Kyrie Irving has made headlines more frequently off the court than on it, while a surging Jabari Parker is leading the pack for the NBA’s most improved award.
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
The reigning NBA champion released his own Nike shoe in a video Wednesday, joining Kevin Durant and teammate LeBron James as the third active player with their own brand of shoe. The new sneaker, dubbed the KYRIE 3, features traction pods on the soles to provide a better grip on the floor.
Irving also made headlines off the court last week, part of a minor controversy in which Irving, James, and Kevin Love did not make the trip for a 93-85 loss to Memphis Dec. 14 to rest. Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue also rested Irving the previous day, a 103-86 home win against the Grizzlies.
Additionally, after a second consecutive win against the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday, Irving welcomed the prospect of playing the Bucks in the playoffs, even going as far to hope for a sweep. The Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers had fallen to Milwaukee 118-101 Nov. 29 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
When he was on the court, however, Irving continued his dominant play that has made him the fourth-youngest player to play in three All-Star games. Irving set a career high in assists with 13 against Milwaukee Wednesday, and has averaged 22.8 points per game in his last five contests, all Cleveland victories.
Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks
Parker has emerged as a lethal scorer alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo for Milwaukee, improving his scoring average by a clean six points per game to 20.1 per contest this season. Parker has honed his 3-point shooting ability, converting on 38.4 percent of his tries beyond the arc, a far cry from his 25.7 percent rate from last season.
Parker turned it on against Irving and the Cavaliers, combining for 57 points on 24-of-45 shooting in back-to-back games against Cleveland Tuesday and Wednesday. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft has now scored 27 points or more in six of his last eight games, and might be the front-runner for the NBA’s most improved player award for a Bucks team squarely in the playoff picture.
Rodney Hood, Utah Jazz
Hood dribbled down the left sideline and nailed a pull-up game-winning triple with 0.8 seconds left to lift Utah to a 103-100 win against the Dallas Mavericks Dec. 16.
Rodney Hood for the @UtahJazz win! #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/vcrfvcdLx4
— NBA (@NBA) December 17, 2016
But Hood missed the next 11 3-pointers he attempted before leaving Tuesday night's game against the Golden State Warriors with an illness that also kept him on the bench a day later against Sacramento. The 6-foot-8 shooting guard returned from a hamstring injury that kept him out for three games Dec. 14 against Oklahoma City with 25 points in a 109-89 win.
Mason Plumlee, Portland Trail Blazers
In his fourth NBA season, the former Duke standout appears to be coming into his own. Plumlee has scored 18 points or more in four of his last six games, including a career-high 27 points to go along with 13 rebounds in a narrow 126-121 loss to Sacramento Tuesday. Plumlee is scoring 11.0 points and pulling down 7.2 rebounds per game, but despite his success, Portland has struggled of late, dropping eight of its last nine games to fall to eighth place in the Western Conference. Plumlee's younger brother, New York Knicks rookie center Marshall Plumlee, was demoted to the D-League after logging a combined two minutes in his last ten games.
Luol Deng, Los Angeles Lakers
The 13-year NBA veteran has provided much-needed experience for a youthful, rebuilding Lakers squad, coming into his own after a sluggish start to the season. Despite averaging just 8.0 points per game on the season, the small forward has scored in double figures in five of his last six games, including a 22-point outburst against the Knicks Dec. 11. Los Angeles needs more than just Deng to fire on all cylinders—the Lakers sit in 11th place in the Western Conference after dropping 11 of their last 12 games.
Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles Lakers
The No. 2 overall pick in last summer's NBA Draft has not lived up to expectations so far for Los Angeles, logging just eight starts closing in on the midway point of the NBA season and averaging 7.6 points per game. Ingram’s efforts have been worth a PER of 6.92, 26th out of 31 eligible rookies. Ingram has struggled in particular of late, not reaching the double-digit scoring plateau since Dec. 7. But Deng, along with most of the Lakers, has faith that Ingram will eventually become a star.
“He’s going to be a hell of a player,” Deng said in a Sports Illustrated feature on Ingram. “There’s no magic. You have to put in the work.... In the beginning it’s hard to be consistent. But as time goes on, it just becomes second nature.”
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.