It is only mid-week, but already there are five players eligible for the Waiver Wire Five.  Before the weekend arrives, here is a look at this week’s list, and for those of you with weekend changes only you will still have a few days left to evaluate: 

Corey Brewer- The versatile rookie is finally showing signs of life.  He got a chance to start when injuries hit McCants and Toine, but has stayed in the starting lineup even with those players back on the floor.  Ryan Gomes has been moved to the bench and Brewer is now getting most of his minutes.  Over the past 5 games, Brewer has played 30+ minutes in four of those contests.  His shooting percentages have been horrible so far, which has also resulted in few points scored, but he contributes across the board with excellent rebounds and decent assist and steals.   He is getting 10-15 field goal attempts so his scoring average will go up as he plays more.  Minny knows they need to go with their youth, that was the goal of the offseason trades, so Brewer should continue to go a big part of the rotation moving forward.

Jose Calderon - As TJ Ford hit the court in a scary fall against Atlanta on Tuesday night, it opened up the door for Calderon to get even more minutes at point guard.  TJ was back with the team the next day, but they must be cautious with his injury given his history of neck and spine injuries, so expect him to be out the better part of a week at least and watch reports for more time.  Calderon recently started in place of TJ Ford for nearly two weeks and was scoring in the range of 15 points with 7-8 assists a game, so he will be an excellent fill in player if you need guard stats.  Even when TJ returns, Calderon gets a good portion of the minutes, so his production will not immediately drop off.

Luke Ridnour- This one could be a risk-reward type pickup.  Over the next couple weeks Ridnour’s minutes may be much lower than you would want to see for anyone on your fantasy roster.  He is back and playing, but is returning from a quad injury, so the team will take it slow getting his minutes back near 30 a game.  The good news though, is the team was very unhappy with the PG play in his absence, so he should move back into a starting role once he returns to form.  He is the best option at the position on this very young team.  Watch his play over teh next two weeks, but if the minutes trend in a positive direction he will be a good waiver acquisition.

Troy Murphy- Murphy has been quite disappointing as a Pacer so far.  Normally a solid contributor in points, rebounds and threes, Murphy has only been inconsistent in Indy.  Jeff Foster is currently out with a back injury, and the team seems awfully quiet about when he should return.  While he is out, Murphy will start, and Murphy does seem to play much better when on the floor with Jermaine O’Neal, a combination that has happened very little since he arrived.  If Foster is out for any length of time, Murphy will get minutes by default and may play himself back into the starting role.  As long as he is getting 30+ minutes, he will be worthy of a roster spot.

Glen Davis - “Big Baby” is on the radar.  Kendrick Perkins hurt his toe, as somehow his bed fall on his foot, which has pushed Davis into the starting role.  Even before this promotion due to injury Davis started to get serious minutes in recent games.  With the Celtics wining many games by a decent margin, Davis was getting garbage minutes, but his hustle play has been noticed, and he now appears to be the first big man off the bench.  While not as big, he is more active on the floor than Perkins and seems to flow in the offense better.  While Perkins is out, he should remain the starter and could play himself into a bigger role.  With 25+ minutes, Davis has the ability to give you 10 points, 10 rebounds with a knack to get to the line for free throws, and great steals for a big man.  He is worth watching right now as the Celtics want to ensure they have enough depth on the bench that is game ready.