Player Update: Redd, Butler, A. Parker, Jasikevicius, Foye, M. Miller - 11/2/06 9:20 AM

Michael Redd: Dominates Pistons in Opener
Michael Redd: Redd torched the Pistons in his season debut Wednesday night, knocking down 14-for-22 from the field and all eight free throw attempts for 37 points to go along with five boards and a trey in 38 minutes.

Caron Butler: Starts Off Strong
Caron Butler: Butler kicked off his season Wednesday night by leading the Wizards in scoring (23 points), rebounding (six), and steals (three) while also shooting a solid 9-for-15 from the field and dishing a couple assists.

Anthony Parker: Solid Debut
Anthony Parker: Parker led the Raptors in his team debut Wednesday night, scoring 22 points on solid shooting (9-for-17 FG, 2-for-3 from downtown) to go with three boards, two assists, and two steals in 36 minutes.

Sarunas Jasikevicius: Big Game Off the Bench
Sarunas Jasikevicius: Jasikevicius came off the bench Wednesday night to lead the Pacers with 20 points (5-for-6 FG, 2-for-2 3-pointers, 8-for-10 FTs) and five assists with only one turnover in 21 minutes off the bench.

Randy Foye: Playing Time Sparse
Randy Foye: Foye didn't score and played just six minutes in his first regular season NBA game in Wednesday's win over Sacramento.

Mike Miller: Huge Minutes
Mike Miller: Miller played a team high 52 minutes, scoring 18 points on 7-of-23 from the field, with four from behind the arc, to go along with six rebounds and two steals in the Grizzlies triple overtime loss Wednesday.

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Player Updates: Odom, Tyrus Thomas, Gordon, Wade, West, Bryant - 11/1/06 9:20 AM

Lamar Odom: Huge Game from Odom
Lamar Odom: Odom tied a career-high of 34 points, to go along with 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals and three three-pointers in 43 minutes Tuesday night. Odom also shot 12-of-24 from the floor and 7-of-7 from the line.

Tyrus Thomas: Breaks Nose in Debut
Tyrus Thomas: Thomas scored four points to go along with five rebounds, a steal and two blocks in 16 minutes against Miami Tuesday night. He also broke his nose during the fourth quarter after colliding with Miami's James Posey going for a rebound.

Ben Gordon: Off Night for Gordon
Ben Gordon: Gordon scored only six points on 1-of-9 shooting on Tuesday.

Dwyane Wade: Hits Two Threes
Dwyane Wade: Wade led the Heat with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting on Tuesday in a loss to the Bulls.

Delonte West: Will Back Up Paul Pierce
Delonte West: West (toe) is 100% and ready to assume his role as the team's backup to Paul Pierce at off guard, the Boston Globe reports.

Kobe Bryant: Knee Still Sore
Kobe Bryant: Bryant is sitting out the Lakers season opener Tuesday because of soreness in his surgically repaired right knee, the Associated Press reports. "This morning it was a little sore," Bryant said. "The thing about the knee is you want to string together a few days where it feels good."

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Player Updates: Bogut, D. Williams, Ridnour, T. Parker, E. Thomas, Rose - 10/31/06 9:20 AM

Andrew Bogut: Cleared to Play in Opener
Andrew Bogut: Bogut (leg) has been cleared to play in Milwaukee's season-opener, the Associated Press reports.

Deron Williams: Has Contract Extended
Deron Williams: Utah announced Monday they are exercising the option for the third year of Williams' rookie contract, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

Luke Ridnour: Signs Extension
Luke Ridnour: The Sonics signed Ridnour to a multi-year extension on Monday.

Tony Parker: Sprains Ankle
Tony Parker: Parker sprained his ankle in practice on Monday and is questionable for the season opener against Dallas, the Associated Press reports.

Etan Thomas: Starting Center
Etan Thomas: Thomas will start at center over Brendan Haywood, the Associated Press reports.

Jalen Rose: Waived by the Knicks
Jalen Rose: The Knicks waived Rose Monday and reportedly will buy out the final year of his contract.

