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.

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.

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!

JaVale of Tears?

McGee out, c.j. Watson in for Les Digits

We've talked about C.J. Watson and JaVale 'The Big Secret' McGee before. McGee has started the last two games for WAS, but hasn't been terrific (5/5, 8/4). Whether he keeps the starting gig or not (and why wouldn't he? E.T has been quite poor, and the Blatche-dog has, despite a good game yesterday, has not impressed), he'll likely to continue to get 20-25 minutes. Like any young C, he'll get into foul trouble and be inconsistent.

GSW's C.J. Watson, not to be confused with UTA's C.J. Miles, or 'sexy Filipina model' C.J. Miles, has been getting quite a few minutes, and sometimes starting, for the Warriors. He's been quietly producing 10/5/5 lines of late, which is nothing to sneeze at. What's less clear is his role going forward, given the arrival of Jamal 'The Ranch' Crawford via trade, and the emergence of 'two game wonder' Anthony Morrow. We suspect we'll see a lineup of AB, Maggette, S-Jax, JamsCraw, and one of Kelenna/Morrow/Watson going forward.

Judgment: The uncertainty about Watson's role makes this tricky to evaluate. We likely would have stuck with McGee for a while, but, given Les Digits strength in the BigManCats, JaVale isn't really doing much good - assists and points are more needful. JaVale will be snapped up, no doubt, but Les Digits won't miss him.

Paper, meet Anus

Digits drop Radmanovic, snap up J. McGee

 

Radmanovic was discussed and tellingly compared to recalcitrant toilet paper here, and he remains marginal at best. Les Digits was optimistic in his post that Vladman was getting good minutes, but he appears to be losing some minutes to T-Ariz and others, and has shot just 5 -22 in his last 4 games, totaling 14 points in that impressive span. Good riddance!

 

On the other hand, JaVale McGee, discussed a bit in the Hosen's latest missive, has been much ballyhooed of late. The rookie 7 footer out of Nevada suddenly looks like a possibility to contribute in the wafer-thin Wizards frontcourt. On Nov 7th, he played 30 minutes, putting up 12 and 10, with two blocks (note - this was against the uptempo Knicks, and heart-troubled, out of shape poet Etan Thomas couldn't keep up).  He double-doubled again two games later and put up a pretty good 13/4 line last night. He's certainly surpassed Blatche on the depth chart, and, while he's no Greg Oden, he's also no Vladimir Radmanovic. He should be good for 9/6/1.5 BPG at a minimum, assuming he stays in the rotation.

Judgment: An excellent and well-timed move. RadMan was doing nothing, and McGee sure looks like he's worth a flier - he's got talent, size, and opportunity. We're still at the stage in the season where one has to jump on upside when it arises. While he may be too raw (and probably is), he'll be easy to drop when the time comes.