(BDCi) — This week in the NBA season is filled with many injuries. Derrick Rose is out after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee but he is hoping to return to the Bulls in time for the playoffs. Breaking hands seems to be the popular injury this week as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Anthony Davis and Paul Pierce are all sidelined 2 to 4 weeks with that particular injury. The Lakers Jordan Farmar is out four weeks after tearing his hamstring but there might be good news for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant seems close to returning for the Lakers as he has been getting stronger after practicing for the past three days. He is targeting a return for Sunday against the Toronto Raptors but if something changes, it is more likely he would make his debut Tuesday in a home game against the Phoenix Suns.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Indiana Pacers (17-2) — are undefeated at home
2. Miami Heat (14-5) — lost two in a row and have had to watch Dwayne Wade’s minutes
3. Washington Wizards (9-9) — winners of two in a row and team is playing well
4. Boston Celtics (8-12) — defeated the Milwaukee Bucks by eight in their last game
5. Atlanta Hawks (10-10) — defeated the Clippers in their last game
6. Detroit Pistons (9-10) — winners of three in a row and Andre Drummond is playing great ball
7. Chicago Bulls (8-9) — will again have to play without Derrick Rose
8. Charlotte Bobcats (8-11) — losers of two in a row
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Portland Trailblazers (16-3) — the best basketball team that nobody is talking about
2. San Antonio Spurs (15-3) — narrowly defeated the Hawks in their last game
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (13-4) — lost to the Trailblazers in their last game but undefeated at home
4. Los Angeles Clippers (13-7) — defeated Memphis in their last game
5. Houston Rockets (13-7) — losers of two in a row
6. Denver Nuggets (11-7) — lost to Cleveland in their last game
7. Dallas Mavericks (12-8) — winners of two in a row
8. Golden State Warriors (11-8) — winners of two in a row
NBA Player Stats
Points– the top five scorers are: Kevin Durant-OKC (28.5), Carmelo Anthony-NYK (25.9), LeBron James-MIA (25.7), Paul George-IND (24.6) and James Harden-HOU (23.8).
Rebounds– the top five board crashers are: Kevin Love-MIN (13.6), DeAndre Jordan-LAC (12.9), Andre Drummond-DET (12.8), Dwight Howard-HOU (12.6) and Nikola Vucevic-ORL (10.9).
Assists– the top five passers are: Chris Paul-LAC (11.8), John Wall-WAS (9.2), Stephen Curry-GSW (8.8), Ricky Rubio-MIN (8.5) and Brandon Jennings-DET (8.4).
Brazilian Player Watch
By: knoxnews.com
Nene- Forward-Center, Washington Wizards. 15.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. In his last game against the Magic, he scored 14 points and grabbed six boards in 31 minutes of play. Nene continues to be aggressive on the offensive side and that has helped the Wizards improve to five hundred. If Nene continues to keep producing offensively, it will give the Wizards another option and take the pressure of John Wall.
Anderson Varejao- Center, Cleveland Cavaliers. 8.9 points and 8 rebounds per game. In his last game against Denver, Varejao scored 18 points and grabbed 13 boards in 28 minutes of play. He also did not have a foul in that game. That is quite impressive for a big man and someone like Varejao who plays very physically. His efforts translated into a Cavs victory yet they are still not in the playoff hunt. The season is still early and there is plenty of time for the Cavs to go on a run. It is important for Varejao to stay healthy and continue to get double doubles. If he does that and the chemistry starts to gel for the Cavs, they might have something.
Tiago Splitter- Center, San Antonio Spurs. 8.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. In his last game against the Hawks, Splitter scored 11 points and grabbed 5 boards in 24 minutes of play. He also had four turnovers during the game. The good thing for Splitter is the team still won. Splitter does not need to play great in order for his team to win because he is surrounded by a lot of talent. His main job is to grab rebounds and play decent defense in the middle. If he happens to score, that is great but he is only a complementary player and will never be a superstar but is important to the team.
Vitor Faverani- Center, Boston Celtics. 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. In his last game against the Bucks, he only played seven minutes with only one assist and one block. It is hard to have an effect on the game when you are playing such little minutes. Right now, instead of starting Faverani is coming off the bench and head coach Brad Stevens is obviously not liking what he sees from Faverani and other players like Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries along with Jared Sullinger starting are taking away his minutes. Faverani is a rookie and he is still learning how to play in the NBA. He is right now a work in progress and it remains to be seen how Stevens will use him the rest of the season.
Stats: NBA.com