Weekly NBA Wrap With The Mid Range Jumpers
MVP Watch
Fresh Prince
Top 5
- Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors, 23.3ppg, 8.0apg, 4.9rpg)
- James Harden (Houston Rockets, 27.0ppg, 6.8apg, 5.7rpg)
- Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies 19.4ppg, 8.1rpg)
- John Wall (Washington Wizards, 17.4ppg, 10.2apg, 4.2rpg)
- Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans, 24.2ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.9bpg)
Notable Mentions
Damian Lillard (Portland Trailblazers)
Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls)
LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Jeff Teague (Atlanta Hawks)
Steph Curry and the Warriors continue to deliver and it should be no surprise that they sit atop any MVP rankings this far into the season. Gasol and Davis have both been solid but the likes of John Wall and James Harden have been instrumental on good basketball teams and are deserved of a rise in the standings. Damian Lillard is catching fire and earning MVP consideration as the Trailblazers look more and more like a contender each week. Not too mention if the game is on the line, he is one of the best clutch scorers in the league. Jeff Teague has been added to my notables as the Hawks continue to be a force in the east.
Nighthawk
Steph Curry (GS) 23.2 ppg , 7.9 apg , 4.8 rpg
Curry continues to be the best player in the NBA and the Warriors continue to win, they are 9-1 in there last 10 with a loss coming in a shootout with the full strength Thunder. Curry is dominant in every game he plays and doesn’t let small shooting slumps slow him down as he showed in the last couple games were he’s struggled shooting early. For example in the most recent Rockets game he was 1-7 with 4 points at one stage and then ended the game 9-18 and 27 points. He is even getting praise from one of the best in league as Derrick Rose recently said when talking about were he ranks Curry among point guards stating that “You’ve got to put him up there at No.1”.
James Harden (HOU) 27.0 ppg , 6.8 apg , 5.7 rpg
Harden has been playing at a high level all year long and lately has been no different. He did just come off a shocker at home putting 12 points up against the best team in the league (Golden State). However his play besides that game has been tremendous. The Rockets haven’t been great in their last 10 going 6-4 but Harden has been putting up 26 points 6 assists and 5 rebounds in that span. He has been filling up the stat sheet for his team; he just needs some more consistent play from his teammates. The Rockets are among the best in the league and that is because they have arguably best 2 guard in the league in James Harden.
Damian Lillard (POR) 22.1 ppg , 6.2 apg , 4.7 rpg
Lillard has quietly climbed the ranking and finds himself 3rd on my list this week. The Trail Blazers are the 2nd best team in the West at the moment and seemed to have not got as much attention as they should. Lillard has been great all year posting career numbers up from 20 points posted last season. He is widely considered to be the NBA’s most clutch player as he seems to make a big shot late in fourth every week. Portland could be in for big things this season and Lillard’s play has been and will continue to be a major key for them to keep winning games.
His Airness
Steph Curry holds top place in the MVP race again this week. Averaging 23.2ppg, 7.9apg and 4.8rpg while shooting 53% from the field in January - Curry is leading this Warriors team right to the top of the NBA. Curry is not like other dominant point guards in the league with Rose, Westbrook, Wall and many others all being very athletic, get to the rim scorers. Curry has developed his own game using screens, ball handling skills and his sweet shooting touch to dominate the game.
James Harden fills the second spot averaging 27ppg, 6.8apg and 5.7rpg. Harden has also shot over 50% in his last 10 games leading and been a huge part in the Rockets success this year. He is the best scorer in the league at the moment and does not look like slowing down. Kevin Durrant may not have played enough games to be in anyone else’s MVP race but he is definitely worth mentioning. Having played 16 games, Durrant has averaged 29.7ppg, 8.7rpg, 3.3apg and shot 56%. If he remains healthy for the rest of the season look for Durrant to push his way into the conversation and defend his title.
Standouts
Fresh Prince
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons should have earned some love last week however they continue their surge post the Josh Smith trade. They’ve gone 10-2 since the trade and now sit 11th in the East only 2 games behind 8th spot. With a huge frontcourt duo in Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe the Pistons have good interior presence and size which is a little foreign in the modern NBA game. Monroe is off contract at the end of the year but if Drummond and Monroe can continue to exist together in the frontcourt, Detroit could look at keeping the skilled big man. Keep an eye on the Pistons they have some good young talent in the likes of Drummond, Monroe, Brandon Jennings and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Nighthawk
Atlanta Hawks (33-8 Eastern Conference)
Atlanta are hitting their stride as we pass the midway point in the season. They currently hold a 12 game winning streak and have even beaten quality opponents recently beating Toronto and Chicago (and winning those game reasonably comfortably as well). Jeff Teague has emerged as a legit MVP candidate and they have had some strong efficient play from their skilled bigman Al Horford. Although they are in the weak Eastern Conference they are still 2nd best in the league behind Golden State and are only 2 games behind. Their current play makes you wonder whether they are the best NBA team, and their recent play shows that you can strongly argue that point.
