The Association Examination: Week Seven

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I’m back with some week seven action and there’s a lot to talk about. Al Jefferson received a suspension for drugs, John Wall hit the strip club — and hit it hard — and the Warriors lost their first game of the season.

Players of the Week

Stephen Curry- Even though the Warriors finally lost their first game, Curry still had a Curry-esque week. He had 28 points on Sunday, 29 points and 10 assists on Tuesday, 38 points and 11 rebounds on Friday and 28 points on Saturday.

Nicolas Batum- Batum had another big week and is averaging the best numbers of his career. He had 13 points on Monday; 10 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds on Wednesday; 20 points on Friday and 21 points on Saturday. He’s the reason Charlotte has won seven of their last 10 games.

Kevin Durant- Durant and the Thunder are streaking and have won eight of their last 10 games. Durant had 20 points and 10 rebounds on Sunday; 32 points and 10 rebounds on Tuesday; 25 points, 10 assists, and 12 rebounds on Thursday and 21 points on Friday.

Russell Westbrook- Speaking of the streaking Thunder, Westbrook has also played a huge factor in OKC’s success. He had 19 points, 10 assists, and 11 rebounds on Sunday; 13 points and 16 assists on Tuesday, 23 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday and 24 points on Friday.

John Wall- Wall is back to playing like on of the NBA’s premier guards. He had 28 points and 10 assists on Sunday, 26 points on Monday, 26 points and 12 assists on Wednesday and Friday and 26 points on Saturday. He celebrated his big week by taking over a Dallas strip club.

Games of the week

Spurs at 76ers on Monday night- This was a terrible game, honestly, but hilariously noteworthy. The Spurs decided to rest most of their starters, which had to give Philadelphia some confidence that they might win their second game of the season against the backups. But it was not to be. The 76ers lost to the Spurs by 51 points! The depression in the city of brotherly love has hit a new low. I don’t even know how I would go about trying to fix this 76ers team.

Lakers at Timberwolves on Wednesday night- Kobe Bryant told Coach Byron Scott to “let the kids play” towards the end of the game, and boy, did they show out. D’Angelo Russell had a career-high 23 points and Julius Randle added 20 points and 12 rebounds. Russell scored nine of the Lakers’ final 11 points in regulation including a clutch floater over Andrew Wiggins with just two seconds left to play. The Timberwolves were just too much, though, and pulled out the 123-122 win in overtime. Kevin Martin had 37 points for Minnesota and Karl-Anthony Towns put up with 26 points and 14 rebounds.

Warriors at Celtics on Friday night- This seemed like the night the streak was going to end for the Warriors. Klay Thompson was hurt and the Warriors looked tired, but this undefeated Golden State team won again, 124-119 in double overtime. Curry had 38 points, but didn’t shoot well from the field and made some critical turnovers late in the game. Draymond Green had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, while Kevin Olynyk and Avery Bradley combined for 47 Celtic points.

Warriors at Bucks Saturday night- The streak has come to an end. After winning their first 24 games, Golden State finally lost 108-95. Greg Monroe led the way for the Bucks with 28 points and 12 rebounds and Curry had 28 points.

Plays of the week

Barnes’ half-court game-winner– This is probably my favorite play so far this year for a few reasons. First we have Matt Barnes, an older, tatted-up dude who loves to fight and get upset on the court. He’s the kind of guy that would drive 95 miles straight just to fight his old teammate who started to date his estranged ex-wife. Which, by the way, actually happened. Next, I love this play because he shot it so early (with about 4.4 seconds left on the clock) which scared everyone because he had enough time to make a pass or set up an easier shot. But no, he went for the half-court shot and got it to fall for the win. It was a crazy play from a crazy guy.

DeAndre Jordan’s dunk on Greg Monroe– This was just a monster, physical dunk over a really good player. I love how the ball almost went in the basket again after the dunk went down. I would have given him an extra two points for it.

Kevin Garnett turns back the clock on Blake Griffin– When Kevin Garnett was drafted in 1995, Blake Griffin was just six years old. I’m not sure how the ancient Garnett pulled this off or why Griffin tried to take a half-hearted charge, but it was an exciting play for Timberwolves fans and it allowed Garnett to talk trash for probably one of the last times in his career.

Jeff Green’s insane game-winner– If you haven’t seen this yet, you have to check it out. With less than a second left on the clock, Courtney Lee threw an inbound pass to a soaring Jeff Green, who slammed it in to win the game. Green has had some incredible game-winners in his career, and this just may be at the top of the list.

Edited by Nathan Odom