Ben Gordon - Eastern Conference Player of the Week

[??? ??????]

NEW YORK, April 13, 2009 - The Chicago Bulls' Ben Gordon and the Portland Trail Blazers' Brandon Roy today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, April 6, through Sunday, April 12.

Gordon led the playoff-bound Bulls to a 3-0 week, averaging 26.7 points on .475 shooting from the field, .520 shooting from three-point range and a perfect 11-for-11 from the foul line. Gordon's best effort came on April 11, as the guard tallied 39 points on 7-of-12 shooting from distance as Chicago beat the visiting Charlotte Bobcats 113-106.

Roy led the Trail Blazers to a 4-0 mark, including three road wins and two wins over Western Conference playoff teams (San Antonio and L.A. Lakers). Roy averaged 22.3 points, 5.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals. He helped rally the Trail Blazers from 18-point and 19-point deficits, respectively, on April 7 at Memphis and April 8 at San Antonio during eventual Portland wins.

Here is a recap of the week for Gordon and Roy:

Ben Gordon, Chicago Bulls

* April 7 vs. New York: Tallied 17 points and five rebounds as the Bulls defeated the Knicks 110-103.
* April 9 vs. Philadelphia: Posted 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists during Chicago's 113-99 win over the 76ers.
* April 11 vs. Charlotte: Poured in 39 points on 13-of-25 shooting as the Bulls beat the Bobcats 113-106.

Brandon Roy, Portland Trail Blazers

* April 7 @ Memphis: Collected 24 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 96-93 win over the Grizzlies.
* April 8 @ San Antonio: Tallied 26 points and six assists in a 95-83 win over the Spurs.
* April 10 vs. L.A. Lakers: Totaled 24 points, eight assists and four rebounds as Portland topped the Lakers 106-98.
* April 11 @ L.A. Clippers: Scored 15 points and added four assists, three rebounds and two steals in an 87-72 win over the Clippers.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta's Josh Smith, Charlotte's Raymond Felton, Cleveland's LeBron James, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, Houston's Luis Scola, Miami's Dwyane Wade and New Orleans' Chris Paul.

http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/gordon_pow_090413.html

 

[??? ??????]

The Bulls are 4-0 in April right now. If Ben Gordon finished out the month with 2 strong games, leading the Bulls to victory, and a 6-0 April, he might just be named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month, which would be quite a bargaining chip for Ben.

This is Gordon's fourth time being named an All Conference Player of the Week. I believe he did it once in April in his rookie season, at the end of his rookie season, once in January in 06-07 and once in April in 06-07 before this.

I think he's the only Bull post-Jordan to get this award.

He's definitely peaking at the right time, going in the playoffs. I want every game, from here on out, to be absolutely monster games for Gordon, so that there is no question that the Bulls should bring him back.

 

[Fred]

??? ?????? wrote:

I think he's the only Bull post-Jordan to get this award.

That's shocking. I can't believe Kirk or Luol haven't won it even once, considering how much better they are then Ben. Let me remove my tongue from my cheek.

Ben plays best when it matters most. He also plays best against the best competition. He'll make the Thunder a force next year.

 

[Manic Devourer]

We need both Gordon and Kirk to have great playoff series for our team to have any chance to win.

I've been watching the 3 playoff series of recent years, and I can't believe how quickly people forget how good Kirk has been. When Kirk and Gordon were on, they were unbeatable and extremely fun to watch.

Well done to Gordon, well deserved.

 

[charity stripe]

Fred wrote:

He'll make the Thunder a force next year.

He's not going to the Thunder. They need to find a PG and a C. Westbrook, Weaver, and Thabo are their SGs

 

[Fred]

Westbrook is shooting 40 percent from the field, 27 percent from three-point range. The Thunder want him to play the point, they think he can play the point, and he better play the point, because he has no future as a 2 guard in this league.

 

[fola]

Fred wrote:

??? ?????? wrote:

He'll make the Thunder a force next year.

Damn you Fred. Maybe if we all stop thinking it WILL happen, it wont. Maybe. Come on, its worth a shot right!?

 

[dougthonus]

Fred wrote:

Westbrook is shooting 40 percent from the field, 27 percent from three-point range. The Thunder want him to play the point, they think he can play the point, and he better play the point, because he has no future as a 2 guard in this league.

Westbrook is an extraordinary athlete and a good defender. I think he absolutely has a future as a 2. He needs to shoot better, but give him some time to work on his shot, he only had one year of college.

FG% is the least significant stat to project from a rookie going forward statistically. Meaning, in studies done on rookie stats, FG% is among the least accurate at predicting success.

 

[dougthonus]

Either way, a good honor for Ben Gordon.

 

[AirP]

How did he beat D.Wade?

