Now that the All-Star break is over, we can get on with the second half of the season. The big news (well, for me anyway) is that Joakim Noah is finally back from injury. He’s getting his conditioning back and hasn’t scored a lot of points this week but he sure has grabbed some rebounds. And I’ve been missing that on my fantasy team so you can bet that Noah is back in my starting lineup. But it’s not just great for me, it’s great for the Bulls too. Now they finally have the whole team together and we can see what they can really do. Two wins against Miami is nice and I’m hoping they can move up to second, or even first, in the East.

There are some other players back from injury as well. Michael Beasley is back and he’s been decent but I want to see him play for a full week before I try to find a spot in my lineup for him. I’ve been burned a couple of times by his ankle already. It sucks that Tyreke Evans will be out for a few weeks. He was playing pretty well and my team isn’t deep at PG so I’m wishing for a speedy return.

Things should get a little more competitive now as teams are vying for playoff position. Several teams made trades to try and improve their chances. I think that the Jazz got a nice haul for Deron Williams and the Nuggets got quite a few pieces for Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. The Thunder got the inside presence they’ve needed by picking up Kendrick Perkins. I’m not sure why Boston traded him away because I don’t know who they’ll be playing at center now.

So let’s get to the list for the week. It’s not a long list and you’ve seen a couple of the names before but for some reason, they are still available in a lot of leagues.

Chase Budinger (G/F, Rockets) – Shane Battier was traded away so Budinger takes over as starter. He responded by going off for 30 and 27 points. He also hit 4 threes in the first game and 3 in the second. The minutes will be there and he should get plenty of shots. He won’t always go for this many points and threes but he should be up there fairly often.

Gerald Henderson (SG, Bobcats) – Henderson is also taking over a starting role. He’d been catching fire in the few games before this. In his last four, he’s averaging 19 points and 4.75 rebounds. He should continue to score and the rebounds are decent but if you need threes, he is not the shooting guard for you. It’s not that he doesn’t make most of his attempts, it’s that he just doesn’t attempt many threes.

Kirk Hinrich (PG, Hawks) – Hinrich was competing with John Wall for minutes but now he’s been traded to the Hawks where he only has Jeff Teague to compete with. Teague has been disappointing this season so it’s very possible that Hinrich will get the starting nod very soon, if he hasn’t already by the time this posts. He’s a solid defender who averages a little over a steal a night and that could go up with more minutes. He’s a decent scorer but his assists should go up as he now has more talent around him than he had in Washington.

Austin Daye (G/F, Pistons) – Let’s face it, the Pistons are a mess. It seems like several players don’t really want to be there, some players aren’t even bothering to show up and they aren’t playing for much now. So they need to start playing the younger guys so they can see what they have. Daye has the potential to score, grab a few rebounds and hit some threes. In his last game, he got 38 minutes and chipped in 18 points and 4 threes.

Greg Monroe (PF, Pistons) – Monroe seems to be gaining confidence and keeps getting better. I think the Pistons really found something in him and he’s rewarded them with double-doubles in his past 4 games. If he keeps that up, then he’s a great free agent pickup. What makes him really nice is that he gets a few assists and has the ability for multiple steals each night.

Anthony Parker (SG, Cavaliers) – Parker is the starting SG now for the Cavs. In his last 4 games, he’s averaging 15.75 points, 4.75 rebounds, 5.25 assists, 1.25 steals and 2 threes a game. The Cavs didn’t trade him away so they might as well play him and turn him loose.

Tyler Hansbrough (PF, Pacers) – Hansbrough is a guy to keep an eye on. He’s a scrapper and can get points. He’s a sneaky rebounder and he has a knack for getting to the free throw line. He just had a bad shooting night where he went 1-11 but that isn’t normal and shouldn’t be cause for worry.

Well, that’s all I have for you right now. Here are the top 10 dunks of the week. Enjoy.

-Charlie Hustle