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Apr. 6 -- 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: Could the answer to all of your fantasy questions be Shawn Kemp? You remember Shawn Kemp. Shawn Kemp would rather you remember him circa 1992, rather than 2002. Of course Shawn Kemp won’t help you, but rumors are swirling in Dallas that Kemp might be a possible replacement for the injured Keith Van Horn, who appears to be out for the season…Josh Howard is back, and it is safe to put him in your starting lineup…Dirk Nowitzki should win the NBA MVP. Seriously.

Houston Rockets: For all of you who are coasting to the Fantasy Championship on the back of Yao Ming, don’t forget to thank Tracy McGrady. Since T-Mac’s injury, Yao clearly is the man in H-town, and he clearly is bringing an edge to him. He’s more aggressive on both ends of the court, and it’s translating into the stats. Yao continues to post big-time points and rebounds. Last Sunday against the Lakers, Yao scored 33 points and 16 rebounds. There’s no sign of slowing down…Rafer Alston is playing better. I’m not trading Steve Nash for him, but if you’re thin at point guard, Alston could be available.

Memphis Grizzlies: Pau Gasol is a stud on the court and in the fantasy world. We all know he can rebound the ball, and we know he’s a good scorer in the paint, but he’s developing a solid 17-foot, one-handed jump shot. Gasol is also an underrated shot blocker who gets better and better in that department…Chucky Atkins is a decent fantasy play only if you’re thin at point guard.

New Orleans Hornets: Give a standing O to Chris Paul and David West. When the Hornets were good, they were good. When the Hornets have slipped, they’re still good. Look at last Tuesday’s game against the mighty Detroit Pistons. Paul scored 24 points and dished out 10 assists. He also had five steals. That’s a heck of a game for a rookie over 70 games into the season…David West continues to be a force. He hasn’t shown the consistency as of late, but keep him in mind for next year.

San Antonio Spurs: If you’ve missed every Spurs game this year, don’t worry about it. Last Tuesday’s game against the Jazz was a microcosm of their season for their two top stars, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Seriously. Tony Parker was fantastic with 23 points and eight assists…Tim Duncan was unspectacular, yet solid with 11 points and 13 rebounds. The surprise was Manu Ginobili, healthy and giving us 26 points.

Denver Nuggets: Denver can’t be happy about blowing a 22-point lead in L.A. against the Clippers, but fantasy owners will appreciate the stats. Even though Andre Miller only scored four points, he did dish out 12 assists and grab seven boards…Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dropped five dimes…Marcus Camby scored 19 points, but only grabbed six rebounds. I’m surprised anytime the Cambyman doesn’t grab more than 10 boards. These guys are money, and will be fine going down the stretch. I wouldn’t suspect those guys would miss a game later on since the Nuggets have all but clinched the three seed.

Minnesota Timberwolves: What a disappointing year for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The lone bright spot was the constant brilliance of Kevin Garnet. KG had another phenomenal game against Charlotte. KG dropped 24 points and grabbed 22 boards. Amazing. It will be hard to see him in a different uniform next year, but it just might happen…Ricky Davis is still worth a starting lineup spot, but it seems like he’s ready for summer vacation.

Portland Trail Blazers: Can someone please tell the Trailblazers that the season doesn’t end for another few weeks? Honestly. Did you see that game against Seattle? They were non-existent. I wasn’t in Vegas, but I bet the line on the game was less than 39. Maybe…Zach Randolph looked good with his five points and zero rebounds. Hell, I got zero rebounds that night, too.

Seattle SuperSonics: Good for you if you have a Sonic on your team and you started them last Sunday against Portland. Odds are, it worked out well for you. Earl Watson dropped 23 points, including hitting six of seven from downtown…Chris Wilcox continues to dominate the middle. He has fresh legs now since he spent most of the season on the Clippers bench, so expect double-figures in both points and rebounds.

Utah Jazz: The Jazz bigs are coming up big for Utah…Carlos Boozer has been amazing. Look at his game last Tuesday against the Spurs. He posted 27 points and 17 rebounds. It would have been nice to see what would have happened if he played all season long…Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko have also been on fire. Okur is stroking it from the outside and seemingly grabbing every rebound in sight. AK-47 just gets double-figures in every category imaginable…points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, girlfriends.

Golden State Warriors: I really had high hopes for the Golden State Warriors, but they’ve been down-right disappointing. Baron Davis can’t seem to play a full 82 game season, or close to it. That really hurts him, as well as others…Jason Richardson had a great season, but still doesn’t seem to bring the wood every night…Troy Murphy to me is always a 13-point, 13-rebound guy. He won’t get you that every night, but very close.

Los Angeles Clippers: Sam Cassell means so much to the Clippers. But he means just as much to fantasy teams. Cassell is not slowing down as the season goes on, although many thought his old legs would get heavy. Cassell is fresh in the fourth quarter, so he’s scoring points, and he’s around that 10-assist mark…Elton Brand is good. Real good. MVP good. He doesn’t have to play anymore, just put him down for 23 points, 11 rebounds, and at least a block or two every game.

Los Angeles Lakers: Kwame Brown is a man! He’s playing that center position with Chris Mihm on the shelf, and he’s dominating…sort of. But he’s playing really well. Double-doubles are more prevalent than before, and he’s turning heads…Kobe Bryant is still the man, but Lamar Odom is back to that inconsistency. You gotta stick with him, though.

Phoenix Suns: Congratulations to losers like me who drafted Amare Stoudemire in October. Those three games were well worth my 10th-round pick….Oh well, that really doesn’t mean much when Steve Nash is involved. He’s a double-double guy with or without Amare…Even though the Suns have that two-seed locked up, I’m not so sure Nash will rest more than a game or two…Shawn Marion could be the fantasy MVP this year. He just does everything so well. He’s a great scorer, shooter, rebounder, shot-blocker, and steals guy.

Sacramento Kings: So, here’s what we know about the Sacramento Kings. They’re a dangerous team…at home. On the road, they’re, well, not so dangerous. They beat a very good Clipper team in Sacramento, then lose to Dallas by 26 points. Dallas is a good team, but they just don’t show up. Mike Bibby scored just 11 points, and had more fouls, three, than assists, two. Oh, and he couldn’t manage a rebound in 30 minutes work…The lone bright spot was Bonzi Wells, who scored 30 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out four assists. He was also perfect from the free throw line.

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.