4 More Moves

Though 'the bear awoke' only briefly, and he and both WozBros are back to their non-lineup-setting ways, other, more active teams have been making what we call 'Moves'. We promise some exciting analysis soon, as the dawn of Week 9 means we're nearing the end of the first Cycle, and are over 1/3 of the way through the regular season.

LES DIGITS DROP HILL FOR DezMase

George 'the Animal' Hill, IUPUI legend, was productive in his time filling in for T-Park, but since his return, his minutes and production have dwindled. He might be good for 8 (points) and 2 (other things) going forward.

It's remarkable, we think, that this is the first time we've had a Desmond Mason pickup this year, as, for many years previous, Mase has been the very definition of a marginally rosterable player. We were particularly amused that, in the year we expanded to 12 teams, DezMase was still dropped and picked up several times. In his good years, he was good for 12/4/2, with a steal and mediocre FG%. He's never been a 3pt shooter, and he often just loses his job suddenly. He's clawed his way into the murderer's row that is the OKC starting 5, displacing a similarly mediocre Damien Wilkins. In his 3 starts, he's managed only 2, 7, and 2 points, though he's pulling down some rebounds and getting plenty of minutes.

Judgment: Mason's shooting looks terrible, but he'll be given the opportunity to turn it around, and he just might. A good speculative pickup.

Hosens spurn the Birdman, pick up Joel Anthony

Chris 'The Birdman' Andersen is a delight to watch, and a remarkable 'energy' player. He's been OK on the boards and a monster shotblocker - he had 6 against POR on Sunday. He doesn't score many points, and we assume the Hosens wanted more line-filling production than the Birdman provides.

Enter Joel Anthony, the 2nd year C out of UNLV, who's recently been inserted into the MIA starting 5. He too has been impressive on the boards, averaging about 2 per game in his 11 games as a starter. He's not scoring much more than the Birdman (a mere 4 per game in those same 11 games), but he is getting good minutes, and his rebounding numbers are good. He's a bit more fouly than Birdz. Fun fact: he's from Quebec!

Judgment: This is close to a wash, but Anthony has more of an opportunity right now. Andersen is far more handsome.

Maxy Out; Mbah a Moute In for thenopp

Jason Maxiell has been rendered (even more) useless by the return of McDyess to DET. The promotion of R-Stuck to the starting lineup means fewer minutes for the other bench folk, especially Amir and Maxy. Also, because the Pistons aren't blowing people out this year, we're not seeing the 'garbage time' specials that he used to pad his stat line much of last year. Maxiell had 4 double digit games around Thanksgiving, but hasn't reached that plateau in December. More tellingly, he's only gotten 20 minutes once in that stretch.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute has, somewhat surprisingly, returned to the MIL starting 5 and has started in 7 straight. He's played pretty well, too, putting up nice 15/9 type lines with fine PCTs on nights when C-Vill can't find the rim. He's probably destined to alternate good stretches with Charlie going forward, but that's not really such a bad place to be.

Judgment: A fine move for thenopp - we hadn't noticed Luc Richard's return to relevance, and Maxiell is not worth owning at all at this point.

Jack snapped up by thenopp, Dixon back in the FAP

We're certain we were not the only ones surprised by Jack's two game outburst (24/6/2 and 27/4/7) when he filled in for T.J. Ford last week. Of course, in the first game they were up against the Warriors, and in the second, he was also filling in for Granger, Dunleavy, and T-Murph, as the flu bug (and whatever is ailing Dunleavy) hit the Pacers hard. T.J. is back and Jack will surely go back to his 8/3/3 ways.

Which is still better than what Juan Dixon is putting up, as 'The Juices' has filled WAS's terrible outside shooting, non-passing PG role to perfection. (Also, 'The Juices' was on a very special episode of 'Supernanny' - I can't find the Ruben episode).

Judgment: Jack is no prize (we would recommend taking a look a Brandon Rush, Hibbert, or Rasho, if one needs a marginal Pacer), though his performances were eye-opening. Either way, getting rid of Dixon is clearly the right call.

Mby$hkin no Mbore

My$hkin cuts Mbah a Moute, picks up DeShawn

We discussed Mbah a Moute here; the return of Redd and the improved play of Villanueva have made him expendable. His minutes had declined (a low of 4 on Friday), though he had a nice 31 minute, 14/6 line on Sunday, but that was in a complete blowout. By the way, what is up with Malik Allen starting at PF for the Bucks?

DeShawn, discussed in the semi-famous 'paper in your anus hair' post, has been surfing the FAP for nearly a full month. He's started every game for the Wiz and has averaged 30 minutes. That's the good news. The Rest of the Story includes the fact that he's shooting 33% (and 61% from the field). He's averaging 8/2/4, and not really producing much at all. He had his best game of the season last Tuesday (21/3/5), so maybe things are looking up? Fun fact: The Lovin' Spoonful picked DeShawn in the second to last round of the 2002 draft...

Judgment: Luc Richard may work his way back into the lineup/rotation soon, as he does seem like a 'Scott Skiles guy', despite his skintone and rumored heterosexuality. So keep an eye on him. We think my$hkin could do better than DeShawn, but if his shot were to fall a little more often, he's at least getting minutes.

Mbah a beauty?

my$hkin drops ariza for mbah a moute

Trevor Ariza is only 23, and clearly has yet to fulfill his multi-cat potential - the question is whether he'll have a chance to do so on a deep Laker team - SF is not deep in LA, but nonetheless, minutes are at issue. He reminds me a little of A-Ig: he can't really shoot, but he's agile and high energy, and fills the rest of the stat sheet effectively. So far, he's averaging 10/4, with more than a steal and most of a block. It's not clear if that will improve, but it should certainly continue.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute does have a terrific name, and my$hkin was not too drunk to realize it. He's known as a defensive specialist, and is a widebody, though he plays SF. He's getting quite a few minutes (35 on Sunday), and is averaging 6 and 5, with about a steal and a block, in 4 games. If Redd is injured, he should continue to see time, and gather boards.

Judgment: I'm not sure I'm in a position to judge, given my decisions of late, but I wouldn't have made this move. I might have dropped Jason Thompson for him, or taken a wait and see approach. T-Ariz has too high a ceiling to drop him at this point. Interestingly, both players are former UCLA Bruins.