Catching Up

Weekend Move Update

In an effort to save time and effort, I'm going to look at the moves made since last Thursday in a sole post. We've seen nearly all the players before, so extensive explanations seem unnecessary.

Mongoose replaces Watson with Posey

E-Wat's been supplanted in the OKC starting 5 by up and coming rookie Russell Westbrook (though R-West was apparently benched last night for sucking). He's reached 10 points just once since November 12, and though he's had a few 10 AST games, he shoots terribly, and almost never rebounds or gets to the line. If 'Brook goes into a slump or hits the 'Rookie Wall', E-Wat's worth a look. Posey was playing rather poorly, but his acquisition by Mongoose led to a Sunday explosion - 20/10 with 6 3 pointers. These were season-highs in PTs and REBs, so we won't expect a repeat, but it's good to see.

Judgment: We like the move - Posey's 3/Reb combo is a nice one, and he shoots good Pcts.

Thenopp retires Mobley, acquires Dixon

Cuttino Mobley retired due to a heart condition, and thenopp (finally) dropped him, picking up Juan Dixon, who's starting again since A-Dan was shipped to NO. Dixon has hit double digit points in 3 straight, and has averaged almost 2 3s and 6 AST in that stretch.

Judgment: Obviously the Cat is not going to contribute, and Juan's a nice source of 3s, if he continues to get minutes. Nice move, though a little late in coming.

Les Digits drops Speights for McGee

The Hosens and Les Digits have been seeking out young big men like Tim Gunn on a trip to Norway. Marreese has been particularly inconsistent, with MPG anywhere from 22 to 2 in the his last 5 games. Monitor his PT with a new coach going forward, however - word is REvans and Donyell will not be in the new rotation. He's not producing much in the minutes he gets - he's blocked just 1 shot in December, and has only exceeded 5 rebounds twice.

JaVale is still starting, but disturbingly, he's gotten pulled before playing 10 minutes in 3 of his last 5 games. On the other hand, in the one game in which he played 25+ minutes, he put up a nice 11/6 line with 3 BLK. It should be noted that this was a complete blowout against BOS, which might explain why he was left in the game.

Judgment: We suspect that neither McGee or Speights are ready to contribute at the NBA level, at least consistently, against starters. Les Digits (below) dropped McGee rather quickly, which we think was wise.

Mongoose drops M. Webster for R. Mason JR.

Webster briefly returned from injury, then went down 'indefinitely' with an injury to the same foot that's kept him out all season. His role upon return (4 weeks) is unclear, due to the depth of the Blazers.

Mason, dropped by the Spoonful, has retained his place in the starting lineup, though his role in the offense has diminished slightly with the returns of Manu/T-Park. He's still getting double digit points, and a couple 3s per game.

Judgment: We're thrilled to see Mongoose making moves, and think this is a strong acquisition. Keep an eye on Martell in January, as he's quite talented.

Digits cut McGee, pick up DarKO

After recently cutting Speights for the almost equally unproductive McGee, Les Digits realized that Darko was actually getting more minutes (and stats) than the two of them combined.

Judgment: Excellent work - Les D. was rewarded w/Darko's 13 PT, 5 BLK line on Sunday.

Digits swap Wafer for Kapono

Kapono's moved into the TOR starting lineup, and, while his shot hasn't been dropping, he can be a deadly 3-point force. With T-Mac back (for now), Von Wafer returns to obscurity.

Judgment: We love this move for Les Digits. There's no reason to think Kapono can't hold off Anthony Parker indefinitely.

Odensque acquires Simmons for Quinn

In a flurry of moves, odensque began to cut the dead weight out of their lineup - Chris Quinn was the first to go. B-Simm's been playing well lately (5 straight double digit games, with good 3s and REBs). Quinn, on the other hand, has been marginalized.

Judgment: Great move - B-Simm's a quiet, low-neg multi-cat threat, and may at last be (a) recovered from injury, (b) in shape, (c) comfortable in the NJ offense. Quinn's not useful.

Odensque drops Marshall for Rob Kurz

In an attempt to rectify the misguided Donyell pickup, odensque has thrown his hat in with Nellie's latest 'find', 3-Ballin' white big man Rob Kurz. Is Kurz the next T-Murph?  His 20/7, 3 3, 2 STL, 2 BLK perfromance on Sunday was certainly eye-opening. However, Kurz is subject to Nellie's whims, and Turiaf and B-Wright were sidelined. Donyell is reportedly out of the post-Cheeks rotation in PHI.

