NBA Inside The Player Of The Week (Dec. 1-7)

Hey, anybody know who this Stephen Curry fella is? I here that almost every shot he takes is cash money. I hear that every time he passes half-court, he is willing to shoot it. I hear that he broke Chris Paul's ankles last season. So who is this guy named Stephen Curry? Even if you don't watch NBA basketball, you have probably heard about him. Not only that, but why is everyone talking about Curry? Why is he so special? Here is why:

Curry has been amazing this week. He has completely just been flat out amazing for the Warriors. When you look at the Warriors 22-0 record, you have Stephen Curry to thank for a lot of it. Of Course, the Warriors went perfect again this week, so let's take a look at Curry's contributions to the team.

In 3 games, Curry had 28, 44, and 40 point performances. That itself pretty much really gives him this award. However, Curry's performance was not nearly finished. He shot so well from beyond the arc. He shot 22 for 35 from three point range last week. That is 62.8% from deep.

Just the fact that Curry was getting in the driving lanes made it so he was nearly impossible to guard. When you have a guy shooting as well from 3 as he is on layups, then he is bound to get backdoor cuts. Curry did well off pump fakes and just getting in the lane and taking it to the rim. There is just no guarding him. When a defender is within 2 feet of him, he is 50%. Yep, 50%. How is that even fair? If you look at any percentages on his shot dashboard, they are all over 50% of his shots. No matter the shot, he is making over 50% of them. Curry is just simply lighting it up.

One thing that Curry should watch out for is his turnovers. He accumulates 41% of his teams turnovers when he is on the floor. However, the Warriors could care less. Curry can turn the ball over as long as he still shoots as well as he has been shooting as well as he has from beyond the arc.

Congratulations to Stephen Curry on grabbing his second NBA Inside The Player Of The Week Award. He has earned it this week. It is likely that he will win many more of these awards if he keeps it up.

Fantasy Friday (Dec. 3)

Another week of Fantasy basketball is here. There have been some great player this week, as well as some disappointing players, so lets take a look at all of them.

Over-Performers Of The Week

1. Alec Burks: This guy has been big for his team. In this past week he has averaged 20.3 PPG, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Not to mention the 46% behind the arc.
2. Arron Afflalo: Has 31 points in one night and 13 in the next. He has played pretty well. Not to mention he is gathering ton of rebounds and shooting lights out from the field.
3. Pau Gasol: 17.7 PPG, 14.3 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 2.3 BLPG this week. That is over-performing or Pau.

Under-Performers Of The Week

1. Jahlil Okafor: His off-court issues might be contributing to this, but he has been not playing so hot of late. This week, he has shot 36% from the field and has just averaged 10 PPG. Not to great.
2. Nerlens Noel: Jahlil's front-court buddy hasn't been the best either. In his last 3 games he has averaged just 7.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1 steals, and 0.3 blocks with 2.7 turnovers and 36% shooting. Philly's big boys have not been that great this last week.  

Pick-ups Of The Week

1. Mirza Teletovic: He has been playing great this week averaging over 15 PPG and 4 three-pointers. He is owned by 18% in Yahoo and 9.4% on ESPN.
2. Rodney Stuckey: This week has been great for him averaging 15.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals. He is owned by 5% in Yahoo and 5.2% in ESPN.

I didn't include Isaiah Canaan on the Pick-ups because Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall are coming back to the 76ers and he will get less production. Hope you all have a great week in fantasy and I hope to see you next week here on NBA Inside The Play Nation!

NBA Inside The Player Of The Week (Nov. 26-30)

Paul George is your player of the week. If you are wondering why, well, here are the facts. George helped his team get a 3-0 record this week while contributing a great amount of production, not only from the offensive, but also defensive end.

Last week, George averaged 37.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.3 steals. Not only that, but his shooting numbers were through the roof as he made 54.7% of his shots from the field and 57.1% of his shots from beyond the arc.

Not only did George help his team win, he helped them win on the road. 2 of the 3 games for the Pacers last week were road games and George really provided in those 2 games. He averaged 39.5 PPG, 6 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 2 steals on the road this week. He shot 60% from the field and 66.7% from the 3-point line. And George took a lot of 3's in those two games. He shot 18 of them and made 12 in those road games.

While George played really well, he does need to watch his turnovers. He averaged 4.3 of them last week. It didn't seem to matter though as the Pacers did win all of their games last week including 2 road games. Not only did George help his team get victories, but he did it while averaging astounding numbers. So congratulations to Paul George for winning this weeks NBA Inside The Player Of The Week Award. Also a big thanks to Patel Production who gave you the highlights above.

Fantasy Friday (Nov. 27)

Well, this is going to be another classic fantasy post, but first, I want to go over Jonas Valanciunas and his injury.

Jonas Valanciunas is going to be out for about 6-8 weeks with a broken hand. If you have him, that isn't that great. If you trade him, you aren't going to a good value out of him. That is really going to hurt you. However, if your team is struggling, you can trade for this guy low. When he comes back, he is going to do really well, which could really help your team out.

