On any given night, anyone can step up to be the difference maker that leads his team to a victory. Typically, it’s the team’s best player or one of their key starters that does it. That’s why they’re paid the big bucks, after all. Sometimes, though, it’s a role player that comes out hitting shots from nowhere and he’s the guy that, for one night at least, is the hero. In tonight’s contests, we had a mix of both and they make up our three stars:
Third Star: Russell Westbrook (27 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals)
There are nights where Russell Westbrook looks like the best player on the floor. And considering he plays with Kevin Durant, that’s saying something.
Against the Cavaliers, Westbrook had one of those nights where he was the best player on the court, doing everything that he does best and helping his team to get a win in the process. Westbrook was in attack mode all night, getting to the basket with his typical force but also hitting his jumper (he finished 4-6 from three point range) with great consistency. Beyond getting his own shots to fall, he also played great defense and set up his teammates for easy baskets. Just a great overall night for Russ, with plays just like this one typical of his performance:
Second Star: Dwight Howard (23 points, 18 rebounds, 3 blocks)
Dwight Howard isn’t yet 100% physically. There are times where he’s still not as explosive or quick to react to plays as he has been in the past. Against the Kings, though, that really didn’t matter.
Without DeMarcus Cousins to put up resistance in the paint, Howard controlled the area around the basket on both ends of the floor and simply man handled the Kings en route to a great night. He finished inside with relative ease, controlled the back boards, and contested shots in the paint so nothing came easy to the Kings inside. And yes, he even had one of his typical alley oops:
First Star: Wayne Ellington (25 points, 7 made three pointers)
If you happened to miss the game and only saw the final score, you’d probably think the Grizzlies dominated the Heat by beasting them inside with Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. And that would be the wrong assumption.
The Grizzlies took down the Heat by hitting a whopping 14 of their 24 three point shots, pouring it on from the outside in a way they haven’t done all year (in several years, actually). In the middle of all that was Wayne Ellington who hit bomb after bomb from behind the arc to loosen up the Heat’s defense. Ellington’s 7-11 from behind the arc fueled the Grizz in this one and gave them a statement win over the defending champs. Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph also had very good nights, but without Ellington’s sharp shooting, the Grizz likely don’t win this one. Watch for yourself:
