Fantasy Basketball Injury Report

It's been a while since I covered injuries. Let's get to it, in rough order of fantasy relevance.

Theo Ratliff, C, Portland

Last Friday, Ratliff missed a game against Orlando with what was called a sore ankle. Joel Przybilla stepped up for 42 minutes, and went for 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

Ratliff returned on Sunday, and Przybilla played only 23 minutes, going for 5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, and 3 turnovers. Needless to say, I started Przybilla for the latter game and not for the first game.

Last night, Ratliff played only 3 minutes. The Oregonian explained why today: "Blazers center Theo Ratliff had a magnetic resonance imaging on his left foot Monday, but the test was negative. Ratliff played three minutes in the first quarter, but reinjured the foot, and did not return."

Hmmm... A mysterious foot injury. It might be plantar fasciitis, it might be something else. Whatever it is, it's bothering Theo a lot if he's getting MRIs on his foot. With reinjury, it sounds like something that could persist.

If Joel Przybilla has found his way to your league's waiver wire because of his atrocious start to the season, now might be a good time to drop an early-season fluke like Smush Parker and stash away the Vanilla Gorilla.

If it isn't this injury that takes Ratliff out for an extended period, it will be another. Last year, it was his shoulder. This year, it's his foot. The guy is made of glass.

Carmelo Anthony, F, Denver Nuggets

Carmelo limped off the court against the Nets on Monday after spraining his ankle a little more than a minute into the game. He's also expected to miss tonight's game against the Hornets. George Karl says he's optimistic the Melo will play on Friday against Phoenix.

Josh Howard, F, Dallas Mavericks

The news isn't as positive for Josh Howard.

I didn't see this injury, but reports said that he turned his ankle nearly all the way around. An MRI revealed a "moderate sprain" of his ankle, which is projected to keep him out for 2-3 weeks.

Marquis Daniels sees a huge increase in value during this time, as does Jason Terry, who seems to have found his stroke.

Andrei Kirilenko, F, Utah Jazz

The good news is that Kirilenko is back from an ankle sprain that kept him out for seven games over a period of two weeks. The bad news is that he was a non-factor, going for 7 points, 2 boards, 3 dimes, 2 blocks, and 3 TOs in a 24-point blowout loss to the Pacers.

His fantasy owners hope that he can keep dropping dimes at a career-best rate while returning to his career shooting averages. He'll shake the rust off soon; start him.

Peja Stojakovic, F, Sacramento Kings

Stojakovic returned from a lingering hand injury to score 5 points in 22 minutes against the Horents last night. Ugh. His hand injury has followed him the whole season, and doesn't seem to be all the way better.

Start him, but recognize this is something that could linger.

Eddy Curry, C, New York Knicks

Curry hopes to be back from a calf injury to play against his ex-teammates on the Bulls tonight. Will his starting job be waiting for him when he does? Channing Frye has filled in more than admirably in Curry's absence.

Curry recently said, "Next year, I'll be unbelievable... I watch Sweetney and can see the things they [Knicks big man coaches Aguirre and Herb Wiliams] taught him. It's crazy." Huh. Nothing like making your new employer forget about the guy they let go, eh?

Eddy's been thinking about next year every year since he came into the league, and the results show it. DO IT THIS YEAR, EDDY. Shaq thinks Eddy will come into his own and become an elite NBA center. Call me unconvinced.

Leandro Barbosa, G, Phoenix Suns

Barbosa is progressing well in his return from a sprained knee and could be back on the floor as early as next week. Keep your fingers crossed. His nightly numbers make him one of the Top 50 fantasy players in the game, according to fantasyanalyzer.com.

Rick Brunson, G, Seattle SuperSonics

Brunson will miss at least six weeks after tearing the plantar fascia in his foot. Yawn.

Jonathan Bender, F, Indiana Pacers

Jonathan Bender may never be able to play again after receving word that the cartilage in both of his knees is completely gone. He hasn't played a whole lot during his 4-year, $28 million contract. Pacers fans can thank Isiah Thomas for failing to do his due diligence. A major yawn from a fantasy perspective.


That's it. Let me know in the comments section if there's anyone I missed.

TSN Blog 11/29/05

Comment on my latest TSN blog about the Andrei Kirilenko's return to Jazz lineup here:

A Joel Przybilla Sighting! A Marko Jaric Sighting!

Either Joel Przybilla or Marko Jaric returning to the ranks of fantasy relevance on any given night would be enough to stir joy in the hearts of the many owners (like me) who drafted these two anywhere before the twelfth round on draft day. But both... having huge games... on the same night? It's a gift from God!


