Was last year as good as it gets? Can the scoring increase even more? Can he play 77+games? Can he challenge the big three for fantasy supremacy?

Thoughts and prediction on stats?

He a top 6 pick. But I don't expect any improvement from last year. But if he can repeat last year that perfectly fine.

I think that there is a possibility that the scoring goes up a point or two. After granger, options for scoring on that team are juts flat out mediocre, especially if Mike Dunleavy Jr. is out of the fray. Im not sold with TJ, Murphy, Rush and Hibbert having to pick up the scoring load.

But it more or less the same roster he had last year. A point or 2 maybe, but that doesn't change his value all that much. It not like you going to bump him up into the top 3 tier.

Prolly not. But he's the consensus 4th pick in my mind...

I personally like Durant over him. Maybe Dirk, but I would most likely take Granger 5.

Im too conservative with my first few picks to take him..i just don't trust those chronic knee problems that he has had since college.. it will always be on my mind if i own him, any reports or missed games and i will freak out..just don't want to deal with that...obviously a baller though..

I can understand that logic. Same could be said with a lot of first round picks, like Al Jeff, Bosh, Amare just to name a few......

yep exactly.. fortunately i have the 4th pick this year so i won't have to deal with that..going KD..thats why i feel there is a distinct advantage having a top 5 pick this year, maybe top 6.. CP3, LBJ,WADE,KD,Dirk,Kobe..not too many question marks there if any..i guess Wade might be an injury concern, but after last year i think he squashed a lot of those concerns....but after these guys you are dealing with some questin marks..I actually think Kobe won't be a top 5-6 player this year either..coming off a ring, loaded squad, he will be in cruise control for a lot of nights..really 1-5 are the safest picks in my opinion..

well, the main thing is that hopefully he won't miss as many games as he did last year.

With a lot of players, it's all about Games Played. talking about Granger, Brand, Jefferson, etc.

Granger's average has increased every season he has been in the league. I won't be surprised to see it go up at all. But, if it stayed where it is at I'd still consider him to be the best pick after the Holy Trinity of Wade, CP3 and LeBron.

There is not much Granger does not do. He shot damn near 45% from the field last season as well which is great for him considering all the jacked threes. I'd take him over Durant and Kobe and Dirk easily and without hesitation.

Even though he played in 62 games last year and has had chronic knee problems since college? Remember thats why he slipped in the real draft his rookie year.. he has always had knee problems since college..just seems to risky to invest your top pick on him when Durant,Dirk and even Kobe are sitting there, who are just as productive and much much less of a risk..

Prior to last season Granger had little to no injury issues as an NBA player.

Also, about nine of the missed games last season were due to a foot injury rather than knee problems:

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/article/20...urn-foot-injury

Granger also missed a few games due to the flu. In short, his knee was certainly not the primary reason he only played 62 games.

I believe BBM has Granger finishing ahead of Kobe and Durant and Dirk for the 2008-2009 season in 9 cat leagues.

In other words, I will take my chances with Granger at 4

This talk of chronic knee pain is absurd. If I remember correctly, he was suffering from a bone bruise on his knee last year. That's an injury that heals up with some rest. I think he went under the knife when he was in college, and teams became paranoid around draft time, so Indiana got him at 17. The concerns about the knee turned out to be unfounded, obviously, and Indiana got a ridiculous steal. His injury last year had nothing to do with chronic knee pain, but was just a bone bruise, which is a temporary but painful injury.

Personally, I'd take Granger at #5. I'd obviously go with the Big 3 and then probably Durant over DG, but I definitely wouldn't mind having either guy. Granger's game is just insanely versatile, even his TOs are pretty low for a go to guy because Indy runs a motion offense and Granger isn't forced to handle the ball all the time. I noticed a real improvement in his passing ability last year as well and wouldn't be surprised if he raises his assists this season.

Amazing line for Granger tonight:
27pts/3reb/4ast/3stl/1blk/2threes/ 7-13 FG/ 11-12 FT in only 25 minutes.

Yeah it is only preseason but it is still pretty impressive.

for yanking at the ref... stupid ref


hibbit's skills are still kinda raw if you watch the real game (plus nene didnt play when they were in taipei) ... but had 2 good games and at least not too bad at ft

AAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.


Danny Granger sat out the end of Monday's practice with a sore right foot.
That's all the information we have at the moment, but it doesn't sound like anything that will linger. Check back soon for an update.

Say it with me now...PLANTAR FASCIITIS.

lol.

Granger does seem like a risky pick.
but when/if he's healthy, he's very rewarding to have on a team.
the past 2 years i had him, and at one point he was ranked #1 in fantasy. and he definitely deserved it. the 3's, the Blocks, the Points, the Steals, the insane amount of FTMs, and he chipped in some decent rebounding.

Hes my top keeper in the only keeper league im in, but I would easily take Durant over Granger in any standard scoring format, H2H or roto. What Durant did during parts of the 2nd half of season last season was absurd. And I think Durant has a bit more room for growth, such as strength and refining his outside shot.

But I dont put any stock into the Granger injury concerns.

SHHHHHHHHHHHH......

I'd like to see Granger get some more rebounds though as well. 5-6 is decent but he's got the skills to average 7-8 pretty easily and get a ton of put back opportunities.

I see granger getting hurt and going down this year. The team isnt playing for much, so they wont risk his crappy knees to win some meaningless games.

