Horns in the NBA: 3/31 - 4/6

There’s a decent chance we will not see an active Avery Bradley for the remainder of the season following a week hushed of updates and a deferred injury revaluation on March 27th (per Rotoworld). Other Horns in the NBA, however, are heating up as we inch nearer towards the NBA Playoffs.

LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs

• Sun, 3/31 - Home loss to the Sacramento Kings: 27 points (12-21), 18 rebounds, 3 assists
• Tues., 4/2 - Home win over the Atlanta Hawks: 16 points (6-11), 11 rebounds, 0 assists
• Wed, 4/3 - Road loss to the Denver Nuggets: 16 points (6-12), 6 rebounds, 1 assist
• Fri., 4/5 - Road win over the Washington Wizards: 24 points (10-17), 7 rebounds, 2 assists

The Spurs are safely within the mix of things playoff-wise, clinching the final bid over the Sacramento Kings. Now, it’s all hands on deck to avoid a first-round smackdown with Golden State.

In Aldridge-only news, he did his thing scoring the ball all week, averaging 20.8 points per game, and hauled in a substantial amount of rebounds, especially early on.

Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors

• Sun, 3/31 - Home win over the Charlotte Hornets: 11 points (5-5), 2 rebounds, 9 assists
• Tues., 4/2 - Home win over the Denver Nuggets: 21 points (9-13), 3 rebounds, 6 assists
• Thurs., 4/4 - Road win over the Los Angeles Lakers: 15 points (5-7), 6 rebounds, 8 assists
• Fri., 4/5 - Home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers: 15 points (7-14), 5 rebounds, 8 assists

It’s not the scoring plummet we’ve seen from Durant that raises eyebrows, it’s his noticeable dip in shot attempts that’s atypical. He attempted 9.8 shots per game last week, contrary to his 18 attempts per game for this season as a whole. That’s a point of improvement heading into the playoffs for a generally seamless Warriors team.

Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers

• Mon., 4/1 - Home win over the Detroit Pistons: 17 points (6-9), 5 rebounds, 1 assist
• Wed., 4/3 - Road win over the Detroit Pistons: 17 points (5-7), 6 rebounds, 0 assists
• Fri., 4/5 - Home loss to the Boston Celtics: 15 points (5-8), 7 rebounds, 1 assist

Turner had five blocks and three steals against the Pistons on Monday and is on a scoring tear hotter than Bruce Pearl after Kyle Guy was fouled in last night’s Final Four game (too soon?). He’s a legitimate DPOY candidate and has become the Pacers best all-around player in Victor Oladipo’s absence.

Cory Joseph, Indiana Pacers

• Mon., 4/1 - Home win over the Detroit Pistons: 4 points (2-9), 1 rebound, 3 assists
• Wed., 4/3 - Road win over the Detroit Pistons: 6 points (2-8), 6 rebounds, 12 assists
• Fri., 4/5 - Home loss to the Boston Celtics: 7 points (3-8), 4 rebounds, 8 assists

Joseph made some slight scoring improvements last week, averaging 5.7 points per game amid a historic scoring slump. He impressed passing the ball, too, averaging 10 assists per game in his last two games and 7.7 for the week.

Avery Bradley, Memphis Grizzlies

Bradley remains inactive with a right shin bruise.

Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers

• Mon., 4/1 - Road loss to the Phoenix Suns: 15 points (6-8), 5 rebounds, 0 assists
• Fri., 4/5 - Road loss to the Golden State Warriors: 12 points (4-8), 6 rebounds, 1 assist

I’m pretty much ready to move on from Thompson’s injury, as he’s been scoring and rebounding per his usual self.

Jarrett Allen, Brooklyn Nets

• Mon., 4/1 - Home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks: 10 points (4-7), 9 rebounds, 2 assists
• Wed., 4/3 - Home loss to the Toronto Raptors: 12 points (6-6), 9 rebounds, 0 assists
• Sat., 4/6 - Road win over the Milwaukee Bucks: 10 points (4-4), 7 rebounds, 0 assists

This was yet another efficient scoring week for the big man, as Allen shot 14-of-17 from the field. He also whiffed a double-double in every game this week, averaging 8.3 boards per game to pair with the points.

Mohamed Bamba, Orlando Magic

No status change here, Bamba is still out with injury.

D.J. Augustin, Orlando Magic

• Mon., 4/1 - Road loss to the Toronto Raptors: 8 points (3-9), 6 rebounds, 2 assists
• Wed., 4/3 - Home win over the New York Knicks: 5 points (2-6), 8 rebounds, 4 assists
• Fri., 4/5 - Home win over the Atlanta Hawks: 13 points (5-9), 3 rebounds, 7 assists

Not the most efficient of shooting weeks for Augustin at 41.7 percent from the field. But the main headline is that the Magic jumped to seventh in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.

P.J. Tucker, Houston Rockets

• Tue., 4/2 - Road win over the Sacramento Kings: 13 points (4-9), 3 rebounds, 0 assists
• Wed., 4/3 - Road win over the Los Angeles Clippers: 0 points (0-2), 4 rebounds, 0 assists
• Fri., 4/5 - Home win over the New York Knicks: 11 points (4-8), 3 rebounds, 1 assist

Aside from his whopping zero points on Wednesday, Tucker was impressive scoring-wise, cracking double digits points twice. If he can contribute on offense at that rate in the playoffs, then Houston’s offense will be even more of a handful for defenses.