NBA Barometer: Howard, Lyles, Mirotic on the Way Up

NBA Barometer: Howard, Lyles, Mirotic on the Way Up

This article is part of our NBA Barometer series.

POINT GUARDS

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Kyrie Irving, BOS: Irving has taken his already-elite game to a different level in the last 10 games, as he's averaged 27.8 points on 52.6 percent shooting over that span, including shooting 49.3 percent from three-point range. That stretch includes six games with over 30 points, along with a 33.2 percent usage rate.

Kris Dunn, CHI: Dunn continues to thrive with his starting opportunity in the Windy City, as he's rattled off eight straight double-digit scoring efforts and 10 in his 11 games. The second-year guard is supplying production notably above his season averages in the areas of points (15.9), assists (6.9) and shooting percentage (47.9) over the last 10, and his opportunistic defense has resulted in multiple steals in eight of his last 12 games.

Chris Paul, HOU: Paul has fully hit his stride following his return from an extended layoff, particularly on the offensive end. He's reached or eclipsed 20 points in six of the last eight games, with a trio of double-doubles over that stretch, as well. Paul has particularly had the hot hand over the last five contests, as evidenced by a 52.6 percent success rate from the field, including 42.3 percent from three-point range.

Lonzo Ball, LAL: The knock on Ball early on was his unsightly shooting percentages, but there's been notable improvement on that front over the last eight games. The rookie has shot at least 40.0 percent in seven of those contests, and he's shooting

POINT GUARDS

Trending Up

Kyrie Irving, BOS: Irving has taken his already-elite game to a different level in the last 10 games, as he's averaged 27.8 points on 52.6 percent shooting over that span, including shooting 49.3 percent from three-point range. That stretch includes six games with over 30 points, along with a 33.2 percent usage rate.

Kris Dunn, CHI: Dunn continues to thrive with his starting opportunity in the Windy City, as he's rattled off eight straight double-digit scoring efforts and 10 in his 11 games. The second-year guard is supplying production notably above his season averages in the areas of points (15.9), assists (6.9) and shooting percentage (47.9) over the last 10, and his opportunistic defense has resulted in multiple steals in eight of his last 12 games.

Chris Paul, HOU: Paul has fully hit his stride following his return from an extended layoff, particularly on the offensive end. He's reached or eclipsed 20 points in six of the last eight games, with a trio of double-doubles over that stretch, as well. Paul has particularly had the hot hand over the last five contests, as evidenced by a 52.6 percent success rate from the field, including 42.3 percent from three-point range.

Lonzo Ball, LAL: The knock on Ball early on was his unsightly shooting percentages, but there's been notable improvement on that front over the last eight games. The rookie has shot at least 40.0 percent in seven of those contests, and he's shooting better than 46 percent over his last five games. Ball is averaging 12.2 points, 8.0 assists, and 7.0 rebounds while hitting 38.5 percent of his threes over that span, as well.

ALSO TRENDING UP:Milos Teodosic, LAC; Yogi Ferrell, DAL; Jarrett Jack, NYK; Eric Bledsoe, MIL

Trending Down

Emmanuel Mudiay, DEN: Mudiay is currently struggling with an ankle injury, but he's also scored in single digits in 11 of his last 13 games. That stretch follows a strong start during which he'd posted double-digit scoring in 12 of his first 16 games. As a shooter, Mudiay has more or less regressed to his career mean over the last 10 games, draining only 36.5 percent of his attempts from the field

Goran Dragic, MIA:Like Mudiay, Dragic (elbow) is currently dealing with a health concern, but he'd seen a downturn in production in recent games anyhow. The 31-year-old has scored 10 points or fewer in six of his last 10, with single-digit outputs in five of those contests. The downturn has unsurprisingly coincided with Dragic's shot going cold, as he's managed an unsightly 37.7 percent success rate from the field, including 25.9 percent from three-point range, during that span.

SHOOTING GUARDS

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David Nwaba, CHI: Nwaba has hit double digits in the scoring column in six of his last seven games while hauling in between six and eight rebounds in four of his last six contests. The second-year guard has also seen at least 22 minutes in all but one of his last nine outings and has shot a blistering 60.4 percent during that sample.

Gary Harris, DEN: Harris is currently dealing with an elbow contusion, but his prospects have otherwise been increasingly bright. He's scored between 21 and 36 points in six of his last 10 games while shooting 45.4 percent from the field on an average of 16.3 shot attempts. Harris remains highly aggressive from behind the arc as well, as his 6.0 three-point attempts per game on the season represent a career high.

Jimmy Butler, MIN: Butler is yet another example of an outstanding player fully settling in to his new role and handsomely rewarding fantasy owners in the process. After scoring fewer than 20 points in eight of his first 12 games, he's eclipsed the 20-point mark on seven occasions and tallied at least 30 points in another four contests. He's also shooting an impressive 50.6 percent over his last 10 games and is progressively pushing his rebounding (5.6) and assists (4.7) numbers closer to his typical levels after a slow start.

ALSO TRENDING UP:Tyreke Evans, MEM; Troy Daniels, PHO

Trending Down

Danny Green, SAS: Green is progressively sliding back into more of a defensive specialist role as the season unfolds, as he's been held scoreless or posted single-digit point tallies in eight of his last 11 games. His shot attempts are down to 6.2 per contest over the last 10, a notable downturn from his season average of 8.6. With a recent groin injury also slowing him down and Kawhi Leonard back in action, Green's usage on the offensive end is likely to continue sliding downward.

