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.

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.

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.

Kleiza Dropped!

Thenopp drops Kleiza, picks up J. Maxiell

We discussed Maxiell here. He's had 10+ PTS in 4 straight (until today), including an eye-opening 13/8/6 BLK line. We know he had that kind of potential, and could put up 13 & 8 with decent block numbers easily if given the minutes, and if he can stay out of foul trouble. But a crowded frontcourt and the imminent return of McDyess give us pause. Also, those 4 games were either blowouts, or against teams with poor frontcourts (the Bogut-less Bucks, for example).

Linas Kleiza, Denver's Lithuanian backup SF/PF, was thenopp's 15th round pick. Since he gets few minutes as Carmelo's backup, the Nugs sometimes try to play him at PF (he's started there twice this year), where, gets some rebounds, but isn't much of a defender. On the other hand, he's a good shooter, and shoots a fair number of 3s. We saw toward the end of last year that he can put up big PTS numbers when his 3s are falling, but doesn't provide much else. He's averaging 10/4 this year (basically the same as last year)., and unless he gets significantly more minutes as Big K-Mart gets banged up, probably won't get much higher than that. Still, his 3's/DREB combination will make him useful for some team.

Judgment: Though we suspect Kleiza will put up better overall numbers this year, Maxiell makes sense for thenopp. As an addition to their relatively thin frontcourt (Yao, Hurt Jermaine, B-Lop, and M-Gas), Maxy should provide, though inconsistently, enough blocks and OREB to be useful. Watch the minutes when McDyess returns, however, or if one of the other Piston frontcourters (Herrmann, A-Johnson) gets hot.

McCants Hoot

Thenopp drops McCants, picks up Mike Conley Jr.

 

The 2004-5 UNC Tarheels won the NCAA tournament, and had 4 of its players selected in the first round of the NBA draft. All 4 have thus far been disappointing (Marvin Williams #2, Felton #5, May #13, McCants #14). McCants missed a great deal of time due to injury but is finally healthy. However, he has not shown himself to be 'good'. He's averaging only 18 mpg, shooting 37%, with 10 PPG/1.3 RPG/1.3 APG, and that's been decreasing of late. In his last three games he's only gotten 10 minutes and 6 points per. Moreover, he's suffering from back spasms, and did not play tonight. He too, is something of a poet.

Well, we were wrong; we thought Aaron Brooks would be the first '3-Team' player this season, but it is instead highly touted Mike Conley Jr. Drafted by Les Digits, then waived, picked up by the Later Hosens, then dropped, and now on thenopp's roster. We confess we still don't see the appeal, though his production has increased ever so slightly in the last few games.

Judgment: We're no fans of Conley, but he certainly provides more than an injured McCants. Even when Conley isn't producing on offense, he contributes in REBs and ASTs, which McCants does not. A good move for thenopp.

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.)

Dampier Arrives to Shore Up Nopp Frontcourt

thenopp picks up Dampier, drops Boganst

 

Thenopp dropped recently acquired Keith Bogans - discussed here - and picked up perennially barely ownable Erick Dampier, now in his 13th year out of Mississippi State. Dampier is one of those players who's both better and worse than one expects him to be. He's better in that he's really quite a consistent rebounder, and his block numbers are quite good - he especially contributes on the offensive glass. He's worse in that his inconsistency doesn't make much sense -- he's still quite capable of putting together a string of 20/15 games, or of not scoring more than 8 for weeks at a time. He seems to get into foul trouble for weeks at a time, and will DISQ and TECH more than is healthy. Dampier often has a good first month or two of the season, then tails off as the season progresses. This year, his first few games were Noahesque, but last week he produced lines of 11/16/3, and 16/18/3, so he may just be getting into his typical early season form.

Judgment: This is a great move for thenopp. With an improving Jermaine O'Neal, and surprisingly NBA-ready M.Gasol and B.Lopez complementing Yao in the frontcourt, the addition of E-Damp is helping to turn this potential weakness into a strength. The subtraction of Bogans is negligible (last two games: 3 points, 5 reb, 0 ast total).

Hinrich - Thumbs Down

thenopp drops Hinrich, picks up Bogans

J Francis discussed Hinrich's thumb injury here, so there's no need to repeat.

Keith Bogans has been a very consistent 8pt/3reb man, good for a 3 and most of a steal. There's almost nothing else to say about Keith Bogans - he has no upside, and no downside. He might get a bit more playing time this year, given how inconsistent Pietrus can be.

Judgment: Dropping Hinrich is the right move, but we must wonder if there's someone more exciting available on the wire to replace him. Still, Bogans is fine, until something better appears.

Ach, Mein Hinrich!

