Notes, General
Carlos Boozer: Almost Good News, Sort Of. Boozer underwent surgery on his broken right pinky finger Tuesday morning. I'd reprint coach Tom Thibodeau's comments, but they're so shockingly predictable ("we're encouraged") that you might fall asleep. In any case, Boozer might be closer to six than eight weeks, on account of he'll be able to maintain his conditiong for the most part.
Andrew Bynum: Bad News and Worse News. Coach Phil Jackson said Tuesday that Bynum might be forced to play limited minutes as a career situational player if he suffers one more serious knee injury. Of course, it's important to note: that doesn't mean that Bynum definitely WILL play situational minutes. Still, it points to the fact that Bynum is a fantasy risk -- one with upside, for sure, but risky.
Corey Maggette: Early Return? Maggette (foot) was a limited participant in practice Friday and Saturday, apparently. This news (a) runs counter to what was originally reported regarding his return from surgery on torn peroneal tendons and (b) is good news for his potential fantasy owners. Maggette is so excellente in the free-throw category that one is forced to use vague, Spanish-sounding terms to describe his contributions there.
Notes, Game-Specific
Gilbert Arenas, Blake Griffin, Yao Ming: Play Basketball. They all started, playing 26, 22, and 12 minutes, respectively.
Jonas Jerebko: Strained Right Achilles. Given Detroit's depth and Jerebko's skillset, it's not like the Swede is a lock for fantasy stardom, but he can rebound and also started at the four tonight. As with Wade (below), it remains to be seen how badly Jerebko's is.
Brendan Haywood and Tyson Chandler: Split Time. Haywood and Chandler are both vying for time at center for the Mavs. Tonight, Haywood started and played 19 minutes; Chandler played 17.
Kirk Hinrich: Small Forward? The Wizards started three guards (Arenas, Hinrich, and John Wall) alongside Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee. Will they do this in the regular season? Don't know! Stay tuned!
Dwyane Wade: Strained Right Hamstring. Wade left Tuesday's preseason opener against Detroit with a strained right hamstring. He played just over three minutes total in the contest. There are no indications yet as to how severe the injury is, but it's likely that Miami would withold him given any sort of injury concern.
Five Notable Performances
DeMarcus Cousins, SAC: 29:47 min, 16 pts on 8-of-13 shooting, 16 reb. Yes! I said "16 rebounds."
JaVale McGee, WAS: 27:26 min, 13 pts on 4-of-6 shooting (5-for-7 FT), 7 reb, 6 blk. Yes, six blocks.
Jamario Moon, CLE: 30:33 min, 10 reb, 4 stl, 3 blk, 1-for-2 3pt. That's Garbage Man territory.
John Wall, WAS: 37:56 min, 21 pts on 6-of-14 shooting (0-for-2 3pt, 9-for-11 FT), 9 ast, 4 stl. It's a bit surprising that he played so many minutes.
Terrence Williams, NJ: 23:17 min, 20 pts on 9-of-12 shooting (2-for-2 FT), 8 reb.