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Wall, Aldridge named NBA players of the week
March 18, 2013 | 0 Comments

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Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) was named Eastern Conference player of the week. / Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

by USA TODAY

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USA Today NBA
Washington Wizards guard John Wall and Portland Trail Blazers' LaMarcus Aldridge have been named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 11 through Sunday, March 17.

Wall led the Wizards to a 3-1 week with averages of 24.0 points (fourth in the conference), 11 assists (second in the conference), 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals (third in the conference). Wall posted three point-assist double-doubles and ranked sixth in the East with a field goal percentage of .617. He collected a season-high 14 assists on March 12 against the Cleveland Cavaliers (95-90 loss) and a season-high 29 points on March 15 against the New Orleans Hornets (96-87 win).

Aldridge led the Trail Blazers to a 2-1 week behind an NBA-best 27 points, 10.7 rebounds (seventh in the conference), 3 blocks (third in the conference) and 3 assists. Aldridge shot 19-of-19 from the foul line on a week in which he posted a point-rebound double-double in each contest, including a 22-point, 10-rebound, five-block effort on March 14 during a 105-90 win over the New York Knicks.

Here is a recap of the week for Wall and Aldridge:

John Wall, Washington Wizards

March 12 @ Cleveland: Tallied 27 points and a season-high 14 assists during a 95-90 loss to the Cavaliers.

March 13 vs. Milwaukee: Collected 23 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and four steals in a 106-93 win vs. the Bucks.

March 15 vs. New Orleans: Scored a season-high 29 points and added nine assists, four rebounds and two steals in a 96-87 win vs. the Hornets.

LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers

March 12 vs. Memphis: Tallied 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks in a 102-97 loss to the Grizzlies.

March 14 vs. New York: Collected 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks during a 105-90 win vs. the Knicks.

March 16 vs. Detroit: Scored 31 points and added 12 rebounds and three assists during a 112-101 win vs. the Pistons.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta's Al Horford, Denver's Kosta Koufos, Miami's LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Minnesota's Ricky Rubio, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and San Antonio's Tim Duncan.



Copyright 2013 USATODAY.com

excellent title though.

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end.

TRBO can totally argue that Wall's play makes the team better (since, y'know, it does), but in addition to Wall's play, Nene/Okafor make for an extremely serviceable post presence, Beal has turned it on, Martell Webster is a reliable three point presence for the first time in his career, and Ariza plays well every other game. I know that sounds like very restrained praise, but their perimeter shooting numbers are up from last year, their rebounding is up from last year, their assists are up from last year. I haven't looked it up, but I'd wager their FG% on the whole is up from last year if you're only counting the games Wall has played in.

If Wall had played all season, I maintain that they'd be competing for the 8 seed. They're good enough for that.

They had to weed out the knuckleheads and create a winning environment.

by that, i mean compete for the playoffs. nene, okafor and ariza are cap-devouring vets, not pieces on an up-and-coming team. seems like the plan was to change the culture of the franchise into one of solid mediocrity instead of humiliation so that wall and beal wouldn't wallow in toxicity.

anyway, they can just try it again next season, since none of those dudes are coming off the books (in fact, nene's getting $13M until 15/16). but, yeah, i think they'll be a playoff team next year.

man next year with Beal and another 1st rounder it might be "Party Time" (c) tracey lee