North Carolina Basketball: NBA Weekly Recap

Everyone played in most of their team's games during the week with the exception of Marvin Williams (ankle) who missed three of four. There were several strong performances among the former UNC standouts, as well as some poor performances sprinkled in.

Vince Carter found some of his old game, Antawn Jamison appears ageless and UNC players accounted for 64 points, 42 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocks from eight players during Saturday's games. Not staggering numbers, but at least there's plenty of playing time. 

Ty Lawson continued his bid to be considered one of the top point guards in the league after leading Denver to victory over the Miami Heat. Danny Green has been putting up very efficient numbers for limited playing time and Tyler Hansbrough has seen his time slightly slipping, leading to a drop in scoring output. 

Onward with the performances.

Ty Lawson

Ty Lawson missed Wednesday's game against the Nets but came storming back Friday against Miami, going 9 for 11 from the field with his only two misses coming from behind the arc. In addition to the 24 points he posted, he also had nine assists and two steals, but committed five turnovers. After 11 games played, he ranks 19th in the league in Field Goal Percentage at 52.2 percent. Among point guards he ranks second behind Mario Chalmers. 

Season:

17.1ppg,  6.3apg, 3.0rpg, 1.9spg

Last week:

1/14
Utah 106-96 Denver
13 points, eight assists, five rebounds, two steals 

1/13
Denver 117-104 Miami
24 points, nine assists, three rebounds, two steals

1/11
Denver 123-115 New Jersey
Did not play

1/9
New Orleans 94-81 Denver
15 points, three assists, three rebounds, one steal 

Next week:

1/17: Milwaukee (away)
1/18: Philadelphia (away)
1/20: Washington (away)
1/21: New York (away)

Antawn Jamison

While his scoring average dropped almost a point and a half from last week due to a couple of low scoring games, he also put up two 20+ point games in a row against Utah and Phoenix. At times he looks hobbled and at times he looks ageless. The power forward will expect more up and down weeks as the season goes on, but he is getting a good rest between games as Cleveland had the weekend off.

Season: 16.5ppg, 5.5rpg, 1.1apg, 1.1bpg, 1.1spg

Last three:

1/13
Lakers 97-92 Cleveland
Nine points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal

1/12
Cleveland 101-90 Phoenix
23 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals

1/10
Utah 113-105 Cleveland
22 points,  seven rebounds, two blocks, one assist, one steal

Next week:

1/16: Charlotte (away)
1/17: Golden State
1/20: Chicago
1/21: Atlanta (away)

Raymond Felton

Raymond Felton had probably his best week of the season, averaging high numbers across the board. In Portland's loss to San Antonio he had a strong defensive game, recording five steals and a block to go with his offensive output of 13 points and seven assists. 

As Felton continues to settle in with Portland, his numbers should go gradually up. His abysmal three-point percentage is going to increase closer to his career average and his points will be going up with it.

Season: 11.1ppg, 6.8apg, 2.8rpg

Last four:

1/14
Houston 107-105 Portland
13 points, five assists, four rebounds, two blocks

1/13
San Antonio 99-83 Portland
13 points, seven assists, five steals, one rebound, one block

1/11
Orlando 107-104 Portland
Seven points, eight assists, two rebounds

1/10
Portland 105-97 Clippers
17 points, eight assists, three steals, one rebound 

Next four:

1/16: New Orleans (away)
1/18: Atlanta (away)
1/20: Toronto (away)
1/21: Detroit (away)

Tyler Hansbrough

Tyler Hansbrough's point production has been slipping but he's remaining strong on the boards in limited minutes and is doing whatever else is necessary to help his team. 

Hansbrough's numbers could start to go back up if he gets more time, but he probably can't expect to get more time unless his offensive efficiency improves. His high Free Throw Percentage and knack for getting to the line isn't enough to offset his 38 percent Field Goal Percentage for long stretches of time, but he was rewarded for his clutch free throw shooting by being on the court for the end of the game against Toronto and hitting two key free throws in the dying seconds to clinch the win. 

Season: 11.7ppg, 6.2rpg, 1.1spg

Last four:

1/14
Indiana 97-83 Boston
Six points, six rebounds, two blocks

1/13
Indiana 95-90 Toronto
13 points, six rebounds, two assists, one block, one steal

1/11
Indiana 96-84 Atlanta
Eight points, two steals

1/9 
Philadelphia 96-86 Indiana
10 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal 

Next week:

1/18: Sacramento (away)
1/20: Golden State (away)
1/22: Lakers (away)

Danny Green

Danny Green continues to play well and is showing that he's a valuable bench player who can do more if given the opportunity. While at North Carolina, some doubted that he would be able to play in the NBA because of his occasional poor judgment and lack of end-to-end speed. But so far this season he's showing that he belongs. He's only averaging 16 minutes per game this season, but when he gets more time he consistently does more damage. He is shooting 57 percent over the past ten games from three-point range, and 48 percent on the season. This percentage puts him at number seven in the league among all Shooting Guards, and third in the league for bench Shooting Guards (among players who have played at least seven games). 

