The playoffs are here!  Put down your bracket and pull out your fantasy league’s bracket.  Now’s the time to buckle down, make no mistakes, and take home the trophy.  Make sure you check your team twice or three times a day.  Drop guys who aren’t producing: there’s no more waiting around to do.  Don’t be afraid to bench a star who is playing two games if you can cover his spot with good production.  And if it’s Wednesday and you are big in the hole, start streaming.  These are the strategies that win leagues.

Let’s jump into the schedule for next week (3/24-3/30):

The Fig Cap: That’s cute.  So is Lamar’s recent production.

Four games: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle Supersonics, Washington Wizards
Three games: Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz
Two games: Orlando Magic

Hot

Hopefully you bought low on Lamar Odom like I did back in the winter, because he’s getting hot at the right time for a fantasy team.  In his last five, he’s put together a very respectable double-double average with 1.4 steals on top of that.  He’s also shooting very well.  Perfect utility guy for fantasy.

Mr. Inconsistency, AKA Drew Gooden, has found himself in Chicago.  In his last five, he’s scored 19.6 ppg and pulled down 9.2 rpg.  He’s also averaging 1.4 spg and somehow, someway, 2.4 bpg.  Where was that in Cleveland?  He also shoots great percentages.  Make sure you start him in weekly leagues.

Alright, alright Tony Parker.  You are among my least favorite players in fantasy and top five least favorite in basketball in general, but you earned an upgrade this week.  Over the last five contests, he’s scored 23.4 ppg and dished 6 apg.  With four games this week, he’s probably worth playing over the likes of Jose Calderon or Rafer Alston.

We’ve never seen a season like this from Mike Dunleavy.  He probably deserves the Most Improved Player this year.  Recently, he’s scored 22.8 ppg to go along with 5 rpg and 3.8 apg.  That’s really good production at his position, especially since he wasn’t a very high pick this year.  Congrats to you if you made this gamble.

Now that Miami is mailing the season in and Dwyane Wade’s out, some of their trash players will get some extra burn.  It’s done nobody better than Jason Williams.  He put together a nice five game stretch, going for 19 ppg and 6 apg.  Another PG worth playing over some of the two and three game guys this week.

Cold

Even though a lot of people like his game and think he’s got good value in fantasy, I’ll tell you the opposite for Tayshaun Prince.  In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say he’s a guy you may want to stream out in the case of an emergency.  His 13.4 ppg in the last five are easily replaceable in most leagues, and he offers very little in the way of boards and dimes.  Like Tony Parker (usually) is, he’s a great real-life player and a sub-par fantasy player.

His teammate, Chauncey Billups, has also fallen upon hard times.  Now don’t go streaming him out, but do keep an eye on him as the Pistons may limit his minutes in the coming weeks.  Recently, his points have been just north of 12 a game, and he’s been under 6 dimes a game.  If they cut his minutes much, he might we worth dropping by the fantasy championships, if your league allows.

One of the big snoozers on the season, Mehmet Okur, might want to wake up.  In his last five, he’s under 12 ppg and his rebounds aren’t good enough to start him at center on most teams.  The threes haven’t been there, and he’s just literally been awful.

A lot of people have been relying on Ronnie Brewer’s steals, but when those have been down as much as they are now, he’s droppable.  He’s getting ample minutes, but doesn’t rebound or pass much, and his steals are way down.  Feel free to cut ties with him, especially at this juncture.

Jason Terry has been hitting the wall for a while now, and you may think of dropping him now.  He’s getting just over 22 minutes a game recently, and not many players can be effective with that little burn.  We’ll see if the playoff push nets him more minutes, but keep a close eye and a short leash on him.

Injury Report

Shawn Marion’s “sore back” has been flaring up a lot lately.  Keep an eye on this.

Udonis Haslem is out for the season. 

Pau Gasol may miss most of next week with his bum ankle.  Make sure you check on his status daily.