Give Me The Rock

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Bing, Bam, Boom. I love it when a plan comes together

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Categorized as: Author: Patrick, Fantasy Basketball, Free Agency, GMTR Leagues, Injuries, Player News
Posted on: October 30th, 2007

I was checking on my fantasy team this morning and I noticed that there was one of those little yellow news updates with the red explosion coming out of the side (so you know it’s new) next to Dwyane Wade’s name. It read:

According to the Miami Herald, Wade is making significant progress in his recovery from offseason surgeries on his knee and shoulder.

Hey, now that’s the news I’ve been waiting to hear. According to Wade, it’s still possible that he’ll be cleared to practice before Nov. 15, the target date for his return. That news makes me feel a lot better about drafting Wade in a couple leagues, especially in the GMTR readers league where we have a measly three bench spots. I wasn’t excited about losing 33% of my bench while Wade sat out for an extend time. Now if everything goes well, I won’t have to.

A couple of days ago, I wondered what the hell constituted an ankle sprain. Well, Jim Zegers of RotoWire.com (via NBA.com) steps up to the plate and breaks it down.

When the ankle inverts, or rolls on the outer edge of the foot, ligaments on the outside of the ankle may stretch beyond their normal elastic limits. In more severe cases they can tear, either partially or completely.

Ouch. He ends the article with this informative piece of info for Durant owners.

I would not expect Durant to play in those [preseason games] and realistically, the season opener on Halloween night is in doubt despite his promise to be ready.

Be prepared to get Durant out of your lineup for Wednesday if that’s the case.

The Wolves bought out Juwan Howard’s contract on Monday. The buyout amount wasn’t disclosed, but Howard was due about $7 per year over the next two years. Speculation is that Howard will likely to end up with the Cavs to help out Lebron while Anderson Varejao is still MIA with his a contract dispute. That would put Howard right behind Drew Gooden on the Cavs depth chart (unless you think Donyell Marshall is the answer) and possibly makes him a decent pickup in deeper leagues.

If you were on the fence, now is the time to get Yi Jianlian in your starting lineup. Jianlian will be in Milwakee’s starting lineup for their opener on Wednesday, with Charlie Villanueva coming off the bench. I don’t know if you’d actually call Yi’s preseason encouraging – he averaged 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks in 8 games – but it certainly wasn’t a disaster. I expect Villanueva to overtake him for the starting spot eventually, well, unless some Chinese Triads are extorting Buck’s owner Herb Kohl.

This news is a little stale, but Chucky Atkins is expected to miss six to eight weeks after severely straining his right groin. Unlike the ankle sprain, I’m not at all interested in finding more out about a severe groin strain. I’ll just assume rehab involves six to eight weeks of lying on a couch trying to avoid pornography and other naughty thoughts.

In a blast from the past, Penny Hardaway made the Heat roster, which is probably an indictment on Miami’s bench more than anything. He doesn’t have any fantasy relevance, but it’ll be nice to see him on the court after missing the past two years with injuries.

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  • http://www.givemetherock.com Patrick

    Randy Foye is the latest victim of the preseason. He has a knee injury that will keep him out for at least the next several weeks. Word is that the three headed monster of Sebastian Telfair, Marko Jaric and Greg Buckner will take over ball handling duties while Foye is out. Telfair will start, but I’m not going to recommend picking him up.

  • Joey

    hey guys, is Foye droppable at all in a H2H daily yahoo league? I got him in a 10 teamer in the beginning of 9th round. I would pick up Jason Williams/Earl Watson or stream a player in the Kapono, Barnes, Tim Thomas caliber depending on who has more games that week…

    thanks!

  • http://www.givemetherock.com Nels

    I’m not exactly high on Randy Foye (I know, I probably should be, and no, I can’t explain why I’m not) … so my opinion is probably somewhat jaded, but I’d say in a 10 team league, he’s probably droppable. Of course, I’m less confident with all of the other guys you named, so if that’s really the best out there, I’d just put Foye on the bench for now.

    Indefinitely is a scary word, but not as scary to me as J-Will or Tim Thomas. Matt Barnes should be okay, but I’m worried that the Warriors have too much going on in that area for him to be worth picking up (until Baron Davis gets injured forcing a lineup reorg).

  • http://www.givemetherock.com Patrick

    I’m higher on Foye than Nels is, but I generally agree with his opinion. I’d probably stash him on your bench for now, unless something better is out there (and based on the guys you listed, there doesn’t appear to be). Keep an eye on Foye and if the situation gets any worse, then think about dumping him.