Judgment: We don't love Kurz, but he's a decent speculative gamble, especially as losing Donyell is not going to hurt.

Odensque cuts Knight, signs Morrow

Anthony Morrow has benefited some from the injury to C-Maggs (and nagging injuries to Captain Jack and JamsCraw). He's actually gotten 23+ minutes in 5 straight games. His shot hasn't been falling, but he's gotten to double digits in 3 of those games. He doesn't do much except score, but Brevin Knight doesn't do much, period.

Judgment: We like this move - C-Maggs' 'strings are quite a source of trouble, and S-Jax's finger is really giving him shooting trouble. The double dose of Nellie will be hard to handle, but if A-Mor gets starts shooting straight, he can put up points on an odensque team that needs them.

A Shot in the Darko

odensque drops Milicic, acquires Chris Quinn

Darko rivals Kwame for super-bust status, and while occasionally it seems like he might put it all together, the sudden emergence of Marc Gasol makes it look like this won't be his year. Odensque's dropping him on the heels of dropping Jaric means the end of the Marko-Darko era. A shame, really. This is Darko's sixth year, and he's really not improving much - 4/4 in 15 minutes a night, and he's not even blocking shots (only 3 so far). He has more PFs than FGs, which is never a good sign.

We've discussed Quinn a number of times - he's still good for about 10 points and 2 3s with low negatives and an AST/STL or two.

Judgment: A fine move - Quinn gets good minutes and is quietly productive. Darko's tall.

Quinn Dropped Again

Spoonful drops Quinn, acquires B. Wright

For the second time, the Lovin' Spoonful has dropped Miami PG afterthought Chris Quinn, profiled here. Quinn's still getting about 9 points and 2 3's per game, but that's about it. He's just not very exciting.

Brandan Wright, discussed here, is very exciting, however, at least until  he gets into instant foul trouble or is inexplicably benched. He offers great athleticism, and can block and rebound ferociously. He's very young and raw, however, and Nelson whim's will determine if he's useful or not.

Judgment: The Spoonful is extremely weak in REBs and BLK, and is hoping Wright can produce. The emergence of Anthony Morrow and the continued semi-strong play of Roger Mason makes Quinn expendable. Overall, this is a good risk.

Going backwards?

Spoonful drop Brooks for Quinn

We have discussed Quinn and Brooks both previously.

The Spoonful dropped Quinn just 10 days ago, and picked up Brooks soon thereafter. Quinn does seem to have worked his way into the rotation - after 2 DNP-CDs to open the season, he's up to 20MPG, and is shooting an impressive (if unsustainable) 66% from 3. Brooks only played 9 minutes last night (0 points), and while he's had a few 14 point games, he doesn't offer much other than points, which the Spoonful have in abundance.

Judgment: Quinn has looked good for the last two days, but will likely only thrive until Chalmers starts to find his way more consistently. On the other hand, D-Wade's penetrate & dish style has made stars out of moderately good 3 point shooters before (remember Damon Jones?). Brooks could be useful, especially if Rafer continues to struggle, but he's not really a ballhandler or a steal-getter. The Spoonful are making an effort to become an uncharacteristic 3-Ballin' team, since they have serious weaknesses in DREB and BLK. All in all, these two are pretty similar players, but it looks to us that Quinn is the better pick in the short term.

A Move from the Spoonful

Chris Quinn dropped for Thabo Sefolosha

Chris Quinn, 20th round pick by the Spoonful, has been dropped. There mixed reports as to whether he'll start, platoon, or not be in the Miami PG rotation. If starting, he could be a useful 10/5 guy; if not, he's useless.

Thabo Sefolosha, the 'Swiss Miss', is in a mess of a minutes logjam as an SG in Chicago, along with Hinrich, Gordon, and Larry Hughes. He is, for now, starting, however. He's extremely foul-prone, and can't really shoot consistently; he proved in the spring, however, that he can provide all-round stats if given minutes. No more than 7P/4R/2A, plus most of a steal and a block can be expected unless he gets a lot more minutes.

 

Judgment: This may have been a panic move, as reports surfaced that both Quinn and Marbury might not be in their respective rotations. Thabo is an intriguing talent, but probably won't be worth much in the short term. If Quinn really isn't playing, though, Thabo's worth a flyer.