Every week this season I’ll be choosing two players, one who is riding a hot streak (sizzlin’) and one who is ice cold (fizzlin’) of late. I’ll then break them down in player profiles laying out what they’ve done well/poorly and if I believe it will continue or just be temporary. Now, let’s get to the choices for this week.

The sizzlin’ player of the week was on most fantasy analyst’s sleeper lists coming into this season and thus far he’s lived up to the hype. Third-year pro Markieff Morris is making the most of his added opportunity this season with the Suns and making the contract extension they gave him this off-season (4 years – $32 million) look like it will end up being a bargain. While Morris has had a great start to the season averaging 14.8 points, 6.4 boards, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.9 blocks and 0.6 treys while shooting 48.7% from the field and 79% from the charity stripe, he’s been even more sizzlin’ the past two weeks.

In the two week span (eight games) Markieff has gone for 16 points, 6.5 boards, 3.6 assists, 1.9 steals, 1.3 blocks while knocking down 51% of his field-goal attempts and 90% of his free throws. This lands the twin with the 7th round average draft position as the 23rd best fantasy player the past two weeks of players who have played at least five games.

Morris really showed off his passing ability recently when he racked up seven assists in each of his two games. He had never had more than five dimes in a game until these two performances, but he does appear to be looking to kick out to open shooters and wings slashing to the hole while he’s in the high post more frequently. While expecting him to average five assists a game would be a stretch, thinking he could stay near four isn’t out of the realm of possibility. It will be interesting to see how his assists trend over the month of December.

The only area that Kieff has been lackluster is behind the three-point arc. Last season he was only taking 1.3 3PA hitting on 31% while this season he’s launching 2.3 a game and only converting 24%. Even during his current sizzlin’ two weeks he’s been an even worse 11% from deep, and it’s to the point where he either needs to improve quickly or decrease his attempts from the outside. I know the Suns liked how Channing Frye stretched the floor by hitting long balls, but with him gone and Markieff not looking confident out there, coach Jeff Hornacek needs to re-evaluate a bit. With Morris hitting above 54% on all of his 2pt field-goal attempts, it’s easy to see that he should stick to his post and mid-range game.

I loved Markieff and felt he would be a sure thing top-50 player with top-30 upside this season, so while he may not remain as sizzlin’ as he’s been the last eight games, he should continue his full season averages and should wind up around the top-40 on the season. Even on a team crowded with talent he’s managing a healthy and realistic 22% usage rate, so everything he’s doing this season should hold firm. If you’re a Markieff owner, congrats on the great draft day steal, but don’t expect people to pay up for him via trade as they should. He’s one of those players who is better in fantasy than most will admit because he’s not a “sexy” player like most hunt for. You’re likely better off just holding on to him and enjoying the consistent statistical goodness.

The fizzlin’ player of this week is a guy who was drafted as a do it all type with the ability to average two treys, one steal and one block. With an average draft position right around the top-20, Nicolas Batum was oozing with potential that we’ve seen plenty of over the past couple of seasons. The 25-year-old Frenchman really just hasn’t looked like himself this season and is shooting at a career low rate thus far. Batum shot 44% over the past two seasons and finds himself at an icy 37% to start this year. Adding to the frustration of his owners, he’s already missed four games this season.

A career 36.5-percent shooter from behind the arc — an area that has been his comfort zone over his career — is hitting just 24% (14/58) of his jumpers from long distance, barely eclipsing one per game. Let’s look at the shot charts to compare last season to this season:

You’ll see the shot distribution on his threes are right about the same, but he’s taking less shots in the paint and a higher rate of mid-range jumpers. He’s also still taking the majority of his triples via catch and shoot with the rest being of the pull-up jumper variety. This all adds up and points to just a simple case of the clangs. You have got to believe that the young blossoming kid will begin to hit his threes at a higher rate and return to his top-30 level of play. He’s too good of a player to only be averaging nine points per game. Look for that to creep back to above twelve sooner rather than later and he’s only marginally below his rebound and assist rates so those will even out as well.

While he’s off to a slow start, I would be attempting to buy Batum low from his owners right away before he gets his shot falling again. Even shooting this subpar, Nic is still ranked 73rd on BasketballMonster.com on the year proving that with his all-around stats, when the shots fall he’s a stud and even when his shot is off he’s still a really solid fantasy player. Don’t be surprised to see him in another of these columns soon but next time it won’t be because he’s fizzlin’.

For more fantasy hoops analysis and to have any questions you may have answered, follow Zack on Twitter @BigZack44