Bulls guard and Elfin ambassador Kirk Hinrich has been sidelined 12 weeks with a thumb injury, much to the dismay of the nopp (seen here performing in an Eddie Vedder lookalike contest) and friends of the Elves everywhere. Fortunately for Todd (who is not gay), Hinrich wasn't much of a contributor this season anyway, coming of the bench in the Bulls new "Negro-ball" system. The biggest impact this injury will likely have is to delay any trade that might land Mr. Hinrich on a team where he could actually contribute.

Saturday Thoughts

Close matchups abound

Most of this week's matchups are close heading into the final days, though Mongoose appears to be in good shape, due to a surprising 3 techs from odensque, and the Hosen seem to be assured of a victory over the non-lineup-setting Speakers.

The biggest surprise to me is that thenopp is presently ahead of Les Digits, despite Chalmers' 9 steal game and monster lines from Amare. The culprits are: 1) Shaq sitting out, 2) Missing 2 games from Billups due to the trade, and 3) some questionable lineup choices (Stevenson and Conley over an admittedly struggling Deng?). Now injuries have struck (J-Smoove and Tim-Thom), which could also contribute to a disappointing week. The Digits are only down 8-7, but that's while winning all four negs and a pct. They'll need a surge in DREB, FTM, or AST to compete, and thenopp has something of a weekend games advantage.

The other interesting matchup is between Tsaogrip and Nor'Easter. Right now, it stands at 8-6 Nor'Easter. Nor'Easter's PGs have been on a bit of a roller coaster: the Walloon blew up for 55pts, but is now out for two weeks, and Devin Harris poured in 38 last night, but will miss today's game. They cling to a 4 AST advantage, so their absence could be decisive - Nash and Paul are both in action tonight, so watch closely. Redd's absence for tsaogrip has been roughly cancelled out by Maggette's injury on the other side. Almost all the categories are still competitve, so it should be an exciting weekend (provided that Tim sets his lineup).

Quick Turnaround

thenopp drops C. Brewer for Joakim Noah

We've talked about Noah and Brewer quite recently. Thenopp dropped Brewer after his 0/1/3 disaster on Friday - he started the game, but was not seen much in the second half. Perhaps he'll emerge in a few months (and perhaps not). Noah had perhaps his best game of the season (9/14) in 30 minutes off the bench.

Judgment: A solid move - C-Brizzle seems useless, and crowded, while Noah at least showed some potential last night. No-risk, some reward.

Da Queen no more

thenopp cuts cook, picks up Corey Brewer

 

Daequan is discussed here, and is still not very good - after his 2 13 point outings to begin the season (as mentioned in the previous post, against the Knicks and in a blowout), he's scored 3 and 6 in his last 2.

C-Brizzle was a bit of a disappointment as the 7th overall pick last year (6/4/1 with a STL). This year, he's improved across the board (8/5/2 w/2STL), likely due to more minutes. He's stil not shooting very well, and gets into too much foul trouble to be relied on.That said, he was drafted that high for a reason, and has the talent to be a pretty good defensive contributor.

Judgment: Brewer's a much more rounded contributor than Cook, but there's a danger that he loses his starting job (if MIN, as apparently planned, goes with Al-Jeff, K-Love, Miller, Foye, and Telfair). If C-Bizz starts getting 18 minutes instead of 28, he'll be back on the Wire in no time.

NoppDropp!

thenopp drops Wally for Anthony Carter

Wally Szczerbiak is a sharpshooter in decline. He played sparingly in CLE's first two games, but has edged up to 20 MPG lately. He's never offered much more than 3s (a few rebounds in his heyday), and this year, it seems, he'll provide even less. 3 point guys hang around a long time, and Wally may have a stretch of hotness left in him, but he hasn't looked good in CLE.

We've spoken of Anthony Carter previously, but his circumstances have materially changed, given the arrival of Chauncey Billups. AC has had a nice week, but with Billups playing his first Nugget game tomorrow, we may not see much of Carter going forward.

Judgment: Certainly losing Wally is no great loss, but I don't think AC will be very useful for thenopp. He will likely be dropped soon, unless he is able to coexist surprisingly well with C-Bill

Clipper Droppings

thenopp drops Eric gordon for DaeQuan Cook

Eric Gordon, the 7th overall pick in the NBA draft, is 19, and played 1 year at Indiana. While he looked OK in the preseason, there's no reason to think he's ready to contribute yet. He's shown nothing in his first two games, even with B-Dizzle ailing.