Joel Przybilla

The Vanilla Gorilla was a huge favorite of mine heading into the season. He hasn't nearly lived up to his potential this season because his playing time under Nate McMillan has been in the toilet.

But tonight, Przybilla put up 15 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 assists, and no turnovers on 6-8 shooting while playing 42 minutes. Outside of the points, Joel could put up numbers like this every night. He hasn't because of Theo Ratliff, nemesis of Przybilla owners worldwide.

For some reason that wasn't discussed in AP's post-game recap, Theo Ratliff didn't play a single minute in tonight's game. "Coach's Decision" was the reason listed in the box, but it's unlikely that McMillan just decided to not to play the Rattler. As I see it, there are two possibilites.

A) Ratliff is injured... maybe that problematic shoulder from last year is acting up again.

B) Ratliff, along with malcontent Ruben Patterson, has been traded for additional young scrubs to fill out Portland's roster, and the trade has not been announced yet.

The latter possibility is almost too beautiful to consider for any long period of time... Let's wait and see. Maybe Theo just missed the game because of personal reasons, or was feeling a little under the weather.


Marko Jaric

First of all, is it just me, or does Marko have a little bit of a young-Peter-Falk thing going on?



More importantly... At the end of the 3rd quarter of the Bucks-Wolves game when I write this, Jaric has 21 points, 4 assists, 2 threes, and 3 steals on 9-13 shooting.

Wolves coach Dwayne Casey had refused to make a lineup change to jolt a "wallowing" Jaric out of his slump, according to the rumors compiled by Inside HOops, and instead has encouraged Jaric to stop thinking too much. Says Casey: "I told him, just play."

Rejoice! It looks like Casey's sage advice may actually be paying off for one of fantasy's biggest busts so far.

Thanksgiving

Ah yes. It's finally here. And so are a couple of TNT basketball games.

Please check out my Sporting News blog on what to look forward to in basketball this week by following the link below:



Can Artest Keep His Cool?

The BPRs are in!

I feel like you've got to keep the defending champs on top unless they really screw something up, but hey... who am I?

The full poll can be found below:



You can see the full results here, the team grid here, or the voting for each member blog here.

A hint for the grids: just click on the green arrow, and you'll see how the voting broke down.

Enjoy.

NBA Blogosphere Poll Rankings (BPR) #2 - 11/21/05

With two more weeks in the books, my NBA rankings have changed dramatically. The Top 3 remain the same, but wait... is that the... it couldn't be... the Cavaliers *and* the Clippers in the Top 5?

1. San Antonio
2. Detroit
3. Dallas
4. Cleveland
5. LA Clippers
6. Indiana
7. Denver
8. Washington
9. Miami
10. Minnesota
11. Phoenix
12. New Jersey
13. Memphis
14. Golden State
15. LA Lakers
16. Philadelphia
17. Milwaukee
18. Boston
19. Chicago
20. Charlotte
21. Seattle
22. Sacramento
23. Utah
24. New Orleans
25. Houston
26. New York
27. Orlando
28. Portland
29. Toronto
30. Atlanta

Questions? Comments? If your team ranked poorly, it's not my fault--your team probably sucks!

Look for the complete, compiled rankings tomorrow over at yaySPORTS!

Blowing Up

Here are a few players whose situations are changing. If they're available on your waiver wire, pick them up: they shouldn't be there much longer.

Nick Collison: Dude is the man. Even before he missed his entire rookie season due to a shoulder injury, he had the talent to put up a near double-double every night and shoot an outstanding percentage from the field. Now, after the Sonics' 41 point beatdown at the hands of the Wiz last week caused new coach Bob Weiss to shuffle his starting lineup, Collison is getting the minutes to do so. After putting up 20 and 12 (1 turnover) in his first start of the season, Nick put up 19, 13, and 3 tonight--with no turnovers. Add now.

Mike Sweetney: He's knocking on the door of the starting lineup in Chicago and went for 24 points and 14 rebounds tonight in only 26 minutes. At that rate, he won't even need to start. If he does, he could be a scoring/rebounding monster.

Leandro Barbosa: James Jones and Boris Diaw have been relegated to bench duty, and Barbosa is putting up some serious digits in the starting lineup. Tonight it was 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 threes. Last game it was 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Um, find a spot for him if you can. He should add steals, too.

