It just doesn't pay to be a rising big man these days.
Last Friday, the Grizzlies shut down Marc Gasol with a torn neck muscle, annoucing the big man would miss Memphis' final eight games. One night later, Bucks center Andrew Bogut took off for a breakaway dunk against Phoenix and landed more-than awkwardly, breaking his right hand and probably kissing Milwaukee's hopes of a first-round playoff upset goodbye, too.
When it comes time next week to dole out our picks for the 10 players who rose the most this season, Gasol and Bogut will be high on the list. And with the injuries to these big men, it's allowed Memphis to give more playing time to raw centers Hamed Haddadi and rookie Hasheem Thabeet. Both players have picked up their play with the increased minutes, a particularly encouraging sign for the Grizzlies, who caught plenty of flack this season for sending Thabeet down to the D-League.
While Milwaukee doesn't have the benefit of having two raw big men in the stable, they do have Kurt Thomas, who has been on several prolonged playoff runs and has played in the NBA Finals during a 14-season career. Coach Scott Skiles told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the Bucks don't have time to tinker with lineups, but need whatever healthy bigs they have to play better immediately.
"Andrew makes a lot of hustle plays for us, rebounding the ball and taking charges and things like that," Skiles told the newspaper. "Those are things anybody can do. All the guys know the importance of Andrew to our team. But at the same time, they know they have to go on right now."
So far, the combination of Thomas and little-used backup big man Dan Gadzurich have held down the fort as the Bucks went 3-0 in the latest post-Bogut era. Things haven't been so great in Memphis, where the Grizz are 1-3 since Gasol was shelved for the season.
While Memphis and Milwaukee have different goals to close out the season with, it will be interesting to see how the reserve big men on both team rise to the challenge before them as the season ends.
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 66 | 29.7 | 13.2 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.2 | .469 | .452 | .884 |
When Don Nelson looks back on the long road it took him to get to the all-time wins record, he might want to think wistfully about Morrow and his play last week. Though he had been seeing sporadic minutes (and shooting terribly) over the last two weeks or so, Morrow found his rhythm (and some playing time) as the Warriors went 3-1 last week to get Nelson the all-time NBA wins mark held by Lenny Wilkens. Against the Knicks' sieve-like defense, Morrow came off the bench and scored 35 points in 36 minutes, shooting 16-for-23 and pulling down six rebounds that cut Wilkens' all-time gap to two wins. He got the start against the Raptors two nights later, going for 25 points and 10 rebounds in a thrilling victory that got Nelson within one win of the record. Though Nelson called Morrow's play an "Anthony Morrow sighting," there's little doubt that without Morrow's hot hand, Nelson would likely have little shot at the record he has now.
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 72 | 28.7 | 16.5 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 0.3 | .440 | .384 | .867 |
San Antonio has won five in a row and seven of its last 10 games and no player has played a bigger part in the Spurs' surge than Ginobili. He had 43 points and shot 17 free throws against the Magic on Friday in a victory and had 32 points and 11 free throw attempts against the Lakers (also a win). Just by watching Ginobili play, it's easy to tell he's playing more aggressive, but his free throw totals the last month or so are further proof. From the start of the season until the end of February, Ginobili attempted eight or more free throws in a game eight times; since March 1, he's had eight or more free throws six times. "He had a tough first half of the year, as we all know, but he's been playing All-Star-caliber basketball for the last month," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told ESPN.com after the win over the Lakers. "That's the major reason why we kick-started it. Our rotations are more solid; trust on the team on both ends, execution-wise, has been better -- but Manu's play has been instrumental in us winning games." Reports are circulating that the Spurs and Ginobili are close to nailing down a multi-year extension, which might explain why he's had a recent surge in productivity. Still, with Tony Parker healthy now and George Hill taking his place -- although likely for only a short time -- on the injured list, the Spurs will need Ginobili to keep up his recent stellar play more now than ever as the season winds down.
