This is your fantasy basketball weekend update. You can catch the latest NBA and fantasy basketball news every weekend at hubpages.com/hub/FantasyBasketball

The formula to my Weekend Update has gotten tweaked again. Instead of the general News Nuggets, I've separated the player discussions into guys you should consider adding immediately, guys you should consider dropping immediately, and guys you should wait and watch before you make a decision to drop or add. Hopefully, this will make it a little quicker and easier for you to read, digest, and react accordingly.

(1) RANT and RAVE-- Two takes each week: one bad one, one good one. This week it's all about the Bulls.

(2) HOT or NOT -- Highlights 5 of the week's best players and 5 of the week's most disappointing players.

(3) Injury Report -- Find out who will be sidelined in a suit, and who will suit up in their absence.

(4) Drop -- Guys you should strongly consider dropping.

(5) Add -- What else? Guys you should strongly consider adding.

(6) Watch -- Guys you may want to wait and see about before deciding to drop or add them.

The Chicago Bulls' shooting woes have been epic so far this season. Three of their top shooting guards, John Salmons, Kirk Hinrich, and Janerro Pargo, are all in the 30% range after 8 games. The Bulls are third worst in the league in points per game (88.6) just ahead of the New Jersey Nets' 86.62 and the Charlotte Bobcats' too-sad-to-be-funny 83.5 points per game. Additionally, the Bulls rank third worst in FG% (.421) ahead of the same two teams, dead last in 3pt. FG% (.253), and fifth worst in FT% (.702). Thanks to these statistics, the Bulls games have been some of the worst in terms of viewer satisfaction. The slow-paced grind-out style that is their signature this year has never played well with audiences. This is a direct result of losing Ben Gordon to free agency. The team is left without any reliable outside shooters. The silver lining? Somehow, in spite of all of their woes, they are 4-4. Perhaps, then, we should consider their record half good... not half bad.

I love it when reporters eat their words. Especially in the case of Chicago Sports Writer Rick Morrissey. He wrote on draft day three years ago that the Bulls had made a huge mistake by drafting rookie Joakim Noah. The article, entitled "You've Gotta Be Joakim" went on to slam Noah for everything from his game, to his attitude, to his work ethic, to his body. Morrissey also wrote, however, that if his assertions about Noah were ever proven incorrect, then he would eat his words with hot sauce on top. Now that Noah is in the top 5 in rebounds and blocked shots and averaging a double-double for a playoff contender, Morrissey decided it was only right to uphold that written promise. You have to hand it to him - at least in this case he showed that writers can be held accountable for what they write about players. There was some good-natured teasing, and even though there is clearly a self-promotional benefit for Morrisey in doing a stunt like this, it is still good to see player and writer enjoying a fun moment together. You can check it out in the video below.

 1. Josh Smith - Josh Smith is having his best statisitcal year in many areas thi season.  He appears to be more focused than ever this year and he and his teammates (and fantasy owners) are reaping the benefits.  While he no longer shoots the ball from 3pt. territory, his field goal percentage is up and his blocks per game have jumped back up to league-leading status.

2. Chris Kaman - Kaman is playing like someone worthy of a first round selection.  He is showing no signs of slowing down his beastly bocks and rebounds averages.

3. Steve Nash - Nash's flashes of brilliance never cease despite his advanced age (35).  He is leading the league in assists once again at over 12 per game. 

4. Kobe Bryant - Kobe has far surpassed my early expectations for him, perhaps thanks to Pau Gasol's absence due to injury.  Kobe is amongst the league leaders in points per game.  That's nothing new.  But he is there in steals as well, and is collecting impressive totals across the board.

5. Tyreke Evans - He has stepped up his game more than anyone could have hoped for since Kevin Martin went down for an anticipated 8 weeks with a fracture in his wrist.  His shooting percentage remains the only down side but he is getting to the free throw line consistently and draining them.  He has been stuffing the stat sheet in other cats as well.

