Fantasy Basketball Daily News and Notes (12/4/11)
Dec 4, 2011 Blog
The rumor mill should really get cranked up tomorrow as teams can formally begin talking with players and discuss handing out ridicuously overpaid contracts like candy to a bunch of kids. It should be entertaining and have us asking exactly what got accomplished by the lockout, other than draining millions from the local NBA communities. Competitive balance? Don’t count on it, the strong teams will get stronger and seek to bend the interpretation of the new rules while the weak simply get a couple of extra dollars. At least we’ll get some real news by Friday. Don’t these guys realize we have fantasy drafts scheduled soon?
Christmas Day NBA Schedule: 12pmET BOS/NYK on TNT, 2:30pmET MIA/DAL on ABC, 5pmET CHI/LAL on ABC, 8pmET ORL/OKC on ESPN, 10:30pmET LAC/GSW on ESPN
Wilson Chandler (FA-China) – Chandler could be a decent last round fantasy selection if you have bench space. Although he’s stuck in China, it’s only until his team’s regular season ends on February 15, so he’ll only miss about six weeks of the NBA Season. I’m not sure about the other guys playing in China, but I would guess that their seasons also end sometime in mid-February. Stashing him on the bench could be a sneaky fantasy move that other owners in your league miss.
LA Lakers – Mike Brown says that Kobe Bryant will play about 34 minutes a game again this season. Kobe’s MPG decreased last season from about 39 a game, but he was more productive with a little more rest. Brown also said Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum would rotate at the 4 and 5 with each guy getting in the 30-34 minute range. That’s an increase for Bynum, a decrease for Gasol and a breakeven for Odom.
Matt Barnes (LAK) – Says his knee is 98% healthy. He still has no fantasy value unless something happens with Ron Artest (or Metta World Peace or Queensbridge or whatever he’s calling himself this week).
Greg Oden (POR) – Oden might be cleared to practice Thursday, which is December 8th, which is one day before free agency and trading starts. Nice timing. I think Portland desperately wants someone to take Oden off their hands.
Anderson Varejao (CLE) – Varejao is getting close to 100% after his foot injury last season. He’s one of those guys you can probably draft late who will give you consistent double-doubles.
Tags: fantasy basketball