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In the last edition of "Keeping Up" I missed that Mike Conley had recently become the career assists leader for the Memphis Grizzlies. With his career being so young, Mike should have no problem in extending that lead and giving future Grizzlies a higher number to shoot for. Congratulations Mike!
Mike Conley - PG - Memphis Grizzlies: Just when it looked like Conley was starting to emerge from his shooting slump he dived even deeper into it. Against Philadelphia on the day after Christmas, Conley shot a dreadful 3-17 from the field. Saturday's game against the Nuggets wasn't much better as the point guard was 3-12 from the field. Hopefully the new year brings a little more touch from the field for Conley.
Daequan Cook - SG - Houston Rockets: The end of last week provided a noticeable uptick in playing time for Cook, as he played 12 minutes each in back-to-back games. In the rest of the month of December, Cook only played about 27 minutes. In his time on the court Cook didn't do much of consequence, but at least he is seeing the court more lately.
Kosta Koufos - F/C - Denver Nuggets: If you watched the ESPN nightcap on Christmas, you saw Kosta Koufos go 8-8 from the field to finish with 16 points and 10 rebounds in what might have been his best game of the season. The bad news is the Nuggets were playing the Clippers, who are white-hot right now. The rest of the week saw Koufos' numbers return to close to his averages. It seems as if Koufos is getting a little more confidence in his offensive game with 6 games in December where he has scored in double figures, compared with only 2 the first month of the season.
Byron Mullens - F/C - Charlotte Bobcats: News on the injured ankle of Mullens didn't sound promising. With the Bobcats in the middle of a 18 game losing streak, I wouldn't blame Mullens if he took some extra time to make sure his ankle is fully healthy before he comes back.
Evan Turner - G/F - Philadelphia 76ers: It was a very quiet week for Turner, as he scored in double figures in only 1 of the 3 games that the 76ers played last week. Turner only had 1 point on Wednesday, but made up for it with 6 rebounds and 9 assists in a win over Mike Conley in Memphis. Against Golden State on Friday, Turner had a season-high 4 steals. "The Villain" continues to do a little bit of everything for Philadelphia. The 76ers are in the middle of a west coast road trip, playing 4 more games before returning home next Tuesday.
Jared Sullinger - PF - Boston Celtics: Jared received a nice Christmas present from Doc Rivers, playing a season-high 33 minutes against the Nets in the Christmas Day matinee. In that game Sullinger matched his season-high with 16 points and added 7 rebounds. That strong performance got Sullinger a little more time than he had be recently seeing in the other 3 games the Celtics played last week. The rookie had 2 other games last week where he broke double figures in points. If Sully keeps playing this way he is going to force Doc Rivers to find time for him on the court.