By Vidur Malik

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Of the many recent trades in the NBA recently, the one between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Charlotte Bobcats isn’t getting much publicity nationwide, but it is one that seems to have worked out for both teams, especially the Blazers.

Portland traded center Joel Pryzbilla, forward Sean Marks, power forward Dante Cunningham and two first-round picks for forward Gerald Wallce. The Trail Blazers gave up a lot for one guy, but Wallace brings a lot to his new team and can help in several ways.

With the Bobcats, Wallace averaged 15.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and in three games with the Blazers, he’s averaged 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. His numbers have dropped, but as he gets more comfortable with his new team, they should go back up. His steals per game have gone up from 1.2 to 2.0 since being traded, and he’s a great athlete who regularly gets play-of-the-night worthy blocks and dunks. Portland didn’t really have that kind of athlete on its roster, so Wallace brings a new element to the team.

Meanwhile, the new Bobcats have not done much since being traded. Pryzbilla and Marks have not scored a point as Bobcats so far, and Cunningham hasn’t played more than 12 minutes in a game. The first-round draft picks are for this year’s draft and for the 2013 draft, and they should help a young Bobcats team that has the pieces for success. Pryzbilla, Cunningham, and Marks could be key role players in Charlotte for a while, but as of now, the Blazers are getting a more immediate impact since the trade.

If you’ve got Wallace on your team, expect more of the same stats he’s been putting up this year. He’s a great player to have coming off the bench to give Portland a boost. It looks like he’s getting close to the same amount of minutes he was getting in Charlotte, so he can still play the same role in Portland. His statline in the Blazers’ 103-87 loss to the Houston Rockets on Mar. 1 is indicative of the many ways in which he can help your team. In that game Wallace had 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and went 3-4 from 3-point range. He can be Portland’s third or fourth-leading scorer and has a chance to be the team’s most complete player.

Look for Wallace to become a crucial part of the Blazers this season and beyond, and expect him to contribute significantly to your fantasy team.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

One and done is often a phrase used by the quick exit strategy of college freshman hoops stars. Kentucky last year had a slew of them with all five going in the first round of the 2010 draft. The downside to this all the time remains that only a small percentage contribute right away. The rest are drafted on potential for years down the road. Case in point, DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins has carried over many of the concerns on his work ethic, maturity, and attitude issues to the NBA Casino Games Online . Resulting in multiple suspensions, fines, and an NBA coach having to baby sit Cousins when he shouldn’t have too.

Cousins is acting like an immature college student, which is where he should be. A sophomore on a Kentucky team possibly leading them further than their exit of last season.

The NBA seems to be getting younger and younger and it is. Teams are having to drift further out to find seasoned athletes to offset rookies not ready to play. Venturing to international teams to pickup players that couldn’t make it in the NBA out of college, but have grown their game overseas. The development league has also helped fill out rosters.

Tyler Hansbrough is an example of how the NBA Draft is supposed to work. The team realized they were aging depth wise, but also realized Hansbrough would need to be brought along slowly. Not be useless and sit on the bench, but earn his minutes based on his play. Jeff Foster and Mike Dunleavy aren’t necessarily going to be on the Pacers team a year from now or two years. Hansbrough is the guy that the Pacers truly believed will fill in and be able to start.

Hansbrough’s rookie season was filled with injuries, but thus far in his sophomore campaign he has proven to be a quiet gem. His energy has translated to many hustle points, and the older Pacers are feeding off that. The Pacers bench is now becoming a force. When AJ Price, Hansbrough, and rookie Paul George enter , the intensity is going to be raised on both ends. It all starts and leads based on Hansbrough. A simple deflection out of bounds or a missed put back affects Hansbrough tremendously. His expressions show it, and he plays with a huge amount of emotion on the court.

Good for Indiana. They’ve drafted properly. Notice the trend of their younger athletes and what their class of collegiate ranks were coming out. AJ Price, Hansbrough, and Danny Granger. Even Roy Hibbert and Paul George at least played multiple years in college.

Hansbrough currently is available in 83% of Yahoo Leagues. Don’t expect that too last much longer. After the All-Star break you’d expect Hansbrough’s minutes to increase. Indiana is in the race for the eighth seed, but the future relies with their depth and bench rotation. He has had a solid January and February statistically and will be garnering more minutes if his play keeps up.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Portland’s become accustomed to revamping their rosters due to injuries the past few years. Somehow their bench players have been able to produce and translate Nate McMillan’s system into wins. Whatever it is, the spell of injuries usually continue to plague the Blazers throughout the year. For a change, the Trailblazers have players actually returning to the court. The percentage of their health remains up in the air.

