Fantasy Basketball Quick Hits: Camby to miss three weeks
A mix of good and bad news for Marcus Camby(notes), Rashard Lewis(notes), Eric Gordon(notes), and Josh Howard(notes).
• Marcus Camby's knee surgery was called successful and his timetable has been adjusted to three weeks. It's good news for all involved parties and assures that he should stay on most fantasy rosters. Be sure to note that the All-Star break is four weeks from Friday, so the team might choose to keep him sidelined if anything lowered optimism during his rehab. Camby missed his first game Wednesday, and the resulting numbers were useful for both Joel Przybilla(notes) (29 minutes, 0 points, 0-2 FG, 11 boards, 1 steal, 1 block) and Dante Cunningham(notes) (26 minutes, 6 points, 3-5 FG, 5 boards, 2 steals, 1 block). Deep-leaguers should take note in both cases, but their potential impacts are completely tied to Camby's availability.
• Rashard Lewis' minutes have been up since he arrived in Washington - he's averaged 37 in 14 games - so it may not be completely coincidental that his right knee is giving him problems. Lewis actually said that his knee has been bothering him since he joined the team, but this is the first time it's become this problematic. He's seen fewer than 32 minutes in a single game just once over the past 13 games. Lewis said he'll be in the lineup Friday but doesn't know about the back-to-back. Fantasy owners need to keep their fingers crossed that this doesn't turn into something substantial. Al Thornton(notes) and Yi Jianlian(notes) will see whatever surplus minutes become available.
• Eric Gordon will be in the lineup Thursday and continue to play through the tendon injury in his right ring finger. Gordon suffered the injury during the first quarter on Tuesday and it didn't affect his shooting (7-14 FG, 3-3 3PT, 6-6 FT), so it's okay to be optimistic about the situation for now. Gordon is ranked seventh in per-game value over the past month, having averaged 23.9 points on 50-percent shooting, 87-percent foul shooting, 2.7 threes, 4.5 assists, 1.9 turnovers, and 1.3 steals in 39 minutes during that stretch.
• Josh Howard's left knee tendinitis hasn't dissipated and he's still at least several weeks away from returning to the practice. Feel free to lower your expectations here to the point where he's questionable to stay on your Watch List. And this update gives Nick Young(notes) even more assurances for long-term value, and he's going to be a real difference-maker in the second half if he can keep his field goal percentage in the mid-to-high 40s.
• The Raptors have agreed to a buyout with Peja Stojakovic(notes) and he's now expected to sign with the Mavericks. The Mavs are looking to improve their options in the wake of Caron Butler's(notes) knee injury, but Peja is real a long shot to stay healthy or play meaningful minutes. Sasha Pavlovic(notes) was in the starting lineup on Wednesday (24 minutes, 11 points, 1 three, 3 boards) and is more likely to have deep-league relevance than Stojakovic.
• Carlos Boozer(notes) remains questionable and will be a game-time decision for Thursday's matchup with the Mavericks.
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