Lou Williams, DeMarcus Cousins named NBA Players of the Week
When you drop a career-high 36 points against LeBron James, the world takes notice.
That's the lesson here, with Toronto Raptors bench spark plug Lou Williams earning the nod as Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games ending Nov. 23. Not only did Mr. Fourth Quarter hang 36 on the Cavaliers, he averaged 23.7 points while shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and 52.6 percent from 3-point land in three Raptor victories.
The @Raptors guard @TeamLou23 named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Nov. 17-23. Scored career-high 36 pts at Clev. #rtz
— RaptorsMR (@RaptorsMR) November 24, 2014
In his second season following ACL surgery, Williams is finding the groove and the shot that once made him one of the league's premier sixth men. In 13 games, he's averaging 13.4 points in just 19.4 minutes, ranking sixth in the league in points per minute.
Out West, it was DeMarcus Cousins further asserting his early-season dominance, earning Western Conference Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career. In two wins and a loss, Cousins averaged 25.7 points, 16.3 rebounds, three assists and 1.7 blocks while shooting 57.7 percent from the floor.
DeMarcus Cousins Named Western Conference Player of the Week - http://t.co/XrWGtbeP4b #BoogieProud pic.twitter.com/G5Lj0zd6Gr
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) November 24, 2014
The crazy part about those numbers is that they are par for the course these days for Boogie. Through 13 games, Cousins is averaging 23.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 blocks, ranking among the league leaders with a 27.8 player efficiency rating. He's an early MVP candidate for the surprising 8-5 Kings.