Kobe's Return

The lead story all season in LakersLand has revolved, of course, around Kobe Bryant and when he'll return to the court with his repaired left Achilles tendon.

After his second practice on Tuesday (Bryant's first practice came on Saturday prior to Sunday's game and Monday's off day) at the team's facility went quite well, his being announced in the starting line up appears increasingly imminent.

Bryant looked like ... well ... Kobe Bryant in the limited portion of practice media was able to watch (see video below), doing everything from cutting, jumping, twisting, sprinting and the like. The 18-year veteran said he's "pleasantly surprised" with how he's moving, and several of his teammates raved about how surprised they were to see him operating with such fluidity after seven months of rehabilitation.

His coach, Mike D'Antoni, does want to be careful despite being impressed with Bryant's play on the court.

"He looked real active," said D'Antoni. "But again, I just want to urge caution because we’re going to take it easy. "I know it’s hard to with all the speculation, but this is one good step, but he needs (to make) a few more steps."

As a bottom line, could Bryant envision himself playing in November*?
*The Lakers play on Nov. 22, 24, 26, 27 and 29.

"Yeah, I can," he nodded.

To make sure you don't miss anything No. 24 said, here's a full transcript of his post-practice interview:

KOBE BRYANT PRACTICE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:
Q: On how he feels he is practicing right now:
Bryant: I’m pleasantly surprised how I’m moving. It’s always different once you get out there and start playing.

Q: On if cautious is the right word for him at this time:
Bryant: Yeah, that’s always a big key. Taking it piece-by-piece, day-by-day. Today was a pretty good start.

Q: On his conditioning level:
Bryant: I felt fine. I’ve been doing a great deal of conditioning so I didn’t feel tired. My legs didn’t feel tired at all.

Q: On if he had to hold back at all during practice:
Bryant: No, not really. I just went out there and played and tried to do what I normally do, and try to figure out some things about my game, what I can do at this stage, what I can’t do at this stage.

Q: On how it felt for him mentally to just get out there and practice:
Bryant: It felt good to compete, move around, play with my guys, play against my guys. It feels good to just get out there and move.

Q: On if he’s anxious to return:
Bryant: Of course, of course. That’s definitely something we’re chomping at the bit a little bit. We’ve come so far, we have to make sure when we step out there, we’re ready to go the long haul and it’s not something we have to monitor

Q: On if there are any limitations as to what he can and cannot do now:
Bryant: I wouldn’t say limitations. I think there are still areas that need to be stronger in terms of jumping, being able to plant quickly, change directions and things like that. Those are areas you just need to get stronger, but I can adjust my game and play at a pretty high level right now.

Q: On how his ankle feels in terms of range of motion:
Bryant: It feels fine. The ankle feels good. We did a really good job. The range of motion is good. The big thing, obviously, is after today (to) see how it feels later on in the day and see how it feels tomorrow. We’ll do a bunch of work on it today and tonight, and see how it feels tomorrow.

Q: On how he felt the day after Saturday’s practice:
Bryant: It felt fine. I’ve been training pretty damn hard.

Q: On if he was surprised about anything he could:
Bryant: No, not really. Honestly I wasn’t really looking for doing things I was doing well. I was kind of looking for things that I can’t do and areas where I need to get a little stronger.

Q: On if he knows any possible target date on when he wants to return:
Bryant: I don’t know. It’s tough to say. I have to monitor how it goes today and see if I can come back tomorrow and go full bore.

Q: On the question marks around him coming into today and where he feels he’s at now:
Bryant: (Figuring out) whether or not I’m the 25th best player in the world.

Q: On where he’s at mentally and trying to play at the level he knows he can play: Bryant: You just have to go with the flow and just react. You have limitations and you have to self-assess and be honest with yourself. If you have those limitations, you have to figure out a way to be effective around those. You can’t be stubborn about it. If there are certain things I used to do I can’t do now, I won’t try to do them. You have to figure out another way.

Q: On if there is anything that he did today that made him realize he made more progress in certain areas that he thought otherwise:
Bryant: I’m a lot, lot stronger – a lot, lot stronger. I’m able to hold defenders off pretty easily with my off hand and maintain position in the post and things like that. I’m much, much stronger.

Q: On his return being based on the mindset he’ll do so when he feels like he can dominant again:
Bryant: My responsibility is to make life easier for my teammates. That’s really been my job. That’s Pau (Gasol’s) job. To command double-teams, to command defenses where you can get your guys open looks and high-percentage opportunities. If I can step on the floor and do that, that’s an accomplishment.

Q: On if he feels like he can play at a dominant level when he returns:
Bryant: I don’t know. We’ll see. It’s always different when you get on the practice floor and perform and it’s always different when the game actually starts. It remains to be seen.

Q: On a renewed appreciation being away from the game for an extended period of time:
Bryant: There’s always a much greater appreciation cause you understand the mortality that comes along with it. Kind of being on that doorstep so it’s always a sense of enjoyment when you actually come back.

Q: On walking out to the practice court with the team:
Bryant: It felt good. You put the jersey on and you walk out to practice. It felt like it was 1997 again and I was getting my first start as a pro.

Q: On what sense he got from his teammates on Saturday:
Bryant: They knew when I came in, they saw me grabbing my jersey and they knew I was going to be out there on the court. They knew they had to bring their A-game.