1. Tyrus Thomas - Tyrus doesn't play in the 4th quarter of a Bulls loss. The next day, he has a much publicized argument with Coach Vinny Del Negro while watching game tape, resulting in Thomas walking out. The next day, Thomas' option is not picked up by Chicago, putting his future with Chicago in serious doubt. Hours later, Thomas comes down with a bad flu, which keeps him out of two games while the Chicago media criticizes him and questions the actual existence of his illness. A day after returning, while exercising (allegedly doing pull-ups), Thomas breaks his forearm, an injury expected to cost him 4-6 weeks. Weeks don't get much worse than that one.

2. Stephen Curry - Has been mostly transparent on the court of late for the Warriors. His poor shooting and high turnover rate has just gotten him relegated to coming off the bench. Curry owners. Be afraid.

3. Elton Brand - Capped this week with an 0-6 performance. Brand, a round 2-4 selection in most fantasy drafts this year, is playing so poorly he is barely worth a roster spot in the deep leagues. This has been a mildly surprising development. Meanwhile, Marreese Speights continues to play well with Brand's minutes.

4. JJ Redick - Yes, I just raved about him last week. But that was last week. This is this week. And this week, JJ Redick went back to the bench and played only 20 minutes after Vince Carter returned in explosive fashion. Reddick did not shoot the ball as well in his last few opportunities as a starter. Considering Rashard Lewis has yet to play and fellow sharpshooter Ryan Anderson also missed Wednesday night's game, there should be ample concern over Reddick's time with a full roster in Orlando.

5. John Salmons (still) - If it wasn't for Salmons' continued shooting woes (30% on 111 shots), Dwight Howard might have made this list for a second straight week while he continues to disappoint in several areas, not least of which are blocks and rebounds.

Tayshaun Prince – ruptured disc in back – out indefinitely with another back problem.  Not good news for Prince owners.

Tyrus Thomas – broken left forearm while weight training – out 4-6 weeks.  With controversy before the injury and Taj playing well in his stead, picking up Tyrus is not a good move right now.  Be weary of trade proposals.

Allen Iverson – leave of absence – out indefinitely with a decent chance of retirement.  I still think he will be back this season but it may be quite a while before that happens, if it does.

Andris Biedrins - Hip - Late November, possibly longer.  He was having a down year before he went out.  If Randolph emerges while he is out, he may be looking at reduced time when he returns.

Ronny Turiaf - Knee - still out possibly another week. Look for Anthony Randolph to continue having big games in the meantime with both Biedrins and Turiaf out.

Troy Murphy, TJ Ford, Danny Granger - Indiana Pacers syndrome - all out day-to-day

Pau Gasol - Knee - still out indefinitely. He was originally supposed to be back by now.  Don't know what else to tell you other than, keep waiting patiently.

Andrew Bynum - Elbow - Be advised, out day-to-day

Eric Gordon - Groin - With a nasty injury to his groin muscle, Gordon could be out for an extended period of time. For now, he is listed as out indefinitely. I will keep you posted next week as to his status.

Michael Redd - Knee - Listed as returning in mid-November, but be prepared for much more serious news than that.

Courtney Lee - Groin - Day-to-day. The Nets are having a rough year as Lee currently joins teammates Devin Harris, Yi Jianlian, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Keyon Dooling, Jarvis Hayes, and Tony Battie on the injured list. That's more than half the team for those of you counting.

Yi Jianlian - Knee - Out indefinitely. This one might be bad. Yi was playing very well this year.

Chris Douglas-Roberts - Sickness - Day-to-day. Should be back any game.

Ryan Anderson - Knee - Out a week to ten days. Rashard will be back by the time he comes back. Therefore, Anderson should probably be dropped by now.

Tony Parker and Tim Duncan - Ankles - Day-to-day for both of them. Parker's is of greater concern. He expects to be out at least a week.

Randy Foye - Day-to-day.  His return means little considering his minutes prior to the injury though.

Tyrus Thomas - Weeks don't get any worse than his and the outlook on his future is murky right now. Thomas looked like a good pick before the season, but not so much anymore. Drop him if there are other options (Dampier, for example).

Tayshaun Prince -- His injury is scary. It probably will not be worth it to hang on to him for what could be a long time. He is looking like he will have a down year even if he can return.