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Player Updates: 10/30/06 9:20 AM

Troy Murphy: Back at Practice
Troy Murphy: Murphy (broken nose) practiced with a clear face mask on Saturday and expects to play in the season opener on Wednesday, the Contra Costa Times reports.

Mouhamed Sene: Expected To Start at Center in Opener
Mouhamed Sene: With Robert Swift (knee) out for the season, Sene will serve as the team's starting center for the season opener Wednesday against Portland, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

Chris Kaman: Five-Year Extension
Chris Kaman: Kaman signed a five year, $52-million contract extension according to the Los Angeles Times.

Derek Fisher: (Tailbone) Questionable for Season-Opener
Derek Fisher: Fisher (bruised tailbone) is now considered questionable for Wednesday's regular season opener, the Desert News reports.

Luol Deng: Likely to be a Starter
Luol Deng: Deng was in the starting lineup at small forward in the Bulls' 108-97 preseason finale win over Toronto on Friday and should be a starter in the season-opener on Tuesday.

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Player Updates: 10/28/06 8:20 AM

Shelden Williams: Will Start at Power Forward
Shelden Williams: Williams started at power forward Friday night in Atlanta's preseason finale.

Rajon Rondo: Pushing for a Significant Role
Rajon Rondo: Rondo finished the preseason strong and is a legitimate threat to play a lot of minutes this season, the Boston Herald reports.

Danny Fortson: Suspended for Sonics' Opener
Danny Fortson: Forston was suspended for a game on Friday for his flagrant foul on Ron Artest in a game earlier this week, the Associated Press reports.

Danny Granger: Could Start for Pacers
Danny Granger: Pacers coach Rick Carlisle is toying with the idea of starting Granger and bringing Jeff Foster off the bench, the Indianapolis Star reports.

Robert Swift: (Knee) Out for the Season
Robert Swift: Swift's MRI revealed major damage and he will miss the upcoming season with a right knee injury, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

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Player Update: 10/26/06 8:05 AM

Sam Cassell: (Calf) Aims to be Ready For Season Opener
Sam Cassell: Cassell (strained left calf), who has played in just one of the Clippers' six preseason games, says he will be ready to go when the team opens the regular season Nov. 1 at Phoenix, the Los Angeles Times reports. Cassell said he might play Wednesday night against Portland or in Friday's preseason finale against Denver.

Darko Milicic: (Back) Expected to Come Off Bench
Darko Milicic: Milicic (bruised lower back) missed his third straight game Tuesday night.

Andres Nocioni: Sees Minutes at Power Forward
Andres Nocioni: Coach Scott Skiles unveiled a new look "small" lineup, with Nocioni replacing P.J. Brown at power forward, in the Bulls' 87-84 win over Memphis on Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Robert Swift: Named Sonics Starting Center
Robert Swift: Swift was named Seattle's starting center Tuesday by coach Bob Hill, the Seattle Times reports.

J.R. Smith: Makes Strong Case for Starting Job
J.R. Smith: Smith, who's battling for the starting SG spot in Denver, scored 26 points and hit 8-of-13 3-pointers during Denver's 127-107 loss to Utah on Tuesday night.

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Player Update: 10/22/06 1:20 PM

Danny Granger: (Hip) Back in Action
Danny Granger: Granger (hip) returned to action on Saturday and had 18 points and five rebounds in the Pacers' preseason win over the Timberwolves, the Indianapolis Star reports.

Marcus Camby: (Foot) Injury not Serious
Marcus Camby: Camby (strained plantar fascia, right foot) missed his second straight preseason game on Saturday.

Maurice Williams: (Thumb) Back on the Floor
Maurice Williams: Williams (jammed thumb) returned to action Saturday night in Milwaukee's preseason victory over Denver.

Al Jefferson: Sustains Cut Above Eye
Al Jefferson: Jefferson needed three stitches to close a cut above his right eye sustained in Saturday's preseason game against the Knicks, the Associated Press reports.

