Breakin' Down the Fantasy Week

Two-games: Clippers, Wizards

Three-game teams: Bobcats, Bulls, Cavaliers, Warriors, Rockets, Lakers, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Hornets, Raptors

Four-game teams: Hawks, Celtics, Mavericks, Nuggets, Pistons, Pacers, Heat, Bucks, Nets, Knicks, Thunder, Magic, 76ers, Suns, Trail Blazers, Spurs, Kings, Jazz

The above pilfered from Rotoworld.com.

This past week, we saw a lot of injuries that sidelined players, adding to the many that started the season hurt. But on Friday, the injury bug flew around, and a few more key players will be inactive for a while. This week, we'll turn our focus to Injuries, and some Waiver Wire players that might or might not be good pickups as replacements.

Injuries:

The two biggest fantasy names to go down were Tony Parker and Josh Smith. Tony was averaging a ridiculous 33 points per game for a team who desperately needed high scoring numbers from the point guard spot while Manu is out. Roger Mason was filling in nicely for Manu, ranking 21 before this week in Yahoo standings, but now with Tony gone, he is a must pick-up if not already taken.

With Josh Smith, no one on that team can replace what he was doing. But if you have Al Horford, you should see a boost in stats, and hopefully blocks. Sheldon Williams might get some PT, but I wouldn't count on him for fantasy stats.

Big news out of Chicago on Sunday, Kirk Hinrich will have surgery on his thumb and expected to miss up to 3 months. Just cut him if you own him. You should be able to get him back, or someone better by that time, unless you're in a 12-15 team league with active players in the 175-200 range. Ben Gordon shouldn't be on anyone's waiver wire, but if he is, stop reading, grab him, then come back.

After Devin Harris' 38 points explosion, he sat out the next game (basically making it 2 game at 19 points each, making it only 1 assist per game!). If you own him, check out the local news late night tonight before setting your weekly lineup.

Corey Maggette, Michael Redd, Drew Gooden all missed a game (Maggette, 2) and are considered Day 2 Day. Watch their status closely tonight, before finalizing your lineup.

Watch List:

Roger Mason, mentioned above, is a must grab at this point. Currently he's ranked 17th in Yahoo Fantasy, and with Tony out a few weeks, they have no one to score but him and Timmy.

Dahntay Jones got the starting spot that Iverson left behind, but won't get more minutes than JR Smith. With the time he's gotten so far, he's made the most of it, making the decision for George Karl to switch things up a little tougher. Both guys should have value, with JR having a bit more.

Brandon Wright is the new starting PF in Golden State, replacing Al Harrington and his trade demand (as well as Day 2 Day back issues). With the style they run, and the minutes which were promised, B.Wright is looking like a great grab for the remainder of the season, and definitely in keeper leagues. Staying on the same team, Kelenna Azubuike is doing a great Monta Ellis impression, so keep an eye on him.

With Peja back, James Posey's numbers will go back to normal, but those are still great for steals and threes, especially the latter.

Delonte West is slowly doing great in every category, ranking 27 overall in Yahoo Fantasy. Not sure how he's doing it with Boobie Gibson, Sasha, Wally, and Mo Williams all getting some minutes, but he is, so keep an eye on him. I don't expect it to last, but I didn't expect it to ever come either.

Marc Gasol might be picked up already after his 26 points, 17 boards, 3 blocks performance, but after that he cooled off tremendously. He's still the starting Center, and should be the rest of the season, but owners or renters will be nervous about it.

Other guys that belong on the watch list are Wilson Chandler who's about to get the starting job in NY (but his FG% is going to hurt), Mickael Pietrus, who is bringing a ton of much-needed energy to the Magic, Ramon Sessions who is about to steal the starting point guard spot in Milwaukee, and Randy Foye who probably got dropped in every fantasy league, but was asked to be 'the guy' in Minnesota, so should get solid minutes to prove himself.

Good luck, and we'll break it down again next week.

Did I miss anything??? Leave it below.