Keegan Murray vs. John Collins. Tyrese Haliburton vs. Pacers history. Battle of the Johnsons. Mailbag is back, although it's a light edition. Please send your questions for future mailbags to me on Twitter at @Docktora so we can keep this column fun and packed with Q&A.
After getting a ton of questions a week ago I was pretty busy on Tuesday and Wednesday and didn't have time to bug y'all enough to get nearly as many questions this week. But we'll double it up next Wednesday.
Who would you rather have between Keegan Murray and John Collins? - TP23 (@ParrishTyler26)
Without even looking at the numbers I'm going to say Murray, simply because of his upside and youth. Collins should be hot right now with Utah dealing with so many injuries, but when you're getting your doors blown off by 50 points due to Luka Doncic's halftime triple-double, minutes are going to be scarce for the starters.
I'm going to go with Murray here, even though his sore back kind of worries me. Both teams play four times in each of the next two weeks and while I also think Collins is worth rostering in many leagues right now, I like Murray's potential for success more than I do Collins' injury-related bump in usage. Looking at the actual numbers, Murray's been a round better than Collins in fantasy thus far, so I even have some data to back up my gut instinct.
What is the correct pronunciation
Keegan Murray vs. John Collins. Tyrese Haliburton vs. Pacers history. Battle of the Johnsons. Mailbag is back, although it's a light edition. Please send your questions for future mailbags to me on Twitter at @Docktora so we can keep this column fun and packed with Q&A.
After getting a ton of questions a week ago I was pretty busy on Tuesday and Wednesday and didn't have time to bug y'all enough to get nearly as many questions this week. But we'll double it up next Wednesday.
Who would you rather have between Keegan Murray and John Collins? - TP23 (@ParrishTyler26)
Without even looking at the numbers I'm going to say Murray, simply because of his upside and youth. Collins should be hot right now with Utah dealing with so many injuries, but when you're getting your doors blown off by 50 points due to Luka Doncic's halftime triple-double, minutes are going to be scarce for the starters.
I'm going to go with Murray here, even though his sore back kind of worries me. Both teams play four times in each of the next two weeks and while I also think Collins is worth rostering in many leagues right now, I like Murray's potential for success more than I do Collins' injury-related bump in usage. Looking at the actual numbers, Murray's been a round better than Collins in fantasy thus far, so I even have some data to back up my gut instinct.
What is the correct pronunciation for Shams Charania? - Michael Fiddle (@FiddlesPicks)
Man, what a relevant and important question! Even though I'm not a real doctor, sometimes annoying actual doctors, I'm pretty sure everyone in the world knows how to pronounce the words Steve, Doc and Alexander, so I've at least got that going for me.
As for Shams, it rhymes with Brahm's Lullaby and does not rhyme with everyone's favorite super absorbent, multi-purpose cleaning chamois - the Shamwow. However, I always call him the Shamwow version of his name in my head.
As for Charania, I'm going to go with this pronunciation, lifted straight off the ol' internet: Shr-ay-nee-uh. I hope this clears up one of the most important and career-defining questions I've ever had the pleasure of answering.
Teams are more quickly trying out their first/second-year players than in years past and I'm wondering what your thoughts are on trade activity starting much earlier this season? - Matt Boyer (@MattBoyerCrime)
For those of you who have been following me from way back in the day (1999? 2000? Somewhere in there), you know I'm not a big trade deadline fan. Speculating on who might be traded and where players might land is a futile endeavor that usually turns out to be an incorrect guess.
But to Boyer's question, it does seem like younger players are getting more and more run earlier each season and this year is no exception. Especially with so many young teams struggling in the standings. Whether that means we'll see more trade activity earlier in the season and before the actual deadline day remains to be seen.
My guess is that teams will see what they can get early on, but will hold out on most deals until the last possible moment unless they can get a 'Tyrese Haliburton' situation that appears too good to be true. So I'd say that this deadline bonanza will look very similar to the other ones we've seen over the last few years. So, "no" is my final answer.
Tyrese Haliburton is the best Pacer since…? - Parker (@Parkdiggitydoog)
As an Indiana boy from an Indiana town (Indianapolis) looking back on the Pacer greats, the list isn't all that long. Reggie Miller, Chuck Person, Dale Davis, Mark Jackson, Jalen Rose, Antonio Davis, Rik Smits, Paul George, Danny Granger, Steve Stipanovich, Wayman Tisdale, Clark Kellogg, Roger Brown, Detlef Schrempf, Mel Daniels, Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest, Billy Keller and George McGinnis all make the list, while Herb Williams, Jerry Sichting, Terence Stansbury and even Brooke Steppe were at times fan favorites.
But even though he's yet to complete a full season for his Indiana squad, Haliburton is probably already at No. 2 on the list behind only Miller, who was there for 18 seasons. And I'm pretty certain Reggie never had a season even approaching what Haliburton has done this year in just 20 or so games. He's going to go down as the No. 1 Pacer of all time as long as he stays in Indy for a majority of his career. He's a freaking monster.
Is Immanuel Quickley a good waiver wire pickup? - Bay Goal Icardi (@baygoalicardi)
Without looking at the numbers, I'm going to say he's a borderline guy, although having four games in three of the next four weeks works in his favor. But when I actually stop being lazy and look at the numbers, IQ is a 15th-round player thus far, meaning he's not worth rostering except deeper leagues.
He also hasn't been great over the last two weeks, but it all depends on your league's depth and who you would be dropping to get him. I could see him having a big second half, especially if injury woes ever kick into gear for the Knicks.
Would you trade Jalen Johnson for Cam Johnson in 9-cat H2H? Parker (@Parkerdiggitydoog)
Yes, I would. Simply because Jalen is out for the foreseeable future and will probably have to continue to deal with competing with De'Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Saddiq Bey for touches and minutes all season, while also playing his way back into game shape once he returns. I love Jalen as much as anyone and am all about his future, but Cam is healthy, shooting it well and has scored in double figures in all but one game this season.
I'll take 'health and production' over 'injured and upside' all day, especially when Jalen's timetable for a return remains so murky. And I'd make that trade as soon as possible, before Cam busts out for a monster line in the next week or so.
What is going on with the Utah Jazz this year? Not competitive. Kessler is still not starting. - Good Joe (@Karmermurphy)
They're super injured, including Kessler and Lauri Markkanen, young/limited at point guard and simply not that talented of a team. It's going to likely be a tank of a season for them in hopes of building through the draft and Keyonte George is one of the few bright spots in Utah.
Kessler is likely going to have a difficult season after overperforming last year as a rookie, and the long-term goal will probably be to simply have him healthy for next year. They clearly outkicked their coverage for the first half of last season before turning back into a pumpkin.
