Anthony Davis Serves Reminder of MVP Candidacy and Sunday NBA Takeaways
Anthony Davis should be the leading candidate for this year's Most Valuable Player award, and he offered more support for that argument in the New Orleans Pelicans' 101-99 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
Davis poured in 38 points on 16-of-22 shooting, snared 12 rebounds and blocked three shots in 37 minutes. It was a performance that would have been remarkable for almost anyone else. For Davis, it was just another game.
We've seen a player put up at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in a game seven times this year, per Basketball-Reference. Davis is responsible for five of them.
On the season, he's shooting 57.9 percent from the field, ranks third in scoring, 11th in rebounds, first in blocks and, most remarkably, leads the league in player efficiency rating by a comical margin. Though you've probably heard by now, it bears repeating: If Davis keeps this up, he'll finish the year with the single highest PER in the history of the NBA.
| 2014-15 | Anthony Davis | 33.0 | 21 |
| 1962-63 | Wilt Chamberlain | 31.8 | 26 |
| 1961-62 | Wilt Chamberlain | 31.7 | 25 |
| 2008-09 | LeBron James | 31.7 | 24 |
| 1987-88 | Michael Jordan | 31.7 | 24 |
Despite Davis' historically unparalleled brilliance, there's still a chance his team's record will preclude him from serious MVP consideration. It's hard to think of a greater basketball injustice.
Asking Davis to do more for the New Orleans Pelicans is absurd because (and really digest this for a second) nobody has ever been more statistically productive for any team! Ever.
Not once.
Penalizing Davis for the performance of his teammates might be defensible if any other candidate were on the same historic pace Davis is. But no one in the league comes close. Pelicans coach Monty Williams had this to say, per Pelicans.com reporter Jim Eichenhofer:
Though Davis almost never hunts shots or initiates late-game takeovers, he made a concerted effort to impact the contest against Oklahoma City in crunch time. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including New Orleans' final five. And when Russell Westbrook's potential go-ahead three with 34 seconds remaining didn't go down, it was Davis who corralled the critical board.
Note, too, that AD put together such an incredible game against OKC's Serge Ibaka, supposedly one of the NBA's best big-man defenders. The Oklahoman reporter Anthony Slater notes this combined stat:
When it comes to the Brow, even the most able stoppers fall short.
Sunday's effort proved Davis is doing everything—short of cloning himself—to help the Pelicans win.
It bears mentioning that Kevin Durant didn't play Sunday, and the Thunder put together an ugly stretch of late-game (lack of) execution that allowed New Orleans to survive its own drought. None of that detracts from what AD did.
Yes, Stephen Curry is playing terrific ball for the transcendent Golden State Warriors. James Harden has been fantastic for a Houston Rockets team that thrived during a rough stretch without Dwight Howard. LeBron James will probably be heard from before the year's out.
All of those players will be part of the MVP debate this year, and all of them deserve to be.
But none have been better than Davis—not statistically and definitely not in the hard-to-quantify feeling you get when seeing a player you know represents a new phase in athletic evolution.
Davis leads the world in those areas, and he reminded everyone Sunday that he should be the leader in the MVP discussion. And if you missed him serving notice of his unmatched dominance, just wait a few days.
He'll do it again.
Around the Association
Kobe Needs a Break
DeMarcus Cousins bolstered his superstar credentials with 29 points (on just 19 shots), 14 rebounds and three blocks in a 108-101 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers. And if we were only interested in the positives, we'd stop there.
We can't though, because Kobe Bryant put on a performance that rightfully belongs in the record books…for all the wrong reasons. Tom Ziller quotes The Grant Napear Show on the NBA broadcast:
".@GrantNapearshow saying on an NBA broadcast that watching Kobe play like this is sad. #NBABallot
— Tom Ziller (@teamziller) December 22, 2014"
In 37 minutes, Bryant shot 8-of-30 from the field, posted a minus-17 and turned the ball over nine times. His 22 misses and nine giveaways made him just the third player in the last 30 years to achieve those feats in the same game, per Basketball-Reference.
