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Sports Grumblings -
http://www.sportsgrumblings.com/basketball/articles
Hardcourt Happenings: Dec. 18
http://www.sportsgrumblings.com/basketball/articles/articles/515/1/Hardcourt-Happenings-Dec-18/Page1.html
Mike Zink
 Mike Zink has been a part time sports reporter for nearly 15 years, covering all of the major circuits plus most college and high school sports. Fantasy Sports is relatively new to him but plans to treat it like everything else he has covered. Being the new kid on the block, with just a little under five years as a Fantasy Sports contributor Mike plans to go all out as basketball is his number one passion and his goal is to keep you up to speed in your respective leagues. In his spare time Mike works for several local papers, and has interviewed many of the top players in the game, so he feels qualified in bringing the very best that he can give. By Mike Zink
Published on 12/18/2008 |
 Troy Murphy has re-emerged as a low-end No. 1 Fantasy center with the eligibility to play at forward as well. |
Devin
Brown
moved into the starting lineup with Peja
Stojakovic out. Stojakovic missed the Hornets' game against
San Antonio on Wednesday night because of back spasms. An 11-year NBA veteran known for his
perimeter shooting, Stojakovic is averaging 13.1 points this season. Hornets
coach Byron Scott added guard Devin Brown to the starting lineup and moved Rasual Butler from his regular
starting spot at shooting guard to Stojakovic’s small forward spot.
Brown does not get significant
enough playing time to make a Fantasy impact. Leave him on waivers except in
the deepest of leagues. Stojakovic hits an elite number of 3-pointers and
sometimes gets a decent number of rebounds. Start him as a No. 3 or four
Fantasy F, when healthy.
Troy
Murphy
missed Wednesday's game against Golden State with a stomach virus. Indiana
Pacers starting guard T.J. Ford also
sat out Wednesday night's game. Murphy,
who was traded from Golden State two seasons ago, is out with a stomach virus. Murphy
is dropping 12.4 points and 12 boards over his last five contests with a good
amount of threes. He is playing well for the Pacers and has re-emerged as a
low-end No. 1 Fantasy center with the eligibility to play at forward as well.
This virus does not figure to keep him out long.
Ford is out after he hurt his left groin late in Monday's win over
the Washington Wizards. He had been one of two Pacers to start every game this
season. Ford scored 16 points and added five boards and five assists against Washington
on Monday night. He is averaging almost 14 points, 4.6 boards and 5.6 assists
over his last five contests and has been solid as a No. 3 guard all season.
However, if Ford cannot return from this groin injury by Saturday, you might
consider keeping him reserved over the next scoring period, especially as the
Pacers play just twice.
Forward
Elton Brand dislocated his right
shoulder from a hard fall in the third quarter Wednesday against the Bucks’ He's likely to miss as few as several games
and as much as a month. Thaddeus Young will replace him. Brand entered the game averaging a team-best 16.4 points
with 10 rebounds. He was coming off a 27-point effort last Saturday in a
victory over the Washington Wizards.
Young has averaged
8.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in a little over 33 minutes per game in games that
Brand has missed. Young stands to benefit if Elton Brand (shoulder) is going to
be out for an extended period. Young was averaging
more than 15 points per game not too long ago, emerging as a surprise starter
in Fantasy leagues. He is a youngster and should bounce back. Right now, he is
mostly a No. 4 Fantasy forward until he gets more minutes.
Brand,
who will turn 30 in March, signed an $80 million (U.S.), five-year contract on
July 9 after seven seasons with the Chicago Bulls and two with the Los Angeles
Clippers. He was limited to only eight games last season with the Clippers
because of a ruptured left Achilles tendon.
Wizards
center Etan Thomas who underwent
open-heart surgery in October 2007, missed Monday's loss to Indiana because he
was in Minnesota for a routine checkup related to the surgery. Unfortunately,
Thomas is not getting enough minutes to be a fantasy factor at this point. Etan
Thomas missed his second consecutive game.
Thomas used to be a starter for the Wizards and log a fair amount
of playing time, but he is playing less than 12 minutes per game in 2008-09 and
is not doing much. He has little to no Fantasy value when healthy.
G Kevin Martin continues to remain day to
day, and there is no timetable for his return. Realistically, he is expected to
miss at least another week. Martin, who
missed 12 games because of the ankle, aggravated the injury during Saturday's
game. He underwent a precautionary MRI, which did not reveal a new injury. The
injury has been called an ankle sprain, but Martin's also feeling pain in his
Achilles' tendon. Francisco Garcia
will start in his place at shooting guard
Forward
Francisco Garcia entered Monday night's game ice-cold from 3-point range,
having hit just three of 21 beyond the arc since returning from injury on Nov.
26. However, he hit three of five against Minnesota while tying his season high
with 21 points. He should continue putting up nice numbers as long as he is
starting for Kevin Martin Garcia is still coming in
around his yearly averages over his last 5 games with 15.6 points and 3.4
boards. He does give you some blocked shot help and nails a three per contest
but he struggles from long range and one solid game is not going to change that
fact. That said, with Kevin Martin still out of the lineup, Garcia remains a
solid No. 4 option at worst in Fantasy.
Now, Martin is far too risky to start for Fantasy leagues for Week
8 (Dec. 15-21). The Kings have four games, but Martin is no guarantee to play
in any of them. Keep him reserved in all leagues until he can get back on the
floor.
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