Rotisserie By The Numbers: A Quick Take on Early Events

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BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) - Before I preview the upcoming week in fantasy roundball, I wanted to speak quickly on a few fantasy-related topics. The Chicago Bulls have a rule about banning sweatbands. Ben Wallace, the best defensive player in basketball who just signed with Chicago for $60 million, likes wearing sweatbands. So coach Scott Skiles is now pulling Wallace from games for wearing them. What is next, Skiles is going to yank Ben Gordon off the court if he finds out Gordon is wearing UConn underwear? You would think a coach would do everything in his power to help his star players perform to the best of their abilities. That does not seem to be the case with Skiles. He just cares that his prehistoric rules are followed. And Wallace thought Flip Saunders was fun to deal with. Is there any way Cleveland can just put The LeBrons out as a five-man starting unit so fantasy owners do not have to put up with Zydrunas Ilgauskas' single-digit scoring games and Eric Snow's no-shows anymore? Sacramento's Ron Artest is leading the NBA with 3.09 steals per game, almost a full steal better than the next closest kleptomaniac. He might be good at taking, but Artest is not as adept at giving. Look at his past record sales. Washington's Gilbert Arenas is averaging 35.2 ppg in home games but just 18.7 ppg in road games. I have no way to explain this, so my motto is that when something goes awry in Washington, blame either the Republicans or Brendan Haywood. Lastly, the fantasy basketball world is always a little brighter when Jannero Pargo plays. WEEK FIVE PREVIEW: Schedules: Atlanta, Chicago, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Orlando, Toronto, Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers are playing four games this week. Boston, New Orleans and Phoenix only play twice. The rest of the teams in the league are slated for three outings. Nicest sked: Dallas. Mark Cuban's boys have finally gotten over their playoff hangovers from last season after a pathetic start and have reeled off nine victories in a row. The Mavs stay in Big D to host Minnesota, Toronto and Sacramento. Nastiest sked: Orlando. You better wave those wands, boys! Dwight Howard and Co. have to take their rebounding shoes out west for a road trip where the Magic will play at Utah, Seattle, Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers. Three players slamming into higher gears: Andris Biedrins, Warriors: After two seasons where he was only noticed by fantasy hoops owners with absolutely no lives, Biedrins is making a mark because of his marksmanship. He is leading the league in field goal percentage (67.7) and has been grabbing 13 boards per game over his last seven contests. Rasheed Wallace, Pistons: The NBA's crackdown on berating referees has not harmed the usually whiny Wallace. Neither has not having the other Wallace, Ben, around anymore. 'Sheed has four double-doubles in his last half-dozen games. Deron Williams, Jazz: One of the main reasons Utah boasts the best record in basketball is because point guard Williams is not suffering a sophomore slump. He has been distributing the ball better than anyone in the league other than perennial top passer Steve Nash. Williams is second behind Nash in assists with 9.2 per game. Three players having a hard time getting out of neutral: Tyrus Thomas, Bulls: Chicago is bringing the fourth pick overall of this past year's draft along slowly. Very slowly. The LSU wunderkind is barely playing, barely scoring and barely worth anything in fantasy leagues. He is averaging 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in just over nine minutes per game this season. Chris Mihm, Lakers: Prepare for large doses of Kwame Brown. Mihm underwent season-ending ankle surgery that will sideline him until the 2007-08 campaign, so the middle will be manned by Brown and Andrew Bynum. That means about five more shots for Kobe Bryant every game now. Fred Jones, Raptors: Jones is extremely consistent. In six of his past seven games he has not scored fewer than 11 points but no more than 17. He has been starting and getting good minutes, but Jones has yet to break the 20-point barrier in a game yet this year. Rot Water Cooler Here are three things being talked about more than the TomKat wedding: Denver putting up 140 points against Golden State: This game had as much defense in it as the Michigan-Ohio State football tilt last weekend. Golden State scored 129 points themselves , including a season-high three points for Adonal "Tin" Foyle. These teams could sure use a defensive stopper like Eddy Curry. Baron Davis' latest injury: Davis is going to miss several games because of a rib injury. This marks injury No.1,473 of Davis' illustrious career. What is amazing is that Davis did not miss a game during his first three pro seasons in Charlotte, meaning he compiled all his injuries in the last four years. You would think he is 47, not 27, with how brittle his body is. New Jersey leading the Atlantic Conference with a 5-7 record: The Nets would be in dead last in the Pacific Division, where every team is at .500 or over it. Thank goodness for them that the NBA does not determine its playoff seeds with a BCS formula.