Weekly NBA Wrap With The Mid Range Jumpers
MVP Watch
Fresh Prince
Top 5
- Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors, 23.2ppg, 8.1apg, 4.8rpg)
- James Harden (Houston Rockets, 27.2ppg, 6.7apg, 5.5rpg)
- Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies 19.3ppg, 8.2rpg)
- LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers 26.0ppg, 7.4apg, 5.5rpg)
- John Wall (Washington Wizards, 17.0ppg, 10.0apg, 4.3rpg)
Notable Mentions
Damian Lillard (Portland Trailblazers)
Jeff Teague (Atlanta Hawks)
Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)
The past few weeks for me have answered a few questions in regards to the MVP award. Steph Curry and James Harden are the clearcut front runners for me. They’re both on good squads and consistently have a large influence on their teams success. What stands out now for me is that when their teams are struggling they are the go-to guys and both players have really taken the next step this year. Seeing LeBron James in full flight reminds me of how special he is. He makes the game look easy and his combination of size, speed and skill level is special. The Cavs are on the up and in a large part because of Lebron, I expect he will keep rising in MVP ladders.
Nighthawk
Steph Curry (GS) 22.8 ppg , 8.1 apg , 4.7 rpg
A lot a of talk has been surrounding the Hawks current tremendous streak, however the Warriors are still rolling as well going 9-1 in their last 10 with a lose to the Thunder being that sole lose. Curry has continued his great play; in fact he’s kept his scoring about the same but increased assist numbers, as this Warriors team seems to be evolving and riding the hot play of Klay Thompson. This shows how good a player Curry is as he’s getting teammates more involved and also kept scoring himself and at a higher percentage as well. He was also the top vote getter for the All Star game that further shows his great play is appreciated all fans. It's going to take a lot from another player to top Curry if he continues playing like he currently is.
James Harden (HOU) 27.3 ppg , 6.8 apg , 5.5 rpg
Harden just proved last night how good he really is, hitting a game winning buzzer beater to beat Phoenix on the road. He also scored 33 points and added 10 assists to his line too, and earlier in the week he scored a season high 45 points against Indiana. Harden has been playing at MVP level all season however there’s just one player he can’t seem to beat, the current leader Stephen Curry. Harden and Curry have had four head to head matchups to this point in the season and Curry has won all four of those games, the last two came within the last five games and both those games were convincing wins. Harden's value is unquestioned but for him to take over the race Curry will have to drop off or Harden play will have to be even better than he is currently playing.
Lebron James (CLE) 26.0 ppg , 7.4 apg , 5.5 rpg
Lebron is back in the hunt for his 5 MVP title. Lebron has lifted his Cavs since his return winning five of the six games since coming back. Cleveland’s new acquisitions has proven to big a big helper as Timofey Mozgov and J.R Smith have been playing very well since arriving and also Iman Shumpert was good in his little time on his debut. The Cavs season was not looking good until just recently, and Lebron has lifted this team up since coming back, they were looking terribly lost in his absence and aren’t a bad team when he’s not there but no one seems to play at their best when Lebron isn’t playing. This is what makes Lebron special as he raised the play of those around him and is why he earns his way back in the MVP conversation.
His Airness
Steph Curry remains top of the MVP race this week with his consistency and his importance to the league leading Warriors the main reason why he holds his spot. In January, Curry has improved his points per game and assists per game averaging 22.9 ppg and a remarkable 9.4 apg. Arguably the best shooting back court in the NBA Curry and his partner Klay Thompson do not look like slowing down and with this I expect Curry to keep these numbers up. James Harden had a great week, averaging over 28.6 ppg and 7.6 apg over the last 10 games. Harden has closed the gap on Curry but still remains in second place. The Rockets have played the Warriors twice in the past five games and have lost on both occasions, this with the Warriors record gives Curry the edge.
Standouts
Fresh Prince
Atlanta Hawks
15 Game win streak. Enough said.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Since the return of a seemingly healthier Lebron the Cavs have managed to rattle of a five game win streak. Lebron has been the force we’ve become too accustomed to seeing and things are looking up for Lebron, Kyrie, Kevin and company. It was always going to be a battle for this squad coming off losing seasons and adding two superstars and a new coach and it certainly won’t be smooth sailing from now on however they are now starting to resemble a good basketball team.
Klay Thompson
While writing this weeks entry, I was watching the Warriors-Kings game. Klay Thompson erupted in the 3rd quarter for 37 (that’s right) points shooting 13-13 from the field and 9-9 from 3PT range. The guy simply couldn’t miss and it got to the point where even the announcers were calling for the ball to get to Klay. It’s worth a watch, 37 points in a quarter is an NBA record and is impressive even in a highlights watch.
Teams On The Rise
Fresh Prince
Atlanta Hawks
Cleveland Cavaliers
LA Clippers
Golden State Warriors
New York Knicks
Nighthawk
New York Knicks (8-36 Eastern Conference)
This may sound like a joke putting Knicks as the hot team but they are on a 3 game winning streak. It is the highest current streak other than the huge Hawks.. However the Hawks and Warriors seem to be hot every week, which is why I’m putting in the Knicks. At season's end this win streak may be the Knicks highlight, that is sad but may actually be a reality. Although the Knicks won 2 of these games against 2 of the worst teams in the Sixers and the Magic, it still shows this team may actually be improving and considering they have many reserves starting and getting big minutes, this small streak quite impressive nonetheless. Don’t look now but the Knicks might actually be beginning some good basketball and get themselves out of the ‘worst ever’ conversation.