For Marcus Camby he is obviously a 16 year NBA veteran. He still is a force though and a potential double double machine on a given night. His length is what the Trailblazers need desperately. They’ll no longer have to rely on LaMarcus Aldridge to play the five. Expect Joel Pryzbilla and Camby to split time and average around twenty plus minutes a game. When Camby is back in NBA shape he’ll likely creep closer to the thirty minute range.

The big shake up for fantasy owners is how Brandon Roy’s return is going to affect the key contributors of the Trailblazers. Roy’s knee woes aren’t going to go away. He is young though so may be able to handle the recovery better than others. Doubtful, but we will see. Obviously he is a capable All-Star, but when he was on the court this year he looked two of lost more than a few steps. The Blazers have a lot invested in Roy, and will not over exert him.

From a fantasy standpoint we don’t believe Aldridge takes a backseat at all. He has moved to the leader of this team and will be the number one option from here on. As any big man dominant player should be in the NBA. The three guys that may get lost in the shuffle on any given night would be Wesley Matthews, Rudy Fernandez, and Nicholas Batum. With Fernandez being hurt the worst since he is a non starter in the Blazers current rotation.

Keep in mind, at the start of the season, Wesley Matthews was playing his old role that he filled spectacularly last year with the Jazz. A top bench player that was playing behind Roy. In that early season role, Matthews struggled to get consistent minutes. As a result his reliability was shaky. He only averaged 9.5 points in those eleven contests. Adjusting to a new team is always hard.

How McMillan handles Matthews minutes will be interesting. From the start Roy should be coming off the bench for at least ten to twelve games. Will Matthews play rise or decline with the pressure of Roy in the back of his mind? Matthews went undrafted in many fantasy basketball drafts before being a hot commodity on the waiver wire.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Displacing a team always has its reasons. The Magic were dreadful and reshuffling was needed. Vince Carter was the front runner to needing to be replaced, but the packaging of players is where often times teams make mistakes. General managers want that extra key player to think they’ve got the edge on the trade. Currently, it’s still a toss up on who has the better advantage between the Suns and Magic, of the trade.

Vince Carter isn’t the main contributor for the Suns from the trade. The guy that is, is Marcin Gortat. Gortat has turned the Suns around as of late, becoming a force down low and giving the Suns consistent double doubles. Robin Lopez’s role for the future is unknown, and the Suns will have a key decision to make on who they’re going to promote permanently as the starter.

The bonus for the Suns is that they received a 2011 first round draft pick from Orlando, cash consideration, and the unloading of the hefty salaries of Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu. It’ll be interesting to see who the Suns land with that pick.

Shifting back to the Orlando Magic. Breaking down the athletes that they received. Jason Richardson’s been hot and cold thus far. The barometer for Richardson to the Magic’s liking is that he can knock down the three. Basically he is filling the role that Rashard Lewis dismissed from his talents in 2010. A role in which he played to perfection in the 2009 playoffs. Chucking five to seven threes a game is what Richardson provides. Come playoff time, a hot Richardson could be the key for the Magic.

A throw in basically in the trade, seemed to be Earl Clark. Clark is a 6’10 athletic forward that struggled his first few seasons with the Suns. For whatever reason he never made it off the bench and was in Gentry’s permanent doghouse. Too start the month of February though, Clark is playing well and defending solid with his length.

His minutes will likely increase as the season goes on.

Is that a good thing though?

The big problem with Orlando lies with their depth. Their like a strong college team with their starting lineup. Playing Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Ryan Anderson. Howard’s taking on full length minutes pretty much every game. Resting him even for a few minutes the Magic fall apart. Teams can hit the glass without fear, and attack the hoop without worry.

The only other big men the Magic have is Brandon Bass, who will be back post All-Star break, and aged veteran Malik Allen. Expect the Magic to make some kind of a move to get one more prime big man.

The Magic’s biggest problem is with their trade for Gilbert Arenas. He isn’t near to 100 percent and looks like he may be at his current level for awhile. The knee issues and surgeries seem to have slowed him down quite a bit. He still is crafty enough offensively to get off decent shots, but on the defensive side he is a huge liability. Against quality point guards he doesn’t stand a chance to keep them in front of him.

