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Note: These rankings are for games played from Monday, Jan. 8, through Sunday.
1. Anthony Davis
Average game score: 25.4
GP: 4
38.0 PPG
67.2 FG%
12.0 RPG
21.3 Paint PPG
This might have been the best week of Davis’ career, which is a frightening prospect for the rest of the league, given that he’s a 24-year-old two-time First Team All-NBA player. Davis sported a player efficiency rating (PER) of 38.5, the best he has ever had in a week in which he played three games. It was quite the statement, given that Davis ranks fourth all time in PER behind only Michael Jordan, LeBron James and George Mikan (minimum 150 games played). He led the league in scoring while averaging more points in the paint than he ever has in a week. Considering that the Pelicans went 3-0 with Davis in the lineup and lost at Memphis in the game he sat out, Davis is an easy choice for our player of the week.
2. Chris Paul
Average game score: 25.1
GP: 3
28.7 PPG
8.7 APG
7.7 RPG
34.9 USG
Never before has Chris Paul shouldered a load as heavy as the one he carried last week. With James Harden out, Paul dragged the Rockets to a 3-0 record while posting a usage rate of 34.9. In an age when the Harden and Westbrook types routinely dominate play with high usage rates, it’s easy to see a number such as that and move on without giving it much thought. However, it was unprecedented for Paul. Regardless of games played, the 34.9 usage percentage stands as the highest the future Hall of Famer has ever posted in a week, which is fairly incredible given the extended stretches he played without Blake Griffin in Los Angeles and as the clear-cut No. 1 option in New Orleans. Of the 279 weeks he has played in the regular season -- 135 in New Orleans, 134 in Los Angeles and now 10 in Houston -- last week sits atop the heap.
3. Lou Williams
Average game score: 23.7
GP: 4
35.0 PPG
5.3 3s
29-30 FTs
4-0 team W-L
Without a doubt the highlight of his week was the 50-point blitz at Oracle Arena, in what was easily the best game of his career. But focusing on just one game takes away from the fact that Williams was fantastic across the board. Even if you remove the 50-point game from the equation, Williams averaged 30 PPG with an average game score that would have placed him among the top 15 players of the week. Then there’s the fact that the Clippers went 4-0 and are suddenly right back in the mix for the postseason despite trotting out a league-high 21 starting lineup combinations. I don’t know whether Williams will make the All-Star Game, and it is admittedly a loaded field in the West, but Williams should probably be getting more love than he is (currently ranked outside the top 10 among Western Conference backcourt players).
4. Kevin Durant
Average game score: 24.3
GP: 3
30.3 PPG
64.3 FG%
57.9 3P%
It was an efficient week for Durant, who ranked third in the league in scoring despite ranking just 15th in field goal attempts per game. He pumped in 40 on just 18 shots in a loss to the Clippers, upstaged by Lou Williams. It was only the third time in his career that Durant scored 40 while being outscored by an opposing player. Williams also overshadowed Durant’s second 40-point game as a member of the Warriors, matching his output from last season in his second game against his former team.
5. Russell Westbrook
Average game score: 23.7
GP: 3
28.3 PPG
9.7 RPG
8.0 APG
3.0 SPG
Mr. Triple-Double reeled off 13 straight double-doubles entering Monday, the longest such streak of his career. After last year’s endless “will he average a triple-double?” debate raged on for the entire season, Westbrook is quietly threatening to do it again. Let’s say he misses two games -- presumably the 82nd game and one more sprinkled in somewhere for good measure. Westbrook would have to average 10.5 RPG and 10.1 APG over his final 37 games to finish with a triple-double for the season. Over his final 37 games last season, Westbrook averaged 10.7 RPG and 10.3 APG, which means it’s well within the realm of possibility that he does it again. Stay tuned.
6. Stephen Curry
Average game score: 25.1
GP: 2
28.0 PPG
51.7 FG%
9.0 APG
Another week shooting better than 50 percent, and Curry continues to edge closer to the 50-40-90 threshold. He’s trying for his second 50-40-90 season, something only Steve Nash (four times) and Larry Bird have ever done. Aided by the 19-point loss to the Clippers in which he didn’t play, Curry has also nosed just ahead of James Harden by the slimmest of margins for the overall lead in ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM), though he ranks ninth overall in RPM wins, thanks to those 15 missed games. That might prove to be the ultimate deciding factor in limiting Curry’s threat as a true MVP candidate. Since the NBA went to an 82-game schedule and not including abbreviated seasons, only Bill Walton (58) won MVP while playing fewer than 70 games.
7. Jimmy Butler
Average game score: 22.1
GP: 4
21.0 PPG
55.1 FG%
58.3 3P%
3.0 SPG
The Wolves are scorching, and it started when Jimmy Butler decided it was time to take over. On Dec. 16, Butler scored 10 points in a close loss to the Suns. In his very next game, Butler dropped 37, including the go-ahead free throws to give Minnesota a one-point win over the Blazers. After that game, Tom Thibodeau put it simply: “He’s changed everything for us.” Indeed. Since then, Minnesota is 12-3 while ranking first in offensive rating and fifth in defensive rating. Leading the way is Butler, averaging more than 25 PPG during that stretch while shooting just a few points shy of 50-40-90. He has the Wolves on track for 50 wins, with a decent shot at the No. 3 seed.
8. Andre Drummond
Average game score: 22.5
GP: 3
19.7 PPG
16.3 RPG
2.0 SPG
2.0 BPG
Drummond had by several accounts the best week of his season, posting personal bests in both PER and scoring while finishing with his fourth-highest rebounding average. He’s a classic “you know what you’re going to get” big, as Drummond ranks among the league’s most consistent producers. There’s an admirable simplicity to Drummond’s game -- he’s going to get you 15 and 15 on an almost nightly basis without ever truly taking over. Yet positive things tend to happen when he brings the goods. Detroit is 9-1 when he finishes with 18 or more rebounds and 11-4 when he scores more than 15 points.
9. John Wall
Average game score: 22.3
GP: 3
29.3 PPG
50.0 FG%
24.0 FGAs
12.0 APG
Going through what has been a down season by his standards, Wall was in full attack mode last week, averaging season highs in both scoring and field goal attempts. In three games, he averaged 10.6 more points and 8.4 more attempts than he did in the first 29 games of the season. Not only that, but he also did it while leading the league in assists. All told, Wall scored or assisted on 56.3 PPG, easily the most in the NBA last week. The next three: Chris Paul (50.7), Russell Westbrook (47.7) and Stephen Curry (47.7).
10. Karl-Anthony Towns
Average game score: 19.5
GP: 4
20.0 PPG
61.2 FG%
12.5 RPG
You can make a case that Towns played just as big of a role as Jimmy Butler in Minnesota’s perfect 4-0 week. In addition to matching Butler’s 7-for-12 shooting from beyond the arc, Towns averaged 20 PPG on more than 60 percent shooting while finishing a team-best plus-85, which also led the league. For all of his promise, you’d think Towns would get a bigger role when he’s on the floor without Butler. In the 26 minutes he played without Butler last week, Towns ranked fourth on the team in shot attempts behind Jamal Crawford, Gorgui Dieng and Nemanja Bjelica. A bigger role when Butler sits might help the big picture, as the Timberwolves have been outscored by 31 with Towns on the floor without Butler, despite Towns' shooting 59 percent overall, 10-of-18 from 3 and 24-of-26 from the free throw line.
(ESPN)
