The Dwightmare Continues - 04/06/2012
BY Aaron Bruski I was listening to the TNT halftime show when Chuck, Kenny, Ernie, and Shaq were discussing the Dwight Howard/Stan Van Gundy situation, and like many of the voices on Twitter I wasn’t buying what they were selling. Shaq was simply grinding his axe with SVG, but Kenny and Chuck kept going on and on about the code of ethics in keeping things behind closed doors, etc. If you haven’t checked in for a while, Dwight Howard has been lobbying to get rid of Van Gundy, which isn’t exactly a surprise. Van Gundy got confirmation from management that Howard had made the request, and since rumors surrounding the situation have been swirling for a few days now, questions about it were posed to him during shootaround. Now this is where it gets funny. Van Gundy, never one to hide what he’s thinking, finally got fed up I presume and answered the reporter’s question honestly, saying that he got confirmation from management that Howard did indeed try to get him fired. And throughout the evening multiple sources confirmed what Van Gundy said. So Van Gundy starts to go on his rant about not caring if he’s going to get fired, expressing indirectly what we all know – that Dwight is pretty much a phony – and who else but D12 himself comes trotting into the press session, not knowing that Van Gundy had just dropped a news bomb. Howard put his arm around the coach and when he realized what was going on, he tried to blame some other guy for starting the rumor, despite multiple reports confirming what Dwight had done. Awkward. Van Gundy pretty much bolted from the presser and that setup another ‘Dwightmare’ of a game, to borrow a term from SI.com’s Sam Amick. Howard decided to mail it in and didn’t score until the very end of the third quarter, and that energy spread over to his teammates as the game was over early in the fourth. Back to the TNT guys, they spent so much energy talking about how Van Gundy shouldn’t have brought it out in the media – and there is a case to be made for that – but it’s pretty clear that Howard has been a grade-A ass probably since the first time a sneaker rep slid money underneath his front door. In this player’s league, you can only hope to get a team guy like Kevin Durant or Derrick Rose, but more times than not you’re going to get a Howard, a Melo, or a LeBron. It’s just the nature of the beast for guys that ride the wave of fame and fortune in a gladiator environment. And that’s fine – it is what it is. I just don’t think we should be talking for one second about Stan Van Gundy and how he has handled the petulance of a guy in Howard who has single-handedly run the Magic into a state of dysfunction. For more on that dysfunction, check out Amick’s piece over at SI.com. To follow me on Twitter, click here. THE DWIGHTMARE, CONTINUED Jason Richardson was the only real fantasy news on the Orlando side, as he finally woke up with 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting with four rebounds, four assists, and one steal. I don’t know how much this was a reflection of Howard playing keep away from the ball, but it’s something. I can only call Richardson a risky speculative add right now, after a few weeks of being just awful. If he does it again, though, it might be a sign that he’s ready to go. Glen Davis posted 15 points with seven rebounds, and with Ryan Anderson possibly playing on Saturday his window is closing soon. Hedo Turkoglu (seven points, zero assists, 18 minutes) hit his funny bone and suffered a cut under his eye, and I don’t think the elbow injury will be serious. Because this game was a laugher, Baron Davis was able to play just 19 minutes which is actually great news for whatever you want to call his fantasy value. He posted five points, three boards, five assists, and two steals, and while he’s not a good bet to make it out of each game he plays, he’s worth a look if you’re desperate at PG. The real issue for me is how the wing situation is clearing up, as the offense from the old Denver days has now been loosely installed in New York. And in this system, the players take turns taking isolation possessions, which benefits guys like J.R. Smith who can play that type of game. Smith scored 15 points with four rebounds and nine assists, and I like him as a must-own player in 12-team leagues going forward. Yes, he’s going to be up and down and flaky as anybody, but I think the numbers will level out at low-end value, at least. I also think that this new offense is bad news for Iman Shumpert (nine points, zero assists) and Landry Fields (10 points). Fields is a motion guy and there isn’t much of that now, and while Shumpert isn’t afraid to play isolation ball, he is deferring to the veterans right now. I expect Shumpert to have a few big games here and there, but he needs a Baron Davis injury before he’ll provide consistent numbers. THE WIZARDS AND PISTONS, BEACONS OF BASKETBALL PLAY I have a hard time watching Magic and Knicks games in general because it’s just bad basketball from an Xs and Os point of view, so combining the two teams I had to change the channel to the Wizards and Pistons game. The quality of play wasn’t much better, but it was better, which is saying something but I can’t exactly figure out what. Both Trevor Booker and Nene were unable to go last night because of their plantar fasciitis issues, and both are unlikely to play tonight’s game, either. On cue, Kevin Seraphin scored 15 points with nine boards, two steals, and no blocks, which is a good representation of what owners can expect when Booker and Nene are out. Jan Vesely is a deep league option, and he had one of his ‘good’ nights with 10 points, five boards, one steal, and one block. Theoretically he could improve, but I think what we see is what we get for this year. He could benefit dramatically from a real offseason. Jamal Crawford has been