I realised I hadn't been giving any info on the rest of the league so far this season, so I've rectified that beginning with this update.
The Oklahoma City Thunder halted the Denver Nuggets' winning streak at 23 games with a 104-96 victory in Oklahoma City on January 16th. They would also hand the Nuggets their first home loss of the season four days later, 111-101. Denver lost to the Rockets 111-102 in Houston before embarking on another five game winning streak, which included revenge over the Rockets by way of a 102-86 victory in Denver.
On Track With A-TrainFollow the life of an NBA rookie with our top pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, Aussie Andrew "A-Train" Begley!February 6th, 2012A-Train dishes out one of his 10 assists against the Milwaukee BucksHow's it going, Nuggets fans?
What's that old saying about all good things coming to an end? To be honest, it wasn't a great deal of comfort after the Thunder broke our 23 game winning streak and then handed us our first home loss of the season just a few days later. We're not going to let it get us down though and we're rolling again after winning our last five. The Thunder are right behind us in the standings though and chances are we're going to meet up with them in the Playoffs if we make a deep enough run, so we're determined to figure them out so we can deliver a little payback when the time hopefully comes.
From a personal standpoint, turnovers, shooting the ball and aggressiveness have been a bit of a problem for me lately, but you can be sure I've been working hard on improving my play in all those areas. Coach Karl has me starting at point guard once again and I obviously have a huge responsibility in trying to fill Ty's shoes, so I definitely want to carry my share of the load. It's a job that's certainly been made easier by the way we're shooting the ball. Can you believe we have three of the top five field goal percentage leaders in the league? I'm quite happy to keep serving it up for them, like I've said before those big assist numbers I've posted come pretty easy when the rest of the guys are finishing so well.
Last night's win over the Milwaukee Bucks felt like one of our best games of the season and one that I think can get me back on track with my play at both ends of the floor. We want that form to continue through to the All-Star break and beyond, against anyone and everyone. As much as we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, it's hard not to be excited by the fact that we're creeping up on 50 wins and still sitting atop the league standings this far into the season. No guarantees of course, except that we're going to continue to give it our all.
'Til next time...
- A-TrainAndrew's Season Stats (through February 5th)G | GS | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | TPG | FPG |
49 | 34 | 31.4 | 8.9 | 4.5 | 7.7 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.433 | 0.327 | 0.771 | 3.3 | 1.9 |
Current Record: 43-6Recent Games of NoteSome noteworthy performances over the past month.
February 5th, 2013: 38 minutes, 13 points (6/11 FG, 1/2 3PT), 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 1 block (122-94 win over the Milwaukee Bucks)
January 28th, 2013: 32 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 13 assists, 3 steals (124-101 win over the Indiana Pacers)
January 26th, 2013: 30 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals (132-89 win over the Sacramento Kings)