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 59 | 29.4 | 10.3 | 10.7 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 1.5 | .491 | ---- | .753 |
After taking his time and slowly working himself back into the flow with the Bulls following a lengthy battle with plantar fasciitis in February, Noah is rounding back into the All-Star form he was enjoying during the first half of the season. He has played 20-plus minutes in Chicago's last four games and has been particularly active, pulling down 10-plus rebounds and recording two blocks in three of those four games. Perhaps the biggest moment signaling his return to form came on Saturday against the Bobcats, when he caught a no-look pass from Derrick Rose and powered down a jam over former teammate Tyrus Thomas in Chicago's big comeback win over Charlotte. He finished the game with 11 points, 16 rebounds and three assists and came up with big defensive stops and hit a few jumpers, too, as the Bulls kept their playoff hopes alove. "The season was on the line," Noah told the Chicago Tribune. "That's one thing about this team: Even when things aren't going well, everybody gives everything they've got. That's not the case for all teams. A lot of teams with their starters hurt make excuses. We keep fighting." His performance against the Bogut-less Bucks on Monday (eight points, 11 rebounds, four assists) was a little disappointing, but give the Bucks credit for using Kurt Thomas and Ersan Ilyasova effectively to keep him from being too much of a factor in that game.
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 69 | 39.9 | 21.3 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 1.7 | 0.5 | .424 | .332 | .784 |
As he's done several times already this season, Jackson showed his worth to the Bobcats' resurgence in the span of just a few games. In a thrilling win Friday over the Bucks, he had 32 points, five rebounds and three blocks and was locked in a pretty exciting scoring duel with John Salmons. Jackson came through with a big 3-pointer in overtime to help the Bobcats get a win playoff-type environment that Jackson said the Bobcats needed to experience. One night later, the Bobcats couldn't close the deal against the Bulls in Chicago, with Jackson's participation (or lack thereof) playing a big role in the loss. Charlotte's top scorer sat out the entire fourth quarter -- precisely when the Bulls' got their comeback win -- due to a sore left hamstring. He went 3-for-12 from the field and had only eight points as the Bobcats' hopes of securing a playoff spot a little early took a slight bump. He came back on Wednesday night and had 29 points as the Bobcats held off the Hornets to finally wrap up that elusive playoff berth. Jackson said earlier in the week he hoped to take some time off if the Bobcats wrapped up a spot early and he may get his wish now. "I've dealt with injuries a lot, but not at this magnitude at this part of the season," Jackson said. "I've got to be mentally tough, but I'll get through it."
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 77 | 20.7 | 8.4 | 4.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | .555 | ---- | .673 |
LeBron James did his usual late-game heroics and the Cavs nearly went perfect in the last week, but they couldn't avoid a loss to the Celtics. Still, there is a bright spot to be found from a 3-1 week (like that isn't bright enough on its own) and that's been the play of Hickson. In fact, from February (roughly when Shaquille O'Neal got hurt and the team was waiting for Zydrunas Ilgauskas to get re-signed) to now, Hickson has been a quiet force, averaging 11.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg and shooting 54.5 percent while playing just 23.3 mpg. He was outstanding in a win over the Hawks, collecting 16 rebounds (seven on the offensive glass) and more than held his own against Boston's bruising Kendrick Perkins, going for 14 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Coach Mike Brown has been plenty pleased with Hickson lately, singling him out after games for his effort. While Hickson plays nearly starting-quality minutes, he's getting major time at the end of games, too. "It's not just the coaches trust me, but my teammates trust me as well. They trust me enough to pass me the ball in the fourth quarter. That's given me a big confidence boost," Hickson told The Chronicle-Telegram.
