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Mar. 20 -- With spring training and the NCAA men's basketball tournament, March is a great time to be a sports fan. But it's a tough time to be an NBA player. Either your team is waiting for the playoffs to begin - notice the Pistons are just 5-4 in March - or for a bad season to end. And the long grind that is the NBA regular season is clearly catching up with teams like Houston, Philadelphia and even Dallas, who are all are dealing with a number of injuries.

Fortunately, the NBA Stat Rat, that whiskered virtual warrior, never tires of churning out numbers that tell you who's hot and who's hurting. So let's get to our Movers and Shakers:

Stat Rat Movers = Players who've seen a recent spike in production over the past week compared to the entire season up until that point.

Stat Rat Shakers = Players who've seen a recent decrease in production over the past week compared to the entire season up until that point.

Minute Movers = Players who've seen a recent spike in playing time over the past week compared to the entire season up until that point.

Minute Shakers = Players who've seen a recent decline in playing time over the past week compared to the entire season up until that point.

Stat Rat Movers

In his last six games, Jumaine Jones has averaged more than 20 points and nearly four three-pointers a game. Of course it's helped that he's faced Golden State, New York and Washington twice in that span, but regardless of the opposition, Jones has delivered from beyond the arc. He's made at least one three in 30 straight games, and he's drilled at least two threes in each of his last 11. If you were smart enough to foresee the emergence of Chris Kaman this season, congratulations. Save for hair strands, Kaman's numbers are up nicely across the board. But if you're still looking for center help, check into Jake Tsakalidis, who's averaging 13 points, 10 rebounds and a block in his last six for Memphis.

Stats through 3/18/2006

Rnk Player - POS - Team Last 7 thru 3/11 +/-
1 Jumaine Jones - F - CHA 1.20 0.15 1.05
2 Dirk Nowitzki - F - DAL 1.85 0.89 0.96
3 Chris Kaman - C - LAC 1.31 0.39 0.92
4 Tim Thomas - F - PHO 0.62 -0.21 0.83
5 Steve Nash - G - PHO 1.71 0.89 0.82
6 Chauncey Billups - G - DET 1.53 0.71 0.82
7 Darko Milicic - F - ORL 0.55 -0.19 0.74
8 Jake Tsakalidis - C - MEM 0.55 -0.18 0.73
9 Vince Carter - G/F - NJ 1.36 0.63 0.73
10 Lamar Odom - F - LAL 1.33 0.60 0.73

Stat Rat Shakers

Our Shakers are dropping like Big Ten teams at the Dance. Josh Howard tried to test his injured hamstring in a March 12 game against Sacramento -- now Dallas is saying he might not play again this season. Samuel Dalembert just hasn't been the same since returning from an ankle injury, and Steven Hunter continues to start in his place for Philly. Teammate Allen Iverson has missed for games with a bum ankle of his own, but could come back March 22 against Atlanta. Meanwhile, David Wesley has bad ribs, and Devin Harris has a quad problem. It's also quite possible that Jason Richardson has a bad back from carrying the sad Warriors all season. What ever the reason, J-Rich is just 35 percent from the field in his last three.

Stats through 3/18/2006

Rnk Player - POS - Team Last 7 thru 3/11 +/-
1 Josh Howard - F - DAL -0.70 0.30 -1.00
2 Samuel Dalembert - C - PHI -0.47 0.45 -0.92
3 Jason Richardson - G/F - GS -0.16 0.70 -0.86
4 David Wesley - G - HOU -0.62 0.22 -0.84
5 Sarunas Jasikevicius - G - IND -0.67 0.14 -0.81
6 Stromile Swift - F/C - HOU -0.73 0.03 -0.76
7 Austin Croshere - F - IND -0.67 0.08 -0.75
8 Allen Iverson - G - PHI 0.15 0.87 -0.72
9 J.R. Smith - G - NOK -0.77 -0.07 -0.70
10 Devin Harris - G - DAL -0.61 0.08 -0.69

Minute Movers

Injuries to Tracy McGrady and Wesley have meant more minutes for Keith Bogans and Luther Head. Bogans has started six of the Rockets' last seven games, but he's only on the fringe of fantasy relevance. The Kentucky product can give you steals and rebounds from the guard spot (51 in his last seven games), but not much else. Head has been decent, and could get better once the Rockets get through this stretch of games against San Antonio and Dallas. Ultimately, he could be worth close to two three-pointers a night. Danny Granger is another up-and-down young player. After failing to reach double figures in six straight games, Granger has averaged 19 points and nine boards in his last three.

Stats through 3/18/2006

Last 7 Days

Through 3/11
Rnk Player - POS - Team Gms Min/Gm Gms Min/Gm +/-
1 Jake Tsakalidis - C - MEM 3 29.30 38 11.50 17.80
2 Keith Bogans - G - HOU 4 39.00 52 22.50 16.50
3 Rawle Marshall - G - DAL 3 18.00 6 2.00 16.00
4 Chris Wilcox - F - SEA 3 31.70 58 16.00 15.70
5 Luther Head - G - HOU 4 40.00 60 25.90 14.10
6 Danny Granger - F - IND 4 34.80 55 21.60 13.20
7 Darko Milicic - F - ORL 4 22.50 34 9.40 13.10
8 Ronald Murray - G - CLE 3 38.00 57 25.20 12.80
9 Ryan Gomes - G/F - BOS 4 29.50 41 17.90 11.60
10 John Salmons - G - PHI 4 36.30 61 24.80 11.50

Minute Shakers

The return to health of Jamaal Tinsley and Fred Jones -- along with the continued strong play of Anthony Johnson -- means that Indiana has too many guards with better games (and shorter names) than Sarunas Jasikevicius. Thus, Jasikevicius, the man Larry Bird called the best player in Europe, has played all of two seconds in the Pacers' last four games. On a serious note, there's no timetable for Austin Croshere's return. Croshere, who sustained a concussion on Jan. 31, started the March 15 game against Denver, but played only five minutes and hasn't seen the court since. A final injury note: Desmond Mason will miss at least two weeks with a sprained left medial collateral ligament.

Stats through 3/18/2006

Last 7 Days

Through 3/11
Rnk Player - POS - Team Gms Min/Gm Gms Min/Gm +/-
1 Austin Croshere - F - IND 1 5.00 39 25.40 -20.40
2 Allen Iverson - G - PHI 1 24.00 57 43.60 -19.60
3 Josh Howard - F - DAL 1 14.00 48 33.40 -19.40
4 David Wesley - G - HOU 1 17.00 62 34.90 -17.90
5 Devin Harris - G - DAL 1 6.00 54 23.40 -17.40
6 Eduardo Najera - F - DEN 4 9.50 56 24.70 -15.20
7 Bostjan Nachbar - F - NJ 1 1.00 27 15.30 -14.30
8 Sarunas Jasikevicius - G - IND 2 9.00 59 22.90 -13.90
9 Desmond Mason - F - NOK 2 17.00 60 30.80 -13.80
10 Samuel Dalembert - C - PHI 4 15.50 45 29.20 -13.70

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.