After throwing down one of the two or three best lines of the season earlier this week, Spurs point guard Parker did not last long in his subsequent outing- going down early with an ankle-sprain that will keep him out at least an estimated four weeks.  I do not have Parker in this league- the less-than-astute Cash Money (Black Fraze) organization will have to decide how to handle this one.  I do have Parker on my B League team, and it is very possible that I will be forced to kick him to the curb, for the following reasons-

• My man, D. Williams is out for at least another 1-3 weeks, during which I will likely be punting assists anyway, and Parker is, at best, a second-tier PG in the assists department.  With D. Will down, the additional dead weight of the recently-beloved T. Parker will be tough to overcome, especially when his dimes will likely not matter.
• Parker’s teammate, Ginobli, is floating out there on many waiver wires, might come back sooner, and is by most accounts a better fantasy player (when healthy) anyway.
• The Spurs could be in serious trouble.  The West is ultra-competitive, and if the Spurs have, for argument’s sake, say a 5-20 record when he’s ready to return, how eager will they be to rush him?  Will there be trade speculation?  Maybe an attempt to overhaul the team, given their advanced years and fragility of their starting back-court?

Other observations:

• TME (aka “The Ego”) is in some early season trouble, especially if one is to believe TME’s very own Marion-Haslem comparison. D-Will’s out now for a longer period than originally thought.  Maggette’s out.  Camby’s struggling and limited, and his motivation, playing for the sorry-@ss Clippers organization might be questioned.  Harrington’s gone, although TME might regret this move if Harrington is traded to a team, like, maybe the Knicks?  Or the Raptors? (Maybe Nellie wants his chance to attempt an 11th-hour career revival on J. O’Neal. ) Finally, the ironically healthy T-Mac just excreted a beautiful line:  1-11 FG, 1 three, 3pts, 2 boards, 4 dimes, effort.
• The Show squad resembles a doormat right now.  Although it’s very early in the season, it’s hard to imagine that The Show, as presently constituted, will ever make much noise.  Arenas returning to health would certainly be helpful, but can that alone erase the hole that will be dug in his absence?  A. Parker, W. Chandler, and U. Haslem are all fine candidates for the 13th spot on a 13-man roster. M. Daniels is a caretaker at best.  We will see how this plays out.
• A. Biedrins is a monster out of the gate, appearing poised to make the jump to elite C status.  

As expected by those in the know, the Flambuoyant organization has hit the ground running.  Let’s move on to Week 3!

There comes a time in every fantasy owner’s season where they are faced with the dilemma of keeping or dropping a player. Generally, there are four reasons why players are dropped in our league:

1. Injuries

2. Lack of Productivity

3. Decent productivity, but upside players are available on the waiver wire

4. Need to rotate roster spots to combat injuries

TME!!! has been forced to make some difficult decisions in Week 2 due to a roster that can’t get healthy. 2nd round pick, Deron Williams, is still out with an ankle injury. 3rd round pick, Marcus Camby (sore heel), is on a minutes restriction. Corey Maggette (hamstring) and Al Harrington (sore back, trade demands) are both out as well. Plus, my first round pick, Shawn Marion, is no better than Udonis Haslem right now. One of the keys in H2H leagues is to try to keep your head above water while your team deals with injuries or sub-par production. 4-4 ties or even 3-5 losses are OK as long as you stay around .500. Both The Show and The Dark Knight are in jeopardy of starting the season 4-12 and 2-14 respectively. That’s a tough hole to get out of in a league as competitive as ours. Sweeps are rare and even 6-2 victories are hard to come by. Tough decisions like dropping Gilbert Arenas or Monta Ellis will have to be made if these owners want to stay in the race.

TME!!! made a tough decision by dropping Manu Ginobili and an easier decision by parting with Al Harrington. Ginobili was a great value in the 12th round, but healthy players are paramount with injuries mounting. Harrington has upside, but is clearly in Don Nelson’s doghouse and won’t have value until traded. I’d rather have two starters playing 35+ minutes in the Warriors fantasy friendly offense than waiting for Ginobili to get healthy or Harrington’s back spasms to go away.

Good strategy or bad strategy? Only time will tell.