(BDCi) — The week in the NBA seemed to filled with lots of injuries with the regular season heading into the last month. For the Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving is out two weeks with a biceps injury but he hopes to return before the season is over. The Warriors who are battling for playoff positioning are resting two key starters with Andre Iguodala dealing with tendinitis in his knee and Andrew Bogut with inflammation in his ankle. In other news, the Charlotte Bobcats Al Jefferson and the Clippers Blake Griffin were named players of the week for the week of March 10 to the 16. Jefferson led the Bobcats to a 4-0 record behind averages of 24.3 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game. Griffin led the Clippers to a 4-0 record with averages of 27 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game. Griffin tallied 20 or more points in all four games and 30 or more in two of the games. Finally, Phil Jackson was welcomed by the New York Knicks crowd at Madison Square Garden for his first game as new team president. The Knicks welcomed him by beating the Pacers so this could be just what they need to get things going right.
EASTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1. Indiana Pacers (50-18) — lost to the Knicks in their last game
2. Miami Heat (46-20) — lost by five to the Celtics in their last game
3. Toronto Raptors (38-29) — defeated New Orleans by seven in their last game
4. Chicago Bulls (38-30) — defeated Philadelphia by eight in their last game
5. Brooklyn Nets (35-31) — winners of two in a row including a five point victory over the Bobcats in their last game
6. Washington Wizards (35-33) — losers of two in a row
7. Charlotte Bobcats (33-36) — losers of two in a row
8. Atlanta Hawks (31-35) — winners of five in a row and hanging onto the final playoff spot by four games over the Knicks
WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1. San Antonio Spurs (51-16) — winners of eleven in a row
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (50-18) — winners of two in a row
3. Los Angeles Clippers (48-21) — lost to Denver by ten in their last game
4. Houston Rockets (46-22) — winners of two in a row
5. Portland Trailblazers (45-24) — winners of two in a row
6. Golden State Warriors (44-26) — winners of three in a row
7. Memphis Grizzlies (40-27) — winners of two in a row
8. Dallas Mavericks (41-28) — lost in overtime to Minnesota in their last game and hanging onto the final playoff spot over Phoenix by a game and a half.
NBA Player Stats
Points-the top five scorers are: Kevin Durant-OKC (31.9), Carmelo Anthony-NYK (28.1), LeBron James-MIA (27.0), Kevin Love-MIN (26.5) and James Harden-HOU (24.6).
Rebounds-the top five board crashers are: DeAndre Jordan-LAC (13.8), Andre Drummond-DET (12.8), Kevin Love-MIN (12.7), Dwight Howard-HOU (12.4) and DeMarcus Cousins-SAC (11.8).
Assists-the top five passers are: Chris Paul-LAC (10.9), Ty Lawson-DEN (9.0), John Wall-WAS (8.8), Ricky Rubio-MIN (8.6) and Stephen Curry-GSW (8.6).
Brazilian Player Watch
Anderson Varejao-Center, Cleveland Cavaliers. 8.6 points and 10 rebounds per game. In his last game on March 20, he scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds, an assist and two steals in 19 minutes of play. He was playing against Oklahoma City so, the numbers are pretty reasonable but with Varejao’s minutes being reduced, his numbers will not be as dominant. On March 18 against Miami, he scored 16 points, grabbed 11 rebounds,an assist, three steals and a block in 26 minutes of play. That was a pretty decent game against a great opponent. Of course, he played more minutes and was quite effective. On March 16 against the Clippers, he scored two points, grabbed 12 rebounds, an assist and a steal in 19 minutes of play. Of course, Varejao had to deal with trying to score on DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin, two players with much more athletic ability than Varejao. On March 14 against Golden State, he scored five points, grabbed six rebounds, an assist and steal in 20 minutes of play. Varejao is playing on a team that probably will not make the playoffs but his effort will always be there.
Tiago Splitter-Center, San Antonio Spurs. 8.3 points and 6 rebounds per game.
By: latimes.com
In his last game on March 19 against the Lakers, he scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and three blocks in 22 minutes of play. That is a pretty solid effort from Splitter and he did it in a variety of ways to help his team who has won 11 in a row keep things going. On March 16 against Utah, he scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, an assist and two blocks in 23 minutes of play. He was six of seven from the field and made half of his free throws but the only drawback was he did commit three fouls. On March 14 against the Lakers,he scored three points, grabbed three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 19 minutes of play. He was not as effective in this matchup with the Lakers as he was on March 19 but his team still got the win.
Nene-Forward-Center, Washington Wizards. 14.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Nene continues to be out with a sprained MCL in his left knee and will not return until the playoffs. He was hurt on February 23 against the Cavs.
Leandro Barbosa-Guard, Phoenix Suns. 7.5 points and 1.6 assists per game. Barbosa is out for the rest of the regular season after breaking his hand in a loss to the Clippers on March 4. Hopefully, if the Suns make the playoffs,he might be able to help.
Vitor Faverani-Center, Boston Celtics. 4.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Faverani is out for the season after having surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee.
Stats: NBA.com