NBA

The 6 Best NBA Performances From Last Week: Shabazz Muhammad Catches Fire

Brett Oswalt  —  @bRo14thekid Apr 11th, 2016
With four great showings in one night, which players made the cut for this week's best performers?

If you haven't checked out numberFire Live, it's time for you to do that.

With Live, you can follow games in a very unique way, with live win probabilities at your disposal before and throughout the game. And you even have the ability to go next level on each play and each player.

The numberFire Live "Leaders" tab allows you to look at the night's best showings with a list comprised of each night's top NBA performers and performances on a scale of 1 to 100, according to production and efficiency.

All six performers below, each in his own way, earned a rating of 100 -- a perfect score -- for their respective performances. They're listed from highest to lowest nERD (a measure of a player's total contribution, based on efficiency) for their given performances.

6. Carl Landry vs. New Orleans Pelicans

Since seeing a bump in playing time for the lottery-bound Philadelphia 76ers, Carl Landry has been really solid. The eight-year veteran showed exactly what he's capable of in Tuesday's matchup with the Pelicans, shooting 9 of 10 from the floor and going a perfect 2 for 2 from three-point range for 22 points in 26 minutes of court time. He also added nine rebounds in the Sixers' win.

There are three reasons why Landry's super-efficient night went unnoticed Tuesday night. Reasons one and two are the obvious ones, which are that Landry plays for the worst team in the league and that this performance came in a matchup with one of the worst, and injury-ravaged teams in the NBA. The not-so-obvious reason is that there were three better performances on the same night.

5. Kevin Durant vs. Denver Nuggets

Kevin Durant was one of three players with a better performance (based on nERD) Tuesday evening. He demolished the Nuggets for 26 points in 29 minutes, and he added 8 assists and 5 boards in the 24-point blowout.

Durant played nearly mistake-free basketball, connecting on all seven free throws and turning the ball over just a single time. Like LeBron James, it seems like KD is in full playoff mode.

4. Stephen Curry vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Last time around, Damian Lillard and company got the best of the Warriors in Portland. This time, Stephen Curry was out for revenge. 

In a 136-111 blowout at Oracle Arena, Curry piled up 39 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. His 9 three-pointers made up 27 of his 39 points, and Curry also hit all four of his attempts from the charity stripe. His True Shooting Percentage of 85.7% on a Usage Rate of 33.9% is just insane.

3. Shabazz Muhammad vs. Golden State Warriors

Chef Curry had his Sunday Funday against the Blazers, but come Tuesday, he found himself on the wrong side of a great performance, by the hand of Shabazz Muhammad.


This is one of several explosive plays Muhammad made on his way to 35 points and a True Shooting Percentage of 89.8%. Muhammad was in attack mode all night, hitting 15 of 17 free throws as a result -- all the while shooting 2 for 4 from beyond the arc. Muhammad's big game was one of the biggest factors in the Timberwolves' upset of the history-minded Warriors.

2. Reggie Jackson vs. Washington Wizards

If you haven't been paying much attention to the Pistons as of late, you should start. They're 7-3 over their last 10 games, and -- maybe most importantly -- point guard Reggie Jackson has broke out of his recent slumber.


Over the last four games, Jackson has tallied 26.5 points per game and has become the scorer and playmaker the Pistons need him to be if they're to compete with the Cavs or Raptors in the first round of the playoffs. His best performance came Friday against the Washington Wizards, a game in which Jackson went off for 39 points on an impressive 14 of 20 from the floor, 4 of 5 from three and a perfect 7 of 7 from the line.

1. Chris Paul vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Last week, it was Rodney Hood destroying the Lakers. This week it's another player but the same outcome for the Lakers and their ghastly defense. Chris Paul diced up the in-town Lakers for more than a point per minute with 25 points in 23 minutes in addition to 8 assists and 2 steals.

Paul's nERD was the highest of this week's perfect performers, as he posted a Net Rating (Offensive Rating minus Defensive Rating) of 89.3 points per 100 possessions with a Usage Rate of 31.1%. Even with Blake Griffin's return, Paul has cemented himself as the unrivaled leader of the Clippers on both ends of the court.