Q: On his relationship with Steve Nash as he tries to recover from his injury:
Bryant: Steve and I have been extremely close through this process. Just talking, just talking. The last few games, he and I have been in the back watching the game, talking about the game, talking about other things. I understand the frustration that comes along with it.

Q: On if he thinks Nash can return from his current injury:
Bryant: Sure, that’s part of our job as teammates is to pick each other up and put him in position to where he can be extremely efficient and extremely successful. It’s about us covering for each other.

Q: On what he envisions from this group in the Western Conference:
Bryant: I don’t know. I still have to figure it out. The West is obviously very deep and the important thing is to not focus on what the West looks like. You have to focus on yourself and play the schedule you have.

Q: On Jordan Hill and what he’s given the team so far:
Bryant: Tremendous. He really worked hard this summer and got himself into good shape, shed some weight; he’s extremely strong, (has) long arms, athletic. He has a knack for the ball and is great around the rim. He has a great touch on the low post and a great touch on the perimeter. He’s been a pleasant surprise.

MORNING SHOOTAROUND — NOV. 19

NEWS OF THE MORNING

Waiters details Cavs’ team meeting, his illness | Curry takes nasty spill vs. Jazz | Asik back at Rockets practice | Smith: Hawks never made long-term offer

No. 1: Waiters back at practice; discusses players-only meeting — Two of the more popular topics of late, at least in terms of news related to the Cleveland Cavaliers, have been a players-only meeting andDion Waiters‘ health. News on the players’ only meeting was broken by ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst, who wrote that the Cavs might be dealing with some chemistry issues after tempers flared during the meeting. In terms of Waiters’ health, that has been a touchy topic around Cavs fans. Waiters missed the team’s last two games, with C.J. Miles getting the start instead of Waiters. At any rate, Waiters cleared up both his mysterious illness and the team meeting, as Bob Finnan of The News-Hearld & Morning Journalreports:

Cavaliers shooting guard Dion Waiters insists he was “sick” over the weekend, which would dispute wide-spread rumors that he was suspended.

He also contends no punches were thrown at a now-famous, players-only meeting last Wednesday.

Waiters said he was prescribed medicine, and missed games Friday and Saturday. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder was back at practice on Monday at Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Whether he’ll be back in the starting lineup is anyone’s guess.

…

Waiters said guard Kyrie Irving called the players-only meeting, and things got a bit testy.

“I think it was productive,” he said. “I think it helped. I think we needed it as far as a team and all the built-up frustration, especially when you want to win and you want to win now. So I think that helped us.”

He said there were no physical confrontations.

“Nobody got into (any) altercations or anything like that,” he said. “We got everything off our chests that we needed to. All the other rumors, man, are rumors. Don’t believe it. It’s not true. We talked. Everybody talked. Nobody put their hands on (anybody).”

He said the players vented and got some things off their chest.

“People said what they felt,” Waiters said. “I said what I felt. Other guys said what they felt. At the end of the day, (we’re) men, so we’ve got to get it off our chest, especially being a players-only meeting, we’ve got to say what we feel.

“It’s not good to keep something inside that’s going to keep building and keep building and you don’t say (anything) about it. So at the end of the day, everybody said something.”

…

Waiters said the meeting was productive.

“At the end of the day, we’re grown men,” he said. “I think we should be able to talk to one another and say what we feel. If I go on the court every night, I make sure I’ve got every one of my teammates’ back. Right or wrong. No matter what. I feel as though it’s vice versa.

“At the end of the day, we should be able to come to one another and say something and tell them how we feel, what we don’t like, what we do like in certain situations. That’s what we did. That’s what we talked about.”

…

Among the players who spoke up were Waiters, Irving, Miles and Tristan Thompson.
“At the end of the day, we’re teammates,” he said. “Like I said, ‘I’d rather fight somebody else on the other team than one of my teammates.’ That’s the way it is. That’s the way I was brought up. I feel as though we say we’re family, then we’re a family and I’m going to look out for you to the best of my abilities. All the other stuff is foolishness.”

He said being in the starting lineup is out of his hands.

“The only thing I can do is come prepared,” he said. “I can’t control those types of things. I can only do my job.”

Waiters said he feeling much better.

“I’m doing good,” he said. “I feel better. I had a cold.

“I know what happened. That’s some people’s job just to think stuff that happened that didn’t. I knew what happened. I knew what took place. What happened was I just got sick at that time. Of course, everybody’s going to think otherwise. But everybody on the team and I knew what really happened. So I’m good.”

Waiters said he’s ready to play in Wednesday’s game.

“I’ll be back,” he said. “I’m ready. I feel a little bit better. It’s going to go away on its own, still lingering. But I got medicine. I’ll be back.”

No. 2: Curry suffers bad headache vs. Jazz — With just under nine minutes left in the Warriors’ game in Salt Lake City against the Jazz, guard Steph Curry drove the lane. He was knocked down trying to pass out of a trap and fell and while he was on the ground, Jazz forward Marvin Williams fell on Curry’s head. The Golden State guard’s head hit the court hard and he left the game, but told the Contra Costa Times‘Marcus Thompson II that he merely suffered a bad headache afterward:

Warriors point guard Stephen Curry had no shirt on and a grin plastered on his face, holding one finger in the air as the locker room TV showed his Carolina Panthers win.

