The Week That Was covers the previous Monday-Sunday in the NBA.

Team of the Week: Houston Rockets

Just another 4-0 week for the Rockets, who have now won 13 straight and 19 of their last 20 games. They are starting to border on the absurd with how good and efficient they are on offense. James Harden is unstoppable most nights. Chris Paul is thriving, while playing a pace he’s never really experienced before. Clint Capela is in the mix for Most Improved Player. And Houston has just enough interesting defenders to throw at Golden State in a playoff series that you can see them pulling off the upset.

Others receiving consideration: Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks

The Cavs are rolling. The defense still has glaring issues, but the offense is a machine. LeBron James is playing at as high of a level as he ever has. Kevin Love has held down the middle by himself while the team awaited Tristan Thompson’s return. Cleveland has won five in a row and 18 of 19. And Isaiah Thomas will join the fray in a matter of weeks. 

Chicago and New York are like passing ships in the night. The Bulls have bottomed out, while the Knicks finally seem like they are starting to ascend. Despite being headed in opposite directions, both had a terrific week. Chicago went 3-0 as part of a five-game win streak. The Knicks matched that 3-0 as part of their own four-game streak. It’s good to see two of the NBA’s marquee franchises playing inspired ball, no matter how long it lasts.

Player of the Week: Chris Paul

We could just trade this space between Paul’s teammate James Harden and LeBron James all year long, but what’s the fun in that? Instead, the nod goes to Paul this week. Paul is scoring 26 points per game on nearly 54 percent shooting overall and 45.7 percent from downtown, while also recording 7.8 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game further cements that he fits just fine next to Harden in the Houston offense. To boot, did you know the Rockets are undefeated in games Paul plays this year?

Others receiving consideration: LeBron James, Nikola Mirotic

OK, OK. We can’t ignore James entirely. Not when he averaged a triple-double in a week where his team went 4-0. The King put up a line of 24.8/10.5/13.5. Even more impressive? He turned it over just 1.3 times per game.

Mirotic’s return has coincided with the Bulls winning ways. He’s always been a streaky player and right now he’s on one of the hottest runs of his career, as he averaged 25 points per game on 56.3 percent shooting overall and 47.4 percent from behind the arc. He also pulled down 8.3 rebounds per game, as Chicago won all three games they played last week.

Line of the Week: Russell Westbrook at Philadelphia

The game of the year was the Thunder beating the 76ers in triple overtime. At the center of it, controversy and all, was Westbrook. Sure, he missed 23 of his 33 field goal attempts. But he scored 27 points to go with 18 rebounds and 15 assists. And he looked fresh all the way until the end, when everyone else was gasping for air.

Others receiving consideration: Joel Embiid vs Oklahoma City, Kristaps Porzingis vs LA Lakers

In the same game as Westbrook, Embiid proved he could play through some pain and go toe-to-toe with an MVP. He scored 34 points on 11-of-20 from the field and 12-of-13 at the free throw line. And he did it while playing a career-high 49 minutes after tweaking his back early in the contest.

Porzingis carried the Knicks to an overtime win over the visiting Lakers with 37 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. He hit 14-of-26 shots overall and made 5-of-8 three-pointers. He became the only player to hit those marks for points, threes and blocks in the same game in NBA history. 

Win of the Week: Thunder win at Philadelphia

As previously mentioned, this was the game of the year in the NBA so far. Tremendous back and forth action, highlighted by All-Star players making high-level plays over and over again. Games like this feature a ton of adversity and it’s always fun to see who rises above it. Russell Westbrook and Joel Embiid both did. You expect it from the reigning MVP. To see Embiid get there is a great sign for him, the 76ers and the NBA as a whole.

Others receiving consideration: Utah Jazz win at the Boston Celtics

The Jazz hadn’t won in Boston since 2008, and after Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors went down early, it seemed like they’d leave losers once again. Instead, they won behind a combination of funky small-ball lineups and Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell carrying the offense. Rubio scored 22 points and Mitchell added 17, including several big shots down the stretch. Utah will be in the mix at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture all year. If Mitchell continues to develop at the rate he has so far, they’ll be firmly in the playoffs for years to come. 

News of the Week: Injuries continue to strike at an alarming rate. This week it was the big man’s turn. Rudy Gobert went down with a knee/leg injury that will sideline him for a month. Steven Adams, Kristaps Porzingis, Serge Ibaka, Aaron Gordon and Draymond Green, among others, all missed time with various maladies. It’s almost as if the NBA has a pact with the Many Faced God from Game of Thrones, because for every player who comes back, like Kawhi Leonard, the league loses another player to injury. Hopefully most of these guys can get back healthy. 

Transactions of Note: Not a transaction per se, but Early Trade season is now open! On December 15^th, the vast majority of players signed to new contracts over the summer became eligible to be traded. We’ve already seen one deal struck with the Nets and 76ers completing a trade. History says not to get overly excited, as the 12/15 date generally passes without much happening. But, with the NBA trade deadline earlier than ever this year (2/8/18), and the vast majority of teams capped out, many NBA executives expect it to be very busy right up to the trade deadline.

In addition, as covered previously in this space, two-way contracts are starting to see a lot of movement. Several players who are signed to two-way deals are pushing the maximum of 45 days they are allowed to be with the NBA team. Others haven’t performed as hoped and the NBA club is cycling through some fresh blood. This is something to watch over the next few weeks before the January 15^th deadline to sign players to a two-way contract.