Damian Lillard
The Portland Trail Blazers really needed a strong week to push them ahead in the Western Conference. Instead, the split 4 games and went 2-2 on the week, giving them a 22-20 record on the season. They now find themselves in the 6th seed in the Western Conference, only one game ahead of the 9th seed-Los Angeles Clippers. Despite their bad week, one of their players had a great showing, and that was Damian Lillard. For the week, Lillard averaged 26 points, 8 assists, and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 47% from the field.
Kevin Durant
Coming off a week that saw him miss two games, Kevin Durant returned to the court following a calf injury. After missing one game this week, Durant helped lead the Golden State Warriors to a 2-1 record with him on the floor, giving them a 3-1 record for the week and a league-best 35-9 record on the season. Durant, of course, played no small role in the Warriors' continued success this season. For the week, Durant averaged 30.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal per game while shooting 64% from the field and 58% from three-point range. Durant's best game came in his first game back against the Los Angeles Clippers when he put up 40 points on 14/18 shooting (78%) and 6/7 three-point shooting (86%). Despite that great showing, the Warriors lost? Why...
Lou Williams
This guy. This guy is why. Career-sixth man Lou Williams has been having a phenomenal season with the Los Angeles Clippers. With the Clippers' roster being riddled with injury this season, somebody was going to have to step up and save this team. Lou Williams was that guy. He's been putting up crazy great numbers for months now, and he's currently putting up career highs in points, assists, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free-throw shooting. This week, Williams continued his fantastic season with a fantastic week, leading the Clippers to a perfect 4-0 record on the week and pushing them up to a 21-21 record on the season. They now find themselves less than one game out of the playoffs behind the 8th-seed Denver Nuggets. For the week, Williams averaged 35 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 46% from the field, 46% from three-point range, and 97% from the free throw line. As I mentioned before, Williams spoiled Kevin Durant's great return from injury when he dropped a career-high 50 points and dished out 7 assists to give the Clippers a huge 19-point win over the defending champion Warriors.
Stephen Curry
The Warriors' blowout loss to the Clippers this past week might have had to do with the absence of Stephen Curry. Curry only played in two games out of the Warriors' four and had strong showings in each of them. While I'm not saying Clippers beat the Warriors purely because Curry didn't play against them, but it probably is why they beat them by so much. Going back to Curry, he did have a strong week after playing only two games. For the week. Curry averaged 28 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 52% from the field and 41% from three-point range.
Andre Drummond
Andre Drummond might not be the strongest scorer (he's got the lowest points per game of anyone on this list and is the only person who scores under 20 points per game to make these lists more than once), but he shouldn't be overlooked one bit by anyone following the NBA right now. The Pistons might have had a bad week this past week, going 1-2 and falling to a 22-19 record on the year, but Andre Drummond still had a great week for himself. For the week, Drummond averaged 19.7 points, 16.3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks per game while shooting 60% from the field. Drummond's best performance of the week came in the Pistons' huge 34-point win over the Brooklyn Nets, in which Drummond recorded 22 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
DeMarcus Cousins
Every week, I come on this blog, start up this list, and write about how the New Orleans Pelicans are the most average team in basketball, as they constantly have a .500 record. However, this week is different, because the New Orleans Pelicans are not average...they are SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE! Following a week where they went 2-1, the Pelicans now find themselves with a 21-20 record on the year, putting them at the 7th seed in the Western Conference. A big part of their success came from their two all-stars. The first of which is DeMarcus Cousins. For the week, Cousins averaged 24.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks per game while shooting 44% from the field and 43% from three-point range. Cousins best game came in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers when he put up 24 points, 19 rebounds, and 8 assists for a near triple-double.
Anthony Davis
The second all-star that had a stellar week for the New Orleans Pelicans was Anthony Davis, Davis only played in two of the Pelicans' three games this past week, but had a huge impact in both games, leading the team to wins in both. For the week, Davis averaged 33 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting a fantastic 76% from the field, 50% from three-point range, and 90% from the free-throw line. Stay tuned for next week, where the Pelicans will likely go 1-2 and fall back to a .500 average so order can be restored and I can go back to writing about how average they really are.
Chris Paul
Chris Paul's season has had its share of ups and downs, but this past week was definitely an up for him. In a week that saw them play three games, the Houston Rockets went on to win all three of them and moved up to a 30-11 record on the season, cementing them firmly in the 2nd seed in the Western Conference. With James Harden currently nursing a hamstring strain that will keep him on the DL until at least the end of January, it was up to Chris Paul to lead the way for the Rockets and lead the way he did. For the week, Paul averaged 28.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and a block per game while shooting 47% from the field and 90% from the free throw line. Paul's best performance of the week came in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers where he put up 37 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals.
John Wall
Following the best year of his career, John Wall has been...a bit disappointing this season, honestly. His numbers have dropped from his previous season, he's averaging under 10 assists per game for the first time since 2014, and his free throw percentage has dropped from 80% last year to just 70% this year. However, this past week it looked like the John Wall of old was back in action...if you can call the 2016-17 John Wall old. This week, Wall led the Wizards to a 2-1 record on the week and pushed them up to a 25-18 record on the season, putting them in the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. For the week, Wall averaged 29.3 points, 4 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 50% from the field and 40% from three-point range. Wall's best performance came in a loss to the Utah Jazz where he put up 35 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals.
Russell Westbrook
And rounding out my list for player of the week is, once again, Russell Westbrook. For the third week in a row, Westbrook outshined everyone on the court and had the best week out of everyone statistically. The Oklahoma City Thunder did have a rough week, going 1-3 on the week and fell down to a 23-20 record on the season, currently putting them in the 5th seed in the Western Conference. However, Westbrook's stat line was fantastic and even though his team lost more than they won this week, he still deserves to be the player of the week big time. For the week, Westbrook averaged 27.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 2.8 steals per game while shooting 47% from the field. Westbrook recorded one triple-double this week in a loss to the Phoenix Suns (26 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) and in another loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves put up 38 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals.
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