The loud screams coming from NBA locales such as Chicago, Memphis and Oakland were understandable, what with several key players going down to injury on one fateful Friday night.
The Chicago Bulls lost point guard Derrick Rose for the remainder of the season to a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. His comeback from a torn ACL in the left knee lasted 11 games—and he missed one of those because of a sore hamstring.
The Memphis Grizzlies will be without reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol, who is out indefinitely with an MCL sprain in his left knee.
Andre Iguodala, playing at an insane level in the early going, will be lost to the Golden State Warriors indefinitely after feeling a “pop” in his left hamstring.
So with that, we go into a somewhat muted edition of the NBA Best of the Week, complete with a theme that may or may not invoke thoughts of basketball:
Best of the Week—Players
Super Mario Bros.: Monta Ellis, Dallas Mavericks
Monta Ellis had a big week for Dallas. (NBA.com photo)
Monta Ellis has found new life in Dallas. He scored 37 points in 40 minutes in a win over the Rockets on Wednesday, put up 26 in a win over hapless Utah on Friday and then scored 47 points total in a surprising home-and-home sweep at the hands of the Denver Nuggets on Saturday and Monday. For the week, Ellis averaged 27.5 points, five assists and 1.6 steals in 37.3 minutes per game while shooting 56.1 percent from the floor, 45.5 percent from 3-point range and 86.1 percent from the line while the Mavericks went 2-2.
The Legend of Zelda: John Wall, Washington Wizards
John Wall fed others, then he scored in bunches. (NBA.com photo)
John Wall is continuing to come into his own in his third season in D.C. He had 14 points and 16 assists in a win over the Timberwolves on Tuesday, went for 15 and nine in a win at Cleveland on Wednesday, then turned on the scoring jets. Wall poured in 37 points in a loss at Toronto on Friday and followed that with a 31-point, seven-assist effort in a win over the Knicks on Saturday. For the week, Wall averaged 24.3 points, 8.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals in 39.8 minutes per game. He shot 50 percent from the floor and from 3-point range and 88 percent from the free-throw stripe.
BioShock: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
Chris Paul continues to do it all for the Clippers. (NBA.com photo)
The Clippers put together a 3-1 week and Chris Paul was in the center of it all. He had 20 points, 11 assists and four steals in a win at Minnesota on Wednesday, 17 points and 12 dimes in a loss at Oklahoma City on Thursday, 22 points, nine assists and six rebounds—and the game-winning free throw—against Sacramento on Saturday and 16 points and 17 assists in a blowout over Chicago on Sunday. In all, Paul averaged 18.8 points, 12.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 34 minutes a game as Los Angeles’ other team went 3-1. He shot 56 percent from the floor, 52.9 percent from deep and an unusually poor 66.7 percent from the line—he missed three in the game against the Kings after missing four all season coming into the contest.
Best of the Week—Rookies
Asteroids: Michael Carter-Williams, Philadelphia 76ers
Michael Carter-Williams continues to outshine the rookie class. (NBA.com photo)
The rookie from Syracuse returned after sitting out a little more than a week with a foot injury, scoring 10 points with six rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots in a loss to Toronto Wednesday, had 12 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and five steals in an overtime win over the Bucks on Friday and erupted for a career-high 29 points along with six rebounds and seven steals in a loss at Indiana on Saturday. In a 1-2 week for the Sixers, Carter-Williams averaged 17 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists, four steals and 1.3 blocks in 35.1 minutes per game. He shot 43.6 percent from the floor, was 2-for-9 from 3-point range and hit 62.5 percent of his free throws.
