Wire to Wire aims to be your waiver wire resource for all of your fantasy basketball needs.  It will dive into playing time trends, injury replacements, and even an occasional category specialist – all of which can be found on a typical waiver wire within your fantasy league at any given time.

We’re back from a brief Holiday Hiatus.  I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable weekend.  We all know that the fantasy hoops waiver wires did.  Injuries over the last two weeks have provided us with some very nice options going forward.  First, let’s look back to my last edition to see how those recommendations panned out…

Shallow Leagues:
Luther Head:  McGrady’s back…for now.  Thus, crimping Luther’s style a bit.  However, you can’t deny the production you’ve gotten out of Head (insert Beavis laugh here) over the last three weeks. Hit.
Morris Peterson: He comes back from his injury, and looks just like he did before he left.  Now he’s lucky to get 20 minutes?  What gives?  Miss.
Brandon Roy: The Blazers only played a few games since his mention, but Roy still found time to nearly notch a triple-double.  Hit.

Standard Leagues:
Damien Wilkins: Was bound to be in for more minutes with Rashard Lewis going down during Ray Allen’s return.  However, it looks like Allen will actually take the minutes at the three.  Miss.
Matt Barnes: Eight of nine from the field.  Seven of eight from three point land.  Two of two from the line.  Twenty-five points.  Efficiency.  Hit. 
Andrea Bargnani: Foul trouble against Seattle kept the first overall pick contained.  The four games prior to that saw him in double-figures, while sprinkling a few boards in the mean time.  Hit.
Sean May: I finally cave in, and he sprains his ankle.  See!  I told you I shouldn’t have mentioned him!  Miss.

Deep Leagues:
Donyell Marshall: Hasn’t seen 20 minutes since December 11th.  Apparently, standing around the three point line and jacking up 30 footers like it’s the YMCA isn’t thought of highly by Mike Brown.  Star-Jones-sized Miss.
Quinton Ross: I felt like a genius the day after I recommended him.  Since then, he’s also been abysmal.  Rumors of Ron Artest to Los Angles aren’t helping.  Quinton Ross, get out of my life.  Miss.
Johan Petro:  Has flirted with double-digit points with a few boards mixed in as well.  Minutes have decreased game over game, but recent injuries to some key Seattle players may open up some doors.  A wash.
Vladamir Radmanovic: He’ll shoot 60% from the field one night, and then 16% the next.  A 27 point night followed by 17 with a bunch of threes thrown in.  I’m taking this one.  Hit.

(Overall 5-5-1)

I guess I should thank Matt Barnes for lighting up the three-point line these past two weeks, or I’d look pretty bad.  I actually mention Barnes in my latest piece over at HoopsHype, so you may want to check that out.  Like I said above, injuries o’plenty have just demolished some owners.  If you drafted some combination of Yao Ming, Rashard Lewis and Josh Smith, odds are that you now have a dog with sore ribs.  But hey, don’t sweat it. That’s what I’m here for!  On to this week’s recommendations…

(Statistics as of Wednesday)

Shallow Leagues:

Shane Battier, SF, Houston Rockets
28 G; 37.2 MPG; 9.5 PPG; 4.4 RPG; 2.7 APG; 1.6 3PM; 45.3 FG%; 71.1 FT%; 1.3 SPG; 0.9 BPG; 1.2 TO

Battier is one of those guys that does nothing special, aside from doing everything.  But due to his single digit points, I’ve surprisingly seen him on some shallow waiver wires.  I’m here to say that Battier should be owned in all formats.  You can get points elsewhere.  However, you can’t always get one player to register at least one steal, one block and one three point field goal a game.  Add in the absence of Ming, and Battier should see plenty of floor time.

Jorge Garbajosa, SF/PF/C, Toronto Raptors
27 G; 29.4 MPG; 9.2 PPG; 5.6 RPG; 1.9 APG; 0.5 3PM; 43.9 FG%; 75.0 FT%; 1.1 SPG; 0.3 BPG; 1.0 TO

I’ve recently pimped The Garbage Man as a solid standard league addition.  Well, as an owner of Yao Ming in several leagues, I’m now hurting for a center – and I’m sure I’m not alone.  I’d like at least one block a game from my big man, but at this point, I’ll take whatever I can get.  Chris Bosh won’t be back for another week or so, so Garbajosa should get plenty of burn.  Use it while you can.  We’ll tackle the future when it comes.

Hedo Turkoglu, SG/SF, Orlando Magic
21 G; 28.5 MPG; 9.8 PPG; 3.3 RPG; 2.7 APG; 1.2 3PM; 37.0 FG%; 67.6 FT%; 0.7 SPG; 0.1 BPG; 1.8 TO

An ankle injury coupled with a sub-par start saw a lot of owners show Hedo the Hedoor.  His percentages are way below career average, and his scoring has dropped a bit.  These factors have pushed Turk’s rankings down in the 100s.  I’m a big believer in regressing to the mean for certain players, and he’s one of them.  Expect the percentages to get back to a level of normalcy, and add Hedo for some cheap threes and free throw help.  Bonus points if Grant Hill goes down…again.

