by rise on Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:40 am
Dec. Recap
Alright, let's get this straight. Dirk Nowitzki is uber-clutch this season. In December's sixteen games, Dirk piled up four game winners, along with a 27-point fourth quarter performance against the Utah Jazz. Tyson Chandler has been an absolute beast on the boards and few can stop him. Over the first two months of the season, Chandler has 12.1 rebounds per game, good for third in the NBA behind only Dwight Howard (14.4) and Pau Gasol (13.0) and he beats elite rebounders Kevin Love (11.9) and Zach Randolph (11.5). Andre Iguodala isn't quite as hot as he was in November, but still kept his season averages around 20/6/6. Jason Kidd seemed to look more like himself this month and started all sixteen games. The bench has played spectacularly, as usual, while Shawn Marion and Jason Terry continue to average close to 30 points per game from the bench. The Mavs went 13-3 in the month of December and are on top of the Western Conference. The second-seeded Portland Blazers are a full four games behind.
Around the League:
-The Miami Heat are 27-4 and lead the league. LeBron James is averaging 27.7 ppg (3rd in NBA), 9.0 rpg (19th in NBA), and 8.1 apg (14th in NBA), while Dwyane Wade leads the league in scoring with 30.2 points per game.
-The Minnesota Timberwolves hold the NBA's worst record with a 5-29 record. Kevin Love leads the team in points (17.2 - 33rd in NBA) and rebounds (12.6 - 4th in NBA). He has 29 double-doubles in 34 games.
-The current MVP frontrunner is Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, who is averaging 29.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 8.1 apg, 2.2 spg, and 0.7 bpg in 38.8 mpg.
-The current Rookie Of The Year frontrunner is LA Clippers' Blake Griffin, who is averaging 21.1 ppg, 13.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.0 spg, and 0.6 bpg in 36.1 mpg.
-The current Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner is Miami's LeBron James, who is averaging 27.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 8.1 apg, 2.1 spg, and 1.7 bpg in 39.0 mpg.
-The current Most Improved Player of the Year frontrunner is Detroit's Will Bynum, who is averaging 19.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.9 spg, and 0.2 bpg in 34.4 mpg.
Transactions:
-The Oklahoma City Thunder signed Allen Iverson for the season.
-The Houston Rockets signed Adam Morrison for the season.
-The Atlanta Hawks signed Josh Boone for the season and released Etan Thomas.
-The Orlando Magic traded Jason Richardson and their 2011-2015 second round picks to Oklahoma City for Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, James Harden, and Oklahoma City's 2012 first round pick.
-The Washington Wizards traded Jordan Crawford, Javale McGee, and their 2011 second-round pick to the Toronto Raptors for Andrea Barganani and Leandro Barbosa.
-The Charlotte Bobcats traded Kwame Brown, Tyrus Thomas, Garrett Temple, and their 2011 and 2013 second-round picks to Denver for Nene, Chris Andersen, and Denver's first-round 2011 pick.
-The Sacramento Kings traded Samuel Dalembert and their 2011 first-round pick to Houston for Chase Budinger, Chuck Hayes, and Hasheem Thabeet.
-The Milwaukee Bucks traded Drew Gooden and a 2013 first round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Gary Neal.
-The Utah Jazz traded Andrei Kirilenko to the New Jersey Nets for Brook Lopez and their 2016 second-round pick.
Injuries:
-The Portland Trailblazers lost Greg Oden for the season and Brandon Roy until March with knee injuries.
-The Boston Celtics lost Delonte West until March with a sprained knee.
-The Minnesota Timberwolves lost Michael Beasley until February with a moderate to severe concussion.
-The Charlotte Bobcats lost Dante Cunningham for the season with a torn ACL.
-The Chicago Bulls lost Carlos Boozer until February with a broken elbow.
-The Utah Jazz lost Paul Millsap until late January with a broken foot.
-The Toronto Raptors lost Andrea Bargnani for the season with a meniscus tear and Demar Derozan until March with a back injury.
-The Cleveland Cavaliers lost JJ Hickson and Alonzo Gee for the season with a broken hand and a torn MCL, respectively.
-Houston's Yao Ming announced his retirement due to an ankle injury.
-Utah's Mehmet Okur announced his retirement due to foot injuries.
Notes:
-Jason Terry missed three games after spraining his ankle.
-Peja Stojakovic missed three games with a broken finger and another two with a sore leg.
-Ian Mahinmi missed six games with a sprained wrist and bruised elbow.
-Dirk Nowitzki set a new career-high with 54 points in a 122-77 blowout in Detroit. He also set a career high with 17 three-point attempts, of which he made six.
-Andre' Iguodala leads the NBA with six triple-doubles in the first two months of the NBA season.
-Dirk Nowitzki was named Western Player Of The Week three times in December.
Stats
Tyson Chandler - 9.9 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.5 bpg, 0.7 spg, 60.6 FG%, 0.0 3P%, 31 games
Dirk Nowitzki - 26.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 0.8 bpg, 1.4 spg, 54.0 FG%, 43.3 3P%, 26 games
Andre' Iguodala - 19.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 5.6 apg, 0.8 bpg, 1.4 spg, 40.8 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 31 games
Rodrigue Beaubois - 8.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.8 apg, 0.2 bpg, 0.5 spg, 44.4 FG%, 54.5 3P%, 30 games
Jason Kidd - 9.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 10.2 apg, 0.1 bpg, 1.7 spg, 36.4 FG%, 31.4 3P%, 28 games
Nazr Mohammed - 5.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 0.9 bpg, 0.5 spg, 46.2 FG%, 12.5 3P%, 31 games
Shawn Marion - 15.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.0 bpg, 1.3 spg, 43.3 FG%, 32.7 3P%, 31 games
Peja Stojakovic - 9.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.4 apg, 0.1 bpg, 0.9 spg, 40.6 FG%, 40.0 3P%, 23 games
Jason Terry - 13.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 5.0 apg, 0.4 bpg, 0.9 spg, 37.3 FG%, 28.7 3P%, 28 games
JJ Barea - 5.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 0.0 bpg, 0.1 spg, 55.6 FG%, 35.0 3P%, 24 games
Ian Mahinmi - 1.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.4 apg, 1.7 bpg, 0.4 spg, 66.7 FG%, 0.0 3P%, 21 games
Eric Maynor - 6.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 0.0 bpg, 1.0 spg, 20.0 FG%, 16.7 3P%, 18 games
Larry Hughes - 4.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.0 bpg, 1.0 spg, 30.0 FG%, 60.0 3P%, 3 games
Deshawn Stevenson - 3.2 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.2 bpg, 0.8 spg, 40.0 FG%, 16.7 3P%, 6 games
Jason Kapono - 5.3 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.0 bpg, 0.3 spg, 35.0 FG%, 50.0 3P%, 7 games