Occupational Hazard: Who will return and who won't
Here is one common definition of irony: An outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected. Here is an example of this phenomenon. A mild-mannered fantasy writer, assigned to cover injuries for the 2007-08 NBA season, drafts and or acquires the following players on his teams: Shawn Marion, Gilbert Arenas, Chris Kaman, Udonis Haslem, Jamaal Tinsley, Ben Wallace, Marcus Banks, Eddy Curry, and Dorell Wright.
Many of these players are likely to miss the rest of the season. And Arenas, well, let's just say his recent arrival on the court is not making up a ton of ground for me in my 12-team rotisserie league. A couple of these guys were known risks. Arenas was returning from surgery. You never expect anything close to the full 82 games from Tinsley, and Kaman has collected his share of DNPs prior to this season. The other guys, though, should have been solid. I mean, Marion? Ugh. More on him below. Haslem played 79 games per season before 2007-08; he will end with 49. You may hate his game (I know I do), but Curry averaged 73.7 games. Not an ironman, but not a tin-foil man, either. This season, he played in a career-worst 59 games; though some of you may suggest I replace "played" with "appeared."
Looking at the list above, it makes me laugh to think that I was the smart one back in late January, when I rejected an offer of Dwyane Wade for Marion. I figured that Wade was a sure bet to shut it down. I was right, but little did I realize his teammate would join him only a short while later.
We aren't dividing the column into sections this week. At this point, almost any moderate injury is season-ending and there aren't that many guys of note coming back -- don't worry, I have a Brandon Roy update -- so it made sense to flatten the column. Without further ado, here are your injuries.
Chris Kaman, C, Clippers: Riches to rags is the story for Kaman's owners this season. He broke out big-time in the absence of Elton Brand and was easily one of the top draft day values back in January. Then everything started falling apart: his back, the flu and now, the coup de grace, a severely sprained right ankle. Coach Mike Dunleavy told the Los Angeles Times he does not expect Kaman back again this season. Dump away.
Brandon Roy, SG, Trail Blazers: How about some good news for a change? The Oregonian is reporting that the results of Roy's MRI showed that his injury was not as severe as feared and that the Blazers swingman says he should be back on the court as soon as Sunday. This is just in time for the start of the championship round in head-to-head leagues, so the timing couldn't be better. I advocated dropping Roy last week and, gulp, that was wrong. Reports last week made it sound like a foregone conclusion that Roy would miss all but the final few games of the season, if not the rest of the season altogether. This news is quite a bit different.
Antawn Jamison, PF, Wizards: Just when the Wizards were going to get everyone back together again, they lost Jamison and DeShawn Stevenson at the very end of Wednesday night's game. According to Ivan Carter of the Washington Post, Jamison did not participate in yesterday's shootaround and left the Verizon Center with his right arm in a sling. Jamison sprained the shoulder diving for a loose ball with six seconds left on the clock. The team has him listed as day-to-day and Carter reported that the MRI showed the shoulder to be structurally sound. He is doubtful for tonight. This is going to be a tough call for owners in weekly leagues if they are in the championship round. Read up on the writers' blogs on the Washington Post's and Washington Times' Web sites to see if there is anything positive being reported. My guess is, Jamison sits at least the first part of next week.
DeShawn Stevenson, SG, Wizards: Stevenson was hurt on the same play as Jamison, spraining his right ankle. Carter reported in the Post that, "he's officially a game-time decision." He also quoted Stevenson as saying the ankle "was really hurting." He received treatment yesterday but did not participate in the shootaround. I expect Stevenson to miss tonight's game but return shortly thereafter. He should be a safer (if less significant) play than Jamison next week.
Richard Hamilton, SG, Pistons: After missing three games stretching back to the week before last, Rip made his return to the hardwood Saturday against the Cavaliers. The Associated Press reported that he was still feeling pain in his hip during the game. It was of little surprise that he missed Tuesday's game, along with Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace. The Detroit News reported that "Pistons president Joe Dumars adamantly wanted a few of them [veteran players] to sit out at least a game or two." Expect Billups and Sheed to play tonight. Hamilton is still receiving treatment on his hip and my best guess is he sits out against the Nets. If the plan is to keep the vets fresh for the playoffs, when the rotations inevitably shorten, Hamilton is going to be less than reliable until the strain in his hip subsides. I don't think he will miss a ton of time, but I also think his minutes will be limited when he does play. Think 30 minutes or fewer.
Beno Udrih, PG, Kings: I mentioned last week that back strains tend to linger. Certainly, that has been the case with Udrih. There is no real update here. Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee, my main man for all things Kings, reports that Udrih is incredibly frustrated but the lower back still doesn't feel right. Given that he is an unrestricted free agent trying to shake the fragile label stuck to his uni, you have to think Udrih wants back in badly. I think he will be back at some point, but this is not enough to recommend him for the final scoring period in your league. Daily leaguers, hold tight. Weekly leaguers with shallow benches, it may be time to move on.
Drew Gooden, PF, Bulls: Gooden has missed the past three games with an abdominal strain that wasn't reported until before the March 29 game with the Bucks. The Bulls said he was 50-50 for last night's contest against the Cavs and he didn't make it. Given what we have seen of other players' abdomen strains this season (Kevin Garnett, nine games; Mo Williams, five games), I think the 50-50 figure was a bit of a stretch. I would expect Gooden to miss Saturday's game and possibly sit until the end of next week. This would give him about two weeks' recovery, generally the minimum for a milder muscle strain. Weekly roster teams have to cut bait, but daily leaguers can hold on if there is nothing remotely attractive on the wire.
Ronnie Brewer, SG, Jazz: The Deseret News reported that Brewer initially strained his right groin Monday against the Timberwolves. He has not played in either of the two following games. He was listed as questionable for Wednesday, indicating a return shouldn't be too far off. I expect him to miss the Spurs contest and use the extra four days' rest to get treatment and be ready for Tuesday, just in time for the final round of the head-to-head playoffs.
Mickael Pietrus, SG/SF: It's been seven games now that Pietrus has missed with a strained right groin/hamstring. He hasn't practiced, isn't running and, according to Janny Hu of the San Francisco Chronicle, he is unlikely to rejoin the team for the final two games of their road trip. You may have read that Stephen Jackson called Pietrus out. I have little doubt that if Pietrus could go he would. He was playing the best ball of his career before the injury, in the playoff hunt and playing for a contract. Trust me, he has heart enough to get up for those causes. He just doesn't have the legs (or groin). Unless you have a deep bench, you should have moved on already.
Guy Lake is a fantasy basketball analyst for ESPN.com. He can be reached at GuyLake@TalentedMrRoto.com.
