MVP watch

 

Fresh Prince 

1 – Paul George (Indiana Pacers, 25.8ppg, 8.2rpg)

2 – Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves, 26.2ppg, 14.6rpg)

3 – Chris Paul (LA Clippers, 24.8ppg, 12.6apg)

4 – Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder 27.8ppg, 5.8rpg)

5 – LeBron James (Miami Heat, 25.6ppg, 8.0apg)

Yes, yes LeBron James isn’t atop my MVP rankings. A number of players are putting up impressive numbers and through one week, Paul George has stood out for Indiana leading them to a 5-0 record.  

His Airness

 Kevin Durant, Paul George and Chris Paul have all had pretty good starts to the season. If George can keep this offensive output up along with his usual shut down defensive he will be a very strong candidate for MVP. Paul continues to show that he is one of the best in the league getting a heap of points and assists

Standouts

FP Portland Trailblazers (LaMarcus Aldridge/Damian Lillard)

Both have started the 13-14 campaign by putting up good numbers and are currently sitting at 2-2. Both guys’ averaging above 24ppg is no surprise; keep an eye on these Blazers.

Anthony Davis (21.2ppg, 11.4rpg)

Golden State Warriors (Steph Curry/Klay Thompson)

Curry and Thompson are one of the best backcourts in the NBA and have started the season with each having a 38pt performance. Curry’s injury today is of some worry but this duo is definitely one to watch.

Michael Carter Williams (19.8ppg, 7.6apg) has led the Sixers to a 3-2 record and has had one of the best opening weeks in history for a rookie. Also claiming the Eastern Conference Player of the week, the second rookie to do so. (Shaquille O’Neal was the first)

Eric Bledsoe (21.0ppg, 7.2apg)

Teams on the rise

FP  Indiana Pacers (5-0)

Golden State Warriors (4-1)

Houston Rockets (4-1)

San Antonio Spurs (4-1)

Orlando Magic (3-2)

HA   The 76ers have had an impressive start to the season with there young players all playing well. I am not sure they can keep this up but at the moment they are looking very solid.

 

Teams on the slide

 

FP Utah Jazz (0-5)

Boston Celtics (1-4)

Washington Wizards (1-3)

Denver Nuggets (0-3)

HA  Washington have not lived up to expectation as of yet. Its still very early in the season so look for them to put together some wins in the near future.

 

Performance of the week

 

 

FP  Chris Paul vs GS Warriors 42 points, 15 assists, 6 steals

Week One has already bought a number of brilliant performances. Of special note are Steph Curry (18pts, 12 ast, 10 reb) vs Philadelphia, Eric Bledsoe (17 4th quarter points + game winning 3 pointer), Michael Carter Williams (22pts, 12 assist, 9 steals, 7 rebounds) to beat the Heat among several others. The performance of the week for me however was Chris Paul vs Golden State Warriors in a fierce battle in which looks to have started an exciting new rivalry in the pacific division. 42 points, 15 assists and 6 steals filling the stat sheet whilst leading the Clippers to an impressive 126-115 victory.

 

Plays of the week

 

 

CP3 to Blake Griffin back-to-back-to-back alley-oops

 

Check out Eric Bledsoe’s game winner and Igoudala’s behind the back pass.

 

 

Undercover Brother

 

FP Evan Turner (Philadelphia 76ers) (21.8 ppg 52.3% FG) is playing well alongside rookie Michael Carter Williams. While MCW got eastern conference player of the week, Evan Turner has been equally impressive.

HA   Eric Bledsoe has had an excellent start to the season and is the reason why the Suns are 3-2. His game winner against the Jazz was pretty smooth while averaging 21 points 7.2 Assist and 5 Rebounds this season is also very impressive.

 

Storyline Watch/Random thoughts

 

Miami Heat (3-2) getting out of first gear.

The exciting offenses of LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors.

The return of Russell Westbrook.

Who can challenge the Indiana Pacers?

What to watch for (all NZT)

 

FP Clippers @ Heat on Friday

Miami look to overcome a slow start and LAC trying to show some dominance early on. Will be interesting match up with Doc Rivers now on the Clippers bench.

Lakers @ Rockets on Friday (Lakers vs Dwight’s Rockets)

Dwight’s first game against the Lakers, unfortunately not at Staples Centre and of course no Kobe Bryant, but still an intriguing game. I think we’ll see a lot of effort out of D12 as well as the opposing Lakers.

Warriors @ Spurs on Saturday

The top two teams in the west face off in San Antonio. Steph Curry is questionable with an ankle injury and will have a large impact on the outcome of this game. A rematch of the second round playoff last season is one to look forward too.

Clippers @ Rockets on Sunday

Two of the top teams in the west playing for the second time this season. Rockets will be looking for some retribution from their 137-118 beating at Staples Center. 

HA Have to agree with the Fresh Prince, Clippers vs. Miami will be a very close game with two leading MVP candidates going head to head.

 

Also keep an eye on the Spurs vs Golden State Warriors match up. A rematch of last year's Western Conference Semi Finals, this could give us some understanding of the West.