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.

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.

Saturday Thoughts

 

Due to a disturbingly widespread lack of lineup-setting, we have 3 total blowouts, and only two close matchups to look at.

Les Digits are very close to the Later Hosens, but the Hosen have decisive 7-2 Sunday games advantage, including their INDs, BOSs, and DETs - thus it seems the Hosen could win big, if they keep the Negatives down and the PCTs up, as those cats are all fairly close. We think the Hosens will prevail 11-3, though we've underestimated the heart of Les Digits before.

Tsaogrip 0002 trails thenopp at present, but they have a significant 10-3 games advantage tomorrow (including a bevy of Knicks and Bucks). It looks to us that tsaogrip will retake the REB cats and FTM, but lose TO, and win by at least 8-6 (FT% could go either way, as could a DISQ).

Other notes:

Kyle Lowry has started 2 straight in place of Ray Parker Jr.. He hasn't done much with the time, unfortunately, but it might be time to pick him up. Also, Darko seems to be starting over M-Gas all of a sudden, though Marcasol had a great night off the bench. MEM is desperate, clearly. Thenopp owns both Conley and Gasol, and can't be happy about this.

Hakim Warrick has 3 straight 10 point games. I'm not impressed...yet!

Donyell Marshall is alive! After sitting on his pearshaped butt for most of the first quarter of the season, but has played in both of the last two games (with Brand out). 13/5 in 16 minutes tonight, with 3 3s. Not bad!

Mike Beastly only got 13 minutes tonight. Is Joel Anthony really that terrific? (answer: no) It's nice to see Jamaal Magliore and S. Livingston on the floor.

Earl Watson and Good Golly Miss Colly came off the bench tonight and both played well - E-Wat with 12 AST and SNC had 14/8 (Cox was in Foul Trouble).

Marcus Camby! 12/19/7 BLK - pretty impressive. In the fourth Quarter, the Clips had Mardy Collins, Jason Hart, Paul Davis, DeAndre Jordan, and Steve Novak on the floor. Quite a bench.

Another injury to Al Horford = another double double for ZaZa.

The Warriors are a big fat Nellie-shaped mess right now. The Spurs, of all teams, score 100 on them in less than 3 quarters, and were up by 40. S-Jax only played 14 minutes, and C-Maggs shot 1-10 from the field. They both scored 6.

May getting in shape?

Hosen drop Rasho, snap up Fat

We've discussed Rasho a few times - the Hosen have now picked him up and dropped him twice. Despite starting, he's been limited to 18 minutes or less in 4 of the last 5 games, and we're not entirely sure why (the 5th game, on Tuesday, was a delicious 16/10 performance). Earlier in the season he was regularly playing 30+. It may be a matchup thing, as those games were against some good defensive C's. Some of the games were blowouts as well, and coach Jim O'Brien wants to get a good look at super tall (7'2") Georgetown standout Roy Hibbert, who was picked #17 overall by the Raptors and dealt in the ONeal/Ford deal. Hibbert has looked pretty good, and may eat into Rasho's minutes going forward. That said, Rasho is clearly the starter, and would be a useful contributor to many teams.

May has also been discussed before - he was picked up and dropped.rather quickly by Nor'Easter in mid November. May has again regained his starting job, and turned some heads with a 10/11 double, while playing a season high 27 minutes (Note - that was against the extremely terrible Thunder). He followed that up with a much more pedestrian 5/5 line, but managed to get to 20 minutes a game for the second time this season. Perhaps he's working his way into shape. If so, he could be a useful source of points and rebounds. That said, we imagine he'll end up in Larry Brown's doghouse again soon.

Judgment: We still don't see May contributing much soon, especially offensively, unless various the injury prone Bobcats (Okafor, J-Rich, 'Crash') actually get injured. He does have terrific longer term upside, if he can control his weight. We think it was too early to cut Rasho, as he's been pretty productive, and we especially like his bigManPassing.

sean may is fat

Is Sean May back for real.   Chris says yes.  I know what nick thinks about the Tar Heals, oh wait that's the Dukies.  Never mind.  Good job Chris.  

(I really have nothing to say just love the picture)

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.

Brownout!

Hosen drop Kwame, pick up D. Wilkins

CJK must love the OKC Thunder! In what cannot qualify as a surprise, Kwame Brown is back in the FAP, after a few mediocre games for DET.