Jarrett Jack or Juan Dixon: Starter Sebastian Telfair sustained what looked like a pretty vicious sprained ankle tonight, and if he misses any time, one of these guys will replace him. Regular readers know I like Dixon's fantasy game; if Jack is the one who steps in instead, he could put up some major-league assist numbers.

Mike James: Don't do what I did, kids: don't drop Mike James. Pick him up. I dropped him for Barbosa, then dropped Barbosa for Collison--and Mike James got picked up in my league in the meantime. He scored a career-high 38 points tonight after scoring a then-career high 36 points two games ago. Consistency is not his strong point, but games like this are hard to ignore. Expect Jose Calderon to play less--a lot less--as long as James keeps balling out like this.

As always, please read my new blog--and leave comments on it!--at http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/.

Check out my new blog on SportingNews.com!

Hi there,

I just started writing an online NBA blog for The Sporting News. You can find my first article here:

http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/michael-dueser/blog/672784.html

Although there are some name-mispelling issues (it's "Deuser") that might change the file path, you should be able to see all of my new articles on TSN's main NBA page at:

SportingNews.com NBA Main Page

The current plan is for me to write something like this four times per week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday), and TSN and I would like to get as many comments on my articles as we possibly can. You don't have to agree with me and you don't have to disagree with me--anything you have to contribute in response would be hugely appreciated.

If you aren't already a registered TSN member, the free registration process is pretty quick and painless.

You can even see how much of a resemblance I bear to Fidel Castro in real life!

Thanks again for your help.

-Michael

Prediction Disasters

It has come time to admit that several of my early-season sleeper picks have not come to fruition, primarily because of playing time situations. Let's first have a look at picks that have been, well, bad so far:

Raja Bell: I predicted points in the high teens and about 2 threes per game for Bell this year, but after seeing his playing time drop from the 30s to the mid-upper 20s with the emergence of Diaw and Barbosa, it looks unlikely he'll be able to put up these numbers. Leandro Barbosa is the new starter in Phoenix. Whether he'll be worth picking up depends on whether he can break the 30 mpg barrier. Although he seems to be a gifted scorer, I would not count on it.

James Jones: See above. I predicted over 2 threes per game for the young Jones, but the versatile Boris Diaw has now become the starter over Jones.

Josh Childress: I predicted a ridiculous bust-out year for Childress, something along the lines of 16 and 9, with all the trimmings. On a team constructed entirely from 6'9" swingmen just like him, Childress is losing playing time (28.4 mpg, down from last year's average) and shots (5.8 per game). This has him producing an ugly 8.4 points and 3.2 boards per game. He's efficient as all hell, but can't be prolific enough to put up useful fantasy numbers if he's not playing true starters' minutes. J-Chill played 35 minutes the first game of the season and only 19 last game: if something doesn't change, he'll be a drop candidate in the next couple of weeks. He deserves to be playing.

Juan Dixon: I predicted 16-4-4 out of Dixon. Um, yeah. At a little bit over 16 mpg, Dixon--signed to be a starter--isn't playing any more this season in Portland than he did last year in Washington. It must hurt to not get minutes on a team filled with bad high school ballers, but it is what it is. Dixon belongs on no rosters.

The Good News:

Playing team is still in flux all over the league, especially on teams like the Hawks and Blazers (ahem). There's still a chance that these guys will come roaring back to life over the next few months as their coaches realize that they're better than the guys they are starting (Charles Smith, for instance, is currently a starter in Portland). If the guys above are getting dropped to the wire, the shrewd owner (particularly in the case of Childress) can grab them up and stash them until their day comes. When it does, they'll be rewarded handsomely.

Of course, there's also the chance that they will obstinately stick to rotations that make no sense.

In the meantime, guys like Leandro Barbosa and Al Jefferson have probably made their way to the wire, and are likely to make their debuts in their respective starting lineups soon.

When the fantasy gods close a door, they usually open a window. Keep your eyes peeled.

Random Thoughts

Apparently, the Jameer Nelson experiment in Orlando at the end of last season was too successful for an Orlando Magic team that has become accustomed to losing. New head coach Brian Hill has reinstated Steve Francis to his role as starting point guard/ball hog and early results have been, well…terrible. While the Magic pulled out their first victory of the season on Tuesday with a 76-74 win over a Houston team struggling without T-Mac, “Franchise” was well on his way to blowing it down the stretch, just as he did against Washington on Friday, before Nelson came off the bench to take over the game’s final three minutes. There’s only one franchise player on this team, and his name is Dwight Howard, who took just one shot during the entire fourth quarter. Although some fans might dig the “excitement” that Stevie’s high-flying, shot-chucking, no-passing game brings to the table, scoring less than 80 points per game and blowing late leads is a sure way to keep the fans away in droves. If the Magic want to start scoring points, they need to find a point guard who can distribute the ball to the post and play smart down the stretch. Nelson deserves the opportunity to run the team with Francis shifting over to shooting guard, where his ability to create shots will be more useful and his innate selfishness will be less of a liability.