Stephen Curry -- He had 3 poor games in a row (not much shooting, high turnovers, low assists/steals), and now he's lost his starting spot. It is definitely time to look elsewhere if you are not in the deepest leagues.

Rasual Butler -- Like Curry, Butler earned his shot at starting and didn't make good use of it. Butler was disappointing in starting minutes and relinquished that role to Al Thornton once again. Thornton looks to be playing a little better as of late, so Butler will likely stay there now.

JJ Redick -- Vince Carter's return means Redick will be coming off the bench. He played alright during his first game off the bench, but he still logged under 25 minutes and this is without Rashard Lewis and Ryan Anderson. Unless there is another injury, Redick had his best part of the season already.  He is still good for between 1-2 threes per game if you really need them though.

Tyreke Evans -- The Kings rookie point guard has played excellent since Martin's injury.  He still isn't shooting great from the field but he is getting to the line and doing it in all categories.

Toney Douglass -- If you don't know, now you know.  Douglass began starting for the Knicks  (over Larry Hughes) at PG after back-to-back 16 and 21 point performances.  In his first game as a starter he notched 23 more.  The only problem is he only had 2 assists over those three games.  That's not good for a point guard, but it's hard to sit a scorer like that on the bench, especially when you have nothing to play for other than developing your young guys.  Add this guy before he gets snatched up!  He went from 0 to 10% owned in the last couple days, so he hasn't quite gotten noticed yet, but he will by the end of this week with another good game or two.

Beno Udrih -- Also benefitting from Martin's prolonged departure from the active roster, the former Kings point guard is starting and putting up decent numbers again.  Expect him to continue on this pace for the next couple months.

Anthony Randolph -- Finally showing some signs thanks to the Warriors taking heavy casualties to their front line.  Randolph is seeing the light of day now and has performed.  How long will the other centers be injured and what will happen to Randolph when they do?  I really don't know.  But for now he should continue to put up some serious numbers.  It's about time.

Marreese Speights -- Brand keeps playing worse and Speights keeps playing better.  He has been on a lot of radars already, but if it's not too late, pick this guy up.  I can even envision him winning the starting job if Elton can't get it together.

Greg Oden -- Suddenly he's not looking too shabby.  81 percent from the free throw line this season is the most surprising statistic.  He's a blocking machine, and is getting double-digit points per game to go with a nice rebound total and shooting percentage.  Get him if you can.

Corey Maggette -- Hate to deal with Warriors guys with Nelly coaching them, but Maggette is a good deep league pickup.  He's had a couple 20-point nights in a row and he has already been a great scorer.  If you need points, give him a look.

Andre Miller -- Finally began starting in Portland, relegating Martell Webster to the bench.  Still no outstanding games but he has been playing much better in the starting role so he should stay there as long as Portland is winning some games.

Jamal Crawford -- Has usually played more minutes than starter Mike Bibby but it has been going back and forth a little bit.  I expect Crawford to do near what he has done for his career.  That is, score and hit threes.  Expect slight decreases across the board though.

Chase Budinger -- He has been intriguing.  I am convinced he will be a good player, but for now he will only put up numbers inconsistently, mainly due to issues with playing time.  He is best at points and threes.

Michael Redd -- Speaking of points and threes, this guy has been dropped in many leagues.  If he comes back, you may want to nab him while you can get him for nothing.

Andres Nocioni -- Starting for the Kings, Nocioni has shown a little consistence as of late.

Al Thornton -- He won his starting job back and will probably stay there.  He couldn't have regressed this much from last year as a young player so I'm expecting his numbers to rise going forward.

Taj Gibson -- Played very well the past few games in place of Tyrus Thomas.  He has a jumper and strong inside moves to make up for a slight height disadvantage.  He also crashes the boards, so it seems like he gets more rebounds than his totals have shown thus far.  Good all-around player.  Lean on adding this guy.  He will keep a major role even when Tyrus returns.

Mike Dunleavy -- Dunleavy may be back earlier than expected - even in 2 or so weeks from now.  If you can get him off of free agency before he returns then it may be a steal.

Rashard Lewis -- Rashard is about to return finally.  He may be tradeable depending on what he does in his first game.