We saw a lot
of great performances in the Love Month of ’13. The Heat lost just one game all
month, Steph Curry dropped 54 on the Knicks, Tony Parker and James Harden
provided strong numbers, and, of course, the All-Star Weekend in Houston had a
lot of memorable moments (let’s just forget the Trade Deadline shall we?). Now
we find ourselves entering the third month of the New Year. The top half of
each Conference’s Playoff seedings are pretty much set, unless some favorites make
monumental runs or meltdowns. All the other squads, however, will begin
scrambling for the bottom Playoff spots, or, in the case of the Minnesota
Timberwolves, will simply hope nobody else gets injured. Time to look back and
appreciate all the players and teams who made the good kind of noise in February
2013.
This is the fourth
in a series of “Best of the Month” citations based on the Efficiency Recap
ratings on HoopsStats.com. Team citations will be based on Efficiency Recap Difference
(Team Efficiency – Opponents’ Efficiency), while Player citations will be based
on Player Efficiency. You can check out the Stats Glossary here.
Team
Citations:
Best Backcourt: Houston Rockets - 50.9ppg,
12.3rpg, 16.8apg, 4.6spg, 15.0 DEFF
Jeremy Lin
hasn’t been as good as his Linsanity days, but that’s okay, because he has
James Harden as his partner. More on Harden further down in this post.
Best Frontcourt: Indiana Pacers - 66.0ppg,
35.3rpg, 12.4apg, 5.3spg, 5.9bpg, 28.0 DEFF
David West,
Paul George, and Roy Hibbert (finally) have been collectively impregnable for
Indiana.
Best Bench: Utah Jazz - 42.3ppg, 19.7rpg,
9.4apg, 3.8spg, 3.0bpg, 24.8 DEFF
Gordon
Hayward and Derrick Favors lead a Utah bench that bested every other team’s
reserves.
 |
| Gordon Hayward is the leader of a Utah bench mob that is took the league by storm in February. (image by Rock Bowmer/AP) |
Best Starters: Oklahoma City Thunder -
78.0ppg, 29.4rpg, 15.5apg, 5.7spg, 7.8bpg, .519 FG%, 35.5 DEFF
With Russell
Westbrook shooting so well and KD being, well, himself, nobody should really be
surprised, right? The questions is can they turn it up even further come the
Playoffs?
Best East Team: Indiana Pacers - 102.2ppg,
45.9rpg, 22.8apg, 7.8spg, 6.8bpg, 30.2 DEFF
The Heat
went through the month with just one defeat, yes, but who was that team that
beat them? THIS TEAM.
Best West Team: Oklahoma City Thunder - 111.5ppg, 43.1rpg, 23.0apg, 9.4spg,
9.9bpg, .506 FG%, 34.1 DEFF
It was an
inconsistent run through Feb for the Thunder, but they’ll take it. They’ll also
take that notion that it seems they haven’t even peaked yet.
Player
Citations:
Best Point Guard: Tony Parker (SAS) -
26.1ppg, 4.0rpg, 8.3apg, 1.1spg, .540 FG%, 28.2 EFF
Texans want
him to be MVP, but he probably won’t be. That’s just reality. His numbers?
That’s reality, too.
Best Shooting Guard: James Harden (HOU) -
28.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 6.8apg, 2.1spg, .529 FG%, .493 3pt%, 31.2 EFF
James Harden
is already a superstar. Talk about a coming out and dominating.
Best Small Forward: LeBron James (MIA) -
29.7ppg, 7.5rpg, 7.8apg, 1.8spg, .641 FG%, 36.6 EFF
One word –
untouchable.
Best Power Forward: Josh Smith (ATL) -
19.6ppg, 10.2rpg, 5.4apg, 1.0spg, 1.2bpg, .509 FG%, 25.4 EFF
And yet the
coaches continue to snub him for the All-Star Weekend. #timetolearnfolks
Best Center: Al Horford (ATL) - 21.5ppg,
11.3rpg, 3.0apg, 1.3spg, 1.8bpg, .621 FG%, 29.8 EFF
The former
Florida Gator just chomped on every other big he went up against.
Best East Rookie: Bradley Beal (WAS) -
17.5ppg, 5.1rpg, 1.3spg, 17.8 EFF
John Wall is
NOT the best player in Washington right now. Beal is.
Best West Rookie: Damian Lillard (POR) - 19.8ppg,
6.2apg, .915 FT%, 16.0 EFF
Lillard ties
Anthony Davis with “Best West Rookie” citations for the season. I’m calling it
now – the guy who gets the next one will win ROY.
Best East Player: LeBron James (MIA) -
29.7ppg, 7.5rpg, 7.8apg, 1.8spg, .641 FG%, 36.6 EFF
Was there
really any doubt?
 |
| The Best of this Generation. And of February. (image by J. Pat Carter/AP) |
Best West Player: James Harden (HOU) - 28.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 6.8apg, 2.1spg, .529
FG%, .493 3pt%, 31.2 EFF
Harden
supplants former teammate KD as the West’s best, while also supplanting Kobe as
the best SG in the league. Swallow your pride, fanboys.
Game
Recaps (courtesy of the Sports Network):
February
28
Final Score: LA Clippers 99, Indiana 91
Indianapolis,
IN (Sports Network) - Chris Paul scored 29 points, handed out eight assists and
stymied Indiana's late comeback to help the Los Angeles Clippers hand the
surging Pacers a rare 99-91 home loss. The Pacers had won five straight by an
average of 24 points and last suffered a regulation defeat at Bankers Life
Fieldhouse on Dec. 7 against the Nuggets. The Clippers ended the impressive run
by forcing 20 turnovers and holding off a late push led by Paul George to earn
their seventh win in their last eight games. Jamal Crawford scored 23 points
while Blake Griffin added 18 with 14 rebounds for LA, which has already clinched
back-to-back winning seasons. George scored eight of his 20 points in the final
5:22, but Indiana, which was playing without suspended center Roy Hibbert,
still came up short. David West and Lance Stephenson checked in with 22 and 16
points, respectively, in the setback.
Final Score: Chicago 93, Philadelphia 82
Chicago, IL
(Sports Network) - Joakim Noah registered his third-career triple- double with
23 points, 21 rebounds and 11 blocked shots to lead the Chicago Bulls to a
93-82 win over the reeling Philadelphia 76ers at United Center. Carlos Boozer
added 21 points and 12 boards, while Luol Deng finished with 12 points, eight
rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who had dropped their last three games
at home entering the contest. Jrue Holiday scored 22 points on 10-of-18
shooting from the floor and Spencer Hawes added 20 points and 15 rebounds for
the Sixers, who have dropped a season-high seven straight.
Final Score: LA Lakers 116, Minnesota 94
Los Angeles,
CA (Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant scored 33 points in three quarters and the
Los Angeles Lakers continued the NBA's longest active winning streak over on
opponent with a 116-94 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers have won
21 straight against Minnesota and 13 in a row at Staples Center. They used an
efficient night from Bryant, five other double-digit scorers and 16 3-pointers
to keep their dominance going. Antawn Jamison had 17 points and eight rebounds,
while fellow reserves Jodie Meeks and Steve Blake chipped in 16 and 13 points,
respectively, in the win. J.J. Barea paced Minnesota with 20 points, but it
wasn't enough to snap the club's three-game slide. Luke Ridnour added 19
points, and Ricky Rubio totaled 13 points, 13 assists and eight boards in the
setback.
Top Plays of the
Night:
Game Highlights:
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