Alright, so technically speaking, I can't just head on down to the US Airways Center today to try my luck against Goran Dragic in some shooting drills. But it almost seems like I could, given the list of potential backup point guard candidates that the team has invited in for a workout to try and fill their open roster spot.
Bright Side of the Sun has a nice little breakdown of the players and what they might bring to the table. Because we already know what the Suns are likely to get from players like Stoudamire and Armstrong who simply can't play anymore, my vote is for Walker Russell Jr.
Besides the entertainment factor of people inevitably confusing his last name for his first, Walker (see, I just did it) is the current D-League leader in assists. At least that's something, and it's more than you're likely to get from any of the other workout participants, which is a big helping of nothing.
Since we have a quick moment to breathe between All-Star weekend and the rest of the season, let's take a look back at the winners and losers of the first half.
Winners:
Lakers: LandedPau Gasol for Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton, also known together as "basically nothing." Started a chain reaction of trades in the West, and even after those are considered by many to be the favorite to reach the Finals.
Suns: Traded for Shaq, as an obvious response to the Lakers' deal. They're winners because a motivated Shaq for a season-and-a-half is definitely worth something, and the guy still has a little left I think. Remember, Shaq returned from injury earlier this season to put up a strong effort of 24 and 10 against the Bulls ... but his team lost the game by 30. He'll definitely contribute something positive to his new team.
Heat: Anytime you get $40 million in contracts off the books when you're the worst team in the league, you win. Plus, the Heat have played with more energy since Shawn Marion has arrived, and now they have some cap space to rebuild for next year.
Pistons: Very quietly, the Pistons have racked up the league's second best record at the break, and are currently riding a 10-game winning streak. No one's paying attention to them right now, and that's just the way they like it. This team will be extremely dangerous come playoff time.
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.
Cup of Coffee Everywhere I looked in the box scores this morning, it was a point guard doing heavy damage, or some spicy situation involving the point guard unraveling. Hence the name. The biggest shocker might have been the Cavs' decision to start Larry Hughes at point and go big with LeBron James at the two. Hughes responded decently by scoring 40 points with six boards, three dimes and two steals. Makes you wonder what Mike Brown's next move is...
Hot Cakes Seems as if Jameer Nelson, despite Stan Van Gundy's seeming distaste for he and his extension, is back to starting (with 22 points, four boards, four assists last night). Carlos Arroyo initially was going to be handed the gig but Nelson is now back in play. Personally, if he started to go off, I would sell high. Buy low on Arroyo.
Jeff McInnis is starting again. After the Bobcats signed Earl Boykins. The point? Well, besides the fact that you should ignore McInnis for fantasy purposes (10 points and six dimes against Derek Fisher is not offensively spectacular, I'm sorry), you should also probably not take any bets that involve "Sam Vincent as a head coach next year" unless you're laying money against it happening.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list. Well, at least for one night he did. On Monday, Larry Hughes inexplicably went off for 40 points against the Magic. He shot 12-19 from the field, 4-5 from beyond the arc and 12-13 from the stripe. That's superstar production, somebody get this guy a $12 million contract! Oh, wait ...
Now, if only he could do this once or twice more before the trade deadline and the Cavs might be able to unload his disaster of a contract. Don't plan on it, though, and not just because he won't have a Smurf in Jameer Nelson checking him on defense. The last time Hughes played this well was back in November when he had 36 points against the Pacers; in his very next game, he couldn't even break double-digits.
Also Receiving Votes: Stephen Jackson: 41 points (11-18 FG, 4-10 3P, 15-17 FT). In a battle between the Warriors and Wizards, it's not surprising that it was a high-scoring affair, nor that the last team that scored won the game. The Warriors pulled it out 120-117, thanks in part to eight free-throw attempts by Jackson in the final minute of the game.
The Spurs were the first team in the West to begin tweaking their roster, and they did so out of necessity. With Tony Parker being shelved (against his wishes) by Gregg Popovich to get his ankle back to 100%, the team was left extremely thin at the guard spot. At the time, it seemed fortunate that Damon Stoudamire had been able to negotiate a buyout in what turned out to be just the beginning of the Memphis fire sale. An experienced and available point guard was exactly what the Spurs needed, but they also needed one that could actually play. And therein lies the problem with Stoudamire: he's just not very good.
The fact that Stoudamire racked up 14 consecutive DNP-CDs before leaving the Grizzlies should have clued the Spurs in, but apparently they didn't get the message. In four games with San Antonio, Damon's averaging just seven points and two assists, while playing 21 minutes per game. He's also only shooting 37% from the field, and it's not like he's stopping anyone defensively. The real issue for the Spurs though is the low assist total. With Duncan and Ginobili out there you're telling me you can only get them the ball in a position to score two more times than I can in 21 minutes of playing time?! That's just embarrassing.
You can't blame the Spurs for trying I suppose, I mean they had to sign someone. I guess it could have been worse. The Clippers were so decimated by injuries at the guard spot that at one point this season they were actually playing Dan Dickau and Richie Frahm together in the backcourt. So there's that. And when Tony Parker comes back (assuming it's before the Spurs drop out of the playoff race), the club can put Damon exactly where Memphis had him: at the end of the bench.
