By Larry Yocum
February 29, 2008 2:44pm CST

Injuries continue to rock the NBA as a number of starters went down this week on playoff contending teams. Houston suffered the most severe blow when it was announced that Yao Ming would be out for the remainder of the season including the playoffs with a stress fracture in his foot. Caron Butler was also diagnosed with a labrum tear in his hip, Brandon Roy went down with a sprained ankle, and Gerald Wallace suffered a serious concussion and will be out for a number of weeks. Remember that one player's pain may equal a waiver-wire gain as each of these men will need a replacement. Enough talking. Let's take a look at who is heating it up and cooling it off on the NBA hardwood.


Hot:

Western Conference

Guard- Allen Iverson, DEN
Season Stats: 26.7 pts, 3.1 reb, 7.3 ast, 2.1 stl, 44.7 FG%, 81.7 FT%
Allen Iverson is in a nice groove right now as he is shooting 50% over his last five games and averaging 28.4 points per game and 7.2 assists in that stretch. Unfortunately it isn't helping Denver much in the win column, as they have lost three out of their last four.

Forward- Tim Duncan, SA
Season Stats: 20.1 pts, 11.6 reb, 3.3 ast, 1.9 blk, 51.2 FG%, 72.0 FT%
Tim Duncan is doing what he does best, and that is getting hot for the stretch run into the playoffs. He put on a brilliant performance on Thursday night as he scored 31 and grabbed 15 boards while leading the Spurs to a big win over the in-state and Western Conference rival Dallas Mavericks. It was the seventh consecutive victory for the Spurs, as they are cruising right now. Duncan has gone for at least 20 points and 10 boards in eight of his last nine. Over that nine game span he is averaging 24.6 points and 13.2 boards.

Center- Joel Przybilla, POR
Season Stats: 4.7 pts, 7.4 reb, 1.2 blk, 56.4 FG%, 65.2 FT%
How can somebody go on the Hot List that was 0-3 from the floor in his last game? Easy, just lead all Western Conference Centers in rebounds over a five-game span. Przybilla doesn't get paid to score, but he does get paid to rebound and he is doing plenty of that lately. He is a great source for boards right now for two-center or deeper leagues and he is averaging 11 a game over his last five and throwing in 1.6 blocks for good measure


Eastern Conference

Guard- Jamal Crawford, NYK
Season Stats: 20.7 pts, 2.8 reb, 4.9 ast, 2.1 3ptm, 41.4 FG%, 87.1 FT%
Crawford is having a very nice week, as the Knicks continue to rely on him for more and more of their offense. His numbers have increased across the board over the last month as he looks like their only consistent option on offense. In his last three games he is averaging 29.7 points, 5.3 assists, and four treys on 49.2% shooting. Last Friday Crawford had a great game, as he carried the Knicks with a season-high 43 points on the way to 103-99 victory over the Raptors.

Forward- Andre Iguodala, PHI
Season Stats: 19.6 pts, 5.6 reb, 4.6 ast, 2.1 stl, 44.8 FG%, 73.9 FT%
Iguodala is in the middle of nice little run right now, and the 76ers are playing well, as they have won eight of their last 10. Andre is playing especially well in the last four, averaging 23 points a game on 47.8% shooting. The talented young swingman is also a great source of steals on the season with over two a game, and he can fill multiple categories on the stat sheet.

Center- Troy Murphy, IND
Season Stats: 11.2 pts, 6.8 reb, 1.2 3ptm, 43.4 FG%, 83.4 FT%
The Pacers are in the middle of a cold spell, losing six of their last seven, but you can't blame their big man for that. Murphy is playing very well of late and averaging 16 points a game on 56.5% shooting over his last five.


Cold:

Western Conference

Guard- Kevin Durant, SEA
Season Stats: 19.2 pts, 4.2 reb, 2.2 ast, 1.0 stl, 1blk, 39.8 FG%, 86.6 FT%
We all knew there would be growing pains for the young Durant in Seattle on a bad team with very few options. After a couple of deadline deals, he is surrounded by even less talent and more double-teams. In his last five games he is shooting 35.8% from the field and has 18 turnovers. Better days are ahead for the young Sonic, but the remainder of the season will continue to be a rough experience filled with inconsistent play and a high number of losses. However, there may possibly a Rookie of the Year award waiting at the end of the gauntlet. Too bad that might not be enough for his fantasy owners if he continues to take down their shooting percentages.

Forward- Andrei Kirilenko, UT
Season Stats: 11.5 pts, 5.2 reb, 4.3 ast, 1.7 blks 1.2 stl 49.3 FG%, 78.7 FT%
Owning Andrei Kirilenko is the roller coaster of fantasy basketball players. When he is at a high point, he is a stat stuffer that will fill multiple categories, but when he is low, he will leave you feeling disoriented and a little sick. Right now he is at a low point with a 6.5 point and three rebound average over his last four games while shooting at 35.7% clip.

Center- Al Harrington, GSW
Season Stats: 14.7 pts, 5.4 reb, 2.2 3ptm, 44.0 FG%, 77.9 FT%
Harrington was having a pretty good stretch but has really struggled in his last two. He is averaging 8.5 points on 25.9% shooting. Like most Golden State players, his time on the court is completely up to the whims of coach Nelson, so expect a 40-minute 25-point effort at any time going forward.


Eastern Conference

Guard- Kirk Hinrich, CHI
Season Stats: 12.9 pts, 3.5 reb, 6.1 ast, 1.1 3ptm, 1.1 stl, 41.3 FG%, 87.6 FT%
It's not looking good for Kirk Hinrich or his owners right now with Larry Hughes in town. Hinrich was benched for the second half in Wednesday's game and it may become a permanent thing if he doesn't respond. Hinrich has had a very rough season, as his numbers are down across the board. He has averaged only 14 minutes a game in his last two and laid a goose egg on the scoreboard on Monday night, followed up by a six-point effort before his benching on Wednesday. Continue to monitor the situation, but the Bulls don't have much confidence in Hinrich right now and neither should fantasy owners.

Forward- Andres Nocioni, CHI
Season Stats: 14.7 pts, 4.7 reb, 1.3 ast, 1.8 3ptm, 43.1 FG%, 78.2 FT%
Nocioni is another Bull that has had a rough week. He lost his place in the starting lineup, as the Bulls are trying to develop Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas, and Deng has returned from injury. In his last two games off of the bench, Nocioni has struggled and averaged only eight points a game and one board while shooting 40%. Fantasy owners may need to drop him if he can't get more than 20 minutes a game while the Bulls try to figure out what they have in the young players.

Center- Eddy Curry, NYK
Stats on the Season: 13.0 pts, 4.6 reb, 54.1 FG%, 61.8 FT%
Curry is not sure about his place on the Knicks, and fantasy owners should also be concerned about his role on their fantasy team. Many fantasy teams have long since moved on, but there are a number of owners that still play in deep leagues that were hoping for quite a bit more out of Curry this season. He has never offered much in any categories other than points and rebounds, but now, even those categories are being left empty. He was blanked on Wednesday night and has averaged only 6.4 points in his last eight games.

Random Thoughts from the Hardwood:

This week's version of random thoughts is more like a little inspirational pep talk for all of you fantasy owners out there. This is the time of the season when championships are won. Now that the NBA Trade Deadline has passed and the playoff push has begun, more and more players will come down with injuries as the long season takes its toll, and teams that fall out of the race will look to get young players into their rotations to gauge what they have. This is the time to be the most active. There is still enough time left to make a dent in the standings and making a key pickup here could be very significant down the stretch. Good luck the rest of the way. Now go win that league!