Orlando’s keeping his minutes down, obviously to keep him from breaking down and to hopefully play him more in the post-season. It’s hard to say the facts, seeing that Arenas was a premier athlete and All-Star just a few years ago. But the Magic are in serious trouble with their bench being of the likes of JJ Redick, a broken down Arenas, and Earl Clark.

We’ve seen the frustration of Dwight Howard lead to a league high in technicals thus far. How much longer before he blasts out due to poor mismanagement and another faltering season?

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Dominating on a college level as an athlete with size, tends to be misleading when looking for that on the professional level. Ike Diogu was a force in his Pac-10 days at Arizona State, and one of the conferences leaders. His stock seemed to be sky high, and sure enough he was drafted as an elite player, ninth overall by the Golden State Warriors.

Partly fault the system of the Warriors for Diogu’s poor performances. He just couldn’t keep pace with the ragged system Don Nelson was running. Soon he was waddling on the bench, and becoming one of Donnie’s dog house buried players. After two poor years there, he was dealt with Mike Dunleavy in a package to Indiana. Once again, he just didn’t get involved with the team from a chemistry standpoint.

Then the whirlwind of the inevitable began. A player on the cusp of being exited permanently out of the NBA, holding on by bouncing around. Diogu was on the rosters of four different teams seeing little to no minutes with all, before a knee injury forced him to miss the complete 2010 season.

He received a training camp invite this year to the Detroit Pistons which did not pan out. It looked like Diogu would be heading his way overseas to earn his living. Then the injuries piled up for the LA Clippers. Chris Kaman and Craig Smith both went down and the Clippers had to search quickly for a big man to fill the void.

The bulk of the minutes just slid over to DeAndre Jordan. A rookie unpolished big man that has done a fabulous job in his first year. Ike was signed to spell Jordan on an unguaranteed contract. Over the past five to seven games his minutes have increased because of his play. Rejuvenated to not be forced overseas and realizing this was likely his last chance, he has given A plus effort on the court.

Maybe that’s what it took for Diogu. His back against the wall, and no longer living off his initial rookie guaranteed contract of 2005. He is only 27, and as long as he knee can hold up, he can play in the NBA for quite awhile. He just needs to exert constant effort nightly to prevent himself from getting lost in the shuffle. No matter what happens when the Clippers big men get healthy, Diogu has shown enough for other teams to sign him to a guaranteed deal.

Thus far in February’s games, Diogu is getting near 20 minutes a game. Averaging 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per. If he can add some shot blocks to his resume, he’d be worth a deep flyer in rotisserie leagues. Especially considering Kaman’s consistent injury issues, and Smith out with a herniated disc.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Blake Griffin has stole the rookie showcase this year. Becoming an All-Star and being a fixture on ESPN’s sportscenter night in and night out. Development as a rookie isn’t supposed to be that easy. Learning and growing in time is a challenge to all rookies. Even John Wall is having a rough go. After torching teams early in the year, he has struggled with injuries and consistency.

A couple big men though are starting to produce and earn more minutes on their teams. Availability of a big man is huge in rotisserie leagues. Stat categories such as field goal percentage, rebounds, and blocks can never be overlooked if options are available.

Greg Monroe–41% Owned in Yahoo Leagues

For the first few months of the season it looked like you could officially label, Monroe, as a left too early player. Nevermind that, he has came to life and is out dueling other big men in the league on certain nights. His quick and agile, and at 6’10 is causing problems. His left handed finishes you know he is going to go to, but is very tough to stop. In the month of January and the first few games of February, Monroe is averaging nearly a double-double, with a couple steals to go with it. January 30^th he had 15 points and 17 rebounds against the Knicks, and February 4^th he posted another gem with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Trevor Booker– 1% Owned in Yahoo Leagues

Booker is more of a player to keep your eye on, but will be moving up in the Wizards rotation. Flip Saunders keeps reducing the minutes of Andray Blatche and Javele McGee as of late. McGee has had issues sustaining energy on the court, and Blatche seems to have taken a step back after breaking out last season. Rookies are always hungry, and when Booker comes into the game he provides hustle and tenacity. Another left handed player, that stays active on the glass. Against the Magic, they were torched for 20 plus offensive rebounds. Something that shouldn’t happen with the size and athleticism of Blatche and McGee. In a little over 20 minutes Friday against the Magic he provided a spark and finished with six points, six boards, and a staggering six blocks. He has shown what he can do with starting minutes. In back to back games January 28^th and 29^th, he had 21 points and 12 rebounds, then 12 points and 12 rebounds.