With another week of the 2020-21 NBA season in the books, the Philadephia 76ers continue to look like Finals contenders

A three-game win streak has kept the Sixers top of the Eastern Conference, while the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Clippers have also won three on the bounce.

The Milwaukee Bucks could not produce such consistency but saw their league MVP make strides in an area of the game where he had not produced at his usual levels.

We take a look at the best and worst performers of the week with the help of Stats Perform data.


RUNNING HOT...

Norman Powell

Powell enjoyed the biggest leap in points per game last week despite missing the struggling Raptors' previous two matchups because of a quad issue. He was absent for Toronto's narrow loss to the Sacramento Kings and their 115-102 defeat of the Orlando Magic on Sunday. However, he was superb in losses to the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 25 points across those two games having entered the week scoring 12.94 points per game. Toronto have won only eight of their first 20 games and may need Powell back on the court and in the kind of form he displayed early last week to help them sneak into the playoffs. Powell has been particularly impressive from beyond the arc, averaging 40.6 per cent from three-point range.

Chris Paul

The Phoenix Suns finished the week in strong fashion, responding to a defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder with wins over the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks. Veteran point guard Paul was integral to the latter. He had been putting up 13.8 points per game approaching last week, but his average over the last three games ballooned to 24.67, the 10-time All-Star racking up 32 points against the Thunder and 29 points in the defeat of the Mavericks. Paul has had to take on more of the point-scoring burden with Devin Booker sidelined by a hamstring injury, and Phoenix will hope Paul and shooting guard Booker can form a dynamic and prolific backcourt for the rest of the season once he returns.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

The back-to-back MVP has not averaged fewer than 11 rebounds per game in each of his last three seasons, but he went into the last week underperforming on the boards by his lofty standards. He had been averaging 10.53 rebounds this season but made a significant leap in that regard during an up and down week for the Bucks that ended with successive defeats to the New Orleans Pelicans and Charlotte Hornets. His rebounds per game tally improved to 15.67 across their four matchups in the last week. The Bucks are once again well placed to contend in the Eastern Conference, and they will need that kind of dominance on the glass from Antetokounmpo if they are to make the leap from challenger to champion in 2021.

Gary Trent Jr. & Anfernee Simmons

Damian Lillard was the hero for the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday as his last-gasp off-balance three-pointer secured a dramatic victory over the Chicago Bulls, but Trent and Simmons have also been prolific from deep of late. Simmons had been converting just 1.33 three-pointers a game but made four per game over the last week. Similarly, Trent was hitting on 2.31 triples going into the week but was good for five per game as the Trail Blazers went 2-2 in a week that saw them average 115.5 points with all four matchups decided by three points or fewer.

GOING COLD...

Kemba Walker

The Boston Celtics lost a tight matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, falling to a one-point defeat, but they may have emerged victorious had Walker had his shooting touch. He went one of 12 from the field as he tallied only four points, his struggles reflective of a week in which he had little influence, missing the win over the Bulls and scoring 14 points against the San Antonio Spurs. Having scored at a rate of 17 points per game before last week, a drop to an average of nine represents a worrying dip for a key player on Brad Stevens' team.

Jarrett Allen

Traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of the blockbuster deal that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, Allen was instrumental in the Cavs' sweep of his former team. However, they have lost three of four since with Allen displaying a noticeable decline on the boards. Averaging 9.93 rebounds prior to the past week, Allen put up five per game over a week that saw the Cavaliers go 1-2, and they will be keen for the center to bounce back in that area of his game as Cleveland compete for a return to the playoffs after two seasons in the wilderness in the second post-LeBron James era.

Kyrie Irving

In a turbulent season, Irving is still scoring at an extremely high level, racking up 27.6 points per game, but the Nets point guard has endured a recent drop-off in his shooting from three-point range. He had been making 3.6 three-pointers a game before last week but converted just one in each of his three games over the past seven days. History suggests his fortune from behind the arc will change but, even if he continues to do the bulk of damage at the rim and from mid-range, a star-studded Nets offense also featuring Kevin Durant and James Harden should remain one of the most explosive in the NBA.