Boston Celtics:  ¿0aThe Celtics dynamic duo of Ricky Davis and Paul ¿0aPierce are dealing with some issues.  Pierce was held out of practice on ¿0aTuesday to rest his sprained right ankle.  Pierce dinged the ankle is the ¿0agame Sunday vs. the Mavs.  However, Pierce said he could have played ¿0ayesterday and the ankle will not be an issue going forward.  Ricky D ¿0aarrived at practice yesterday with a 102-degree fever and was sent home.  ¿0aHis status is uncertain, and it is unclear if he will be feeling well enough to ¿0aplay tonight….Marcus Banks says the stress fracture in his left shin is ¿0acompletely healed and he is 100% ready to play. 

¿0a

Chicago Bulls:  ¿0aTyson Chandler said Tuesday he has been diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma, ¿0awhich doctors believe is the cause of his bouts with fatigue and shortness of ¿0abreath. "I’m just glad they finally said what it is," Chandler said. "I’m tired ¿0aof it being up in the air." Chandler will use an inhaler to combat the symptoms. ¿0aHe had success with it Saturday in a victory over the Wizards.  Hopefully, ¿0aChandler will start rebounding and blocking shots at the rate his owners know he ¿0ais capable of… Ben Gordon was back in action last night.  He said he is ¿0anot 100% healed from a sprained right knee, but that he will be able to play ¿0athrough the pain.  

¿0a

Cleveland Cavaliers: ¿0aZydrunas Ilgauskas was forced to sit out last night because of pain in his ¿0asprained knee.  Big Z has already had an MRI on the knee that revealed no ¿0aserious damage.  He is currently listed as day-to-day.  Amazingly, ¿0athis is just the fifth game Z has missed since 2001.  If you would have ¿0ataken a bet back in 2001, the over/under on how games Z would miss would over ¿0athe next 5 years would have been set at about 200… The Cavs are struggling ¿0aright now, but no one can blame LeBron.  King James has now scored at least ¿0a30 points in six straight games.  There is a reason why he went first ¿0aoverall in so many drafts…On the other hand, Larry Hughes has not been ¿0acarrying his weight.  Hughes has seen his points, assists, rebounds, steals ¿0aand shooting percentage all drop precipitously from last year’s numbers

¿0a

Detroit Pistons:  ¿0aBen Wallace owners have to be concerned with the production of Ben Wallace.  ¿0aBig Ben’s last few games have been very un-Ben like.  He is averaging fewer ¿0athan nine rebounds a game over his last five and is coming with fewer blocks and ¿0asteals than usual.  In addition, Ben’s 7-for-22 free throw performance on ¿0aSunday surely left owner with a case of the Monday’s the next morning.  As ¿0ait turns out, Ben is playing through pain from a myriad of injuries.  He is ¿0acurrently dealing with a nagging injuries to his right foot, left ankle, and ¿0aleft elbow.  Owners need to be patient with Ben, as you know he will give ¿0a110% every single time he steps out on the court.  ¿0a

¿0a

Milwaukee Bucks:  ¿0aBobby Simmons banged up his shoulder in the Bucks win over the Cavs on Saturday.  ¿0aBobby missed Monday’s game versus the Knicks.  He has had an MRI on the ¿0ashoulder but the results are not yet available.  It is doubtful he plays ¿0atonight.  Simmons has also missed games recently with a sprained ankle.  ¿0aSimmons has been a disappointment to fantasy owners, as his numbers are all down ¿0aacross the board from his break out season last year.  ¿0a

¿0a

Atlanta Hawks: ¿0aJust as everyone expected, the Hawks have beat the ¿0aSpurs and the Cavs in back-to-back games.   Last night Joe Johnson ¿0astarted to earn some of the $70 million he is being paid.  While Johnson ¿0ahas been a mild disappointment to fantasy owners, he has at least been ¿0aconsistent.  And although Johnson has not made the leap to stardom that ¿0asome had predicted, both his points and assists are up from last year.  ¿0aHowever, his FG% and 3-point percentage are way down (I think I could shoot 40% ¿0afrom behind the arc if I had Steve Nash passing to me.)…Baby Al Harrington is ¿0aright around his numbers from last year, but those could fluctuate if he is ¿0atraded…Josh Smith is still lost and has become irrelevant fantasy wise. 

¿0a

Charlotte Bobcats: ¿0aBrevin Knight is a steals and assist machine.  He is averaging 15 points, ¿0a10 assists and 2.8 steals over his last 5.  Not too many players have been ¿0amore productive recently…Gerald Wallace was held out of last night’s game due ¿0ato a sprained right index finger.  He is considered day-to-day, so owners ¿0awho set their lineup daily should keep and eye on that situation…Emeka Okafor, ¿0awho had been battling a few nagging injuries, bounced back with a nice 17 point, ¿0a12 rebound effort last night.

