It was a night of sprained ankles in the NBA on Saturday with David West, Rudy Gay, and Josh Smith all either sitting out or going down with the dreaded tweak of the lower extremity. Thankfully, none of the injuries appear all that serious at this stage, and we can look ahead to the season which is a mere 10 days away. Rejoice!

STOCK RISING

George Hill -- Hill was an abomination last season, regressing in every fantasy relevant statistic to the point where he was unownable in standard sized leagues. But without Paul George and Lance Stephenson, someone had to pick up the statistical slack, and so far, Hill is doing a good job of it. Against the admittedly short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, Hill scored 10 points (3-11 FG, 0-3 3Pt, 4-6 FT), which isn't that impressive, but filled up the rest of the box score. Hill posted nine rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block in just 28 minutes and is looking set to exceed his average draft position on both Yahoo (84) and ESPN (88). After averaging just 3.5 assists last season, Hill has racked up 5.5 helpers per preseason contest. I'm really liking him at the end of the draft.

STOCK FALLING

Matt Barnes -- I loved me some Matt Barnes in the second half of last season. In fact, over the final two month of the season, Barnes averaged an incredible 13.4 points, 2.2 three-pointers, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals after returning from eye surgery. This preseason though, it's not quite clicking like that. Against the Nuggets, Barnes went scoreless (0-9 FG, 0-6 3Pt) with five rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes. Rookie Australia Joe Ingles started ahead of Barnes tonight and at least got to the line to avoid the goose egg. Barnes has shot an abysmal 2-of-24 over the four preseason contests, going 1-of-15 from beyond the arc. A scoring average of 1.8 points is not going to cut it. I'd be looking elsewhere.

M.I.A.

These guys all sat out Thursday's action.

• Dallas
  • Dirk Nowitzki
  • Chandler Parsons
  • Tyson Chandler
  • Devin Harris
  • Jameer Nelson
  • Raymond Felton (ankle)
  • Monta Ellis
• Indiana
  • Luis Scola
  • Rodney Stuckey
• Orlando
  • Channing Frye (knee)
  • Tobias Harris
  • Nikola Vucevic
  • Luke Ridnour
  • Victor Oladipo (knee)
  • Ben Gordon
• Philadelphia
  • Nerlens Noel (respiratory tract infection)
  • Luc Mbah a Moute (back)
  • Michael Carter-Williams (shoulder)
  • Tony Wroten
• Miami
  • Josh McRoberts
  • Chris Andersen
  • Chris Bosh
  • Luol Deng
  • Dwyane Wade
• San Antonio
  • Kawhi Leonard (eye)
  • Tony Parker
  • Tiago Splitter (calf)
• Atlanta
  • Adreian Payne
• Los Angeles Clippers
  • J.J. Redick
  • Chris Douglas-Roberts
• Denver Nuggets
  • JaVale McGee
• Sacramento Kings
  • Rudy Gay (ankle)

CASUALTY WARD

Out of the three guys I mentioned earlier, West, Gay, and Smith, it appears only West is in any danger of missing time. X-rays came back negative on his ankle, but with the season just 10 days, time is not on his side to be ready for opening night. If he misses time, look for Luis Scola and Chris Copeland to handle more of the load at the power forward position, but I wouldn't be drafting either in a standard league based on this development.

Both Smith and Gay will be fine and should miss minimal, if any, time.

Ty Lawson played just 10 minutes in the Nuggets' victory over the Clippers due to a tight hamstring. He was already dealing with ankle problems, and although this isn't a serious hamstring problem, it's yet another reason for caution with Lawson. If Lawson does miss time, Randy Foye will likely take most of the ball-handling duties. Last season, Foye was very productive as a fantasy contributor and may be worth a look late in your draft.

BOX SCORE ODDITIES

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 Saturday.

Gal Mekel -- With the Mavericks sitting out their top six players, Mekel got the start at the point and put up a big line. The second-year Israel-native got into double figures of scoring for just the second time in his career, preseason and regular season, scoring 19 points (7-14 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 4-4 FT) with nine assists in 43 minutes. With three guys ahead of him on the depth chart, this couldn't be more of a mirage.

Chris Copeland -- Copeland actually started at small forward with Rodney Stuckey sidelined and went off, scoring 22 points (6-15 FG, 6-14 3Pt, 4-4 FT) with five rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block in 30 minutes. The ridiculous 14 three-point attempts isn't probably going to continue, but with the West injury and the scoring void this team has, minutes should be available. He's averaged 19.0 points, with 5.0 three-pointers, 4.5 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals in the past two contests. He won't be this good, but he's beginning to gain momentum.