January 11th, 2013: 34 minutes, 10 points, 1 rebound, 11 assists, 1 block (102-93 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers)
Video HighlightsA-Train finds JaVale McGee with the lobA-Train's highlight reel from the February 5th game against the Milwaukee BucksAround the NBAStandings through February 5th, 2013EAST1. Miami Heat (30-15)
2. Chicago Bulls (31-17)
3. Washington Wizards (30-17)
4. Brooklyn Nets (30-18)
5. Indiana Pacers (27-22)
6. Philadelphia 76ers (25-22)
7. Boston Celtics (25-22)
8. Detroit Pistons (24-25)
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9. Milwaukee Bucks (23-24)
10. Toronto Raptors (22-26)
11. Atlanta Hawks (20-27)
12. Cleveland Cavaliers (18-30)
13. New York Knicks (16-30)
14. Orlando Magic (15-33)
15. Charlotte Bobcats (10-37)
WEST1. Denver Nuggets (43-6)
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (34-14)
3. San Antonio Spurs (29-20)
4. Los Angeles Lakers (29-20)
5. Golden State Warriors (28-20)
6. Los Angeles Clippers (28-22)
7. Phoenix Suns (27-22)
8. Minnesota Timberwolves (24-21)
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9. Utah Jazz (23-26)
10. Dallas Mavericks (22-26)
11. Houston Rockets (22-28)
12. Memphis Grizzlies (19-28)
13. Sacramento Kings (18-32)
14. New Orleans Hornets (14-34)
15. Portland Trailblazers (13-35)
Leaders through February 5th, 2013POINTS1. Russell Westbrook, OKC (27.4 ppg)
2. Dwight Howard, LAL (27.0 ppg)
3. LeBron James, MIA (26.9 ppg)
4. Kevin Durant, OKC (26.7 ppg)
5. Kevin Love, MIN (26.4 ppg)
REBOUNDS1. Dwight Howard, LAL (13.7 rpg)
2. Blake Griffin, LAC (11.5 rpg)
3. Kevin Love, MIN (11.2 rpg)
4. Kenneth Faried, DEN (10.5 rpg)
5. Joakim Noah, CHI (10.5 rpg)
ASSISTS1. Goran Dragic, PHO (11.2 apg)
2. Rajon Rondo, BOS (10.0 apg)
3. Brandon Jennings, MIL (9.6 apg)
4. Jrue Holiday, PHI (9.2 apg)
5. Kyle Lowry, TOR (9.1 apg)
STEALS1. Stephen Curry, GSW (2.4 spg)
2. Chris Paul, LAC (2.2 spg)
3. Rajon Rondo, BOS (2.1 spg)
4. Goran Dragic, PHO (2.0 spg)
5. Tony Allen, MEM (1.8 spg)
BLOCKS1. Dwight Howard, LAL (2.4 bpg)
2. Brook Lopez, BKN (2.4 bpg)
3. Serge Ibaka, OKC (2.3 bpg)
4. DeAndre Jordan, LAC (2.0 bpg)
5. Samuel Dalembert, MIL (1.8 bpg)
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE1. JaVale McGee, DEN (0.657)
2. Andre Igoudala, DEN (0.651)
3. Kenneth Faried, DEN (0.645)
4. Dwight Howard, LAL (0.622)
5. Danilo Gallinari, DEN (0.590)
THREE POINT PERCENTAGE1. Andre Iguodala, DEN (0.616)
2. Danilo Gallinari, DEN (0.590)
3. Terrence Ross, TOR (0.488)
4. Kyrie Irving, CLE (0.487)
5. Steve Novak, NYK (0.483)
FREE THROW PERCENTAGE1. Chauncey Billups, LAC (0.943)
2. Jason Terry, BOS (0.935)
3. Luke Ridnour, MIN (0.932)
4. Jamal Crawford, LAC (0.929)
5. Mo Williams, UTA (0.927)
Noteworthy InjuriesJeff Taylor, CHA (Torn MCL, Out for Season)
Luc Mbah-a-Moute, MIL (Torn MCL, 6-8 Months)
Derrick Rose, CHI (Strained Achilles, 4-6 Weeks)
Chauncey Billups, LAC (Broken Back, 2-4 Weeks)
Ray Allen, MIA (Torn MCL, Out for Season)
Aaron Brooks, SAC (Broken Toe, 1-2 Weeks)
Jodie Meeks, LAL (Broken Arm, 6-8 Weeks)
Jerry Stackhouse, BKN (Strained Abdomen, 1-2 Weeks)
Ty Lawson, DEN (Sore Knee, 8-10 months)
Jeff Green, TOR (Broken Foot, 1-2 Weeks)
Terrence Ross, TOR (Separated Shoulder, 1-2 Weeks)
LaMarcus Aldridge, POR (Torn MCL, 8-10 Months)
Wesley Matthews, POR (Torn Hand Ligament, 2-4 Weeks)
Emeka Okafor, WAS (Strained Achilles, Out for Season)