January 2014 In ReviewTeam Record: 23-21 (7-8) | T-3rd division, T-5th in conferenceCharlotte had a 7-8 record in January, but own the tiebreakers in the tight race for 5th place. The team's continued improvement over last year can be chalked up to the strong swingman play, where the much-improved Bradley Beal, solid Luol Deng and sixth man of the year candidate Wilson Chandler have been making big contributions. Bargnani has seen his raw numbers fall, but he still leads the team in scoring at 22 per.
After seven games with the team, forward Rashard Lewis was waived.
Playoff Picture:Eastern Conference1 Miami 34-10 | .773%
2 New York 32-13 | .711% | 2.5 GB
3 Detroit 24-21 | .533% | 10.5 GB
4 Washington 24-21 | .533% | 10.5 GB
5 Charlotte 23-21 | .523% | 11 GB6 Atlanta 23-21 | .523% | 11 GB
7 Orlando 24-22 | .522% | 11 GB
8 Chicago 22-21 | .512% | 11.5 GB
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Brooklyn 22-24 | .478% | 13 GB
Indiana 22-24 | .478% | 13 GB
Boston 21-23 | .478% | 13 GB
Western Conference1 Oklahoma City 29-14 | .674%
2 Memphis 27-16 | 628% | 2 GB
3 Sacramento 25-20 | .556% | 5 GB
4 Houston 22-19 | .537% | 6 GB
5 Golden State 23-20 | .535% | 6 GB
6 LA Lakers 23-21 |.523% | 6.5 GB
7 Utah 22-21 | .512% | 7 GB
8 Dallas 24-23 | .511% | 7 GB
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LA Clippers 23-23 | .500% | 7.5 GB
San Antonio 21-23 | .477% | 8.5 GB
Denver 20-26 | .435% | 10.5 GB
Award Races:Most Valuable Player:1. LeBron James (MIA) | 26.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 6 APG, 2.4 SPG
2. Carmelo Anthony (NYK) | 24.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG
3. Russell Westbrook (OKC) | 21.9 PPG, 5.9 APG, 5.3 RPG, 2.5 SPG
4. Dwyane Wade (MIA) | 23.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.7 APG
5. Derrick Rose (CHI) | 27.3 PPG, 8.1 APG, 4 RPG
Rookie of the Year:1. Bradley Rice (SA) | 22.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG
2. Abraham Huffman (POR) | 13.1 PPG, 6.7 APG, 2.9 RPG
3. Elton Fleming (ORL) | 17.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Sixth Man of the Year:1. Wilson Chandler (CHA) | 12.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG
2. Kenny Young (DEN) | 13 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.7 RPG
3. Axel Gomez (PHI) | 11.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 3.1 APG
Defensive Player of the Year:1. Josh Smith (ATL) | 14-6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.0 SPG, 1.5 BPG
2. Anthony Davis (NO) | 11.4 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.2 BPG, 0.8 SPG
3. Kenneth Faried (DEN) | 9.7 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 1.3 BPG
Most Improved Player:1. Leo Lai (GS) | 6.6 PPG, .497% FG -> 21.0 PPG, 3.0 APG, 2.7 RPG, .465% FG
2. Marcus Morris (GS) | 6.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG -> 15.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG
3. Perry Jones (PHI) | 4.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG -> 10.4 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.9 APG
All-Star Votes:EastGuards:
Derrick Rose (CHI): 1927937, Dwyane Wade (MIA): 1652644, Rajon Rondo (BOS): 1159173, Deron Williams (BRK): 1030926, Kyrie Irving (CLE): 904055
Forwards:
LeBron James (MIA): 2348047, Carmelo Anthony (NY): 1505510, Josh Smith (ATL): 1052121, Andre Iguodala (ATL): 1031542; Amar'e Stoudemire (NY): 980198
Centers:
Dwight Howard (ORL): 1244706, Joakim Noah (CHI): 876926, Brook Lopez (BRK): 807706, Al Horford (ATL): 764358, Roy Hibbert (IND): 673249
WestGuards:
Chris Paul (LAC): 1737765, Kobe Bryant (LAL): 1376054, Russell Westbrook (OKC): 1367331, Stephen Curry (GS): 1071647, Eric Gordon (NO): 1019475
Forwards:
Blake Griffin (LAC): 1509056, Kevin Love (MIN): 1239111, Dirk Nowitzki (DAL): 1198394, Kevin Durant (OKC): 1148755, LaMarcus Aldridge (POR): 962932
Center:
Al Jefferson (UTA): 977271; Andrew Bynum (LAL): 926223; Tim Duncan (SA): 704676, Marc Gasol (MEM): 673618, Andrew Bogut (HOU): 612743
*NLSC Rookie Report*Da'Vonte Hughes (UTA) | 5.9 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Dan Podolski (SAC) | 1.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.8 APG
TransactionsSpurs trade DeJuan Blair, James Anderson to Pacers for George Hill, Hakan Kerimoglu


The Spurs have re-acquired point guard George Hill from the Pacers for big man DeJuan Blair and swingman James Anderson. San Antonio replaces Tony Parker with a solid starter, and it cost them a pair of guys who were out of the rotation. Kerimoglu is expected to be waived. The Pacers shore up their frontcourt rotation with Blair and hope to get something out of James Anderson. However, they lose their starting point guard, and will have to rely on second year guard Scott Machado, and recent signing Patrick Mills to run the point.
Spurs grade: A |
Pacers grade: D
Pacers sign Patrick Mills (1 yr, $487k)
Bulls sign Chase Budinger (1 yr, $1.51M)
Grizzlies sign Brandon Rush (1 yr, $1.56M)
Spurs sign Anthony Morrow (1 yr, $2.52M)
Jazz sign Gary Neal (1 yr, $1.76M)
Rashard Lewis waived by Bobcats (7 games, 2 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 5.4 MPG)