As the 2014-15 NBA regular season comes to a close, the yearlong journeys of Kentucky’s 18 former players are concluding in various fashions.Some former Cats, like John Wall and Rajon Rondo, are using the season’s final week to prepare for the NBA Playoffs, which start April 18. Some, like DeMarcus Cousins and Brandon Knight, have already hung up their sneakers and join injured rookie Julius Randle in looking ahead to 2015-16. Others, such as Anthony Davis and Enes Kanter, are fighting for their postseason lives and must play each remaining game like it’s their last. Davis’ New Orleans Pelicans and Kanter’s Oklahoma City Thunder head into the week tied for eighth place and the final playoff spot in the NBA’s Western Conference.Performance of the WeekAnthony Davis | New Orleans Pelicans: 103, Golden State Warriors: 100 | April 7, 2015In a contest that came down to the closing seconds, Davis propelled the Pelicans to a three-point victory over the owners of the NBA’s best record. “The Brow” recorded a game-high 29 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, two steals, and two assists in 40 minutes of play last Tuesday. If the Pelicans–who own a tiebreaker over the Thunder–secure the West’s final playoff spot, they will face the top-seeded Warriors in the first round.
One more #TakeFlight
— Anthony Davis (@AntDavis23) April 14, 2015
Cats in the SpotlightEric Bledsoe | #2 PG | Phoenix Suns (39-41)Bledsoe averaged 14.0 points and 5.0 assists over three Suns games. Phoenix fell to the playoff-bound Atlanta Hawks on April 7 and Dallas Mavericks on April 8, and finished the week with a 90-75 loss to Davis’ Pelicans on April 10. Anthony Davis | #23 PF | New Orleans Pelicans (43-36)Davis followed up Tuesday’s monster performance with 15.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks over his next two games. The Pelicans lost on the road to the Memphis Grizzlies by a score of 110-74 on April 8, but bounced back with Friday’s blowout of the Suns in front of the home crowd at Smoothie King Center in Louisiana.Enes Kanter | #34 C | Oklahoma City Thunder (43-36)As OKC competes with NOLA for a shot at the postseason, Kanter continues to be the anchor down low that the Thunder were missing to start the season. The Turkey native averaged 18.3 points and 9.3 rebounds over three games last week. On Friday, the Thunder ended a four-game losing streak with a 116-103 victory over the Sacramento Kings, thanks in part to 25 points and six rebounds from Kanter.