This will not happen. He spends too much time behind the arc chucking threes. Granger is a stud but dont ever expect him to get 7 to 8 boards. I am surprised he even gets the 4 he averaged last season since he spends so much time hoisting threes.

He averaged 5.1 last year and 5.2 for his career.

Granger for Fantasy MVP...if he stays healthy

And everyone who drafted Granger say "I"

kept him in a 1-player keeper, and drafted him 6th in another league.

I actually think the Pacers CAN make the playoffs but they'll be 7th seeded at best and will probably be swept in the first round but that's enough motivation for Granger to keep playing. He's a warrior.

He's actually a Pacer, but I think you just got Granger owners excited at the possibility.

Of course Nellie would still play him behind Maggette.

I think he kan grab Nr.3-spot in fantasy behind LeBron and CP3 if he stay healthy. Battling with D-Wade for the 3rd place.

It should be an interesting year in terms of who the top 3 will be. It will be CP3, Bron, Wade, Granger and Durant battling for the top three spots all year in my opinion. Amare (yes, i know it's spelled wrong) may return to form as well and he could possibly battle for a ranking that high himself although I doubt it.

I absolutely love Granger's game, but I didn't draft him in any leagues this year because I am worried about recurring injuries with him. Most of my drafts I have drafted either #2 or #9-#last pick anyway, but I would rather have Durant at #3 because he's more of a certainty to play all 82 games. If Granger stays healthy, he's definitely a lock for #3 or #4 overall depending on how many games Wade plays.

He already has a bone bruise in his heel. I would be very concerned about that. I believe he dealt with heel problems last season, and I have a feeling his knee problems will be chronic, and it's possible his heel and knee problems could effect each other if he has to compensate for pain. Either way, I hope he stays healthy because he is one of my favorite players to watch.

And now he's doubtful for the opener, ugh! Really hope this doesn't linger all year, I'd like my first round pick to play this year after having Amare last year.

This is about as bad as it can get for us owners. Doubtful for the 1st game of the damn season. Not cool. Not cool at all.

I love Granger and would have drafted him but for Wade falling to #4 I guess I should send the owner that allowed Wade to slip to four a bottle of Vodka or Rum.

I don't own him and I think it is WAY too early to panic, but mystery injuries right before the season starts for someone with some pretty serious injury history is definitely a problem.

This is why I cannot justify picking him in the top 5. There is no chance he plays 80 games. Granted even playing only 67 games he ended up ranked 8, so the potential is there for him to be phenomenal. But, you have to place the injury risk into his draft position.

I would say picking him in the 8th-9th position is the absolute highest you can pick Granger.

That is not based on talent. B/c I agree IF he plays 80 games, Granger is in the top-3. But that if is a BIG IF.

and let the headache begin.

this is what i had to go thru last season with his lingering knee issues.
granted, he is a great talented exciting player. his 3's, his blocks, his points, his high volume FTM... all spectacular.
but the injury stuff... buzz kill.

well this is part of the reason why i can't rank him higher than Kobe Bryant(#4) and Dirk Nowitzki(#5) atleast.
I did rank Granger at 6th, and Durant at 7th. then Amare 8th, then Al Jefferson 9th. followed by Bosh 10th.

but anyway, back to Granger... aside from his injury concerns, the Pacers will still probably be a bad team again this season. and with a bad record and no chance of making the playoffs, Granger might take some games off.

Because he only played 82 and 80 games the two previous seasons, right?

only plays 2 games this week, and he doubtful for the first.... sigh

This is just dreadful news....this is why i wanted to draft Durant over him but he was picked right before me.

How dare you let facts get in the way!!

I have a feeling he's going to play anyway

Well at this point it's a pretty accurate bet to say he won't play in 80 games this year, but I kind of bristle at the notion that Danny Granger is this frail, injury-plagued sissy. People also seem to think that Dwyane Wade is an iron-clad behemoth incapable of missing games.

I have that feeling too...this why we drafted him, b/c he plays hurt.

I just hate all the injury news!

Facts yes. Bearing on this season yes. BUT, cannot ignore that the injury that he sustained doesn't have relevance.

You can play 5 games of 82 games straight, and then sustain an injury and have it affect the following year.

The facts are that he sustained a lingering knee injury that he played through (quite well) last year. Furthermore, he injured his foot last year, which in combination with the knee injuries, held him out of 15 games.

Also fact, Granger goes to the line A TON! There's a reason why he goes to the line so much. B/c he drives to the hoop so much. His style of play lends itself to a greater risk of injury.

All of these in combination lowers his draft value.

I'm not saying he'll never play bball again. But, you can't just assume that lingering injury issues will not play a part of him missing games this year. YES, there is a chance he'll play 80 games. BUT, the chances are greater that he'll play 70 games. My money is on Granger playing 60-65 games.

Wade has the injury prone label, correct. But, he did show that he was healthy last year, and can make it through a full season.

Is there a possibilty that he'll get injured this year? Yes. But, as of right now he's healthy, and has a chance to play 80 games.

Granger is STILL hurt. He STILL has lingering knee issues. AND now he has this heel issue. Starting the season injured, is not where you want your #1 pick to begin... on the bench...

With Wade, his injury risk is caused by his style of play. However, at the same time, Wade is a lot better protected than 90% of the NBA players out there, when he plays he's covered in pads like a football running back.

I definitely see Granger as a higher injury risk than Wade. The most problematic being Granger's knee, which appears to be a chronic problem.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/39575882.html

DNP s here we go again