B-Diddy picked a bad week to suddenly disappear from the Clippers’ active roster.
• Baron Davis(notes) will miss at least the
next three games because of back spasms. Steve Blake(notes) makes for an
interesting short-term add in the interim, and particularly if Davis
were to miss even more time. The Clips’ upcoming games are Tuesday
(@MIL), Wednesday (@TOR), Saturday (@DEN), and Sunday (NYK). The
question that remains is how anxious Davis will be to return for the final
few games of the regular season for the 27-46 Clippers, as this news came as a bit of a surprise in the first place.
• Hedo Turkoglu(notes) isn’t expected to miss any more games but he’s also
not expected to rejoin the Raptors’ starting five any time soon.
Jay Triano likes what Sonny Weems(notes) and Antoine Wright(notes) bring to the
starting unit and suddenly feels good about Hedo, Jarrett Jack(notes), and
DeMar DeRozan(notes) being his primary reserves. Tuesday’s box score
should prove to be a pretty good representation of roles and how the
minutes will be distributed for the Raptors the rest of the way.
• Any hope that Andrew Bynum(notes) (Achilles) would return by the end of the current week has been dismissed. He offered the following quote on Monday:
"I was hoping to, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. I’m able to walk with minimal
pain. I can’t really walk very fast without feeling something. I’m just
resting it, trying to stay off it as much as possible."
He’s set to be re-evaluated on Friday, and the earliest he could possibly return would be April 8, as the Lakers play Sunday and then have three consecutive days off. If he were to return on that target date, he’d be available for the Lakers’ final five regular season games (over a span of seven days). If carrying an inactive player will cost you your current matchup, then you need to make a move now. If you can afford to carry him, I’d suggest doing so at least through the Friday update to see what kind of progress he’s made to that point.
• Tyreke Evans(notes) practiced with the Kings on Monday and will return to the lineup Tuesday. Expect some rust, as he’s been inactive for 11 days and struggled to deal with a new mouthpiece during Monday’s activities. … Also for the Kings: Spencer Hawes(notes) (back) will play, Francisco Garcia(notes) (wrist) and Omri Casspi(notes) (illness) are out.
• Vince Carter(notes) (toe) is day-to-day and Otis Smith called his
injury "nothing
major." With the Magic off until Thursday, VC has a few more days
to rest and we aren’t likely to know his specific availability until
game day.
• Manu Ginobili(notes) was a surprise scratch Monday
because of back spasms, but as of now he expects to be back in
the lineup on Wednesday.
• Kevin Martin(notes) (shoulder) will miss his third consecutive game Tuesday and his status for Wednesday has to be considered very questionable as well. The Rockets’ remaining games for Week 23 are Friday (@BOS) and Sunday (@IND)
• Jermaine O’Neal’s(notes) status for the team’s upcoming three-game road trip may be determined when the team practices Tuesday. He played just seven minutes Friday and was a DNP Sunday because of a hyper-extended right knee. The Heat play Wednesday (@DET), Friday (@IND), and Saturday (@MIN), and then have three consecutive days off. Joel Anthony(notes) will get the starts if/when O’Neal can’t go – he’s averaged 4.6 points, 5.1 boards, and 2.1 blocks in his 11 starts so far.
• For
the 76ers: Louis Williams(notes) (back) is "ready to go" for Tuesday’s
game. … Andre Iguodala(notes) did not practice Monday because of plantar
fasciitis but will play Tuesday. … Thaddeus Young(notes) (thumb) remains out.
• I’m not ready to say that Darren Collison(notes) owners should panic after watching him play 21 minutes Monday (17 points, 2 threes, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 steal). The Hornets pulled out an excellent win over a "big" Lakers squad in front of the home crowd, so Paul’s minutes were a bit inflated (39). They are out of playoff contention, so Paul won’t be seeing that much playing time on a nightly basis. In standard leagues, I’d at least see what Collison’s line looks like against the Wizards on Wednesday before executing an add/drop.
• Schedule notes: everybody plays Wednesday [schedule], and then only Orlando has three games the rest of the week [team schedules]. You can also get four straight games from one roster spot if you have Barnes active for Thursday/Friday and then add someone from one of five teams for Saturday/Sunday (LAC, MIN, NJN, OKC, TOR).
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