The Houston Rockets have a stacked offense. With Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, the addition of Ron Artest and Luis Scola, there simply was no room for Rafer Alston to do anything but pass. Because of that, Alston saw his scoring average dip from 13 points per game last year to just over 10 this season. His assists have been down, too. Go figure.
Injuries have a way of changing the makeup of NBA lineups and for Houston, with T-Mac now out for at least the next three weeks, they're just happy to have a guy like Alston who can pick up the slack.
And pick up the slack he has.
 | Rafer Alston, PG, Houston  The man who used to be called "Skip To My Lou" in his AND1 mix tape days has been bringing his showboat game -- and often times attitude -- to the Rockets for four years now but was expected to have his smallest role on this year's team with the new additions. He's still averaging just over 10 points per game, his lowest numbers since coming to the Rockets, but has assumed a scorer's role once again with McGrady out of the lineup for three weeks. Alston has averaged over 18 points per game over his last three hitting 11 threes over that span. He's even slightly increased his assist numbers with T-Mac out. Alston is still available in 20 percent of CBSSports.com Fantasy leagues and should be picked up now in all leagues until McGrady comes back. |
 | Greg Oden, C, Portland  Entering Week 7 of the NBA season, we finally have a decent read on what Oden's rookie season in the NBA will be like. And it only took two years. The bad news, however, is that Oden will likely not finish in the top three in NBA Rookie of the Year voting. He was far and away the most highly sought after rookie in Fantasy drafts before the season, but Oden is completely healthy now and it just seems he won't have the immediate impact most expected. Sure, he'll give you the occasional double-double but he'll also come out the next night and play 18 minutes and score two points with five boards. The Trail Blazers can afford to bring him along slowly since their offense has been top-notch even without the big man. Oden is averaging 7.8 points and 9.0 rebounds over his last four games and that is what you can expect out of him for now. That's still worth owning in all Fantasy leagues, but you might not use him if you have two solid centers. |
 | Jose Juan Barea, PG, Dallas You have to be careful with a situation like Barea's in Dallas. Yes, his stock is definitely way up after scoring 15, 18 and 22 points in three straight games. But Barea is seeing an increase in minutes because Josh Howard has been out. Howard expects to be back any day now and that could immediately send Barea back to Fantasy irrelevance. However, he has done such a great job in Howard's absence, he's definitely going to get more playing time than before. "The thing I like about Barea is his decision-making has continued to improve since training camp," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said after Saturday's game. "He made a lot of good things happen." Even if his value won't be as high as his production over the last few games, his stock is still far higher than it was a few weeks ago. |
 | Mike Miller, SG, Minnesota Miller's knee is really bothering him. He's averaged just nine points and five boards over his last three games and has since sat out the last two contests for the Timberwolves. He wanted to return for Saturday's game but was held out of the lineup and has said that even if he returns over the next scoring period, it will be at less than 100 percent health. Miller will likely be active but won't be nearly the same player until that knee fully heals. Until he can sustain health and production for a few games straight, he's a risky play in Fantasy and should be overlooked for other options. |
 | Marcus Camby, C, L.A. Clippers Camby's production isn't going anywhere this season. He's as valuable in Fantasy as ever. In fact, over the last week of action, Camby has been the top Fantasy center in basketball. Chris Kaman may be out and the Clippers may have added Zach Randolph, but neither is going to stop Camby from doing what he does game in and game out. He's a double-double machine with five in his last six games. Over that span he's averaging over 12 points and 13 rebounds per game and adding an incredible four blocks to boot. Many Fantasy owners have felt that Camby wouldn't be the same player that he was in Denver, but in fact, Camby has been every bit as good. |
 | Samuel Dalembert, C, Philadelphia Dalembert is exactly what is wrong with Philadelphia thus far this season. He is the prime example of how the franchise has only subtracted with the addition of Elton Brand. Almost every player on the Sixers have taken a step back thus far but Dalembert, who averaged over 10 points per game and about nine rebounds over his last two seasons, has taken the greatest plunge. Dalembert has failed to score in three of his last six games and has added just 4.2 boards per over those contests. The Sixers have begun to limit his minutes because of his poor play and right now he doesn't even look worthy of being owned in Fantasy, let alone being the low-end No. 1 center many figured he'd be to start the season. |
 | Andre Iguodala, SF, Philadelphia Almost the entire Sixers team has seen their stock plummet this season and for much of the early going, Iguodala was one of them. That will happen when you average 20 points per game last season and struggle to achieve even half that number this year. But with the rest of the Sixers still wallowing in mediocrity, Iggy has finally started to pick up the pace. Over his last four games, Iguodala has almost 20 points and is adding over eight rebounds, almost five assists and a block. He's still a Rotisserie stud and is now scoring like the man Fantasy owners expected when they drafted him with a top pick. His scoring average should only continue to rise as the Sixers desperately need his production. |
 | Mo Williams, PG, Cleveland We very easily could have listed Daniel Gibson as a stock up here because he's the reason Williams' numbers have taken a hit recently. Well, part of it is Williams' poor play as well. Cleveland's starting point guard is still averaging over 15 points per game this season, but that number has dropped to under 13 over his last four contests. Plus, he hasn't played over 30 minutes in his last three contests with Gibson getting more time on the court. The fact that he already was doing little in the way of assists and rebounds only compounds his down arrow. We expect him to bounce back, but right now, Gibson is making a case to take over his starting spot in the lineup. |
 | Rajon Rondo, PG, Boston Rondo came into this season with a decent amount of hype after helping lead the Celtics to an NBA title and averaging over 10 points and five assists per game last year. Right now, however, he's playing like a must-start guard in all leagues and is officially one of the league's best all-around point guards. Two games ago, Rondo recorded his first-ever -- but definitely not his last -- triple-double with 16 points, 13 boards and 17 assists. He's averaging 16 points, over eight rebounds and 12 assists over his last three games and is getting a good number of steals and shooting well over 50 percent. Rondo should be starting in all Fantasy leagues on most occasions and it figures to stay that way for the former Kentucky Wildcat. |
 | Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, SF, Milwaukee The Bucks are thanking their stars they finally have Michael Redd back in the starting lineup. Mbah a Moute Fantasy owners, however, are cursing under their breath. Since Redd's return, the UCLA rookie has taken a steep decline since starting off the year so hot. He's averaging under four points per game over his last five contests and his minutes continue to dwindle culminating in just four against the Bobcats on Friday night. He's young and talented and surely can find more minutes as the season wears on, but for right now, it looks like the Bucks are content to shy away from the rookie and you probably should too. |
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