The Next Five
G Aaron Brooks, Rockets: As far as Brooks and the Rockets knew, their win over the Celtics in Boston was just another late-season victory that was keeping their faint playoff hopes alive. Yet in the middle of that win, the Rockets were eliminated from playoff contention by virtue of the Spurs' win over the Lakers. Still, we give Brooks the nod for his 30-point game as the Rockets won despite not having Trevor Ariza or Kevin Martin. He went wild against the Jazz, too, scoring 28 points as Houston dropped Utah from the No. 2 seed to the No. 5 seed in the West. Houston has two more chances (April 9 vs. Charlotte and April 11 at Phoenix) to try and spoil another team's rhythm heading into the postseason. But as was raised in Houston's blowout loss to Indiana last week, how interested will Brooks and Co. be to upset another team's season and not just try and pad their individual stats?
G Dorell Wright, Heat: Miami has won nine straight entering Thursday night and Wright's emergence has played a significant part in the team's hot streak. Over his last 10 games, Wright has increased his performance in scoring (9.9 ppg), rebounding (3.9 rpg), field goal percentage (49.3 pct) and 3-point shooting (43.2 percent). He's been pretty efficient offensively, scoring in double figures in five of those nine games despite taking only 6.5 shots per game during the winning streak. Wright has made 55 three-pointers this season, which is a stellar total considering he made only 12 of them entering the season. Coach Erik Spoelstra recently told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that he's proud of Wright's growth as a shooter, but is reluctant to pencil him in as a specialist. "I don't want to look at him as just a 3-point shooter or somebody to space the floor," Spoelstra told the newspaper. "He's a defender, he's a rebounder, he's an energy player, he's a good cutter without the ball."
F Boris Diaw, Bobcats: Here's an note brought up by the Charlotte Observer recently: Diaw is the only Bobcat this season who is currently on pace to play in all 82 games. Some might argue that Diaw -- who's often criticized as being too passive on offense -- didn't really "play" in all of Charlotte's games. Yet as the Bobcats wrapped up a playoff berth on Wednesday, Diaw deserves plenty of credit for playing (quite well) during the last week. He had six points, nine rebounds, three assists and four blocks in a win over the Bucks on Friday. Then he had a team-best 18 points in a disappointing loss to the Bulls and followed that up with a near triple-double (17 points, nine boards, nine assists) in a win over the Hawks. He capped his week with 10 points, six rebounds and six boards against the Hornets. That little run highlights what has been a fact for the last 30 games -- Diaw is getting more aggressive on offense. He's scored in double figures in 26 of his last 30 games and for the Bobcats to make noise in the playoffs, his multi-faced game will be needed.
F Nick Collison, Thunder: The last time the Thunder made the playoffs, it was 2004-05, they were still in Seattle as the Sonics and Collison was a key young player on the then-Northwest Division champs. Fast forward to Saturday's game in Dallas and Collison is now the veteran voice on the Thunder and was instrumental in Oklahoma City securing its first playoff berth in franchise history. He had 17 points off the bench and went 6-for-7 from the field, routinely frustrating the Mavericks' defense with some tough scores around the basket. Collison, one of the team's best low-post defenders in terms of proper positioning, is plenty grateful to be back in the postseason. "I was successful in high school and college, and my first year in the league we won the division," Collison told The Oklahoman. "I kind of felt like it was always going to be like that and then I realized it wasn't. So now that we're able to win again, I definitely appreciate it more. This season's been a lot of fun."
C Kurt Thomas, Bucks: Few injuries in the last few seasons were as gruesome as the one Andrew Bogut suffered in last week's win over the Suns. With the Bucks' budding big man out for the season with a broken right hand, the onus is on Thomas (and to a lesser extent big men Ersan Ilyasova and Dan Gadzurich) to sythesize Bogut's productivity as best as possible. Thomas was solid when he filled in for Bogut against the Suns, putting up 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 31 minutes (the most he's played since late November). Expecting those kinds of nights out of Thomas come playoff time is hardly logical, but he has a good jump shot and plays solid defense, which could help lessen the blow of Bogut's injury.
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