Philadelphia 76ers
Yup the 76ers are still perfect, perfect losers. They are currently the only winless team in the NBA this season with a 0-11 record. They are currently 6 straight loses away from matching their start from last season, and if they are trying to enter the record books, 8 straight losses from having the worst start in NBA History. The 76ers are awful, Gawd awful. If we are to go back to last season, they are actually on a 21 game losing streak, their last win came on March 25th. With all this losing, they do have one thing to be happy about, one bright spot about this season.
Jahlil Okafor
Okafor is having an excellent rookie season. He is currently averaging 19.2 Points per game, which is first among rookies. Honestly, that's really not a surprise. Everyone knew he could score, but it's his defensive that's been surprising. He's currently averaging 1.8 blocks per game, second among rookies. This week was an excellent week for Okafor too. He started the week by going off on the Raptors, dropping 26. His next game vs OKC was probably the worst of his young career, he finished with only 6 points and 6 rebounds, but he came back nicely. The next two games he had 2 big double doubles of 21 and 12 and 19 and 11 to end his week pretty good. Well at least so far in this terrible season, the 76ers found their big man of the future.
Now for the truly perfect team in the NBA...
Golden State Warriors
I feel like I talk about them too much every week, but honestly they deserve it. The Warriors are a perfect 12-0. I'll say this, this was definitely the hardest week of the season for them . It started in Memphis. Y'all remember Memphis though right? The team they embarrassed by 50 two weeks ago? Let's just say it didn't get much better for them this game, especially when Stephen Curry had the ball. Curry actually struggled this game, going 9/ 21, yet he still finished with 28. And he did this to end the 3rd quarter.
Then as if he was just playing with them, he threw this up.
The torture of Memphis continues. But hey, at least they ain't lose by 50. Well you've heard the saying "another week, another Steph 40 Piece"? Well, it's true. He burned the Timberwolves for 46. Curry's 3rd 40 point game of the season. Then things got interesting for the Warriors. Their next game was vs the Nets, one of the THE worst teams in the league. They entered the game with a 97% chance of winning. Well Brooklyn took it to them, HARD. The Warriors were down as much as 17. Come 4th quarter time, the Nets looked like they were gonna end the Warriors streak... then this happened
Game goes to OT. I knew it was over, that was Brooklyn's worst mistake. The Warriors score the first 10 points of the extra period and pull away. Improving to 11-0. Steph finished with 34, and Draymond added a triple double of 16 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. One of the best games of the whole week was last night, the Warriors faced the Raptors. Competitive game, looked like the Raps would end the streak. Toronto had the game in their hands, down 1 with 24 seconds left and in the bonus. Then Kyle Lowry makes two crucial mistakes on back to back possessions, effectively sealing the game for the Warriors. Steph finishes with 37 and 9 assists, and the streak continues. It's now up to their next opponent, who gave them their toughest game of the year so far.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers have been having an up and down season so far. They are currently 6-4. It's been hard for them since their best player, Chris Paul has been out most of the season with a strained groin injury. Luckily, their second best player, Blake Griffin, has been a monster. Blake's been averaging 26 and 9 rebounds this season. They started this week on a two game losing streak, but thanks to a herculean effort from Jamal Crawford, they were able to pull out a victory vs the Pistons. Crawford went OFF for 37, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Will they be able to end the Warriors streak tomorrow?
Let's keep it in California shall we?
Sacramento Kings
Before this week, the Kings were having a terrible season. They had lost 6 straight games leading to a player's only meeting and a very angry Demarcus Cousins. Cousins early in the week blew up on his head coach George Karl, cursing him out in front of the whole team. Well that must've done the trick because after that the Kings took off! They've won three straight since the incident, mainly on the backs of two players, you can probably guess one of them.
DeMarcus Cousins
He has been outstanding this week. Starting the week off he went for 33 and 9 vs the Pistons. Then he absolutely demolished the Nets to the tune of 40 points and 13 rebounds. They had no answer for him in the paint, doing anything he wanted in there. He then followed up that performance in a win vs the Raptors, he gave them 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Excellent week, good enough to earn him Western Conference player of the week honors. Behind most good big men, is a good point guard, and the King's PG finally re-emerged.
Rajon Rondo
Y'all remember a couple years back when there was a debate that Rondo was a top 5 PG in the league? And if he had a jumper, he would be the best by far? Well if he keeps up what he did this week, that conversation might just come back up. Rondo looked like the Rondo of old this week. Rondo had two straight TRIPLE DOUBLES to start this week. First he gave one to the Pistons, tallying 14 points, 15 assists, and 11 rebounds, then he followed that right up by giving an even better one to the Nets, 23 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds. He finished his week with another strong performance of 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 14 assists. Rondo used to be the best passer in the league, and it's starting to look like it again.
There's another player in the league known for getting Triple doubles too
Russell Westbrook
When Durant is injured, something takes over Westbrook. We saw it all last season, and this week we were graced with it again. Triple Double madness. Durant went out in the first half vs Washington, and you didn't have to tell Westbrook twice. He recorded his first one of the season finishing with 22, 11, and 11. The next game the madness continued, Westbrook tallied another one in a win vs the 76ers, he had 21 points, 17 rebounds, and 11 assists. The rest of the week was good for Westbrook, but not in the win column. OKC ended up losing to the Celtics with Westbrook scoring 27, then Westbrook gave the Memphis Grizzlies 40, yet they still lost. Let's hope OKC can get back to their winning ways.
