The NBA season is entering the home stretch, but Jeff Andriesse is staying glued to the waiver wire in search of diamonds in the rough.

The NBA season is winding down, but at least the comedy is ramping up. Between the sudden return of the goofy Gilbert Arenas (PG, WAS) and the rumors of Isiah Thomas potentially working for the Clippers, I'm getting in some guffaws while trying desperately to make headway in my fantasy leagues.

Because of the time of year, the advice "grin and bear it" might be the best I can come up with. Dozens of stars are pulling up lame and are strong candidates to shut it down for the season at any moment. Baron Davis (PG, LAC), in a tidbit of news perhaps not unrelated to the Isiah Thomas story, has come down with a stomach ulcer. There's no word if he contracted it in a show of solidarity with his equally nauseous fantasy owners. In Golden State, Stephen Jackson (SG/SF, GSW) is having toe surgery that's supposed to end his season, but I keep expecting Don Nelson to increase his minutes. And it might be wise to avoid established stars on Toronto the rest of the way as well if possible, while Phoenix could drop out of the playoff picture shortly.

Fantasy strategies differ this time of year based on what you need. If you are in a good position in a rotisserie league, you might roll out a lineup of players who excel in only one or two categories. In head-to-head formats, we're down to the final scoring periods and games played trumps all.

On the waiver wire, players with four games (or five, like Utah this week) are the ones to target. Below is a listing of the best fantasy options with four or more games who might be available in many leagues (each player's Yahoo! ownership percentage follows their name).

Jeff Andriesse goes on a journey to the far reaches of the fantasy basketball waiver wire, with an emphasis on teams that play four (and sometimes five) times this week in the latest edition of TeamBuilding Exercises.

Last week we mined the waiver wire for players who could provide particularly helpful value in four-game weeks. Now lo and, yes, behold, we enter another fantasy playoff week and two teams have five games. You read that right. Lucky owners of Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns get a decided benefit this week. Meanwhile, Houston and Sacramento play just twice.

Of course, anyone who drafted Amare Stoudemire (PF/C, PHO) or Luol Deng (SF, CHI) has to feel sick to their innards that they don't get to take advantage of this scheduling quirk. Not to mention folks who were enjoying Leandro Barbosa's (PG/SG, PHO) resurgence in recent weeks. Barbosa is out for at least another week and probably more with a bruised knee.

Timing is everything, ain't it?

Like the real estate industry's mantra of "Location, location, location", everyone still playing fantasy basketball this time of year knows it's schedule, schedule, schedule.

The following teams have four games during Week 22 (Mar. 23-29): Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Detroit, LA Clippers, LA Lakers, Miami, Minnesota, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Washington. Chicago and Phoenix have five.

Below are potential waiver pickups depending on your league formats, with their Yahoo! ownership percentages.

Jeff Andriesse takes a look at some potential fantasy basketball pickups on teams with four games in the upcoming week in the latest edition of TeamBuilding Exercises.

Well, hoops heads, we are almost home. In many leagues, the playoffs start this week, and any little edge counts. If you are fortunate enough to still be playing, you are probably freaking out about your lineup. As it should be. The best "edge" is the will to win. While your buddies fret about their baseball drafts, you clandestinely comb your free agent list. While there might not be too many clear-cut superstars out there to grab, there are plenty of players to consider and categories to home in on.

There is such a thing as overthinking. It happened to me this past week. I got so excited about Delonte West's (PG/SG, CLE) matchups that I took out Chauncey Billups (PG, DEN) for him in my weekly rotisserie league. West had games at the Clippers, at Phoenix, at Sacramento, and home against New York. Haflway through the Suns game, he was removed due to back trouble, having scored eight total points in two games. Billups started his three-game week with two virtuoso performances of course.

While I will always recommend considering a player's matchups when putting in a lineup, do as I say not as I do with your superstars. Play them, and when possible surround them with whatever you can find on the waiver wire.

There are so many different league rules and formats out there, but in general those in daily leagues should plan ahead to maximize their games played. In weekly head-to-head leagues, you have even tougher decisions to make.

Jeff Andriesse laments mistakes he's made on the wire this season, but still recommends bold action in the latest edition of Team Building Exercises.

If you're an active fantasy basketball owner, you're gonna make some mistakes. It's just the way it goes. In the RotoExperts In-House head-to-head league, in which I'm currently in seventh place, I feel like I'd be in first with a team made up of players I've dropped. Despite what you regular readers of this column may believe, I'm not perfect.

For whatever reason, every time I drop someone, and a vulture owner picks them up, the player is better than ever. This has happened with guys like Charlie Bell (SG/SF, MIL), Joakim Noah (PF/C, CHI), Ryan Gomes (SF/PF, MIN), and Ronnie Brewer (SG/SF, UTA). In the first few weeks of the season I jettisoned Andrea Bargnani (SF/PF/C, TOR), Brook Lopez (PF/C, NJN), and Mario Chalmers (PG, MIA). I keep expecting Amare Stoudemire (PF/C, PHX) to make a miraculous recovery and return to the court at any moment, averaging 30 and 10 for my competition.

In a league with a short bench and active owners, and injuries at every turn, the margin for error is miniscule. But were they terrible errors? Guess what: I'm not going to lose too much sleep over my decisions, because in each case I felt strongly enough that I needed to make the move. The season forces one to walk a fine line between having patience and not falling in love with players. Should I have been patient with Lopez and Chalmers? Probably. Should I be afraid to make bold adds and drops in the future because of these mistakes? Absolutely not. I can't imagine there's ever been a fantasy basketball champion who doesn't carry a few tales of woe with them, all the way to a title.

I usually throw out a bunch of names each week, and each one will mean something different to each owner based on league rules and what categories they are targeting. We're already into March. The season is winding down. It's time to attack categories you can gain in, and be prepared for roles changing quickly across the spectrum as the playoffs approach.