Wednesday Morning Basketball Report
12/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2009
Overall, this past week marks one of the strongest weeks in 2009 for the former Demon Deacons currently playing in the National Basketball Association. Along with Duncan's staggering 34 points last night, Chris Paul recorded three double-doubles, rookies Jeff Teague and James Johnson eclipsed career highs in multiple categories, Darius Songaila finished in double figures twice, and Josh Howard continued to show signs of progress after returning from an ankle injury.
Duncan recorded his season-high 34 points with 14 rebounds at Phoenix on Tuesday. Now, Duncan ranks in the top 20 on multiple NBA lists, including first in the league in efficiency ranking per 48 minutes with 39.42.
In a win against Charlotte last Friday, Duncan had 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists. He totaled 21 points in a win against the Clippers on Monday night and 17 points against Sacramento last Wednesday.
For the New Orleans Hornets, Paul has recorded three double-doubles this week. He played 40 minutes on Monday night in the loss at Dallas, totaling 20 points, 16 helpers and five thefts. Earlier in the week, he had a double-double against the Knicks on Friday with 13 points and 13 assists, and another against Minnesota with 15 points and 14 assists last Wednesday.
Paul currently ranks first in assists-per-turnover ratio with 4.38 and second in the league averaging 10.8 assists per game. He is third in three-point shooting percentage at 48.9 percent.
Paul's teammate Songaila tied his season-high 12 points on Monday. He also reached double figures against the Knicks, totaling 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. Songaila finished with six points and three rebounds at Minnesota.
Howard continued to see time coming off the bench for Dallas after being sidelined with an ankle injury for much of the season. He had 14 points, eight boards and two assists in a four-point win, 94-90, over the Hornets on Monday. Howard had five points and four assists in a win at Miami earlier in the week.
Rookie James Johnson shattered a number of his previous bests in a loss at Atlanta last Wednesday. Notching a career-high 17 points, he shot 4-of-7 from the floor and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, adding two helpers in 19 minutes of action - all career highs.
Johnson has seen time in three other games since last Wednesday morning. He has combined for 24 minutes, eight rebounds, four points, three assists, three blocks and a steal in those contests.
Fellow rookie Jeff Teague has been solid all week, with NBA.com dubbing his best game of the year the 111-89 win over Toronto on Friday. He recorded 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting, with seven assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block.
In other action this week, Teague reached 12 points with three assists and two steals against the Knicks on Monday. Against former teammate Johnson last Wednesday, he turned in another strong performance totaling eight points and eight assists.
Check back to WakeForestSports.com next week for additional updates on the former Wake Forest basketball student-athletes now playing professionally in the NBA.
