RACE TO TOP ROOKIE AWARD NO SLAM DUNK FOR MORANT
Zion wins in a photo finish if he continues to dominate and Pelicans make the playoffs
Is Zion Williamson going to steal Ja Morant’s award?
You know, the award everyone handed to No. 1 overall pick Williamson before the season began, before he got hurt and missed a good chunk of the first half of the NBA season.
Morant, the No. 2 pick behind Williamson in last June’s NBA draft, has turned in a stellar first season (very few young high-usage guards shoot nearly 50 per cent from the floor the way Morant has at 49.3 per cent) and the young Memphis Grizzlies have exceeded expectations by winning 30 games and flirting with .500. Both players attack the rim mercilessly and both the Grizzlies and Williamson’s New Orleans Pelicans are fighting for the West’s final playoff spot.
Morant won rookie of the month honours for October, November, December and January, but was supplanted by Williamson in February after the Pelicans star averaged 25.7 points on 56 per cent shooting in nine games. During the month, Williamson became the first freshman since Michael Jordan to score at least 25 points on 57 per cent or better shooting in four consecutive games. For the year, he’s up to 24.1 points per game on nearly 60 per cent shooting, despite the fact New Orleans is keeping his minutes in check.
The only other real competition for rookie of the year has come from undrafted Miami guard Kendrick Nunn, who was named rookie of the month (for the East) three times, before Chicago’s Coby White was announced as February’s winner on Tuesday.
Overall, this hasn’t been a great rookie crop, with a pair of undrafted players (Nunn and Toronto’s Terence Davis being among the top six or seven newcomers), but at the top, the 1-2 punch of Williamson and Morant is as good as we’ve seen in ages.
The question now is whether Williamson can supplant Morant for the award. If he dominates March and April and New Orleans gets into the playoffs, he’ll surely win. But if Memphis stays in eighth place and Morant shakes his recent mini-slump, he could pull off the upset.
The best player on a bad team? Has to be Washington’s Bradley Beal, right? Beal didn’t make the all-star game, mostly because the Wizards have been awful.
Beal has averaged nearly a point a minute (36.9 points in 37.1 minutes) over his last 15 games, helping Washington to compile a 7-8 record over that span, far better than its prior rate of success.
Much of this run has come since Beal’s all-star snub. Wizards coach Scott Brooks said players, who voted him second among guards in all-star voting (coaches didn’t rate him as highly) “know he’s impossible to guard. He’s one of the elite scorers.”
While superstar guard Damian Lillard was sidelined due to injury, his Portland teammate C.J. Mccollum has done all he could to hold the fort. The good news for Blazers fans is Lillard is expected to return Wednesday.
Mccollum has averaged 33.3 points and 8.3 assists, shooting 40.6 per cent on three-pointers and 48.4 per cent from the field overall.
Unfortunately for the Blazers, the team has gone only 2-4 in that span, despite a pair of 41-point Mccollum performances.
Milwaukee recently beat Oklahoma City by 47 points, the team’s third win this season by at least 40 points. If they do it again, they’ll set a new record. Eight other teams have also done it three times.
The Bucks had won six in a row, all by an average of 18 points, before losing to Miami, and they’re on pace to register the highest point differential in NBA history, with Giannis Antetokounmpo the heavy favourite to win his second straight NBA MVP award.
Steph Curry might be back just in time for the NBA Finals rematch. Toronto gets its first look at Golden State’s new San Francisco arena on Thursday and Curry could play in his first NBA game since Oct. 30 on that day, coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday.
An expected March 1 return from Curry’s broken hand was delayed and he spent some time with the Warriors’ G League affiliate.
Golden State has the league’s worst record, but Curry wants to play and Kerr said Thursday is “definitely a possibility.” Toronto beat Golden State last June to win the NBA title.
Curry’s career 28.6-point scoring average against Toronto is the second highest ever, behind only Allen Iverson’s 29.7 in 38 regular-season meetings.
Curry’s brother Seth recently passed Kerr as the most accurate three-point shooter in NBA history.
Sixers guard Shake Milton recently hit 13 three-pointers in a row. That tied the longest streak ever with Brent Price and Terry Mills . ... Los Angeles is 18-0 this season when Lebron James scores 30 points or more. The Lakers and Bucks, both conference leaders, face off on Friday night . ... Atlanta’s Trae Young is the fifth player to average 30 points and 10 assists in consecutive months, joining Oscar Robertson, Nate Archibald, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
... Speaking of Westbrook and Harden, they’re the first pair of teammates to average 30 points plus five assists for a month.
... The recent Memphis win over the Lakers snapped L.A.’S 18-game road winning streak against Western Conference opponents. It was the longest run in a conference since 197071 . ... Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving had arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder and is out for the rest of the season . ... Canadian R.J. Barrett,
the third pick of the draft, has had two strong games in a row, including Monday’s Knicks victory that snapped Houston’s six-game winning streak.
A quick look at the top Canadians in the NBA this season:
Jamal Murray, Nuggets: Huge game against the Raptors for the Blue Arrow.
Shai Gilgeous-alexander, Thunder: Still rolling, despite wobble versus Bucks.
Andrew Wiggins, Warriors: Making most of new start.
R.J. Barrett, Knicks: Rookie delivers two strong games in a row.
Tristan Thompson, Cavs: No buyout, so will have to play out the string there.
Dillon Brooks, Grizzlies: Slumping again after great game versus Sacramento.
Kelly Olynyk, Heat: Contributing nicely to a streaking team.
Cory Joseph, Kings: Sacramento quietly in a playoff race.
Brandon Clarke, Grizzlies: Still on the sidelines with another injury.
Luguentz Dort, Thunder, OKC: One of best two-way rookies in NBA.
Chris Boucher, Raptors: Has had some flashes, but undersized.
Nickeil Alexander-walker, Pelicans: Does JJ Redick injury open up playing time?