¿0a

Washington Wizards:  ¿0aGilbert Arenas was unable to suit up for the Wiz last night.  Arenas, who ¿0aleads the Wizards in scoring (27.7 points), assists (6.2), steals (1.58), ¿0aminutes (41.4) and turnovers (3.9), bruised his lower back when he fell to the ¿0afloor after getting his shot block in Saturday’s game against Chicago.  ¿0aGillie played the next night in Miami, but was clearly not himself.  He ¿0afinished just 5-for-24 from the field.  He has not been able to partake in ¿0aany basketball related activities since.  Chucky Atkins started in Arenas’ ¿0aplace and scored 12 points and had nine assists.  However, it has been ¿0areported today that Gillie did some light shooting after the game and plans to ¿0aplay Friday against the Lakers… Although Antawn Jamison’s scoring has slowed ¿0adown recently, he continues to rebound at a tremendous rate.  Coming into ¿0athis season, Jamison had averaged 7.5 boards per game.  However, this ¿0aseason he is currently ranked fourth in the league in rebounding at 11.4 per ¿0agame. 

¿0a

Denver Nuggets:¿0a Carmelo is on fire.  Over his last five games he is averaging ¿0a30.8 points, 4.6 boards, 1.8 steals, while shooting 51% from the field.  ¿0aLast night he had a monster:  42 points, 8 boards, 4 dimes, and 4 steals.  ¿0a’Melo is as talented a basketball player as anyone in the league, its just a ¿0amatter of him putting it all together.  Don’t forget to set your TiVo for ¿0atomorrow night – Carmelo versus LeBron at 8 on TNT… After starting the season ¿0aoff like the fantasy MVP, Marcus Camby is slowly coming back down to earth.  ¿0aHe is at 15 and 10 over his last five…Andre Miller is quietly putting together ¿0aa solid year.  He is averaging 13.3 points, 7.9 assists, 5 rebounds, and ¿0a1.3 steals.  In addition, with Earl Watson possibly being traded once ¿0aDecember 15th comes along, Miller may start seeing more minutes.

¿0a

Minnesota Timberwolves: ¿0aWally Szczerbiak has been shooting lights out recently.  Over his ¿0alast five contests, he is averaging 23.6 points, 5.6 boards, and 2.4 ¿0athree-balls, while connecting 53.3% of his shots.  He has been a key ¿0acomponent in the Wolves recent success…Marko Jaric has also been playing much ¿0abetter of late.  He is dishing out 7.2 assists and collecting 5.4 boards a ¿0agame in his last five.  Jaric may be available on a waiver wire or two – ¿0ascoop him up if he is.   

¿0a

Utah Jazz:  ¿0aCarlos Boozer had been with the team for the last few days, but returned home to ¿0aLos Angeles and will not travel with the team on a five-game road trip that ¿0abegins later this week.  So this means that Boozer will miss at least ¿0afive more games over the next two weeks.  Boozer has been a huge ¿0adisappointment to both Jazz fans and fantasy owners unlucky enough to own him.  ¿0aHowever, Boozer has too much upside if he ever plays to cut, so you should keep ¿0ahim buried on your roster.  It is also possible that Boozer could be dealt ¿0ain the near future, and a change of scenery may be just what he needs.    ¿0a

¿0a

Los Angeles Clippers:¿0aThe oft-injured Shaun Livingston will make his season debut in the very ¿0anear future, possibly tonight.  Livingston suffered a stress reaction in ¿0ahis lower back in the preseason and has yet to suit up.  Sam Cassell owners ¿0ashould keep a close eye on the situation.  Because the Clippers and Cassell ¿0ahave been playing so well, it is unlikely that Sam-I-am would see his minutes ¿0adecrease.  However, Livingston is the future in LA so he will see time once ¿0ahe is 100% healthy.  Nonetheless, Cassell will continue to put up solid ¿0afantasy numbers, as long as he stays healthy himself. 

¿0a

Phoenix Suns: ¿0aAccording to the Arizona Republic – Suns coach Mike D’Antoni addressed the media ¿0aafter practice Tuesday sounding like a football coach. He began with an injury ¿0areport, listing the team’s several ills. James Jones will miss tonight’s game at ¿0aDallas with an ankle sprain suffered in Saturday’s loss to the Clippers. Jones ¿0adid some light shooting Tuesday. The best-case scenario is that he’ll return ¿0aFriday against the Hornets in Baton Rouge, La. Kurt Thomas practiced after ¿0ataking a nasty fall in Monday’s home loss to the Hornets. Raja Bell had undercut ¿0athe Suns center as he went up for a rebound, but so far, so good.

¿0a

I welcome all questions, comments, etc. Please ¿0asend them to me at tbeer@hoopsworld.com

¿0a¿0a¿0a¿0a¿0a