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Specialists can spark late rise up fantasy basketball standings

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It's March and that means madness. The term doesn't just apply to the various amateur tournaments, but also the professional ranks -- certainly in the fantasy realm. What makes it so "mad"? Because in times like these it makes perfect sense to drop a quality starter for a role player.

It's a vital time for fantasy owners to put aside their baseball preparations to size up their place in rotisserie basketball leagues. It's the stretch run and you need to shake up the roster to climb the standings. Owners must determine the categories that they can sacrifice and those where they can gain ground and act accordingly.

For instance, if you find yourself 200 assists behind the next guy and 100 ahead of the team behind you, you're probably going to finish where you currently rank regardless of your best efforts. On the other hand, if you find yourself in a pack of teams with similar three-point marks, you'd be wise to shed someone like Darren Collison (4.8 apg and 0.6 3PTM) or even Jrue Holiday (6.3 apg and 1.0 3PTM) for a player like Anthony Morrow (3.0 3PTM in five games since the All-Star break). Such a move will improve your three-point totals by 30-50 three-pointers between now and the end of the season.

I'll leave it to you to find the most volatile categories for your teams. The following are the players in each category who will help you gain the precious points you need.

Anthony Morrow -- Notching 3.0 3PTM since the All-Star break and with Deron Williams around, he could maintain that lofty mark.

Marcus Thornton -- Tallying 2.5 3PTM in four March games. With little left to play for, the Kings will continue to give this young gun minutes.

J.R. Smith -- Arron Afflalo's sore hamstring will open up plenty of shots for the gunner. Besides, he always seems to finish strong.

Matt Bonner -- Has 2.7 3PTM in his last seven games. Center-eligible bonus.

Marco Belinelli -- He's 9-for-18 on three-point attempts in last three games (over 41 minutes per game).

Daniel Gibson -- Hitting for 2.0 3PTM since All-Star break.

Kyle Korver -- Averaging 2.0 3PTM in last eight games.

Others to consider: Charlie Villanueva, Sasha Vujacic, Jodie Meeks.

Kendrick Perkins -- Soon to debut for the Thunder, Perkins should see less competition for rebounds outside of Boston.

Taj Gibson -- The injury to Carlos Boozer opens up starting gig for the rebounding specialist.

Reggie Evans -- He has finally returned from his foot injury and is averaging 12.1 rebounds on the season.

Chuck Hayes -- Averaging 10.1 rebounds in nine games since the break.

Shawn Marion -- Averaging 8.5 rebounds in March.

Samardo Samuels -- Averaging 7.6 rebounds since moving into the Cavs starting five.

Louis Williams -- Williams' point totals can be inconsistent, but he gets to the line just under five times per game and hits 83 percent of his attempts.

Corey Maggette -- Maggette's health is maddening, but when he plays he gets to the line as well as anyone and converts nearly 83 percent of those shots.

Spencer Hawes -- He's hit over 63 percent of his shots in his last 11 games.

Hakim Warrick -- Now starting in place of Channing Frye, he's shooting 54.1 percent on the season.

Chase Budinger -- The shooting percentage on the season is unimpressive, but now that he's seeing big minutes, he's getting into rhythm and shooting 50 percent as a starter this season.

Gary Neal -- The rookie is hitting over 56 percent in his last 10 games.

C.J. Miles -- He's a good candidate to turn it up over the next five weeks and is averaging 17.3 points in his last four games.

James Harden -- There's a good chance he's already been swooped up off waivers, but the second year player is averaging 18 points in March.

Tyler Hansbrough -- Is he finally locked in as the starter? Looks that way. He's averaging 18 points per game in March.

Gerald Henderson -- He's scored 56 points in his last three games and is averaging over 15 in his last 10.

Jarrett Jack -- Given the nature of concussions, there's no reason he should still be on waivers.

Jonny Flynn -- Averaging 6.0 assists in his last seven games. A spike in minutes could be coming.

Ramon Sessions -- Baron Davis can't be counted on, meaning there's a good chance Sessions averages over six dimes per game from here on out.

J.J. Barea -- Averaging over 5.5 assists in his last 11 games.

Tyrus Thomas -- Averaged 1.6 blocks in 21.6 minutes prior to injury. He's back and should see more minutes.

Ekpe Udoh -- The rookie is blocking 1.8 shots per game this month and is in line for more playing time.

DeAndre Jordan -- Has 17 blocks in last seven games. He's still starting despite the return of Chris Kaman.

Darko Milicic -- Five blocks in two games since his leave of absence.

Carlos Delfino, Rudy Fernandez, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute -- Each of these players is averaging 2.0 steals over the past two weeks. Delfino and Fernandez also contribute a healthy amount of three-pointers

Paul George -- The rookie is finally getting regular minutes and averaging 2.0 steals in March.

Keep an eye on: Corey Brewer, Tony Allen