The NBA announced on Monday their Players of the Week for the week of October 30 - November 5. In the Eastern Conference, forward Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks received the honors. Guard James Harden of the Houston Rockets was named the Western Conference Player of the Week.
Last week, guard Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week and center DeMarcus Cousins of the New Orleans Pelicans was named Western Conference Player of the Week.
Kristaps Porzingis
Porzingis and the Knicks played in four games this past week with New York winning three of them.
The 22-year-old was a scoring machine, and he posted per game averages of 33.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 3.3 blocks in the four outings. He shot 49-90 (54.4%) from the field, 7-16 (43.8%) on threes, and 29-33 (87.9%) from the foul line.
The third-year pro twice set new career-highs this past week. Last Monday, the Latvian scored 38 points in a six-point win over the Denver Nuggets. On Sunday, the Knicks overcame a huge 19-point deficit late in the third quarter to defeat the Indiana Pacers as Porzingis poured in 40 points, 24 of which came in the game’s final 13 minutes. In that game, he also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked six shots.
This is the first time in Porzingis’ young career that he has been named Player of the Week.
With Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose no longer on the team, Porzingis has taken on a much larger role and excelled, as his 30.2 scoring average ranks second in the NBA as of Monday.
James Harden
The Rockets went 3-1 this past week as Harden played like a man possessed. In the four games, the 28-year-old averaged 36.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 10.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.
He went 44-84 (52.4%) from the field, 22-43 (51.2%) on three-pointers, and 35-43 (81.8%) from the charity stripe.
Harden ended the week with two straight double-doubles in points and assists, and his week culminated with a new career-high of 56 points on Sunday against the Utah Jazz. His shooting was lights out in that contest as he finished 19-25 (76.0%) from the field, 7-8 (87.5%) from behind the three-point arc, and 11-12 (91.7%) from the free throw line.
He scored at least 29 points in the other three games.
This is the 15th time in Harden’s nine-year career that he has been named Western Conference Player of the Week. He received the honor five times last season as he finished as the runner-up to Russell Westbrook for MVP.
