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First of all, congratulations to the Eagles for winning the Super Bowl!
We've got ourselves a trade! Blake Griffin being traded to Detroit has been the hottest news of the week. Clippers are supposedly clearing their cap space to sign a big fish in the next free agency market, by losing Griffin's lucrative contract.
On the other hand, Detroit are trying to make a team to win it now - shaking things up after losing eight straight games! It's often said that the team getting the best player in a trade often wins the trade itself, which is Detroit for now. But if the Clippers are actually able to attract any big fish in the next free agency, let alone LeBron James, then they would feel that they have ultimately won. With the deadline coming soon, we can expect more trades to take place in the coming week.
In the All-Star Game section of the news, there are three replacements for the All-Star Game now through respective injuries - Paul George replacing DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Drummond replacing John Wall and Goran Dragic in place of Kevin Love, all of whom are in LeBron's team.
Now to important results in the week. Boston Celtics won three straight games without Kyrie Irving, LeBron's chances of leaving Cleveland are growing day-by-day while the Golden State Warriors lost to the Denver Nuggets after being surprisingly beaten by the Utah Jazz. Right now, it appears the Houston Rockets are the best team to challenge them - while the Nuggets beat both the aforementioned GSW and Oklahoma City Thunder before close defeats to Boston and San Antonio.
Amidst all the drama, there are a few players who stood out for their respective sides. Let's count down our team of the week:
6th Man - Fred VanVleet
Team Record: 3-0
Player Stats in the Week: 13 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.3 apg on 48% shooting, 36% from threes, +14 bpm, +30.8 net rating, 14.6 player impact estimate
This week, there were no strong contenders for the 6th man, so we went with the most clinical player. After having his career high last week, this week he followed it with three strong performances.
With the improving production from the bench, it is now safe to say that the Toronto Raptors have one of the league's better benches.
Other contenders for this position this week:
Jordan Clarkson (2-1, 16.3 ppg on 40% shooting, 50% from threes)
Gerald Green (3-0, 14.3 ppg on 36% shooting, 32% from threes and a huge block on King James)
Point Guard - Ricky Rubio
Team Record: 3-0
Player Stats in the Week: 23.7 ppg, 9.7 apg on 64% shooting, 70% from threes, +28.3 bpm, +41.9 net rating, 20.0 player impact estimate
This was by far the toughest decision to make this week, but when Ricky "can't shoot" Rubio is shooting 64% from the field and 70% from threes on 3.3 threes attempts per game, you can't ignore that. Also, his advanced stats are just off the charts with more than +40 net rating!
It'll be interesting to see if the Jazz will be able to keep their streak alive with Rubio, Gobert and the wonderkid Donovan Mitchell.
Other contenders for this position this week:
Kemba Walker (3-1, 30 ppg, 6 apg on 47% shooting, 48% from threes)
Terry Rozier (3-0, 19.7 ppg, 8 rpg, 5.7 apg on 44% shooting, 48% from threes)
Shooting Guard - James Harden
Team Record: 3-0
Player Stats in the Week: 34.7 ppg, 10.3 apg on 52% shooting, +12 bpm, +16.1 net rating, 23.0 player impact estimate
We have the beard back in our team of the week!
There were no questions about this selection despite having strong choices for this position as Harden was on fire the whole past week, having the first 60-point triple double in the history of the NBA. His statline was- 60/10/11 on 63% shooting, 36% from threes.
Rockets have been on a roll recently and as previously stated, appear to be the Golden State Warriors' biggest challengers this year.
CJ McCollum (2-2, 27.3 ppg on 51% shooting, 47% from threes). Also had 50 points in just three quarters of a game.
Donovan Mitchell (2-0, 30 ppg on 61% shooting, 64% from threes, +26.5 bpm, +47.8 net rating, 23.8 player impact estimate)
Bradley Beal (3-0, 22 ppg, 7.7 apg, 6.7 rpg on 46% shooting, 33% from threes)
Small Forward - Giannis Antetokounmpo
Team Record: 3-1
Player Stats in the Week: 23.3 ppg, 12.8 rpg on 47% shooting, +7.3 bpm, +14.5 net rating, 21.2 player impact estimate
Primarily a power forward, Antetokounmpo is playing as a small forward in our team of the week. With weak competition in forwards this time around, we are playing the forwards with the best performances in the week, and hence Antetokounmpo is playing out of position.
Antetokounmpo has been flat out ridiculous after returning from his brief knee injury. He has been performing on this high level for the past two weeks and hopefully, will continue doing so.
Other contenders for this position this week:
Otto Porter Jr. (3-0, 20.3 ppg, 7 rpg on 54% shooting, 33% from threes)
Nicolas Batum (3-1, 21.3 ppg, 7 rpg on 51% shooting, 47% from threes)
Power Forward - Anthony Davis
Team Record: 1-2
Player Stats in the Week: 34.7 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 2.7 bpg on 49% shooting, 46% from threes, -1.7 bpm, 0.6 net rating, 18.8 player impact estimate
First time in our team of the week this season, we have a player with a losing team record and a negative box plus-minus. Antetokounmpo taking our small forward's spot and weak competition also helped Davis' case for selection.
With DeMarcus Cousins out for the remainder of this season, the workload on Davis' shoulders has increased exponentially from season's 28.3% usage rate to 39.7% usage rate over the last week. Even still, he has been performing very efficiently.
Although they should have beaten the Sacramento Kings, Davis' performances over the last week meant his inclusion was certainly justified!
Other Contenders for this position this week:
Kevin Durant (1-2, 27 ppg on 63% shooting, 43% threes)
LaMarcus Aldridge (1-2, 25.7 ppg on 60% shooting)
Center - Andre Drummond
Team Record: 3-0
Player Stats in the Week: 19.3 ppg, 19 rpg, 3.3 spg, 2.7 bpg on 64.3% shooting, 12.0 bpm, 16.5 net rating, 20.6 player impact estimate
After it was announced that Andre Drummond is set to replace John Wall as part of the All-Star Game, he has been on fire! With two 20/20 games in the last week, he shot more than 70% in both! His advanced statistics have also been exceptional too.
It'll be interesting to see how good the Pistons are with both Griffin and Drummond in this space and pace era of NBA at present. We're set for a Detroit-Clippers encounter this week, which is sure to be interesting too.
Other contenders for this position this week:
Nikola Jokic (2-2, 21.3 ppg, 10 rpg, 8 apg on 52% shooting, 47% from threes)
Clint Capela (4-0, 13.3 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 3.3 bpg on 53% shooting