hot and John Wall has not, and the roles flipped last night with Crawford hitting just 2-of-13 shots for nine points and not much else, and Wall posting 28 points, four rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals. Rodney Stuckey (hamstring) returned to action last night and scored 15 points in 19 minutes, hitting 6-of-7 shots with three assists. We’ll have to see more minutes before saying unequivocally that he should be in starting lineups, and it’s possible he was held back knowing the Pistons had to turn around and get on a plane for tonight’s game against the Hawks. If I’m in a daily league I’ll definitely be weighing my options with Stuckey carefully. If I had to throw a blind guess out there, I’d say he plays 16 minutes and does fairly well. Ben Gordon (13 points, 6-of-14 FGs, no threes) started and is worth a look while that is the case, but he’s a shaky fantasy asset in general. Brandon Knight is regressing before our eyes and I wonder how the veterans are taking to him in Detroit. He’s certainly not playing a real PG role, and he was making silly mistakes during his six-point, one-assist, four-turnover effort that included a 2-of-8 shooting mark. But he’s playing tentative and he probably hasn’t earned the guys’ trust, making the highs high and the lows low for Knight. I do think he’s worth owning down the stretch and I also think that the Pistons may game plan him the ball or just hand him the keys. But he certainly isn’t a must-start player by any stretch. TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL Derrick Rose (groin) didn’t play last night against the Celtics, as expected, but it genuinely seems like he’ll be a go for Sunday’s game against the Knicks. C.J. Watson (elbow, wrist, ankle) might have let it fly knowing he can take a break soon, as he scored 15 points with two rebounds, eight assists, two steals, one block, and six turnovers in 39 minutes. With Rose returning and his health an issue (not to mention the signing of Mike James), I think owners can drop Watson with relative confidence. Richard Hamilton is about halfway toward being worth pickup consideration, scoring nine points on 4-of-11 shooting with three rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 20 minutes. Just watch him for now. Luol Deng is hot right now and scored 26 points on 9-of-21 shooting (no threes) with six rebounds, three assists, four steals, and one block, Joakim Noah scored 17 points with nine boards and three blocks, and Carlos Boozer scored 12 points with 14 boards in a pretty much normal night. The Celtics were ripped by their coach for playing like the “cool Celtics,” but from a fantasy perspective everything was pretty much in place. Paul Pierce scored 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting with eight rebounds, four assists, and three 3-pointers, Kevin Garnett scored 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting with 14 rebounds and four assists, and Rajon Rondo scored 10 points with four boards, 12 assists, and a steal. If you took the chance on the old guys this year it totally paid off. Ray Allen may or may not keep coming off the bench, but his value will remain relatively similar. He scored 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting with a steal and a three and should be in most lineups. Brandon Bass (15 points, five boards, three steals, one block) hyperextended his left knee but it wasn’t serious, and he can continue to be used as he was being used going forward. Avery Bradley scored nine points with a three and a steal, and if those numbers work for you give him a look. Expecting more is a bit optimistic. FLOPPY DONKEY The Clippers showed up in Sacramento after last night’s slugfest with the Lakers and didn’t come out too flat, but the Kings were unable to really jump on them and make them pay for expending energy the night before. Blake Griffin, for all his unworldly talents, is really developing a con-artist, cheap-shot game and it’s too bad. Along with his aloofness, I wouldn’t be surprised if he loses a bit of his marketing appeal as people get turned off. DeMarcus Cousins, a perfect target for the types of things that Griffin does – the needling, prodding, etc., was frustrated all night by Griffin’s antics and a few questionable calls put him on the bench for the most of the night (eight points, three boards, 18 minutes). On one play, Cousins swiped his hand down in the general vicinity but not close to Griffin’s face, and Griffin acted like he was raked in the eyes and went to the ground in pain. Cousins was called for the foul, and after the game he called Griffin an actor, too. That’ll be a fun matchup to watch over the years. Griffin finished with 14 points, nine boards, three assists, a block, and four missed free throws. Randy Foye stayed hot with 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting with six boards and two assists, but Mo Williams (toe) could return for Saturday’s revenge match to cloud things up. Just keep trotting him out there for now. Nick ‘Swaggy P’ Young continued to struggle with just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting, but he did add a steal and assist. It will be interesting to see if the Clips are willing to cut into Young’s minutes when Williams returns, which would be an early indictment of their acquisition. DeAndre Jordan played just 21 minutes, but got a steal and block to go with his four points and four boards so owners weren’t totally screwed. Things are never easy with Jordan, but we all know it’s Del Negro pulling the strings there. Caron Butler chilled out after his big Wednesday night, scoring 14 points with two threes, three boards, a steal, and five turnovers. The Clips have two four-game weeks upcoming, so Butler is on the fantasy radar despite all of his recent troubles. Isaiah Thomas got his hand up by the top of the square