Fantasy Basketball Nba Start Em Sit Em

Picks and Roles provides all the vital information you need in making those tough lineup decisions for weekly leagues.

Injuries like the one to Marreese Speights garner mixed reactions. Those who took a flier on Speights are disappointed now that they've lost him for up to 6-8 weeks with a partial tear in his MCL. In his last five, Speights averaged 24.7 minutes, 12.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 60.0-percent shooting from the floor. Not quite overwhelming numbers, but promising nonetheless. With Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert both struggling to get into an offensive groove, Speights was starting to see some daylight in the rotation and many eager fantasy owners were beginning to think that they snagged this season's Paul Millsap. Unfortunately, we won't see him again until late December.

On the other side of the coin are the Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert owners. They are hoping that this will force Eddie Jordan to stick with both Brand and Dalembert in the rotation as they continue to work through their struggles -- as opposed to opting for the young Speights off the bench. Any spark to get fourth-round draft pick Elton Brand going would do at this point.

Picks and Roles provides all the vital information you need in making those tough lineup decisions for the week ahead.

This week we have four teams -- Kings, Bucks, Pacers, and Wizards -- who play just two times. Aside from the obvious guys like Danny Granger, Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler, I would only consider Tyreke Evans and Andrew Bogut as players to slot into your lineup. Obviously, since most of us play in a "two center" league, if you have to start Roy Hibbert I could see you making the case.

Jason Thompson is another guy on the fringe this week. He's starting to look more and more like a top 50 fantasy baller this year. Brandon Jennings would be another guy you could consider. Though if it comes down to a point guard who plays four times and Jennings, you have to take the four games. Same can be said about Thompson and the other fantasy fringe players. Maximize your games played, it's Fantasy 101.

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It's becoming more and more frustrating as the list of "questionable" players for opening night continues to grow. The case has been made that maybe the preseason is too long -- about four games too long.

Who would have thought that of the past three No. 1 overall draft picks only Greg Oden will start the 2009-10 season with a clean bill of health. Blake Griffin is reportedly sidelined for up to six weeks with a stress fracture in his left knee, while Derrick Rose is questionable after injuring his ankle early on in the preseason. Rose is likely to play on opening night, but his action could be limited as he nurses his ankle back to health. In other news, future No. 1 pick John Wall is not serving much better. Advantage, Oden.

With less than 24 hours to go before your lineups are required to be set in stone for the week, it's only right that we discuss a few of the "questionable" lineup decisions you might need to make based on injuries and matchups.

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The season is officially upon us. It tips off Tuesday night as the Cavaliers welcome the Celtics to town. This moment we've all been waiting for.

Of course it seems as though you've got your fantasy teams in order. You came up with a more creative team name than "[Your Last Name]'s Team" and you're pretty sure you're the team to beat. But before you go and slack off, there's still work to be done. You need to embrace the math that is the weekly lineup.

It's not quite as easy as playing Player A over Player B just because you drafted him three rounds earlier than Player B. Sure it's safe to say that you're going to start guys like LeBron James each week, no questions asked. But for several players on your team it's crucial to look at the schedule and team matchups in order to gain the upper hand.

Each week it shall be my duty to break down the upcoming schedule and point out a few of the more favorable, and not-so-favorable, matchups. This could help make those start/sit decisions a little easier.

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