Fullcourt Press: Only the strong survive
April marks a time when Fantasy diehards switch their attention from hoops to baseball -- only the elite few remain alive in their basketball leagues. Fullcourt Press will showcase some potential free agent prizes in your league for the weeks that count the most.
Fullcourt Press is our weekly look at the latest headline news from around the league. We'll examine stat trends, injuries, depth chart battles and schedule breakdowns, along with notable performances throughout the NBA season.
Before the season started, you told yourself, "This year, I'm taking
the whole thing."
You analyzed depth charts and studied waiver
wires in pursuit of a ring.
For twenty-two weeks you brought your
best, hoping to be crowned king.
Then out of the blue attacks the
injury bug with some powerful sting.
Your squad transforms from a
soaring eagle to a bird with a broken wing.
Even iron horses have
been sidelined, like Duncan and Ming.
You can pick up some free
agent, but what will that player bring?
Don't give up just yet,
there's still hope… that fat lady has yet to sing.
Odom, C-Web and Antoine are now unable to play,
And the sidelines
are where Curry, Lewis and Ratliff will likely stay.
Miles, Hill and
Nelson hope to return on Tuesday
While dormant stars like Randolph,
Boozer and Kirilenko must feel guilty collecting their pay.
This kind
of stress even made Phil Jackson's hair turn gray,
Thank god our
season ends soon -- his usually lasted past the month of May.
The Fantasy Basketball regular season is officially completed.
April marks a time when Fantasy enthusiasts shift their attention from the hardwood to the diamond. It's a time when the vast majority of hoops fans reluctantly accept that their Fantasy Basketball dreams have been dashed and start figuring out whether they'll take Jose Mesa, Mike Adams or Danny Graves as their third closer. K.G., Shaq and T-Mac take a backseat to ARod, Vlad and the Unit.
However, if you are one of the select few that still are alive in your Fantasy Hoops league, let me be the first to say congradulations! In a season riddled with injuries, you found a way to move on. That's no small task -- and yes, luck was definitely on your side.
To those who fell short, I hope you enjoyed your tumultuous season. Good fortune is definitely important in all Fantasy games, and with the onslaught of ailments on a slew of the premiere players, many wise hoops managers are finding themselves on the outside looking in at their league's postseasons. I genuinely hope you enjoyed your season here at Sportsline.com and sincerely wish you come back again next year.
This week's Fullcourt Press will scrutinize the free agent pool and showcase 20 potential pick-ups for your potential championship-bound roster. With so many big-name stars stuck on the sidelines, it's comforting to know that you do still have options.
The following statistics are exclusively based on the past two weeks (March 20 - April 2).
| W A I V E R W I R E G E M S | ||||
| PLAYER | PPG | RPG | APG/BPG | MISC |
| 1. Nenad Krstic | 16.0 | 7.1 | 0.9 BPG | 58.0 FG% |
| 2. Dale Davis | 8.1 | 9.0 | 1.7 BPG | 65.7 FG% |
| 3. Maurice Williams | 12.5 | 3.7 | 4.8 APG | 1.5 SPG |
| 4. Dan Gadzuric | 8.5 | 8.6 | 0.8 BPG | 54.0 FG% |
| 5. DaShawn Stevenson | 16.0 | 3.3 | 3.1 APG | 36.9 mins/gm |
| 6. Nick Collison | 10.1 | 7.5 | 1.1 BPG | 61.5 FG% |
| 7. J.R. Smith | 17.4 | 2.6 | 2.6 APG | 14 3s |
| 8. Eddie Griffin | 8.2 | 8.3 | 1.2 BPG | 8 3s |
| 9. Etan Thomas | 10.1 | 6.7 | 0.6 BPG | 52.9 FG% |
| 10. Mickael Pietrus | 16.3 | 4.8 | 0.8 APG | 58.5 FG% |
| 11. Sebastian Telfair | 10.4 | 2.5 | 5.4 APG | 32.6 mins/gm |
| 12. Malik Rose | 12.9 | 7.4 | 0.9 SPG | 32.3 min/gm |
| 13. Othella Harrington | 12.1 | 4.5 | 1.0 APG | 54.8 FG % |
| 14. Antonio Davis | 10.0 | 6.5 | 0.9 BPG | 46.6 FG% |
| 15. Eduardo Najera | 11.5 | 5.6 | 0.8 BPG | 63.1 FG% |
| 16. Tony Delk | 14.4 | 2.7 | 1.4 APG | 12 3s |
| 17. Mike James | 9.4 | 3.8 | 1.9 APG | 7 3s |
| 18. Robert Horry | 10.3 | 5.3 | 0.9 BPG | 11 3s |
| 19. Brent Barry | 10.8 | 4.3 | 2.0 APG | 15 3s |
| 20. Damien Wilkins | 9.1 | 3.4 | 1.3 SPG | 52.8 FG% |
| I N J U R Y B U G |
Antoine Walker (knee) is doubtful for Tuesday's game against the Wizards. Coach Doc Rivers has doubts if he'll be able to play at all this week… Rashard Lewis (foot) is also doubtful for Tuesday's contest against the Kings. He's missed four straight and is too risky to use in your Fantasy playoffs… Grant Hill (shin) and Jameer Nelson (ribcage) are each hopeful to return on Tuesday against the Mavericks… Lamar Odom (shoulder) was placed on the I-L Sunday -- his season is in serious doubt… The Grizzlies placed Stromile Swift on the I-L with an irregular heartbeat. He is expected to be out for the season… Yao Ming (calf) returned from two-game absence on Sunday with a 19-point, 12-rebound contest against the Suns. He should be a safe start for Week 23… Eddie Curry (irregular heartbeat) might be sidelined the remainder of the season. He's expected to get news on Monday on his exact timetable…
You can e-mail your questions to Matt Lawrence at fullcourt@sportsline.com. Be sure to put Attn: Full Court in the subject field. Please be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses or answers to all questions.