Damien Wilkins, fifth year swingman out of Georgia, has been filling in adequately for an injured DesMase. Interestingly, in the Thunder's first game under their new non-Carlissemo coach, they went small - i.e., no Swift or Petro clogging up the paint. Instead they played a recently productive SweetNickyC at C, moving Jeff Green to PF, and inserting D-Wilk as the starter at SF. Wilk ended up with only 11 pts, and nothing else, but he did log 27 minutes. Indeed, neither Sene, Petro, nor Swift even played tonight. If this continues, D-Wilk could see a quite nice boost in minutes (depending on how and when DesMase returns). Many of us have fond memories of some D-Wilk runs in previous years when he consistently contributed double digit points, a couple 3's and 4 or 5 rebs and ast. We'll have to see if the smallball continues.

Judgment: Kwame remains a cake-throwing sack of poo, and D-Wilk can produce, if he stays on the good side of the new coach. Verdict - a good risk for the Hosens.

Adios!

Hosen drop Spanish Chocolate, pick up Starbury

Very interesting; another quick turnaround; we've discussed Rodriguez here, and Marbury here. Certainly Sergio's in the same situation as last night. Marbury's situation is evolving. He's still under contract to, and not playing for, the Knicks, but has been discussing a buyout with them, which would leave him free to play elsewhere. The question is where...and when.

Judgment: We're not as high on Sergio as the Hosen, mostly because we don't see enough minutes in PDX for him to shine. On the other hand, unless we're not aware of some news (highly unlikely!) Marbury surely won't play at all this week, and probably not next week. How patient will the Hosens be? True, no one will snap up Sergio, but even a few weeks with a dead slot can be harmful. A few missed AST, STL, and 3s could turn a victory into loss. Still, a low-risk, high-reward move.

Welcome Back Rasho

Hosen drop Telfair, re-sign Nesterovic

 

Not much new here - we discussed the Hosen's pickup of Telfair, and of Rasho, previously. Rasho was injured briefly, but came back strong with a 12/12 2 Block line on Saturday . Telfair is starting in MIN, but on Sunday managed only 2 points, 2 TOs, and 2 PFs.

Judgment: Good Riddance! The fleecing of the odensques renders the Hosen less PG-desperate, and now they can address their needs in the frontcourt. This is an excellent pickup.

Saturday Thoughts -- Week 3

More close matchups this week - thenopp and Spoonful are tied at 6, Les Digits lead odensque 8-7, and the Hosens lead my$hkin 8-6. As we predicted, tsaogrip is crushing Mongoose 10-5 (including an almost 300 PT lead), and Nor'Easter is comfortably ahead of the non-lineup-setting speakers, 9-5.

Sunday games:

Team	Games
Spoonful	8
thenopp	12
odensque	8
Digits	5
Hosens	6
flute	8
Nor'easter	7
speakers	1
tsaogrip	8
Mongoose	3

 

The biggest game advantages in competitive matchupes belong to thenopp (4) and to odensque (3). This could be trouble for odensque, as he might lose PFs (currently ahead by 5), and only has an outside shot at STL (down by 6). It's likely, though, that it will end 8-7 Digits.

Things look much better for thenopp, with all 12 players in action, including Kidd, Carmelo, JamsCraw, and Z-Bo. PTS are currently tied, but we'd have to give the edge to thenopp, based on the games. Thenopp's ahead by 8 FTs, 2 3s, and 9 OREB, and is only behind in FGM by 5, AST by 11, and BLK by 3. The Spoonful might lose all of these and be shamefully bested 9-5. The loss of little K-Mart and games deficits on both Thursday and Sunday have been difficult to overcome.

The Hosen's/my$hkin matchup.is quite interesting: the Hosen lead FGM by 15, AST by 14, and BLK by 11, and trail in PTS by only 6, and OREBs by 3. But the Hosen lead both %s by razor-thin margins (.004 in FG%, .001 in FT%). While it's only an 8-6 games advantage for my$hkin, it seems my$hkin has higher quality games: AI, Dirk, G-Wallace, Nene, versus the Hosens' Salmons, Haslem, Telfair, Love, Kwame, and Nate. We think this gives my$hkin the edge, though PCTs are, in particular, tricky to predict.(Note: we're assuming that Barnes and Barbosa are both out for PHX.)

