LIVING THE DREAM:

The fantasy sports world is sometimes hard to measure properly because so much of what goes on in the locker rooms is beyond our control. Coaches tweak rotations to net more wins for their club without any consideration to the value we lose in our virtual rosters.

Trades are struck for financial reasons and players are buried on benches instead of giving quality shooting or valuable blocks. Truth be told, what's good for your fantasy squad is almost always terrible for a real-life club, so players need to be prepared to respond to change.
            
As far as change goes, the trade gave us about as much as we can handle. Several rosters suddenly got weaker, while others blew up overnight. The goal of fantasy basketball is to key in on your weaknesses and cover them as best you can, and some players just received a huge hole in their armor Valentine's Day.
            
Dallas is the clear winner on the trade front, but if you have any of their main rotation players, expect the numbers to dip by the end of the month. New center Brendan Haywood is out with back spasms while long-time starter Erick Dampier is nursing a dislocated finger, and sparkplug Jason Terry is resting from facial surgery to repair a broken bone. Once everyone is healthy and in shape, minutes will be tight, and I expect everyone to dip for the better of the team.
            
In New York, Tracy McGrady has all but taken the point guard minutes by default. His scoring numbers have been terribly inconsistent, but he is the only relevant option, because Chris Duhon has not played since T-Mac touched down in the Big Apple. After eight DNPs, anyone clinging to him needs to search for another option immediately. Former King Sergio Rodriguez is clearly the next option if T-Mac goes down with another injury on his bum knee.

In Houston things are looking good for new acquisition Kevin Martin, but Trevor Ariza has missed a major amount of playing time with an injury in his right hip. Martin is scoring at a high clip, and there is little else happening on the Rockets' bench to slow him down, so it looks as if Ariza and Martin could pair together well without losing too many minutes. In Sacramento, Larry Hughes has been cut loose to consider other options, possibly with the Cavaliers or Celtics.

Milwaukee has finally given John Salmons an opportunity to play off a scoring big man, and he is making the most of it. All of Salmons's numbers have jumped since the move, most notably his terrible shooting percentage and lower turnover rate. He may have been dumped in some leagues because of early struggles, so pick him up if he's out there. There is not really anyone the Bucks had to cut out, as the two guard was terribly weak before Salmons filled the role.

Watch out for spikes in playing time as coaches shake things up for the final stretch, and be ready to respond to change to keep the team running smoothly. Good luck and happy gaming!