Tetris: Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic
Victor Oladipo joined the Magic’s starting lineup last week. (NBA.com photo)
The No. 2 overall pick out of Indiana made his starting debut in a loss to the Heat on Wednesday, scoring 20 points with five steals and two blocked shots, went for 17 points and seven rebounds in a loss at Miami on Saturday and then stumbled, scoring six points with five rebounds, five assists and two steals in a loss to the Suns on Sunday. Oladipo averaged 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.3 steals and a block in 34.1 minutes per game in an 0-3 week for the Magic, shooting 37.5 percent from the floor, 3-for-12 from 3-point range and 84.2 percent from the line. And I won’t mention the 4.3 turnovers per game … except, well, I sorta did.
Golden Eye 007: Hollis Thompson, Philadelphia 76ers
Hollis Thompson graduated from the 66ers to the 76ers this year, (NBA.com photo)
Let’s hear it for the undrafted free agent from Georgetown who spent all of last season with the D-League’s Tulsa 66ers. Thompson, working off Philadelphia’s bench, started modestly enough with six points in 13 minutes against the Raptors on Wednesday before exploding for a career-high 16 points and seven boards in 21 minutes in an overtime win over the Bucks on Friday. He followed that up with 10 points, four boards and two steals in 31 minutes in a loss at Indiana on Saturday. He averaged 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 21.8 minutes in a 1-2 week for the Sixers, shooting 61.9 percent from the floor, 2-for-4 from deep and 80 percent from the foul line.
Play of the Week No. 1: Paul George With The Steal And The Slam
Shadow Of The Colossus (Team of the Week): San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio won all four of its games this week, running its winning streak to 11 games in the process. And the Spurs weren’t just beating people, they were obliterating them. All five starters scored in double figures on Wednesday as San Antonio beat the Celtics 104-93. Tony Parker had 19 points, Kawhi Leonard scored 16 with eight rebounds and five steals, Tim Duncan tossed in 13 points, Boris Diaw scored 12 off the bench with two blocked shots, Danny Green had 11 points and Tiago Splitter went for 11 points and 10 boards. In a 102-86 win at Memphis on Friday, Parker had 20 points and five assists, Splitter scored 17 points, Manu Ginobili went for 15 points and seven assists and Leonard had 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
On Saturday, San Antonio crushed the Cavaliers 126-96. Green scored 16 points, Patty Mills added 15, Parker had 12 points and seven assists and Splitter and Marco Belinelli scored 10 points apiece, while Duncan chipped in three blocked shots. On Monday, the beat(ings) went on as the Spurs hammered the Pelicans 112-93. Ginobili had 16 points and six assists, Parker went for 14 points and seven assists, Belinelli scored 14 points, Diaw had 13 points, Mills added 12, Splutter scored 11, Duncan finished with 10 points and three blocks and Leonard grabbed 11 rebounds while Green had five steals.
The Spurs are now 13-1 and own the Western Conference’s best record, tied with Indiana for the best mark in the league.
Play of the Week No. 2: Gerald Green Channels Dominique Wilkins
Game of the Week: Milwaukee Bucks at Philadelphia 76ers, Friday night
So how does a game between a team that came in 2-8 and another that was 5-8 turn into the Game of the Week? Well, for starters, it helps when Spencer Hawes does this …
Throw in Philadelphia coming back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to force overtime and you’ve got a heckuva game. Evan Turner scored 27 points, Hawes had 25 points and 12 boards and Hollis Thompson scored a career-high 16 points off the Sixer bench, while Michael Carter-Williams had 12 points, 11 assists and five steals and James Anderson also scored 12 points.
For Milwaukee, Caron Butler scored 38 points to go with eight rebounds and three steals, Ersan Ilyasova had 19 points, six assists and three steals, Gary Neal scored 10 off the bench, Luke Ridnour had nine dimes and O.J. Mayo added eight as the Bucks assisted on a ridiculous 34 of 41 field goals.
Philadelphia pulled away in overtime to win 115-107 as Turner scored eight points in the extra session while Milwaukee could only muster five as a team.
Play of the Week No. 3: Ty Lawson With The Half-Court Lob To Kenneth Faried
[slider_pro id=”31″]