With Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes no longer around, Kelenna Azubuike has become a key element of the Warriors bench corps. AP

By Eric Wong, RotoEvil.com , Special to SI.com

Let's go around the league, team by team, and examine which players are hot, which players are cold, and which players are worth keeping an eye on. This week's outlook suggests 85 players who are safe starts and 50 players who are borderline starters, so if your league is much smaller or larger, adjust accordingly.

First, though, let's take a look at the schedules for the upcoming week.

5 poor schedules

1. Los Angeles Lakers (2 games: LA Clippers, Houston)
2. Portland Trail Blazers (3 games: @Utah, Houston, Minnesota)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (3 games: Boston, @Utah, Atlanta)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (4 games: Utah, @LA Lakers, Houston, Dallas)
5. Houston Rockets (4 games: Boston, @Portland, @LA Clippers, @LA Lakers)

5 favorable schedules

1. Memphis Grizzlies (4 games: Golden State, @Sacramento, @Golden State, @Denver)
2. Golden State Warriors (4 games: @Memphis, Denver, Memphis, @Sacramento)
3. Utah Jazz (4 games: @LA Clippers, Portland, Oklahoma City, @New York)
4. Sacramento Kings (4 games: @Philadelphia, Memphis, Minnesota, Golden State)
5. Denver Nuggets (3 games: @Golden State, Dallas, Memphis)

5 solid pickups

1. Ramon Sessions, Bucks

With Luke Ridnour out with a bad back, Sessions has stepped in as the starter and is averaging 40 minutes, 15 points, and 8.5 assists per game. If he keeps it up, he could hang on to the starting job when Ridnour returns. If he's still available in your league, pick him up ASAP. He single-handedly won leagues for people at the end of last season, and his upside is huge.

2. Kelenna Azubuike, Warriors

With Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes on other teams, and Marco Belinelli and Anthony Randolph not ready for big minutes, Azubuike is undoubtedly the Warriors' top swingman off the bench this year. He's versatile, too, as he can play power forward or point guard in a pinch (against Toronto, Don Nelson went with a huge lineup that featured Stephen Jackson or Azubuike at PG, Corey Maggette at SG, Al Harrington at SF, Ronny Turiaf at PF, and Andris Biedrins at C. Astute owners picked him up after he dropped 17 points and grabbed 3 steals in the season opener, but 'Buike is still available in many leagues. Trust me, he's going to have a bunch of big games this season.

3. Jason Maxiell, Pistons

With Antonio McDyess leaving town, Maxiell will see a significant increase in playing time. Amir Johnson has enough trouble not fouling out in 20 minutes per game, so Jason will get the bulk of McDyess' minutes. Yes, there's a chance that McDyess could be bought out and will return to Detroit, but if that happened, he would still have to wait 30 days before re-signing a la Brent Barry last season. Which means you'll still get a full month of solid production from Maxiell. Expect 10 points, 6-7 rebounds, 1.25 blocks, and excellent field goal shooting.

4. Roger Mason, Spurs

The Spurs offseason signing of Mason is already paying dividends, as he's scored 26 points, made five and dished out seven assists in their first two games. At 28 years old, Mason is a youngster compared to most of San Antonio's roster. They need his scoring ability and athleticism, so he should continue to excel while Manu Ginobili's out.

5. Rasual Butler, Hornets

He is simply a short-term pickup while Peja Stojakovic nurses a sprained ankle. If you need threes, he's worth a look, because he made three treys on Saturday and averaged 1.7 threes per game in '06-07. He might even block a shot or two for you.

Team predictions

Atlanta Hawks (3 games)

Joe Johnson is off to a great start, averaging 30 points on 58 percent shooting from the field. More assists will come when his teammates start knocking down some shots. Josh Smith has made just 12-of-27 shots thus far and is averaging a mediocre 15.5 points per game, but the high-flyer has already racked up 21 boards, 7 steals, and 7 blocks in just two games. Zaza Pachulia is averaging just 16.5 minutes per game, but he deserves a mention because he's pulled down a whopping 13 offensive rebounds in two contests! Marvin Williams was suspended for Game 1, but he played only 20 minutes in Game 2 and shot just 1-for-7 from the field, making him a risky start this week.

