One man’s pain is another man’s pleasure.
That certainly rings true these days in San Antonio, where a former star big man has stepped up in the absence of OSPR mainstay Pau Gasol.
Over on the West Coast, a long-distance specialist regains his footing while a fresh face enters the chase for the very first time.
Notes: Season statistics are through games of Feb. 2
Any player who turns 33 during regular season can be added to rankings.
1. Dwyane Wade (35), Chicago Bulls
Last week’s rank: 1
Last week’s stats: 7 games, 19.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.0 apg
Season stats: 18.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.8 apg
Despite the recent noise blowing around in Chicago, Wade remained fairly consistent, hitting for 15 or more points in five of seven games while chipping in six or more boards five times. For the two-week stint, Wade averaged 23.0 points on 47.9 FG% in four wins compared to 14.3 points and 40 FG% in three losses. That’s unusual, since for the season Wade is averaging 18.7 on 43 FG% in 22 wins compared to 19.1 and 43 FG% in 23 losses.
http://www.nba.com/video/2016/11/11/20161110heat-pay-tribute-wade/
2. Zach Randolph (35), Memphis Grizzlies
Last week’s rank: 3
Last week’s stats: 7 games, 17.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.7 apg
Season stats: 14.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.7 apg
Talk about consistent: Randolph has gone for double-figure scoring in 19 of his last 20 games. He’s also managed to shoot better than 50 percent from the field in six of his last seven games. Of course it’s tough to figure his recent home/road splits: 15.7 points, 57.1 FG%, 57.1 FT% in three home games compared to 19.3 points, 62.5 FG% and 83.3 FT% in four road games.
3. Tyson Chandler (33), Phoenix Suns
Last week’s rank: 2
Last week’s stats: 7 games, 11.3 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 0.4 apg
Season stats: 8.8 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 0.6 apg
Chandler started strong enough, going for 15-plus rebounds in two of the first three games. But after that, he went for double-digit rebounds in just one of the remaining four games. The minutes have remained relatively the same (30.5 compared to 28.4 for the season). But maybe the heavy minutes are starting to slowly catch up with the big fella.
4. Jamal Crawford (36), LA Clippers
Last week’s rank: 10
Last week’s stats: 6 games, 15.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 4.0 apg
Season stats: 12.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.9 apg
Just when it looked like Crawford was going to slip off the list completely, he rallies back. Mired in a month-long slump, Crawford seemed to find his groove after a pregame chat with Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, going for 19 points that night followed up the next night with a season-high 27 points. After that, Crawford went for 14 or more in two of the next three games.
5. David Lee (33), San Antonio Spurs
Last week’s rank: NA
Last week’s stats: 7 games, 12.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.7 apg
Season stats: 7.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.6 apg
With Gasol sidelined, Lee has stepped in and stepped up big. Averaging 25.6 minutes over the last two weeks, Lee has shown flashes of his former All-Star self, shooting 60.7 from the field while scoring in double figures in seven of the last eight games. He’s also managed to secure three double-doubles over that same span. When given the playing time, Lee has shown he can still produce.
6. Dirk Nowitzki (38), Dallas Mavericks
Last week’s rank: 5
Last week’s stats: 6 games, 11.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.2 apg
Season stats: 12.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.5 apg
OK, maybe we got a bit too excited with Nowitzki’s play at the beginning and middle of January — going for double-figure scoring in nine straight games. Maybe this is more along the lines of what we should expect from the 38-year-old. On a positive note, Nowitzki did manage to score in double figures in three of the six games and pull down 10 rebounds in two of those games.
7. Jameer Nelson (34), Denver Nuggets
Last week’s rank: 8
Last week’s stats: 7 games, 10.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 5.9 apg
Season stats: 8.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 4.6 apg
It was a mixed bag for Nelson, who in four wins put up 13.3 points, 7.5 assists and 52.8 FG%. But in three losses, he went for just 6.0 points, 3.7 assists and 32.0 FG%. With Emmanuel Mudiay sidelined for the last five games, Nelson had been getting 30-plus minutes per game, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of the court Nelson sees once Mudiay takes back his starting gig.
8. Nene (34), Houston Rockets
Last week’s rank: NA
Last week’s stats: 5 games, 13.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.0 apg
Season stats: 8.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.9 apg
Despite averaging just 19 minutes per game, Nene secured four double-digit scoring games, shooting 71.1 from the field in the process. To add to that, he also chipped in 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocks. Of course, if we’re going to nitpick, we’d like to see more rebounds; just twice in the five games did Nene eclipse four rebounds. In fact, Nene has yet to grab 10 or more boards this season.
9. Andre Iguodala (33), Golden State Warriors
Last week’s rank: NA
Last week’s stats: 4 games, 10.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.3 apg
Season stats: 6.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.4 apg
Welcome to the club, young pup. Iguodala, who turned 33 on Jan. 28, will rarely blow you away in any one category, but he usually does a bit of everything (think Tony Allen). His four games were no exception, where in addition to the main categories shot 60 from the field, 58.3 from beyond the arc and 1.5 steals.
10. Channing Frye (33), Cleveland Cavaliers
Last week’s rank: Just missed
Last week’s stats: 7 games, 8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.3 apg
Season stats: 9.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.6 apg
With 13 points on Monday and 18 on Wednesday, Frye notched consecutive double-digit scoring games since Jan. 2-4. What made that more impressive is that those 31 combined points came in just 41 combined minutes. Talk about efficiency. Of course the other five games from the two-week stint left a lot to be desired, combining for just 28 points.
Just missed the cut: Devin Harris, Kyle Korver, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker
Will turn 33 this season: Zaza Pachulia (Feb. 10), Marcin Gortat (Feb. 17), Chris Bosh (March 24), C.J. Watson (April 17)
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