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Dwight Howard's important ‘big step’
March, 23, 2015
Mar 23
2:02
PM ET
By Nick Borges | ESPN Insider

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Dwight Howard spoke to reporters last week and said his return to the active roster isn't that far off. Howard has been sidelined since Jan. 30 due to the edema of the right knee. According to the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Rockets have changed Howard's status from "Out" to "Doubtful" for Monday's game against the Indiana Pacers. Howard likely won't play, however this is is another sign he is close to getting clearance from the medical staff to rejoin the active roster.

“That’s a big step,” Howard said. “I haven’t circled a day, but hopefully the next couple games I’ll be back.”

The Rockets' schedule this week includes Indiana (Monday), New Orleans (Wednesday) and Minnesota at home on Friday. Just a guess that Friday might be the game he comes back, with Wednesday as a slight possibility.

“Dwight’s been looking good,” Corey Brewer said. “We need him back, his rebounding, his defensive presence. We need him back. Especially before we get in the playoffs, we need a healthy Dwight."

Whenever Howard does rejoin the active roster, his minutes per game will initially be restricted to 20-25 while he gets his game-legs back up to speed.
Tags:

Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy NBA, Houston Rockets, Dwight Howard
Will Brandan Wright reunite with Mavs?
March, 23, 2015
Mar 23
1:59
PM ET
By Nick Borges | ESPN Insider

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Forward/center Brandan Wright played with the Dallas Mavericks from the 2011-12 NBA season until Dec. 18 when he was traded to the Boston Celtics. Wright is now playing with the Phoenix Suns after the Celtics dealt him on Jan. 9. Wright posted solid numbers this season with the Mavs as he averaged 8.8 points (shooting 74.8 percent), 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. For that reason, he was asked if he might look at coming back to the Mavs in July as a free agent.

"That’s been a frequently-asked question," Wright tells The Dallas Morning News. "You can ask me that right after the season. Right now, we’re just trying to get to the playoffs."

The Suns are currently 2.5 games back of the No. 8 seed -- Oklahoma City Thunder -- in the West and the team needs Wright to continue his solid play. In March, Wright is averaging 8.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks off the bench.

Wright will likely consider all his options in July and then choose the right opportunity which gives him a prominent role and offers the biggest payday. In the end, there's a good chance it will come to a showdown between the Mavs and Suns for his signature.
Tags:

Phoenix Suns, Brandan Wright, 2015 NBA Free Agency
Kaepernick improving on short passes?
March, 23, 2015
Mar 23
1:47
PM ET
By Tom Carpenter | ESPN Insider

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As part of the process of retooling their offense under new head coach Jim Tomsula and offensive coordinator Geep Chryst, the San Francisco 49ers let Frank Gore leave as a free agent and signed Reggie Bush.

The addition of Bush gives the Niners a serious pass-catching element that their backfield has lacked for years. But getting the most out of Bush's skill set will require Colin Kaepernick to show more touch on short passes than he has thus far as a pro.

It's a part of his game that he has been working on this offseason in Arizona with quarterback coaches Dennis Gile and Mike Giavondo, as well as former NFL QB Kurt Warner.

“I don’t think there was a throw he couldn’t make when he first got here,” Gile told CSNBayArea.com on Sunday. “I just think the consistency and efficiency of it was what we wanted to get better at, and I think that’s where we made tremendous strides. He became a lot more consistent and efficient with those balls.”

Fantasy owners will be paying close attention to Kaepernick heading into the regular season, because the hope is that he will step things up statistically under the new Niners regime.

Improved consistency on shorter passes and the addition of Bush should assist him in coming through in that regard:

Insider
Nathan Jahnke

Bush can help 49ers rushing attack

"In 2014, the 49ers had Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde; two talented runners whose strengths weren't as receivers. The addition of Bush gives the 49ers a receiving threat out of the backfield, which they have lacked for several years. While Hyde got double-digit touches in only three games, he produced an elusive rating of 72.0 which was sixth best for those RBs with 50 or more carries. He can handle more carries, which would leave Bush in for a few carries per game as well as passing situations. Bush's strength is making guys miss after he gets the ball in his hands. He forced seven missed tackles on his catches and another 15 on his runs last season. He was released by Detroit because the Lions had younger, cheaper backs who were good at the same things as Bush, not because he is finished."

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Fantasy NFL, Insider NFL, NFL
When Paul George may play next
March, 23, 2015
Mar 23
1:07
PM ET
By Nick Borges | ESPN Insider

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UPDATE: That question still remains a mystery as Paul George doesn't know when he's going to return.

Regarding the speculation that he might be coming back this week, Paul responded: "I don't know where that came from."

Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com spoke to Larry Bird about George and the Pacers president believes his star will play at some point: "I expect him to play this year. I hope he does for his own good -- not for us to get in the playoffs or anything like that, but just for his own mental state. I think anytime you go through an injury like that, you have to get back out there and prove yourself. But he’s not going to be 100 percent."

--------------------
There have been some questions lately that Paul George may hold off returning to the Indiana Pacers active roster until the beginning of the 2015-16 season just to make sure his leg is completely healed. Well, it looks like he will play this season and his return could very soon, according to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst.

Windhorst writes: "The Indiana Pacers are targeting the next week for Paul George's season debut, multiple sources told ESPN.com. ... A Pacers official said the team plans to update George's status Monday."

