Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz
Before you look at his stats and conclude that he had a good season last year, don’t forget to look at his playoff statistics. With the Jazz trying to make a run in the Western Conference, Boozer was oftentimes the team’s weakest link. He’ll likely bounce back but he showed a lot of vulnerability during the 2008 playoffs.

Antawn Jamison, Washington Wizards
Early in preseason play Antawn Jamison went down with a knee injury. While he should be okay for the regular season opener, he’ll likely be slowed for a few more weeks. Additionally, Jamison is getting to the age where his stats should start to decline. Some of his stats from last year, such as his rebounding numbers, will likely be on the decline this year.

Rasheed Wallace, Detroit Pistons
Rasheed Wallace has a lot of minor aspects that could make him a fantasy basketball bust in 2008. First of all, the newly 34-year-old Wallace should start to see some of his physical skills decline soon. The Pistons are also interested in playing some of their young bigmen more such as Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell. Plus don’t forget that Joe Dumars is said to be thinking about breaking up the nucleus of the Pistons, which would most likely have a negative effect on Rasheed.

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First of all, in a redraft league, Arenas is a bit of a risk to roster at this point. If everything goes as planned, Arenas would be back after the All-Star break. However, keep in mind that Arenas is in a contract year and could be extra careful about his return. If the Wizards are out of the race, Arenas might shut it down for the season. Rostering Arenas all season and then not getting anything from him at the end of the year would be a devastating blow to a fantasy team.

The safe thing to do if you own Arenas in a redraft league is to find an owner willing to give something to you for Arenas right now. If you can get a midlevel point guard talent in return (someone like Stephon Marbury or Andre Miller), you could be better off pulling the trigger on such a deal and not risking Arenas staying out for the rest of the season.

In a dynasty league, now would be a good time to trade for Arenas. His stock is low and while his injuries are worrisome, he should be able to eventually make a full recovery. Offer a couple players to land Arenas and by next season at the latest, you will be glad you did.

In the short term, Arenas being out catapults Antonio Daniels’ stock. He should play major minutes and has shown that he can produce when given the chance. Pick him up if you need help at point guard and expect him to put up about 13 points and six assists from here on out.

Also, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler should see more shots. Arenas shoots a lot and with him sidelined, expect these two to get a majority of the shots. The injury also could allow a player like Andray Blatche to get some shots and become a major fantasy factor.

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Tony Battie, Orlando Magic
Battie is likely out for the season with a shoulder injury. Battie wasn’t going to be a viable fantasy option in many leagues, so this injury shouldn’t have a huge impact. The bigger impact is it could force the Magic to start a small lineup with Rashard Lewis at PF and Hedo Turkoglu at SF. If that’s the case, Lewis’ value should rise and Turkoglu should become a fantasy option.

Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers
Big things are expected out of Roy this season. Those expectations will have to put on hold for the time being because Roy will likely be sidelined for all the preseason games. While the Blazers are hopeful that Roy will be ready for the regular season, fantasy owners should be on high alert and lower Roy’s stock accordingly.

Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
Yao recently passed a physical, however they found a slight tear in his labrum in his right shoulder. While the Rockets say they aren’t concerned about the tear, it’s not a great sign that Yao is already ailing.

Robert Swift, Seattle Supersonics
Swift, who is coming back from a torn ACL, has tendinitis in that same knee. While it’s not a shock to see him slowed as he attempts to come back from injury, this could hurt Swift’s chances of winning the starting center spot in Seattle.

Antawn Jamison, Washington Wizards
Jamison is day-to-day with a bruised shin. Obviously, this isn’t a huge injury concern. As long as we are speaking of Jamison, he’s about as safe of a fantasy pick as there is this season. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t put up the exact same stats he did last season during this upcoming campaign.

Beno Udrih, San Antonio Spurs
Udrih broke his finger and looks to be out until the start of the regular season. Since Udrih is the third string point guard of the Spurs, it’s highly doubtful this injury was a blip on any fantasy radar.

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