NBA Week 8 Rewind: Don’t overlook the Spurs and Cavaliers
By Tom West
Who’s Heating Up?
Besides the Warriors and Spurs who just can’t stop winning, here’s a look at some teams and players who stepped up in Week 8.
The Cleveland Cavaliers may not have had the strongest schedule last week, but they showed what they can do with a crushing defeat of the Orlando Magic and an important win over the surging Thunder. They snapped the latter’s six game win streak, and after a shaky spell last week with losses to the Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans, the Cavs have now won five straight.
LeBron James, per usual, has been leading the way as their scoring machine and playmaker. He sits fourth in the NBA in scoring with 26.6 points per game on 49.8 percent shooting, and is stuffing the box score all around with 7.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.5 steals and o.7 blocks per game. All of that is nothing new, though.
A real bonus for the Cavs has been Kevin Love’s involvement in the offense and elevated production. With more shots, he’s up to 17.6 points per game and has upped his rebounding from last season to 10.8. He’s now raising the Cavs’ offensive rating by 12.7 points per 100 possessions, and has been benefiting from more touches in the post just as his team hoped.
Even though they’re 1st in the East with a 18-7 record, the Cavs have been overlooked while the Warriors have been demolishing the opposition. Yet, with the 4th best offense and 10th best defense in the NBA, Cleveland can’t be forgotten.
To make things even better for the Cavaliers and their fans, Kyrie Irving has returned, too.
The Atlanta Hawks also made the most of an average schedule last week, and put themselves back on the map in the East by moving up to the third seed after winning four straight games. They now have an 18-12 record, and while it doesn’t look like they have a chance of overtaking the Cavs to win the East again this season, they can still rank fairly high. With wins over the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers, the strength of their recent matchups haven’t been too great. That being said, a win is a win, and they haven’t been coming too consistently for the Hawks so far.
It’s been their defense that has been letting them down recently, as their 14th standing in defensive efficiency isn’t going to allow them to be one of the top teams in the NBA. That’s what helps separate franchises like the Warriors and Spurs from everyone else.
However, the Hawks still define team basketball. They have six players averaging at least 10 points per game, rank third in assists per game (25) and still have the seventh most efficient offense in the league. Maybe with games against the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks coming up, they can continue their streak.
Draymond Green has not only been the Warriors’ best defender this season, he’s been their do-it-all-guy. Last week, he recorded his fourth triple double of the season with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 103-128 victory over the Phoenix Suns, and has been doing things few forwards can do.
Not only can he defend far above his size in the post as a 6’7″ power forward, but he can move out to the perimeter and he’s been crashing the boards with a career-high 8.8 rebounds per game. His scoring has even jumped up to 14.3 points per game, partly thanks to another career-high in three point percentage of 38.4. The aspect of his game that’s been ridiculously impressive and surprising, though, has been his playmaking.
From running fast breaks or distributing the ball from the top of the key, Green’s passing has been better than ever. He ranks fifth in the NBA with 7.1 assists per game (up from 3.7 a year ago). Green is just doing what forwards shouldn’t be doing.
Kobe Bryant. Yes, Kobe has actually made it into this segment. Overall, he’s still been having a bad season and his shooting numbers are far from attractive. However, last week, as he said his legs felt better and he seemed ahead of Father Time for a change, Kobe had his best week of the season so far. Even if it took a while to appear, he showed us some Vintage Vino.
The NBA is just better with Kobe in it, and it’s been hard watching him struggle so much this season and hoist up so many poor shots that he’d usual make in the previous years of his remarkable career. Yet, as fans around the country got to witness the Black Mamba in their arenas for what would probably be the last time, they didn’t complain. It shows how special Kobe is, although he’s far more special when he plays well.
Over his last four games, he’s averaged 20.3 points on 50.8 percent shooting while going 37 percent from beyond the arc. Even more impressively, he held back and only attempted 14.8 shots a night over those contests. Hopefully for Lakers fans and Kobe himself, he can keep it going a bit longer.
(He currently as a shoulder injury and is listed as questionable, but the improved efficiency as of late is a welcome sign to fans everywhere).
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