Court Report: Week 6 Dashboard, Part I
Each Sunday, the Dashboard centralizes all the crucial information fantasy managers need to dominate their weekly head-to-head matchups or climb the standings in their rotisserie leagues. The Dashboard covers schedule analysis, status updates, adds, drops, watch list candidates, and deep league targets for managers of all skill levels. Quite simply, it is a comprehensive weekly cheat sheet that is packed with so much information that we’ve devoted two writers to producing it.
Schedule Breakdown – essential schedule information for the upcoming week and beyond
Week six, total games.
4 games: BOS, CLE, DAL, DET, HOU, MEM, MIA, NJN, NOH, OKL, ORL, POR, SAS, WAS
3 games: ATL, CHA, CHI, DEN, GSW, IND, LAC, LAL, MIL, MIN, NYK, PHI, PHO, SAC, TOR, UTH
Week six, quality games.
2 games: MIA
1 game: CLE, DAL, GSW, HOU, MIL, NOH, OKL, PHO, UTH, WAS
Week six, best schedules.
SAS: @GSW, @LAC, MIN, NOH
DAL: HOU, MIN, @UTH, @SAC
MIA: WAS, DET, @CLE, ATL
MEM: LAL, @ATL, HOU, @DEN
LAL: @MEM, @HOU, SAC
GSW: SAS, PHO, @OKL
Week six, worst schedules.
UTH: MIL, IND, DAL
CHI: ORL, @BOS, HOU
MIL: @UTH, @DEN, ORL
CHA: @NOH, NJN, @PHI
SAC: IND, @LAL, DAL
DET: @ORL, @MIA, ORL, CLE
Next month, total games.
15 games: MIA
14 games: ATL, CHI, CLE, MIN, NOH, OKL, ORL, POR, SAS
13 games: DEN, DET, HOU, IND, LAC, LAL, MEM, NJN, PHI, WAS
12 games: BOS, DAL, GSW, MIL, NYK, PHO, SAC, TOR, UTH
11 games: CHA
Next month, quality games.
5 games: MIA
4 games: <none>
3 games: BOS, DAL, GSW, MIL, ORL, POR
2 games: CHI, DEN, NJN, NOH, OKL, PHO, SAS, UTH, WAS
1 game: ATL, CLE, HOU, IND, LAL, MEM, NYK, PHI, SAC
0 games: CHA, DET, LAC, MIN, TOR
Remaining season, quality games.
Best: CHI (15), DAL (15), BOS (14), MIA (14), DEN (13), POR (13), SAS (11), LAL (10), UTH (10), WAS (10)
Worst: DET (1), TOR (1), MIN (4), NOH (4), ATL (5), CHA (5), CLE (5), IND (5), MEM (5), PHI (5)
Also see: Basketball Monster’s Schedule Grid and Ease Rankings
Status Updates - quick hitters from around the league
• Lou Amundson is progressing from his offseason finger injury and could resume practicing as early as this week.
• Chris Andersen(notes) has seen about 20 minutes per game in his two appearances for the Nuggets this season. The Birdman appears to be healthy and there are no reports of any setbacks after missing the first 13 games of the season.
• Carmelo Anthony(notes) played through a stomach virus on Friday, hitting the game winning shot at the buzzer. Anthony is not expected to miss any time going forward with the virus.
• One year removed from major knee surgery on his left knee (torn left patella tendon), Kelenna Azubuike(notes) participated in five-on-five practice and appears to be a week or two away from returning to live action.
• Everyone’s favorite sleeper this summer, Rodrigue Beaubois(notes), is expected to miss another three-to-four weeks as he recovers from a broken bone in his foot sustained in August. Beaubois, who is owned in seven percent of Yahoo! leagues, should be on the waiver wire in all leagues.
• Denver’s floor general, Chauncey Billups(notes), is listed as day-to-day with a fractured nose, sprained wrist and chipped tooth. Billups has missed Denver’s past two games and should be considered a game-time decision for Sunday’s contest against the Phoenix Suns. Billups was on the active roster for Sunday’s game.
• Bucks center Andrew Bogut(notes) missed his third straight game on Saturday with back problems. Notably, Bogut has a history of serious back problems that makes this a situation to keep tabs on.
• Carlos Boozer(notes) is expected to practice with the team on Monday and is also expected to make his season debut sometime soon, although no official timetable has been released.
• Houston point guard Aaron Brooks(notes) is expected to miss at least another week with his ankle injury, as he is still in a walking boot.
• Andrew Bynum’s(notes) original target of Thanksgiving to return to action has come and gone, with Bynum now hoping to be back on the court in three weeks. Christmas time is now looking like a more realistic target for Andrew’s season debut.
• What was originally thought to be only a minor knee sprain has become a bit more serious for Vince Carter(notes). Carter has missed the Magic’s last three games, giving J.J. Redick(notes) extra burn. Consider Carter day-to-day until more concrete information is available about his knee injury.
• Baron Davis(notes) (swollen left knee) might return sometime in the next week, according to coach Vinny Del Negro. However, timelines involving Davis’ return to action should be met with a healthy dose of skepticism.
• Carlos Delfino(notes) sounds like he is still a ways away from getting back on the court, as he has just been cleared to ride the stationary bike after suffering a concussion earlier this season. Delfino will definitely miss the Bucks’ next two games, as he’ll stay in Milwaukee to rehab.
• Knicks guard Toney Douglas(notes) missed Sunday’s victory over the Detroit Pistons with a thigh bruise. It sounds like Douglas is day-to-day heading into week six.
• The latest update regarding Reggie Evans(notes) is that he has a non-displaced fracture on the fifth metatarsal on his right foot. The Raptors and Evans are still exploring treatment options but expect Evans to be out for weeks or months. Joey Dorsey(notes) got the start over Amir Johnson(notes) in Toronto’s first full game with Evans sidelined.
