NBA Weekly Awards: Week 15
Best Team of the Week
The Denver Nuggets are finally playing like what George Karl might have have envisioned his team to have at the beginning of the season. They have lost to the resurgent Boston Celtics in triple over-time, but they went on a nine game winning streak just before the tough loss.
The addition of Andre Iguodala to the core was supposed to sky rocket the Nuggets to new heights, but sports is not rocket science. That became quite apparent as the Nuggets seemed flustered, and tough 9 game road trips didn’t make it any easier on the team. With that run, Denver see themselves firmly in contention for the Western Conference play-off places at 33-19, and have the Memphis Grizzlies in their sight.
Worst Team of the week
We have been singing praises of Mark Jackson and the Golden State Warriors for most part of the season, as they exceeded everyone’s pre-season expectations and went from strength to strength to firmly stake their claim as a team that is ready for the post-season.
The Magic are going on a far worse 12 game skid compared to the Warriors, but the Warriors have stepped off the peddle at a time they were required to do just the opposite. Bogut’s return to the court seems to have somehow dismantled the chemistry of the side. With the likes of Denver putting together a run, the Warriors may soon find themselves fighting for 7th or 8th spot in the Western Conference, rather than for a home advantage if they don’t move out of the slump.
Worst Player of the Week
Kemba Walker always gets rave reviews for putting his all into the game and being one the hardest competitors on the court, going up against all the big bodies with his diminutive frame. But if the Bobcats consider him to be the leader to take them to the next level, they may have missed a trick somewhere.
The Bobcats are on a 7 game losing streak, with their leader (who is averaging 17.2 points per game on 42.6 percent shooting) Kemba shooting an abysmal 34.1 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from 3-point range this week, while averaging a moderate 10 points a game.
Best Player of the week
This Carmelo is not the Carmelo Anthony that the NBA world saw and criticised last season. Last season, all the focus was on what Carmelo wasn’t doing to help the New York Knicks become a legit threat, and now all the critics are clamouring at how the phenom is making the Knicks better in so many ways.
Carmelo has been in sterling form of late. He may not be as good as LeBron James, but that’s just another level. The Summer Olympics seemed to have cleared the offensively gifted Anthony’s head. Anthony came out of the week averaging 34 points, which included a fourth quarter take over at Minnesota as he hauled the Knicks out from a double digit difference.
We have already seen the 30 point games come at regularity from Melo, but it’s the new-found attitude that has made him endearing to the media, and effective as a player. The Knicks may have a good chance in the post season if he can continue to grow along this curve.