DeSagana Diop will miss the rest of the season with an Achilles injury. While Diop won't be missed much by any owners, his absence will make a fantasy impact. Diop had carved out a spot new Bobcats coach Paul Silas' rotation, averaging 22 minutes through the first two games with Silas at the helm and those minutes will be up for grabs. Tyrus Thomas should be the beneficiary once he returns from a wrist injury. Thomas is averaging just 21 mpg this season and has always been a fantasy tease, but I wouldn't be surprised to see his playing time approach 30 minutes per contest under Silas. Get your buy-low offers out now.

The Toronto Raptors continue to have one of the most frustrating rosters from a fantasy perspective of any team in the Association. Due to injuries and an overall lack of talent, Toronto seems to have a new batch of players breakout each week. While this always makes for some exciting moves on the waiver wire, the lack of consistency means you're usually swapping out one Raptor for another and have little clue which one will sustain their value. The most recent Raptors to breakout are Linas Kleiza (17.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg and 2.0 3Pt over past seven games) and DeMar DeRozan (18.7 ppg over past 10 games). Of those two, I like Kleiza more. DeRozan is younger and has more upside, but the only category he currently contributes in is scoring. Until DeRozan starts hitting helping out in other categories, I'll look elsewhere for production.

I was critical of the New York Knicks after they ripped off wins in 11 of 12 games in November and December due to a weak schedule. The team has gone 5-5 since, and while it's obvious the Knicks are a quality playoff team in the Eastern Conference, losses to Boston, Cleveland, Miami (twice) and Orlando show New York shouldn't be considered a legit conference contender yet.

With Caron Butler (knee) expected to miss at least two months, Shawn Marion becomes the hottest pickup in all of fantasy basketball. This is not the Marion of old, but he'll see a big boost in playing time and should be able to show improvements across the board.

I'm starting to worry that Brandon Roy is the next Grant Hill. By that, I mean a promising young superstar whose career will be derailed by injuries. The Blazers star guard is currently sidelined indefinitely and may be headed to season-ending surgery. Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum should be picked up if they're still available in any of your leagues.