Senior Editor and
Founder John T. Georgopoulos is a 15-year veteran of the fantasy sports
industry. He has been a three-time finalist for various FSWA writing
awards, written for several national fantasy magazines and has appeared
on sports talk stations around the country.
Dwyane Wade scored 23 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, of the Heat's 100-96 win over the Pacers on Friday night
Injuries, moves, rumors and newsmakers...
Wade
getting ready for postseason; Bobcats have work to do in offseason;
Will Patterson stay with Bucks?; Jazz beat up on undermanned Mavs;
Lakers recall Farmer; Kidd's still got it; Van Horn eying job with
Nuggets?; Mitchell hoping Bargnani back on Sunday; Philly playing for
pride; Haywood remains inconsistent in Washington...
BOBCATS Michael Jordan and the Charlotte front office have some major work to do this offseason. Matt Carroll and Gerald Wallace both have the ability to walk away, while the face of the organization, Emeka Okafor,
will decide whether he wants to sign a long-term contract extension.
Both Carroll, an unrestricted free agent, and Wallace, who has the
right to opt out of the final year of his contract, should attract
plenty of interest from around the league. Both have said they want to
stay, but if another team backs up the Brinks truck, don't be surprised
to see either or both bolt. Then again, Charlotte is also positioned
nicely to pick off one of the top two picks for the 2007 blue chip
draft that will feature Kevin Durant and likely Greg Oden.
BUCKS It may not have been a very good year for basketball in Milwaukee, but forward Ruben Patterson should come out of the season in pretty good shape. With Milwaukee big men Bobby Simmons and Charlie Villanueva
banged up for much of the year, the nine-year veteran stepped in and
posted career-high numbers with 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8
assists per game. He has told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he is
hopeful of re-signing with the Bucks, but that decision will not be
made until he and his agent get a better idea of what he will be worth
on the open market.
HEAT Dwyane Wade
scored 23 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, of the Heat's 100-96 win
over the Pacers on Friday night. And while it was the biggest offensive
output he has had since returning to Miami's lineup four games ago, it
was his second most important statistic on the night. The thing that
had coach Pat Riley smiling was the fact that Wade was able to play 44
energetic minutes in the victory. He had played 27, 21 and 34 minutes
respectively in his previous three games. With the playoffs set to
begin next week, it is imperative Wade get his conditioning up to
snuff.
JAZZ
The Rockets, who are trying to hold off the Jazz for home court
advantage in the playoffs, likely were not too pleased with the effort
Dallas turned in against Utah on Friday night. Mavericks coach Avery
Johnson sat banged up Jason Terry, Erick Dampier and Jerry Stackhouse, allowing the Jazz a much easier road to their 104-89 win. Carlos Boozer dominated inside for the Jazz, scoring 32 points and adding 14 rebounds. Utah's Andrei Kirilenko (thumb) missed his fourth straight game.
LAKERS The Lakers announced on Friday that they have recalled Jordan Farmer
from their Developmental team and he will stick with the big club for
the remainder of the season. A first-round pick in 2006 (26th overall),
the point guard will give coach Phil Jackson another substitution
option for those times when starter Smush Parker is not playing to his liking.
NETS Jason Kidd
may be in his 13th season in the NBA, but he still has major game. On
Friday night he picked up his 12th triple-double of the 2006-07 season
with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in the Nets' 100-86 win over
the Knicks. It was the 87th career triple-double for the 34-year-old.
Assuming the Nets make the playoffs, Kidd will likely need to fire up a
few more efforts like this one if his team is to have any hope of
surviving the first round. If the postseason were to begin on Saturday,
New Jersey's first-round opponent would be the Bulls, a team they've
beaten in two of the three games they've played so far this season.
They will play for the fourth time on Wednesday.
NUGGETS According to the Rocky Mountain News, Keith Van Horn
is interested in possibly signing in Denver for the 2007-08 season. Out
of the NBA this season, the former University of Utah star now lives
near Denver with his wife and four children, making the Nuggets a good
fit from his perspective. Whether Denver coach George Karl would be
interested in the injury-prone perimeter forward is another question
altogether. Van Horn averaged 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game for
the Mavericks during the 2005-06 season.
RAPTORS Toronto had been hoping to have Andrea Bargnani
back in the lineup on Friday, but a touch of flu forced the Italian to
miss the Raptors' come-from-behind 87-84 win over the Pistons. The
rookie has now missed 12 contests since undergoing an emergency
appendectomy in March. Despite his absence, the Raptors have been
surging, going 10-2 while he has been sidelined. Sparkplug guard Juan Dixon
has taken on Bargnani's sixth-man role. Toronto coach Sam Mitchell is
hoping to have the 7-footer back for Sunday's tilt with the Knicks.
That would give him three regular season games to find his legs before
the playoffs begin. Forward Jorge Garbajosa
received a thunderous ovation from the appreciative crowd as he made
his first appearance at the Air Canada Centre since his grisly ankle
injury last month.
76ers
Unlike some of the other cellar-dwelling teams, Philadelphia does not
appear to be playing for last place. Going in to Saturday's game
against Orlando they have won three in a row to pump their record up to
33-45. The fact that the Sixers won the last two without their best
player, Andre Iguodala,
speaks to their character as a team. The athletic swingman is listed as
questionable for the Magic game and even if he is unable to go, don't
be surprised to see Philly run their winning streak to four games.
WIZARDS Brendan Haywood
has been in and out of Washington coach Eddie Jordan's doghouse a lot
recently. On Tuesday when the Wizards faced the Nets, he did not leave
the bench. One night late, he was a force against the Nets, pouring in
14 points to go with 10 rebounds. On Friday, it was back into the
doghouse for the big center as he chipped in two points and no rebounds
in nine forgettable minutes of a 98-85 win over the Hawks. If the
injury-ravaged Wizards are going to have any chance in the playoffs, it
will take supporting players like Haywood to stand up and deliver.
