October 23 Games
MIA @ CHA:I will be keeping a close eye on Byron Mullens and his bruised knee, as he leads the upward movers on my draft board. Of interest for fantasy will be any indications we can get on the PG battle between Kemba Walker and Ramon Sessions and C battle between Brendan Haywood, Bismack Biyombo and Tyrus Thomas.
For the Heat, their small ball and floor spacing will be fun to watch. With Mario Chalmers down, Norris Cole is getting a long look at PG. Mike Miller, Rashard Lewis and Josh Harrellson are all battling to carve out significant roles on what now looks like a very deep team. We could see a huge disparity in 3PA and 3PM in this one, especially if Mullens sits this one out.
IND @ CLE: The Pacers trimmed their roster down to 15 yesterday, with Ben Hansbrough and Orlando Johnson making the team. Danny Granger should make his first appearance tonight. I will be keeping an eye on Paul George who has looked uncomfortable as the new focal point of the offense.
The Cavaliers get another game to try to sort out their perimeter rotation. Dion Waiters and CJ Miles so far look like the starters and Alonzo Gee as the primary reserve. Omri Casspi, Daniel Gibson, Luke Harangody and Luke Walton are all battling for the leftover minutes/roster spots.
OKC @ CHI: OKC is getting ready for the start of season, slowly integrating all of their major pieces though they will likely try to find minutes to test their fringe roster candidates. In terms of position battles, Reggie Jackson has stepped up and is now challenging Eric Maynor for the back-up PG.
The Bulls starters are set and their focus will likely be on getting their new bench used to Tom Thibodeau’s system. Marco Belinelli in particular has to start playing better or he will become a forgotten man.
PHO @ GSW: The Suns get another easy one and may rest a couple of their starters. If Marcin Gortat plays and tries he might put up some monster numbers.
Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut are still out. Carl Landry is now being asked to play C alongside David Lee as Festus Ezeli has lost his early pre-season momentum. For what’s worth, in the in the GM survey on NBA.com, Klay Thompson was voted as player most likely to break out this year. I think that break out is generally priced into his current ADP.
Got a bit of a situation in my weekly h2h league. I astutely drafted Rubio to stash for future use. This was going well until some idiot decided to drop John Wall today (in favor of picking up Ray Allen, lol!). So i’m posed with this decision: do i drop my injury backup guard JR Smith to pick up Wall? That would leave me with Rubio AND Wall as 2 of my 3 bench spots, with Asik my 3rd option (he’s my injury backup F). If one of my starting Gs got hurt, I’d need to drop Asik to get a healthy G, and just hope that one of my Fs doesn’t also get hurt!
What to do, sir?!
ps: i’ll likely not get Wall, as I’m 9th of 12 teams in the waiver order, but i imagine it’s worth a go, eh?
I’d be tempted to drop Rubio for Wall. Wall’s recovery is shorter and more certain than Rubio’s. He is also not likely to see his play suffer as a result of his injury. It usually takes 2 years to fully recover from a torn ACL.
It is very difficult to carry two injuries in H2H especially at the same position. If you are hell bent on keeping Rubio then drop Asik. His skill set is a lot easier to replace than Smith’s.