…

With just under nine minutes left in the game, Curry drove the lane and was cut off. He was knocked down trying to pass out of the trap. While Curry was on the floor, Jazz forward Marvin Williams fell on top of Curry’s head, smashing the left side of his face into the hardwood.

The Warriors star lay facedown on the court for several minutes, his teammates and coach Mark Jackson standing over him.

Eventually, Curry rolled onto his back, then sat up. He was helped up, then walked off under his own power to the locker room with head athletic trainer Johan Wang.

Curry said he never lost consciousness. But the gravity of head injuries wasn’t lost on him.

“I haven’t had any concussion episodes before,” Curry said. “When I first hit, it rung my bell pretty hard. I made sure I took my time. I didn’t want to put myself in jeopardy for the next game, especially with the lead we had. … The way it felt, it was definitely pretty serious.”

No. 3: Asik back at practice in Houston — The trade talk surrounding the Rockets and big man Omer Asik hasn’t died down. But his teammates in Houston are trying to not let it get to them. Asik didn’t play against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday because he was deemed sick at the time, but he returned to practice on Monday and Asik’s teammates were glad to see him back, writes Adam Wexler of CSNHouston.com:

By all accounts it was business as usual for the Houston Rockets at their Monday practice in advance of their game with the Boston Celtics in Houston on Tuesday night. The only thing unusual about that is things were not that way for the last couple of days for the team.

Rockets center Omer Asik returned to practice for the first time since he reportedly demanded a trade and was deemed unavailable for Saturday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets.

His teammates and coach seemed pleased about his presence and were ready to put it behind them.

“I’m happy. We can use him,” Chandler Parsons said. “Obviously, he’s been a big part of his team. I understand his frustration. It’s got to be difficult, he wants to play.

“But he’s here, he’s on the Rockets” Parsons said. “So he should be practicing with us, he should be playing with us trying to help us win games.”

…

Clearly the reason Asik is frustrated is due the acquisition of Dwight Howard, who, as expected, has become the Rockets new starting center.

“(I’m) glad he’s back out there,” Howard said. “We’re trying to accomplish something great here and everybody has to be all-in. There’s going to be some adversity but we have to stick together.

Howard said he and the team are looking ahead regarding the situation, rather than focusing on what transpired.

“That’s behind us, he apologized for it,” Howard said. “We have to move on, we can’t dwell on it. We can’t make it an issue. We all have to be understanding, empathize with him and keep moving forward.”

No. 4: Hawks never talked extension with Smith — During the offseason, the Hawks were one of a handful of teams to make a free-agency pitch to big man Dwight Howard out in L.A. as he weighed offers from the Lakers, Warriors, Rockets and Hawks. Howard, of course, ultimately chose Houston. Atlanta had a solid free agent of its own to possibly woo in Josh Smith, but that apparently never happened. Smith spoke with an Atlanta radio station and detailed why there was a lack of a conversation with the Hawks to have him come back to the team, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Hawks general manager Danny Ferry has previously said the team did not make Josh Smith a contract offer once he became an unrestricted free agent this summer. Smith gave some more detail into the Hawks’ lack of interest this summer in a radio interview with 92.9 FM Monday.

“No, there wasn’t,” Smith said when asked if there was a contract offer. “During free agency, during that period, there were a lot of guys out in L.A. that were meeting with various teams. I was one of those guys. That’s where I work out in the summertime as well. The only time I saw the Hawks during free agency was when they came to one of my workouts just to say hello. I think they were meeting with Dwight Howard that day. They never came in or sat down with me during the free agency period to offer me anything.”

…

The forward returns to Atlanta Wednesday for his first game at Philips Arena as a visitor. The deal with the Pistons was below the maximum he could have received from the Hawks. He could have signed a four-year deal with another team for a maximum of $70 million. The Hawks could have signed him to a five-year deal for a maximum of $94.3 million.

“As it relates to his returning to the Hawks I spoke to Josh during the season, both before the trade deadline and after, about where his head was regarding his future here as well as our intentions,” Ferry told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I also had steady and open communication with his agents Brian Dyke and Wallace Prather during the season as well as during the summer.  Although we both decided it was best to move in different directions, I wish him well.  Josh was obviously a very important part of several good seasons for the Hawks and he did wonderful things in the Atlanta community.”

Smith, who is top 10 in most of the Hawks’ all-time statistical categories after nine years with the organization, said he has no hard feelings.

“Once you take your personal feelings out of the situation you understand that it is a business, more so than anything,” Smith said. “You kind of are going to set yourself up for failure. It’s probably an organization that probably wanted to go in a different direction and I understand that. I moved on for the better of my situation and I’m pretty sure they felt the same way.”

Smith said he is looking forward to an opportunity to come back home and stay in the home he still has here. How he will be greeted by Hawks fans remains to be seen.

“I’m having mixed emotions,” Smith said. “I know that my friends and family are going to be happy to see me there. I don’t necessarily know what is going to happen with the rest of the fans. I’m just coming to win a basketball game. That is pretty much it. I’m coming in there being focused to win a game, get off on the right foot, and I’m not necessarily concerned with how the crowd is going to receive me.”

