NBA Team of the Month for December
What a month December was in the NBA universe! We celebrated Kobe's jersey retirement, Christmas week and LeBron James' 33rd birthday. Dallas Mavericks won four straight games, Stephen Curry scored most three-pointers in a single game this season while returning from injury and Oklahoma City went on an unbeaten run. Phew, so much action!
In this frenzy of events and matches, there were some players whose performances in the month of December stood out and they will comprise our NBA team of the month for December.
Without further ado, let's directly jump to our team.
6th man: Lou Williams
Team record: 8-3 (when he started on the bench)
Player stats in December (when he started on the bench): 27.2 ppg, 5.8 apg on 47% shooting, 46% from threes, +7.2 bpm, +9.8 net rating, 15.7 player impact estimate
There is little scope for debate here. Lou Williams has been leading Clippers in points per game and player impact estimate despite being a bench player. He can score from anywhere on the court and can also draw fouls.
With Blake Griffin returning from injury, we may be see a dip in his stats, but I am still sure that he will still be among the front-runners for this position next month. Williams has helped Clippers to end December with a positive record, who recorded 8-6 overall and 8-3 when Lou started on the bench.
Other Contenders for this position:
Eric Gordon (9-2, 18.4 ppg on 47% shooting and 38% from threes, +9.5 bpm, +14.8 net rating, 8.0 player impact estimate)
Nikola Mirotic (7-3, 16.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg on 48% shooting and 47% from threes, +4.7 bpm, +6.1 net rating, 15.3 player impact estimate)
JJ Barea (8-8, 12.1 ppg, 7.3 apg on 48% shooting, 41% from threes, +4.5 bpm, +7.4 net rating, 15.7 player impact estimate)