It's becoming more and more frustrating as the list of "questionable" players for opening night continues to grow. The case has been made that maybe the preseason is too long -- about four games too long. Who would have thought that of the past three No. 1 overall draft picks only Greg Oden will start the 2009-10 season with a clean bill of health. Blake Griffin is reportedly sidelined for up to six weeks with a stress fracture in his left knee, while Derrick Rose is questionable after injuring his ankle early on in the preseason. Rose is likely to play on opening night, but his action could be limited as he nurses his ankle back to health. In other news, future No. 1 pick John Wall is not serving much better. Advantage, Oden.
With less than 24 hours to go before your lineups are required to be set in stone for the week, it's only right that we discuss a few of the "questionable" lineup decisions you might need to make based on injuries and matchups.
Start 'Em
• It's time to believe in the power of Oden. He's been named starter for the Blazers on Tuesday night against the Rockets, and should remain so -- until his season-ending injury in November. Of course I'm kidding about that injury. The Blazers are one of four teams to play four times this week and if Oden can keep up his preseason pace -- 13.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 52.5 FG% and 72.1 FT% -- he should be able to exploit the Houston frontline which will likely start three guys who don't even measure up to his neckbeard. Start him.
• Leandro Barbosa is a must-start this week. Not only do the Suns have one of the easiest schedules this week (@LAC, GSW, MIN), but with Jason Richardson suspended for the first two games Barbosa's role will increase significantly. Barbosa could put up a huge week.
• 'Big Baby' Glen Davis is out for 6-8 weeks, adding value to Rasheed Wallace and Kendrick Perkins. Wallace easily gets a start this week with a four-game schedule. In deeper leagues I would start Perkins at center and expect help on the boards, blocks and field-goal percentage.
• It's time to take a flier on Andray Blatche. He is slatted to step in and take the minutes left behind by the injured Antawn Jamison. Blatche posted 11.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks in 24.8 preseason minutes. He's a nice option for anyone scrambling to replace Blake Griffin.
• The chatter has Pau Gasol questionable on opening night against the Clippers. I'd still put him in my lineup. The Lakers play two more times this week (DAL, ATL), so unless you have a better option at center you might want to take a two-game week out of Gasol over, say, someone like Brendan Haywood for three games.• Derrick Rose should be in your lineup. He practiced on Monday and it looks like he's ready to go. Lower your expectations this week, though, because he hasn't been on the court since October 2. The Bulls don't play until Thursday, so he has a few more days to get himself ready for tip-off.
• I'm trusting Danny Granger when he says that he'll be in the lineup on Wednesday night. The Pacers do only play twice this week, so you certainly have an option of playing it safe and sitting Granger. But the the upside of Granger may be too much to pass up on. UPDATE: Granger is now listed as "doubtful" for Wednesday's opener. I would suggest sitting him, especially since the Pacers only play twice this week.
• The Hawks play thrice this week, and I expect Al Horford to suit up for all three. He said he "feels good," and that makes me feel good.
• Emeka Okafor expects to play on Wednesday. He practiced this weekend and things seemed to go well enough that he expects to see "heavy minutes" this week.
• Mike Conley will get the start at the point on Wednesday. Feel free to start him at your leisure.
Question 'Em
• Monitor the situation in Los Angeles. Marcus Camby and Baron Davis are both questionable. Keep your eyes and ears open for updates on their status. If you're looking for some good news, the Clippers play four games this week so should any one of these guys miss opening night, they still have three games to make it up to you. But if you have other options, use them. Aside from a home game against Phoenix, the Clips have a "road" game with the Lakers, they're on the road against Utah, and at home against Dallas. Four games, five nights to start the season -- not the best four-game schedule out there.
• Luis Scola is questionable for Tuesday night's game against Portland. This one you're going to have to wait out. I don't expect we'll get an definitive answer until Tuesday afternoon. The Rockets play three times, so if he misses Tuesday night you're looking at a two-game week -- at best. The good news? The Rockets play Golden State on Wednesday night! That should help Scola owners sleep better at night.
• Al Jefferson is battling the flu and a sore Achilles heading into Minnesota's opener. The T-Wolves play three times this week (NJN, CLE, @PHX), so again you want to follow the updates on Tuesday. The Phoenix matchup might entice you to start him regardless, but should Jefferson miss the opener you might want to look at another option. Keep yourself updated.
Sit 'Em
• Again, Blake Griffin is out. • Antawn Jamison is out for 3-5 weeks.
• Josh Howard is out for the opener against Washington. I suspect we won't see him for a few weeks or so.
• Better you than me if you want to get involved with starting Delonte West this week. After his recent domestic violence dispute it's questionable as to whether or not the Cavs are going to welcome him back with open arms right off the bat. I wouldn't even take the chance.
• Nicolas Batum is set to have shoulder surgery. I expect that Martell Webster will step in and start at small forward, but with Travis Outlaw also in the picture it's not advised that you start either until we get a better picture of where the minutes are going to go.
• Anyone on Milwaukee not named Michael Redd or Andrew Bogut should sit this week. The Bucks play only twice, and while there are a few "upside" guys on their roster, none are worth playing in a two-game week.
• Unless we hear otherwise, I expect Michael Beasley to sit out on Wednesday against the Knicks. This would leave him with, at best, a two-game schedule. See if you have a better option at forward and continue to monitor his status.
• Allen Iverson wants to play, but I don't think he will. What a shame, too. The Grizzlies start the season against Detroit. Iverson will more than likely be wearing street clothes, much like he did while he was with the Pistons. Sit him this week.
• As a simple reminder, J.R. Smith and Rashard Lewis are suspended this week. So is class on Tuesday if you go to Guilford High School in Connecticut -- swine flu.
I will do my best to update throughout the day as news comes in. If you have any lineup questions you can shoot them over to me on Twitter -- @RotoLorenzo -- or leave them in the comments. Next week I'll be able to identify more favorable matchups based on the the schedule and our early impressions.