32 pts 6 ast 7 reb vs NO
31 pts 9 ast 3 reb vs BOS
55 pts 4 ast 9 ast vs NYK

Only an average of just over 39 points a game this last week.

 

[Fred]

dougthonus wrote:

Meaning, in studies done on rookie stats, FG% is among the least accurate at predicting success.

That is true. I could have never predicted the heights Kirk would reach after he shot 37% in his rookie year.

 

[cool007]

Re:Ben Gordon - Eastern Conference Player of the W

AirP wrote:

How did he beat D.Wade?

32 pts 6 ast 7 reb vs NO
31 pts 9 ast 3 reb vs BOS
55 pts 4 ast 9 ast vs NYK

Only an average of just over 39 points a game this last week.

Maybe because they lost 2 of those games and that 1 win was against Knicks.


So proud of BG. I always loved him as a Bull and he is my 2nd fav player on the Bulls team behind Rose.

I will be really sad if he is gone. Bulls will miss him BIG TIME.

Congrats Ben!!!!

 

[TheStig]

Good for Ben, I was a little worried a couple of weeks ago when he was in a slump but if he and rose are at the top of their game in the playoffs we have a chance.

 

[dougthonus]

Fred wrote:

dougthonus wrote:

Meaning, in studies done on rookie stats, FG% is among the least accurate at predicting success.

That is true. I could have never predicted the heights Kirk would reach after he shot 37% in his rookie year.

I was discussing Westbrook. Why bring Kirk up?

LeBron James 41.7%
Kobe Bryant 41.7%
Chris Paul 43%
Kevin Durant 43%
Deron Williams 42%

There have been many perimeter players who've had poor FG% in their rookie years who become great players later. The short story is that lots of guys significantly improve their jumper and learn how to score in the league.

 

[cool007]

Re:Ben Gordon - Eastern Conference Player of the W

And there are TON of guys who barely imrove their fg%.

Jury is still out and we will see how he does but Doug, can you explain the TOs though??? He is already at the top (top 3) in the TO category. How is this guy ever going to be a Good PG???

I think he is more of a 2 guard tahn 1.

 

[dougthonus]

Re:Ben Gordon - Eastern Conference Player of the W

And there are TON of guys who barely imrove their fg%.

Jury is still out and we will see how he does but Doug, can you explain the TOs though??? He is already at the top (top 3) in the TO category. How is this guy ever going to be a Good PG???

I think he is more of a 2 guard tahn 1.

Just to be clear, I'm not claiming Westbrook is the next great thing. I haven't watched him enough to have a strong opinion on that.

I'm just saying many great players show well early, but don't have good FG%, this seems to match up well with what I've heard other people discuss when talking about Westbrook.

I also agree with you that he's a SG and not a PG, in fact my FG% argument derived from Fred saying he could not be a SG because of his FG%.

 

[kukoc4ever]

Re:Ben Gordon - Eastern Conference Player of the W

A great honor for a tremendous scorer.

Now lets ship his butt out of town to free up playing time for the crappy/overpaid guys that Paxson blew the budget on!

 

[??? ??????]

Re:Ben Gordon - Eastern Conference Player of the W

cool007 wrote:

AirP wrote:

How did he beat D.Wade?

32 pts 6 ast 7 reb vs NO
31 pts 9 ast 3 reb vs BOS
55 pts 4 ast 9 ast vs NYK

Only an average of just over 39 points a game this last week.

Maybe because they lost 2 of those games and that 1 win was against Knicks.


So proud of BG. I always loved him as a Bull and he is my 2nd fav player on the Bulls team behind Rose.

I will be really sad if he is gone. Bulls will miss him BIG TIME.

Congrats Ben!!!!

The Knicks game also wasn't for the week that Ben won this for.

 

[Fred]

dougthonus wrote:

Fred wrote:

dougthonus wrote:

Meaning, in studies done on rookie stats, FG% is among the least accurate at predicting success.

That is true. I could have never predicted the heights Kirk would reach after he shot 37% in his rookie year.

I was discussing Westbrook. Why bring Kirk up?

LeBron James 41.7%
Kobe Bryant 41.7%
Chris Paul 43%
Kevin Durant 43%
Deron Williams 42%

There have been many perimeter players who've had poor FG% in their rookie years who become great players later. The short story is that lots of guys significantly improve their jumper and learn how to score in the league.

I was using Kirk as an example since he's on the Bulls. I agreed with your point.

 

[Bullsman24]

Re:Ben Gordon - Eastern Conference Player of the W

Fred wrote:

??? ?????? wrote:

I think he's the only Bull post-Jordan to get this award.

He'll make the Thunder a force next year.

what you talking about. thabo sefolosha's the greatest thing to hit okc, barely even joking. he's cleaning up the boards, and he's a guard!