His Airness
The Detriot Pistons remain a standout team, winning 8 of their last 10 games and making a strong push to make the playoff’s. The Pistons have shown consistency and resilience in their last 10 games winning twice at the buzzer and putting on a nice streak. The Pistons have been lead by Brandon Jennings who has been playing remarkable in his last 10 games, taking more shots and shooting a better percentage.
Teams On The Rise
- Atlanta Hawks
- Detroit Pistons
- Golden State Warriors
- Portland Trailblazers
- Denver Nuggets
Teams On The Slide
- New York Knicks
- LA Lakers
- Utah Jazz
- Brooklyn Nets
Nighthawk
Brooklyn Nets (17-24 Eastern Conference)
I considered putting Cleveland here but with LeBron returning they will more than likely turn into a hot team pretty soon. The Nets however have almost played themselves out of the playoffs, and although its very early there is a huge battle for that 8th seed. The Nets currently hold that spot although they have 4 teams within striking distance waiting to pounce. The Nets aren’t doing themselves favours as they have gone 2-8 in their last 10 and haven’t been very competitive. Maybe their age is catching up and this may be why they have been in the middle of many trade negotiations, we will see how their roster pans out and see if a trade is what they need to turn around their current slump.
His Airness
The Toronto Raptors have been on a slide in the past 10 games losing all but 4 games. Superstar DeMar DeRozan made his return to the line up this week but has had little impact thus far but will look to steady the ship. One would expect them to pick their level of play back up and get themselves out of this slump.
Rookie Watch
His Airness
Not much has changed in the rookie watch, Andrew Wiggins continues to show why he is the best rookie in the league and has been putting up impressive numbers. Bulls rook Nikola Mirotic remains second and Nerlens Noel coming off an impressive performance the other night sits in third. However, the Magic’s Elfrid Payton has been playing outstanding in the Magic’s latest push. Payton is much like a young Rajon Rondo who excels in passing but has limited shooting ability. Over the last 5 games Payton has showed improved shooting ability and began to run the offence very well.
Performance Of The Week
Pau Gasol vs Milwaukee Bucks – 46 Points, 18 Rebounds, 3 Assists (17-30FG, 12-13 FT)
Notable Mention
Mo Williams – 52 Points, 7 Assists, 4 Rebounds (19-33FG, 6-11 3PT)
Play Of The Week
This week its Orlando’s guard Victor Oladipo with a slick 360 versus the Houston Rockets to ice the game. With this finish he will hopefully have his ticket booked for this year's dunk contest.
Steven Adams Watch
7.3 ppg , 7.2 rpg, 24.3 mins per game
Only a couple of games for Steven Adams since last week's update coming up against two of the top centers in the NBA. First up was Dwight Howard and the Rockets, where Adams had a quiet game playing only 15 minutes finishing with 5 points and 2 boards. Second up was against fellow big man from down under Andrew Bogut and the league's best team, the Golden State Warriors. Adams played 27 minutes and had 3 points and 7 rebounds.
The Thunder continue to look to build their team through trading and the recent rumors have been surrounding Nets center Brook Lopez, which isn’t good news for Adams. With an 19-20 record the Thunder are currently sitting outside the playoffs in the West which is why they are so active in the current trade window. Lopez would almost certainly take minutes away from Adams, likely taking his starting spot too. Talks between the two teams are currently on hold but both teams are looking to make moves so it wouldn’t surprise me if they re-engage in discussions.
Storyline Watch/Random thoughts
Kobe-Lebron
I enjoyed watching two of the best to ever play go at this week. While both teams are struggling, Kobe and Lebron were at their best. Both superstars were heavily involved in their offense and I particularly enjoyed the old man playing some tight defense on the younger fella in the closing stages. They traded laughs, hugs and words throughout the game and you could see the mutual appreciation for one another. It was good too see some friendly exchanges on the court and some sublime passing from each of them with Lebron and Cavs eventually coming out on top. Unfortunately there may not be too many more of these as the R word comes into consideration for the aging Kobe, but I hope we’ll see a few more before that comes up.