It was a dream slate of games on Martin Luther King Day as the NBA celebrated with 13 matchups guaranteed to kick the highlight reels into overdrive.
Upsets in the nation’s capital and the Big Apple were followed by a possible Eastern Conference Championship preview and some of the league’s most entertaining players taking to the floor at Staples Center Los Angeles.
In honor of a day in which the league is more heavily showcased on national television than any other, Shatter the Glass looks at all the action from Monday in this week’s Wednesday Highlight Reel.
Team of the Week: New Orleans Hornets
After a great start to the season the Hornets cooled off toward the end of the 2010. Coming into January the Hornets were five games above .500, but after a 7-2 start to January New Orleans has kept themselves within reach of a top four seed in the west.
Their victory over Toronto Monday takes their current win streak to five games, a stint that began with wins over the Nuggets and Magic. Chris Paul is the driving force behind the Hornets success but key contributions from David West (19 points per game and 7 rebounds) and Emeka Okafur on the defensive end are keeping their hopes of home court advantage-not to mention that home court staying in the Big Easy-alive.
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Monday’s Best Individual Performance: Blake Griffin- Los Angeles Clippers
The Blake Griffin show was taken to new heights on Monday as the likely Rookie of the Year blasted the Indiana Pacers with a 47 point, 14 rebound performance.
It’s been a ridiculously successful year for the young player out of Oklahoma, leaving Clipper fans to wonder how different last year may have been had he not experienced a season ending injury in the opening minutes of 2009-10.
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Monday’s best Dunk: Javale McGee- Washington Wizards
Despite Kobe Bryant finishing off the night with a beautiful finish over multiple Thunder players, this one from McGee set the tone for the day. An amazing catch and finish from the Washington center was the start of a 15 assist performance by John Wall as the Wizards shocked the Jazz for their twelfth win of the season.
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Monday’s Best Block: Al Horford- Atlanta Hawks
Horford may not have the size of a Dwight Howard, but the former Florida Gator has made his presence felt with plays like this. His offensive capabilities were on display as well posting a 23 point, 9 rebound and 6 assist performance against Sacramento on Monday.
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Monday’s Assist of the Night: Baron Davis
Davis is playing his best basketball since leaving Golden State with the Clippers as part of the Blake Griffin machine. Here he loses his balance after spinning around a defender and finds DeAndre Jordan alone underneath the hoop while recovering. It’s a play that shows Davis still possesses some of that athleticism that made him so good a few years back.
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Trick shot of the Week: Kobe Bryant
This is a shot Kobe has pulled off multiple times. It’s been copied by others in the league but no one does it like Kobe. Here, he assists himself against Phoenix earlier this year.