Over-Performers Of The Week

1. Luis Scola: With Jonas Valanciunas out, this man has played great. In the past 4 games, Scola has averaged 17 PPG and 6.25 RPG. That is great, and he will most likely continue til Valanciunas comes back.
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo: This freak has averaged 20 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1 steal, 1.3 blocks in the last 4 games while only averaging 1.3 turnovers. You might say, I don't want Giannis, he shoots horribly! Well guess what, he shot 60.9% from the field, 50% from 3, and 91.3% from the FT line in the last 4 game! He has over-exceeded my expectations this week.

Under-Performers Of The Week

1. Kevin Martin: The last 3 games, Kevin Martin has shot 30% from the field and 33% from the 3 point line this week. While he is still doing well from the FT line, K-Mart is struggling with his offense only averaging 10 PPG this week. I do expect him to do better as he gets through this shooting slump, but I would put him on your bench as of right now.
2. John Wall: He has averaged okay numbers, but they aren't John Wall numbers. This week he has averaged 13.3 points, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Not only that but his shooting hasn't been the best as it is under 40% from the field. Like K-Mart, J-Wall is just having a tough time right now, and I expect him to pick it up.

Pick-Ups Of The Week

1. Bismack Biyombo: This guy won't be scoring much, but he will be getting you boards with Valanciunas is out. This week he has averaged 10 rebounds per game. He is owned by 14% on Yahoo and 12.7% on ESPN
2. Marco Belinelli: This past week he has averaged 17.5 PPG while making 3 threes per game. He is only owned by 18% on Yahoo and 11.7% on ESPN.

So there are your players of the week. Hoped you liked it. If you want to see past fantasy posts, just go to the fantasy section on the top you your page. See you all next week here on NBA Inside The Play Nation.

Throwback Thurday (Nov. 26)

Well, it's Thanksgiving. Not only that, but it is also Thursday. And today we are going to look back at two 50 point game that were scored on the Denver Nuggets, this day in history, and later we will look at the career of Shawn Kemp.

The Denver Nuggets have had a tough time on November 26th in the past. On November 26, 1988, Michael Jordan scored 52 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets. Michael Jordan shot 70% from the field and 60% from 3-point range in the game. He was making everything. Not only that, but MJ had a near triple-double as he had 7 assists and 11 rebounds. Pretty impressive huh? But Mike wasn't the only one who had a good game. Scottie Pippen had a great game off the bench for the Bulls as he had 19 points and 8 rebounds along with 4 blocks. However Pippen would foul out of the game.

The Nuggets would spoil Jordan's big night as they played great offense and the Bulls wouldn't know how to respond on defense. Alex English had 29 points and 9 assists for the Nuggets. Walter Davis would come off the bench scoring 28 points. 6 players for the Nuggets had over 10 points and 3 of them had over 20 points in the game. The Nuggets played great on offense and would end up winning the game, 128-123, leaving the Bulls to a 2 game losing streak.

Now, flash-forward exactly 6 year to November 26, 1994 when the Nuggets went up against the Dallas Mavericks. In that game, Jim Jackson, of the Dallas Mavericks, had a 50 points game. He and his teammate, Jamal Mashburn, would lead the Mavericks to victory. Mashburn had 35 points in the game. Jim Jackson shot 60% from the field, however, 16 of his 50 points came from the FT line. Jackson shot 16-17 from the line and really got the Nuggets into foul trouble. All of the starters for the Nuggets had at least 4 fouls. Mutombo was the only one who fouled out of the game with 6.

The Nuggets would end up losing the game in OT 124-123. It is weird that the Nuggets had two 50 point games scored on them on the same date, but the really weird thing is that they both happened on a Saturday. So I guess Saturday, November 26th isn't the best date to be on the Denver Nuggets.

"Shawn Kemp Concord High School 1988" by Concord High School - LeCount, Gale (Ed.). (1988) Concordian 1988 (Vol. 57), (p.70). Elkhart, Indiana: Concord High School.. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.

I also want to say Happy Birthday to Shawn Kemp. He is an NBA Legend that was well known for his time with the Seattle Supersonics. While he wasn't the greatest player, as he only averaged 14.6 PPG over his career, he was a great explosive player to watch. No one matched his explosiveness at the rim, and if you were in his way, he would go over you.

He played really great in the playoffs, averaging 18.7 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.3 steals, and 1.8 blocks in 7 post-seasons with the Sonics. Out of those 7 playoff runs included a trip to the Finals where him and guard, Gary Payton, lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls.

Shawn Kemp had a career full of highlights. While the numbers don't look that impressive, he will always be remembered as a legend in the hearts of all the Sonics fans. While the Sonics don't exist today, there is still Sonics pride out there. And at the heart of it is Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp.