His Airness
The Charlotte Hornets are 8 – 2 in their last 10 games and are one spot out of the playoffs. The Hornets have been up and down this season but now with star player Al Jefferson back from injury the Hornets may keep this streak alive and scrap into the playoffs. The Atlanta Hawks are not really a team on the rise as they are already at the top but what they are doing now is remarkable. At the moment they are showing the rest of the league they are a championship contender with impressive wins over OKC, Chicago, Cleveland, Portland, Memphis, Clippers, Washington and Toronto which have all come in their past 15 games win streak. I didn’t think this team would go far in the playoffs until now, they have shown they don’t need a star to be the best and watching them play has been an absolute treat as they resemble the defending champs the Spurs type of play.
Teams On The Slide
Fresh Prince
Indiana Pacers
LA Lakers
Orlando Magic
Denver Nuggets
Nighthawk
Orlando Magic (15-31 Eastern Conference)
The Magic season has been up and down as they seem to play to potential and look like a team that look to be a playoff team in a couple years then one week they’ll look to be one of the worst in the league. Right now they just had that same formula, beating 2 of the best teams in the Bulls and Rockets playing their up-tempo style of play but then all games since showing that they have been far from competitive. Defence has been the issue since their new up-tempo play as they are scoring a lot more but giving up a lot more as well. Orlando have reason to look forward to the future as they have some great players in Nikola Vucevic who is putting All Star numbers up to go along with Victor Oladipo, Harris and Elfrid Payton but they need to find out how to play together and be more consistent. This team can be good in a few years but need to find a formula that works and stick to it and work out how each player fits, as having a quality players is one step but having them play together to win is a whole other step.
His Airness
Chicago are 4 – 6 in their last 10 games and have not looked like the team they have over the past 3 years. With Derrick Rose coming out and questioning their effort we can see frustration already kicking in. This could be a big year for the Bulls but at the moment things are not looking good. They should be able to remain in the playoffs but whether they will go deep into the playoffs is a totally different question. They will welcome the All Star break and look to get back on track.
Rookie Watch
His Airness
Andrew Wiggins has not slowed down in the past week and commands a distant lead over all other rookies. However, the rookie class is finally beginning to show its potential with Nerlens Noel, Nikola Mirotic and Elfrid Payton starting to play much better. Noel defensively has been very good recently ranking top in blocks, steals and rebounds among rookies. The player to watch is Magic rookie Elfrid Payton who is really beginning to come on strong. His improvement in scoring being the main reason, with Payton, assists were always going to come easy for him but over the past week Payton has dramatically improved his scoring. I look forward to watching Payton make a run at the number 2 spot for the second half of the season.
Performance Of The Week Thus Far
Klay Thompson – 52 points, 5 assists (16-25FG, 11-15 3PT)
Notable Mention
Brandon Jennings – 24 points, 21 assists
Play Of The Week
The sequence of this play was impressive from the Cavs. JR Smith on the defensive end leading to a nice finish on the other end.
Steven Adams Watch
7.3 ppg , 7.3 rpg, 24.4 mins per game
A big week for Steven Adams recording a career high 20 rebounds in their win over the Wizards. Adams was pivotal for the Thunder against the Wizards who have a strong frontcourt and while he didn’t contribute much offensively in the box score he was a huge part of that win. Adams played 39 minutes in the game that went to overtime that featured several clutch plays on both ends. Adams also had a solid 9-point, 7 rebound outing and a 10 point performance against the Heat. Good too see Adams playing well and fitting in well to a full strength Thunder squad.
Storyline Watch/Random Thoughts
All-Star Teams
Every year there are surprises and snubs for the NBA all-star weekend. With both starting lineups announced this week I was happy to see some getting rewarded while there were still the few surprises.
West
G- Stephen Curry
G – Kobe Bryant
F – Blake Griffin
F – Anthony Davis
C – Marc Gasol
East
G – John Wall
G – Kyle Lowry
F – LeBron James
F – Carmelo Anthony
C – Pau Gasol
The starters are voted in by a fan vote that has been running the last little while. The rest of the lineups will come from votes from coaches from around the league. Popularity plays a huge factor in starting lineups as you can see, however I am happy too see the likes of Davis, Wall and Lowry put in ahead of mainstays like Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade. Some people may be fired up with the likes of James Harden and Jimmy Butler missing out but that’s the way it is with All-Star lineups. Now the fun part for picking reserves which is probably the toughest there has been in years.
With Kobe’s injury likely sidelining him, Harden is the consensus guard to take his place. The West is loaded with potential All-Stars in Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard to name a few. Good luck narrowing that down to seven.
The East is a little clearer with the likes of Kyrie Irving, Derrick Rose, Jeff Teague, Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade, Paul Milsap, Al Horford, Kevin Love and Chris Bosh among the leading candidates.
Tough decisions, which will end in a few deserving All-Stars missing out this year but then again it is the same every year. I am looking forward to seeing this year's game with it being back at Madison Square Garden and its likely to bring some extra excitement with the weekend.