Jeremy Lin and Russell Westbrook named as the NBA Players of the Week
The week spanning from Monday February 6 to Sunday, the 12th, was the week of the point guards.
It was the week which saw the NBA unravel one of the greatest success stories in its history; it was the week when Linsanity took over.
On Monday night, the leagued named the New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook as the players of the week for the Eastern and Western Conference respectively.
Lin was nothing short of a sensation last week. With Carmelo Anthony out injured and Amare Stoudemire mourning the death of his elder brother, the slumping Knicks were expected to be rolled over in the four games they played. However,
all of a sudden Lin happened and the Knicks never looked back.
Scoring 28, 23, 38 and 20 points, the 38 coming in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Lin led the Knicks to a 4-0 week, averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals - the first player in NBA history to tally at least
20 points and seven assists in each of his first four starts.
After helping the Knicks roll over the Nets off the bench, Lin started the week with a 28 point; eight assist effort against the Jazz, leading his side to a 99-88. Then together with Tyson Chandler, the point guard – 23 points
and 10 assists – dismantled the Washington Wizards 107-93.
In the third game, Lin was pitched against a certain Kobe Bryant, in what was being touted as an acid-test for the Harvard university stand out. By the time, the game ended, the charismatic wonder kid had accumulated a career-high
38 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals to script a 92-85 win. His last game against the Minnesota Timberwolves saw him score only 20 points and 8 dimes, but that effort included a game winning free throw with 4.9 seconds left on the clock.
While it was Lin making all the headlines in the Eastern conference, on the other side of the spectrum Westbrook, after a slow start to the season, burst back to his best.
Leading the league leading Thunder, Westbrook beat competition from the likes of Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis to claim the honour. He averaged 30.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.5 steals in four games last
week, leading OKC to a 3-1 record, the only loss coming against the Sacramento Kings on 9 February.
Ironically, Westbrook’s best effort, with 33 points, came in that game. He started the week with a 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists foray to help his side overcome the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime. He then erupted
with 31 points and dished seven assists in yet another close win over the Golden State Warriors, and after losing out against the kings, he capped the week with 31 points and seven assists against Utah Jazz.
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