MVP watch

LeBron James (Miami Heat, 26.0ppg, 5.8rpg, 6.3apg)

Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder 28.5ppg, 8.2rpg, 5.1apg)

Paul George (Indiana Pacers, 24.6ppg, 5.9rpg)

Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves, 23.7ppg, 13.6rpg, 4.1apg)

Chris Paul (LA Clippers, 18.9ppg, 12.0apg)

Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors, 22.6ppg, 8.8apg, 4.3rpg)

Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs 18.1ppg, 6.4apg)

These two players earn a special mention this week as both players are contenders for MVP. Along with my five regulars who continue to dazzle, Stephen Curry and Tony Parker are two players that often get overlooked. Keep an eye out for these two point guards if you haven’t already and expect them to feature in more MVP conversations.

Standouts

Portland Trailblazers

The Portland Trailblazers continue to impress this week with wins over the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Portland are playing some great basketball and while LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard are attracting a lot of the attention in Portland (and deservedly so), what has impressed me is their depth and cohesion on the floor. This was missing for last season’s Trailblazers but the addition of Mo Williams and Thomas Robinson has been a successful one. If first round pick CJ McCollum can get healthy he’ll give this team another scoring factor and while it may take a while for the rookie to settle in, he is a player who could add another dimension to this talent filled Blazers squad who are currently leading the west with a 16-3 record.

Detroit Pistons

Anytime someone ‘beats the Heat’ their likely to gather some attention and the Pistons have been making some noise for a while and deserve a mention. The word BIG comes to mind when I think of this team with a dynamic young front-court tandem of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. Drummond, a second year Center is averaging a double-double with (13.5ppg, 12.8rpg) and when you factor in that a large portion of his points come off dunks and offensive rebounds (of which he currently leads the league in at 4.9 offensive rebounds per game) the athletic big man has an enormous amount of potential. The Pistons are currently 6th in the East at 9-10 but this team is still discovering their identity with new acquisitions Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings starting to settle in.

Teams on the rise

Washington Wizards

Detroit Pistons

Portland Trailblazers

Cleveland Cavaliers

Teams on the slide

New York Knicks

Sacramento Kings

Toronto Raptors

Performance of the week

Durant vs Timberwolves 32pts (14-21, 3-4 3pt, 10Reb, 12 Ast, 4 BLK, 4 STL)

This week’s performance of the week goes to Kevin Durant for a performance that most would struggle to achieve in NBA 2k14. What separates this performance from a number of others this week including other triple doubles, 40+ point games and a 20-20 game is the company in which this particular performance places him with. Durant joins Michael Jordan as the only player to put up 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, 10+ assists, 4 blocks and 4 steals, therefore rightfully earning him the performance of the week.

Notable performances

Tim Duncan (23pts, 21reb) plus a game winner

Andre Drummond vs Sixers (31pts, 12-15, 7-18FT, 19 Reb, 6 ST, 2 BLK)

Stephen Curry vs Kings (36pts, 10ast, 14-24, 5-8 3pt)

Aaron Affalo vs Sixers (43pts, 6reb, 5ast)

Michael Carter Williams (27pts, 12reb, 10ast)

Victor Oladipo (26pts, 10reb, 10ast)

These two rookies posted these triple doubles in a double overtime game against each other !

Play of the week

The top play this week goes to Russell Westbrook and his cold-blooded game winner against the Golden State Warriors. You may remember Andre Igoudala’s game winner that came in their last meeting, this time it was the Thunder and Westbrook coming out on top.

Also check out this ridiculous circus shot from Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley

Undercover Brother 

Undercover brother this week goes to Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors. Thompson is averaging 21.3 points per game while shooting 47.6% from behind the three-point line. When you add the fact he’s shooting around 7 per game this statistic stands out even more. The Warriors are an exciting young team loaded with talent, but keep on eye out for Klay Thompson and his sweet shooting stroke. 

Storyline Watch/Random thought

An interesting statistic of note at this stage in the season is the records of teams in the Eastern Conference. The Washington Wizards are playing some good basketball and are sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference standings. Their record is 9-9 ! That’s right if the season finished today the Wizards would be the number three seed in the east with a .500 (winning percentage) record! If we compare this to the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans also have a 9-9 record but are sitting 11th and 12th respectively in the West. They wouldn’t make the playoffs in the west. These records show the strength of teams in the west and the mediocrity of teams in the east which is at this stage of the season is a surprising statistic. Both conferences are so fierce and competitive just at different ends of the spectrum.

What to watch for (all NZT)

Warriors @ Rockets on Saturday

The Warriors travel to Houston to take on Dwight Howard’s Rockets on Saturday. Both squads are in the top 8 in the west however they are only a loss or two away from dropping out. Both teams have shown what they’re capable of so far this season but are struggling for consistency so this battle could go either way.

Pacers @ Spurs on Sunday

This game begins a tough road stretch for the Indiana Pacers and their first hurdle comes with Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs. Indiana has been playing well and will be looking to make a statement this week. Tim Duncan has been in good form and the Spurs are as strong as ever, this will be a great game of basketball !

Heat @ Pistons on Monday

Miami take on Detroit on Monday and will be looking for some revenge. Detroit managed to upstage the Dwyane Wade-less Heat last week with an impressive performance on the boards and in transition. Hopefully we’ll see Wade back in action but I am looking forward to this one.

Pacers @ Thunder on Monday

The first challenge for Indiana comes in the form of Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Much like the Clippers-Pacers game last week, I’m looking forward to watching Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in action against the stout Indiana defense who will have played the Spurs on the road the day before.

Heat @ Pacers on Wednesday

One of the games I’ve been waiting for all season finally arrives this Wednesday as LeBron James’ Miami Heat meet Paul George and the Indiana Pacers in Indiana. Expect to see a playoff calibre game in this one as these rivals meet for the first time since their epic conference finals series last year. This is a game you don’t want too miss !