NBA Inside The Player Of The Week (Nov. 17-23)

This week, the NBA Inside The Player Of The Week award goes to Damian Lillard. This week, Lillard made his mark, let's take a look how.

This week, the Trailblazers played 3 games, winning 2 of them. One of those game were against the Clippers. The main reason for the Trailblazers winning this week was because of Damian Lillard. This week, Lillard averaged 26.7 PPG, 7.3 APG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.7 steals per game.

Now, Lillard didn't shoot the best from 3-point range, as he only shot about 30%, but he made up for it at the free-throw line. He shot 16 free throws this week, making all of them. Lillard also managed to really help offensively and defensively. His offensive and defensive efficiency were great as he had a 96.3 defensive rating and an 104.5 defensive rating this week.

While me might not have shot the best, Lillard made some clutch plays. He came through in the win against the Clippers nailing 3 three-pointers within the last 5 minutes of the game that really turned things in favor for the Blazers and put the game away.

I do want to point out just how great Lillard did from mid-range this week. Lillard made 52.9% from mid-range going 9-17 from there. Most of these shots however, were in isolation, because 88.9% of those shots were unassisted. So it is nice to see Lillard taking it inside the arc a little bit as he was missing from long range. Only 9 of his 28 shots were assisted. So Lillard was in isolation in most of the game. It is clear that he completely took the team on his back and carried them to 2 wins this week.

I want to congratulate Damian Lillard for winning this award and I hope to see more great play like this in the future. Congratulations Damian Lillard, for winning the NBA Inside The Player Of The Week award. Although it might not mean a lot to you, it means a lot to us.
 

The Suns Are Hot! (For Now)

"Markieff Morris" by Mwinog2777 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.

The Phoenix Suns have been winning games and are currently sitting at a record of 7-5. Now, why has this been? Well let's start off with the Suns guard play that they seem to be very successful with.

Eric Bledsoe has averaged some great numbers for this Suns team and is starting to look like an all-star player. In 12 games, he has averaged 22.8 points, 4 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.1 steals while shooting 37.7% from 3-point range. Not only that but his backcourt brother, Brandon Knight, has been amazing as well. He has averaged 21.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.4 steals as well as shooting 41.3% from 3-point range. These 2 have done really well together.

Brandon Knight has really been the reason for the Suns success. When the Suns lose, Knight averages 17.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 4.4 turnovers as he shoots just 37.2% from the field, and only 27.6% from 3. In the wins, however, Knight averages 25.3 points, 5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and only 2.6 turnovers as he shoots 50.8% from the field and 49% from 3. So as you can see, Phoenix wins when Brandon Knight plays good, but when he plays bad, the Suns lose.

This may be surprising, but the Suns aren't that great defensively when Tyson Chandler is on the floor. Despite Tyson Chandler being known for a defensive player over the course of his career, the Suns play their best defense with Alex Len at center and T.J. Warren in the game. Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight seem to take a part in the defense and they average a great amount of steals. Also, Teletovic has been great as the team has had an amazing offensive and defensive rating when he is on the floor.

Markieff Morris has not played well for this team. In fact, his defensive rating is the worst on the team, and his offensive rating isn't so hot. This is a guy that should be traded off. I think a team they would trade him to is the Wizards. They would trade him for a guy like Nene. The problem is that Markieff hasn't averaged this low of numbers in 3 years in points, rebounds, and assists. This guy is hurting his team more than he is helping and I think it is more of an attitude problem that occurred this summer after he expressed his thought on the Suns trading off his brother.

The Phoenix Suns have been great to start the season, no doubt. Just take a look at their positions in the league in these categories.

• Points Per Game      - 3rd                - 105.8 PPG
• Rebounds Per Game- 3rd                -   47.4 RPG
• 3-point Percentage   - 3rd                -  38.6%
• Steals Per Game       - Tied For 5th -  9.2   
• Pace Of Play            - 3rd                - 102.42

Not to mention that they are 4th in offensive rating within the last 5 minutes of the game, but they are also 29th in defensive rating within the last 5 minutes, meaning that they are horrible in defense in the end of game situations. So why have they been winning so many games. Well, here is the issue. The Suns haven't beat any great teams really. Here is who they have won against.

• The Nuggets twice (6-7)
• The Blazers twice (5-9) 
• The Kings (4-9)
• The Lakers (2-10)
• The Clippers (6-6)

So really, the only somewhat impressive one was the win against the Clippers, in which that team hasn't even gotten off to the hottest start. They have taken care of business against these easy teams, but they really haven't beaten any tough teams yet. So, you have to look at this like the Suns are going to have a tough time making the playoffs. They have to continue their success, but most of all, Brandon Knight just has to play good. Just look at the stats. This is going to be tough for the Suns but I think that they have a chance to make the playoffs. I think that they have to trade off Markieff Morris. Bledsoe and Knight are amazing, and I think both should make the all-star game this year. Hopefully we see more from them and the Suns as they head into harder competition.