NBA Who’s Hot and Who’s Not: Lillard Rising, Banchero Stuck

Eastern Conference Who’s Hot

• Cam Thomas – Bye-bye, Kyrie. Adios, KD. Hello, Cam! This second-year pro has taken advantage (to put it lightly) of the opportunity presented in Brooklyn to fill Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant’s shoes. Thomas teased us with games of 21 and 19 points while Kyrie was still around and then erupted for 44, 47, and 43 points in a three-game blitz that stunned the league. The former LSU star hit a bit of a wall with a 3-for-16 performance (still had 20 points) vs. Chicago on Thursday, but overall he’s had 194 of his 974 career points (20%) in the last six games.
• Kristaps Porzingis – This has been perhaps the best season of Porzingis’s career, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. He’s scored over 30 points in three of his last four games, burying a career-high-tying eight 3-pointers in Wednesday’s win over Charlotte. He actually outscored the Hornets 18-15 in the third quarter of that game.
• Jalen Brunson – About a month after we debuted Brunson on the Who’s Hot side, Brunson is back, proving he was among the biggest All-Stabr snubs (and perhaps the best option to fill in for some injured folk if you can find something at the sportsbook for that). Over his last six games, Brunson is averaging 29.8 points on a solid 53% shooting (60% the last three games) to go along with 6.0 assists. He’s also pretty pumped about the Knicks’ deadline addition.

Western Conference Who’s Hot

• Damian Lillard – Since the start of February, Lillard has scored 172 points. That’s 49 more than anyone else in the Western Conference this month. The hot stretch (is there ever really a cold one with this guy?) has included three 40-point games, all coming just days after he put up 60 in a win over Utah on Jan. 25. The surge has Lillard’s point per game average (PPG) up to 30.9, a career-high.
• Kenyon Martin Jr. – Another guy whose opportunities will increase in the wake of the trade deadline, Martin will eat up some of Eric Gordbon’s scoring in Houston. Actually, he already was, averaging 15.0 points over his last eight games while shooting a remarkable 67% (a tidy 50-for-75) from the floor.
• Donte DiVincenzo – Klay Thompson is usually the man to fill up the scoring column when Steph Curry is sidelined, but DiVincenzo has been doing his share. The solid sub has hit 54% of his 3-pointers over a nine-game stretch, including a 4-for-4 effort, a 4-for-5 effort and a 5-for-10 showing in his most recent outing. The scorching stretch has vaulted the former Villanova star to 21st in the NBA in 3-point percentage with a career-high 41.2.

  

Eastern Conference Who’s Not

• Paolo Banchero – We’ve tucked this rookie into the Who’s Not department for two straight weeks as he seems to be tiring a bit. He’s carried a big load for the Magic and had a double-double in Thursday’s big win over the Denver Nuggets. That was the 38th straight game Banchero has played and he’s 1-for-17 from the arc over the last five (30.9% overall). Head coach Jamahl Moseley likely will find a night to rest his star, and he’ll finish strong, staying the man to bet online in Rookie of the Year wagers.
• PJ Washington – He was one of those names that bubbled up in many trade rumors but ultimately remained in Charlotte. He’s a streaky guy, so it’s unlikely anyone was scared off by his recent run of games, but Washington didn’t sell himself well with a pair of 3-for-15 shooting efforts in the past week-plus. He’s averaging 11.9 points (roughly three below his average) on 35.9% shooting (20.3% from the arc) over a nine-game span.
• Patty Mills – Another player who has a chance to fill some shoes in Brooklyn, Mills has just been a tad off the mark. He missed 11 straight shots over two-plus games before a make in the first quarter Thursday night. The 3-point specialist is 4-for-19 from long range over his last five games and his 37.2% mark for the season is tied for his worst 3-point percentage since 2010-11.

Western Conference Who’s Not

• Kevin Huerter – It’s not much, but Huerter’s long-range accuracy has taken a bit of a downturn. He’s 7-for-35 from the arc over a six-game stretch, averaging 9.5 points – more than five below his season mark – in that time. We’re really nitpicking here, though, as he’s 7-for-7 INSIDE the arc over his last three games.
• Jeff Green – This 36-year-old is looking every bit like a guy who’s just about at the clubhouse, ready to throw his bag down and grab a cold one. He is 7-for-26 from the field over a four-game stretch and is a minus-81 over the past six contests. The next-worst figure in that category during that time frame on the Nuggets is minus-40 by Zeke Nnaji.
• Damion Lee – He had been atop the 3-point percentage leaderboard for weeks until a recent slump dropped him to third. Lee was 1-for-9 from long distance in Thursday’s loss at Atlanta and he’s 8-for-30 (26.7%) in his last seven contests. He’ll heat up soon.