SMALL FORWARDS

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Josh Richardson, MIA: Richardson is starting to become a more consistent scorer, posting double-digit point totals in 10 of his last 11 games, including respective tallies of 28 and 26 in his most recent pair of contests. He's eclipsed the 20-mark in three of his last nine overall after only accomplishing the feat once in his first 21 games.
Taurean Prince, ATL: Prince's season averages are all up considerably over those of his rookie campaign, but he's particularly come on in recent games. The second-year forward is averaging 16.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists over the last seven games, posting a pair of 24-point efforts and shooting 54.9 percent – including 47.2 percent from behind the arc -- over that span.

Kevin Durant, GSW: Durant has unsurprisingly taken the reins of the Warriors' offense in the wake of injuries to Stephen Curry (ankle), and more recently, Draymond Green (shoulder). The perennial All-Star has scored either 35 or 36 points in four of his last five, hoisting new fewer than 21 shot attempts in any of those games. With a 36.3 percent usage rate since Curry went out, Durant's robust role should result in him consistently eclipsing his already-elite standards.

ALSO TRENDING UP:Reggie Bullock, DET; Brandon Ingram, LAL; Buddy Hield, SAC

Trending Down

Andrew Wiggins, MIN: Wiggins certainly has the talent to rebound from his current funk, but his recent struggles currently earn him this designation. The fourth-year pro has scored between just nine and 13 points in five of his last eight games, and he's shooting just 34.9 percent over his last five contests, including a ghastly 21.7 percent from three-point range. Wiggins' scoring average (17.9) is now down almost a full six points per game from last season's figure (23.6), and with Butler, Jeff Teague, Karl-Anthony Towns and even Taj Gibson all competing with him for scoring opportunities, he could continue to underwhelm.

POWER FORWARDS

Trending Up

Nikola Mirotic, CHI: Mirotic owns a 29.4 percent usage rate over his last four games, and he's jumped out to averages of 20.3 points (on 51.9 percent shooting, including 50.0 percent from three-point range) and 7.3 rebounds in the six games since making his season debut on Dec. 8. There's a crowded and talented field at power forward for the Bulls in the form of Lauri Markkanen and Bobby Portis, but Mirotic is averaging 26.2 minutes and generating a level of production that's helping him lock down consistent minutes off the bench.

Kyle Kuzma, LAL: Kuzma went through somewhat of a downturn in early-to-mid-November, but he's picked things back up over the last six contests, eclipsing 20 points in three of those games and taking at least 16 shot attempts in four of them. He's also produced three double-doubles during that span, and the domino effect of what will be a multi-week absence on the part of Brook Lopez (ankle) could continue ensuring him the 30 minutes-plus he's earned over the last four games.

Trey Lyles, DEN: Lyles was somewhat of a forgotten piece early in his Denver tenure, but Paul Millsap's wrist injury has opened up an opportunity for the Kentucky product to thrive. The third-year pro has logged 22 minutes or more in nine of his last 10 games, posting double-digit scoring in seven of those contests on 54.0 percent shooting, including 56.4 percent from behind the arc on just under four three-point tries per game. He continues putting in strong work on the boards as well (6.2 rebounds per game during that span), and his ability to stretch the floor should continue affording him plenty of minutes.

ALSO TRENDING UP:Mike Scott, WAS; Kelly Olynyk, BOS; Michael Beasley, NYK; Al-Farouq Aminu, POR

Trending Down

Ryan Anderson, HOU: Anderson has gone scoreless in his last two games and scored in single digits in three other games over the last six contests overall. He's taken eight or fewer shots in five of his last six as well, as fellow starters James Harden, Paul, Clint Capela and Trevor Ariza all continue to outpace him in production to varying degrees.

CENTERS

Trending Up

Dwight Howard, CHA: Howard's rebounding work is typically above reproach, but he's supplemented his superior production in that area with some above-average scoring contributions in recent games. The veteran big man eclipsed the 20-point mark in four straight contests between Dec. 8 and 13 and also has double-digit boards in six of his last seven. That offensive surge has helped lead to his best scoring average (15.9) since the 2013-14 campaign.

Kevin Love, CLE: Love is averaging 21.3 points (on 49.3 percent shooting), 10.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his last 10 games, and he's now shooting a career-best 47.4 percent from the floor. His 40.4 percent success rate from three-point range is also the second-highest in his 10 NBA seasons, and he remains the only other consistently viable scoring option outside of LeBron James on Cleveland's first unit.

Nikola Vucevic, ORL: Vucevic has exploded for averages of 23.0 points, 14.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.7 steals over his last six games, a span during which he's also shot 54.5 percent and posted double-doubles in each contest. The sudden bump in scoring is due in part to Vucevic's extended range, as he's averaging 4.3 attempts from behind the arc after taking no more than one per game through the first six years of his career.

ALSO TRENDING UP:Alex Len, PHO; Jonas Valanciunas, TOR

Trending Down

Thon Maker, MIL: Maker is consistently outproduced by John Henson despite the latter often coming off the bench. The 20-year-old Maker hasn't scored more than seven points in the last 10 games, a stretch during which he's gone scoreless on three occasions and posted a single point in two others.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juan Carlos Blanco
Winner of the FSWA 2016 Newcomer of the Year Award, Juan Carlos Blanco has been playing fantasy sports for over 20 years and covers NBA, MLB, NFL, CFL and Arena Football for Rotowire.com, including serving as the beat writer for teams in multiple sports. He has previously written for KFFL.com and remains an avid season-long and daily fantasy player in multiple sports as well.
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