Jan. 12 -- Sometimes it's the little things that make the difference. Every week we take you around the Eastern Conference for a look at the day-to-day developments on real NBA teams and how they might affect your fantasy squad.

Boston Celtics: Delonte West continues to stay hot in January. With his 5.5 rebounds per game and 64 percent field goal percentage, West is playing bigger than any of the Celt’s big men. That’s a reflection on both West and on the front court. West has been the surprise fantasy package this year, and though he is unlikely to sustain current levels of production, he is one of the better fantasy players to own. The Celtics frontcourt, ugh, lets just say I’m happy not to have any of them on my team … That includes Al Jefferson, who in spite of getting the starting job, is seeing his minutes decline because of inconsistent play. Sooner or later, though, the Celtics have to play him and groom him for the future. Stash him on your bench if you can afford to do so.

New Jersey Nets: Okay, so they finally lost one. That’s nothing to feel bad about. The bad news is Richard Jefferson is injured. RJ played just about two minutes against the Raptors and missed the game against the Spurs. He isn’t slated to miss much more time so gut it out for a while, he’ll be back soon enough … Jacque Vaughn has a nose for steals and will get most of the playing time in RJ’s absence. Add it up, and he is worth picking up in deep leagues.

New York Knicks: What do you know? The Knicks have a four game win streak now. Stephon Marbury, averaging 23 points and 10.5 assists in the last five games, might have something to do with that … What has also changed is that David Lee is starting. Lee brings much needed hustle to the team, but won’t get you many fantasy stats … Jamal Crawford missed a couple of games due to a sprained left foot, but 26 points, 10 rebounds and four assists against the Cavs says he is fine now … Is it funny that Channing Frye and Eddy Curry have a combined two assists between them in 2006? I was rooting for none at all, but Frye played spoilsport by handing out two against the Cavs.

Philadelphia 76ers: Allow me to do the “I told you so” dance I learned from the Talented Mr. Roto himself. Chris Webber is injured. All fantasy writers who qualified his injury risk as “when, not if” are vindicated. The way C-Webb was playing, I was getting a bit worried about my preseason predictions but, fickle as I am, I now wish that he comes back soon. A near 20-10 double-double is downright impossible to replace with free agents … I know I’m going overboard but, it’s not as bad as it looks. C-Webb is expected back real soon … Don’t be surprised if Samuel Dalembert loads up on double-doubles while C-Webb is hobbled.

Toronto Raptors: Mike James caught fire when Jose Calderon went down to injury. His scorching January includes 23 points, 8 assists, 2.6 three pointers, 1.4 steals and a ridiculous-for-a-point-guard field-goal percentage of 51. Jose Calderon is back, but the way James is playing, he’ll have to earn his minutes back … Jalen Rose now has six straight double-digit scoring games, and he has touched the double figure mark in nine of past 11 games. Rose can put up points in a hurry, has three point range and, going by last seasons numbers, was among the underrated but solid fantasy players. If he can keep scoring like this, minutes will come and so will the rest of his stats.

Chicago Bulls: Chris Duhon is out of the starting lineup and his numbers have predictably dropped down … Now that Kirk Hinrich has more point guard duties, expect his assists to climb from his current 6.5 to at least 7.5, making him a dangerous fantasy weapon to add to your arsenal… Ben Gordon gets more touches too and he hasn’t disappointed, registering nearly 20 points and two three-pointers per contest in five games this month … Andres Nocioni averaged 17 points, six rebounds and two three-pointers in his last three games. Since the Bulls have won all three, he’ll get more focus. Nice player to have.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Bad news for the Cavs. Larry Hughes could miss anywhere from six to eight weeks with a broken finger. Plan accordingly … One man’s injury is another man’s playing time, or something like that. Damon Jones’ shooting touch may have deserted him, he’s only 4-for-26 this month, but he is the instant beneficiary of Hughes’ injury. If he can get over his shooting woes, Jones is in line for a productive few weeks … There is a good chance that LeBron James, who just dropped another triple-double this week, slides to the shooting guard position from time to time, allowing the Cavs to play Donyell Marshall, Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the front court in an effort to make up for Hughes’ absent offense. All three get an upgrade until Hughes gets back.