on a would-be block attempt, and it’s his athleticism that allows him to compete with the top PGs in the league. He held Chris Paul to 4-of-16 shooting last night, though Paul did finish with 13 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and five steals to go with his five turnovers. Thomas didn’t play as well as he normally does, either, as I thought he was a bit star-struck playing next to Paul. He finished with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting (including three triples) with five rebounds, two steals, and just one assist. While Paul shut down Thomas’ penetration game a bit, Thomas only had two turnovers in a battle of similarly statured guards. Tyreke Evans posted a normal looking 14 points with a full stat line, and Jason Thompson shrugged off ankle concerns with 15 and 16 with two blocks. Get Thompson back into lineups for the revenge match on Saturday barring a negative report. Terrence Williams should have seen more than 24 minutes, but he still posted 11 points with three rebounds, three assists, and three steals. The Kings are dead set on playing Jimmer Fredette minutes he doesn’t deserve right now, but Williams has plenty of support and deserves starting consideration until further notice. Jimmer probably cost the Kings the game late with some careless defense and turnovers, but he’s going to need to learn somehow. Unfortunately that comes on fantasy owners’ dimes elsewhere, of course. THE SAME OLD SONG AND DANCE Byron Scott said he has already thought about shutting down Kyrie Irving (shoulder) for the season, but that sounds more like regret than anything at this point. Scott bought Irving’s song and dance about being healthy enough to play, and proceeded to get hurt right away on Tuesday. Scott said that by “the time that he could probably return, there might be two weeks left in the season. So I've thought about [sitting him]." If your team has needs, I hate to say it but you have to make the drop. You can wait 24 hours and see if something gets clarified out of Cleveland that indicates the situation is better, but the odds are right now that he’ll return later than that two-week mark, if he returns at all. CHILLIN’ Jarrett Jack is still experiencing pain in his right foot/ankle and is very questionable for tonight’s game against the Spurs. Jack said he’s trying to get as much treatment as possible, indicating that he’s not thinking about shutting it down, too. While Jack may end up returning and complicating Greivis Vasquez’s value, I can’t think of too many players I’d rather have chillin’ on my bench. PAY YOUR DUES We finally got some, but not a lot of clarity about James Johnson’s situation when it was reported that he was held out of Wednesday’s game due to an “internal matter.” That ‘internal matter’ is code for 'Johnson messed up', as Dwane Casey said that he sat Johnson to send him a message. Johnson seems to be taking it in stride saying that he has to “pay his dues,” adding “Whatever he thinks I deserve. I just have to deal with it like a man.” Johnson said that he wasn’t sure if the debt had been paid, and my guess is that the debt has been paid – but unfortunately, he’ll be a dice-roll going forward. And while often times the player in this case will return and play well, there is also a lot that can go wrong. If you own him you may want to wait and see if he will suit up for tonight’s game and how things go. FOUR QUARTERS OF FURY 1ST QUARTER: J.J. Barea (thigh) said he was not yet at 100 percent, and while he’ll be a bit of an injury risk, he is a must-start player until further notice. Danilo Gallinari (thumb) is targeting Monday’s game against the Warriors for his return … I’m pretty sure the whole league has that team circled on their calendars. Eric Gordon (knee) came out of Wednesday’s game with no problems, and while he’ll have some risk no matter how you slice it he should be in lineups. Kobe Bryant is wearing a boot to protect his shin, and I don’t know exactly how that works but I know it’s not a concern. 2ND QUARTER: Metta World Peace is dealing with an ankle injury, but it doesn’t sound too serious yet. Drew Gooden (back) is expected to return tonight and that is the good news that I was telling owners to hold out for, so he’s a definite ‘hold’ until we see how things go tonight. If he has another stinky outing, then we’ll talk. Devin Harris (ankle) is a game-time decision for tonight’s game against the Warriors, and if he plays, he’ll likely do pretty well. Joel Przybilla is day-to-day with an ankle sprain, which is more good news for J.J. Hickson. 3RD QUARTER: Kyle Lowry (bacterial infection) went through a limited practice yesterday, which is big news for him, but there’s still no timetable and that means his season is still in doubt. The way I’d put it is that he has hit every deliverable he needs to hit in order to have a chance of returning, and Goran Dragic owners can still be fairly optimistic that he’ll ride strong to the finish. Luke Ridnour’s ankle “swelled up a lot more” on Wednesday, and nothing has changed my opinion that his season is all-but done. The Suns hope Grant Hill (knee) can return in the middle of April, but there’s not a lot for fantasy owners to plan for here. 4TH QUARTER: The earliest Amare Stoudemire (back) would return is April 13, but that doesn’t sound likely according to a Newsday report. If he can suit up for the playoffs, I’d call that a win. Jordan Farmar (groin) is out for the year, which was the assumption, anyway. Shelden Williams (eye) will play tonight, so the Johan Petro era mercifully comes to an end. Wilson Chandler (groin) is a game-time decision for tonight’s game, and with Danilo Gallinari (thumb) targeting Monday’s game I’m cool with owners dropping him for a hot free agent. Also consider that he could have some juice left in him if he is healthy over the short-term, however. |
