One week before the All-Star break, former Duke standouts are either jostling for playoff position or anticipating getting healthy during the upcoming days off:
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers: Although he cooled off a bit after scoring 93 points in two games last week, Irving had solid performances in Cleveland's four wins this week. The 6-foot-3 point guard averaged 16.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists as the Cavaliers ran their winning streak to 12. Now 31-20, Cleveland is all of a sudden tied for third in the East and looking like the contender everyone was expecting when the season began. Irving did not erupt like he did last week, but still made plenty of nice moves this week, including this crossover Tuesday against Philadelphia.
In addition to being named an All-Star Game reserve, Irving will join J.J. Redick in the 3-point contest All-Star Saturday night, a competition he already won in 2013. Irving will also be looking to defend his All-Star Game MVP award Sunday night.
Mason Plumlee, Brooklyn Nets: Plumlee continued to be a solid contributor for the Nets without drastically changing games with his impact. The 6-foot-11 center is averaging 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and totaled 27 points in three games this week on 10-of-15 shooting. He also grabbed 25 rebounds as Brooklyn went 2-1 and won consecutive games for the first time in more than a month.
The big man will join Victor Oladipo, Zach La Vine and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Sprite Dunk Contest at his home arena Valentine’s Day after competing in the Rising Stars Challenge Feb. 13. The Nets will look to finish strong ahead of the All-Star break and are now 20-28. Brooklyn is still in a fight with Miami and Charlotte for the final two playoff spots.
J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers: It was a tough week for the Clippers—who went 1-3 and were dominated by Cleveland Thursday night—and things were not much better for Redick individually. The sharpshooter continues to be limited by back spasms and missed Thursday's game after playing just four minutes Monday.
Redick scored 21 points on 19-of-30 shooting and added five rebounds and five assists in Los Angeles' two other games this week, but will look to get healthy as the Clippers gear up for another playoff run. Los Angeles is 34-16 and fifth in the West.
Gerald Henderson, Charlotte Hornets: The Hornets are officially surging and Henderson is a big reason why. Charlotte went 3-0 this week to vault itself into the No. 7 spot in the East and two big games from its shooting guard against the Wizards in consecutive contests certainly helped. Monday against Washington, Henderson had 17 points and five assists as the Hornets prevailed 92-88, then Thursday he put up one of the best performances of his career, racking up 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting and adding four rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a 94-87 win.
Luol Deng, Miami Heat: Due to a calf injury, Deng missed two of Miami's four games this week and the team continued trending down, going just 1-3 and watching the Hornets jump them in the standings. Deng scored in double figures in his first two games following his return from injury Tuesday and Wednesday, but the Heat still fell to the Pistons and Timberwolves. Despite the unsatisfying result, the fact that the 6-foot-9 small forward looked like himself by scoring 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting Wednesday should be one of the few bright spots as Miami approaches the All-Star break.
Hassan Whiteside is taking the league by storm with his play up front, but Miami will likely need strong stretches from Deng and veterans Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to right the ship.
Carlos Boozer, Los Angeles Lakers: Boozer is having a solid campaign despite the disaster around him, averaging 12.6 points on 52.6 percent shooting and 7.0 rebounds per game. This week, he had 47 points, 19 rebounds and five assists in two games, losses to Milwaukee and New York. Against the Bucks Wednesday, he put up a season-high 28 points on 13-of-21 shooting in 37 minutes. Although the Lakers never really got going this season, they could have a few nice pieces next year if injured rookie Julius Randle and the high draft pick Los Angeles seems destined to get this season pan out.
Kyle Singler, Detroit Pistons: Singler continued playing good basketball as a role player as the Pistons went 2-1 this week. He averaged 11.7 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game and knocked down seven triples. Detroit is now 19-31 and has a chance to make the playoffs if it can string some wins together after the All-Star break.
Austin Rivers, Los Angeles Clippers: With Redick banged up and his team struggling, Rivers got more solid minutes on the court for his father and performed okay. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 9.0 points on 41.2 percent shooting in 18.0 minutes per game and appeared in all four of the team's games this week. His most active performance came when the Clippers fell to Cleveland 105-94 in a game that was over by the end of the third quarter, as Rivers added five rebounds and five assists to go along with his 10 points.
He is still likely not playing as efficiently as he would like to, but so far the move to Los Angeles has been good for the third-year pro.
Lance Thomas, New York Knicks: Thomas struggled Sunday, scoring two points in New York's win against the Lakers, but bounced back Tuesday with an 11-point effort in 25 minutes as the Knicks fell to the Celtics. Despite his improved performance, the forward made more news for this awful flop as he tried to get a call.
New York is 5-5 in its last 10 games, which has fans who had been salivating while watching Duke's Jahlil Okafor and dreaming about the No. 1 pick grumbling. If the Knicks continue playing decent basketball, their chances in the lottery could take a major hit.
Injured:
Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks (out for season)
Josh McRoberts, Miami Heat (out for season)
Rodney Hood, Utah Jazz
Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Chicago Bulls
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