NBA Team of the Week (Jan. 8 - Jan. 14)

We are back with our Team of the Week! There were many highlights in the week:

LeBron James having his worst box plus-minus in a game(-39) of his career, Cleveland Cavaliers going 0-3 in the week, Lou Williams dropping 50 on the Dubs, Kevin Durant becoming the second youngest player in the history to reach 20000 career regular season points, the Minnesota Timberwolves looking like a contender and what not!

In all this huss fuss, there were few players who stood out. So without further ado, let's have our Team of the Week!

#6th man- Bam Adebayo

BAM Adebayo

Team Record: 3-0

Player stats in the week: 12.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 4.7 apg on 48.3% shooting,

There were many solid 6th man, for whom the case for 6th man of the week can be made.

We went with the BAM BAM BIGELOW! The 20-year-old, who was the 14th pick of NBA Draft in 2017, brings energy and toughness from the bench, that transcends onto the whole team. In the win against the Toronto Raptors, Bam had 16 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Along with Whiteside, they kind of are the Junior Twin Towers (Davis-Cousins obviously are the senior one) and they make one of the best defensive frontcourts right now. Heat has been winning as of late and is only 1 game behind the troubled Cavs. Let's hope BAM gets even better and better.

Other contenders for this position this week:

Davis Bertans, Tyrone Wallace, Gerald Green, Kyle Kuzma, Lance Stephenson

#Point Guard- Lou Williams

Lou Williams

Team Record: 4-0

Player Stats in the week: 35.0 ppg, 4.8 apg on 46.3% shooting, 45.7% from threes,

Oh, my. I don't think that Lou is now aiming for the 6th man award, instead, he is trying for the MVP. I know it's too far out, but man! He has been playing completely sensational over the last one month or so! The guy is a pure scorer.

First of all, he dropped 50 on the Golden State Warriors, clipping Clippers' losing streak against the reigning champs. Other than that, he had games of 34, 30 and 26 in the week. It's really amazing that despite upgrading from the bench to starting line-up, he still makes our team of the week over so many superstars point guards.

Keep it up, Lou.

Other Contenders for this position this week:

Chris Paul (3-0, 28.7 ppg, 8.7 apg, 7.7 rpg)

Goran Dragic (3-0, 23.0 ppg, 5.0 apg, 6.0 rpg)

John Wall (2-1, 29.3 ppg, 12.0 apg)

#Shooting Guard- Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler

Team Record: 4-0

Player Stats in the Week: 21.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.8 apg on 55.1% shooting, 58.3% from threes

This was the toughest decision to make this week. Butler's advanced stats and team's success made him earn this accolade. It's not too late to jump on the Timberwolves' bandwagon. They went 4-0 this week with romping wins over Cleveland and the Oklahoma City Thunder, defeated the struggling Knicks convincingly and then had a close victory over Portland.

Who would've thought that Minnesota can improve this significantly in one season?

Before coming into the season, making the Playoffs would've been their target as they haven't made playoffs in 14 years (the longest active drought), but now it must be to snatch that home court advantage in the first round.

Next week, in two great matches, against the Houston Rockets and Raptors, we will see how much of a force they really are.

#Small Forward- Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant

Team Record: 2-1

Player stats in the week: 30.3 ppg, 5.0 apg on 64.3% shooting, 57.8% from threes

First of all, shoutout to Durant for becoming the second youngest player to cross 20000 points in NBA regular season.

Now to this week's performance, he first dropped 40 against Clippers, in the game he crossed 20000 points, on 77.8% shooting and 6-of-7 from threes. Although Golden State lost that game, thanks to Sweet Lou, that doesn't take anything against Durant's performance in that game. He also had a decent outing Milwaukee and Toronto on the road, hitting the go-ahead shot against the latter.

Other contenders for this position this week:

Andrew Wiggins (4-0, 19.3 ppg)

Harrison Barnes (2-1, 19 ppg, 7.3 rpg on 46% from threes)

#Power Forward- Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis

Team Record: 3-0 (He didn't play in the Pelicans' loss to Grizzlies)

Player Stats in the Week: 38.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg, 1.3 spg on 67.2% shooting, 37.5% from threes

Woah!

What a week for Anthony Davis. Still can't believe he is just 24 years old! He first went for 30 points against Detroit on 86% shooting, then for 36 points against Portland on 70% shooting and then finally the blockbuster performance of 48 points and 17 rebounds against the Knicks on 57% shooting. Pelicans will be facing Celtics this week and that will be an interesting matchup.

Other contenders for this position this week:

Draymond Green (3-1, 16.3 ppg, 7 rpg, 7.3 apg)

Lauri Markkanen (2-1, 22.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg going 15/27 on threes)

LaMarcus Aldridge (2-1, 22 ppg, 7 rpg)

#Center- Karl-Anthony Towns

Karl Anthony Towns

Team Record: 4-0

Player stats in the week: 20 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 4.5 apg on 61% shooting, 58% from threes

KATMAN makes his appearance in our Team of the Week. Our second pick from the Timberwolves for the Team of the Week. With the week Minnesota had, they deserve to have 2 TOTW players. Towns' usage rate has dropped, he is scoring less than last year, but just behind half game than San Antonio Spurs, he won't mind it at all. His defense has been improving as of late, and if Thibodeau is able to make Minnesota an elite defensive team like he did with the Bulls few years back, then God save the league.

Other contenders for this position this week:

DeMarcus Cousins (3-1, 22 ppg, 13.3 rpg, 5 apg, 2.3 spg, 2.3 bpg)

Hassan Whiteside (3-0, 14.7 ppg, 13.3 rpg, 3.3 bpg)