DaeQuan Cook has had 13 points in each of his first two games. I would caution that those points and minutes have come in (a) an extremely uptempo game against the Knicks, and (b) a blowout victory over the Kings. Backing up injury-prone Wade isn't a bad place to be, as the Heat will likely limit Wade's minutes. Cook is a fine shooter, and should be good for 8 or 9 PPG

Judgment: Gordo looks useless for a while, so this is a risk-free move for thenopp. A few more points won't hurt, but it looks to me that rebounds are in short supply in noppTown.

Weekly Forecast -- Week 1

The Later Hosens vs. tsaogrip 0002

General: The defending champs face a tough matchup in Week 1. 2nd Round pick Danny Granger only plays two games, while tsaogrip has 2 top 4-gaming Bucks in Michael Redd and R-Jeff (though only 2 games from VC and C-Booz). Tsaogrip also has a significant Sunday game advantage.

Injuries: None yet.

Categories:

Tsaogrip should win AST, PTS, FGM, FTM, and FT%

The Hosen should win 3s, DREB, BLK

Toss ups -- OREB, STL, TO, PF, FG%

What to watch for:

(The Hosen's Joakim Noah)

For the Hosen, all eyes will be on the young frontcourt (Oden, Love, Noah) and their minutes. The roles of Russell Westbrook, Nate Robinson, Flip, Marquis, and Marreese will also be under scrutiny. Look for J-Salm and Matt Barnes to light it up, but how much will they contribute outside of points?

As for tsaogrip - he'll be watching the Knicks SFs (Q-Rich and W-Chandler) to see how things shake out, and looking to see how much and how well Yi and Diaw play.

Fearless Prediction: I think the young Hosen will step up on the glass, and win OREBs, but at the expense of the negatives: Final Score tsaogrip 8 - Hosen 6

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Nor'easter vs. Mongoose

General: An intriguing matchup - those of you who read the 'First Look' series know that we thought quite highly of both these teams' drafts. Both teams are huge in the frontcourt. Nor'easter gets 4 games from Bogut, but only 2 from Emeka, DevHarr, and Duncan. Mongoose has 4 from C-Vill, but only 2 from Okur and D-Will; overall, the games situation in general, and on Sunday in particular, is pretty even.

Injuries: Mongoose will be without Martell webster until December, it seems; Deron Williams' appears out for Week 1; if he does play, it could make a big difference. Baron Davis is questionable. Thaddeus Young has a hurt back. Nor'easter is missing Monta Ellis indefinitely.

Categories:

Nor'easter should win AST, FTM, FG%

Mongoose should win TO, PF, FT%, 3s, STL

Toss ups -- OREB, DREB, PTS, BLK, FGM

(Nor'easter's Devin Harris)

What to watch for: Being without D-Will hurts the Goose's chances of winning PTS and FGM. Any Disq's could make a big difference, and with such big-man heavy teams, there will surely be some. The Mongoose will be curious to see Thaddeus Young, Baron Davis in LA, and young Mr. Bynum. Are Tyrus Thomas and Brandon Bass really starting? We'll see. For Nor'easter, the minutes of Jarrett Jack, Al Thornton, Pietrus, and RudyFer are worth monitoring.

Fearless Prediction: Without Williams, and with B-Dizzle 'questionable', Nor'easter will prevail: Final Score Nor'easter 9 - Mongoose 6

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Les Digits vs. play my$hkin flute

General: Unfortunately, I don't think this one will be so close. I think my$hkin just has more minutes on the floor this week. Les Digits has only 2 games from Jamison, Chauncey, J-Smoove, Horford, and T-Murph. That will prove too much to overcome, I suspect, in the counting categories.

Injuries: my$hkin will be without Larry Hughes, and Dunleavy is banged up. Les Digits has no Manu, J-Smoove might be limited, and MarvWill is suspended for the first game of the season.

Categories:

Les Digits should win TO, PF

my$hkin should win PTS, FGM, FTM, FG%, FT%, AST, STL, BLK, 3s

Toss ups -- OREB, DREB

(my$hkin's Chris Duhon)

What to watch for: Les Digits needs to see how the minutes situations of Conley, D-Rose, and Varejao shake out. My$hkin will be looking to see how much run Kelenna, Duhon, Posey, and Mayo get, and how they respond

Fearless Prediction: No doubt about the outcome: Final Score my$hkin 10 - Les Digits 4

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blazers (thenopp) vs. odensque

General: This one should be interesting*. Both teams are more or less at full strength, and thenopp will outscore odensque by quite a bit. However, the big men of odensque (Brand, Dalembert, Big Z) may very well be enough to make this a fight.

*assuming lineups are set

Injuries: thenopp is without Agent Zero for a while, and Carmelo is apparently suspended for the first two games. Odensque will be without the services of Brad Miller, who's suspended for 5 games.

