Miles Plumlee, Phoenix Suns: Plumlee tweaked his ankle Sunday in a win over Denver, but he was able to bounce back Wednesday with an 11-point, seven-rebound effort against Roy Hibbert and the Pacers, a game which doubled as his best performance of the week. He's no longer averaging a double-double, but for the year his statistics are very respectable, with the second-year man tossing in 9.6 points and 8.7 boards per game.
Mason Plumlee, Brooklyn Nets: The Nets' 2014 turnaround has come at the expense of Plumlee's playing time—he has only played double-digit minutes in two of Brooklyn's nine contests in the new year. This week he played just 11 combined minutes in three games, all Brooklyn wins. He's averaging 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per game on the season.
Gerald Henderson, Charlotte Bobcats: On a team that lacks a true scorer, Henderson often has to pick up the slack, even if that means inefficient play. He didn't shoot better than 45 percent in a game this week, but he still managed to average 14.3 points per game, mostly due to his ability to get to the free throw line (12 attempts against Orlando; 10 against Toronto). On the season he's averaging 15.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Josh McRoberts, Charlotte Bobcats: McRoberts doesn't possess the flashiest game, but he can still be a key contributor when playing well, which he was this week. In each of his last five games, the point-forward has hit double-digit points while shooting 50 percent or better from the field. He also tossed in five or more dimes in all four games this week, and—perhaps not coincidentally—the Bobcats worked their way to a surprising 3-1 record this week.
Elton Brand, Atlanta Hawks: Brand's playing time has been off-and-on recently, as has his play. One night he's scoring seven points on perfect shooting against Brooklyn, while adding four rebounds and four blocks, and then he'll grab just one rebound in 13 minutes. However, things are looking up for Brand's playing time, as starting center Pero Antic will be out of action for the next 2-4 weeks.
Carlos Boozer, Chicago Bulls: Boozer started the week with some strong efforts, including a 15-point, 13-rebound outing against Philadelphia. However, he limped his way to a 4-for-16 shooting performance against the Lakers, and subsequently the big man sat out a matchup with Cleveland due to a calf strain. On the season, he's averaging 14.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Chicago Bulls: Dunleavy had one of his best outings of the year Wednesday, notching 22 points on just 14 shots, including 4-of-5 from 3-point land, in a win over the Cavaliers. The Bulls' recent three-game win streak can partially be attributed to the veteran small forward, who shot almost 53 percent from the field in those three games.
Luol Deng, Cleveland Cavaliers: Although Deng seemed to find his sea legs with Cleveland last week with two 25-plus performances, he regressed slightly this week, shooting just 36 percent from the field, including a 2-for-11 effort against his old Bulls teammates. Still, he'll surely continue to get many opportunities, playing for a team that needs a sidekick to help out Kyrie Irving.
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavaliers continue to struggle below .500 with a 1-2 week, but that was no fault of Irving, who broke 20 points in each contest. For the week he averaged 25.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game, a notch above his season-averages in each category. Irving also received a number of accolades this week. First, Kyrie was named to the USA Basketball player pool for the upcoming three summers. There, he'll have a chance to play for Coach Krzyzewski again, a bittersweet sight for Blue Devil fans. Then, Thursday night it was announced that Irving will be starting the 2014 All-Star game for the Eastern Conference next to Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George and LeBron James.
JJ Redick, Los Angeles Clippers: Chris Paul's absence has hurt the Clippers' efficiency, and one of the primary victims has been Redick. With the NBA's best point guard no longer feeding him easy looks, JJ shot just 20.8 percent from beyond the arc this week. However, with Paul expecting to return soon, the good times should continue to roll in LA, where Redick is averaging a career-high 16.4 points per game this year.
Ryan Kelly, Los Angeles Lakers: Kelly exploded onto the scene last week, starting with a career-high 20-point performance in a win over Boston Friday. He maintained his strong play throughout the week, notching 17 points and five rebounds against Toronto Sunday and pouring in 13 points and seven rebounds versus Chicago. Thursday Kelly took a slight step back, scoring seven points with five rebounds. The 26 minutes he played Thursday against Miami were the fewest since Jan. 14.
Shane Battier, Miami Heat: Battier was up-and-down this week, playing well in a win over Philadelphia—tallying 13 points, four rebounds, and three steals—and against Atlanta—11 points on perfect shooting outing. However, he managed just seven combined points in wins over Boston, Charlotte and Los Angeles. For the season, he averages 4.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
Kyle Singler, Detroit Pistons: Singler had one of his best games of the year in Detroit's win over Washington Saturday, scoring 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and grabbing four rebounds. In three games this week, he totaled 11.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
Austin Rivers, New Orleans Pelicans: Rivers, playing in the absence of Jrue Holliday, has been up-and-down in his most recent stint. After going scoreless against Golden State on Friday, he tallied nine points, three assists and three steals in a win over Memphis, and the second-year guard followed that up with a 12-point effort against Sacramento.
Eliot Williams, Philadelphia 76ers: The second-year shooting guard is getting more playing time as Philly struggles this season, but he's not doing much with it. Williams shot just 2-for-19 this week from the field—stats that aren't great for anyone, let alone a shooting guard. He's averaging 3.9 points per game on just 34.0 percent shooting this year.
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