How long Nelson will be out depends on whether or not he has surgery. If he has surgery, Nelson will most likely miss the rest of the season. If he doesn’t have surgery but instead tries to rehab, he could possibly return in a few weeks. However, without surgery, he will be susceptible to re-injuring his shoulder.

With Nelson out, Anthony Johnson will take the reins in Orlando. The veteran point guard isn’t much of a fantasy producer but he plays solid defense and knows how to run the show. In the fantasy world, he may be a decent stop gap if you are scrambling to replace Nelson.

If Nelson is indeed out for the season, expect the Magic to go out and trade for a point guard. Jamaal Tinsley could possibly be a fit or maybe a player like Earl Watson. Though Johnson is solid, the Magic would need a better player at the position to stay in the championship hunt.

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The big two on the team are obviously Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. They are somewhat similar players — long, athletic and dripping with talent. Right now, Durant is the better fantasy player but Green isn’t too far behind. Durant is the better scorer and has better percentage but Green gets more rebounds, assists and steals.

Other than Durant and Green, there aren’t too many players to be excited about in the fantasy world. Russell Westbrook is starting now and he has shown some glimpses — although he’s extremely streaky at this point. His low shooting percentages and relatively high amount of turnovers aren’t very good for fantasy basketball.

The remaining players on the team are almost all underperforming. There used to be a time when players like Chris Wilcox, Earl Watson, Nick Collison and Damien Wilkins were worthwhile fantasy players, but right now that simply isn’t the case. Of those players, Only Collison is showing life as of right now. However, keep a close eye on the Thunder because players can come out of nowhere and go under the radar when they are playing for the worst team in the NBA.

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A few stories around the team indicate that the players had quit on Carlesimo and weren’t giving a good enough effort. New coach Scott Brooks will try to turn that around and make the Thunder at least a respectable basketball team.

As far as fantasy basketball is concerned, there were a few subtle difference right away with Brooks in charge. First of all, Damien Wilkins got his first start of the season as Brooks decided to go small. Wilkins was put in at shooting guard with Kevin Durant moving to small forward, Jeff Green moving to power forward and Nick Collison moving to center. Previously, Carlesimo had been using Johan Petro and Robert Swift at center. Under Brooks, neither Petro nor Swift played.

Chris Wilcox also appears to be part of Brooks’ plan. Wilcox played a season-high number of minutes of the bench. Joe Smith also had a healthy role as the team’s backup center. The point guard situation continues to be Earl Watson in the starting lineup backed up by Russell Westbrook.

All told, it appears as if Brooks will go smaller and faster than Carlesimo. That could lead to more shot attempts for Durant and should help the fantasy values of players such as Wilkins, Collison and Wilcox. Green should also be called upon to grab more rebounds and block a few shots.

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Beno Udrih, Sacramento Kings
The Kings gave a lot of reasons for why they traded Mike Bibby, but perhaps the biggest reason was because the team thinks it has found a better point guard in Beno Udrih. Udrih is a player who can score, pass and play a little defense. His stats should remain good until the end of the season, considering he’s playing for a contract right now.

Travis Diener, Indiana Pacers
Travis Diener is filling in for Jamaal Tinsley and is filling in nicely. While he’s not much of a defender, that doesn’t matter in fantasy basketball. Diener produces a decent number of points, assists and three-pointers made. He also does a good job of not turning the ball over much.

Earl Watson, Seattle Supersonics
After struggling with his shot horrifically for a stretch of games, Earl Watson as seemingly found his jumper once again. With his jumper returning to his repertoire, he’s now a much better fantasy basketball player. While the Sonics have a number of point guard options, it’s obvious that Watson is their best option at the moment.

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Earl Boykins, Charlotte Bobcats
As I talked about in this blog entry, Boykins has a chance to be a very sneaky pickup this season. Considering he’s available in most leagues, picking up Boykins is the type of move that can really bolster your team. Boykins right now is working his way back into shape but if he can lock down a starting job, look for him to become a point guard who can put up good stats.

Louis Williams, Philadelphia 76ers
The closer the trade deadline comes, the more likely that Andre Miller will be traded. Once Miller is traded, Williams is expected to become the team’s starting point guard. Lately, Williams has increased his production from off the bench. Pick him up now and reap the rewards when Miller gets traded.

Travis Diener, Indiana Pacers
With Jamaal Tinsley struggling with injuries and off court issues, Diener is a player who could end up starting on a long-term basis. Diener isn’t a hugely skilled point guard but he can shoot the three and he can rack up assists. He’ll never be a great fantasy player but he can definitely but rosterable.

Javaris Crittenton, Memphis Grizzlies
Although Crittenton has Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry ahead of him in the rotation, he’s going to get some playing time for Memphis. Since Crittenton has good size, he could even buy time at shooting guard, especially since the Grizzlies play small most of the time anyways.

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Kevin Durant
Durant has looked pretty good in his first two games. He’s not going to do much other than score but there’s no reason why he can’t average 18 to 22 points this season.

Chris Wilcox
Wilcox seems to really be playing well this season. He’s more involved and is playing better defense. He looks like a very good fantasy player this season.

Damien Wilkins
Wilkins was overlooked by most fantasy owners, but it appears he may be second in line next to Durant as far as scoring goes for the Sonics. He’s always had a lot of natural talent and if he can start to live up to his talent, he could become a very nice fantasy player.

Nick Collison
Collison is putting up nice numbers right now as the starting center. However, be aware that Robert Swift is out injured. When Swift returns, he could take over the starting center spot.

Earl Watson
Watson appears to have won the starting point guard job. So far he’s been decent, but hasn’t really separated himself as the clear cut point guard for the team yet.

Delonte West
Always a fantasy favorite, West is off to a relatively slow start this season. The good news is it appears as if he’s the backup point guard. The bad news is his minutes will probably remain erratic.

Jeff Green
Green was the fifth pick of the draft but he doesn’t look quite ready this year. He could be a year or two away from being an everyday contributor. In dynasty formats, he’s a good player to target.

Wally Szczerbiak
Szczerbiak doesn’t look to be a huge part of this team at all. In fact, he’s not rosterable in most fantasy formats.

Luke Ridnour
Ridnour appears to be the odd man out for the Sonics. He’s currently third on the point guard depth charts. If you drafted him, it could be time to start looking elsewhere.

Check out NBA TV’s Sonics Preview …

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