***

SOME RANDOM HEADLINES: Jazz rookie Trey Burke cleared to do some contract drills … Hawks forwardElton Brand tried Twitter for a day … and then retired from it … Tobias Harris returned to practice for the Magic yesterday … Foes are starting to praise the Bobcats for their defensive work this season

ICYMI Of The Night: The Bobcats are hovering around .500 as they have all season and part of that has been due to the improved play of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who shows off his passing skills with this inbounds dish to Gerald Henderson …

WOLVES, WIZARDS ON DIFFERENT PATHS

HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – In an effort to soften the blow, we put our sunglasses on when scanning back at our preseason predictions for this season.

There are so many hits and misses, it helps to have a little shade to work with for the ugly misses. For every prediction we hit out of the park (thank you Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves), there is a prediction that seems to go horribly wrong (there’s that mess in Cleveland and, of course, that wobbly start from John Wall and the Washington Wizards).

The BluBlockers are needed for tonight’s Timberwolves-Wizards matchup tonight in D.C. (7 p.m. ET, League Pass), a duel between teams on very different paths early on this season. Both teams are loaded with young talent and have quality depth. But the results have been vastly different for the two teams that are inextricably linked — Wizards coach Randy Wittman used to be Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman while the boss in Minnesota, Flip Saunders, once coached the Wizards.

While Wall and the Wizards have struggled to an ugly 2-7 start, including their current four-game losing streak, Love and the Timberwolves have shown themselves to be an exciting and aggressive crew.

At 7-4, the Wolves are living up to all of the hype, internal and otherwise. Love, Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin,Nikola Pekovic, J.J. Barea and Co. have managed to take on heightened expectations and handle them appropriately. Throw in that Chase Budinger is back and practicing with the team and Minnesota is looking even better.

Love is in the MVP mix, coach Rick Adelman‘s got his supporting cast thriving and the roster’s balance and depth is finally paying dividends. The Wolves are in the midst of back-to-back grueling stretches of five games in seven nights, a mettle-testing, early-season grind that will could serve them well months from now.

Tonight’s game kicks off a monster week that will see Adelman’s team face off against the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night at home and the Brooklyn Nets Friday at the Target Center. Then comes a road date in Houston with the Rockets on Saturday and they’ll finish this stretch up in Indiana on Nov. 25.

Happy Thanksgiving!

“I don’t know if [the league schedule-makers] know that we’re almost to Canada and Houston’s almost all the way to Mexico,” Adelman told reporters Monday.

When your team is top three in the league in scoring and set to get another boost whenever Budinger returns to the rotation, none of the teams you are blindsiding will grant you any sympathy.

The Wizards, meanwhile, could use a little sympathy … and anything else they can get right now. When their owner, Ted Leonsis, used every opportunity in the lead up to the season to tout his team as a legitimate playoff contender in the East, he surely did not envision this humbling start.

Signing Wall to an $80 million maximum contract extension in August was supposed to be a sign of the commitment Leonsis was making not only to the young face of the franchise, but to the future. Wall was not only going to be the change agent for the Wizards on the court, his extension was also supposed to serve as the symbolic change in the way the Wizards did business going forward.

Veterans would see that the organization was serious about putting the resources in the right places and taking that next step from playoff pretender to contender. But it didn’t take long for reality to set in. As sound as the plan looked on paper, the Wizards simply didn’t have the right mix.

As talented as Wall and his backcourt mate, Bradley Beal – one of a handful of early candidates for the league’s Most Improved Player award — surely are, something is still missing.

As my The Beat colleague and TNT’s own David Aldridge pointed out in The Morning Tip, Wall does not shoulder the burden of the Wizards’ slow start on his own. They’re not the same defensive monster they were a year ago, not with Marcin Gortat taking Emeka Okafor‘s place in the lineup.

A top-10 defensive unit last season, the Wizards are now a top-10 scoring team but falling woefully short on the defensive side. As DA pointed out, the slightest tweak to the Wizards’ rotation and chemistry has altered the product on the floor dramatically:

Nene, whose antipathy for banging in the post was well-known, was especially good with Okafor. The quintet of Nene, Okafor, Martell Webster, Bradley Beal and Wall was one of the league’s best defensive fivesomes last year. It’s not that Gortat is a horrible defender. He tries. But opponents, according to the league’s player tracking stats, are shooting 56.7 percent against him on shots at the rim. (By comparison, opponents are shooting 31.4 and 31.5 percent, respectively, on shots at the rim against New Orleans’ Anthony Davis and Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez.)

“March has done a good job for us,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said Saturday. “No question, ‘Mek was solid back there for us, the last line of defense for us, with his basketball knowledge. I think what March brings, though, is that big guy who can challenge at the rim. He’s also got a very good IQ. Defense is a matter of getting your knees dirty each and every night. It’s not a fun thing, but it’s a valuable thing. That’s where we have to get back to, understanding how valuable that is for us to be a good team.”

A good team?

How about a playoff team?

After all, that’s what we all predicted for the ‘Wolves and Wizards this season. But as of right now only one of these teams is living up to that expectation.