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.
Cup of Coffee The Heat looked much better. For whatever that's worth. And it was the obvious addition of Shawn Marion that made them look like a more explosive team. Marion, for those wondering, went for 15 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals. He also shot six of 13 from the floor. So basically, this confirms that ... yeah, he's still good. What's worth mentioning though, is that Matrix might see a dip in his field goal percentage because his baskets, sans Steve Nash, just won't be as easy as in Phoenix. Interestingly, his assists might see a slight tick up -- although you shouldn't expect too much -- as he touches the ball more.
Hot Cakes Jacques Vaughn started for the Spurs against the Celtics, but Damon Stoudamire still saw most of the minutes and got most of the stats (not to mention he took 11 shots). Squeeze what you can out of Mighty Mouse until Tony Parker returns.
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.
Cup of Coffee Pau Gasol made his Lakers debut last night and while it started slow, things ended well. Gasol finished with 24 points, 12 boards, four assists and a steal. The Spaniard's back may be wonked out, but expect great fantasy totals from him, no real change. It will be interesting though, when Andrew Bynum returns -- Gasol might see a dip in rebound totals (albeit small) but should see a bump in assists.
Hot Cakes In more Gasol-related news, Rudy Gay continues to jack shots left and right in Memphis (seventeen tonight); he's gonna score more points now but the percentages are gonna take a hit. But the biggest boost might be for Mike Miller, who broke the 30 point mark last night and has free reign to fire away from deep whenever he wants, one would imagine. Miller is going to have a very, very, very large second half to the season, so get him if you can.
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.
Cup of Coffee Anytime there are awards given out, someone gets ripped off. And you can generally tell who feels spited by their performance in the following week or so. Clearly, Ray Allen felt like he should have been an All Star, as he got white hot on the Mavericks and scored 15 points in the first quarter. But here's the thing -- HeGotGame is going to be kept under a reasonable leash to keep him healthy for the playoffs, but probably not for the next two weeks. Soak up his threes and points while he gets his vengeance out, and then deal him at the highest point possible.
Hot Cakes Josh Howard, another snub, I wouldn't sell. J-Ho (or is it Jo-Ho) does everything and clearly feels that he was again ripped off from participating at the midseason festivities. That spite should continue for the rest of the season -- he scored 13 points in the first quarter last night -- as Howard continues to score and rebound at a high rate; I expect his defensive totals, which are low, to rise by the end of the year as well.
After watching his point guard play with a painful bone spur in his left heel for the past several weeks, Gregg Popovich finally decided to give Tony Parker some rest. How much rest? At the very least a couple of games, but if he's as serious about getting his team healthy for the playoffs as he says he is, Parker could end up missing a couple of weeks, if not more.
Popovich informed Vaughn that he was starting for the fifth time this season, just as the 11th-year veteran was coming back into the locker room.
Vaughn stood in the doorway of the locker room with a stunned look on his face and finally said, "Uh ... OK."
Yikes, that doesn't instill much confidence, does it? As it is, Vaughn has already seen much more action lately than anticipated due to Brent Barry's injury, and his performance in Tuesday's loss to the Sonics (four points and four assists in 37 minutes) in place of Parker suggests the Spurs will be stuck if they can't get help soon ... preferably in the form of free-agent-to-be Damon Stoudamire.
According to ESPN's Chris Sheridan, Popovich was scheduled to speak with Stoudamire on Tuesday on evening. Stoudamire was also expected to talk with Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, the Raptors are believed to be interested and of course there's the persistent Boston rumors that even his family is starting to believe, but if immediate playing time on a legitimate contender is Stoudamire's primary concern, the Spurs certainly seem to have the leg up.
Once he clears waivers on Thursday morning, Damon Stoudamire will officially be a free agent. Where will he end up? The Celtics will probably place a call, and the Spurs are believed to be interested. But at least one team allegedly interested has removed itself from the race:
Meanwhile, Magic General Manager Otis Smith said there was no validity to an ESPN report that the Magic are interested in signing point guard Damon Stoudamire. Stoudamire was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies and becomes a free agent.
With Jameer Nelson returning from his injured foot on Wednesday, adding Stoudamire to the mix would be complete overkill. Granted, I'm not sold on Nelson being a legitimate starter (for a contending team, no less), but the Magic also have Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling.
If I were starting a team from scratch, I'd probably take Stoudamire over all of them, but considering he's only a marginal improvement, I wouldn't take him in addition to all of them. If the Smith really wants to improve his roster, he'd find a way to move Arroyo and Dooling's expiring contract for help, though for what it's worth he's already said he won't be making any moves at the trade deadline.
Alright, so technically speaking, I can't just head on down to the US Airways Center today to try my luck against Goran Dragic in some shooting drills. But it almost seems like I could, given the list of potential backup point guard candidates that the team has invited in for a workout to try and fill their open roster spot.
Since we have a quick moment to breathe between 
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. 
The Spurs were the first team in the West to begin tweaking their roster, and they did so out of necessity. With 
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. 
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. 
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. 
After watching his point guard play with a painful bone spur in his left heel for the past several weeks, 
Once he clears waivers on Thursday morning, 
