After missing nearly an entire month due to a pelvic sprain, Lance Stephenson is reportedly set to return to the court and play for Charlotte on Wednesday night against San Antonio. Stephenson was a full participant in practice on Monday and Tuesday, and according to this story by Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, the shooting guard expects to be available when the Hornets take on the Spurs.
"Right now it feels good. It’s a little sore, but I think I’ll be ready for the game tomorrow," Stephenson told the newspaper after practice Tuesday.
As you know, Stephenson has been the topic of trade talks during the first half of the season, having quickly worn out his welcome in Charlotte, and it'll be interesting to see how Charlotte coach Steve Clifford incorporates him back into the lineup on a Hornets team that has rattled off five wins in a row.
"I’ll probably come off the bench and I won’t be mad over that. I’ll just try to feel everybody out," Stephenson said. "Right now we’re on a five-game winning streak and I don’t want to do anything to break that. ... I don’t expect to just come back and do everything."
This is key, because the extent of his role will directly impact the other main scoring options on the team such as Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who have all been red-hot in recent weeks with Stephenson and Al Jefferson both out of the lineup.
If Stephenson's role is reduced to 15-20 minutes a night off the bench, Henderson and MKG will probably be able to retain much of their fantasy value. Anything more than that, though, like a potential return to the starting lineup, will cut into Henderson and MKG's production enough to make them expendable cut candidates. Much of this could come down to how well Stephenson shoots in a reserve role, because his shooting numbers over the first six weeks of the season left much to be desired, with his field goal percentage (38.6) dropping 10.5 percent and his 3-point percentage (15.1) plummeting 20.1 percent from last year in Indiana.
Observations from around the NBA:
Kanter over Gobert: Enes Kanter is set to return to the lineup for Utah's home tilt against Golden State tonight, and the Jazz have already announced that it'll be Kanter -- not Rudy Gobert -- who will draw the start. According to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune, Gobert will head to the bench and Derrick Favors will return to the center spot, where he'll face one of the game's best defensive centers in Andrew Bogut on Tuesday night. I still like Gobert's fantasy value much more than the points-and-rebounds game of Kanter, but Gobert's value over the rest of the season will ultimately come down to how well the Jazz play with Kanter starting. If Kanter struggles, or if the Jazz have a difficult time competing in games with Kanter starting, it will become tougher for Quin Snyder to keep Gobert in a reserve role.
Crowder a keeper? Jae Crowder was somewhat of an afterthought in the deal that sent Rajon Rondo from Boston to Dallas, but now that the Celtics have traded Jeff Green to Memphis, the opportunity is there at small forward and Crowder looks like the guy for the job. He was everywhere on the court in Monday's win over New Orleans, going for 22 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 4 steals in 36 minutes. Crowder remains owned in only 3.2 percent of ESPN leagues, and that is a number that you can expect to soar in the coming days and weeks.
Bigger role for James Johnson: Somewhat of an afterthought at times this season, Johnson was inserted into the starting lineup ahead of Landry Fields over the last two games and managed to make contributions all over the court. He averaged 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.5 blocks in just over 35 minutes per game, proving that he can be a sneaky fantasy option going forward, even once DeMar DeRozan returns to the lineup (either Wednesday against Philadelphia or Friday against Atlanta). Per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, Raptors coach Dwane Casey will consider starting Johnson alongside DeRozan if athletic shooter Terrence Ross fails to lock down the starting job.
Young centers and fouls: Kelly Olynyk was saddled with three first-half fouls in Monday's game against the Pelicans, forcing Celtics coach Brad Stevens to use more of Tyler Zeller than he would have liked. Then, once Zeller got into foul trouble, Stevens resorted to Gerald Wallace as an emergency big man option. Looking at the foul numbers this season, none of this should come as a big shock -- Olynyk's 7.1 fouls per 48 minutes ranks among the highest as far as the NBA's big men are concerned. Who are the other foul-prone centers to be concerned about? Jusuf Nurkic (10.2 fouls per 48 minutes), Larry Sanders (8.5), Alex Len (7.8), Marreese Speights (7.4), Hassan Whiteside (6.9), John Henson (6.6), Cole Aldrich (6.5 and Zeller himself (6.4).
News to know: Kobe Bryant told Lakers coach Byron Scott that he "feels fine," per Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, but Scott is still calling Bryant a "game-time decision" for tonight's game against Miami. ... Jrue Holiday (ankle) is listed a questionable for Wednesday's game against Detroit. If he cannot go, look for Tyreke Evans to spend much of the game as New Orleans' primary ball-handler, as he did Monday against the Celtics. ... Time off is no longer a consideration for Dwyane Wade, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, even during back-to-backs. ... DeRozan will likely be under a minute restriction once he returns to the Raptors this week, though it's unknown what that minute-mark will be. ... Joel Freeland (shoulder) expects to be out longer than the initial two-week timeline he was given. Freeland hasn't played since Jan. 3, and as long as he and Robin Lopez (hand) both remain out it will mean more opportunities for Chris Kaman.
Check out The Crossover: In the latest column, Joe looks at Tony Parker and other big-name players around the NBA whose numbers are in decline.
