Hope everyone had a great holiday as we approach the New Year.  Here’s to a great 2008 filled with winning fantasy basketball teams.

Here’s the schedule for next week (12/31-1/6):

The Fig Cap: Wake up JJ, you’re on fire.

Four games: Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trailblazers
Three games:  Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle Supersonics, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
Two games: Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers

Hot

Who better to start with than Chris Paul?  Dude is going off.  Again.  He’s shooting 64% over the last week, which includes 29.5 ppg, 12 apg, 5 spg, and 2.5 threes.  Those are No. 1 overall numbers right there.

Much of the same can be said for Joe Johnson. The shooting isn’t quite at CP3’s level, but in the same time period, he had 29 ppg, 9.5 apg, 4.5 rpg, and 2.5 threes made. Also forgot to mention these two COMBINED turned the ball over 2.5 times a game.  Impressive.

How about this for a pleasant surprise?  Hedo Turkoglu put up 24 ppg, 5 apg, and 4.7 rpg, all while shooting well over 50% from the field and 94% from the line.  Most improved player?  Maybe so.

Did you take Mo Williams in September and October hoping to make him your point guard?  If you did, you probably won last week. He went off for 25 ppg, 8 apg, and 3 threes over the last week.  If he could only do that consistently, we would be in good shape.

Finally, Andrei Kirilenko looks like he’s coming back into form for the second time this year.  This week on great percentages, he put up a stat stuffing line: 2 threes, 18.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.3 spg, and 1.3 bpg. That is some very nice production right there.

Cold

Let’s start with Josh Howard. His numbers over the last week certainly weren’t horrible, but definitely were not Howard-like. We are talking 16 ppg, 8 rpg, 2 apg.  He was in the 60s from the foul line as well.

The same goes for Luol Deng, who went for just 13.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg.  But then again, the entire Bulls team is struggling, including an old favorite cold-lister: Kirk Hinrich (11 ppg, 4.3 apg).

LaMarcus Aldridge must not be totally healthy.  He went for 10 ppg and 6.5 rpg, not the numbers we all wanted on his return from injury.  I recommend giving him another week or two, and he will be fine.

The struggles also continued for Al Harrington.  Baby Al had 12.7 ppg and just 5.7 rpg last week.  Of course, he’s a guy we know will turn it around.

But the last guy on the list is someone to be worried about. What’s up with Darko Milicic, coach?  He hasn’t played a combined 30 minutes in his last two contests.  What does this result in?  Two ppg and 2.7 rpg.  Wow, you’re really blowing us out of the water, Darko.  It’s official. There is no hope left.

Injury Report

Tracy McGrady‘s bum knee highlights this week’s report. He missed the game against the Nuggets, came back with a nice outing against Chicago, then left Sunday’s game after 19 minutes. Keep an eye on this, as it may linger for a while.

The banged-up Clippers lost Tim Thomas and Corey Maggette to knee injuries.  Both look to be day-to-day, but be warned.

Manu Ginobili sprained his finger. He left one game early and missed another, but it’s the Spurs and as they did with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, Ginobili won’t be rushed back.

More should be surfacing on the TJ Ford injury, but it doesn’t look good. Rumors of the Raptors cutting him or Ford retiring have been flying. It is probably safe to drop him in normal sized, non-keeper leagues at this point unless you have the cushion to wait.

That’s going to do it for this week, folks. Best wishes to you all and your families, and a safe New Year.