The Whitening

Hosens overhauls frontcourt - May, McGee Out - Birdman, Collison in

To save space, we're consolidating these two Later Hosens frontcourt moves.

In the first, former hot commodity JaVale McGee was dropped for dazzling and delicious, high-flying, tat-mongering, shotblocking specialst Chris 'The Birdman' Andersen. McGee's been unproductive at best. Though he's still hanging on to his starting job, he's managed a total of 23 minutes and 2 rebounds in his last 3 games, which is simply not acceptable. He's only reached double figure points once since his 'good' game on 11/14, and it's now clear that Blatche is the stronger play this season. JaVale does block some shots, but not like the Birdman!

 

The Birdman, back from his mysterious drug suspension, has 20 blocks in his last 7 games, in very limited minutes. He's not going to score a bunch, but he is averaging 5 rebs and 2.3 BLK in only 16 MPG. He's now getting more time with K-Mart out, and only the Nene stands between Andersen and huge PT.

We've discussed May I have Seconds many times now, but this might be the last for a while, as the big J-Rich trade appears gives Fat some competition from the versatile Boris Diaw. After his double-double on 12/1, Fat has managed just 20 and 12 total in his last 4 games.

The Hosens have replaced him with the hitherto underperforming Nick Collison. And Good Golly, Colly has woken up in his last few games - 14/8, 15/10, and 10/8 in his last 3. He's even blocked a few shots - though he's had 5 fouls in 2 of those games. 'Cox is injured, so SNC should get plenty of PT in the near term; if he can stay out of foul trouble, he can be a consistent double-double threat.

Judgment: We love both of these moves. Combined with Mr. Manboubben, this Frontcourt of Pallor is second to none in Hustle. This puts the Hosens in great shape in REBs and BLKs. Once the Hosens acquire Matt Bonner and pick up Walter Herrmann, they'll be unstoppable.

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.