Mercifully, Lakers head coach Byron Scott is thinking about making some changes. USA Today's Sam Amick has this observation from Coach Scott:
It's hard to know who needs the break more, Lakers fans who had to watch the game or Kobe himself.
Cavs Quietly Figuring Out Who They Are
The Cleveland Cavaliers have struggled to defend all year, but during an under-the-radar surge over the past few weeks, they've proved offense alone can get the job done sometimes.
Cleveland shot 60.5 percent from the field in a 105-91 win over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, flashing some serious scoring balance. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Anderson Varejao and Dion Waiters combined for 81 points on 67.4 percent shooting.
Over the last 14 games, the Cavs have collected 11 wins while ranking third in the league in offensive efficiency, per NBA.com. Their defense during that stretch has been decidedly middle-of-the-pack—16th in the league, to be exact. There should still be serious questions about whether a team this one-sided can compete for a title.
For now, though, the wins and buckets keep coming.
They Call It "Sunday Funday" for a Reason
There were some sweet jams on Sunday, and it seems appropriate to appreciate a few of them in sequence.
First, Terrence Ross jumped high and far—a solid approach when a good dunk is the goal:
Then, LeBron contributed to the cause:
Finally, James Ennis chipped in:
Fun!
Mason Plumlee Is a Bright Spot, Which Is Sad
In a 110-105 win against the Detroit Pistons that featured a bevy of bizarre late-game fouls and horrible free-throw shooting, the Brooklyn Nets got yet another reminder of the cost of their bad contracts.
Mason Plumlee turned in 21 points and 12 rebounds, continuing a solid stretch that has seen him average 18 points and 10.2 boards over his last five games. How is that sad?
Because in order to get rid of Deron Williams' bloated contract, the Nets may have to part ways with Plumlee. That's what Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported when rumors surfaced of trade talks between the Nets and Kings, and we should expect the young, inexpensive, promising Plumlee to be required as a sweetener in virtually every deal going forward.
As such, Plumlee's rapid accumulation of points and boards will continue to be a bittersweet affair for Brooklyn fans.
Erik Spoelstra Knows What He's Doing
Without Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Miami Heat comfortably knocked off the visiting Boston Celtics, 100-84. Though head coach Erik Spoelstra would no doubt have preferred to have his big guns in the lineup, you could sense his satisfaction after the victory. The Palm Beach Post writer Jason Lieser quotes Spoelstra:
Luol Deng scored 23 points, and five other Heat players reached double figures. As a team, the Heat turned the ball over just eight times. Miami Herald writer Joseph Goodman has this from Spoelstra:
It's easy to cite Pat Riley and the attractiveness of living in Miami as the main reasons to believe the Heat won't be mediocre for long. But having a coach like Spoelstra, who has shown the ability to win without elite talent and, more importantly, that he prizes team play above everything else, sure helps.
There Aren't Many Reasons to Feature the Sixers
But a win warrants a mention. As HoopsHype notes:
The Philadelphia 76ers notched victory No. 3 on Sunday, and the Orlando Magic were their unfortunate victims in the 96-88 affair.
Michael Carter-Williams led Philly with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and Nerlens Noel contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Next on the Sixers' to-do list: Win one at home. All three of their triumphs have come on the road this year.
The Suns Might Be Sorting Things Out
Messy stretches persist, and the jury's still out on whether this whole experiment with three point guards will work out, but the Phoenix Suns have now won three straight. The latest victory was Sunday's 104-92 result on the road against the Washington Wizards. Kyle Weidie of The Truth About It quotes Wizards head coach Randy Wittman on the team's effort:
You might assume Phoenix's modest surge is the result of taking on three straight squads from the East, but Goran Dragic and Co. hadn't exactly been mopping up against the inferior conference in their previous chances.
The Suns lost to Miami, Detroit and Milwaukee during their six-game slide from Dec. 6 to Dec. 15.
Perhaps it's a combination of natural regression, improving chemistry and, believe it or not, Alex Len looking like an NBA player. The second-year center had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks against Washington.
Though they'll continue to be a guard-oriented club, the Suns probably wouldn't mind getting more games like this out of last season's fifth overall pick.