More like Swiss Miss?

Hosen pick up S. Rodriguez, drop B. Wright

Brandan Wright was discussed here. He's in the same position, really, though Maggette's return from a hamstring injury has sent him back to the bench. He's played pretty well, though he certainly hasn't approached his 18/13/3BLK line of Nov 5. Strangely, he got a DNP-CD  in today's game (perhaps in part due to A-Mo's amazing performance; it also seems that Nellie wanted to get 1st round pick Anthony Randolph some minutes). He's someone to keep an eye on, but GS is crowded, and B-Wright may not be consistent all year.

Since the retirement of 'White Chocolate' on September 26th, the Hosen have been wondering how to get their chocolate fetish satisfied. Enter Sergio 'Spanish Chocolate' Rodriguez. He's the playmaking, 3 shooting, occasionally 3-making backup PG for the Blazers. We've all seen him make some impressive plays, and this year, as his minutes per game have gone from 9 to 13, he's upped his APG to 4. He's not a very good shooter, and even this year is 3/14 from 3pt range. There's no question, though, that if given minutes, he would rack up assists. There's no reason to think he'll overtake Steve Blake anytime soon, but he might creep from 15 to 20 MPG if he reins in his poor shot selection.

Judgment: It's hard to assess the Hosen's needs, given the pending blockbuster trade. One would think they need big man cats more than little man stats, but they're leading the league in DREBs and are second only to Nor'Easter in blocks in week 3. Neither player looks to be reliably productive in the short term, but Sergio's situation looks to be a little bit stabler than Wright's. Plus the Hosen's love their chocolate!

Bust-Fest!

Conley jr. dropped for Kwame Brown

We have nothing more to say about Mike Conley Jr..

Cake-Throwing Kwame Brown, apparently, sucks. Indeed, he may be the biggest draft bust in recent memory, having been picked #1 overall in 2001. He's been so bad for so long, it's hard to realize just how bad he is. It's also remarkable that he's only 26(!). He shoots under 50% from the line. He only once even managed 10PPG, back in 2003-4. He's not much of a shotblocker or a good rebounder (5PG for his career). However, he did look good last night, double-doubling in his first start as the Piston's C. Is it possible he'll settle into a somewhat useful late-career mediocrity, like fellow #1's Joe Smith and the Kandi-man? The Hosen are hoping so.

Judgment: the Hosen are starved for a frontcourt, and Kwame might be helpful for a while. Certainly Conley is no loss. Our only concern is that we'll have to write another post when Conley is dropped in a week or so.

Heist! - Trade Accepted

big man to odensque, big talent to Hosen in trade

The trade: 'Sheed, Rip, Mo-Will for Oden, Peja, and Marquis.

'Sheed's been a fantasy force for years, and is having a fantastic year so far. He's averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 3s, and a steal. He's double/doubling in half his games, and went off for 25 and 13 just last night. This represents an uptick of numbers across the board, compared to the previous few seasons (indeed, more MPG than at any time since he was in PDX), and may be unsustainable, but 'Sheed's block/3 numbers make him a true fantasy elite. He's 34, and is prone to TECHs, of course, and even suspensions, which can hurt in our format, though he's much less prone to TOs and PFs than you might think. He's surely good for 13/7 with a 1.5 3s and Blocks, and may surpass that. We're surprised that odensque would part with him, as he seems an essential component of the low-neg/block/3 strategy they've employed with great success thus far.

Rip is no spring chicken himself (he's 30), but despite some initial concerns about his role with AI's arrival, his stats are right ni line with his career norms. Indeed, Rip's one of the most bankable commodities in fantasy hoops: rarely injured, 17/4/4 with a 3 and good %s. There's nothing else to say, because he's rock solid.

Mo-Will landed on CLE in the offseason, and seemed to have some trouble adjusting to playing with LeBronda. His numbers are down slightly across the board, but he's still a solid play at 15/2/5 with a 3 and a STL. If he can get that up to his standard for the last couple years - 17/4/6 - he's a top 10 PG, but even if not, he's a stong contributor.

So the Hosen get 3 extremely consistent, proven contributors. All probably offer top 75-type value. In total, conservatively, 50PPG, 4.5 3s, 15REB, 3stl, 3blk. A good haul!