In yet another indication of how boring it can be to follow basketball north of the border, the most exciting news surrounding the Raptors these days is a point guard controversy… between Mike James and Jose Calderon. The Spanish youngster Calderon is a great distributor (4.5 assist/turnover ratio), but Toronto desperately needs James’ scoring. Yes, Raps fans, that is a very scary thing. I give Sam Mitchell about another month before the axe falls.

Earth to Peja… Earth to Peja… After assuaging early concerns by going off for 33 points on Sunday night, the Slavic sharpshooter put worried looks back on the faces of Kings fans and fantasy owners everywhere by putting up an ugly 9-point performance on 4-13 shooting against the Pistons. The career 46.5% shooter is now shooting a miserable 40.9% in what was supposed to be a huge contract year. Maybe he's been a little too busy posing for shirtless publicity photos and not busy enough working on his jumper.

Needless to say, my team is doing pretty crappy right now, shooting .416 from the field and .691 from the line. I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet, but I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't a little worried. Peja has been sucking, Kirilenko's mask is messing up his shot, and Dwight Howard has not been getting the shots he needs to get to be effective--or converting at a high percentage on the ones he has gotten.

Pray for Mojo.

NBA Blogosphere Poll Rankings - Week #1

After a minor redesign to make the site a little tighter (pretty much just a banner), I've become a charter member of the Blogosphere Poll Rankings (BPR) hosted over at YAYsports! (the exclamation point is theirs, not mine, although I am excited).

Basically, the pitch goes like this: get some fanatical bloggers from their respective sports together and publish rankings to compete with the bust-ass "official" rankings put out by the major news outlets. Genius, no? From here, it's just a few small steps to worldwide blog domination. At the Drop the Dime, we're happy to be on the ground floor.

Without further ado, here is my inaugural NBA BPR ballot, complete with snarky comments. Check YAYsports! on Tuesday for the final rankings.

1. San Antonio
2. Detroit: Flip Saunders thinks he died and went to heaven
3. Dallas
4. Indiana
5. Miami: Wade & Co. must step up with Shaq gone
6. Denver: Much better than you think (or than their record shows)
7. Phoenix: Nash-to-Marion softens the blow of losing Amare
8. Washington
9. LA Clippers: Finally, a real point guard for a talented starting 5
10. New Jersey: Kidd, Jefferson & Carter will soon be off to the races
11. Boston
12. Chicago
13. Milwaukee: T.J. Ford having Nash-like impact; Magloire helps too
14. Utah
15. Minnesota
16. Houston: Losing McGrady hurts badly
17. Golden State: Baron Davis already injured
18. Seattle
19. LA Lakers
20. Cleveland
21. Philadelphia: AI & C-Webb 'coexisting'; getting outscored by 11
22. Charlotte
23. Memphis
24. Sacramento: Chemistry experiment gone wrong in Sacto
25. New York: Larry Brown breaking em down before he builds em up
26. New Orleans
27. Orlando
28. Atlanta
29. Portland: Why would McMillan leave Seattle for this?
30. Toronto: Do they wonder why basketball hasn't caught on in Canada?

Blowing Up, Point Guard Edition

Ah yes, it's the return of Blowing Up. Unfortunately, Nels scooped all of my hot prospects over at Give Me The Rock. Not like it's a big secret... Anyway, I'm going to narrow things down to PGs only.


Chris Duhon, PG, Chicago Bulls

It's like whoa. Apparently, he shook of his concussion. He had his first career triple double last night, going for 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. I don't really know what to think of this, considering he just wasn't that great last year. If his next game is anything like his last one, make sure he's not still on your waiver wire.


Delonte West, PG, Boston Celtics

With Delonte West, Dan Dickau, Marcus Banks, and lately some guy named Orien Greene all competing for the starting spot in Boston, this season had "point guard controversy" written all over it. West went a long way towards putting that controversy to rest on Wednesday with 14 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks. Daaaaaamn. Looks worth a pickup.


