Fantasy Friday (Jan. 21)

And we are back after missing two straight weeks of fantasy posts. I apologize for that, and to make it up for you guys, I will take a look at some injuries that have happened of late, and break them down for you.

Jarrett Jack: This guy is out for the season and there is no chance he will return at the end of the season because the Nets aren't in the playoffs run, he is old, and they don't want to risk to have the injury come back. Sorry if you had him, but you now need to drop him.

Eric Bledsoe: There is no possibility that this guy will come back at the end of the season because the Suns aren't in the playoff race anymore. The last thing the Suns want to happen is to have Bledsoe turn out to be like Derrick Rose and Bledsoe is starting to look like him with the injuries. You just are going to have to drop Bledsoe.

Derrick Favors: The Jazz don't want to risk anything with him. He has missed over 15 consecutive games now with back spasms. They want him to be healthy for the remainder of the season. However, you would think that the Jazz would like him back as soon as possible considering that they are right on the edge out of the playoffs. Derrick Favors is a buy low guy right now and you should consider trading for him since he will most likely come back soon and bring in big numbers with him.

Anthony Davis: It has been the sum of Davis's career. Very minor injuries seem to get in his way. He has had shoulder issues as well as ankle issues. I expect him to get a couple more injuries this season. Hopefully he won't get an major injuries though.

Blake Griffin: Blake has been know to have injuries that keep him out for a little bit. However, this has been Blake's best season stat-wise. He is a guy that you could buy low into right now and I do suggest you make a trade for him if it is worth it.

Well, there are some injured players that either need to go or you should trade for. Next week, I hope to have the players of the week so stay tuned in for that.

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.

Fantasy Friday (Nov. 13)

As we head into the 4th week of fantasy basketball, let's take a look at how this week went. We had some great games down the stretch and I do want to point out some injury concerns.

Anthony Davis: He has a history of minor injuries and that is expected from Davis every season. As long as he doesn't have a major injury, he will be fine.

Bradley Beal: This isn't the first time Beal has missed time during the season. He did it last year due to injury and he could put a big dent in your fantasy numbers for sure.

Ricky Rubio: He suffered from ankle injuries and had gotten ankle surgery last summer so anything that bothers Rubio will make him sit out of games just as a safety precaution.

So those injuries you need to factor into your fantasy season. Now let's get to the rest of the post, should we?

Over-Performers Of The Week

1. Eric Bledsoe: It isn't like his scoring is off the charts or anything, it is just that he is doing much more than scoring this week. In just this week alone he has shot 54% from the field and 46% from deep. Not only that but he has averaged 7.6 APG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.6 steals per game in the last 7 days. One thing to watch out for is his turnovers though. He had 8 in his last game.
2. Derrick Favors: He has averaged 18 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 2 APG, 2.7 steals, and 2.7 blocks per game in the past 7 days. He had 7 blocks in his last game! Derrick Favors is amazing right now. Do trade for him if you can because he is a very underrated player.

Under-Performers Of The Week

1. Goran Dragic: He has been pretty disappointing this week only averaging 7.8 PPG, 3.6 APG, 3 RPG, and 0.5 Steals while averaging a disappointing 3 turnovers per game. Not to mention he has shot 34.2% from the field and 9.1% from 3-point land this week.
2. Monta Ellis: He really hasn't played the best only scoring more than 5 in two of his last 4 games. However, has he brought plenty of assists and steals to the table.

Pick-Ups Of The Week

1. Nemanja Bjelica: He is only owned by 45% in yahoo and 30.4% in ESPN. He has averaged 12.3 PPG and 8 rebounds in the last 7 days. Nemanja is the man.
2. T.J. McConnel: This guy is owned by 39% in yahoo and 32.4% in ESPN. He is a great guy to pick up if you need assists and steals. He is averaging 8.5 assists but only 5.5 points.

Well, that is all for this week. Hope you guys liked the post and I will see you next week here on NBA Inside The Play Nation!