Standard Leagues:

Janerro Pargo, PG, New Orleans Hornets
27 G; 23.1 MPG; 9.6 PPG; 2.7 RPG; 2.1 APG; 1.0 3PM; 37.7 FG%; 88.4 FT%; 0.6 SPG; 0.1 BPG; 1.6 TO

I had Pargo penciled in as a deep pick-up last week, but with the Holidays and all, I never had the chance to convey this.  Now, with Chris Paul on the shelf for a bit, Pargo turns into a nice addition in standard leagues due to his ability to score, hit the trey, and drain free throws.  We all know what the kid did back in the 2003-04 season when he got the minutes.  With the three top scorers out in New Orleans, the ball’s in Pargo’s hands.  Keep an eye on the Paul updates, but add Pargo for the time being.

Josh Childress, SG/SF, Atlanta Hawks
7 G; 37.1 MPG; 13.3 PPG; 6.4 RPG; 1.9 APG; 0.4 3PM; 56.7 FG%; 77.8 FT%; 0.7 SPG; 0.9 BPG; 1.3 TO

Fickle fantasy owners may have given up on Childress when they heard that he’d be out for a few weeks with a left foot sprain.  Well, as luck would have it in Atlanta, once someone returns from an injury, another player gets hurt.  Childress gave way to Marvin Williams, and now Josh Smith will take some time off with a hernia.  This bodes well for both Williams and Childress – who could be one of the most underrated fantasy players in the game.  If you need that ‘tweener to get you the hustle stats and solid percentages, look for the fro.  (Queue Jackson 5 music)

John Salmons, SG/SF, Sacramento Kings
22 G; 30.2 MPG; 10.8 PPG; 3.9 RPG; 3.3 APG; 0.6 3PM; 47.9 FG%; 69.5 FT%; 1.0 SPG; 0.5 BPG; 1.6 TO

I was high on Salmons at the beginning of the year, as can be seen by his mention in the premier edition of Wire to Wire.  Then Mike Bibby ruined my parade by coming back early, landing Salmons back on the pine.  Well, now it seems that Ron Artest will be my savior, allowing Salmons to do his thing – including a triple-double at Denver.  Rumors of Corey Maggette coming to town may hurt his production in the long-run, but for now, you could do a lot worse.

Rasho Nesterovic, C, Toronto Raptors
26 G; 19.2 MPG; 5.7 PPG; 4.4 RPG; 0.8 APG; 0 3PM; 50.4 FG%; 70.0 FT%; 0.5 SPG; 1.2 BPG; 0.6 TO

I can’t believe Rasho Nesterovic is getting a mention here.  There can only be two reasons why this would happen.  One, Toronto is just a mess right now, allowing anyone and their brother to get some burn.  And two, I’ve been decimated by centers all season long, and will throw anyone against the wall at this point, simply hoping that one of them sticks.  Well Rasho, it’s your turn buddy.  Against the wall you go…

Deep Leagues:

Mickael Gelabale, SF/PF, Seattle Supersonics
22 G; 14.5 MPG; 3.7 PPG; 2.3 RPG; 0.4 APG; 0 3PM; 47.5 FG%; 78.1 FT%; 0.2 SPG; 0.4 BPG; 0.5 TO

When Ray Allen went down, I mentioned Damien Wilkins getting the time – which he did.  Now that it’s Rashard Lewis that’s out for a few weeks, Allen will be moving to the three, opening up some time for Earl Watson at the two.  Watson’s likely on a team in every league right now, but one guy that isn’t is Mickael Gelabale.  Gelabale will come off of the bench regardless of who’s injured, but may pack some under-the-radar heat.  Another word of note is that Allen will not be traveling on Friday due the birth of his second child.  I smell some extra PT for a certain Frenchman.  No pun intended, of course…

Juwan Howard, SF/PF, Houston Rockets
26 G; 21.4 MPG; 5.9 PPG; 5.6 RPG; 0.9 APG; 0 3PM; 43.2 FG%; 94.1 FT%; 0.4 SPG; 0.0 BPG; 1.1 TO

It’s no secret that Yao Ming’s absence leaves a gaping hole in Houston’s offense.  This has allowed for the emergence of ma’ main man Shane Battier (a little Ali G, anyone?) along with more floor time for a former Fab-Five member in Howard.  Juwan has double-double potential every night and is one of the best free throw shooting forwards in the NBA.  More minutes can translate to more time at the line.  More time at the line translates into good things for your fantasy stats from a power forward.  Sign me up!

Alexander Johnson, SF/PF, Memphis Grizzlies
14 G; 15.3 MPG; 6.5 PPG; 3.9 RPG; 0.5 APG; 0 3PM; 63.8 FG%; 77.5 FT%; 0.6 SPG; 0.6 BPG; 1.1 TO

Bonus points for you if your league counts personal fouls as a favorable category.  Johnson is a fouling machine.  Dude fouled out in just 13 minutes against the Spurs a week ago.  Thirteen minutes!  Who leaves a player in to allow this to even happen?  Mike Fratello, that’s who.  Well, and John Chaney, but that’s a whole other story…

Anyways.  When he’s not hacking someone, he’s grabbing rebounds and blocking shots with the best of them.  A recent 23 and 10 night may have seen him get scooped up by a team struggling on the glass – but if he’s still there, you may want to keep an eye on him.  Pau Gasol will likely cramp Johnson’s playing time, but he’s like a poor man’s Reggie Evans on a team that’s struggling big time.  May provide some extra playing time in the short-run. 

That’s all for this week.  May your fantasy hoops new year be filled with more Armand de Brignac than Asti Spumante!  Have a safe weekend guys.  See you all in 2007…