Sunday, January 22, 2012

Court Report: Week 2 Dashboard

Each Sunday, the Dashboard centralizes all the crucial information fantasy managers need to dominate their weekly head-to-head matchups or climb the standings in their rotisserie leagues. The Dashboard covers schedule analysis, status updates, adds, drops, watch list candidates, and deep league targets for managers of all skill levels. Quite simply, it is a comprehensive weekly cheat sheet packed with every bit of information that you could possibly need.

Week 2 Schedule Grid

Click here for a full season schedule grid. Hat tip to kiwishaq on the busersports forums.

Week Two, quality games.
1 game: ATL, DAL, LAL, MIA, MIL, POR, SAC, SAS

Week Two, best schedules.
NYK: TOR, CHA, @WAS, @DET
MEM: SAC, @MIN, @UTA, @LAL
ORL: @DET, WAS, CHI, @SAC
MIL: @DEN, @UTA, @SAC, @LAC, @PHO

Week Two, worst schedules.
LAC: HOU, MIL
NJN: IND, @BOS, @TOR, MIA
CHI: ATL, @DET, @ORL, @ATL
ATL: @MIA, @CHI, MIA, @CHA, CHI

Status Updates ?�quick hitters from around the league

? Michael Beasley suffered a lacerated left index finger injury during Sunday's game that required five stitches. He said it'll probably keep him from shooting (silver lining!), and that he hopes to play on Monday.

? Mike Conley remains day-to-day with a sprained left ankle. There's a good chance he'll be in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Kings.

? DeMarcus Cousins has demanded a trade from the Sacramento Kings, according to head coach Paul Westphal ? an assertion denied by Cousins' agent, John Greig. In a statement issued by Westphal himself, he says of Cousins that "... when a player continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwilling/unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely." Cousins was directed to not attend Sunday's home game against the Hornets as a result, and at this point no one really knows whether he'll be on the team plane on Monday for the Kings' two-game road trip. Team president Geoff Petrie says the team does not intend to trade Cousins, and that he plans to meet with him on Monday.

? Monta Ellis re-joined the Warriors in Phoenix and will play in Monday's game against the Suns. He was in Mississippi attending his grandmother's funeral over the weekend and missed Saturday's game.

? Richard Hamilton was a late scratch on Sunday with a groin injury, after tweaking it during Friday's game against the Clippers. He shouldn't miss any further time with the injury.

? Coach Erik Spoelstra on Mike Miller (hernia): "Getting closer. But not yet." Even when Miller returns, he'll have plenty of competition on the wing for minutes in Shane Battier and James Jones.

? Zach Randolph left during Sunday's game with a knee injury, and is considered day-to-day with a knee sprain. He'll undergo an MRI on Monday.

? Amar'e Stoudemire (sprained left ankle) did not take part in shootaround and will miss Monday's game against the Raptors.

? Tyrus Thomas (sprained left ankle) is traveling and working out with the Bobcats, but remains day-to-day. Coach Paul Silas says Thomas will have to earn his starting job back from D.J. White when he returns.

Add List ? players currently owned in less than 40% of Yahoo! leagues

? Jonas Jerebko, F, DET (24% owned)
If you've ever watched him play, even for just extended stretches, it should come as no surprise that the Swede has seized the early opportunity at a starting job and thrived in his expanded role. You'll rarely find a player who works as hard as Jerebko does away from the ball, and one who manages to do so much damage without using up many possessions. That he ranks seventh amongst all Pistons in usage rate and third in scoring average bears this out, and should quell any lingering concerns that his numbers will drop off once Charlie Villanueva returns to the rotation. We had to wait a full year for his sophomore breakout thanks to an Achilles injury that cost him his entire second season, but all that hard work is finally paying dividends and an ultra-efficient offensive attack ? more than half of his looks come at the rim ? will keep him plenty relevant. Jerebko's play in the early going will ensure that he will remain an integral part of Detroit's rotation moving forward, and likely means�Villanueva won't be sniffing the starting lineup anytime soon.

?�Derrick Favors,�FC, UTA (35% owned)
There's been little doubting Favors' considerable potential, particularly on the defensive end, but the issue was whether he'd ever be able to tap into it given his problematic foul rate. He boasted the third highest foul rate at his position last season at one every 6.2 minutes, rarely seeing major minutes as a result. Favors has cut that down to one every 8.8 minutes this season and has seen an additional five minutes of action per game (19.7 mpg to 24.3) in return. The early results have been promising, highlighted by a 20-point, 11-rebound performance against the 76ers on Friday. Though playing behind Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson is far from ideal, Favors should see close to 25 minutes a night regardless as the primary backup to both frontcourt positions. In the 15 games over his career where he's managed to play 25 minutes or more, Favors has averaged a solid 12.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks on 59 percent shooting from the field. You'll just have to find a way to account for that free-throw percentage impact is all.

?�MarShon Brooks, SG, NJ (23% owned)
The Nets suffer from a clear lack of shot-creating options outside of Deron Williams, a big reason why they find themselves 29th in offensive efficiency with a true shooting mark of 48 percent. Enter rookie MarShon Brooks, the only other player on that roster outside of Williams who remotely fits that mold. He'll have his struggles along the way ? Sunday's 0-for-3 effort being one ? but it's hard not to be impressed with his overall play early on. Brooks has the ability to completely change the dynamic of a game with his presence alone, and his ability to put up points in bunches will prove plenty valuable to a team that could use offense in any which way they can get it.

