Jan. 26 -- 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: With both Marquis Daniels and Keith Van Horn on the shelf, Jerry Stackhouse is starting to fill up the box score. He’s a dynamic scorer and an excellent free throw shooter. He won’t be the starter over Adrian Griffin, but he’ll certainly get enough minutes to warrant a roster spot on your fantasy team…Dirk Nowitzki continues to put up MVP-type numbers, but why doesn’t he get the love? Maybe because he doesn’t score 81 points in a game.

Houston Rockets: That collective sigh you heard across America was because now that Tracy McGrady is back, fantasy owners can come down off the ledge. He’s missed most of the first half with injuries, but he’s healthy now and putting up sick numbers. If any player not named Kobe can score 81 points in a game, it would be T-Mac…Yao Ming is still out of action for another few weeks, so Juwan Howard is playing second fiddle. Lucky you. He’s actually contributing pretty well. If you drafted Howard in the last round or two or were smart enough to pick him up as a free agent, you’ve got to be happy with his production.

Memphis Grizzlies: Move over Bobby Jackson! No, Damon Stoudamire isn’t back, but Chucky Atkins is. So Atkins isn’t going to put up 81 points in a game or anything, but just take notice that Jackson’s minutes might go down a bit. That’s too bad, too, because Jackson has been putting up pretty good numbers. He’s scoring about 14 points, grabbing four rebounds, and dishing out four assists a game…Shane Battier continues to fly under the radar. He's not in the top ten in any major categories, but he fills up the box score.

New Orleans/Okla. City Hornets: Even though they play their home games not at home, the Hornets can play. They fly way under the radar, but that won’t last too long if Chris Paul, David West, and J.R. Smith continue to put up the numbers that they do. Chris Paul should win Rookie of the Year honors. David West is an up-and-coming star in this league, and J.R. Smith seems to improve each time out…Desmond Mason is now the third scoring option on the team behind Paul and West. As a team, the Hornets get close to 81 points.

San Antonio Spurs: Manu Ginobili is healthy. Then he gets hurt. Then he gets healthy. Then he gets hurt. Healthy. Hurt. She loves me. She loves me not. I would have never described Ginobili as injury-prone, but he sure is missing quite a few games this year…Tim Duncan is also hurt, but he’s playing through it. Duncan gets double-doubles every night, but lately they’ve been closer to 10 points and 10 rebounds, as opposed to 20 points and 20 rebounds. In any event, he’s nowhere near 81.

Denver Nuggets: Marcus Camby is expected back to the lineup in the near future. He’s missed the past few weeks with a fractured finger. He’s a must start when he returns, but don’t expect Camby to blow you away with his stats right away. After missing that much time, Coach Karl will likely limit his minutes, and therefore his opportunities to score even half of 81 points…Earl Watson has been starting at the shooting guard spot for the past few games. He’s not getting starter’s minutes though…Andre Miller continues to be a triple-double threat every night.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Eddie Griffin is stepping up into that sweet double-double territory. He hit for two of them on back-to-back games last week. With Michael Olowokandi missing some games with an injury and being fairly unproductive the other times, Griffin is getting minutes at the center position and making good use of them…Marko Jaric and Troy Hudson are splitting time at point guard. Neither player is taking over that spot on a full time basis, but then again, neither are 100 percent healthy now. Combined, they won’t score 81 points…in a week.

Portland Trail Blazers: How about Steve Blake making an impression on ATWC! He certainly caught my eye with a season-high 20 points against the Mavs last week. Blake couldn’t miss from downtown, so if you need some three-pointers, look at this former Terrapin…Zach Randolph continues to post double-doubles without anyone looking. He’s not even close to 100 percent after surgery on that repaired right knee. He knows how to use his big body…When will Joel Przybilla prove me right and put up some numbers? I don’t expect 81, but give me 10, please!

Seattle SuperSonics: How good was Ray Allen’s game-winning three-pointer in double-overtime in Phoenix. That’s just Ray being freaking Ray. After signing a very fat contract in the off-season, and coming off that two game suspension, it was great to see Allen do what he does best. If he’s not the best pure shooter in the league, than I don’t know who is…That double-overtime game against Phoenix was nice to Luke Ridnour. 30 points and 11 assists. It’s not as good as 81, but it is better than two.

Utah Jazz: Apparently Carlos Boozer is close to returning to the Jazz. Yeah, when that happens, let me know. Ask for the guy that’s blue, because I’ll certainly be holding my breath. Boozer, when healthy, does so many things well. He’s gifted offensively, and gets his nose dirty defensively…It’s now surprising to me when Andrei Kirilenko doesn’t score 28 points, grab 14 rebounds, block seven shots, steal six times, and drop 8 dimes. When that doesn’t happen, I’m shocked. He’s amazing. Add up all his stats on any given night, and they might actually equal 81.

Golden State Warriors: How about my boy Troy Murphy, coming strong with 16 points and 20 rebounds? That’s it Murph. A good rule of thumb is that, anytime you grab 20 boards, you get a mention here on ATWC. And if you score 81, you get referenced in every single team capsule…Baron Davis missed one game with a suspension, which hurt, but he’s back, and of course will sizzle. He seems so comfortable in Oakland with Jason Richardson in the backcourt…Too bad Mike Dunleavy Jr. isn’t feeling the love there.

Los Angeles Clippers: Last Friday against Dallas, the Clippers, as a team, scored 81 points… Inconsistent as Sam Cassell has been, look at what he’s done through half his games. He’s averaging over 17 points and six assists. That’s pretty darn good considering he was terrible last year in Minnesota…Chris Kaman, who is one hell of a good guy, is now to be known as Windex, cause he just cleans the glass. He’s constantly in double-figures in rebounds, he has a nose for the ball, and no defenders want to get near that hair.

Los Angeles Lakers: 81 points. That’s 81 points. 81 points. Second most all time in the history of the National Basketball Association. 81 points. 81 points. Insane. I guess 62 wasn’t good enough a few weeks ago. The bottom line, and my expert analysis is that if he works at it, and if he practices enough, Kobe Bryant will be a decent basketball player when he grows up. 81 points.

Phoenix Suns: Is it me, or does it seem like Suns games are always in at least double-overtime? Next NBA pre-season, I will analyze and break down which teams are likely to have the most quadruple overtime games of the year. It’s great if you’ve got Shawn Marion or Steve Nash or even Raja Bell, but if you’re going against them in a head-to-head league, it’s so massively unfair that they get to play 75 minutes a night. Not that any of them got close to 81 points.

Sacramento Kings: Ron Artest is a Sacramento King. And then he’s not. But then he is, for real, this time. Artest slides into Peja Stojakovic’s vacated starting job, so while the team’s style certainly has been transformed, nobody’s minutes should change dramatically as a direct result of the trade, but… Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim are on their way back. That might hurt some Mike Bibby owners who got used to his 40-plus points a night -- it’d still take him two full games to get to 81, though -- but overall, it’s a good thing for the team. Look for minutes to be doled out slowly. Keep Wells and Abdur-Rahim benched until you’re sure they’ll play at least 30 minutes.

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.