(BDCi) — It was a relatively quiet week in the NBA as All-Star weekend is finally here. It gives teams a much needed rest and others a chance to showcase their skills for fans. Some notable injuries this week are Anderson Varejao of the Cavs is battling a sore back while Dwyane Wade is unsure if he will play in the All-Star game due to nerve irritation in his left foot . Tony, Parker, Maun Ginoblili and Tiago Splitter all sat their game against Boston with a variety of injuries. In other news, Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan became a father again when his wife gave birth to identical twin daughters. Get ready for All-Star as it should be quite exciting with All-Star celebrity game followed by the rising stars game on Friday. On Saturday, it’s the Shooting Stars event, Skills Challenge, Three-Point Contest and the Slam Dunk competition. Wrapping up the weekend is the 83rd All-Star game on Sunday.
EASTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1. Indiana Pacers (40-12) — lost to Dallas by eight in their last game
2. Miami Heat (37-14) — winners of two in a row including a one point victory over the Warriors on the road
3. Toronto Raptors (28-24) — winners of two in a row including a blowout win over Atlanta
4. Chicago Bulls (27-25) — winners of three in a row including a 16 point victory over Brooklyn in their last game
5. Atlanta Hawks (25-26) — losers of five in a row
6. Washington Wizards (25-27) — losers of two in a row including a one point loss to Houston in their last game
7. Brooklyn Nets (24-27) — lost to Chicago in their last game
8. Charlotte Bobcats (23-30) — lost to Brooklyn in their last game
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (43-12) — winners of three in a row including a victory over the Lakers in their last game
2. San Antonio Spurs (38-15) — defeated Boston by 12 in their last game
3. Houston Rockets (36-17) — winners of seven in a row and one of the hottest teams in the NBA
4. Los Angeles Clippers (37-18) — winners of three in a row and happy to have Chris Paul back
5. Portland Trailblazers (36-17) — losers of two in a row
6. Dallas Mavericks (32-22) — defeated Indiana in their last game
7. Phoenix Suns (30-21) — lost to Miami in their last game
8. Golden State Warriors (31-22) — lost a close one to Miami in their last game
NBA Player Stats
Points-the top five scorers are: Kevin Durant-OKC (31.5), Carmelo Anthony-NYK (27.3), LeBron James-MIA (26.5), Kevin Love-MIN (25.8) and Stephen Curry-GSW (24.6).
Rebounds-the top five board crashers are: DeAndre Jordan-LAC (14.0), Kevin Love-MIN (13.2), Andre Drummond-DET (13.0), Dwight Howard-HOU (12.5) and DeMarcus Cousins-SAC (11.7).
Assists-the top five passers are: Stephen Curry-GSW (9.0), Ty Lawson-DEN (8.8), John Wall-WAS (8.5), Ricky Rubio-MIN (8.3) and Brandon Jennings-DET (8.1).
Brazilian Player Watch
Nene-Forward-Center, Washington Wizards. 14 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. In his last game on February 12 against Houston, he scored 21 points, grabbed one rebounds, one assist, one steal and
By: sports.yahoo.com
he fouled out in 30 minutes of play. He was very efficient from the field going 9 of 12 but struggled at the free throw line shooting just 3 of 9. His team lost to a very good Houston Rockets team and he probably fouled because the Rockets are a very athletic team plus having to sometimes guard Dwight Howard is a challenge. On February 11 against Memphis, he scored 17 points, grabbed four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in 36 minutes of play. He managed to play better defense against Memphis accumulating only four fouls which is not surprising considering Marc Gasol is still out for Memphis. He shot better from the free throw line in this game but only had three attempts. Again though, it was another loss for Washington. On February 9 against Sacramento, he scored 18 points, grabbed five rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks in 35 minutes of play. It was an all around solid game for Nene as it showed in the stats sheet plus his team got the victory. On February 7 against Cleveland, he scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, five assists and four steals in 34 minutes of play. Nene is being very aggressive on offense scoring in double figures in all of his games this week. Again against Cleveland, they did not get the win but the Wizards are still in the playoff picture.
Leandro Barbosa-Guard, Phoenix Suns. 8.4 points and 1.8 assists per game. In his last game on February 11, he scored five points, grabbed one rebound and an assist in 15 minutes of play. He did not play a lot of minutes against Miami due to the starters getting heavy minutes with a big game so it was hard for Barbosa to be effective. He is a guy who strictly comes of the bench to score so he is not going to fill up the stat sheet but can be effective. Unfortunately, he did not capitalize despite the lack of minutes and his team lost. On February 8 against Golden State, he scored six points in 23 minutes of play. He did not really drive to the basket and get the free throw line where he could get easy points. He also did not shoot much from long range as he only attempted one three. It seemed he just was not aggressive enough against a team like the Warriors who use their speed to score points. Hopefully some time off for Barbosa will be good for him and he can look to score more on offense.
Vitor Faverani-Center, Boston Celtics. 4.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Faverani has not played in an NBA games since January 28 against the Knicks. He was shuttling last week between the D-League and the NBA until he tweaked his knee and will get the chance to rest until after the All-Star break. Faverani needs to work on his defense and unfortunately, he is also stuck on a team with too many frontcourt players and not enough minutes to go around. Unless a trade happens, look for Faverani to struggle to get minutes unless he is sent back to the D-League for development.
Tiago Splitter-Center, San Antonio Spurs. 8.1 points and 6.3 rebounds. Splitter has not played since February 6 due to a bruised right shin. He just came back from a sprained shoulder so this is not good news for the Spurs who continue to get hammered with injuries yet are still one of the best teams in the West. The All-Star could not have come at a better time for Splitter as he can get healthy because the Spurs need his defense to contend with the many quality teams in the west.
Anderson Varejao-Center, Cleveland Cavaliers. 8.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Varejao missed Tuesday and Wednesday’s game due to a sore back. The All-Star break is also coming at a good time for Varejao because he has a long history of injuries. He is vital for the Cavs but no matter what the Cavs probably won’t make the playoffs. He did play on February 9 against Memphis,scoring four points and grabbing 14 rebounds in 43 minutes of play. On February 7 against Washington, he scored six points and grabbed five rebounds in 22 minutes of play. The more minutes Varejao plays, the more likely he is to get injured, yet the Cavs do not have anyone else since they got rid of Andrew Bynum. That certainly will be a concern for Varejao the rest of the season.
Stats: NBA.com