2013-14 Fantasy Rankings Ladder

With the first two weeks of the season in the books, we have plenty of game film to study and evaluate our preseason rankings and provide our first in-season update. And as you can see below, there has been plenty of movement.
(Rankings as of Nov. 15, 2013)

Rank	Player	Pos. Rank	Movement	Update
1	Kevin Durant | SF | OKC	SF 1		11/15: 2.2 ppg scoring lead over Kevin Love for #1 spot in the league. Has done all and anything owners/Thunder have asked of him thus far.
2	LeBron James | SF, PF | MIA	SF 2, PF 1		11/15: LeBron owners may be a bit concerned (Ppg, Rpg, Apg all down), but take heed to the fact that his FG & 3pt %'s are at a career high.
3	Kevin Love | PF, C | MIN	PF 2, C 1		11/15 (up from No. 7): Joe Cocker's classic "Up Where We Belong" couldn't be more perfect to describe K. Love's start. Career highs in Ppg (27.1) & Apg (5.1) to go w/14.2 Rpg, which is just where we like him.
4	Anthony Davis | PF, C | NOP	PF 3, C 2		11/15 (up from No. 12): Owners who rolled the dice on a mid-late 1st rd pick on AD are beaming. Has been good for 21-11-3 blk 2 stl a night, shooting FTs @ 87%
5	Stephen Curry | PG, SG | GSW	PG 1, SG 1		11/15: Scoring slightly down but hooking up teammates at a career rate (8.5 Apg). Iggy's addition alleviating Curry's need to put up mid 20 ppg.
6	Chris Paul | PG | LAC	PG 2		11/15: Diming at an insane rate (12.8 per night). 20.4 Ppg through 9 gms putting him on pace to have his highest scoring avg since '08-'09 season.
7	James Harden | SG, SF | HOU	SG 2, SF 3		11/15 (down from No. 3): 30+ pts in 4 of Houston's 10 games. +5 assists in each game he was held under 30.
8	Paul George | SG, SF | IND	SG 3, SF 4		11/15 (up from No. 11): Scoring up 7 ppg, along with FG% & 3pt%. Basically he's improved exactly where he's needed to in order to crack the Top 10.
9	Carmelo Anthony | SF, PF | NYK	SF 5, PF 4		11/15: Boarding and diming at a high rate compared to year's past, and the Knicks are going to lean on him as much as ever.
10	Russell Westbrook | PG | OKC	PG 3		11/15 (up from No. 30): OKC fans have had Baby Bash ft. Akon's "Baby, I'm Back" in their head for 2 weeks now w/Russ back. 31-9-5 & 3 stl Thurs vs. GS to justify.
11	Kyrie Irving | PG | CLE	PG 4		11/15 (down from No. 6): Slight rise in Apg & Rpg, but he's shooting a woeful 38.6% from the field. That'll be rectified in due time however.
12	Al Horford | PF, C | ATL	PF 5, C 3		11/15 (up from No. 18): Giving you what he usually does plus a smidge more scoring (19.4 Ppg). Coexisting with Millsap very nicely.
13	John Wall | PG | WAS	PG 5		11/15: Pros: Elite in Apg. 3pt% improving. Cons: TOs and that shooting percentage (37.9%)
14	Serge Ibaka | PF, C | OKC	PF 6, C 4		11/15: It appears Westbrook's presence actuall really does help Ibaka's scoring numbers. 17 Ppg since his return vs. 8.5 in 2 games w/o
15	Ty Lawson | PG | DEN	PG 6		11/15 (up from No. 20): Lawson has elevated his game as needed for the Nuggz to remain competitive w/Chandler & Gallinari sidelined. Chandler's now back, can Ty continue at a 21-7-4, 1+ SPG rate?
16	Marc Gasol | C | MEM	C 5		11/15 (down from No. 10): Boards per at career low but scoring at a career high. Apg down too, which was most likely an added incentive for you to invest in him.
17	Mike Conley | PG | MEM	PG 7		11/15 (up from No. 46): Appears to have taken the next step, leading Memphis in scoring at 20.1 per night.
18	Paul Millsap | PF | ATL	PF 7		11/15 (up from No. 33): Numbers up across the boards. Milly's diverse skillset getting no restrictions in Atl.
19	LaMarcus Aldridge | PF, C | POR	PF 8, C 6		11/15: Is there a better case for a guy being able to put up a certain line in his sleep than LMA going for 21-9 nightly?
20	DeMarcus Cousins | PF, C | SAC	PF 9, C 7		11/15 (up from No. 23): Boogie's been a bully to start the '13-'14 campaign, boasting career highs in Ppg, Spg, Bpg & FG %.
21	Damian Lillard | PG | POR	PG 8		11/15: No apparent sophomore slump. Maybe the scoring increase some anticipated hasn't happened, but you can't argue w/uniformity from his rookie year.
