Day 8: Tyson Chandler is hurt and Jason Kidd hates your fantasy team

(Illustration courtesy of Timothy McAuliffe)

Uh oh.

The non-sportsy first halves of these posts are supposed to be witty or inane, or at least well-written and thought out. Unfortunately, I can't think of anything to write about that isn't specifically about fantasy basketball, as I happen to be somewhat sleep-deprived at this instant. (My mind is only working at 40% efficiency. You could probably kick my ass in a trivia contest right now.)

So... to remedy this, I'm simply going to write about how I can't think of anything else to write about, which is why I'm writing about the fact that I can't think of anything more interesting to write about. This post is like Inception!!! Where's Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Oh, apparently he's directing now. (By the way, I feel like someone needs to get around to casting Gordon-Levitt as a villain in a movie, because with his narrow/sinister eyes, the dude would make a great antagonist. I know a lot of people hate his guts or can't stand him or something, but I kind of dig him.)

You know, it's times like this that I kind of feel sorrow for dudes like Jonah Lehrer and Stephen Glass -- terrific writers who ruined their careers by making up a bunch of B.S. and/or plagiarizing someone else's work. That's not to say that I excuse them, because plagiarism is a first-degree offense in the writing world, and once you get tainted as a plagiarist, there's no way your work can ever be respected again. However, I understand why someone would do what they did. It's tough being a writer sometimes. (I know, call the wambulance, right?) You're given a small window of time to come up with ideas that a mass audience will go gaga over, but sometimes a writer will getting stricken with the deadly writer's block. Sometimes a writer will -- like me, in this instance -- be kind of sleepy and won't be functioning as well they normally do, and sometimes a writer might even be going through some sort of emotional dilemma and their mind won't be in the right place.

Basically, there are times when it's really difficult to be creative and interesting. And in the absence of original content that's up to their normal standards, some writers have made the terrible decision to fill in the blank with content that isn't genuine. It's callous and dishonest to the reader and is never, ever excusable. However, I don't think the people who do it do so with any sort of malicious glee. Rather, I see them as people who got way, way over their heads, who got so caught up in the high of writing that they felt like they could skate with a less-than-authentic piece of work. And so they kept doing it. And doing it. And doing it, until finally, years later, you peel away the curtains and you realize that they haven't written an honest, genuine piece of work in years -- that it's all been a series of lies created to soothe people.

And part of the reason this happens is that the editing process on a lot of websites is JUST AWFUL, and this is especially true for sports sites. I once had a gig at a fairly prominent sports site, and I was shocked to find that my work was essentially being placed on the honor system. I would write things that weren't fact-checked or (in a couple incredibly-mortifying instances) edited in any way whatsoever. And while I appreciated the relative freedom this site provided me, it struck me that someone, probably multiple people, absolutely had to be committing plagiarism on this site on a regular basis, because the moment you give a desperate, out-of-ideas writer the rein to produce a cockamamie article, you're giving him the license to keep doing it, over and over and over again.

Anyway, to wrap this up, plagiarism is a terrible, terrible thing, and I'd rather write a stupid meandering post like this than construct anything that even vaguely resembles someone else's work. I get why Lehrer and Glass did what they did, the same way I get why someone might commit a crime-of-passion murder. But understanding is different from rationalizing, and while I feel bad that they felt the need to do what they did, I can't respect anyone who goes about their life lying to people and taking the easy way out.

(Hey, it turns out I found something to talk about after all!)

All right. So are you guys in the mood for some 100%-authentic Grade-A fantasy basketball updates! Good!

