fBasketballBlog

Thompson could see heavy minutes early in his rookie season, thanks to Curry's tender ankle. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Suspensions and injuries will play the roles of spoilers for some fantasy owners at the outset of the 2011-12 NBA season. To that end, below is a quick list of players who will start the season serving suspensions or injured, and the players who stand to benefit because of those unfortunate circumstances.

You can read the full post on DimeMag.com.

Andrew Bynum (suspended for the first five games of the season for his cheap shot on J.J. Barea): Josh McRoberts, Troy Murphy

Charlie Villanueva (suspended for the first five games of the season for a scuffle with Ryan Hollins): Jonas Jerebko, Austin Daye, Tayshaun Prince

Jarrett Jack (suspended for the first game of the season for a reckless-driving violation): n/a

Jeff Green (heart surgery, out for the season): Marquis Daniels, Sasha Pavlovic (continue reading…)

The quickly approaching Dec. 25 start to the somewhat unexpected 2011-12 NBA season means fantasy owners are like students cramming for a big exam. Here are a few tidbits to help you ace your drafts:

• 

  Love will have to lift less weight off the ground when grabbing 'bounds this season. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

  Kevin Love is reportedly “25 pounds lighter than when he left following last season.” This bodes well for his ability to maintain, if not exceed, his stellar fantasy value from last season. I can’t see any reason why Love would fall out of the top five spots in any fantasy basketball draft this season.

• Vince Carter is expected to be waived by the Phoenix Suns, which opens up the door (as expected) for Jared Dudley to step in and start. In 15 starts last season, Dudley averaged 51.8% FG, 77% FT, 1.7 3PTM, 16.3 Pts, 5.9 Reb, 2.2 Ast, 2.1 Stl, 0.5 Blk, 1.2 TO. In the 65 games he played (15 of which he started, 50 of which he came off the bench) from Dec. 2, 2010, through the end of last season, Dudley put up top 80 value. Call him a sleeper if you want, but Dudley should’ve already been on your radars. He’ll be a bargain if he falls into the last quarter of your draft. Carter, meanwhile, could land on a team in need of a SG, but don’t be fooled — his days of being a reliably productive fantasy asset are over. (continue reading…)

• 

  Check out these links. (Stefano A/Flickr)

  I recently had my debut in Dime magazine’s print edition with my 2010-11 fantasy basketball preview. By the time it went to print there were already a few things I wish I could’ve changed, but I still stand by the vast majority of it.

• To continue the vanity, here are my posts on DimeMag.com about risk vs. reward players, and the 10 most intriguing fantasy basketball players with new teams this season.
• The guys at Give Me The Rock unveiled a podcast discussion about the Miami Heat. All three guys have wonderful radio voices. Patrick also posted his list of this year’s breakout players.
• Yahoo’s Roto Arcade is killing it with the stuff they’re putting out lately. Check out their head-to-head guiding principles, roto strategy primer and life-after-Don Nelson overview.
• Over at Weakside Help, Henry challenges many owners’ perceptions of delicate guys like Andrew Bogut and Troy Murphy.
• Lester’s Legends has a list of value picks that can help you win the three-point category.
• You want position rankings? Head over to Rotoprofessor (small forwards) and Damn Lies & Statistics (point guards).
• As always, Fantasy Basketball Daily has your daily dose of fantasy basketball news and notes.
• I’d like to end this post with a non-fantasy basketball item, but one I think most of you will enjoy: Brett Favre recently getting hit in his now-infamous groin with a football. Read into this what you will.

• Michael Redd is out two weeks with a strained knee – yes, the same one that was surgically repaired last season. For fantasy owners who drafted him, you had to know Redd was at risk at sitting out chunks of games at a time so this shouldn’t be too big of a surprise. Charlie Bell seems to be the most obvious beneficiary from this situation. He started last night and finished with 11 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, a steal and a three in 34:11. Brandon Jennings, who is off to a great start, will also benefit from more looks. He hoisted 23 shots last night, compared to the 15.5 he was averaging in the two games before, and finished with 25 points. Andrew Bogut also saw more shots and minutes and finished with his best game of the season, notching 16 points, 13 rebounds, a steal and 3 blocks. Hakim Warrick moved into the starting five last night and will be worthy of a starting fantasy spot in most leagues so long as Redd is out. Carlos Delfino will also benefit from more minutes and shots, though his numbers will only be appealing in deeper leagues.
• 

  Yi is hurt and so are his owners. (Flickr/NBANets)

  Yi Jianlian could miss up to six weeks with a sprained right knee, which is a huge bummer for owners hoping for a breakout year for the frustrating forward. Chris Douglas-Roberts and Terrence Williams are the clear winners here, as both should be good for a solid mix of points, boards, threes and steals, though CDR does shoot better percentages. Bobby Simmons could also be worthy of some monitoring, though his value should be appealing only to those in deeper leagues. (continue reading…)

• Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has been spouting with cautious optimism for his two stars, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.
  
  Morey recently told ESPN The Magazine that Yao “is progressing well.”   He added that the doctors “know that the bone will heal and he’ll get back on it. And they have not actually ruled out [his return] this season. I think that’s less likely than likely, but they haven’t ruled it out.”
  

  Is T-Mac on track to being a reliable fantasy force? Don't count on it. (Flickr/Keith Allison)

  He also spoke well of McGrady’s progress, according to Jonathan Feigen at the Houston Chronicle.  ”He’s way, way ahead of schedule… He’s already playing. I don’t think anyone could have predicted he would be playing now. He still has a long way to go. There is a lot of rust to shake off… I don’t expect to see him ready for Day 1 of training camp.”

  It might be tempting to read into these statements and eye Yao or T-Mac as late-round picks to surprise and impress your opponents with your boldness, but don’t give in to that temptation.

  Yao should not be drafted at all, while McGrady might be a decent waiver wire pick later on in the season, unless you’re in a deep league or are willing to stash him on your bench until he might return. When he returns to the court, he’s a hot potato you’ll want to trade away after a string of three or four consecutive solid games.

  It’s understandable that Morey wants to keep the team’s fans (and himself) hopeful, and most likely wants to help ticket sales as much as possible, but for fantasy purposes his recent comments should be ignored.

• The Ricky Rubio drama is finally over: he’s heading to FC Barcelona (as previously reported) and won’t be available to the NBA until 2011. A fifth overall pick for the Minnesota Timberwolves has come to naught, which is a tragedy for the team’s thirsty fans, as well as for any NBA fan who was excited to see how the much-hyped youngster would fare with the big boys.This, of course, means that Rubio has absolutely no fantasy relevance this season. It also means that Jonny Flynn‘s stock just rose a bit.
  
  Erik at Points in the Paint takes a thorough look at Flynn’s value this season (and explains the “Mike Conley Jr. Effect”). His assessment of Flynn as “a 3rd-string PG for your fantasy team” is conservative, but correct. Flynn is an appealing player this year and will probably be scooped up too early in many drafts on the heel of this news. He’s an undersized rookie at 6-feet tall, and most rookies struggle with inconsistency and the infamous “wall” toward the latter half of the season.

  Keep your eye on Flynn, but don’t rely on him as your primary fantasy point guard.