22	Nicolas Batum | SG, SF | POR	SG 4, SF 6		11/15 (down from No. 13): You buy Batum for versatility. That's what he's given this season. Not performing in the specialties cats (Stls & Blks) but 12-6-5 & almost two 3pm a night will work. Steals and blocks will eventually come.
23	Al Jefferson | PF, C | CHA	PF 10, C 8		11/15 (up from No. 27): Hobbled to start the season which dipped him a little on the rankings. More Wednesdays like his 22-11-3, 2 blk 6-6 ft showing will put him back in the thick of best fantasy big discussion.
24	Blake Griffin | PF| LAC	PF 11		11/15 (up from No. 26): 20 & 10 in 6 of 9 games to start the season. Beneficiary of the Clippers' offseason acquisitions of shooters Jared Dudley & JJ Redick.
25	Dwight Howard | C | HOU	C 9		11/15: Still struggling to hit his free throws, but he looks 100% healthy and has been a beast defensively.
26	Brook Lopez | C | BKN	C 10		11/15 (up from No. 52)
27	Eric Bledsoe | PG, SG | PHO	PG 9, SG 5		11/15 (up from No. 42)
21	Dirk Nowitzki | PF | DAL	PF 12		11/15 (down from No. 21)
29	Dwyane Wade | PG, SG | MIA	PG 10, SG 6		11/15 (down from No. 19)
30	Ricky Rubio | PG | MIN	PG 11		11/15 (down from No. 25)
31	Derrick Rose | PG | CHI	PG 12		11/15 (down from No. 8): Shown some of his old form in flashes, but looks rusty out there. Numbers will come, just give it some time.
32	Chris Bosh | PF, C | MIA	PF 13, C 11		11/15 (up from No. 37)
33	Andre Drummond | PF, C | DET	PF 14, C 12		11/15 (up from No. 67): Amazingly, he's 1-7 from the charity stripe…on the season! Thus, he's not hurting you there.
34	Klay Thompson | SG, SF | GSW	SG 7, SF 7		11/15 (up from No. 50): Currently the #6 rated player thanks to some absurd shooting. Can he keep it up?
35	Kawhi Leonard | SG, SF | SAN	SG 8, SF 8
36	Nikola Vucevic | PF, C | ORL	PF 15, C 13		11/15 (up from No. 62)
37	Gordon Hayward | SG, SF | UTA	SG 9, SF 9		11/15 (up from No. 51)
38	Deron Williams | PG | BKN	PG 13		11/15 (down from No. 16)
39	Kevin Martin | SG | MIN	SG 10		11/15 (up from No. 80) Perhaps the pleasant surprise of the year so far -- ranks #7 on the player rater.
40	Joakim Noah | PF, C | CHI	PF 16, C 14		11/15 (down from No. 32)
41	Spencer Hawes | C | PHI	C 15		11/15 (up from No. 116)
42	Michael Carter-Williams | PG | PHI	PG 14		11/15 (up from No. 118) Peripherals are outstanding, but we're starting to see the FG% and turnovers head in the wrong directions.
43	David Lee | PF, C| GSW	PF 17, C 16		11/15 (down from No. 29)
44	Tony Parker | PG | SAN	PG 15		11/15 (down from No. 38)
45	Roy Hibbert | C | IND	C 17		11/15 (up from No. 53)
46	Kemba Walker | PG | CHA	PG 16		11/15: Going through a horrid shooting slump (as he's prone to do), but he's always a safe bet to break out of it.
47	Kyle Korver | SG, SF | ATL	SG 11, SF 10		11/15 (up from No. 103)
48	Derrick Favors | PF, C | UTA	PF 18, C 18		11/15 (up from No. 59)
49	Josh Smith | SF, PF | DET	SF 11, PF 19		11/15 (down from No. 36)
50	Jeff Teague | PG | ATL	PG 17		11/15 (down from No. 35)
51	Bradley Beal | SG | WAS	SG 12		11/15 (down from No. 44)
52	Tim Duncan | PF, C | SAN	PF 20, C 19		11/15 (down from No. 31): Pop resting him an awful lot -- for entire games and long stretches. But he's as good a start as any big when Spurs are expected to engage in a tough game.
53	Monta Ellis | PG, SG | DAL	PG 18, SG 13		11/15 (down from No. 47)
54	Rudy Gay | SF, PF | TOR	SF 12, PF 21		11/15 (down from No. 39)
55	Kobe Bryant | SG | LAL	SG 14		11/15 (down from No. 28)
56	Andre Iguodala | SG, SF | GSW	SG 15, SF 13		11/15 (up from No. 71): He's fit in seamlessly for Golden State, but not sure he can maintain those ridiculous shooting %s (60% FG, 50% 3Pt)
57	David West | PF | IND	PF 22
58	Thaddeus Young | SF, PF | PHI	SF 14, PF 23		11/15 (down from No. 41): What's been the gain of MC Dub, Turner, and Hawes has unfortunately come at the expense of Thad (who a lot of folks pegged for a breakout year)
59	Ersan Ilyasova | SF, PF | MIL	SF 15, PF 24
60	DeAndre Jordan | C | LAC	C 20		11/15 (up from No. 111): No reason to think his breakout season (11.8 Ppg, 12.9 Rpg, 1.6 Spg, 1.9 Bpg) won't continue as long as he's on the floor as much as he is (36.3 Mpg)
61	Greg Monroe | C | DET	C 21		11/15 (down from No. 55)
