NBA Weekly Player Report

By Alex Lauzon from the “Course of Life” podcast

Holiday Heroes Assemble on the Hardwood

The NBA’s first In-Season Tournament came and went in Las Vegas with Lebron and the Lakers taking home the team prize and one more amazing night partying on the strip. Now it’s holiday hoops season as we approach that magical Christmas Day Quintuple-header which is just days away, and the meat of the NBA regular season schedule is here. It’s a great time for fans and NBA contest players (like yourself reading this) to find new names on the NBA scene and for new names to make themselves found on the stat sheets. Let’s high a few trenders up and trenders down in the association that are worth further inspection for future contests you enter.

Trending Up

Desmond Bane - Maybe if Bane’s scoring outburst last week against the Pistons was a 50 piece it may have gotten more attention, but 49 is still nothing to sneeze at for the blooming star in Memphis. Three years after being drafted he’s shining offensively and putting up numbers close to 25, 5 and 5 game in and game out. Memphis may not be shining too bright as a team but they’ve got something special in Bane who is quickly emerging as the best scoring option.

Paolo Banchero - It’s not the way he’s scoring, it’s how Banchero goes about that has the league taking notice as of late. The lanky #1 overall draft pick from 2022 is coming into his own and becoming a force for the Magic, who sit WAY higher in the Eastern Conference standings than we’re used to (currently second) thanks to his play. His efficiency on both sides of the ball coupled with a near 50% shooting clip from the field makes him an easy teammate, and explosions like a 42 point effort last week in Cleveland are proof he may have been worth that #1 overall pick after all.

Keldon Johnson - Obviously the hype in and around San Antonio is squarely around VIctor Wembanyama and his impressive start to this rookie campaign, but Johnson’s season is worth a headline as well. The University of Kentucky product flew a bit under the radar early in his career and could continue in Wemby’s shadow, but he’s a good bet for a double double on any game night. Johnson and Wemby could be the unlikely star duo that takes the Spurs back to championship contention in the years ahead.

Honorable Mention: Anthony Davis - My god did he deliver in Saturday’s In-Season tournament championship.

Trending Down

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - KCP hasn’t delivered that same punch since his Lakers era, and statistically he hasn’t been filling the stat sheets in Denver. Despite the fact he's playing almost 34 minutes a night, he doesn't average more than 3 of anything besides points. If you’re looking for a lower tiered box score filler, Pope is not your guy at the moment.

Malik Beasley - Players evolve and roles within different rosters do change, but Beasley is currently pigeon-holing himself as a chucker and he should find some versatility for his career’s sake. Since I was once a lefty chucker in high school I know what one looks like when I see it. It’s a feast or famine game of how many catch and shoot three Beasley can make to determine the success of his night. Rostering the Bucks token shooter these days is like playing red or black on the roulette wheel. Long term, it’s not a winning strategy.

Jaden Ivey - We’re in the midst of a little bit of a sophomore slump in action for the former Purdue standout, who’s in purgatory with the Pistons. An early season benching due to high turnover rates and a lack of fit in the starting lineup were the perfect formula to drag his statlines down, and as it stands now he’s been degraded to about 23 minutes a night, but hasn’t scored in double digits in his last few nights out.

Honorable Mention: Chris Paul -It's no surprise that he’s in the twilight of his career, but he’s riding the bench hard in the Bay Area and seems to be floated in trade talks already this season.