Buckeyes Roundball Roundup: Wiped out by Michigan State
March 7, 2016Turnovers for everyone! Cavs-Grizzlies, Behind the Box Score
March 7, 2016Whether it’s his cryptic tweets on social media, getting Kendrick Lamar to release his album, working out in Miami with Dwayne Wade, or his play on the court, Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James has been all over this past week. But, even though some people may disagree with his cryptic tweets, his play on the court has been most impressive, leading to the NBA naming James the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for his efforts on the court last week.
In three games, the 31-year-old averaged 26.7 points (fifth in East), 9.7 rebounds (ninth), 6.3 assists (eighth) and 2.3 steals (fourth) in 34.3 minutes per game, all while leading the Cavs to a perfect 3-0 record. The 12-time NBA All-Star shot 53.3 percent from the floor and had two double-doubles in those three games as well. During the three game stretch last week, the star was the only player in the NBA to shoot over 50 percent from the field while averaging 20 points, nine rebounds, and six assists per game.
In the final game of the week on Saturday night versus the Boston Celtics, James yet again scored in double figures, the 700th consecutive game doing so (yes, you read that right — 700 straight games). He joins Michael Jordan (866) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (787) as the only players in NBA history to have double-digit scoring streaks of at least 700 games. The last time the 6-foot-8, 250-pound point-forward failed to score in double-digits in a single game was January 5, 2007, against the Milwaukee Bucks. Fear The Sword’s Chris Manning did a great job of putting the incredible streak in perspective. James also surpassed Tim Duncan for 14th among the NBA’s all-time scoring list against the Celtics.
With his third Player of the Week award this season and 51st of his career (the most in NBA history), James has earned Player of the Week honors for the 32nd time as a Cavalier. It also marked the 51st time in franchise history that a Cavs player has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard was given the Western Conference Player of the Week honors.