Greg Oden needs no introduction. He's still working his way back from injury, and playing about 25 MPG. Though we admit calling him 'The Black Joakim Noah' yesterday afternoon, in reference to his lack of productivity (3/2 in his first game back), after watching him abuse Tyson Chandler last night (11/11/4 BLK in only 24 minutes), we're now sold. Dude is Beast. Even so, he's sure to miss some games with injury, will likely frequently get in foul trouble, and doesn't have a particularly varied or developed offensive game. If he averaged 12/12, it would be a smashing success. Then again, he's the best center prospect since Shaq, looks amazing, and could do better than that. Certainly the blocks will come in bunches.

Peja's 31, and certainly on the downside of his career, though teaming with CP3 and D-West has given him a lot of open looks. He came back well last year (16/4, 3 3s) from a devastating 2006-7 back injury (13 games, much to the Manute Bol's dismay, as they drafted him in the 4th round). This year, he's started off quite slowly (only 13/4, shooting an uncharacteristically low 38% from the field and a shocking 82% from the line). As he plays more and more of a perimeter game, he's gone from 'very few blocks and steals' to virtually none, and since he never drives to the hoop, his (usually) terrific FG% (lifetime 90%) is barely an asset. Still 3 3s a game is nothing to sneeze at.

Marquis Daniels has always been a bit of a mystery. He was a key late-season addition to the Spoonful's great championship team in 2003, when Daniels was an undrafted rookie out of Auburn. He was really quite amazing, outshining Nash, Dirk, Jamison, and Finley with lines like 30/8/7 and 4 steals. But then his career was derailed by nagging injuries, occasional laziness, and a lack of a consistent role. Even with occasional bursts of opportunity on a perpetually injured Pacer team, he's never been able to seize minutes with strong play. Until this year! The lingering injury to Mike Dunleavy has given Marquis a starting role, and he's been a revelation: 15/7/3 with an STL. He's a bit fouly, and doesn't shoot the 3 well, but has been a solid contributor otherwise. He certainly has the talent to sustain that level of play, but will he have the opportunity. No one knows what Dunleavy's timetable is, or what Marquis's role will be when Mike D returns.

So odensque gets intriguing question marks in Oden and Daniels, and a struggling, one-dimensional (though still very good) Peja in the deal. In summary, odensque gave up a great deal of solid goodness for some extremely injury-prone unknown quantities. I have trouble seeing how odensque benefits here. Marquis is unlikely to be as good all-round as Rip, even if somehow he gets the minutes; Mo-Will's assists and steals probably are even with Peja's 3's, and the points and rebs cancel, so let's call that a wash; so unless Oden is somehow better than 'Sheed the rest of the way, this looks like a clear win for the Hosen. They should gain 7PPG,  8 or 9 APG, 1 SPG, and some FG%, in exchange for 2 or 3 OREBs. And let's face it: as cool as Oden is, Rasheed's the coolest evah!

Judgment: Fleecing! Honestly, we think this turns the Hosen into a contender.

Conley Jr. claimed off waivers...but why?

Hosen drop C.J.Watson, claim Conley

The Hosen originally picked up C.J.Watson (who's starting at PG in GS until ME returns), dropping Kyle Lowry, a move discussed here, and have now dropped Watson in favor of Mike Conley Jr. To recap the pedigree of this move: the Hosen dropped Speights for Rasho, Rasho for Lowry, Lowry for Watson, and now Watson for Conley. Now that's a lot of turnovers! Watson's been pretty good lately - he's still starting, and his last two games have been 17/6/1 and 8/4/4 - not super consistent, but sheet-filling, in one way or another.

 

We've looked at Conley before, too, as Les Digits recently placed him on waivers to acquire Larry Hughes. The 4th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft is averaging 5.5/3.5/3.8, can't shoot, can't finish, and has been criticized for laziness, softness, and timidity. Some say he has upside - we say we'd rather have Lowry, Watson, or Rasho.

Judgment: We think this is an error on the Hosen's part, though by no means a costly one. Watson is playing well and Conley simply isn't, and there's no reason to think that's on the verge of turning around.

The Lowry Era is Over

Hosen drop lowry for C. J. Watson

We discussed Lowry rather recently, and indeed the Hosen have dropped him after his disappointing 7/0/3 (15 minute) game on Friday. It's not like Conley was all that good, so I think Lowry's outlook is the same as it was a few days back.

