Dec. 1 -- Sometimes it's the little things that make the difference. Every week we take you around the Western Conference for a look at the day-to-day developments on real NBA teams and how they might affect your fantasy squad.

Dallas Mavericks: Losing Josh Howard with a sprained ankle for three weeks is tough. He was solidifying himself as the number two option in Dallas. He fills up the stat sheet every night…Jason Terry will pick up the scoring slack. He’s a shooting guard that plays the point. Terry’s assists numbers aren’t on par with most point guards, but he’s a slasher and great shooter…Second-year point guard Devin Harris is seeing more minutes at the point, with Terry moving to the two guard…One out of every five games, Erick Dampier will have a great game. Besides that, he’s too inconsistent…Jerry Stackhouse is still two weeks away.

Houston Rockets: Tracy McGrady is still out with a strained back. He should return within one week, but still, that’s a tough loss…Yao Ming still needs to be more assertive on both ends of the court. He’s so talented offensively, and he does the little things well, like make free throws. Centers with a high free throw percentage are valuable…Stromile Swift made his first start of the season and responded well. I liked him at the beginning of the season, and I still like him longer term…Juwan Howard is making the most of his situation. He’s obviously not the player he was six years ago, but he’s a decent filler…Rafer Alston has been disappointing, and now with a hairline fracture in his leg, he’ll miss another few weeks.

Memphis Grizzlies: Memphis is a very hot team right now, with a lot of players contributing. They beat Dallas by 20 points in Dallas. This is an offensively loaded and deep team…Against Dallas, Pau Gasol posted 36 points and 15 rebounds. That’s no fluke…He’s that good…Shane Battier is coming up huge for Memphis. Look for his production to continue to rise, especially with Mike Miller out with a concussion.

New Orleans/Okla. City Hornets: We all know Desmond Mason hasn’t done much this season, but only you know that that will change. He’s getting more acclimated with the offense, and will continue to see more minutes. His seven points and two rebounds will increase…P.J. Brown will continue to post double-doubles.

San Antonio Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs are like a car on cruise control. You’re not going faster than you think or slower. Every night you know what you’re getting. Tim Duncan will get you 20 points and 10 rebounds. Set your watch to it…Tony Parker, who’s having an outstanding year and Manu Ginobili will fill in the rest of the scoring, add a few rebounds, some assists and steals, and you have your Spurs. Really, if you forget about the fact that they rarely lose, and its pretty boring.

Denver Nuggets: Look for Carmelo Anthony to miss a week with sprained ankle. He shouldn't miss much time, but keep him reserved until he’s back from the injury…Don’t forget that point guards on high-scoring teams are fantasy gems. Andre Miller can shoot and dish, and he’s also a very good rebounding guard. His shooting percentage is slow, but makes up for it in other areas…Marcus Camby continues to sizzle.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Point guards that change teams usually take some time to develop. That’s the case with Marko Jaric. He’s been ineffective, but he’s starting to turn it around. In last Friday’s win over Milwaukee, Jaric scored 24 points, dished out five assists, and had three steals…While Eddie Griffin certainly isn’t a fantasy powerhouse, he is averaging over two blocks a game…Uh, Kevin Garnett is pretty good.

Portland Trail Blazers: Darius Miles continues to be this year’s pleasant surprise. He’s averaging just a shade under 20 points per game. I don’t think anyone expected that…We all expected Zach Randolph to put up 20 points and 10 rebounds. You don’t hear much from Portland, but Randolph is the guy not mentioned in a lot of conversations that brings it every night…Sebastian Telfair is slowly become more active in the scoring category. I’m still not buying him long term.

Seattle SuperSonics: Sonics Coach Bob Weiss has been tinkering with his lineup in order to generate more offense and better flow…Nick Collison started at center for the first time last Saturday, and responded well. He scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out five assists…Power forward Danny Fortson will miss a week or two with an arthritic toe.

Utah Jazz: Andrei Kirilenko might return to action by next week. When healthy, he’s as valuable as they come, but that’s a big if. He’s a must start when 100 percent, but when is he 100 percent…Carlos Boozer continues to sit on the sidelines. This is terrible news for guys, like me, who need him in their lineups…Mehmet Okur is the shining star at center.

Golden State Warriors: Here’s a shock, Troy Murphy had a double-double his last game out. He’s a walking double-double. He scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in just 30 minutes…And did you notice that there’s a pretty good back-court in Oakland? Last Monday against New Orleans, Jason Richardson scored 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dropped five dimes…Baron Davis scored 17 points, dished out nine assists, and had three steals.

Los Angeles Clippers: How nice is it to have Corey Maggette back healthy and in the starting lineup? Last Tuesday in Minnesota, Maggette poured in 30 big points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He’s back…Elton Brand never left. He remains a double-double guy every night…Sam Cassell is playing well and putting up good numbers. Last Tuesday in Minnesota, he didn’t start, played 30 minutes, scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished six assists.

Los Angeles Lakers: Yes, Kobe Bryant scores a lot of points. A lot. He’ll average close to 35 points a game. But look deeper. Last Tuesday in San Antonio, he shot nine of 33 from the field, including zero for six beyond the arc. Of course he’s not assisting, and he’s not rebounding…Who could Kobe pass to anyway? His best option is Lamar Odom. Odom will have a great game one night, like the 27-point, 16-rebound night he had in San Antonio, but the previous night, he’ll shoot one for 11.

Phoenix Suns: It might sound like a broken record, but Shawn Marion is a fantasy beast. He’s averaging a double-double, and don’t expect that to change anytime soon…Steve Nash should also be a double-double guy on a nightly basis, but don’t expect him to repeat the success of last year.

Sacramento Kings: The two most efficient and effective fantasy guys in Sac-town are the newcomers, Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. They’re a double-double threat every night…Last Tuesday against Charlotte, Brad Miller scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds, going seven for eight from the field and five for five from the free throw line. That’s very good production from the center spot…Mike Bibby continues to score 25 points per game, but he needs to have more than four assists a night.

Drew Belzer is a fantasy expert for NBA.com. His column Around the Western Conference runs every Thursday as part of the NBA.com Premium Scouting Report. Contact him at drew@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.