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Apr. 10 -- Josh Smith was one of the most hyped breakout players going into this NBA season. Allow me to be among the first to hype him big time for the 2006-07 season.

For much of the year, Smith has been a fantasy disappointment of Al Jeffersonesque proportions. But in the quiet months of February, March and April, when only the most dedicated fantasy owners seem to closely monitor the action, Smith has been scary good.

While I'm neither a Trekkie nor a conspiracy theorist, Smith reminds me of a basketball-playing Borg, assimilating new pieces into his game seemingly by the week. At this rate, I'm thinking that by next January -- Jan. 18, 2007, to be precise -- Smith should be a hybrid of Shawn Marion and Andrei Kirilenko.

It sounds ridiculous I know, but so does what's happened to this point. Consider: On February 22 against Seattle, Smith made his first three-point basket of the season -- he'd only attempted six other shots from beyond the arc in his first 51 games. But in 21 games since March 1, Smith has made 24 three-pointers.

Now look at Smith's other stats, month by month:

November: 9.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.1 APG, 37.5 FGP
December: 8.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 46.3 FGP
January: 8.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.2 APG, 45.6 FGP
February: 11.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, 39.6 FGP
March: 13.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.8 APG, 44.2 FGP
April: 18.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 4.8 APG, 43.0 FGP

Oh and did I mention Smith's 2.6 blocks per game for the season? By conservative estimation, Smith should be good for 14 points, eight rebounds, 2.5 blocks and a three per game next year. Not bad for someone with guard/forward eligibility.

The Stat Rat sure likes Josh Smith. Smith is the Whiskered Warrior's prime mover this week. The rest of the Rat's findings follow.

Stat Rat Movers

Mike James and Chris Wilcox are probably looking forward to the offseason more than most. That's because these free agents-to-be are headed for big paydays. While James has his critics, fantasy owners are perfectly oaky with a shoot-first point guard if he's averaging nearly 32 points, seven assists and four three-pointers. That's what James has done over his last four games. Wilcox, meanwhile, averaged 17.9 points and 10.3 boards in his previous 11 games through April 8.

Stats through 4/8/2006

Rnk Player - POS - Team Last 7 thru 4/1 +/-
1 Josh Smith - G/F - ATL 1.68 0.40 1.27
2 Gilbert Arenas - G - WAS 2.21 1.00 1.21
3 Chris Paul - G - NOK 1.74 0.71 1.03
4 Jamal Crawford - G - NY 1.14 0.25 0.89
5 Vince Carter - G/F - NJ 1.54 0.65 0.89
6 Ron Artest - F - SAC 1.24 0.38 0.86
7 Ronald Murray - G - CLE 0.77 -0.04 0.81
8 Chris Wilcox - F - SEA 0.82 0.02 0.80
9 Mike James - G - TOR 1.38 0.59 0.79
10 Carlos Boozer - F/C - UTA 0.85 0.09 0.76

Stat Rat Shakers

Fantasy owners who've been relying on the likes of Rashard Lewis and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to help them to league championships got stung this week. Lewis missed three of five games -- the first two to a sprained right ankle, the third to a one-game suspension for a reckless driving conviction -- but was back in the Sonics' starting lineup for the April 9 game with Phoenix. Ilgauskas injured his left ankle early in Cleveland's April 4 game with Philadelphia and has missed the Cavs' last two contests.

Stats through 4/8/2006

Rnk Player - POS - Team Last 7 thru 4/1 +/-
1 Rashard Lewis - F - SEA -0.24 0.68 -0.92
2 Zydrunas Ilgauskas - C - CLE -0.36 0.53 -0.89
3 Jose Calderon - G - TOR -0.77 -0.02 -0.75
4 Francisco Garcia - G - SAC -0.70 0.03 -0.73
5 Jameer Nelson - G - ORL -0.37 0.33 -0.70
6 Marko Jaric - G - MIN -0.48 0.21 -0.69
7 Austin Croshere - F - IND -0.62 0.05 -0.67
8 Antawn Jamison - F - WAS -0.03 0.62 -0.65
9 Bobby Simmons - G/F - MIL -0.27 0.37 -0.64
10 Milt Palacio - G - UTA -0.71 -0.10 -0.61

Minute Movers

Rashad McCants tops our minute movers for the second straight week. It isn't reflected here, but the Minnesota rookie had a career-best 28 points against Atlanta on April 9. Another player who's become a regular on this list is Rasual Butler. Though Butler's been an inconsistent scorer, he is averaging a pair of three-pointers and 1.1 blocks over his past seven games. One guy who's a free agent in far too many leagues is Matt Harpring. Though an ankle problem did keep the oft-injured Harpring out of the April 1 game with Portland, when he's been on the court, he's been starting and producing for Utah -- producing to the tune of 19.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 61.3 percent from the field in his last six.

Stats through 4/8/2006

Last 7 Days

Through 4/1
Rnk Player - POS - Team Gms Min/Gm Gms Min/Gm +/-
1 Rashad McCants - G - MIN 4 34.30 71 15.40 18.90
2 Chris Wilcox - F - SEA 3 36.00 68 18.10 17.90
3 Rasual Butler - F - NOK 5 37.80 68 22.60 15.20
4 Andres Nocioni - F - CHI 3 40.70 73 26.10 14.60
5 Carlos Arroyo - G - ORL 2 29.00 72 15.00 14.00
6 Linton Johnson - F - NOK 5 25.40 25 12.20 13.20
7 Anderson Varejao - F - CLE 4 26.50 38 13.40 13.10
8 Gerald Green - G - BOS 3 17.70 23 5.30 12.40
9 Joey Graham - F - TOR 4 30.80 70 18.50 12.30
10 Matt Harpring - G/F - UTA 3 38.70 62 26.50 12.20

Minute Shakers

After a solid run where he scored in double digits in 20 of 21 games, Bobby Simmons is slumping as he approaches the regular season finish line. He's averaged just 6.3 points over his last six games.

Stats through 4/8/2006

Last 7 Days

Through 4/1
Rnk Player - POS - Team Gms Min/Gm Gms Min/Gm +/-
1 Milt Palacio - G - UTA 2 2.00 69 19.90 -17.90
2 Bobby Simmons - G/F - MIL 3 17.70 66 34.60 -16.90
3 Austin Croshere - F - IND 2 7.50 41 24.30 -16.80
4 Zydrunas Ilgauskas - C - CLE 2 13.50 71 30.20 -16.70
5 Eduardo Najera - F - DEN 2 7.00 61 23.40 -16.40
6 Jose Calderon - G - TOR 1 8.00 58 23.30 -15.30
7 Francisco Garcia - G - SAC 3 6.70 59 21.10 -14.40
8 Larry Hughes - G - CLE 3 24.30 28 37.50 -13.20
9 Bostjan Nachbar - F - NJ 1 1.00 30 14.00 -13.00
10 Kirk Snyder - G/F - NOK 4 8.00 59 20.50 -12.50

Neil Tardy is a fantasy expert for NBA.com. His column The Stat Rat runs every Monday as part of the NBA.com Premium Scouting Report. Contact him at NJT64@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.