NBA Weekend Notes

Chuck Hayes had surgery for a broken nose on Friday after he suffered the injury in a morning workout.  The injury will keep him out 4 to 6 weeks.

The NBA has released the Preseason schedule which begins on October 5, 2008.  The NBA is really trying to spread its product around with games in London, Paris, China, Barcelona and Berlin.  Some interesting travel, so keep an eye on some of those teams for early season fatigue.

Lakers Center Andrew Bynum is recovering well from his knee injury and looks to be ready for the upcoming season.

The Grizzlies signed 7′2 254 pound big man Hamed Haddadi who played for the Iranian National team in Beijing.  Not sure how advanced Haddadi is, but with only Milicic and Warrick to contend with, he could get some minutes.  Keep an eye on him in camp.

ESPN released some predictions for the 2008-2009 season.  Not sure I agree with them, but at least it gives us some early information.

A quick look at the 2008-2009 New Orleans Hornets from Hornets247.com.  If you are a Hornets fan, add this site to your favorites.

Ira Winderman takes an early look at the Miami Heat depth chart.

Ginobili to have surgery on his left ankle

The injury to Manu Ginobili’s left ankle just isn’t getting any better and will need surgery.  A time for the surgery should be given next week with a rehab schedule to follow.  Ginobili has been dealing with the injury for a couple of months.  He had an injection in the ankle to get through the end of the NBA season and then tried to play in the Olympics, but couldn’t finish the schedule due to the injury.

Ellis out until late December with left ankle injury

Monta Ellis underwent surgery yesterday to repair a torn deltoid ligament in his left ankle.  He is expected to be out until late December.  The Warriors have some questions as to how this injury occurred due to the severity of the tear.  Keep an eye on this one as more details may leak out on how this injury really happened.  Either way, it’s a tough break for the Warriors, but picking up Marcus Williams is now looking like a really good move.

Free NBA Basketball Picks Section

We will be providing our free picks in this section for the 2008-2009 season.  I will be providing point spread picks, totals picks, moneyline picks and even a few prop bet picks.

Fantasy Point Guard Rankings coming soon

Fantasy drafts will be here before you know it, so it’s time to start getting those cheat sheets ready.  I will be taking a look at the point guard position the last week of August and then trying to hit the other four positions each week after that. I will also provide some sample drafts and results of my live drafts for the upcoming season. Also, I might be setting up a couple of leagues for some of the Handicapping The NBA team and we always have open spots for anyone who might be interested. I will try and post in the fantasy section when roster spots open up and also give everyone a heads up on the draft dates and times.

Olympic Basketball Updates

United States beats China to open Olympic play.  Photo courtesy of dbking.

Lakers at Celtics, Game 6

The Lakers head to Boston to try and steal a game and get closer to their next title.  Boston is favored and their defense should keep this one close.

Celtics at Lakers

Third game of the 2008 Finals has the Boston Celtics visiting the Los Angeles Lakers.  The Lakers are in a tough spot and need the win here.  Kendrick Perkins may miss this game with an injured shoulder.  James Posey will have to play more minutes to provide some inside defense to force Kobe outside and keep Gasol away from the basket.