Let’s get right to it … remember, this is for roto-style, no-TO leagues.

1. Lebron James, CLE (Last Month: 3) - I hear people talking about how he’s really taking off this year, but statistically the only real improvement has been in blocks.  In fact, I’m still not sure he’s any better this year than he was in ‘04-05, though I will buy that his averages are slightly skewed from his two half-games from the finger injury.  Still, it’s good enough for #1 on this list, a spot he hasn’t been in for quite some time.  Welcome to the top, LeBron.

2. Kobe Bryant, LAL (2) - I very nearly put him at #1 over Lebron.  Why?  2 reasons - one, i’m not sure that LeBron’s blocks are sustainable, and two, LeBron still hurts you in FT%, whereas Kobe doesn’t hurt you anywhere.

3. Kevin Garnett, BOS (1) - He’s playing just 31 mpg in December, which is a serious concern.  If this keeps up, next month KG may drop out of the top 5 even though he’s still playing like a beast when he’s on the court.

4. Chris Paul, NO (13) - He’s playing the best ball out of everyone in the league right now.  The problem is that almost everything is well above his career average, particularly the FT% and the steals, both of which may come down.  So we’ll put him at 4 for now, and see what happens.

5. Shawn Marion, PHO (5) - Marion’s 69% from the stripe is one of the most confusing stats of the year - but then you see that he’s hitting 88% in December and everything’s OK.

6. Steve Nash, PHO (4) - Last year I put Nash at 6 and stuck him there all year.  After putting him a bit too high at 4 last month, I might do the same this year.  It just fits him.

7. Yao Ming, HOU (6) - Gotta love the big guy getting all worked up over his team not being tough, huh?  He’s turned into exactly what we thought he could be - a reliable 20/10/2 big guy who actually helps from the line.

8. Amare Stoudemire, PHO (11) - Two years back from microfracture surgery and now he’s getting his timing back on the defensive end, where he’s putting up a career-high 2 BPG.  His minutes are also creeping back to where they should be after his rough first two weeks, which has kept his numbers a little deflated.

9. Caron Butler, WAS (N/A) - The amazing thing about Caron, and some folks will disagree with me here, is that despite the awesome performance, he’s not one of those guys that you notice every time he’s on the floor.  That doesn’t mean a thing for fantasy purposes, though.

10. Josh Smith, ATL (8) - I’m still concerned that he gets SO much of his value from blocks, and I still don’t think he’s going to end the year above 3.5 pg.  He went from 3.6 in November to 3.0 in December so far.

11. Allen Iverson, DEN (14) - Remember when we were wondering who was going to be the alpha dog in Denver, him or Carmelo?  I think we can put that argument to rest.  When is AI going to show his age, though?  I’m a bit worried about wear and tear come spring.

12. Carlos Boozer, UTH (N/A) - The 57% from the field continues to amaze me.  Unfortunately, he’s returning to his poor FT shooting (as some commenters figured he would last month), but the unlikely uptick in steals and assists puts him here in the top 20.

13. Baron Davis, GSW (N/A) - It’s too bad for Baron that he’s officially banned from being in the top 10 ever again, because he’s putting together a nice case for himself.  If only he wasn’t a lock to miss 20 games …

14. Dwyane Wade, MIA (7) - At this point I think you have to be concerned that Wade has rushed himself back to try and save the season for the Heat.  He’s a turnover machine, his percentages are way down, and he’s been pretty awful, for his standards, save for that one 4-game stretch early in December.  I’m a little worried he might have to shut it back down at some point.

15. Dwight Howard, ORL (N/A) - DM and I were discussing Howard yesterday, and I think that he will be overrated from a fantasy standpoint for the next few years.  Kind of like how Tim Duncan was a first-round pick even though he always landed in the 12-20 range on the player rater, Howard is so monstrous in those big man categories that people tend to forget that, all things considered, he’s a second-round kinda guy.  Eventually, Duncan started getting drafted in the second round, and that should eventually happen for Howard, too.

16. Manu Ginobili, SAS (9) - So much for shooting 50% for the year, huh?  Ginobili struggled with his shot when both Duncan and Parker were out, but he should return to form just fine.

17. Dirk Nowitzki, DAL (10) - Hey Dirk, you might wanna check your luggage - it looks like you mighta left about 15% of your game in Australia this summer.

18. Chauncey Billups, DET (N/A) - It’s absolutely amazing how similar his numbers are this year compared to last year - the 11.6 shots per game, 1.6-of-4.5 from the arc, 1.2 steals … and everything else is pretty much right where it was, too.  Scary.

19.  Jason Kidd, NJN (N/A) - The stats are nice and all, as usual, but if I’m a Kidd owner I’m a little worried that this season might blow up in his face.  There’s just not a lot of good news in his world right now, and if the Nets continue to stink, who knows what could happen?

20.  As usual, we leave this one up to the commenters.  Who goes 20?