Weekly NBA Wrap With The Mid Range Jumpers
MVP Watch
Top 5
- Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors, 23.0ppg, 8.1apg, 4.7rpg)
- James Harden (Houston Rockets, 27.0ppg, 6.8apg, 5.6rpg)
- LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers 26.4ppg, 7.3apg, 5.5rpg)
- Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies 18.7ppg, 8.2rpg)
- John Wall (Washington Wizards, 17.4ppg, 10.2apg, 4.5rpg)
Notable Mentions
- Damian Lillard (Portland Trailblazers)
- Jeff Teague (Atlanta Hawks)
- Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)
Another week atop the MVP standings for Stephen Curry even through a week that saw his Warriors lose two games. James Harden continues to be hot on his heels however the gap is still there for me. LeBron continues to ascend and it's clear too see his dominance throughout the Cavaliers win streak. Jeff Teague deserves a little more love in some people’s minds with the Hawks having a historic month, however I put their performances down to more of the team than one individual.
Standouts
Atlanta Hawks
Its not often you hear the words NBA history in today’s game with a number of records longstanding and unlikely to be broken in the modern game. The Atlanta Hawks of 2014-15 however have etched their names into NBA folklore going 17-0 in January. They haven’t lost in 2015 and it's now February. The streak continues at 19 and the Hawks continue to turn heads. They have had three players named in the All-Star weekend and I hope to see Kyle Korver as the next one on that list should there be an injury.
Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron, Kyrie Irving and co continue to roll as they are on a 10 game win streak thanks to some great performances. They now sit 5th in the East and are well within range of the falling Bulls and Wizards.
Teams On The Rise
- Atlanta Hawks
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Toronto Raptors
- Milwaukee Bucks
Teams On The Slide
- Orlando Magic
- Brooklyn Nets
- Portland Trailblazers
Performance Of The Week Thus Far
Kyrie Irving – 55 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds (17-36 FG, 11-19 3PT)
Play Of The Week
Dunk contest contender Giannis Antekounmpo a.k.a Greek Freek with a nice windmill dunk vs Portland earns the play of the week this week.
Notables
Kyrie’s late game 3 vs Portland
Derrick Rose game winning stepback vs Golden State
Steven Adams Watch
7.3 ppg , 7.1 rpg, 24.4 mins per game
Adams has had another quiet week this week posting a few solid games vs Atlanta and New York. He continues to focus on his work on the defensive end and its refreshing to see and hear about his dedication to focus on one aspect of the game. Call it his kiwi nature or whatever you like, Steven Adams is on the right track to success and although his stat lines may not stand out like others the work he is putting in is evident. He is becoming a defensive anchor, which is a rarity in today’s game, and if I was apart of the Thunder coaching staff I would be happy with his progression. He is happy to have the focus on defense and not worry about getting points and that sort of concentrated approach doesn’t go unnoticed around the league.
Storyline Watch/Random Thoughts
All-Star Teams
With the All-Star squads now announced the snubs and surprises are apparent. The All-Star teams are as follows
West Starters
- G- Stephen Curry
- G – Kobe Bryant (Omitted due to injury)
- F – Blake Griffin
- F – Anthony Davis
- C – Marc Gasol]
Reserves
- G- Chris Paul
- G- Russell Westbrook
- G- James Harden
- G- Klay Thompson
- F- Kevin Durant
- F- Tim Duncan
- F- Lamarcus Aldridge
- C- Demarcus Cousins (added for Kobe)
East Starters
- G – John Wall
- G – Kyle Lowry
- F – LeBron James
- F – Carmelo Anthony
- C – Pau Gasol
Reserves
- G- Kyrie Irving
- G- Jeff Teague
- G- Dwyane Wade
- G- Jimmy Butler
- F- Paul Millsap
- F- Chris Bosh
- C- Al Horford
The reserves are voted in the coaches from around the NBA and are all deserving All-Stars. The surprises for me are seeing three of the Atlanta Hawks and Chris Bosh. I have nothing against Atlanta but I was surprised to see all three of their names on the list. Great too see team basketball getting recognized nonetheless. Chris Bosh for me hasn’t been an All-Star this year. He has been solid but he hasn’t been pivotal for the Heat and they’ve needed him to be at an All-Star level. Fortunately for him he’s in the Eastern Conference.
The biggest snub for me is Damian Lillard. The guy is an All-Star and unfortunately for Lillard he is apart of a guard heavy Western Conference squad. While he is a snub, its hard to say if he is more deserving than any of the others that did make it but in my mind he is there over Russell Westbrook. The thing I admire about Lillard is that he already plays with a chip on his shoulder and I see this as a stepping stone towards pushing him further.