For this week’s weekly awards, I’ll be looking at games played from 11/13 to 11/19.
MVP Performance of the Week: Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid wins our MVP Performance of the Week award.
I’ll be honest, I screwed up last week. I didn’t really look at “Most Valuable Player”, I looked at the performances of players that were in the race for MVP and that was unfair of me. Instead of looking at how players fared over the week, I’m just going to look at what player had the truest MVP game of the week. This is much simpler because 1) it’s less math and I’m terrible at math and 2) it’s less math.
Joel Embiid is quickly becoming one of the most impressive young big men in the league today. In the 76ers 115-109 win against the Lakers, Embiid finished with 46 points, 2 turnovers, 7 blocks, 7 assists, 15 rebounds, shot 2-3 from three, and shot 14-20 from the field. Not only did Embiid score a career high, but he also made history by being the first player with 45 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocks in a game since blocked shots became official in 1973-74 (ESPN).
2nd-Year Performance of the Week: Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown has already been pretty solid for the Celtics, but his performance Thursday night was just amazing. Brown finished with 22 points, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 7 rebounds, and shot 7-18 from the field. This would be a pretty decent stat-line but the fact that it came against the Warriors, and came only a day after Brown heard the news of a close friend’s passing, makes it stand out.
Most Entertaining Performance of the Week: Enes Kanter
Kanter’s performance this week deserves an award. Not only did he stand up to the “King” , but he also had some real gems off the court with this quote from his post-game interview: “Whatever you wanna call yourself – king, queen, princess, whatever – we’re gonna fight… and nobody’s gonna punk us” and the fact that he called out the president of Turkey on twitter.
What If? Play of the Week: Kyle Kuzma over Joel Embiid
The fact that this dunk by 6’9 Kuzma almost went in over 7’0 Joel Embiid’s head is absolutely insane.
Pass of the Week: Chris Paul Wraparound
Chris Paul’s first game back since his injury comes against the Suns, and he’s already making passes like this.
Bad Luck of the Week/ Hustle Play of the Week: Carmelo Anthony’s Toe Prevents Game Tying Shot
This play won two awards. The Bad Luck award goes to Carmelo Anthony and the fact that his toe, not his foot or his heel but his toe, was the reason why OKC didn’t get a chance to go to OT with San Antonio. The Hustle award goes to Russell Westbrook, who you can see spring in for not one but two offensive rebounds in the same possession.
What Worried Me About The Knicks This Week: Kristaps Porzingis
This is a new award that allows me to both complain about the Knicks, and talk about my feelings so I’m really killing two birds with one stone. Like many other fans at the start of the season, I was about ready to tattoo a Kristaps Porzingis jump shot on my body. He was outscoring lineups by himself, scoring 30 points a game, it just looked like it was going to be a great season. After a recent elbow injury, he just hasn’t been himself. I can live with him not scoring 30 points a game, that’s not what’s worrying me. What’s worrying me is the shooting. In the three games this week, Kristaps shot 18-53. I’ve been telling myself that two of those games were against pretty good teams like Cleveland and Toronto so it’s reasonable. I’ve been telling myself that he’s just in a shooting slump and he’ll bounce back. But the Knicks have a magical ability to regress, and I’m hoping that’s not what’s happening.