Kobe Bryant: Knee Surgery Keeps Him Out
Kobe Bryant: Bryant (knee surgery) will sit out tonight's preseason game against Phoenix, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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Player Update: 10/21/06 1:20 PM

Lamar Odom: Big Game for Odom
Lamar Odom: Odom nearly posted a triple-double in the Lakers' 113-106 win over the Hornets on Friday night. He scored 17 points, grabbed ten rebounds, and handed out nine assists in the win.

Maurice Evans: Scores 27
Maurice Evans: Evans scored 27 points in the Lakers' preseason 113-106 win over the Hornets on Friday night.

Hilton Armstrong: Out with Sore Knee
Hilton Armstrong: Armstrong sat out Friday's preseason game with a sore right knee.

Tyson Chandler: Will Be Re-evaluated Sunday
Tyson Chandler: Chandler (ankle), who sat out his second straight preseason game on Friday, will be re-evaluated prior to Sunday's game, The Oklahoman reports.

J.J. Redick: Practicing at Full Steam
J.J. Redick: Redick (plantar fascia, left foot) is practicing at full steam, but there's no timetable on when he might play in a preseason game, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

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Free 2006 Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide

Let the fun begin! It is that time of the year again! As most of you know, drafting the right players is 75% of the work in creaming your competition for the rest of the year. I have been creating my own draft guides for the past 2 years now and since then, I have finished top 1 and 2. I am not guaranteeing anything but if you need some help, this might be a decent reference for you.

2006 Draff Guide

I created an excel spreadsheet based on last years stats and factoring the rankings from Yahoo! (Funston's list). It is color coded so that if a player is weak in one area, it is marked red. If they are average, they are marked yellow. And if they are green, they excel in that particular category. It also factors into consideration the relative weightings of FG% and FT% based on how many times they shoot/miss in comparison to the top 120 player league average. This is called NFT and NFG (which stands for Net FT% and Net FG% respectively).

I know that last year's stats are not the best indication of how they will fare this year but it gives you a good start in judging what types of players they are. Then you can factor in their potential for the year.

Couple of absolute rules for me in heading into this year's draft. Some strategies if you will..

1) Always draft best available big man unless you can land either Lebron or KG. This is because the pool of decent guards are deeper as opposed to big men. Try to lock up your big man's stats like REBS, BLKS, with good FT% and FG%s.

2) Take players who won't absolutely hurt you in one category. Taking Shaq is a big no no.

3) After 3 round, take best available player. Even though you might be loaded with big men, if someone like J O'Neal falls on your lap, you better take him or be sorry for the rest of the year. You usually have good leverage to trade with big man.

4) No rookies. No rookies. I will not do it.

5) No injury-prone players. You will not see me drafting Camby, B. Knight, G. Wallace, and the like. Yeek.

Hope these tips were helpful. Good luck.

BTW, if you use my draft guide, please let me know how you like it. Thanks.

Player Update 10/20/06 1:20 PM

Adam Morrison: Shooting Struggles Persist
Adam Morrison: Morrison scored eight points on just 3-of-16 from the floor in Thursday's loss to the Pacers, the Charlotte Observer reports.

Raymond Felton: Abdominal Strain
Raymond Felton: Felton (abdominal strain) did not play in Thursday's preseason loss to the Pacers, the Charlotte Observer reports.

Gerald Wallace: Back Spasms
Gerald Wallace: Wallace (back spasms) did not play in Thursday's preseason loss to the Pacers, the Charlotte Observer reports.

Tyson Chandler: Sore Left Ankle
Tyson Chandler: Chandler was scratched from Thursday night's starting lineup after complaining of soreness in his left ankle during pre-game warmups, The Oklahoman reports.

Andrei Kirilenko: Midseason Form
Andrei Kirilenko: Shedding off recent back woes, Kirilenko turned in a sparkling performance Thursday night against Portland. In addition to scoring 15 points, he contributed seven assists, six rebounds and six blocked shots.

Joel Przybilla: Time Share with Magloire
Joel Przybilla: After starting the first preseason game, Przybilla has come off the bench in the past two games. He's played a total of 36 minutes in the two games.

Stats provided by Rotowire.com