A busy week for former Blue Devils in the NBA saw Kyrie Irving's new shoe release, Jabari Parker named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month and much, much more:
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers are finally on a roll, and that’s a scary thought. After Irving dropped 37 points, including a beautiful, high-off-the-glass game-clinching layup against the New York Knicks Thursday, Cleveland sealed its fifth win in a row.
Against New York, despite subpar performances from fellow stars LeBron James and Kevin Love, Irving was still able to shoot 12-of-18 from the field and make half of his six attempts from beyond the arc. He also did an excellent job of getting to the line, where he was 10-of-11 on the night. He supplemented his stellar scoring performance with a pair of steals and assists.
This efficiency came just two days and a game after a win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday in which Irving posted 28 points, also on 66.7 percent shooting, while assisting his teammates six times. Irving’s hot streak began, however, last Saturday where he had a double-double, behind 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Despite his busy week on the hardwood, Irving was also busy off it, as Nike launched the Kyrie 1 Wednesday. The shoe will go on sale Dec. 23 and cost $110. Irving torched the Knicks in his first game in the new shoes Thursday.
Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks
This week, Parker was awarded Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month after averaging 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals in November for Milwaukee. Although the Bucks dropped all three of their games this week to fall to a 10-10 record, that is still a massive overall improvement from last year’s dismal finish of 15-67.
In his last November game, Parker nearly had a double-double with 19 points and nine boards, but what was most impressive was his ability to get to the charity stripe, where he knocked down 13-of-14 free throw attempts. This aggressiveness will be key to the former one-and-done Blue Devil as he moves forward.
So far, in two December games, Parker is averaging 15.0 and 6.0 rebounds per contest, numbers that are on track to repeat as Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month.
Rodney Hood, Utah Jazz
After missing 10 games due to a foot injury, Hood returned to the lineup this week for the struggling Jazz and actually started for the first time in his career Wednesday due to an injury to starter Alec Burks. The southpaw had 10 points on just 3-of-8 shooting and 2-of-7 from downtown in 27 minutes and will have chances to improve his numbers as he gets his legs back and sees more opportunities.
Gerald Henderson, Charlotte Hornets
After starting slowly this season due to injury, Henderson is making a solid comeback as he gets healthy and comfortable in his sixth season. The explosive guard has averaged 10.6 points per game on 47.8 percent shooting in his last five games and has seen 28.8 minutes per contest during the stretch. Expect Henderson's numbers to continue rising as the Hornets try to recover from a horrendous start to the season.
Carlos Boozer, Los Angeles Lakers
Boozer had a strong 18-point, nine rebound effort last Sunday in a win against the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors. The forward shot 54.5 percent in the two games following the victory, scoring 14 in a win and managing 10 in a loss. The Lakers are barely out of last place in a tough Western Conference, but Boozer is being an efficient role player for Los Angeles this season, grabbing an average of eight rebounds per contest in his last three games.
Kyle Singler, Detroit Pistons
The 2010 National Champion started a game for the Pistons last Sunday, scoring nine points to supplement four rebounds and four assists. Singler continued to start when Detroit hosted the Lakers and then traveled to Boston, but only managed a combined eight points in those two games.
Luol Deng, Miami Heat
The small forward only averaged eight points per contest throughout the last three games for the Heat, well below his season average of 13.6. The Heat no longer have a better record than the Cavaliers after the departure of Lebron James after Deng failed to reach double digits in their last two games, both of which were losses.
Mason Plumlee
The Nets forward teased double-double territory this week, with a productive 10 points and eight boards in a win against the cross-city rival Knicks. This followed a night on which Plumlee missed half of his 10 attempts from the free-throw line and preceded a night where he had exactly two points in a two point victory against the Kings.
Austin Rivers, New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are the surprise team in the Western Conference, but have seen declining productivity from the streaky Rivers. The lottery pick, who will be forever remembered by his game-winning shot to beat North Carolina in 2012, is only averaging 6.6 points per game on the season on 39.4 percent shooting, and those numbers are declining with Rivers’ minutes. After a two-game stint as a starter at the end of November, Rivers only played 12 minutes off the bench in a win against the Thunder
Elton Brand, Atlanta Hawks
The former number one overall draft pick has seen his minutes and stats dip significantly across the past three seasons, but last Saturday he provided a solid performance of the bench, nearly cashing in with a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. It was just the third game he played in this season.
Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Chicago Bulls
In a double overtime loss to the Mavericks, Dunleavy reached the 20-point mark on 8-of-15 shooting. The former top-three pick played an extensive 48 minutes, partly due to a costly and unnecessary foul by Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich at the end of regulation to send the game into its first overtime.
Despite being in his 13th year in the league, Dunleavy is still showing he can be a solid contributor and is averaging 10.3 points per game. But despite Dunleavy's solid averages, the Bulls still need his 3-point percentage to increase from its current 36-percent clip if they want to reach their potential this season.
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