For those of you still in a fantasy basketball race and for those of you trying to avoid the humiliation of a last place finish, some of these players could help you!

Erick Dampier, C, Mavs — He’s alive and rebounding (for now). If you need reb and blocks, he’ll be useful. Magloire joining the Mavs should have no impact, but then again, it’s Erick Dampier who has not done much since signing that big contract a few years ago.

Anderson Vareajo, F/C, Cavs — Big Z is out for two weeks, so Big Ben and Vareajo should both start. No reason Vareajo can’t get you 8-9 reb plus near 1 blk and 1 stl/g.

Dikembe Mutombo, C, Rockets — Wow, didn’t think you’d see this name, would you? Or perhaps you did if you realized how injury prone Yao Ming is. Deke should start for the rest of the season and play 20-25 min/g. Seems to me he could get you 7-8 reb and 2 blks/g with nothing else.

Al Thornton, F, Clips — Tim Thomas is out again and while he’s out, Thornton will get heavy PT. If you need pts, some reb and a sprinkling of other stats, he could help. Oh, he’s also got some upside.

Drew Gooden, F, Bulls — The coach stated Gooden will start for the rest of the season, effectively limiting the upside of Tyrus Thomas. If you had Gooden before he was traded, you might want to get him again. If you didn’t have him, no reason to pick him up.

Brevin Knight, G, Clips — Cassell is gone. He only needs to keep Dan Dickau from taking his job. Easy! However, for some reason, he still isn’t the assist-steals machine in past years. I wonder if he simply just lost a step…

Darius Sognalia, F, Wiz — Butler is still out and now Sognalia, not Blatche is starting. Sognalia has an all around game so if you need a little of everything…

Nesterovic, C, Raps — Bosh is out a week. If you’re desperate for a center and Dampier is taken…

So what about Brand, Bynum, Arenas, J. O’neal, Tinsley? Seems none of them are meeting their quoted schedules. I wonder what the doctors’ real schedules are. If you need to fill in games played, then you better think about cutting bait.

sportsnut