T.J. Ford, PG, Milwaukee Bucks

If you don't know, axe somebody. This guy wasn't exactly under my radar this preseason, but I did think he'd need some time to shake the rust off after missing all of last season to a spinal cord injury that nearly paralyzed him. During his rookie year, he went for 7.1 points, 6.5 assists, and 3.2 rebounds on 38.4% FG shooting, so I was hardly projecting superstardom.

It's early, but it looks like I was wrong. Way wrong. In the first two games, Ford is averaging 18.5 points, 10 assists, and 6.5 rebounds in 38.0 mpg. The 4.0 turnovers and 37% shooting hurt, but with numbers like those, they're a price worth paying. Look out below. He won't keep up this pace, but like Charles Barkley says, "T.J. Ford is a point guard."


Sam Cassell, PG, Los Angeles Clippers

This is an I-told-you-so pick. The Alien went off on Wednesday night, going for 35 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 threes on 53% FG shooting and 100% FT shooting. He turned the ball over once.

I drafted dude in the ninth round of my draft this year. He looks like a pretty good investment. Hope yall took my advice and didn't get scared off by all the noise about Shaun Livingston. Cassell is the starter for good.

NBA Injury Roundup

I'll try to make this a weekly affair. I know how frustrating it is to go through every roster clicking on the little yellow notebooks...

Nene: You hate to be right in situations like these. Nene did, indeed, tear his ACL in his awkward fall in the first quarter of his opening night game. He's done for the season. Not too many fantasy owners were depending on Nene, but those that were should drop him immediately to the wire since the NBA (and fantasy leagues along with it) has eliminated the IL.

Kirk Hinrich: Kirk sprained his ankle in the Bulls' Wed. night game against the Bobcats and was on crutches after the game. It's being classified as mild-to-moderate, so don't get too worried, but Kirk's production might be limited for a week or so. Hope he doesn't miss any games.

Q. Richardson: Dude is wearing ice-packs during the game on his chronically sore back. Come on man, you're 25. He only played 22 minutes in the game. I've never liked Q Rich's game anyway, but the combination of leaving Steve Nash's side, this lingering back injury, and 22 minutes per game under taskmaster Larry Brown puts his fantasy value in the toilet. If you can find a taker, deal this guy.

Tracy McGrady: Recently said of his knee tendinitis: "It was pretty bad. It really was, to the point I was getting concerned, and didn't know how effective I would be." Early returns say he'll be OK, as he went for a TMac-esque line of 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal 1 block 1 turnover. Keep an eye on his knees, but keep him in your lineup (obviously).

Gerald Wallace: On Monday he strained his left shoulder. Then he came out and went 28-5-4 with 5 steals to start the season. All systems go for a guy who could really be a fantasy standout this year.

Carlos Boozer: Continues not to play because of hamstring issues. Dude's a punk.

Sam Dalembert: See above.

Manu Ginobili: Bruised right quadriceps limited his effectiveness in the opener, holding him to 29 minutes and pretty pedestrian numbers overall. Has this guy gone from being perenially underrated to perenially overrated, fantasy-wise?

Kenyon Martin: His surgically repaired right knee collided with Finley's, and he whined about it little, but his numbers are right where they should be. Should be OK for the time being.

Nene's Knee: Hilario leaves season opener with "sprained" ACL

During the first quarter of Denver’s opening night game against the Spurs, Nuggets PF Nene Hilario crumpled awkwardly to the court on a routine drive to the basket and had to be helped off by trainers.

After a preliminary examination, team doctors said that Nene had “at least” a sprained anterior cruciate ligament. Doctors are generally a pretty precise bunch, and when they use terms like “at least,” it’s usually because they know something more is wrong. Remember Amare Stoudemire’s “exploratory” knee surgery?

It is too early to say that Nene’s injury is definitely an ACL tear, but based on the video—the injury was unprovoked—and early reports, it seems like a distinct possibility. This would be devastating not only for the Nuggets, but for fantasy owners who drafted Nene assuming (correctly, in all likelihood) that starting center Marcus Camby will miss significant time this season due to injury.

Most importantly, though, it would be a shame for Nene who, upon getting word from the Nuggets on Monday that his contract would not be extended replied: “That’s OK. I’m going to play great this season.” Nene, who was seeking a deal similar to the six-year, $64 million deal that Sam Dalembert signed with Sixers last season, would have to settle for substantially less if he misses the entire season due to injury.

This news should also put a chill on rumors that Nene will be traded to the Chicago Bulls.

Cross your fingers that tomorrow’s reevaluation of Nene’s knee brings good news for one of the NBA’s most exciting and athletic young post players.