Season: 
 7.3ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.4apg, 0.9bpg

Last week:

1/15
San Antonio 102-91 Phoenix 
Seven points, three rebounds, one assist, one block 

1/13
San Antonio 99-83 Portland
13 points, six rebounds, three blocks, two assists, one steal 

1/11
San Antonio 101-95 Houston
Five points, four rebounds, one assist, one block

1/10
Milwaukee 106-103 San Antonio
Two points, two assists, one rebound, one steal - 5 minutes 

Next week:

1/17: Miami (away)
1/18: Orlando (away)
1/20: Sacramento
1/21: Houston (away)

Wayne Ellington

Wayne Ellington had another week of up and down play, capped off by a solid game against Atlanta on Saturday. There's no reason to expect anything to change in the future without more playing time, which isn't guaranteed at the moment.

Season: 

5.5ppg, 1.5rpg, 0.9spg

Last week:

1/14
Atlanta 93-91 Minnesota
13 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block 

1/13
Minnesota 87-80 New Orleans
Six points 

1/10
Chicago 111-100 Minnesota
Eight minutes, zeros across the board 

1/9 
Toronto 97-87 Minnesota
Five points, one rebound, one steal 

Next week:

1/16: Sacramento
1/18: Detroit
1/20: Clippers (away)
1/21: Utah (away)

Ed Davis

For 19 minutes per game, Ed Davis has good averages for rebounds and blocks, but unfortunately there's no sign that his playing time is going to be noticeably increase without an injury in the starting lineup. He simply hasn't done enough to secure more time, but there will plenty of opportunity in the future. After all, he's only in his second season.

Season: 

5.2ppg, 5.4rpg, 0.7bpg

Last week:

1/14
Chicago 77-64 Toronto
2 points, five rebounds, one block 

1/13
Indiana 95-90 Toronto
Six points, 10 rebounds, three assists, one block 

1/11
Sacramento 98-91 Toronto
Six points, six rebounds, one steal

1/10 
Washington 93-78 Toronto
Five points, nine rebounds, three blocks, one assist 

Next week:

1/16: Atlanta (away)
1/18: Boston (away)
1/20: Portland
1/22: Clippers (away)

Vince Carter, Brendan Haywood, Brandan Wright

The Dallas Mavericks' trio of Tar Heels have been led by Vince Carter's solid play over the past week, scoring in double figures in three of four games. The Mavericks are on a five game winning streak after starting the season 3-5, and while not looking like a repeat contender yet, there's still plenty of fight in Mark Cuban's guys.

Season:

Vince Carter:
9.8ppg, 2.7rpg, 2.2apg 

Brendan Haywood:
5ppg, 6.1rpg, 0.8bpg

Brandan Wright:
5.2ppg, 2.5rpg, 0.7bpg

Last week:

1/14
Dallas 99-60 Sacramento
Carter:
16 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal

Haywood:
Two points, five rebounds, one block

Wright:
Four points, four rebounds 

1/13
Dallas 102-76 Milwaukee
Carter: 
16 points, two assists

Haywood:
Two points, three rebounds, three steals, one block

Wright:
Seven points, six rebounds, three blocks, one steal 

1/11
Dallas 90-85 Boston
Carter: 
Four points, three rebounds, three assists

Haywood:
Eight points, 11 rebounds

Wright:
Did not play 

1/10
Dallas 100-86 Detroit 
Carter:
11 points, five assists, three rebounds, three steals

Haywood:
Nine points, two rebounds, one block

Wright:
Nine points, two rebounds 

Next week:

1/16: Lakers (away)
1/18: Clippers (away)
1/19: Utah (away)
1/21:  New Orleans (away)

Marvin Williams

Marvin Williams was sidelined for most of the week with an ankle injury and missed three games because of it. He made his return to action on Saturday in Atlanta's narrow win over Minnesota.

Season:

10.6ppg, 6.2rpg, 1.3apg

Last game:

1/14
Atlanta 93-91 Minnesota
Eight points, eight rebounds, one assist 

Next week:

1/16: Toronto
1/18: Portland
1/20: Philadelphia (away)
1/21: Cleveland