Nene gets back on the floor: After missing nine games with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Wizards center Nene was back in uniform for Wednesday's game against the Bucks. While he did not start the game, Nene did manage to play 18 minutes off the bench, and he took advantage of the undersized Bucks' front court immediately. Nene scored 14 points on 7 of 12 shooting in the game, while grabbing four rebounds and blocking two shots to help the Wizards to a 121-112 win. (Updated 04/18/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/25/12).
Fantasy Analysis
The Wizards had been hopeful that the big man would be able to return to the floor, so this does not come as much of a surprise. While he will likely still get a game or two off and see limited minutes, Nene should be a solid starting option for the remainder of the season. (Updated 04/18/2012).
04/09/2012 09:12 Week 16 Start 'Em and Sit 'Em
J.J. Barea takes his turn at running the Timberwolves, with injuries knocking out Ricky Rubio and now Luke Ridnour. Our Chris Towers touches on that and much more in this week's Start 'Em and Sit 'Em.
Nene has been a name in the NBA since dropping 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game as a 20-year-old rookie back in 2002-03 for the Nuggets. That said, he struggled to stay healthy and keep any kind of consistency over his first handful of NBA seasons. That has really changed over the last three campaigns. Nene has averaged over 14 points and 7.5 rebounds per game with 2.0 steals and a block over that span and is arguably coming off his best season as a 28-year-old. Nene saw 31 minutes per game last year with Denver and scored 14.5 points, grabbed 7.6 rebounds and blocked and stole a shot per game while leading the league with a 61.5 field goal percentage. A solid free throw shooter for a center, Nene is entering his 10th NBA season as one of the best Fantasy centers at a very thin position. The Brazilian has played at least 75 games in three straight seasons and has been able to stave off the injury bug. As long as that continues, Fantasy owners should consider Nene among the NBA’s Fantasy elite at the center spot. He’s just inside the top 10 Fantasy centers and should be targeted right after the first few rounds on Draft Day. (Updated 8/28/11)
