February 13, 2012

Notes from around the NBA

Steve Nash, at 38, is about to play in his seventh career All-Star Game. 2012’s oldest NBA All-Star — he joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Karl Malone as the only All-Stars 38 years or older — is leading the league in assists (10.3 apg) and is third overall in field goal percentage (.563). Nash is on pace to lead the league in assists for the sixth time. Only Hall of Famer John Stockton has accomplished that feat, having led the NBA in that category nine times. No point guard has shot better than 55 percent for a season since Stockton in 1987-88; Stockton was 25 at the time. Only 10 guards have shot better than 55 percent in NBA history, none over the age of 30.
Phoenix travels to Golden State for an division battle (NBA TV, 10:30 p.m. ET) against the Warriors tonight. Phoenix (12-15), which started the season slowly, losing 14 of its first 22 games, looks to extend its road winning streak to four. The Suns have won their last three road games by an average of 8.3 points. The Suns and Warriors played each other in Phoenix on Jan. 2, with Phoenix scoring a 102-91 victory. In that game, Steve Nash scored a game-high 21 points and added nine assists. According to NBA.com/Stats, for the season, Nash is accounting for 65 percent of Phoenix’s assists per game while contributing 23 percent of its points.
The New York Knicks’ Jeremy Lin and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Feb. 6-12. Lin led the Knicks to a 4-0 week, averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals. Westbrook helped the Thunder to a 3-1 week, averaging 30.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.5 steals.
Three teams have benches averaging at least 43 points: Dallas (43.9 ppg), Denver (43.3 apg) and Philadelphia (43.1 ppg).
Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki has 998 career blocks and needs two to reach 1,000 for his career. Nowitzki, who has 1,213 three-pointers in his career, would become one of only three players in NBA history with at least 1,000 three-pointers and 1,000 blocks, joining Clifford Robinson (1,253 threes and 1,390 blocks) and Rasheed Wallace (1,064 threes and 1,445 blocks). Nowitzki became the only player in NBA history to record at least 150 three-pointers and 100 blocks in a single season in 2000-01 (151 threes, 101 blocks).
The Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 18.0 points, 9.0 assists and 2.0 steals. Paul is recording averages of 18.7 points, 9.1 assists (third overall), and 2.4 steals (third).
On Saturday night vs. Orlando, Milwaukee went 7-for-7 from the free throw line, the second game this season in which the Bucks were perfect from the charity stripe. Milwaukee ranks fourth in free throw percentage shooting .786 as a team. Individually, six Bucks players are shooting at least 80 percent: Drew Gooden (84.3); Stephen Jackson (82.8); Mike Dunleavy (81.3); Shaun Livingston (85.4); Luc Mbah a Moute (85.3); and Jon Leuer (81.0).
Philadelphia’s Lou Williams has come off the bench in each game this season and is averaging a team-high 15.7 points. The last player to lead his team in scoring for an entire season without making a single start was Dell Curry for the Charlotte Hornets in 1993-94 (16.3 ppg). Williams ranks ninth in the league in points per 48 minutes played (29.3)

Today’s Quote: “I thought he was a very good player, but as I’ve watched him, it’s like a Cinderella story. Really a feel good story, how hard he’s worked, how dedicated he’s been. Obviously his parents must have been very supportive of him? I watched him play last night (in a victory over Minnesota). I said to myself, ‘Jesus Christ Almighty, where’d this guy come from.'” –JERRY WEST, on Jeremy Lin