Dwyane Wade and Chauncey Billups crowned NBA Players of the Week
Miami Heat’s prolific sharp-shooter Dwyane Wade and the corner stone of an explosive Denver Nuggets offense - Chauncey Billups were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week respectively for their swash-buckling performances in the week
spanning from Monday, December 27th to Sunday, January 2nd.
The duo of Wade and Billups prevailed over the elite group of nominees featuring game-breaking stalwarts like Chicago's prodigy Derrick Rose, Golden State's sensation Dorell Wright, New Orleans' veteran Chris Paul and Orlando's mighty Dwight Howard.
Dwyane Wade
Dwayne Wade is playing ball with a fury that can topple some of the best defences of the league. Feared for his shooting and fast-break runs, the 6ft 4in forward has set the courts on fire this season, notching up an average of 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds
and 1.52 steals per game.
The phenomenal forward, who won the laurels for the Best Player of the Month as well, has simply been unstoppable this week. Marshalling the Heat to a 3-0 perfect outcome, Wade has lit up the opposition defences with a league-high 36.7 points wrapped with
7.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 52.8 percent (37-of-70) from the field and 80.9 percent (34-of-42) from the free throw line.
Wade kick started his week with a 40-points performance against the New York Knicks on Dec 28th. He then followed it with another maverick performance on the very next night as he pounded 45 points complemented with seven rebounds and two steals
in a 125-119 win over the Houston Rockets. This was the third time in Wade’s career that he posted 40 plus scores on back-to-back nights.
He finally rounded the week with a 25 point, eight assists and six rebounds effort against the Golden State Warriors.
The award marks the 14th time, most in franchise history, that Wade has received the accolades. Wade had also received the Player of the Week award for games played during December 6-12; marking it the third time in his career he has received
the honour twice during the same month.
Chauncey Billups
Nuggets' point guard Chauncey Billups has found his shooting touch over the past seven games and is one of the main reasons that the Bronchos (20-13) are starting to roll. His impressive play and Denver's recent success were recognized Monday when Billups
was named Western Conference Player of the Week.
Billups spearheaded Denver to 3-0 run in the week that saw them taking down Portland, Minnesota and the Sacramento Kings. The 34-year-old Nuggets' point guard, who could manage a conversion rate of 0.351 from the field and 0.337 from three-point range in
his first 22 games, led the league this week in three point shooting percentage (0.846) and free throw conversion (46-of-47).
In the week under the scanner, he notched up impressive averages of 25.3 points on 0.639 shooting from the field to go along with 6.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals. The highlight of his week though came midway against the Minnesota Timberwolves on
December 29th as he recorded a season-high 36 points, five assists, three steals and two rebounds in a 119-113 victory.
He said after receiving the award,
“You just try to go out there and try to get wins. I never think about accolades or statistics and things like that. I just go out there and try to get wins and play the best that I can play. All of a sudden, they just start coming.”
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