62	Evan Turner | SG, SF | PHI	SG 16, SF 16		11/15 (down from No. 58)
63	Goran Dragic | PG | PHO	PG 19
64	Jrue Holiday | PG | NOP	PG 20		11/15 (down from No. 40)
65	Carlos Boozer | PF, C | CHI	PF 25, C 22		11/15 (up from No. 98)
66	Markieff Morris | PF | PHO	PF 26		11/15 (up from No. 140): At some point he'll break into the starting lineup so his minutes should see a bump. Once that happens, his ranking here will likely see a bump as well.
67	Arron Afflalo | SG, SF | ORL	SG 17, SF 17		11/15 (up from No. 143)
68	Jeff Green | SF, PF | BOS	SF 18, PF 27		11/15 (down from No. 54)
69	Marcin Gortat | C | PHO	C 23		11/15 (up from No. 122)
70	Pau Gasol | PF, C | LAL	PF 28, C 24		11/15 (down from No. 48): Battling some foot issues so expect his minutes to hover around 30/game. FG% should go up, but we're not sure it'll hit career mark of 52%.
71	Wesley Matthews | SG, SF | POR	SG 18, SF 19		11/15 (up from No. 132)
72	Luol Deng | SF | CHI	SF 20		11/15 (down from No. 65):
73	Rajon Rondo | PG | BOS	PG 21		11/15 (down from No. 64):
74	Brandon Jennings | PG | DET	PG 22		11/15 (down from No. 49):
75	Lance Stephenson | SG | IND	SG 19		11/15 (up from No. 145): Exceeding expectations, but not playing beyond what he's capable of. He can keep this up.
76	Chandler Parsons | SF, PF | HOU	SF 21, PF 29		11/15 (down from No. 66):
77	Ryan Anderson | PF, C | NOP	PF 30, C 25
78	Shawn Marion | SF, PF | DAL	SF 22, PF 31		11/15 (up from No. 96)
79	Eric Gordon | SG | NOP	SG 20		11/15 (up from No. 86)
80	Jonas Valanciunas | C | TOR	C 26		11/15 (down from No. 63): Off to a slow start (9.0 Ppg, 47.2% FG, 7.6 Rpg, 1.1 Bpg), but this is as low as he'll ranking will likely ever be. An excellent buy-low option.
81	Paul Pierce | SF | BKN	SF 23		11/15 (down from No. 68):
82	Jimmy Butler | SG, SF | CHI	SG 21, SF 24		11/15 (up from No. 95)
83	O.J. Mayo | SG | MIL	SG 22		11/15 (down from No. 69):
84	Enes Kanter | PF, C | UTA	PF 32, C 27		11/15 (down from No. 77):
85	J.R. Smith | SG, SF | NYK	SG 23, SF 25		11/15 (down from No. 73):
86	Wilson Chandler | SG, SF | DEN	SG 24, SF 26		11/15 (up from No. 121): Jacked up 11 shots in 21 minutes during his debut Wednesday. Clearly he's going to be featured prominently.
87	Larry Sanders | PF, C | MIL	PF 33, C 28		11/15 (down from No. 43)
88	Kyle Lowry | PG | TOR	PG 23		11/15 (down from No. 76)
89	Patrick Beverley | PG | HOU	PG 24		11/15 (up from No. 128)
90	Victor Oladipo | SG | ORL	SG 25		11/15 (down from No. 60): Off to a much slower start than most expected, but he'll come around. You drafted him for the long-term value anyway.
91	Trevor Ariza | SG, SF | WAS	SG 26, SF 27		11/15 (up from N/R)
92	J.J. Redick | SG | LAC	SG 27		11/15 (up from N/R)
93	Jeremy Lin | PG | HOU	PG 25		11/15 (up from No. 133)
94	Isaiah Thomas | PG | SAC	PG 26		11/15 (up from No. 131)
95	Miles Plumlee | PF, C | PHO	PF 34, C 29		11/15 (up from N/R)
96	Nikola Pekovic | C | MIN	C 30		11/15 (down from No. 75)
97	Amir Johnson | PF, C | TOR	PF 35, C 31		11/15 (up from No. 102)
98	Danilo Gallinari | SF | DEN	SF 28		11/15 (up from No. 104)
99	Jordan Crawford | PG, SG | BOS	PG 27, SG 28		11/15 (up from N/R): Solid numbers since being named the starting PG (13.4 Ppg, 45.8% FG, 5.8 Apg, 1.2 Spg, 1.4 Tpg)
100	Jordan Hill | PF, C | LAL	PF 36, C 32		11/15 (up from N/R): Averaging 9-8-1 this year in under 19/minutes game. He's starting now and a nightly double-double threat.
101	Danny Green | SG, SF | SAN	SG 29, SF 29		11/15 (up from No. 114)
102	Zach Randolph | PF, C | MEM	PF 37, C 33		11/15 (down from No. 85)
103	Anderson Varejao | PF, C | CLE	PF 38, C 34		11/15 (down from No. 87)
104	Tobias Harris | SF, PF | ORL	SF 30, PF 39		11/15 (down from No. 74)
105	George Hill | PG, SG | IND	PG 28, SG 30		11/15 (down from No. 72)
106	Jose Calderon | PG | DAL	PG 29		11/15 (down from No. 70)
107	Kenneth Faried | PF | DEN	PF 40		11/15 (down from No. 90): McGee's injury should help Faried boost his value (for whatever reason, these two have never paired well together)
108	DeMar DeRozan | SG, SF | TOR	SG 31, SF 31
109	Andrea Bargnani | PF, C | NYK	PF 41, C 35		11/15 (up from No. 136)
110	Mario Chalmers | PG | MIA	PG 30		11/15 (up from No. 147)