Sure starts: J-Smoov, Johnson, Horford, Bibby
Borderline: M. Williams

Boston Celtics (4 games)

Leon Powe is one of Boston's most reliable players right now. In just 19.3 minutes of action, he's averaging 13.7 points on 68.8 percent FG shooting. If he could only get more minutes ... I thought that KG was going to bounce back this season, but he's off to a slow start. He's averaging more turnovers (3.7) than free-throw attempts (3.0), which is very poor for such a skilled offensive player. Kendrick Perkins has pulled down 21 rebounds in three games, but he's also picked up 14 fouls and has scored just 10 points. It's his sixth NBA season, but it looks like he's going to be inconsistent once again. Tony Allen isn't playing that great, as he's shooting just 34.5 percent from the field and has posted 2 assists to 4 turnovers. Ray Allen has been terrible. Thru three games, he's totaled just 32 points and 3 threes, while posting a terrible ratio of 2 assists to 10 turnovers. If you drafted him, you should be very worried right now. Eddie House is throwing up bricks, as he's made just 1-of-12 threes and 3-of-18 shots overall. Mr. "instant offense" has been ice cold thus far.

Sure starts: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo
Borderline: R. Allen, Perkins
Bench: T. Allen
Watch: Powe

Charlotte Bobcats (4 games)

Gerald Wallace had a monster game on Saturday, and is now averaging 23.5 points on 57.7 percent shooting from the field. He's racked up 5 steals and 3 blocks in two games, which is a great sign for his possible career year. Raymond Felton has dropped 13 dimes in two games, but he's scored just 11 total points and has only 1 steal and 1 three. The rookie D.J. Augustin is getting big minutes off the bench, but he has 7 assists to 8 turnovers, has picked up 9 fouls in two games, and is 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. Nazr Mohammed grabbed just 1 rebound in 13 minutes in Game 1, while Matt Carroll had 0 points in the same amount of time. In Game 2, both players received DNP-CD's, so they're clearly not key players in Larry Brown's rotation. The Sean May experiment didn't last long. After starting the season opener and shooting 0-for-6 from the field, May didn't play at all in Game 2. He was terrible in the preseason, and he clearly isn't ready to play big minutes yet. Jared Dudley is now starting, so keep an eye on him.

Sure starts: Jason Richardson, Wallace, Emeka Okafor
Borderline: Felton
Watch: Dudley, Augustin

Chicago Bulls (4 games)

If you throw out his stinker against Boston, Drew Gooden has been pretty solid. He dominated Memphis' frontline en route to 20 boards and 3 blocks, and he'll get more playing time if he can keep it up. Derrick Rose's numbers haven't been very consistent, but his averages after three games are very solid and he's only getting warmed up. After a solid opening night, Deng has been pretty quiet. He's averaging just 13.3 points on 38.9 percent shooting, and his all-around stats aren't what they used to be. Tyrus Thomas has been very active defensively (4 steals and 8 blocks in three games), but he's shooting just 7-for-32 from the field, which is beyond awful for a big man. Joakim Noah managed to pull down 13 boards in just 23 minutes on Friday, but he played just 7 minutes on Saturday and cannot be relied on at this point. However, I don't suggest dropping him just yet. Ben Gordon is averaging just 13.3 points per game on 37.5 perecent shooting, but you should be more worried about his 10.7 shot attempts and 24 minutes per game. Andres Nocioni is just 5-for-16 from the field, and he continues to struggle after a poor preseason.

Sure starts: Rose, Gooden, Thomas, Luol Deng
Borderline: Kirk Hinrich, Gordon
Bench: Noah