Elfrid Payton -- Payton started at the point, played 21 minutes and took one, yes one, field goal attempt. He missed it. The rookie did notch seven assists, but he's going to be a negative factor in the points column all season. Payton has averaged 6.0 assists in the five preseason games to date and has nabbed at least one steal in each game. His roto value will be almost non-existent, but in a head-to-head league when you need steals and dimes, Payton could deliver.

K.J. McDaniels -- Fellow rookie McDaniels played off the bench again, but there was one notable thing in his box score. McDaniels blocked another two shots, bringing his total of blocked shots up to six in five games, an incredible number for a shooting guard. It appears the 2.8 blocks per game he averaged at Clemson last season are translating to the pros and he's a nice high upside late round flyer.

Paul Millsap -- Millsap likely won't shoot 1-of-11 from the field and 3-of-10 from the line again this season, as he did against the Pistons on Saturday. He did contribute seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals, but I wouldn't be too concerned about the shooting, especially considering he went 9-of-14 on Tuesday.

Khem Birch -- With a plethora of Heat players sitting, Birch took his opportunity and grabbed it with both hands. It's a pity he didn't use those hands to shoot a little better, scoring just one point (0-6 FG, 1-2 FT), but grabbing 13 rebounds, swiping three steals and blocking a shot. Birch is an undrafted rookie, who given the Heat's lack of size, will likely see some minutes in the regular season, but grabbing double digit boards doesn't seem like it will be on the cards very often, if at all.

FANTASY LINE OF THE NIGHT

Andre Drummond -- Drummond continues to show his top ten fantasy potential, notching his third preseason double-double. The third-year center scored 19 points (9-14 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 1-7 FT) with 17 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 38 minutes. If you punt free throws, Drummond will return you close to top ten value this season.

ROOKIE OF THE NIGHT

Shabazz Napier -- The Heat sat their stars, but all three point guards played in the overtime victory over the Spurs. But it was the rookie who looked the best of the troika, scoring 25 points (6-13 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 12-14 FT) with four assists and two steals, easily surpassing Mario Chalmers (11 points 4-6 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 2-2 FT) and Norris Cole (7 points, 1-4 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 5-6 FT). With how things have played out this preseason, I'm going to want to stay away from the point guard spot in Miami in my drafts, and stash Napier onto my watch list.

NIGHTLY LEADERS

Points

1. Blake Griffin, F, LAC, 27 points
2. Shabazz Napier, G, MIA, 25 points
3. Andrew Nicholson, F, ORL, 23 points
4. Jamal Crawford, G, LAC, 23 points

Rebounds

1. Andre Drummond, C, DET, 17 rebounds
2. Dewayne Dedmon, C, ORL, 14 rebounds
3. Reggie Evans, F, SAC, 13 rebounds
4. Khem Birch, F, MIA, 13 rebounds

Assists

1. Brandon Jennings, G, DET, 11 assists
2. Jeff Teague, G, ATL, 10 assists
3. Gal Mekel, G, DAL, 9 assists
4. Chris Paul, G, LAC, 9 assists

Steals

1. Tyler Johnson, G, MIA, 4 steals
2. Greg Monroe, F, DET, 3 steals
3. Mo Harkless, F, ORL, 3 steals
4. Elliot Williams, F, PHI, 3 steals
5. Mario Chalmers, G, MIA, 3 steals
6. Devyn Marble, G, ORL, 3 steals
7. Khem Birch, F, MIA, 3 steals

Blocks

1. Andre Drummond, C, DET, 3 blocks
2. Kyle O'Quinn, C, ORL, 3 blocks
3. Dewayne Dedmon, C, ORL, 3 blocks
4. Ian Mahinmi, C, IND, 3 blocks

Three-Pointers

1. Chris Copeland, F, IND, 6-14 3Pt
2. Brandon Jennings, G, DET, 4-6 3Pt
3. Jamal Crawford, G, LAC, 4-7 3Pt
4. Shelvin Mack, G, ATL, 4-5 3Pt

Minutes

1. Gal Mekel, G, DAL, 43 minutes
2. Andre Drummond, C, DET, 38 minutes
3. Andrew Nicholson, F, ORL, 37 minutes