Categories:

thenopp should win PTS, FT, FGM, FT%,

odensque should win OREB, DREB, BLK, STL, TO

Toss ups -- 3s, PF, FG%, AST

(thenopp's Wally Szczerbiak)

What to watch for: odensque is very interested to how see the new look Sixers gel with Brand and Dalembert. He'll need good weeks from preseason disappointments Marion and Moon in order to win blocks, and will be looking carefully at the minutes and play of B-Simmons and Bayless. Thenopp needs to see whether rookies B-Lopez and Marc Gasol will help shore up his thin frontcourt - and whether aging veterans Hill, Mobley, and Szczerbiak can contribute this year.

Fearless Prediction: I think thenopp will win 3s and AST, but either JO or Hinrich will fatally DISQ: Final Score: odensque 8 - thenopp 7

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garbage speakers vs. The Lovin' Spoonful

General: garbage speakers may suffer from C-But, J-Rich, AK-47, and J-Rich only having two games, though the Spoonful also have some key 2-gamers (Bibby, Parker, R. Brewer). I think the Spoonful will outscore the speakers, and win via the counting stats, but the margin of victory will come down to rebounds.

Injuries: Only Francisco Garcia is out for the speakers, though Camby hasn't played in the preseason. On the Spoonful side, Wade and Bosh are forever day to day, and Little K-Mart, Ben Gordon, and Beno are slightly banged up.

(garbage speaker's Kyle Korver)

Categories:

The Lovin' Spoonful should win PTS, FTM, FGM, FT%, AST

garbage speakers should win TO, PF, BLK

Toss ups -- 3s, STL, FG%, OREB, DREB

What to watch for: garbage speakers wants to see Camby and Artest thrive in their new environs, and will be curious about the roles of Terry and Odom. Spencer Hawes might be huge this week with Brad Miller out. The Lovin' Spoonful want to see how much Hakim Warrick plays, how well LaMarcus fits in with Oden, and what's up with supposedly starting Chris Quinn. Starbury's role is also in question, and which Bargnani will show up this year?

Fearless Prediction: Sadly, Hawes will grab a lot of boards (and Carl Landry(?) won't) - Final Score: The Lovin' Spoonful 8 - garbage speakers 6

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The first Waiver Wire pickups will be tonight/tomorrow; I'll be sure to review who did what, and why...

First Look -- thenopp

Quick Draft Summary: What's not to like? Starting with Kobe, thenopp took a lot of big name, big-time scorers. A lot of veterans means a lot of injury risk, but todd has benefited from such risky behavior in the past...

Frontcourt: Yao (2), JamsO'Neal (7), Z-Bo (9),

Color me unconvinced. While extraordinarily talented, Yao has not proven durable, and seems likely, especially after the olympics, to miss some time this year. Jermaine might benefit from a change of scene, but he's missed quite a bit of time as well. Z-Bo too will likely miss 10 games or so, though he still can rebound mightily. The two rookies (Marc Gasol and Brook Lopez) may contribute, but might very well struggle. A lack of frontcourt depth is compounded by a glut of non-rebounding SG types (though Kidd will help).I suspect thenopp will fail to compete in Rebounds and BLK most weeks.

Backcourt: Kidd (4), Arenas(10), Hinrich (11), Boobie Gibson (18)

If Kidd is his usual self, and Hinrich holds off Derrick Rose, and Arenas comes back healthy, there just might be enough AST here to compete. Steals? I'm not so sure.

Swingmen: Kobe (1), Carmelo (3), Turkoglu (5), Miller (6), JamsCraw(8), Hill (12), McCants (14), Kleiza (15), Mobley (16), Szczerbiak (20)

Kobe and Carmelo are terrific and thenopp should have no trouble scoring, and thoroughly dominating 3s, with this firepower. What's interesting is that usually the 3point dominant teams are also low TO, in the little doggers style, but thenopp has some TO machines (Kobe, Kidd, Yao, Carmelo, Crawford, Hinrich). We'll see how it balances out. I suspect thenopp will trade some 3s for either PG or C depth.

X-Factors: Brook Lopez (13), Marc Gasol(17)

Mostly this team consists of known, if declining quantities. The two rookie big men need to step up to give thenopp some depth in the middle. Obviously, Arenas's return, and the health and/or decline of Kidd/O'Neal/Mike Miller will be crucial to thenopp's success

Strengths: 3s, FGM, PTS, FTM, FT%

Weaknesses: FG%, STL, BLK

Best Pick: Kidd (4) - todd knows how to use Kidd's strengths and compensate for his weaknesses - he should provide good value here.

Worst Pick: Jermaine (7) - a number of better C's were available at at this point