Storylines to watch as the 2005-06 begins

The NBA Dress Code: Stephen Jackson thinks it’s racist. Tim Duncan thinks it’s stupid. Marcus Camby doesn’t really care, but he wants the NBA to pay for his suits. Just when I was about to dismiss Stephen Jackson’s accusations, Phil Jackson came along and gave them all kinds of credence by referring to the hip-hop flavored wardrobes popular among today’s ballers as “prison garb.” Um, Phil: that’s what the kids are wearing these days! It’s actually a huge business! So much for the Zen Master being so cool. Everyone is trying to predict what fans will think of the new rules. Why don’t we just go straight to the source: what do the readers think?

LVP Allen Iverson: Unlike David Stern, I’m not phased by Iverson’s tattoos, T-shirts, or chains. It’s his game that bothers me. This guy caused celebration last year when he shot 42.4% from the field. I guess that does look good when you shoot 38.7% the previous year. He also can’t shoot the three (career 30.7%), and a career free throw percentage under 80% for a star guard is, well…bad. Iverson did drop 8 assists per game last year—and his assist/turnover ratio was still under 2! He turned the ball over 4.6 times per game! Everyone points the finger at Webber for his failure to coexist with Iverson, but Larry Hughes and Jerry Stackhouse also had trouble playing with The Answer. Here’s The Question: wouldn’t you have trouble “coexisting” with a bad passer and a bad shooter with a bad attitude who insisted on shooting the ball 25 times a game?

The emancipation of Melo: After a sophomore season marred by an overall failure to improve on the court and the off-the-court release of an underground DVD that warned viewers to “Stop Snitching,” Carmelo Anthony looks poised to have a breakout season under George Karl in Denver. He showed off improved passing and shooting skills during the preseason and scored seven points in the first four minutes of the Nuggets’ opener in San Antonio. Is 25+ points per game and playoff glory out of reach for the 21-year-old Melo? Don’t snitch!

Rising Suns: When the Suns elected to let Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson walk, chances are they didn’t expect to lose franchise cornerstone Amare Stoudemire for four months to knee microfracture surgery. Now missing 3/5 of the starting lineup from last year’s Cinderella team, the Suns are relying on previous unknowns Raja Bell and James Jones, a former Reggie Miller protégé, to pick up the slack. Will they be enough to keep the Suns afloat and playoff-eligible until Amare gets healthy?

A Tale of Two Cities: NO 93, SAC 67

New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets

After enduring a gut-wrenching 18-64 season by the hometown basketball team in 2004-05, the city of New Orleans endured one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history during the offseason. It’s safe to say that it can’t get much worse.

In their first game at their temporary home in Oklahoma City, the Hornets blew out the Kings by 26 points, getting great games from youngster J.R. Smith (19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover) and rookie Chris Paul (13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals). Even more encouraging for Byron Scott’s crew was the fact that they dominated without a meaningful contribution from newly-acquired swingman Desmond Mason, who played only 16 minutes and scored only 1 point. Count on Mason to start scoring in bunches once he gets the hang of the offense.

So are we looking at a juggernaut this season in Oklahoma City? Probably not. Are we looking at a winning team? Um, no. So what can we expect? Highlight reel dunks from Smith and Mason, head-turning passes by Chris Paul and Speedy Claxton, a ton of blocks for “The Birdman” Chris Andersen, and tremendous improvement from the top of the roster to the bottom. This might actually be a fun team to watch. After a year like these players and this city have had, that in itself is cause for celebration. Right!?

Sacramento Kings

How do you get blown out by 26 points by the Hornets?

It’s a good question, and one that we won’t be able to answer until the new-look Kings get some more games under their belt.

After making wholesale roster changes in the middle of last season, replacing C-Webb and Doug Christie in the starting lineup with Kenny Thomas and Cuttino Mobley, the Kings shook things up again in the offseason by inserting Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Bonzi Wells in the same two spots.

Suffice it to say, the early returns aren’t promising. Sacto fans who have become accustomed to winning have a wicked collective hangover this morning. The Queens shot a miserable 31.2% from the field and looked very weak on defense against a team whose offense was rated dead last in the league last year.

The good news is that the Kings turned the ball over “only” 18 times on a night when nothing seemed to be working. Coach Rick Adelman has his work cut out for him this year with a roster full of NBA retreads, but he’s one of the best in the business.

Do the 2005-06 Kings have what it takes to return to their perennial pretty-goodness?