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May 11th, 2008

Billups and Wallace Injury Updates

Heading into the games on Saturday, Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace were unsure about their availability in their respective games. Billups had a strained hamstring, while Wallace battled allergies and an ear infection.

Billups tried to give it a go but wasn’t able to play in Game 4 for the Detroit Pistons. As it turns out, the Pistons didn’t need him. After almost getting blown out of the water at one point in the second half, the Pistons rebounded and ended up winning the game 90-89. Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 32 points and Tayshaun Prince hit the game winner with less than ten seconds to go in the game. The Pistons now lead their best of seven series against the Magic 3-1.

The news was better for Wallace. Despite being listed as doubtful, Wallace was able to start for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs used a big first quarter to easily dispose of the Boston Celtics. Wallace led the Cavs with nine rebounds and was also very active on the defensive end of the court. Even though the Celtics lost, they lead the series 2-1.

Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace on the Detroit Pistons.

Photo: Newscom

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By Stephen Kersey -- 0 comments

May 10th, 2008

Mike D’Antoni Hired by Knicks - Fantasy Impact?

Mike D’Antoni is leaving the Phoenix Suns to take over as the coach of the New York Knicks. D’Antoni was wooed by the Chicago Bulls but ultimately decided on the Bulls. New Knicks president Donnie Walsh got D’Antoni to join his team by offering a lot of money and a lot of belief in D’Antoni’s system.

While the rebuilding the Knicks will be extremely difficult, D’Antoni has a president who believes in him and who will rebuild the team around D’Antoni’s vision. Down the road, there’s a good chance that D’Antoni will have the Knicks running and gunning – just like the Suns.

Which current players fit D’Antoni’s run and gun coaching style? David Lee is a natural fit as a guy who can run and score without having plays called for him. Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford like to run. Wilson Chandler and Renaldo Balkman are both long and athletic, traits D’Antoni likes. Quentin Richardson is a former Sun who had arguably the best year of his career under D’Antoni.

The two players who don’t fit at all are Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph. Curry and Randolph are slow, halfcourt type players who will need to be moved. Stephon Marbury is a question mark but he’s not the pass-first type point guard that D’Antoni prefers.

The Knicks could turn around quickly if the team is able to draft Derrick Rose out of Memphis. Rose is a pass-first point guard who could play a Steve Nash type role for D’Antoni. The Knicks will have to hop to land a top two pick in the 2008 NBA Draft to have a shot at Rose.

Mike D’Antoni, head coach - New York Knicks

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May 10th, 2008

Mavs New Coach - Rick Carlisle to Mavericks

Rick Carlisle has been hired by Mark Cuban to coach the Dallas Mavericks and was signed to a four-year contract. Carlisle replaces the fired Avery Johnson and comes to the Mavs after coaching stops with the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers.

In terms of fantasy basketball, this news doesn’t immediately affect the fantasy value of the Mavs players one way or another. Carlisle has at times in his coaching career gone with a slow-paced offense, which would hurt fantasy value. However, Carlisle has talked about changing that philosophy. Basically, we’ll have to wait and see how Carlisle decides to run Dallas’ offense before making any judgment.

This season, the Mavs finished the regular season with 51-31 record. In the first round of the playoffs, they took on the New Orleans Hornets. After losing the first two games in New Orleans, the Mavs won Game 3 but then lost Game 4 and Game 5. After being eliminated, Cuban was quick to fire Johnson and begin his coaching search.

While some media reports indicated that Mike D’Antoni could get into the mix, Carlisle ended up being the first and last serious candidate.

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By Stephen Kersey -- 1 comment

May 9th, 2008

Ben Wallace Injury Update - Playoff Injury

Ben Wallace was only able to play four minutes in Game 2. His Cleveland Cavaliers now list Wallace doubtful for Game 3. Wallace is battling allergies and an ear infection.

In Game 1 of the series, Wallace played 31 minutes and had four points, nine rebounds and two assists. Against the Washington Wizards in the first round, Wallace averaged 3.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

If Wallace does indeed miss Game 3, Anderson Varejao will start and get a lot more minutes. Varejao is averaging 2.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in the playoffs.

The Cavaliers find themselves down 2-0 in their best of seven series against the Boston Celtics. The Celtics won Game 1 by a final score of 76-72 and Game 2 by a final score of 89-73. LeBron James has struggled for the Cavs, averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 turnovers on 19% shooting in the first two games.

Game 3 will be played on Saturday in Cleveland.

Photo: Newscom

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May 8th, 2008

NBA Playoff 2008 Update - Second Round

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Los Angeles Lakers - 2
Utah Jazz - 0
Outlook: Kobe Bryant and the Lakers looked very good in their two wins, however now the Jazz get two home games. The Jazz should win at least one of their home games.

New Orleans Hornets - 2
San Antonio Spurs - 1
Outlook: The Hornets won their two home games and the Spurs responded by winning their opening home game. The first team to win on the road likely wins this series.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Boston Celtics - 2
Cleveland Cavaliers - 0
Outlook: The Celtics haven’t been pretty offensively but their defense has been dominant. LeBron James and the Cavs will try to right their ship at home.

Detroit Pistons - 2
Orlando Magic - 1
Outlook: While the Pistons are currently up on the Magic 2-1, this series could be decided by Chauncey Billups’ injury.

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May 8th, 2008

Mike D’Antoni to the New York Knicks? Fantasy Impact

While one rumor has Mike D’Antoni going to the Chicago Bulls, the New York Knicks are now also vying for his services. D’Antoni has all but ended his relationship with the Phoenix Suns and is now talking to other teams about head coaching jobs.