Detroit Pistons: Tayshaun Prince’s rebound numbers have seen an up-tick recently. As good as they already are, the Pistons will try to get better defensively as they prepare for the postseason. This tightening up means more defensive rebounds and Prince will continue to get his share … Antonio McDyess is seeing his role slowly but steadily increased. McDyess should be a good pickup in deep leagues during the second half … Darko Milicic has yet to play in 2006. I didn’t know that was part of the post-Larry Brown plan.

Indiana Pacers: Sometimes, I wonder if people even read what I write. Why do I still see Danny Granger unowned in so many leagues? You mean 12 points, seven rebounds, more than two steals, about a block and solid percentages aren’t good enough for you? Feel free to quote me on this later. Danny Granger will be a fantasy star by the end of this season, and a top stud next season… Jermaine O’neal missed a few games to injury, but 24 points and 16 rebounds say he is back to full strength. ‘Nuff said. … Jeff Foster has four straight double-digit rebound games. Foster won’t help you much anywhere else, but if you need rebounds, he’s your man.

Milwaukee Bucks: T.J. Ford is back from the injury which kept him out for almost two weeks, and already he’s playing heavy minutes. If his owner foolishly dropped him when he got hurt, swoop in and pick him up immediately … The Bucks aren’t very happy, though, as they lost Mo Williams to the injury bug. Initial reports suggest Williams won’t be out for long.

Atlanta Hawks: Josh Smith has started 2006 on an encouraging note with 12 points, five rebounds, one steal and two blocks per game so far. The most important stat, however, is his 61 percent field goal shooting. Smith is looking better as the season progresses and should pad up his overall numbers to complement his valuable block stats. There is a good chance he is un-owned or that his owner is willing to trade him for cheap. Make your move, you don’t want to miss out on him … Tyronne Lue is doing all the little things to keep himself valuable. Averages of 11 points, five assists, more than one three pointer and a steal are valuable in most leagues.

Charlotte Bobcats: Good news on injury front for the Bobcats. Emeka Okafor played against the Rockets after a near three-week injury break. Judging by his 21 point, eight rebound, two block performance, it is safe to plug him back into your lineup … Gerald Wallace is putting up insane statistics. He’s racked up 14 blocks and 10 steals in January on the strength of two double-doubles. Am I glad to have him on my team, or what? In fact I’m going to disregard his low free throw percentage and make an offer for him in all my leagues … Maybe I should make serious queries about Brevin Knight too. He just dropped 18 assists on the Rockets and he’s been a low-cost assist machine all season.

Miami Heat: Apparently, Jason Williams is still not completely over his knee injury. Williams has already missed two games this month and there is no guarantee he won’t miss any more. Gary Payton owners, hold on to your Glove … Have some of Dwayne Wade. Flash dropped his first triple-double of the season and who’s to argue he won’t have more? Wade also broke a three game zero-steals streak, pilfering six from the careless Blazers. Truly a fantasy stud … The Alonzo Mourning Block Count is now into three figures, standing at 102. It has slowed down considerably, but to see him play is such an inspiration, I’m gonna keep counting till he stops.

Orlando Magic: Grant Hill is injured again and could miss more games. Boy, does that pop the Magic’s resurgence bubble, or what? … Steve Francis is playing, but that isn’t helping much either. Francis is scoring just about 12 points per game this month … At least the Magic fans can take solace in Jameer Nelson’s 20 points-per-game average in January. Nelson also averages five assists per game and holds the key to the Magic’s future, and quite possibly your fantasy teams’ too.

Washington Wizards: Caron Butler’s value lies primarily in his scoring, which he is providing in spades these days. Any assist that he gets only enhances his value and it certainly won’t hurt if he can keep dishing three to four helpers every game, as he is doing lately … Antonio Daniels is getting more playing time to give the Wizards some extra scoring. Daniels is a compact player who can contribute a little bit in every category, if given minutes. Unless you are in a deep league, don’t get too excited as “little bit” is all you’ll get.

Pravin Bhandakkar is a fantasy expert for NBA.com. His column Around the Eastern Conference runs every Thursday as part of the NBA.com Premium Scouting Report. Contact him at Praywin@TalentedMrRoto.com .

The views expressed by the TalentedMrRoto.com represent only the views of the writers; they do not represent the views of the NBA or any NBA team.