• Contrary to an ESPN report that Tyson Chandler only suffered a leg sprain against the Bobcats, it turns out the Knicks center actually fractured his right fibula, according to ESPN New York. The good news is that it won't require surgery; the bad news is that Chandler will be out for 4-6 weeks, which is a devastating blow to both the Knicks and his fantasy owners. Suddenly, Andrea Bargnani becomes much more palatable to own and should probably be picked up if he's available -- though he's still going to give you nothing in the way of anything but points/three's. Amar'e Stoudemire, meanwhile, may... just may... see an increase in production, although he's still reeling from his own injury woes, so I'd advise you to ignore him for now. Meanwhile, Iman Shumpert is an excellent fantasy play on Friday, as it won't be until Sunday that J.R. Smith returns from a suspension.
• Gerald Green had a great night in New Orleans, lighting up the Pelicans for 18 points on 6 three-pointers to go along with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Green is an athletic freak and is poised to do good things as the Suns starting shooting guard while Goran Dragic is out with an injury. The negative here is that his value will be fleeting, but he's absolutely worth an add for the two or three games that Dragic is out for.
• With Chris Bosh out, LeBron James carried the load for the Heat and put up a gaudy line of 35 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. He's hitting 58% of his shots, 50% of his three's, and 80% of his free-throws so far. I don't care what anybody says: LeBron, and not Kevin Durant, is the best player in fantasy basketball, and that's especially true now that Russell Westbrook is back. (Disagree with me! I dare you!)
• Paul George continued his excellent season on Tuesday, collecting 31 points on 12-18 shooting with 4 three's, 10 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists. George has shown noticeable improvement in virtually every area and has solidified his status as an elite shooting guard (which means I don't need to write about him all that much). Maybe his assists and points will fall off marginally when Danny Granger and George Hill return, but I doubt it'd be anything fantasy owners couldn't live with.
• Lance Stephenson had a rough shooting night (4-14 FG, 0-2 FT) but still managed to be productive, getting 10 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 three's, though he did also commit 5 turnovers. Stephenson should continue to be productive, even when the aforementioned Pacers return and he's forced to come off the bench (in all likeliness). However, this is an excellent time to sell high on him, as he's producing like Andre Iguodala at the moment, and that diverse production can't possibly hold up when the Pacers get healthier. You don't have to move him if you don't want to, but... it's probably the way to go.
• Although he shot an ugly 5-16 from the floor, Josh Smith still provided 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks against the Pacers. J-Smooth's shot selection is a little scary at the moment, as the Pistons seem totally content with him jacking up whatever ludicrous, awful shot attempt he feels the need to put up. However, if you can look beyond his shooting, Smooth remains a lock for a good statistical output on a nightly basis.
• Jonas Valanciunas played well against the Heat -- 18 points and 9 rebounds -- though a lot of his production came off layups, as the Heat went out of their way to double-team the Raptors' more namely stars. Valanciunas will be an okay utility player at times, but unlike tonight, he's unlikely to put up more shot attempts than Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry and Amir Johnson, so I wouldn't expect nights like this to become the norm for him.
• Deron Williams' minutes limit continued on Tuesday, as the Nets guard was only in there for 24 minutes, limiting him to 10 points and 8 assists. Williams, amazingly, has yet to play even 30 minutes in a game this season, which is an extraordinary limitation to put on a superstar who's healthy enough to play. To me, Williams is an awesome buy-low candidate right now, because at some point common sense is going to take over and Jason Kidd is going to realize that keeping his best player on the bench for 40% of the game can't possibly be a recipe for success.
• Channing Frye didn't do a lot in his first game since I anointed him a must-own player: 4 points and 3 rebounds in just 19 minutes. Admittedly, Frye's role on this team is a shaky one, as the veteran doesn't exactly factor into the Suns' tank-at-all-costs rebuilding plan. Still, he's worth rostering so long as he's getting 30 minutes a night. Whether he'll continue to get those as the year continues is worth wondering, but for now, I think it's worth the risk to take him on, if only because his ceiling is sky-high if he gets enough playing time.
• Tim Duncan proved that old things can still be valuable, as the decrepit ole geezer came away with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 blocks against the Nuggets. Although the likeliness remains that he'll randomly get benched as the season winds down, he's still totally dependable whenever he plays.
• Omer Asik had just 8 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes Tuesday. Asik, even if he's only getting a limited run as a starter, is probably worth keeping just because of his insane per-minute rebounding rates. However, the Rockets' high-octane style offense is at its most efficient when only one of their big guys is on the floor, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear Asik's name pop up in trade rumors at some point. He's averaging 9 rebounds per game on the year but is only averaging 5 points and barely half a block per contest. He's keepable if you need rebounds, but he's in a murky fantasy situation.
• Oh, and speaking of murky fantasy situations, Jeremy Lin had just 12 points, 4 assists and 2 steals against the Blazers. Lin is going to be pressed for minutes now that Patrick Beverley is back from injury. Between the two, I'd still rather own Lin, who should continue to get at least 25 minutes a night and who has a more complete offensive game. Still, Lin is poised to be horribly-inconsistent this season, so if you can find an owner willing to buy into the star power of his name, I recommend selling him if it's at all possible.
• Mo Williams had 8 points and 7 assists coming off the bench for the Blazers. Mo has been a fairly reliable fantasy option for most of his career, but there's just not a lot he can do playing behind Damion Lillard. Barring a Lillard or Wesley Matthews injury, he's not worth your consideration.
• Isaiah Thomas had 26 points and 5 assists in 28 minutes off the bench for the Kings. Greivis Vasquez is not incapable of having a nice fantasy night from time to time, but Thomas -- I'll reiterate -- is clearly the Kings guard to own right now.
• The Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers are both 3-1, which puts them ahead of the Miami Heat in the standings. That's going to change very soon, obviously, but hey! Who'd have thought that'd be true even eight days into the NBA season?