to play on Tuesday. He's risky for the week, but I would start him if I owned him.
Greg Oden – Oden, whose injury wasn't expected to be a long-term thing, now sounds likely to sit for most of the upcoming week after missing seven straight games. He's been a lot more trouble than he's been worth this season, but just keep him benched for now.
Beno Udrih – Udrih was out for most of the week after playing so well in the previous one. He is expected back this week and can be played if you don't have other options, but I trust him about as far as I can throw him and the Kings only play two games.
Drew Gooden – Gooden was bought out by the Kings and could sign with the Cavalier, Mavericks or Spurs. I don't know if he's healthy enough to play, but he's at least worth keeping an eye on until we see where he lands.
Manu Ginobili – Manu should be getting close to coming back, but it may not happen this week. Keep him benched until we get some more information.
Shawn Marion – Marion left Sunday's game with the flu and will be iffy for Tuesday. If he misses Tuesday's game he'll play just two this week. Weigh your options carefully when looking at Marion.
Gilbert Arenas – Arenas is practicing and supposedly near full strength. The Wizards want him to play 15 games this season, but there's still no word on whether or not that will happen. Feel free to pick him up if you want to, but don't put him in your lineup until you actually see him play in a game.
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=subHead vAlign=top colSpan=3>Durant's ankle improving, aiming for weekend </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=vaLabel colSpan=3>Kevin Durant - G/F - OKC - Mar. 3 
