NBA Week 14 rewind: Domination never looked so easy
By Tom West
Who’s Heating Up?
Damian Lillard, yet again, has been snubbed from the NBA All-Star Game. Of course the Portland Trail Blazers aren’t going anywhere, but the very fact that they have as few wins as they do comes down to the tireless effort and talent of Lillard. This season, he’s now averaging career-highs in points (24.2) and assists (7.1) per game. Even after the Blazers were gutted of four starters in the offseason, Lillard still hasn’t given up. They’re depleted, but along with top Sixth Man of the Year candidate C.J. McCollum, Dame is leading them forward.
His clutch nature is always prevalent, and his shooting from range and strength going to the rim makes him one of the top scoring (and the most athletic) point guards in the league. Even though someone is always “snubbed” when it comes to the loaded Western Conference for the All-Star Game, Lillard easily earned a spot as much as (if not more) than players like Klay Thompson and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Now, he’ll be angry for being overlooked. And everyone should be afraid of Lillard when you put a chip on his shoulder.
DeMarcus Cousins just has to appear in this segment again. Barely a day after finishing last week’s episode, Cousins was absurdly dominant on an even higher level, despite scoring a new-career high the previous game. He set two new career-highs in only three days, first with 48 points against the Indiana Pacers followed by a Sacramento Kings franchise record 56 points against the Charlotte Hornets. He just cannot be stopped.
As if his numbers weren’t already impressive enough last season, he’s now averaging a career-high 27 points per game (as a center in 2016), 11.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. He’s even averaging 1.2 three-pointers a night for good measure, too.
From his expanded range and 33.8 percent three-point shot to the way he can drive past almost any big man or simply overpower them in the post, he’s shaping up as one of the most dominant centers we’ve seen since Shaquille O’Neal.
He’s a far better shooter than Shaq, and increased range is just another reason why fans of the league need to give Cousins a little more attention and respect.*
*Note: After writing this he went and shot an uncharacteristic 3-of-17 in a 121-117 loss to the Memphis Grizlies. This game aside, he’s still having an exceptional season.
Russell Westbrook is still one of the best triple-double threats in the NBA. His six triple-doubles are narrowly behind Draymond Green’s league-best eight, and if it wasn’t for two games with (only) eight rebounds he would have tallied three straight to end the week.
However, his 26 point, 10 rebound, 14 assist night in a 116-108 win against the Houston Rockets was still his statistical highlight of the week. Per usual, he’s playing with his signature competitiveness and aggression, and the fact he’s creating more for teammates than ever just shows how much he can impact the game when he isn’t scoring.
His 9.9 assists per game are second only to Rajon Rondo’s stellar 11.8, and finishing last week with two games over 14 assists demonstrated Westbrook’s vision and playmaking perfectly. In fact, as Russ averaged 26.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 11.5 assists per game last week while shooting 48.2 percent and 41.7 percent from three, he put on a show with his versatility and efficiency.
No point guard impacts a game in more ways than he does and there’s no way to deny it.
The Boston Celtics continue to exceed all expectations surrounding them this season. Their perimeter defense has been exceptional, Isaiah Thomas was such a deserving first-time All-Star, and what their head coach Brad Stevens continues to do with depth rather than superstar talent says so much about his bright future in the NBA.
Until a 119-114 loss to the Magic on Sunday night, the Celtics had won five straight. They’re now 7-3 in their last 10 games and besides the Toronto Raptors and Cavaliers, no team in the East has a better record over the last 10-game stretch.
Thanks to the Celtics’ elite perimeter defense they still rank 3rd in the NBA in defensive efficiency. On top of that, they rank 2nd in steals per game (9.7), 5th in assists per game (24.3) and perhaps most impressively they’re 6th in net rating with +4.1.
They’ll still benefit immensely when they acquire a superstar talent and another go-to offensive option beside Thomas, but in the meantime, Stevens is doing an excellent job and their team play, depth, and top defense is leading the way.
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