Scott Sargent is the Senior NBA fantasy analyst for Sports Grumblings. He is a
lead writer for DroppingDimes.com, and has been featured on SI.com. He also
contributes his sharp analysis for Sports Grumblings for fantasy football
fans.
All of Cleveland held its breath after King James went down; but it's OK to breathe again.
Injury Update
Not too much injury news floating around this time of year, as we only get updates on teams still alive.
The big injury news of the weekend comes out of Cleveland, where the Cavaliers had a scare after LeBron James came down on the foot of Etan Thomas. After lying on the hardwood for a bit, James got up on his own power and finished the game. He’s been getting treatment and has said that he’ll be good to go for the Wednesday tip, but if he’s to miss any time, fans should look for Sasha Pavlovic’s role to increase considerably.
On the other side of the ball, the Washington Wizards’ Caron Butler has had the cast removed from his right hand. Doctors have told him to avoid contact for at least the next 10 days, which will likely mean that he would not play unless his Wizard teammates can get them to the second round. After losing by double-figures during the opening game, it’s not looking likely that we’ll see Butler until next season. Jarvis Hayes will continue to fill in for him in the meantime.
As expected, New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul had a screw inserted in his injured left foot. The procedure went well, but with Paul likely on crutches for the next two months, it seems very unlikely that Paul will be able to train with the USA Basketball team this summer.
Toronto Raptors swingman Morris Peterson was questionable with a knee injury over the weekend, but logged six minutes of scoreless play. With Anthony Parker logging 40 minutes and a slew of other Raptors' small forward-types, it looks like Peterson’s best days are behind him unless he can find a different team to play for next season. Something to keep an eye on, as Toronto may look to add even more youth to their roster after their successes this season.
Looking Forward
With the playoffs underway, NBA fans will now have a game to watch every day for the next month and a half. The battles in the West are easily going to be the storylines to watch over the next week. Can Denver and Golden State keep it up? Don Nelson appears to have the Mavericks’ number, and until the Mavs actually beat the Warriors, you have to feel that an upset is at least possible at this stage. Dallas is obviously the better team, but we all know that it is what you do in the playoffs that matters.
Tim Duncan’s feud with the officials is hopefully over. The Spurs will have to shoot better than 42% from the floor if they’re going to go anywhere in the post season. It’s not often though that we’ll get a 7-17 night from Duncan, so the Spurs shouldn’t have too much to worry about. It’s their second round match-up against the Suns that most fans of the NBA will be looking forward to.
Will Kirilenko’s minutes increase? After going to the media and complaining after game one, AK logged in less than 20 foul-plagued minutes and was held scoreless on 0-3 from the floor. I’m thinking that the Jazz should increase the minutes of Paul Millsap ASAP. Millsap averages over two blocks and two steals per 48 minutes, plus he can score. What to the Jazz have to lose?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that the Lakers will be lucky to push the series to five or six games with the way that the Suns have been playing. Their starting point guard (Steve Nash) goes for 20 points and 10 assists, and their back-up puts in 26? Leadndro Barbosa provides the Suns with a punch that the Lakers just can’t match. Boris Diaw, James Jones and Raja Bell combined for 4-16 and they still pull off the win thanks to their solid frontcourt play. Double-doubles are coming by the truckloads in Phoenix, so expect Shawn Marion (16 points, 16 rebounds) and Amare Stoudemire (23 points, 12 rebounds) to keep on rolling.
I feel like I’m treating the East as second-class citizens at this point, and it’s probably because with all of the action in the West, it’s hard to even pay attention to what’s happening. The Pistons seem to be handling the Orlando Magic, and this series is quickly looking like it’ll be a four game (five max) bout. When your “leaders” are Hedo Turkoglu and an eighty year-old Grant Hill, it’s not a good sign.
The Cavaliers should make quick work of the beaten down Wizards, despite it not being their fault. This had the making for a great repeat of round one last year before all of the injuries to the Wiz. Antawn Jamison has his work cut out for him with a point guard that can’t shoot from long range in Antonio Daniels, and a shooting guard that has never been asked to score in DeShawn Stevenson.
The Bulls/Heat and Raps/Nets have the foundation for a good series – with the Chicago and Miami series likely garnering the most attention, simply due to the markets. The Heat were thought of by many to be the team that no one wanted to face in the playoffs. It’s becoming evident that Dwyane Wade isn’t 100%, and Shaquille O’Neal isn’t getting the calls like he used to. The Bulls have home court in this one, and are considerably younger and faster than the Heat. If the shots are falling, they’ll be as tough to beat as anyone in the league.
Though the “Dread the Red” theme didn’t work out as planned with the Nets wearing the red away jerseys in game one, Chris Bosh and TJ Ford have what it takes to push this series to the max. It remains to be seen if the Raps play attempt to play a defensive game on Vince Carter, or simply try to force the rest of the team to beat them as Carter has been on fire over the last few weeks. One thing that’s for certain is that Toronto will not repeat a 41% night from the floor, so this series is still for the taking.
That’s it for this week. Next week should bring us even more clarity, and if I know the NBA as well as I think I do – a lot more drama should be in store. Catch you all next week.
Scott Sargent is the Senior NBA fantasy analyst for Sports Grumblings. He is a
lead writer for 