New Year Resolutions for NBA's top 5 players

Many websites have ranked LeBron James as the outright number 1 NBA player heading into the 2014-15 season. But through the latter part of last season and the game against the Phoenix Suns (44 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists) on New Year’s Eve, Kevin Durant has proved that he is the best player on the planet right now.Recovering from a Jones fracture he suffered at the beginning of training camp and then spraining it 10 games later, Durant’s off and on presence on the court with the team has prevented them from being consistent. It is quite clear that if he intends to make the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championships dream turn into reality his new year resolution for 2015 must be to remain injury free for the rest of the season.That takes care of Durant, but what about the New Year resolutions of the contenders and the league’s other superstars? Let’s have a look at the New Year resolutions of NBA’s top 5 players (according to the ESPN ranking) in order to help their team become a legit contender or in some of these cases win a championship:

#5 Blake Griffin- Shoot lesser mid-range shots and impose while in the paint

Yes Griffin, more moves in the post and lesser shots please.

Yes, Blake Griffin is trying to show us the mid-range jumper he has worked on this summer. Although he is hitting it at a decent rate of .495, his new style of play of favoring the jumpshot more than a move in the post is hurting his team and his own performance as well.

Perhaps he worked so hard on his jumper to avoid the physicality involved in his post moves, more specifically the hard fouls the opponents committed on him. Nevertheless he is being paid a hell lot of money to do what is best for his team, which isposting up in the paint and creating dunks for front-court partner DeAndre Jordan or dishing it to shootersat the perimeter.

Here are key stats which explain the change in Griffins game:

Blake Griffin stats	Field Goal Percentage	Rebounds	Assists
2013-14 season	.528	9.5	3.9
2014-15 season (so far)	.483	7.8	5.0

He has been able to create more for his teammates butmoving away from the paint has not helped Griffins efficiency in terms of field goal percentage and rebounding. Maybe it was the Los Angeles Clippers production at the small forward spot and not Griffin change in style that caused problems early on. Still he must get back to basics and do now, what was beneficial to him and his team last season

#4 Russell Westbrook- Play the way he has been playing so far

Russell Westbrook currently leads the league in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) with 32.48. Is there anything a player leading the league in PER can do wrong? No.

As of the 19 games that he has played, Westbrook has done all the right things while putting up outstanding figures in order to get his team a W night in night out. He has understood the balance between putting his stamp on the game and distributing the ball to open teammates. So what should be Russ’ New Year resolution?

He has been playing greart basketball so far this season. In 19 games, he has averaged 27.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists at .454 shooting from the field. While the points average is a career high, the rest three are just a shade off so what the Thunder need from Westbrook is to continue playing the same level and brand of basketball all through the basketball season till June even when Durant is on the floor.

With the way Russ is playing and the form Durant looked in post recovery plus the exposure the team’s bench received the Thunder will surely be a legitimate threat at not only making the Playoffs but winning the championships.

#3 Anthony Davis- Demand the ball more

Anthony Davis needs to have the ball in his hands more.

The New Orleans Pelicans rising sueprstar Anthony Davis is tearing down records every week. His stat lines every game are one of the most dominating the league has ever seen. And yet his impact to his team’s success is limited. Why?

Studying the games, it is not hard to realise that a majority of Davis’ points come off obs from teammates and putback dunks off their misses. The biggest strength of the 6 foot 10 inches forward from Kentucky is his versitality, agility and quickness for his length. His true growth can be recognised once he starts making an impact in the post where he can get high percentage shots for himself rather than being spoon fed by his teammates.

In the season so far, Davis has averaged 16.5 shot attempts per game. The New Orleans Pelicans Head Coach Monty Williams believes that the player from Kentucky does not receive as many touches as he should. He will grow and mature at a faster rate when he has the opportunity to learn from mistakes he makes. That maturation process can only be brought about by Davis demanding the ball more and his teammates making it a point to give it to him more.

#2 Chris Paul- Be more aggressive on the offensive end

Chris Paul must run the Clipper offense more efficiently during the close minutes of games.

Despite the likes of Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook, why was Chris Paul ranked higher than both in the players’ ranking before the season on almost every website? Paul has been more efficient that the rest of the point guards where it matters. He averages only 2.1 turnovers a game, much lesser than the Curry, Westbrook and Tony Parker. Kyrie Irving does average less but he hardly plays the point with LeBron James on the floor.

Paul is also the most efficient shooters among the elite point guard group. Through the current 33 games of the season, he has averaged 47.3 from the field, 39.7 from beyond the arc and .875 from the charity stripe, just a marginally off the elite 50/40/90 group. He is one of the best, if not the best at balancing his ability to score and pass.

Clippers are holding their ship steady so what should Paul’s New Year resolution be?

To stamp his mark on the game when the team needs him the most. He is a much better offensive player than his 18.6 career point average says about him. His Head Coach Doc Rivers and veteran teammate Jamal Crawford also believe that Paul needs to be agressive on the offensive end.

"He knows he has a lot of weapons [around him], but there's times we need him to be more aggressive, because that opens up the floor for everybody else," Crawford said

"I'm always going to say he should shoot more. I'm a coach who believes in aggressive point guards. Chris wants the right balance, but I'm sure I drive him crazy at times. I'm a believer in aggressive point guards, because I believe it puts so much pressure on the defense every time,” Rivers said.

#1 LeBron James- Practice and preach patience

Its going to take a while before LeBron James brings home a championship.

Despite having the best player on the planet, LeBron James in their team, the Cleveland Cavaliers are not going to win a championship this season. They simply lack the depth and cohesiveness in their roster to win it. In addition to the above points, the team is short on shotblockers in their roster which their opponents are exploiting with ease.

There is no second thought about James being the leader of this team sothe patience and trust he shows in this team will be reciprocated in the team morale and eventually in the teams play. He has certainly been optimistic in the season so far, taking the blame for the teams losses. However, that will not be the same case for the next two weeks.

James will have miss the first two weeks of 2015 with soreness in his back and left knee. So all the hopes of James leading from the front as a leader and making everything right are washed away with the Kings first long restsince his NBA career began.

The Cavaliers are a young team with some or almost no Playoff experience, including superstars Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. The importance of James is highly underrated in Clevelands quest for a title. He must be extremely patient and try to build a good quality, high IQ cohesive team that trusts one another to be legitimate title contenders.

Edited by Staff Editor