Reports indicate that the Knicks are offering big money to woo D’Antoni to the Big Apple. If D’Antoni takes over the Knicks, he’ll have a big challenge on his hands. The Knicks have been a disaster in recent years – on the court, off the court and in the locker room.

D’Antoni would likely try to make the Knicks run, run and run some more. With a deep, talented and athletic roster, D’Antoni might just be able to coax wins out of the Knicks. Even if he can’t get wins, fantasy basketball owners will be keeping a close eye to see which players start to flourish in D’Antoni’s system.

As has been the case since he began coaching the Suns, D’Antoni is a very fantasy basketball friendly coach. Players on the Knicks who could thrive under D’Antoni include Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Zach Randolph and Nate Robinson. Basically, if you can score, D’Antoni will play you.

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May 7th, 2008

Chauncey Billups Injury Update - Playoffs Injury

In Game 3 of the series between the Detroit Pistons and the Orlando Magic, the Magic beat the Pistons 111-86. The Pistons now lead the series 2-1. However, the big news for the Pistons was the injury suffered by Chauncey Billups.

Billups injured his hamstring when he did the splits after getting tangled up with Jameer Nelson. After being helped to his feet, Billups limped to the locker room. He wasn’t able to return to the game.

The Pistons are hopeful that Billups will be able to play in Game 4. The initial diagnosis has Billups listed as day-to-day, but Billups will undergo further testing. If Billups has a moderate to severe hamstring strain, he could miss the rest of the series against the Magic.

Billups primary backup at point guard is rookie Rodney Stuckey. In Game 3, Stuckey responded with 19 points, three rebounds and two assists. Lindsey Hunter is also on Detroit’s roster and he’d likely see more time if Billups’ injury ends up being more serious than initially thought. Game 4 of the series will be played on Saturday.

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May 7th, 2008

Andrew Bynum Surgery - Fantasy Impact

Andrew Bynum was originally expected to return to the Los Angeles Lakers this season. However, now not only is Bynum not going to return, it is sounding like he’ll need arthroscopic surgery in three or four weeks.

Bynum has been able to regain most of the movement in his troublesome knee, however he isn’t close to returning to the basketball court. Arthroscopic surgery may be done to go into his knee and see if there could be another problem.

Heading into the 2008-09 fantasy basketball season, it’ll be difficult to figure out Bynum’s value. He could go anywhere from the second round in a fantasy basketball draft, to perhaps the eighth or ninth round. He’ll definitely be high-risk, high-reward next season.

Injury will be the big concern. Not only does he have this injury to worry about, he also suffered a torn ACL while in high school. Mounting injury troubles for a 21-year-old center isn’t what you want on the resume of a high fantasy basketball pick.

In dynasty fantasy basketball leagues, Bynum is still a great player to have on your team. This season, he showed amazing potential before he got hurt. He’s a guy who could be a franchise level bigman in the NBA – and not too far down the road.

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May 6th, 2008

Chicago Bulls Hire Mike D’Antoni - Fantasy Impact

If the Chicago Bulls were to hire Mike D’Antoni as their head coach, how would that affect the fantasy basketball world? The short answer is that wherever D’Antoni ends up, expect the players on his new team to become very good fantasy basketball players.

While D’Antoni’s days with the Phoenix Suns appear to be numbered, there are a number of teams that are interested in him. The team that reportedly has the most interest is the Bulls, however the New York Knicks are also said to be interested.

With the Suns, D’Antoni had a very successful run. Not only did the Suns win a lot of regular season games, he ushered a fast-pace, high scoring era into the NBA. Now teams across the league are looking to score a lot of points, rather than just depend on their defense to win games.

D’Antoni’s Suns teams also produced great fantasy players. From Steve Nash to Shawn Marion to Amare Stoudemire, they all become stud fantasy players under D’Antoni. If he ends up with the Bulls, he automatically raises the stocks of everybody on Chicago’s team.

The player who will likely see his stock rise the highest is Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich struggled last season but if D’Antoni comes on board, you can expect D’Antoni to try to turn Hinrich into a Chicago’s version of Nash. D’Antoni will give Hinrich freedom to lead the team and run, shoot and score as much as he wants.

Other players who will feel a positive impact include Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that D’Antoni can turn Deng into a Marion type player and Gordon into a Leandro Barbosa type player, while allowing Thomas and Noah to reach their full potential on both ends of the court.

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May 6th, 2008

Kobe Bryant wins NBA MVP - Fantasy MVP, Too?

On Tuesday, Kobe Bryant officially won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award. It was Bryant’s first MVP award of his illustrious career. After a tumultuous summer, Bryant regrouped and played a stellar regular season while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference.

While Bryant deserved his MVP award, was he also the MVP of the fantasy basketball world? Here is my top-five list for most valuable fantasy basketball players of the 2007-08 season.

5) Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets
When it came to rebounding and blocking shots, Marcus Camby was a monster in this season. If you had him on your team, you had to be ecstatic with his production.

4) LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
If it wasn’t for his shaky shooting percentages and his penchant for turnovers, LeBron James would be a lot higher on this list.

3) Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
Amare Stoudemire entered the season with a lot of question marks. He came away from the season as the best fantasy bigman in the NBA.

2) Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
While Kobe Bryant was the rightful winner of the NBA’s MVP, the fantasy basketball world is all about numbers. Bryant wasn’t quite the MVP in this competition.

1) Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
From the opening tip of the season to the final buzzer in the middle of April, Chris Paul was a dominating force in fantasy basketball. It’s not a surprise that he finished second to Bryant for the NBA’s MVP.

Photo: Newscom

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