1. Andrew Wiggins – SF – Minnesota Timberwolves (15.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.8 APG) – Wiggins squeezed a 23-point game against the Thunder in between two identical 12-point, 45 percent shooting outings against Boston and Atlanta last week, with the main difference being his nine free-throws made in 12 attempts against OKC standing in stark contrast to the six total attempts in the other two games. He hasn’t made a three-pointer in his last five games, but continues to raise his overall field goal percentage bit by bit each week as he learns to take better shots while handling the pressure to score on a bad team decimated by injuries. Wiggins faces Cleveland for the second time this Saturday, and he’ll be hoping to replicate a 27-point outburst he had in the first meeting on Dec. 23rd against the team that traded him away in the offseaon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvpVP8s_1dk
2. Elfrid Payton – PG – Orlando Magic (7.8 PPG, 5.8 APG, 3.6 RPG) – Payton continues to have solid production and decision making on a bad team without much help around him. His shooting is holding steady at 46 percent in his last five game, but my goodness, his free-throw percentage. While he has avoided his patented double-airball maneuver from the line lately, 53 percent is just not going to cut it, especially for a guard. Something that’s gone rather unnoticed in light of the productive offensive play? His defense — Payton is averaging 2.0 steals a game this month. Magic coach Jacque Vaughn seems comfortable with having Payton in the starting lineup again, and he has responded in all aspects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31RzpRFQJOY
3. Nerlens Noel – C – Philadelphia 76ers (8.0 PPG, 7.2, 1.6 BPG, 1.6 SPG) – Noel drops a spot this week after three terrible offensive showings in last week’s action, most notably his 2-point, 1-for-9 clunker against the Pelicans on Monday. His game last night against the Pistons wasn’t much better, gathering five points on a 2-of-5 night. On the positive side, he did show off his passing skills, grabbing 5 assists in the 20-point win, and added four steals on top of that. We’ll let last week slide, but Noel could drop down in the rankings if he keeps missing all these shots from within five feet of the basket. The shots may not be falling, but he’s still keeping the defensive pressure on opponents, and rebounding at his usual clip.
Noel doesn’t really have any noteworthy highlights for this week, so in honor of his poor shooting, enjoy this video of 7-foot-7 Manute Bol hitting six threes in 1993 against Phoenix.
4. K.J. McDaniels – SG – Philadelphia 76ers (9.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.4) – McDaniels continues to have a good month, and has reached double-digits in four of his last five games. He carried the scoring load quite well on Monday night while Michael Carter-Williams was out, scoring 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field to go along with 5-of-6 from the line, three steals, and two blocks. Not bad for a late second-round pick. McDaniels continues to show a mature restraint on offense, and a solid, hard-nosed commitment on the defensive end, both rarities among most rookies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VLps3jyWmQ
5. Langston Galloway – PG – New York Knicks (12.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.1 APG) – Galloway makes his way into the top five in a rather surprising move for two reasons. One, Tarik Black and Nikolas Mirotic have experienced major drop-offs in production, and two, he’s playing extremely well, even in a small sample of games. The undrafted free-agent out of St. Josephs was signed to the team for the remainder of the year on Tuesday after his second 10-day contract expired. His first go round didn’t go to well in October, but in his second stint with the team, he has turned up his production in a major way. Sure, the Knicks are in disarray and undergoing major lineup alterations, but his play has been undeniably productive. Galloway was a big reason that the Knicks were able to hold off the Thunder at home on Wednesday night, draining deep threes and mid-range jumpers every time OKC got within striking distance late. It’s no mystery that the Knicks current 4-1 stretch began just as his production did. Phil Jackson and company might’ve stumbled on to something great, but we’ll wait a few more weeks before crowning him the next Jeremy Lin.
