NBA Week 5: Winners and Losers

The past week in the NBA has given out headline after headline as multiple players have gone off with incredible individual performances. There have also been plenty of issues with the likes of the Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards both facing turmoil.

The excitement around the league over the past seven days was highlighted by an incredible 60 point performance by Kemba Walker which was then followed up by a 43 point game with a clutch three to seal a victory over the Boston Celtics.

Today we take a look at the biggest winners and losers of the past week in the NBA.

Lonzo Ball - Winner

It's never nice to see an NBA player go down with an injury, especially not a teammate, but the second year point guard Lonzo Ball may be counting his blessings as veteran point guard teammate, Rajon Rondo, broke his hand and will miss up to five weeks with the injury.

Although Lonzo's shooting has improved drastically over the offseason, he has struggled for consistent playing time averaging only 26 minutes per game, nearly 10 down from his rookie season average.

While the arrival of LeBron James has lessoned Lonzo's role and kept the ball out of his hands, with no Rondo over the next five weeks, Lonzo has the opportunity to make it clear who the starting point guard of the Los Angeles Lakers should be. A big chance and a big win for Lonzo this week, if he can grasp this opportunity.

Golden State Warriors - Loser

Golden State Warriors v Utah Jazz

It has most likely been years since the Golden State Warriors have found themselves on a losers list, but with Stephen Curry out with an injury, a feud between Kevin Durant and Draymond Green escalated and resulted in the Warriors suspending Green for one game.

With Kevin Durant's impending free agency at the end of this season looming over the team, Draymond allegedly saying to Durant, "We don't need you. We won without you. Leave." will not help sway Durant into staying with the Warriors and allowing them to continue strolling through to a few more titles in the coming years.

While the Warriors will most likely be just fine this season, especially once Curry returns, and are still clear favourites to win their fourth title in five years, after this season is over the likelihood of Durant leaving to another rival contender that could very well push them above the Warriors has increased due to the events of this week. Definitely a loss for Golden State.

Kemba Walker - Winner

Oklahoma City Thunder v Charlotte Hornets

103 points across two games would be the biggest win of most NBA players' careers. Add that stat-line to Kemba Walker heading into free agency at the end of this season and it is not hard to see why Walker had a very successful week.

At 28 years of age, Walker is set to find a team that will be more than willing to pay him a huge contract in the offseason. Whether or not that will be with the Charlotte Hornets is yet to be known. Although he does seem to enjoy his time in Charlotte, the lack of support around him could see him seek a move to a title contender.

The 60 point game epitomizes Kemba's time in Charlotte as even though he dominated individually the Hornets couldn't get over the line in a close overtime game against the new look Philadelphia 76ers.

Markelle Fultz - Loser

Utah Jazz v Philadelphia 76ers

Markelle Fultz's time in the NBA just continues to get worse for the number one pick in last year's draft. After the Philadelphia 76ers made the big move to acquire perennial All-Star Jimmy Butler, Markelle conceded his starting position and returned to the bench where he spent most of his time in his debut season.

The move to the bench is one many thought would further help Fultz's development as it would allow him to gain more confidence leading the second unit. Unfortunately for Fultz, he has been told not to train with the team until he gets his shoulder revisited as it apparently is still not 100 percent.

Fultz has struggled with shoulder problems since the 76ers drafted him in 2017, many believe this has been the sole reason for him losing confidence in his ability and more importantly his shot. With the arrival of Butler, combined with Fultz sitting with the shoulder injury yet again, many believe this could signal the beginning of the end for his time as a 76er.