I assume after my semi-lecture last week that all of you reading have put down the fantasy baseball draft guides, at least periodically, and refocused yourselves on finishing out the basketball seasons strong. This week’s picks are neither bold nor exciting, but by taking them into consideration they will make you that much tougher heading into your league’s playoffs, which I assume all of you will be making.

This edition of Jumping the Waiver Wire has a little twist, based on an idea I haven’t covered well in articles prior. I’ve divided my seven picks into two categories: “Long Term Guys” and “Short Term Guys.” I’m sure you can figure out why.

Long Term Guys

Nenad Krstic — Oklahoma City (17% Yahoo! Ownership)

Even before Jeff Green’s injury Krstic was starting to come around and show signs of returning to the 16-point, seven-rebound, one-block player he was before tearing his ACL in December 2006. But his game has taken a healthy leap forward in Green’s absence. In the last four games, all without Green, Krstic has averaged 18 PPG, 6 RPG, 0.8 SPG, 1 BPG, a 56 FG% and 91 FT%. Green is due back Tuesday, but Krstic has already cemented himself as a major part of the Thunder’s offense, deserving of 30 minutes a night.

Rashad McCants — Sacramento (28% Yahoo! Ownership)

Not counting his first two games with the Kings when he was just getting acclimated to the team, over his last four McCants has averaged 14 PPG, 1 3PG and 1.3 SPG in a little over 24 minutes. He will be inconsistent, but it looks like McCants has carved out a nice little niche for himself as the first or second man off the Kings bench and, as shown by the 1.9 treys per game he averaged last season with the Wolves, he can be an excellent source of threes.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute — Milwaukee (13% Yahoo! Ownership)

The prince is back! He’s been great in real life for the Bucks filling in with Michael Redd and, for a little while, Luke Ridnour out. If you’re a fan of NBA players actually playing defense, he’s definitely a guy to watch. It’s his defense that keeps him on the floor and makes him even worth considering in fantasy leagues as his PER is far from stellar. The jump shot isn’t his strong suit, but it’s served him well as of late. Last Friday against the Bulls he posted his best line of the season, which included 21 points, 11 boards, five steals and a block. In total, over his last five games he’s averaged 12.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 0.8 BPG, a 74 FG% and 80 FT%. Those numbers are worth playing in any league, but until he shows he can post these numbers consistently, lets say he’s a good deep league option and a so-so standard league one.

Short Term Guys

Antoine Wright — Dallas (2% Yahoo! Ownership)

With Josh Howard out Tuesday, Wednesday and possibly Friday, Wright should have his number called much more often in a Dallas offense in need of a third scoring option. He had 16 points and four steals against an underwhelming Wizards defense, while putting up a healthy 10 shots.

Eddie House — Boston (9% Yahoo! Ownership)

Rajon Rondo is considered day-to-day and could miss the next week with a sprained ankle. Odds are with the Celtics spot among the top teams in the East secure, they’ll take extra precaution to make sure their starting point guard makes it back fully healthy. Stephon Marbury still looks very rusty, as displayed by his poor performance Sunday, so House appears to be the man to run the show for the time being. If you’re in need of points and threes in your matchup this week, you could do a lot worse than the veteran sharpshooter. 

Leon Powe / Mikki Moore — Boston (5% and 2% Yahoo! Ownership)

Kevin Garnett has been ruled out till the 20^th. Meanwhile, Glen Davis sprained his ankle in Sunday’s game. With Big Baby out for reportedly the same length of time as Rondo, either Powe or Moore will serve as the stop-gap in the Celts frontline. Although inconsistent, Powe has averaged 11.9 PPG and 6.7 RPG in 24 minutes over his last seven games and received twice as many minutes as Moore on Sunday. Moore hasn’t seen enough of the floor to be consistent for the Celts and the main reason he’s on here is because Powe has burned me in the recent past, so I’m just covering all my bases. Keep a close eye on the situation this week, but expect Powe to come out the winner here.

The entire Lakers bench — Los Angeles (not owned in many leagues)

This week should be a weird one for the Lakers, who are facing the possibility of life without Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza. I didn’t see it, but in case you haven’t heard, Ariza took out Rudy Fernandez with a flagrant 2 foul Monday night and Lamar Odom hopped off the Lakers bench when an altercation broke out afterward. As we all know, that is a serious infraction in the NBA and he could miss at least a couple games. Because the foul was so severe, causing Fernandez to leave the game on a stretcher, it would appear Ariza could be suspended as well. The whole Lakers bench should see extra time when you take out Odom’s 34 minutes and Ariza’s 24 minutes. I’ll let you decide who will benefit the most.