NBA Quick Shots (Oct. 20th) Al Jefferson out indefinitely, Kevin Love to have surgery, and more
Al Jefferson Out Indefinitely
Jefferson is dealing with Achilles tendinitis, and his availability for the rest of the pre-season is likely in doubt, while his regular season prospects are uncertain, as well.
This does not bode well for the Minnesota front-court, which is already dealing with a likely lengthy loss of Love (below).
Jefferson should still be drafted, but be cautious as to how high of picks you invest in both Jefferson and Love.
Kevin Love Scheduled For Surgery on Tuesday
Love will have surgery on his broken hand, and should miss the initial expected time (6-8 weeks).
Ryan Gomes figures to get the first crack at serious minutes, while Oleksy Pecherov also has decent value going forward. if Al Jefferson is out for an extended period of time (and he could be), both of these players are worth of being on your roster.
T.J. Ford Out With Strained Hamstring
So much for starting thing off the right way. The oft-injured Ford was planning on taking on a bigger role this year, but with an injury before the season starts, it’ hard to love his prospects.
For now we only know that he’ll miss a game or two of pre-season action, but hamstring issues can linger, and given Ford’s spotty injury past, this makes him look like an even bigger risk than he initially was.
Dwayne Wade Back Returns to Practice
Wade has returned to practicing after missing some time with a calf injury. Teams regularly take precautions like this to be sure of their star’s availability for the regular season.
Don’t be shocked if Wade sits out most of the remainder of Miami’s pre-season games. We doubt this will affect him for the start of the NBA season, however.
New York Knicks Still Searching For Starting Line-up
Reports say that the Knicks are only sold on Chris Duhon at the point, and David Lee at one of the front-court positions to start the season. Nate Robinson and Al Harrington are fighting with several other players for the remaining three spots.
As if Knicks’ players were dangerous value picks already, role uncertainty just made it a lot more difficult to draft New York players. We still like Harrington’s value, but the role of Robinson could kill his value or see it thrive. Monitor this situation leading up to the regular season opener.
Derrick Rose Questionable For Season Opener
This isn’t as big of a deal as it sounds, as Chicago is likely just being cautious with their star point guard’s ankle injury. Rose is confident that he will make the season debut, but head coach Vinny Del Negro doesn’t seem quite so optimistic.
Follow-up on Rose’s status if you drafted him, but don’t drop his value too much simply because of this if your league hasn’t drafted yet. He’s a top-10 PG this year.
Michael Beasley Sidelined With Injuries
He’s dealing with shoulder and and thumb ailments, but nothing too serious that any regular season time is in jeopardy.
Beasley is still fighting for the starting small forward spot, but even if he comes off the bench, he provides solid value with outstanding versatility. We like Beasley a lot more than we did last year, as his confidence and overall attitude has changed for the better.