Week Three was also the week of returns, a lot of players faced off against their former teams this week.
LaMarcus Aldridge
He made his return to Portland for the first time since he left them for San Antonio, and he didn't disappoint. Aldridge gave his former team 23 and 6 rebounds, and most importantly came out with the win. He later played Portland again later in the week, but had a pretty bad game, recording only 6 points and 6 rebound, but at least the Spurs pulled out another win.
Nicolas Batum
I'm gonna give it up to Batum, he had a fantastic week, so good he earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors. He had a string of good games, his best which he saved for his old team. He started the week of beating the Knicks and giving them 24 points along with 5 rebounds. Next game, in a loss to Chicago, he dropped 28 and 8 rebounds. He decided to save his best game of the season so far vs Portland. He gave them 33 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds, and took the win.
Dallas Mavericks
The team everybody suspected to drop off this season, including myself, has done just the opposite. They look better. The Mavericks are currently 3rd in the Western Conference with a 7-4 record. They are on a 4 game win streak , which includes a win against the Clippers, or more so, DeAndre Jordan. They,specifically Nowitzki, spoiled DJ's pretend homecoming. Dirk dropped 31 and 11 on the Clippers, including 5-6 from 3. The other big name free agent, Wesley Mathews, the one that actually followed through with his deal, gave the Clips 25. Then the icing on the cake, courtesy of the Mavericks twitter account (it's funny if you followed the whole DeAndre saga)
This week had some surprises too
Phoenix Suns
The Suns have been a pretty decent surprise this season. They were expected to be a below average team, one that wouldn't make the playoffs. They just are not good enough to compete in the West. Well on the season the Suns are 6-4, currently on a 3 game win streak, and their two guards are the reason why
Brandon Knight
Remember when Brandon Knight was the joke of the NBA?
You know when Kyrie did this
Then DeAndre Jordan did this
Well it looks like those days are over because now a days, Brandon Knight has been putting people on the highlight reel, especially this week.
Victim Uno- Lakers Rookie PG Huertas
Victim dos- Paul Pierce
Trust me, Brandon Knight has been doing more than just making fools of people this season. He's averaging 20.2 points per game and 5 assists. Aside from giving the truth to The Truth, he dropped 37 on the Clippers heads, then he went to the other side of Los Angeles and gave them a triple double to the tune of 30 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds. Brandon Knight has been snapping this year, but so has his Co-Star.
Eric Bledsoe
Eric Bledsoe busted on the scene last season, and he's been continuing his amazing play this season. On the season, he's averaging 23 a game, almost 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. This week vs the Clippers he almost had his own triple double finishing with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. He gave the Nuggets 30 and 7, and he completed his week vs the Clips with a respectable 21. The Suns have one of the best backcourts in the entire league, and they are showing it.
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant has been bad this season... historically bad. Because of the fact it is Kobe Bryant, it's a shame to say this, but Kobe finally had a good game. It took him about 10 games, but Kobe is starting to play well. It started vs the Mavs, Kobe finished with 19, an inefficient 19, but 19 nonetheless. His first really good game came vs the Pistons. He finished with 17 points,8 rebounds, and 9 assists. Even though it was another inefficient game, he contributed in other ways aside from scoring, and what makes it more impressive, it was a win over a quality team. The Kobe of old is gone. You're just not being real with yourself to still think Kobe can come and still average 25 with ease, but I do believe Kobe can average 16 with 6 assists and rebounds. For the hope of Laker nation, let's hope Kobe continues to play this way.
Houston Rockets
The second best team in the NBA last season has went from bad, to good, to really bad this season, They've been battling bouts of inconsistency all season, and this week it was more apparent than ever. They are 4-7 on the season, currently on a 4 game losing streak. James Harden hasn't been himself. He's been super inefficient, even more so than usual, and very turnover prone. In each of the last 4 loses, Harden has had at least 4 turnovers. Then to top it all off, the Rockets just fired their coach, Kevin McHale, and he really didn't deserve it. Houston we have a problem.
And lastly we shall end with my favorite team.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs started the week like they had been doing all season. Winning. They played the Knicks again. He's obviously been watching Kyrie because he broke this out
During the 4th quarter, he schooled Porzingus multiple times, and then with the game tied with under a minute left, LeBron hit a jumper right in Melo's face, to put the Cavs up for good. He also locked up Melo all of the second half, limiting him to just one field goal. He finished the game with 31, and the Cavs had won 8 straight... but since then, it's been going downhill. The next game the Cavs played the Bucks, which they lost in double OT. LeBron did what he does, finished the game with 37 and 12. Greg Monroe was huge with 16 points and 17 rebounds, and the game saving offensive rebound. Their next game was vs the Pistons, another closely contested contest which the Cavs couldn't pull out. Andre Drummond had another huge game with 25 and 18 rebounds, plus Reggie Jackson played huge also with 23 and 12 rebounds. LeBron went for 30, his 4th straight 30 point game, and his 5th 30 point game in 6 outings. During the game, he also passed the Logo, Jerry West, on the all- time scoring list, which he is now 19th on. The Cavs are now 8-3, all their losses coming against divisional opponents. The Cavs have some issues to work out; LeBron has been calling his team out lately, saying they're not hungry enough and feel too entitled to have lost in the finals. Let's hope they listen to him or that championship in Cleveland might be a pipe dream.
Well I hope I have caught you up with all of week three. By now, Y'all know the spot. see you same time next week!
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