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Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford and Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge today were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 15, through Sunday, Dec. 21.
Horford led the Hawks to a 3-0 record, which included a home win over the Chicago Bulls and road wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets. He led the Hawks in scoring at 18.3 ppg and stuffed the stat sheet with 6.7 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.67 bpg and 1.0 spg. Horford’s .605 field goal percentage ranked eighth in the conference. On Dec. 15, he posted 21 points on 10-of-19 shooting, and added 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals as the Hawks topped the Bulls 93-86. Winners of 9-of-10 and with a 19-7 (.731) overall mark, the Hawks are tied for the Eastern Conference’s second best record.
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Aldridge helped the Trail Blazers to a 4-0 mark on the week, which included two wins over the San Antonio Spurs and wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans. Aldridge, who posted point-rebound double-doubles in all four games, ranked sixth in the West in scoring (26.3 ppg), second in rebounding (14.3 rpg), and eighth in steals (2.25 spg). On Dec. 19, Aldridge collected 32 points, 16 rebounds, five steals and two blocks during a 129-119 triple-overtime win over the Spurs in San Antonio. At 22-6 (.786), Portland owns the second best record in the West.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Boston’s Kelly Olynyk, Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Cleveland’s LeBron James, Dallas’ Monta Ellis, Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, Portland’s Damian Lillard, and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry.
