Nearly a month has gone by in the first full season of NBA basketball since before the lockout last season, and already, players have risen to highs, sunken to lows and emerged as surprise contenders.
Latinos Post takes a look at five of the top players thriving in the 2012-13 NBA season.
Top Five Thriving NBA Players of the Month
- Carmelo Anthony, forward, New York Knicks
The man with the most attention--and scrutiny--on the basketball team of the most scrutinizing city in the world was facing a lot of pressure coming into this season. Fans were critical of him being allegedly out of shape last season. Sources and rumors were pointing the blaming finger at him when it came to who drove Mike D'Antoni and Jeremy Lin out of New York. And after his buddy LeBron James became the latest of the coveted 2003 NBA Draft class to win a title in June, there was speculation that Anthony simply did not have the ability to become a championship player.
How did he respond? By posting some of the best figures of his career (26.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, .467 field goal average) and leading the Knicks to the top of the Atlantic Division with a 9-4 record. Compared to last season, when he averaged only 22.6 points and show at .430 percent from the floor, well below his career averages, and Melo has been on fire in the first 13 games after switching to the power forward position. Anthony is scoring 33.6 points over the last three games, and often times carrying the team on his back.
He is unquestionably playing like the Knicks' MVP, and if he can keep up his torrid pace, he might even be the league's MVP at season's end.
2. James Harden, shooting guard, Houston Rockets
Those who were concerned how last year's Sixth Man of the Year would fare after being traded from Oklahoma City to the Houston Rockets can safely tuck those fears away.
Averaging 25.2 points--fifth in the league-- and 4.9 assists this month, Harden has gone from super-sub to Superman for the Rockets, who are coming off their biggest win of the season Friday against the Knicks. With his slashing drives to the basket, stellar defense and deep playoff experience at the helm of a young and talented Rockets team, Harden is loudly making his case for being the league's best player this month.
If his breakout year continues and can translate into a playoff birth for the Rockets in the competitive Western Conference, Harden could easily be a frontrunner for the league MVP award.
3. Zach Randolph, forward, Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are off to a hot start at 10-2 for the season behind a deep and balanced team of Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, but Randolph has been the glue holding this dangerous team together.
Randolph struggled last season, posting his worst point totals, 11.6 points per game, since his sophomore year. But he has definitely bounced back this season. Randolph's 16.9 points and 13.2 rebounds--second in the league--have provided the Grizzlies with a solid, dependable contributor on both ends of the court every night.
Granted, he may have been getting into trouble off the court as of late, having been fined $25,000 recently for an off-the-court confrontation with Thunder player Kendrick Perkins. But his aggressive defense and balanced attack on the floor have been giving opposing players enough problems to deal with.
4. Raymond Felton, point guard, New York Knicks
Last season, Felton was having a dismal year in Portland. Out of shape and seemingly unmotivated, the No. 5 draft pick of the 2005 NBA Draft let his scoring and assists averages--which were at career highs of 17.1 points and 9.0 assists in 2010-11, ironically as a Knick--drop nearly six points to 11.4 per game and nearly three assists down to 6.5 a night.
Fast forward one off-season later, when he returned to New York to replace the outgoing Jeremy Lin. Now Felton is producing the second best offensive output of his career with 15.1 points per game over 13 games and 7.1 assists. Teaming with legendary point guard and former NBA world champion Jason Kidd in the backcourt, Felton has helped breathe new life into the Knicks offense this season, orchestrating a ball movement that gets everyone involved and getting more confident with his shooting, never shying away from taking a big shot in big moments.
Underrated for years as a point guard, Felton's resurgence in the point guard might be the difference as to whether New York can become serious NBA title contenders this season.
5. Kyle Lowry, point guard, Toronto Raptors
With a 3-11, the Raptors have been floundering this season. Kyle Lowry, however, is not.
The quick-footed point guard, fresh off being traded from Houston this past season, is topping last season's numbers already. In 2011-12, Lowry averaged 14.3 points and 6.6 assists for the Rockets. But in the first month of the season thus far, the sixth-year veteran out of Villanova has put up 18.3 points and 6.1 assists for Toronto.
Top it off, Lowry has been racking up 20.0 points in the last three games, showing signs that he is ready to become one of the Eastern Conference's elite point guards.