Just a month left in the NBA regular season. While a handful of key names are fighting injuries (LeBron, Durant, Brunson, etc.), several others are still putting up wacky numbers in this high-scoring season. Let’s look at a few, as well as some of those going in the other direction.
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Eastern Conference Who’s Hot
- Zach LaVine – The Chicago Bulls are a game out of a play-in spot in the East and probably don’t care all that much if they get there. It’s a disappointing season no matter how you slice it. LaVine is, at the very least, finishing strong. He’s averaging 34.8 points over his last four games while shooting 57.3% and 55.2% from long range. The 28-year-old (as of today!) shot 12-for-18 in a somewhat stunning 21-point win at Denver the other night that showed the Bulls might have a little bit of fight left.
- Tyrese Maxey – He was moved back into the starting lineup recently and has been a consistent source of points ever since. In five straight starts, he’s averaged 26.6 points while shooting 60% from the floor. Maxey has also made all 18 of his free throws in that span and has 16 assists, five steals and just four turnovers in the stretch, helping Philadelphia complete a 4-1 trip.
- Corey Kispert – Let’s give a little love to a bench guy here. Kispert has scored in double figures in five straight for the first time in his two seasons and he’s making a ton from long range. In his last six games, the Gonzaga product is 18-for-29 on 3’s, moving up to ninth in the NBA for the season at 43.1%
Western Conference Who’s Hot
- Devin Booker – The Kevin Durant addition was short-lived, and it looks like it’ll be on Booker to carry the Phoenix Suns down the stretch. He seems pretty motivated to do so, putting up 44 points on an eye-popping 17-for-23 shooting vs. Oklahoma City on Wednesday. He is averaging 33.5 points and 7.2 assists since the All-Star break, leading the Suns to a 5-1 record in that span and keeping them alive in NBA title odds discussions.
- Tim Hardaway Jr. – One of the streakiest fellas in the league has been on both sides of our Hot/Not sections already. We’ll bump him back to first-class amid his post-break hot streak. Since the return to action, this Dallas veteran has made 34 of 58 3-pointers (59%) for a Mavericks crew trying to find a rhythm in the Kyrie Irving era.
- Draymond Green – Let’s give a shout-out to a guy not known for his scoring prowess. Green still isn’t putting up huge points totals, but he’s rarely missing when given the opportunity, making 65.1% of his shots over the last six games. He’s averaging just 11.5 points in that span, but that’s three more than his season average, and the accurate stretch has his field-goal percentage at a career-high 53.2.
Eastern Conference Who’s Not
- Dorian Finney-Smith – He does a lot of work on the defensive end for the Nets but still factors into the offensive flow and just isn’t making many shots for them. Since coming over in the Kyrie deal, Finney-Smith is shooting 32.2% from the floor and 22.8% from long range. He’s missed all seven of his 3-point attempts over the last two games, managing a grand total of two points in 38 minutes.
- Seth Curry – The man who ranks fifth in NBA history in 3-point percentage (43.5) is 1-for-16 from out there over his last five games, and 0-for-9 over his last four.
- Benedict Mathurin – The rookie wall was hit in early February and Mathurin hasn’t quite overcome it. He also suffered an ankle injury his last time out and could miss some time as the Pacers try to stay in the play-in picture. Since the start of February, Mathurin is averaging 12.3 points while shooting 27.3% from the arc. Before then, he averaged 17.9 points on 32.3%.
Western Conference Who’s Not
- Jordan Poole – Like Hardaway Jr., this guy is a regular member of either Who’s Hot or Who’s Not almost every other week. He’s in the naughty group this time around after shooting 24.6% from the arc since the All-Star break. It’s an even worse 6-for-27 over the last four games as Golden State sinks toward the play-in pool, hurting their NBA playoff odds.
- Malik Beasley – Another 3-point specialist who has been part of a pretty good stretch for the Lakers, Beasley hasn’t found his touch since moving to Los Angeles. He had just five points on 2-for-10 from the floor in Tuesday’s win over Memphis and is shooting 38.5% as a Laker.
- Norman Powell – He’s missed the last three games due to a shoulder ailment. When he returns, Powell will try to turn around a recent slow stretch in which he averaged 8.0 points on 28.1% shooting.
