Given that he was allowed to play 30 minutes in a preseason game, we feel good about Gasol's quadriceps injury going forward. While he only took one three-pointer in Monday's game, Gasol may be asked by coach Mike Brown to take more long-range shots this season. Already a top-10 player, if Gasol were to start contributing in threes this season it would help him maintain his fantasy value. Lakers.com did a story on Gasol's ability to shoot threes last week.

Despite only playing 26 minutes per game, Harden totaled 12.2 points per game and drilled 1.4 three-point attempts per game. It seemed like there was a possibility he could move into the starting shooting guard role in front of Thabo Sefolosha, but it looks like he'll stay in his bench-energizer role, meaning his minutes will limit his fantasy value.

Not a great homecoming for the former standout at IUPUI, but the Pacers were a rusty bunch Friday, combining to shoot just 33.7 percent from the field. Darren Collison got the start at point guard, and head coach Frank Vogel extended the bench some, limiting Hill's playing time on the night. We should see Hill get plenty of minutes once the regular season drops.

Ariza displayed his one truly elite ability by swiping four Grizzlies passes in the victory.

Jefferson, and several other player's effort was questioned by coach Tyrone Corbin after the preseason game against the Trailblazers. Jefferson scored just seven points on 3-of-7 shooting and had three rebounds in 18 minutes.

Gallinari should be in good shape after having averaged 15.6 points in five Euroleague games. He enters the 2011-12 season as a decent bet to lead the Nuggets in scoring. Gallinari averaged 14.7 points in the 14 regular season games he played for the Nuggets last year after coming over in the Carmelo Anthony deal.

With Kwame Brown signing with the Warriors and DeSagana Diop (Achilles) injured, that leaves Diaw as the best option to start at center to begin the season. He has played center in the past for a high-speed system with many undersized players, so the Bobcats are probably going to continue pushing the ball like they did after Paul Silas took over the coaching job mid-season. Playing center could be strenuous for Diaw, and it could mean less minutes, points and assists than you would normally see from Diaw.

Casspi hurt the knee in early August, but had recently been playing pickup games and felt great.

The Pacers have been coming after Mayo, reviving a trade that was discussed at last season's trade deadline involving Josh McRoberts and Brandon Rush for the Grizzlies' shooting guard. "Right now, we do not have any active effort going to trade O.J. Mayo," Heisley said.

The Chinese league does not allow teams to offer opt-outs to locked-out NBA players; Chandler is the most significant free agent to sign an overseas deal without the option to return home when the lockout ends, though some writers have raised the possibility that he could be back for the 2012 postseason, as the Chinese season ends before the NBA's.