SweetNickyC cut adrift

Les Digits drop Collison, pick up 'the Rhino'

Nick Collison, Les Digits 13th round pick, has recently lost his starting job (for now) in OKC. The new Thunder coach is experimenting with the lineup and rotation, first with Collywobbles at C and a 'smallball' lineup, and then with 'Cox at C; Collison only got 7 minutes last night. He's had two double-doubles this year, but has otherwise been quite disappointing - neither rebounding nor scoring (averaging 6/6), and getting into foul trouble regularly, despite heavy minutes. Fun fact - he and 'Cox are the two highest paid Thunder

We discussed Craig 'The Rhino' Smith quite a bit lately, when the Hosens picked him up and dropped him rather quickly. Smith put up a monster line on Friday (23/8), prompting Les Digits to snap him up, in part one of a retooling of their frontcourt. Unfortunately, the Rhino laid an egg on Saturday (4/4 with 5 PFs), and K-Love, manboobs and all, played terrifically. The Rhino should continue to be a part of the rotation in MIN, however.

Judgment: We're fans of Collison's game - last year he averaged a very useful, if limited, 10/9, but he sure looks bad this year. We suspect there will be a fair bit of change in OKC, but SweetNickyC may not be a big part of the picture for a while. Smith will be inconsistent, but provide enough to be a modest upgrade for Les Digits.

Fantasy Quidditch?

Hosens acquire young wizards, drop marbury, rhino

The Hosen picked up JaVale McGee and Andray Homunculus Blatche, dropping Marbury and Craig 'Rhino' Smith. The Wizards fired their coach on Sunday night, and the very next evening, Andray Blatche went crazy: 11-18 for 25 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST, and 5 BLK - he even hit a 3. 'The Big Secret' also had his best game since his Nov. 12 breakout, posting a solid 14/5 line. With the Wiz at 2-13, and a new coach, the youngster's should get some play. The Hosen boldly pulled the trigger on both.

Marbury remains on the bench, despite being asked to play by his coach, and the Rhino put up a goose-egg last night (presumably he's just way too short to guard Shaq or Amare), portending some inconsistency.

Judgment: This was certainly a high upside move, and if one or the other Wiz emerges solidly, the other can be dropped. The problem is, as with almost all young big men, that there will be several nights like tonight, they'll rack up 11 PTs and 11 PFs combined - perilously close to the dreaded double DISQ. On the other hand, Marbury's situation isn't getting any better (or clearer - though he might get released soon?), and Smith is eminently replacable -- overall, a coup for the Hosen!

Mr. 'Dropping his Thunder'-pants

THe Later Hosens drop Wilkins, pick up C. Smith

All right - time to get back on the posting - there's a lot of catching up to do, so these may be a bit short...

We discussed D.Wilk quite recently here. The Hosens did not show a great deal of patience with him, but it looks like he has a starting gig in OKC (CJK's latest FAP Post explains in detail). He didn't look very good in Wednesday action (3/2/2, in 33 minutes), but the OKCs were blown out so badly by the CLEs it's a bit hard to draw conclusions. Then again, the 'small-ball' lineup is now 0-2, which might draw a reconsideration from the new coach. On the other hand, the Thunda are now 1-15, so 0-2 might look good.

Craig 'The Rhino' Smith has yet to be discussed...until now! That said, there's not much to say. In his 3rd year out of BC (go Eagles!), the T-Wolf F-C has gotten some run lately, due in part to Kevin Love's disappearance, and a lack of production from any of the other frontcourt options in town (one of the J-Collinses, Mark Madsen, and 'The Custodian'). If K-Love doesn't step it up, the Wolves are really weak up front. Smith is not tall (well, he's 6'7", but he's not tall for an NBA PF), but he is fat, and clogs up the lane like nobody's business. I watched his game against Boston, and he's just a bit too slow to play good defense. He gets a lot of layups, but surprisingly few rebounds, and will presumably get 20 minutes a night against halfcourt oriented teams (note his good games have been against PHI and DET). His role may increase if Love continues to disappoint.

Judgment: The Hosen need big men, but Wilkins' current opportunity is intriguing; moreover, there are higher upside bigs available. Well, there were. As we'll see, the Hosen dropped the Rhino in his quest to corner the WAS frontcourt.