Rajon Rondo (Celtics)-14.2 PTS, 4.2 REB, 9.7 AST
Expect Rondo to be announced as a reserve for this season’s NBA All-Star game in Dallas, Texas tonight on TNT. If the All-Star game were based off anything other than the fan vote, Rondo would be the starting point guard for the Eastern Conference. He continues to be a triple-double threat each game out and will continue to push the Celtics towards the playoffs. At 29-13, Boston would secure the #2 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs and would match up against the #7 Chicago Bulls who gave the Celtics all they could handle in last year’s playoffs. Rondo has already taken the NBA by storm and things continue to look bright in the future.
Chuck Hayes (Rockets)-4.7 PTS, 6 REB, 0.5 BLK
Hayes and the Rockets aren’t feeling so ‘hot’ these days after losing three straight games pushing them into fifth place in the Southwest division of the Western Conference. The West has become a force as many teams have drafted well and developed a solid team. Houston is struggling at the moment but their center has given them everything he can. A starter in all 45 of the Rockets games, Hayes has figured out a way to man the center position despite being only 6’6”. Hayes has been battling knee tendinitis recently, but he did play 27 minutes in a losing effort to the Nuggets. He won’t start or be on the All-Star team, but Hayes is a solid NBA player.
Jodie Meeks (Bucks)-4.7 PTS, 0.6 AST, 30.3% 3P
Despite the injury to starting shooting guard Michael Redd—a season ending one—Meeks’ playing time is as sporadic as ever. Over the past five Bucks games, Meeks has 9 total minutes playing 7 and 2 respectively in back-to-back games. It was odd watching Youtube highlights of Meeks torching Tennessee and Arkansas last season, realizing that his rookie season in the NBA is nowhere near those levels. Meeks had a year of eligibility left at UK to refine the enormous amount of skills he already had, but then Kentucky’s season would have its own question marks. As NBA All-Star weekend looms, Meeks won’t participate in the popular Rookie-Sophomore game headed by second year Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose and rookie Kings guard Tyreke Evans. Meeks still has a lot of work ahead of him if he’s to stay in the NBA.
Keith Bogans (Spurs)-5 PTS, 1.3 AST, 38.8% 3P
Playing on one of the oldest teams in the league hasn’t always been pretty for Bogans this season. The Spurs were losers of three straight until they pulled out a victory over Atlanta Wednesday night, beating the playoff bound Hawks 105-90. Bogans had a solid, all-around game for his role on the team. He scored 6 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 17 minutes of action. The Spurs coaching staff doesn’t expect much more than that out of Bogans, especially with the plethora of guards San Antonio has. ESPN’s Ric Bucher reported that he thought the Spurs should be highly involved in the trade market this season. With that said, one has to wonder how that might affect Bogans and his playing time. Would Bogans be used as a bargaining chip for a trade? Off-season acquisition Richard Jefferson hasn’t worked out as many thought it would, so no one knows what might happen.
Nazr Mohammed (Bobcats)-7.8 PTS, 4.5 REB, 0.8 BLK
Mohammed is already one of the league’s more surprising players, as the 11th year pro resurrects his career with the Charlotte Bobcats. He’s got an impressive stat line as it is for playing 20 minutes a game. During his time on the court, Mohammed is extremely efficient in scoring and rebounding. The Bobcats continue to push towards the playoffs and because they are in the Eastern Conference, the likelihood of reaching that point is more plausible than if they played in the West. Mohammed had 4 points and 6 rebounds in a 114-109 victory over the Suns Tuesday night and will be expected to provide much of the same role for the rest of the season. If you were to double his statistics, he could very well be playing in the All-Star game this season.
Tayshaun Prince (Pistons)-8.8 PTS, 3.8 REB, 2.1 AST
At 15-29, Prince is playing for one of the worst teams in the NBA this season. The fact that he missed more than 20+ games on the year due to a back injury doesn’t help. This is his worst NBA season since his rookie one when he was part of a Detroit team that won the NBA Championship. The back injury has set him back considerably and another inury he suffered only weeks ago has done even more damage. The goal is to keep his minutes under 30 minutes a game, so don’t expect a ton of production from a guy who needed just that to make an impact during a game. It has been a tough year for Prince, but hopefully things turn around.
Jamaal Magloire (Heat)-2.6 PTS, 3.8 REB, 0.4 BLK
Like former Kentucky alum Jodie Meeks, Magloire hasn’t been seeing the floor as often as he’d like either. Through the past five games, the Canadian big man has averaged 12 minutes a game while having not played in three of those. Magloire will continue to get playing time sporadically at best and should get comfy on the bench.
Randolph Morris (Hawks)-2.4 PTS, 1.4 REB, 0.1 BLK
Morris has played in the last four games for the Hawks for a total of six minutes. He like Magloire and Meeks also doesn’t see the court that much. He usually finds his way onto it during blowouts and games in which Atlanta is likely to lose. Don’t expect too much more out of him this season.
Kelenna Azubuike (Warriors)-injured
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