I have two fairly major drafts on Monday night so I thought I'd throw some last minute quick hits out there regarding injuries, rotations, dog houses and the what not. My goal is to make these quick hits. Let's see if I can do it. Oh, and as you'll see, these are in random order, but grouped by team.
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Quick Hits
My mind tells me that Washington's Caron Butler is easily a Top 10 pick this year but his recent injury history scares the heck out of me.
I will probably not be drafting Utah's Deron Williams (ankle), Clipper Baron Davis (finger) or Clipper Marcus Camby (heel) in either draft tonight. There's just too much uncertainty there, although if any of them are still somehow sitting there in the fourth or fifth round, I could change my mind. Camby sounds like the guy who has the best chance of being ready on opening night and I already own him in a few leagues. I just think that until I get good news about his heel injury, I'm going to look elsewhere for a big tonight.
Stay tuned to Rotoworld's news blurbs throughout the day Monday as we're expecting updates on Baron and Deron - Maybe we should call them "Beron" for the rest of the day?
Sports
As to whether or not Ronnie Price, Jason Hart or Brevin Knight are worth drafting, I would say only if you end up with Williams or Baron. But I also think that Eric Gordon's value just got a boost with news that Baron is likely out for a month or so (although that has yet to be confirmed).
Larry Brown still scares me to death and the only Bobcat I really trust right now is Emeka Okafor. I assume Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson are also good to go, but you just never know with Larry.
Toronto's Jamario Moon is in Sam Mitchell's dog house and there's no telling when he's coming out. I'm not drafting him. Andrea Bargnani, despite his off night on Sunday, looks fantastic and I'd much rather roll the dice on him than Moon at this point.
I am getting concerned with Jose Calderon's quiet preseason. I am comforted by looking at last year's numbers and knowing that Willie Solomon and Roko Ukic are his only back ups, but I'm still a little worried about him.
The fact Cleveland's Delonte West is getting help for his emotional issues should mean an improvement in his play. I think he's a better late-round option now than he was a week ago.
I still think Michael Finley and Ime Udoka are going to surprise people while the Spurs wait for Manu Ginobili to return to action.
Sacramento's Spencer Hawes looked like a beast in his last game and will start the first five of the season for Brad Miller. His surgically repaired knee (three times) really makes me nervous, but I'm quite intrigued. John Salmons hasn't been setting the world on fire, but I'm still a big fan this year.
Tyrus Thomas suddenly looks like a must-have last-round pick again. He does this to me every year, but if he could actually win that starting Bulls' PF job and get some consistent minutes, he will be a blast to own. Or he will be a bust again and the hate mail will come rolling in. And if Drew Gooden ends up qualifying at center, look out. As for Joakim Noah? He wasn't really on my radar before last night's 'Thomas could start at PF' chatter started.
There is concern that Greg Oden hasn't looked all that great lately for the Blazers, but I still get the feeling he's going to calm down and have a big year. Portland is one of those teams having trouble coming up with a set starting lineup and my fingers are still crossed that Rudy Fernandez finds his way into it.
I am standing behind my early pick of Matt Barnes as a major sleeper this season. He may or may not start (I still think he will), but the opportunity should be there in Phoenix either way. Steve Nash hurt his ankle again and if you draft him, go ahead and snag Goran Dragic in the last round. Trust me. Or at least be ready to pounce on him the second Nash goes down in the regular season.
The Mavs' Jason Kidd has been less than spectacular in the preseason but I'm still betting he plays pretty well this year. There may not be a more boring pick at No. 5 than Dirk Nowitzki, but he's probably the guy you should be looking at there.
Am I nervous that Detroit's Rodney Stuckey will be a bust and make me look like an idiot? A little. Do I still like him and think he'll emerge as a solid fantasy contributor for most of the season? Yep.
J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin should both have good seasons for the Nuggets this year.
Jeff Green has been pretty quiet in the preseason, but I think he's going to have a real nice year for the Thunder.
Jameer Nelson is the only point guard in Orlando, but that still doesn't make him a sure thing.
Expect every Warrior to look like an all-star at some point this season. I trust that Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette and Andris Biedrins will all have nice seasons this year. I also trust that Don Nelson still has no idea what he's going to do with his point guard situation, you will be tempted to snag Kelenna Azubuike off waivers at least twice this year, and that Anthony Randolph is going to be a blast to watch in garbage time.
I will not be drafting Tracy McGrady of the Rockets tonight. I'm also wondering if he should go talk to someone. He's up one day, down the next, etc. Maybe he's taking the Palin approach and setting expectations as low as possible, but he's doing a good job of selling it. If you listen to T-Mac, his body is a mess. No thanks.
I really like the thought of having New Orleans' James Posey on my fantasy teams as a late-round flier this year. And keep your eye on Devin Brown throughout the season. I bet he emerges.
There is still chatter that Danilo Gallinari may be the starting small forward for the Knicks this season. I'll believe it when I see it. Something tells me that Quentin Richardson is going to have a good season, but I'm still having trouble pulling the trigger on him in drafts.
I'm a little nervous about Devin Harris' quiet preseason but I'm sure he'll be fine. I also still like Bobby Simmons, but have been disappointed thus far. Hopefully he can stay healthy. And no one is talking about Chris Douglas-Roberts, but I am targeting him late in some deeper drafts. Talk out of New Jersey is that he's had a good summer and is ready to contribute now.
The Pacers don't look great and Danny Granger has barely hit a shot in the preseason. I still trust that when the real games start Granger will answer the call. I'm not sure if any other Pacers will, but Granger should be great. Mike Dunleavy's knee is concerning, but we just don't know if it's really serious or not.
Phil Jackson can't decide on the Lakers' starting lineup, but it looks like Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Vladimir Radmanovic, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Bench players Jordan Farmar and Lamar Odom both have more value than Fisher and Radmanovic, while Trevor Ariza is going to be a guy you think about picking up a few times this season. I will not be drafting Odom tonight. I'm also not sure I still want Kobe at No. 3 and might target Amare Stoudemire there instead. The Lakers are super deep and Kobe doesn't appear to have the mindset to try to do it all by himself anymore. Also, put Chris Mihm on your deep-sleeper list. He looks like a new player now that he's finally healthy.
Eric Gordon and Al Thornton are looking better and better as the Clippers implode.
Don't sleep on Udonis Haslem. He looks like he might end up being the Heat's (undersized) center and is playing very well. If nothing else, you know he's going to start. And yes, I am very concerned about Shawn Marion's role with the Heat and am going to try to find a way to avoid drafting him tonight.
We had Kevin Love coming off the bench for the Wolves early in the summer, caught some heat for it from certain "fans," changed our mind and moved him into the starting lineup, and are now right back where we started. Conditioning is an issue and it looks like he could come off the bench for some time. I still like Randy Foye, especially after that 15-assist night recently. Stay healthy please.
Marc Gasol is being consistently drafted in all my leagues. He's not going to be dominant, but he'll provide boards and blocks, and also has the ability to dish and score. O.J. Mayo is going in the middle rounds and if you have him targeted as a sleeper, you may have to take him a little earlier than you were planning on.
It's been a quiet preseason for Richard Jefferson but you have to think he's going to have a good year for the Bucks. Charlie Villanueva is still one of my favorite sleepers and I will not be drafting Ramon Sessions in any leagues that I can think of.