?�Mehmet Okur, C, NJ (17% owned)
It's taken some time for Okur to get acclimated after being abruptly traded to the Nets just over a week ago, but he's starting to settle in and has been reasonably productive in his last two starts (12 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 2 threes). The expectation here isn't that he'll recapture his former ability and revert back to a consistent 17/7 threat; rather, it's that he can parlay his familiarity with Deron Williams to average closer to 14/6 in a situation where there is no shortage of opportunity. Okur isn't in great shape (contrary to preseason reports) by any means, but his game isn't built on athleticism, and big men who make their living from outside usually don't experience much of a drop-off even when they do lose a step.

?�James Johnson, F, TOR (18% owned)
If you had to sum up Johnson's style of play in one word, it'd be disruptive. He creates havoc whenever he's out there on the court, whether it's jumping into passing lanes or coming from the weak-side to send a shot back. Johnson has the ability to fill it up and has also improved his assist rate every year he's been in the league, topping out at 28 percent this season. He's far from a finished product though, and is still quite prone to making his fair share of mistakes (errant turnovers, ill-timed gambles on defense) that will often times land him on the bench. Consistency will remain an issue moving forward, but there's a lot to like here and sneaky multi-category potential, especially for those who aren't hard-pressed for a scoring option.

Cut List ? players who should not be rostered in standard formats

? Michael Beasley (88% owned), John Salmons (76% owned), Chris Kaman (72% owned), Brook Lopez (71% owned), Jimmer Fredette (71% owned), J.J. Hickson (67% owned), Charlie Villanueva (66% owned), O.J. Mayo (60% owned), Austin Daye (59% owned), Vince Carter (57% owned), Jodie Meeks (56% owned), Rudy Fernandez (52% owned), Wes Johnson (51% owned), Baron Davis (46% owned), Mike Miller (45% owned), J.R. Smith (44% owned), Shannon Brown (43% owned), Andrei Kirilenko (40% owned)

Watch List ? players currently owned in less than 40% of Yahoo! leagues to monitor closely in standard leagues

?�Norris Cole, PG, MIA (16% owned)
Any guesses as to who was fourth in usage behind the Heat's Big Three last season? It wasn't Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, or Mario Chalmers. It was oft-used backup guard Eddie House, who played a total of 48 minutes during the playoffs. The role of the fourth option turned into a bit of a revolving door in Miami last season, changing hands at various points during the year. That looks to have changed with the arrival of rookie Norris Cole, who isn't interested in deferring to LeBron, Wade, and Bosh like his counterparts have, and has asserted himself as a legitimate scoring option (10 field goal attempts per game). His aggressiveness will assure that he'll remain a consistent presence in the Heat's attack moving forward, and you have to think more of those threes will start falling for him too (34 percent his last two years at Cleveland State; 17 percent this season).

?�Marvin Williams, SF, ATL (36% owned)
Average. That about sums up Williams' first six seasons in the NBA, a career that's seen modest improvement from years 1-3 and almost no improvement whatsoever in years 4-6. A four-game sample doesn't (and shouldn't) change that, especially one that's seen his minutes cut (28.7 to 24.5 mpg) and his three-point percentage skyrocket (50 percent; career 31.5 percent). He's had his moments here and there over the past three seasons where he's shown real promise, but his numbers haven't budged an inch in the end, and they likely won't here either.

?�Tiago Splitter, FC, SA (7% owned)
The biggest reason why Splitter didn't play more than he should have last year was his defense, a weakness masked by his exceptional steal rate (4th among centers). Splitter was slow to his rotations as a help defender, and it didn't help that opposing centers averaged a 18.8 player efficiency rating against him either. He's gone a long way to remedy that this season though, making noticeable improvements on that end (doubling his block rate) and seeing a huge spike in minutes as a reward. Splitter lacks any real offensive game outside the immediate basket area so he won't score much, but is a solid finisher and rebounds well for his position. You can be sure coach Gregg Popovich will give Tim Duncan as much rest as he can with this condensed schedule, ensuring Splitter's spot in the Spurs' regular rotation.

?�Rodrigue Beaubois, G, DAL (28% owned)
The issue with Roddy has never been with his talent level. He possesses top-end scoring ability, and still managed to average 19 points per 40 minutes despite a precipitous drop-off in efficiency last season. The problem is that he has yet to move beyond these sporadic moments of brilliance and consistently put it all together over a full season; part of which can be attributed to injuries and a lack of opportunity. Beaubois has gotten just a shade over 13 minutes a game this season, but has still managed to post top-160 value despite that. His per-minute exploits are well-documented (27th amongst qualifiers this season, 13th in 2010), and he's a sure bet to deliver a handsome return on investment if he can carve out a bigger role.

?�Brandon Knight,�G, DET (32% owned)
The biggest question marks about Knight coming out of Kentucky were whether he'd be a good enough distributor to play the point full-time, and whether he'd be able to develop a perimeter shot as well as draw enough fouls to supplement his mid-range game. The answer has largely been "no" so far, as he's averaged just two assists and one free-throw attempt in 24 minutes of play. He's been instant offense off the bench, scoring a point every 1.7 minutes, but that's largely built off a fluky 50 percent mark from distance ? one that is simply unsustainable. Once his shooting percentages normalize, Knight won't have a whole lot to fall back on, and that's where his lack of an all-around game will really start to show.

Deep League Specials ? players currently owned in five percent or less of Yahoo! leagues who warrant a roster spot in deep leagues (14 teams+)

? Markieff Morris (5% owned), Shawne Williams (5% owned), Hakim Warrick (5% owned), Matt Barnes (4% owned), Patrick Patterson (3% owned), Alonzo Gee (3% owned), Wayne Ellington (2% owned)

Follow Justin on Twitter�@jphanned

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/fantasy-roto-arcade/court-report-week-2-dashboard-062631428.html

Olli Jokinen Blair Jones

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