"I didn't see that (story). I don't pay attention to that," George Hill told
The Indianapolis Star. "Whenever he's ready, he's ready. I'm not the one that's going to force him to come back in and play. But as long as he's ready mentally, that's all that matters."

Recently a teammate was quoted as saying George wasn't close to be ready, so the plan might be to have him play low minutes late in games just to see how his leg feels. This was a major injury to his leg and whether he gets a lot minutes this season or not, George will likely be unable to play like he did prior to the break until 2015-16.

George will likely be used a backup for the duration of 2014-15, including the playoffs, should he come back.
Tags:

Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy NBA, Indiana Pacers, Paul George
Time for Travis in Toronto?
March, 23, 2015
Mar 23
12:44
PM ET
By AJ Mass | ESPN Insider

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Sometimes roster decisions come down more to luck and taking advantage of opportunity than anything else. In the case of Maicer Izturis of the Toronto Blue Jays, the luck in question is of the bad variety.

As John Lott of the National Post reports, "After missing almost all of last season following knee surgery, the 11-year veteran was generally favored to win the starting second-base job this spring. But he suffered a groin strain fielding a ground ball last Friday and will be shut down for at least 10 days, which means he will not break camp with the club, manager John Gibbons said."

So who ends up on the opposite karmic end of Izturis's misfortune? Lott says it's likely to be Devon Travis, who despite having "no big-league experience, would appear to have an edge (on Ryan Goins). He's batting .368 with a team-leading 14 hits, including six doubles, and has played solid defense."
When will Trevathan, Marshall be healthy?
March, 23, 2015
Mar 23
11:11
AM ET
By Tom Carpenter | ESPN Insider

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The Denver Broncos are switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense this offseason under the direction of new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

They have a lot of potential in presumptive starting inside linebackers Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan, but both are recovering from injuries. Marshall battled a foot injury last season and Trevathan's season ended early due to a dislocated kneecap.

When will they be back to full health?

"Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall are the slated starters, but both may miss practice time throughout the offseason because of injuries," noted Mike Klis of the Denver Post.

"While Trevathan (left knee) and Marshall (right foot) should be 100 percent by training camp, this offseason is more important than usual because new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is converting Denver from a 4-3 to 3-4 defense."

Despite the promise the Broncos have atop the depth chart at linebacker, they may still target some more depth at ILB via the draft:

Jeff Legwold

A Broncos depth chart update: Defense

"They have some depth having re-signed Steven Johnson to go with two picks from last year's draft class in Corey Nelson and Lamin Barrow. Nelson and Barrow played 109 and 49 snaps respectively on defense last season, but the Broncos continue to like their potential. Also, Lerentee McCray, who played 121 snaps on defense last season, is a player the Broncos' former coaching staff believed could be a situational rusher, so it remains to be seen what defensive coordinator Wade Phillips does with him. Reggie Walker also signed this past week as well and while Walker likely sees time on special teams first, he can play any of the four linebacker spots in a 3-4 if needed and started six games over the last two seasons for the San Diego Chargers. Still, the Broncos, because Trevathan is coming off three separate left leg injuries, would give a long look to the bigger inside linebackers in the draft class."

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Insider NFL, NFL
Kings latest roster move
March, 23, 2015
Mar 23
10:40
AM ET
By Nick Borges | ESPN Insider

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The Sacramento Kings have had an open roster position since they declined to offer point guard David Stockton a second 10-day contract at the beginning of the month. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Kings will probably fill that spot on Monday by signing rookie forward David Wear to a 10-day contract.

Like Stockton, Wear has been playing for the Kings D-League, the Reno Bighorns. Wear has played in 43 games and he's averaging 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

The Kings may keep Wear on the roster for two 10-day contracts and then finish off the 2014-15 regular season by offering another prospect a rest-of-season deal, so they can have that player on their summer league team.
Tags:

Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy NBA, Sacramento Kings
Why Monta Ellis, Mavs may split
March, 23, 2015
Mar 23
10:09
AM ET
By Nick Borges | ESPN Insider

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Monta Ellis owns a 2015-16 player option worth $8.72 million and most observers of the Dallas Mavericks believe he will decline it to join the free agent market in July. Whatever happens, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders if it's best for the Mavs and Ellis to part ways in the off-season.

MacMahon writes: "To put it bluntly, he’s a pain in the butt who isn’t producing. ...Regardless of whether anyone will admit it on the record, Ellis is a big part of that problem. Folks in the Mavs organization have been fretting for weeks about the impact Ellis’ moodiness has on the team’s soul. That, of course, isn’t a first for Ellis. He had trouble getting along with teammates during his tenure with the Golden State Warriors, who never won anything of note with Ellis as the go-to guy and made an addition-by-subtraction deal by shipping him off. The same was true with the Milwaukee Bucks."

Ellis is shooting just 38.2 percent in March and he's averaging 16.8 points. When asked, head coach Rick Carlisle defended his use of Ellis, despite his struggles.

“We’ve got to get shots. We’ve got to get shots,” Carlisle said. “He’s the one guy who can get clean shots. And he’s getting good looks. I always believe he’s going to make the next one."

Ellis will turn 30 in October and with questions about a possible attitude problem, the Mavs may agree with MacMahon's opinion that the guard should be sent packing in the summer, if his struggles continue in the playoffs with a first round exit. If that happens, shooting guard will be a position that needs to be dealt with via free agency in July.
Tags:

Monta Ellis, 2015 NBA Free Agency