There are breakout seasons, and then there are revelations, and Mike Dunleavy, Jr. is clearly becoming the latter for the Indiana Pacers this season. Dunleavy has quite simply exploded these past few weeks, taking no more than one game to match his career-high 36 points set on February 29th against the Toronto Raptors with another 36-point effort two nights later in a win against the Bucks. Then Tuesday night against Seattle, Dunleavy again led the Pacers to a victory with his fourth 30+ point game in the past three weeks, recording 32 points on 10-of-16 (.625) from the field and 4-of-5 (.800) from long range, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Mike is averaging 23.6 points in his past ten games and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Top Performer
Dunleavy may be putting up the best individual stat lines recently, but it’s pretty hard to match Corey Maggette these days for consistent performance. Corey has topped the 20-point mark in all but three of his last 27 games and has scored over 30 points five times in that stretch. He’s continuing to light it up from long range as well, hitting 6-of-9 (.667) three-point attempts in his past two games while still managing to get to the free-throw line with regularity, having made 78 free throws in his last eight contests!
Battier and Rockets Still Rolling
Despite losing superstar center (and recent Cameron visitor) Yao Ming for the season a couple of weeks ago, the Houston Rockets remain on an historic streak, having won 19 straight games despite playing in a Western Conference that may be the strongest top-to-bottom conference the NBA has ever seen. Houston is two wins away from the second-longest winning streak in league history and one game behind San Antonio and L.A. for the top overall spot in the West. It’s not hard to see starting small forward Shane Battier’s influence on this team. Numerous NBA analysts have cited Houston’s competitiveness, unselfishness, teamwork, and defensive tenacity as the foundation of their success, and no player in the game today exemplifies those principles better than Battier. Shane’s ability to put up good numbers in every line of the stat sheet doesn’t hurt either. He’s averaging 8.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game for the season and leading the team in three-point percentage, minutes played, and, of course, hustle. Here’s more on the Rockets’ hustle from the Houston Chronicle, and here’s an article from last week focusing on Battier’s contribution to the team.
Shavlik Randolph was playing his best basketball when he went down last season with a broken ankle, having started six straight games for the Sixers and averaging 6.7 points and 6.5 rebounds a game in that stretch. The severely broken ankle set him back for over a year, but Shavlik is finally starting to see action on the court again, having played in Philly’s past two games.
Elton Getting Closer
The season-long waiting game may be nearing an end for Clipper fans as Elton Brand continues to participate in full practices with the team and hopes to return to the lineup next week. As a precautionary measure, Clippers’ coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. has said that he may be held out longer, but Brand seems to be itching to get back on the court as soon as possible. This article from the L.A. Times talks about Elton’s motivation to return and his options heading into the off-season.
Last Stop for Grant
After stumbling out of the gate to start the Shaquille O’Neal era in Phoenix, the Suns are getting back to their winning ways, thanks in large part to the continued strong play of Grant Hill, whose durability this season has been a very pleasant surprise for the team. In fact, Hill’s strong season has some wondering if he plans to opt out of his contract to become a free agent again this summer. According to this article, however, Grant insists that he’s found a home in Phoenix and is not interested in seeking more money elsewhere.
Duke Blue Planet NBA Fantasy League Update
At this late point in the season, it appears that a comeback to take back the lead in the fantasy league will require more than Elton Brand’s eventual return. Brand scored 3578.4 fantasy points for the squad last season, a number which would put the Blue Devils comfortably in the lead in this year’s contest, but with only 20 games remaining on the Clippers’ schedule, the best the Duke team can reasonably expect is to close the gap. Still, it will be interesting to see how the teams match up when healthy.
1. Connecticut Huskies: 15,792.5
2. North Carolina Tar Heels: 15,677.6
3. Duke Blue Devils: 13,359.6
4. Arizona Wildcats: 10,727.6
5. Florida Gators: 10,653.3
6. Kentucky Wildcats: 9213.6
7. Kansas Jayhawks: 8582.6
Scoring summary: one point for each point scored, 1.5 point for each rebound, two points for each assist, steal or block, 0.5 points for each 3-pointer made, and -1.2 points for each turnover. Field-goal percentage is included by subtracting 0.2 points for each field goal attempt and adding 0.5 points for each field goal made, which would mean you break even by shooting 40% from the field.
Quote of the Week
“That’s Shane [Battier] every day, all season long. He’s a pro. He’s got to guard the best player every night, and then on the other end he is able to give us 15 points. Tonight, he gave us 20 points, and he did a good job on Carmelo Anthony.”
-Rockets point guard Rafer Alston, Houston Chronicle, March 6, 2008
