Kyrie Irving and Jabari Parker are putting up big numbers for their teams, while Justise WInslow waits to be cleared to play.
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers:
Irving helped the Cavaliers end their three-game losing streak Monday night, scoring 24 points and picking up seven assists in a 116-112 win against the Toronto Raptors. The contest was his 10th consecutive 20-point performance, a mark he has reached in 18 of Cleveland's 20 games this season. He is also averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers per game, a career high for the point guard. Irving and the Cavaliers, who are atop the Eastern Conference right now, will continue to seek their second championship in as many years.
Irving also visited New York this week to play the Knicks Wednesday and sat courtside to watch Duke beat Florida in Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. A day later, he put up 28 points in a 126-94 win and dished out six assists, one of which resulted in an alley-oop to LeBron James in transition.
Kyrie Irving with the alley-oop to King James! https://t.co/JPm4DOuTXW
— Cavaliers Nation (@WeAreCavsNation) December 8, 2016
Late in the fourth quarter with the victory in hand, Irving had some fun with his teammates at the end of the bench and successfully flipped a water bottle a few weeks after Blue Devil sophomore Chase Jeter sent the crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium into a frenzy with a water-bottle flip at Countdown to Craziness.
Kyrie splashes it down at MSG! https://t.co/LabDW29HTi
— CS Nation (@_CSNation_) December 8, 2016
Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks:
In his third season in the NBA, Parker is starting to break through as a consistent scorer on a young Bucks team. In addition to his 19.2 points per game, he also is pulling down 5.9 rebounds per contest. The Bucks have won five of their last six games, putting them at 11-9. Parker has become more of a threat from the perimeter this year, making 19 3-pointers already after only having made 13 in his career prior to this season. His rates of 33.9 percent from behind the arc and 78.6 percent from the charity stripe are also the highest they have been in his three seasons.
Rodney Hood, Utah Jazz:
Another former Blue Devil leading his team to a winning record so far, Hood has scored 15.7 points per game to contribute to Utah’s 14-9 start. Hood’s numbers have also improved from his first two seasons in the league, achieving per-game career highs in points, rebounds and field-goal percentage so far. As one of five players averaging double figures on the Jazz, the team has shown off its depth throughout the first quarter of the season. After tweaking his hamstring last week and missing a game, Hood has bounced back and scored 39 points during the Jazz's three-game winning streak.
J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers:
In his 11th NBA season, the veteran shooting guard is showing no signs of slowing down—he is shooting 45.4 percent from beyond the arc and 90.6 percent from the line and also averaging 14.9 points per game. After their red-hot 14-2 start to the season, the Clippers have lost five of their last seven matchups, dropping to 16-7 and third place in the Western Conference. As the third-highest scorer on the team behind Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, Redick has certainly been a major factor in the Clippers' success so far.
Justise Winslow, Miami Heat:
After spraining his wrist in the month of November, Winslow has not seen game action since the Heat’s 94-90 loss to the Spurs more than three weeks ago. He is not traveling with the team on its three-game road trip to Atlanta, Cleveland and Chicago, but he hopes to return to the lineup relatively soon. Prior to going down with the injury, Winslow was averaging 11.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest during the first nine games of the year. He is only shooting 33.6 percent on field goals, but has improved his free-throw percentage to 73.7. Miami now owns the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference at 7-15.
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