NEW YORK – Nobody will ever take Tweet of the Year away from J.R. Smith. (If you click on Tahiry’s booty you can read more about it).
But that was last year.
This season, he’s making a late push for Sixth Man of the Year.
The New York Knicks’ J.R. Smith and the Utah Jazz’s Al Jefferson today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 25 through Sunday, March 31.
Smith led the Knicks to a 4-0 week which included two wins over the Boston Celtics and a win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Smith averaged 29.8 points (second in the league), 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals. He tallied three consecutive 30-plus point performances off the bench to open the week, including a season-high 37 on March 29 during a 111-102 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. The last NBA player to score 30-or-more off the bench in three consecutive games was the Milwaukee Bucks’ Ricky Pierce in 1990.
Jefferson led the Jazz to a 4-0 record, which helped Utah pull back into a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference – both teams own 38-36 (.514) records, and the Jazz own the tiebreaker.
Jefferson, currently slotted sixth in Mighty Moke Hamilton’s Free Agent rankings, averaged 19.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.25 steals and 1.5 blocks. Jefferson’s displayed his versatility with 20 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks as the Jazz topped the Brooklyn Nets 116-107 on March 30 to seal the undefeated week.
Here is a recap of the week for Smith and Jefferson: