Can the regular season get here already? It's oh so close, I can feel it, but until we unwrap our early Christmas present, there's the preseason. For as bad as the basketball can be, there's still plenty of information to mine for fantasy owners, so let's get into Wednesday's Box Score Breakdown.

STOCK RISING

Otto Porter Jr. -- The Wizards' backcourt is in flux with Bradley Beal out for at least the first month of the season, Martell Webster currently out and contemplating retirement with his back problems and now Glen Rice Jr. is nursing a sprained ankle which may keep him out for the beginning of the season. Porter, who was an abomination in rookie season, has like a different player this preseason. He was All-Summer League First Team and against the Maccabi Haifa, scored 19 points (7-13 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 4-4 FT) with eight rebounds, four assists, one block, and four steals in 35 minutes. And it wasn't just one game that he has been excelling. In his last four preseason tilts, Porter has averaged 14.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.5 blocks, and 1.3 steals on 59 percent shooting from the field and 70 percent from the field in 26 minutes. Even when everyone returns, Porter will likely be the first wing off the bench and is worth a look at the end of your draft.

M.I.A.

These guys all sat out Wednesday's action

• Toronto
  • DeMar DeRozan
• Boston
  • Rajon Rondo
  • Gerald Wallace
  • James Young
• Sacramento
  • DeMarcus Cousins
  • Reggie Evans
• Brooklyn
  • Kevin Garnett
• Detroit
  • Spencer Dinwiddie
  • Will Bynum
  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
  • Jodie Meeks
• Charlotte
  • Noah Vonleh
  • Kemba Walker
  • Bismack Biyombo
  • Gerald Henderson
• Washington
  • Bradley Beal
  • Paul Pierce
  • Nene Hilario
• Orlando
  • Channing Frye
  • Mo Harkless
  • Victor Oladipo
  • Evan Fournier
• Indiana
  • C.J. Miles
• Cleveland
  • Anderson Varejao
  • Kyrie Irving

CASUALTY WARD

Kevin Love left Wednesday's game with a neck injury after just 17 minutes, scoring five points (1-6 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 3-5 FT) with four rebounds  and two assists. He was coming off back-to-back 25 point games and thankfully, the injury isn't serious. We haven't seen Love, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving on the court much due to injury, so it's hard to project exactly how Love's value will be effected, but he's a safe pick inside the top 20.

TRACKING POSITION BATTLES

Celtics' wings/backcourt -- Well, Jeff Green returned from his calf injury and had a glimpse into what coach Brad Stevens is likely to do. He shifted Marcus Smart to the bench and started Evan Turner at point guard, where he was successful yet again. Turner scored 11 points (5-9 FG, 1-3 3Pt) with seven rebounds, six assists, and one steal in 27 minutes. Green was a bit rusty, scoring nine points (3-12 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 2-6 FT) with five rebounds in 31 minutes, but it's shaping up as a lineup that Stevens will use more often than not. It didn't hurt Smart's value that much, as he had 11 points (3-8 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 3-3 FT) with six rebounds, three assists, and three steals in 30 minutes, but did have six turnovers.

Nets' small forward -- It appears Bojan Bogdanovic has the job sewn up, scoring 11 points (4-8 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 2-2 FT) with two assists in 28 minutes against the Kings in China. Even though he is the likely starter, he won't contribute in much apart from three-pointers and points and can be left on the waiver-wire in standard leagues.

STRANGE STAT LINES

It's the preseason, so there are a ton of lines that don't always add up, but here, I'll touch on a few that stood out Wednesday.

Marcus Thornton -- A lot of owners in your fantasy league may not even know that Marcus Thornton is on the Celtics now, his fourth team in six NBA seasons. But, Thornton is excelling in his gunner off the bench role, and has scored in double digits in all five preseason games. Against the Raptors, he poured in 17 points (6-9 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 2-2 FT) with two rebounds, one block, and three steals in 17 minutes. Is it real or a mirage? Partially REAL, but don't expect such a high field goal percentage regularly.

Kevin Seraphin -- Seraphin posted a double-double of 18 points (6-12 FG, 6-8 FT) with 12 rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes. With Kris Humphries sidelined with hand injury and scheduled to miss the beginning of the regular season, and Nene perpetually injured, Seraphin has a chance to capitalise on his strong preseason form. He's averaged 10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks on 55 percent shooting from the field in 24 minutes. Is it real or a mirage? Hopefully REAL. Disclaimer: I didn't just include Seraphin in today's Breakdown because he was the first NBA player to follow me on Twitter, but I'll definitely take any opportunity to give the big Frenchman a shoutout.

FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT

Nikola Vucevic -- Vucevic looked dominant with 20 points (8-12 FG, 4-5 FT), 11 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks in 25 minutes and has now blocked six shots in the last two games. As a top 50 center, Vucevic is a nice option, but beware of his notoriously poor durability.

ROOKIE OF THE NIGHT

Aaron Gordon -- Gordon, the fourth overall pick, took advantage, as Vucevic may have done, of an overmatched Flamengo to record 15 points (7-13 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 1-1 FT) with nine rebounds, including six on the offensive end, three assists, one steal, and one block in 26 minutes. This was Gordon's best game in his professional career and he has surprised so far this preseason. I though he would have negligible fantasy value this season, but has taken full advantage of Channing Frye's injury to put up some nice numbers. He's blocked three shots and nabbed four steals in four games as well as averaging 6.8 rebounds and 9.0 points. There may be some upside in Gordon for this season, but Frye's return muddies the waters.

NIGHTLY LEADERS

Points

1. LeBron James, F, CLE 26 points
2. Mirza Teletovic, F, BKN 22 points
3. Ben McLemore, G, SAC 22 points

Rebounds

1. Andre Drummond, C, DET 14 rebounds
2. Jason Thompson, F, SAC 13 rebounds
3. Kevin Seraphin, C, WAS 12 rebounds

Assists

1. Brandon Jennings, G, DET 9 assists
2. Deron Williams, G, BKN 8 assists
3. Joe Johnson, G, BKN 8 assists

Steals

1. Otto Porter Jr., F, WAS 4 steals
2. Greg Monroe, F, DET, Jordan Hamilton, F, TOR, Marcus Thornton, G, BOS, Marcus Smart, G, BOS, Joe Johnson, G, BKN, Solomon Hill, F, IND, 3 steals

Blocks

1. Nikola Vucevic, C, ORL, 3 blocks
2. Tyler Zeller, C, BOS 3 blocks
3. Brendan Haywood, C, CLE 3 blocks
4. Marcin Gortat, C, WAS 3 blocks

Three-Pointers

1. Mirza Teletovic, F, BKN, 6-9 3Pt
2. Darren Collison, G, SAC 4-6 3Pt
3. Chris Copeland, F, IND 4-6 3Pt

Minutes

1. Ben McLemore, G, SAC 40 minutes
2. Otto Porter Jr., F, WAS 35 minutes
3. Josh Smith, F, DET, 34 minutes