• Minnesota point guard Jonny Flynn(notes) is still waiting to make his sophomore season debut sometime next month as he recovers from offseason hip surgery. There is speculation that Flynn will first make an appearance in the NBA Development League before appearing in a regular season game.
• Boozer’s imminent return means Taj Gibson’s(notes) fantasy run is rapidly coming to an end, which is actually probably fortunate timing for Taj. Gibson has been dealing with a foot and ankle injury that has limited his minutes and kept him from participating in practice fully.
• Drew Gooden(notes) sat out Saturday’s contest against the Bobcats with plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis tends to linger making it something worth monitoring going forward. This was Gooden’s first DNP of the season.
• Thunder forward Jeff Green(notes) is expected to be in the Thunder’s starting five on Sunday.
• Miami’s locker room leader, Udonis Haslem(notes), is possibly out for the season with a torn ligament in his left foot. At a minimum, Haslem will miss a couple of months of action.
• Josh Howard(notes) is still weeks away from making his return after tearing his ACL last season. Howard is expected to be back in action sometime before the All-Star break.
• Consider Chinese forward Yi Jianlian(notes) out for the upcoming week, as Flip Saunders recently confirmed that he is still a ways away from returning from the hyper-extended knee suffered in mid-November.
• Clippers center Chris Kaman(notes) appears to be about a week away from returning from his ankle injury. The swelling has decreased and Kaman’s range of motion is almost back to normal. Kaman’s focus now is on regaining his strength and conditioning.
• Nenad Krstic(notes) has been ruled out of Sunday’s game, allowing Serge Ibaka(notes) to start in his place.
• David Lee(notes) saw 43 minutes of action in his return on Saturday night after missing eight games with an elbow infection courtesy of Wilson Chandler’s(notes) teeth fragments.
• Suns center Robin Lopez(notes) remains out indefinitely with a moderate sprain of his MCL and PCL in his left knee. The original diagnosis had Lopez out for several weeks.
• Corey Maggette(notes) is suffering from minor ankle soreness, which kept him out of Saturday’s game against the Charlotte Bobcats. Maggette is not exactly known as a guy that battles through injuries so consider him day-to-day going forward.
• Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin(notes) remains sidelined from offseason knee surgery on his left patella tendon and is expected to make his debut around the beginning of the new year.
• Mike Miller(notes) is optimistically targeting Christmas for his regular season debut for the struggling Miami Heat. The original timeline for Miller’s thumb injury had him out until January at the earliest.
• The oft-injured Yao Ming(notes) recently had his walking boot removed and could return as early as next weekend from his ankle injury. However, Yao’s return to the court could be slowed by his lack of conditioning and practice time.
• Blazers center Greg Oden(notes) is out for the season after suffering another devastating knee injury that will require microfracture surgery.
• Mehmet Okur’s(notes) timeline to returning to action from his Achilles injury remains murky. Okur recently participated in a short five-on-five scrimmage successfully without soreness or re-injury.
• Jermaine O’Neal(notes) is out indefinitely with a sore left knee. Surgery would not be surprising for the injury-prone veteran.
• Nikola Pekovic’s(notes) rehab is progressing as he recovers from a sprained ankle. Pekovic is now out of a protective boot and has started to run and practice lightly.
• The original timeline for Kendrick Perkins’(notes) recovery from his torn ACL estimated that he would be back on the court sometime in January. We should be hearing more concrete information out of Boston regarding Perkins’ progress in December.
• Joel Przybilla(notes) is expected to make his season debut this week for the injury-ravaged Portland Trail Blazers, and could do so as soon as Sunday.
• Budding superstar Derrick Rose(notes) returned to action on Saturday after missing Friday’s matchup with the Nuggets with a stiff neck. Consider Rose healthy moving forward.
• Unfortunately for Portland, Brandon Roy(notes) will likely remain on shaky ground with his troublesome knees all season long. Expect decent production whenever Roy plays, but plenty of DNPs sprinkled in between.
• Peja Stojakovic(notes) missed Sunday’s thumping by the Hawks with a sore left knee and is day-to-day with the injury.
• A sprained ankle has kept Al Thornton(notes) out of the Wizards’ last two games. Thornton is day-to-day as he recovers from the injury.
• In somewhat concerning news, New York center Ronny Turiaf(notes) has re-injured his left knee. The actual extent of the re-injury has not been disclosed at this time.
• Dwyane Wade(notes) remains banged up but continues to somehow find a way to remain on the floor. Keep Wade active until he is forced to miss any time.
• Washington is handling their franchise player, John Wall(notes), with extreme caution, and for good reason. Wall was withheld from Saturday’s tough loss to Orlando with a bruised right knee.
• Gerald Wallace(notes) is not expected to miss any time with an elbow injury sustained in the closing minutes of Saturday’s game against the Bucks. The Bobcats do not play again until Wednesday, giving one of the league’s toughest players valuable time to recover.
• Suns forward Hakim Warrick(notes) has been promoted to the starting unit at the expense of Hedo Turkoglu(notes). Warrick’s ability to finish at the rim (especially in pick-and-roll situations) makes him a better fit with the first unit while Hedo’s playmaking abilities make him a better fit with the second unit. Expect this switch to stick.
• Martell Webster(notes) is expected to make his debut in a Timberwolves uniform sometime in December as he continues to recover from offseason back surgery.
• Unfortunately for the Celtics, Delonte West’s(notes) broken wrist is expected to keep him off the floor for months, if not the balance of the season.
• Brandan Wright’s(notes) lingering back injury has caused him to miss the Warriors’ past seven games. Consider him day-to-day moving forward.
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Photos via Getty Images
