In this Position
Battle post, we will focus on the top five power forwards at this point in the
season. We will take into account just the players’ stats for the latest five
games of their respective teams. This will, hopefully, give us a more current
picture of each player’s production.
There’s not
a lot of movement really. LMA, Love, Blake… they’re all still here. Kevin Love
nearly got bumped down to #6, but he stays in the top five after his nice line
today (the Wolves still lost though).
Note: All of the following stats are based on each
player’s stats as computed by HoopsStats.com. They were taken on January
13, 2014 (Manila time).
5. Kevin Love (MIN) – 20.2ppg, 10.2rpg, 2.8apg, 2.2
triples per game, 45.8 3pt%, 23.6 EFF
Love
struggled against the mighty Spurs earlier in the week, but he bounced back
with a nice double-double (27 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 triples)
against Sac-Town today. The Wolves absorbed their fourth loss of the new year,
though, and that bumped them down to eleventh spot. This is why there’s a part
of me that wants him in a Lakers uniform soon.
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| So who's better? Kevin Love or Blake Griffin? Will Love join Griffin in Los Angeles soon? (image from Fansided.com) |
4. David Lee (GSW) – 21.4ppg, 10.8rpg, 3.4apg, 58.4
FG%, 26.8 EFF
Sure, Lee
got schooled by Kris Humphries (16 points and 14 rebounds) a few nights ago,
but he bounced back in a big way against the Nuggets today. He dropped 28 points
and 11 boards, though his Warriors lost. Lee has had a great start to the new
year, scoring 20 or more points in all but one game so far, with Golden State
going 5-2 in that stretch.
3. Anthony Davis (NOP) – 23.2ppg, 10.4rpg, 1.6spg,
2.2bpg, 55.0 FG%, 27.0 EFF
The Pelicans
had a forgettable trip through Texas this week, going 0-4, but at least their
prized young PF showed how he could hang with some of the league’s best bigs. Davis
averaged around 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks in that span, going up
against the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Dwight Howard, and Tim Duncan. Not too
shabby, eh?
2. Blake Griffin (LAC) – 24.0ppg, 8.0rpg, 5.6apg,
2.0spg, 56.7 FG%, 28.4 EFF
Blake has
been ultra-efficient in the past few games for the Clips, who have won six of
their last seven games. Griffin has been really active on both ends, even going
for 8 assists in two games. He has shown his versatility and ability to really
stuff the sheet beyond the points and rebounds. It looks like Griffin’s game is
continuing to grow, which makes the Clippers even more dangerous moving
forward.
1. LaMarcus Aldridge (POR) – 28.4ppg, 12.4rpg,
3.4apg, 2.0bpg, 49.1 FG%, 90.0 FT%, 32.4 EFF
Outside of
Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge has, arguably, been the best player since the
new year. He had a yawner (10 points) against the Cats to start ’14, but has
really torn things up since then. His latest masterpiece? A 32-point,
18-rebound, 4-assist beauty against the Cavs. Portland regained second spot
after that win, and are closing in on the conference-leading Spurs. If the
season ended today, LMA would be my MVP.
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| LaMarcus looks to be making the JUMP from All-Star to bona fide Superstar. (image by Bruce Ely/The Oregonian) |
Outside
looking in:
Terrence Jones (HOU) – 22.2 EFF
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) – 22.0 EFF
Serge Ibaka (OKC) – 20.8 EFF
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