C.J. Watson has been embroiled in the GSW PG mess all season, but notably got his first start on Friday, and played 40 minutes for the second straight game. He produced, too, with a 9/8/8 line. He played very limited minutes last year, so it's tough to know what he can do - though it seems he's more a scorer than a ballhandler. Early season starter PG DeMarcus Nelson seems to have disappeared altogether, and preseason sleeper (and UConn Huskie!) Marcus Williams has not yet arrived. There are probably more shots and minutes available to second-stringer's these days, given that C-Maggs and Baby Al have been out. There's the chance that Al could get traded for a 'real' PG, but until then, C.J. looks like he'll get minutes.

Judgment: Worth a flier, though Lowry is too - I've always been frustrated by marginal Golden State players and their wildly fluctuating production under Don Nelson - but the uptempo action can be a fantasy goldmine.

Rasho dumped

Hosen drop Rasho for Kyle Lowry

Information on Rasho can be found in our previous post. He has sprained his ankle, but otherwise, his situation is unchanged.

Kyle Lowry was the beneficiary last year of Mike Conley's terrible rookie season (9/3/4), and seems poised to capitalize again on Conley's terrible second season (5/2/4). Lowry is averaging 8/3/4, and, when his shot is on, can put forth impressive multi-cat lines. With the Grizz heavily invested in Mayo and Conley, however, there's a question of minutes consistency (and his own shooting inconsistency).

Judgment: We generally approve, though the Hosen do need Bigs, perhaps more than PGs - it's early, though, and Lowry will likely be a solid contributor all season long. Also, being less Pacer-dependent is never a bad thing.

Hey Linus...

Hosen drop Herrmann for telfair, gets less handsome

 

The great Walter Herrmann has been covered previously, and not much has changed, except that he might be in line for a few more minutes if McDyess does not return to Detroit.

Sebastian Telfair just returned from a suspension, and with Randy Foye disappointing again, may have a chance to reclaim some serious minutes. Bassy Telf-Telf had 8/3/10 in his first game back and is rumored to be about to start the next MINN game. He's good for 9 points and 6 assists, though it should be noted that he's a terrible shooter and doesn't shoot 3's or get to the line.

Judgment: Another strong move by the Hosen, as they have been seeking a PG. Hermann may be snapped up shortly, and the Hosen are low on Cs, but even so, I suspect Telfair will be a somewhat more reliable, if less amazing looking, producer.

Noah!

The Hosen drop Joakim for Brandan Wright

 

Joakim Noah, the Bulls worst draft pick since Eddy Curry, has been quite a (fantasy) disappointment so far this year. I haven't seen him enough to know what the issue is (it might be the reefer) - he's clearly capable of fine defensive numbers (though he can't shoot) - but he doesn't presently get enough rebounds (4.6) or points (3) for him to be rosterable; he's also losing minutes to people like Aaron Gray, which is not a good sign.

Brandan Wright, on the other hand, looked amazing yesterday - 18/12/3 BLK - and, now that it looks like he's going to get minutes with Baby Al supposedly done in GS, will perhaps rank as the best pickup of the year. He's 21 and awesome - perhaps a bit scrawny for a PF (he's 6'10") - he is, however, subject to Don Nelson's PT whims.

Judgment: Mostly, I'm just sad I didn't pick him up as CJK and I were watching the game. Noah's a bum, and B-Wright has unlimited upside. A fine pickup for a McCain-like Hosen squad seeking a 'game-changer'.

Millsap dons the Hosen

Hosen drop A. Carter, pick up Millsap

We've discussed Carter and Millsap, so there's no need to repeat. However, the crucial point here is that Carter appears to have lost significant value with the trade of AI for Chauncey. AI has mostly been playing SG in Denver, while Chauncey is a pure PG. What will also be interesting to watch is whether the half-court offense of Detroit becomes more open with AI at the helm, and whether Denver's wide open offense (and no defense) changes with Chauncey running the point.

Judgment: Great move by the Hosen. Millsap is a beast, when he's given minutes and isn't in foul trouble, and Carter, though he has been productive, looks to lose a lot of minutes. Moreover, the Hosen need bigman stats more than smallman stats at this point.