111	Jamal Crawford | PG, SG | LAC	PG 31, SG 32		11/15 (down from No. 108)
112	Tyreke Evans | SG, SF | NOP	SG 33, SF 32		11/15 (down from No. 81)
113	Nene | PF, C | WAS	PF 42, C 36		11/15 (down from No. 89)
114	John Henson | PF, C | MIL	PF 43, C 37		11/15 (down from No. 94): Larry Drew refuses to put him in the starting lineup which raises some concerns about his value once this team gets healthy.
115	Raymond Felton | PG, SG | NYK	PG 32, SG 34		11/15 (down from No. 97)
116	Dion Waiters | SG | CLE	SG 35		11/15 (down from No. 99)
117	Brandon Knight | PG, SG | MIL	PG 33, SG 36		11/15 (down from No. 79)
118	Robin Lopez | C | POR	C 38		11/15 (up from N/R): He's been inconsistent, but we think that has more to do with the adjustments of playing for a new team. A sneaky add right now since he's seeing 30 minutes/game and will continue to all season.
119	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | SF | CHA	SF 33		11/15 (up from N/R)
120	Tiago Splitter | C | SAN	C 39		11/15 (up from No. 134)
121	Tristan Thompson | PF, C | CLE	PF 44, C 40		11/15 (up from No. 130)
122	Andrew Bynum | C | CLE	C 41		11/15 (down from No. 93)
123	Harrison Barnes | SF | GSW	SF 34		11/15 (down from No. 117)
124	Ben McLemore | SG | SAC	SG 37		11/15 (down from No. 119): Really struggled in his first start, but the talent is too tantalizing to rank him any lower.
125	Terrence Jones | SF, PF | HOU	SF 35, PF 45		11/15 (up from N/R)
126	Corey Brewer | SG, SF | MIN	SG 38, SF 36		11/15 (up from N/R)
127	Trey Burke | PG | UTA	PG 34		11/15 (down from No. 101)
128	James Anderson | SG, SF | PHI	SG 39, SF 37		11/15 (up from 129): Finally broke out of his season-long slump with an emphatic 36-point effort on Wednesday. Let's hope the truck starts here.
129	JaVale McGee | C | DEN	C 42		11/15 (down from No. 82)
130	Tyson Chandler | C | NYK	C 43		11/15 (down from No. 84)
131	Moe Harkless | SF | ORL	SF 38		11/15 (down from No. 91)
132	Kevin Garnett | PF, C | BKN	PF 46, C 44		11/15 (down from No. 88): Hasn't earned a rank this high yet which is humbling for those that have owned KG during the glory years. But come post-All-Star, we think he starts to cash in for those who stuck with him.
133	Jared Sullinger | PF | BOS	PF 47		11/15 (up from No. 144)
134	Andrew Bogut | C | GSW	C 45		11/15 (down from No. 107)
135	Avery Bradley | PG, SG | BOS	PG 35, SG 40		11/15 (up from N/R): A move to SG has damaged his value, but likely secured his long-term value since that's where he'll fit in when Rondo returns.
136	Andrei Kirilenko | SF, PF | BKN	SF 39, PF 48		11/15 (down from No. 105)
137	DeJuan Blair | PF, C | DAL	PF 49, C 46		11/15 (up from N/R): Battling Jordan Hill for the most eye-raising per/minute numbers of any big man.
138	Joe Johnson | SG, SF | BKN	SG 41, SF 40		11/15 (down from No. 109)
139	Gerald Henderson | SG, SF | CHA	SG 42, SF 41		11/15 (down from No. 112)
140	Danny Granger | SG, SF | IND	SG 43, SF 42		11/15 (down from No. 115)
141	Jarrett Jack | PG, SG | CLE	PG 36, SG 44		11/15 (down from No. 124)
142	Iman Shumpert | SG, SF | NYK	SG 45, SF 43		11/15 (down from No. 123)
143	Manu Ginobili | SG, SF | SAN	SG 46, SF 44		11/15 (down from No. 120)
144	Kelly Olynyk | C | BOS	C 47		11/15 (down from No. 138): Now starting and expected to for the remainder of the season, this will probably the lowest he'll rank on the board.
145	Jason Smith | PF, C | NOP	PF 50, C 48		11/15 (up from N/R)
146	Wesley Johnson | SG, SF | LAL	SG 47, SF 45		11/15 (up from N/R): Someone to keep a close eye on. Has Marion-esque ability in steals and blocks.
147	Steve Blake | PG | LAL	PG 37		11/15 (up from N/R)
148	Samuel Dalembert | C | DAL	C 49		11/15 (down from No. 141)
149	Rodney Stuckey | PG, SG | DET	PG 38, SG 48		11/15 (up from N/R)
150	Reggie Jackson | PG | OKC	PG 39		11/15 (down from No. 127)
	Dropped Out (11/15) Steve Nash (83) J.J. Hickson (92) Cody Zeller (100) Amar'e Stoudemire (110) Greivis Vasquez (113) Chris Kaman (125) Gerald Wallace (126) Anthony Bennett (135) Nate Robinson (137) Jameer Nelson (139) Marcus Thornton (142) Quincy Pondexter (146) Taj Gibson (148) Nick Young (149) DeMarre Carroll (150)