• Blake Griffin, PF, Los Angeles Clippers

The hype surrounding Bad Blake is unavoidable and irresistible. Griffin has followed a 47-point Martin Luther King Day performance with a 29-point effort in a win against de facto rival Kevin Love and Minnesota, 20 points and 18 rebounds in a loss versus Portland and a monstrous 30-point, 18 rebound, 8 assist game against Golden State on the NBA schedule. The noise isn’t all about the insane in the membrane numbers though; Griffin will be the headline attraction at All-Star weekend on his home court of Staples Center as he is expected to re-energize the Slam Dunk Competition and be named as a reserve for the Western Conference team. Another discussion topic that has arisen on the strength of Blake’s emergence is his potential as an MVP candidate, should the Clippers make their way into the playoffs in the NBA standings. With a large portion of the season left and Griffin maintaining his status as both a rookie and a Clipper, that talk may be premature, but everyone can agree that he is the league’s best freshman and, at the moment, its most exciting player.

• John Wall, PG, Washington Wizards

After calling out what has quickly become his team for lacking competitive spirit in a blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns, Wall engineered his first signature win as a pro on Saturday, defeating the reigning Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics at home after trailing by 16 points in the first quarter. In a battle against fellow Kentucky Wildcat Rajon Rondo, Wall provided the crucial basket; a banked-in 3-pointer with the shot clock running down in the game’s final minute. The heroics are coming to be expected of Wall who is at once the Wizards’ heartbeat and their best player. Wall has brought his rabbit pace and rambunctious energy to Washington and seems to be exercising his abilities as a leader as much as he is his speed as a ball handler in the open floor. Part of being a successful floor general is inspiring your troops and John “Jimmy” has done just that. Wall has the full on-court package; speed, floor vision, quick hands defensively, he scores, but it is prescience in commanding a team that has been most impressive.

• DeMarcus Cousins, PF/C, Sacramento Kings

Cousins seems destined to follow the career path of another corpulent and confounding post player; Zach Randolph. Like Randolph, Cousins is a dominant interior presence capable of putting up huge scoring and rebounding numbers. Like Randolph, Cousins is prone to gaps in awareness, resulting in foul trouble, turnovers or unexplainably improper on-court behavior. Flaws aside, Z-Bo is still one of the league’s few consistent 20-10 players and Cousins would be happy to play out a career as successful. Recently the rookie has shown the potential to do so. For January, Cousins is averaging 16.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 3.5 turnovers and 4.1 fouls – exemplary of his maddeningly inconsistent play. With the Kings again at the bottom of the NBA standings, Cousins should be given more playing time, time to improve his temper, game sense, passing and interior defense. It’s hard to get a read on Cousins, but in what appears to be a weak rookie class this year; surely Sacramento is pleased with the progress of their powerful prospect.

• Blake Griffin, PF, Los Angeles Clippers

Griffin is head and shoulders above this year’s rookie class, as evidenced by him dropping a career high 47 points on Indiana on Martin Luther King Day. Griffin has made innumerable appearances on the highlight reel for his violent displays of athleticism – dunking over unsuspecting Knicks, finishing Baron Davis’ perfectly placed alley oops, powering through the NBA’s best post defenders to arrive at the rim, but recently the 6’10 Sooner has shown a complete offensive package as well. Griffin’s points on Monday were not all dunks and forceful forays to the basket; there were turnarounds, post shimmies, even Tim Duncan-patented bank shots from the elbow. Throw in 12 boards a game to go with Griffin’s outstanding offensive prowess and you have the 2011 NBA rookie of the year. No question. And, if the Clippers begin to climb the ladder in the NBA standings, you might start hearing MVP talk.

• John Wall, PG, Washington Wizards

The number one pick in last spring’s draft had his mojo messed up by a string of unfortunate injuries, but having now returned to the Wizards’ lineup, Wall is an energetic spark once again. The point guard who jets at breakneck speed is already one of the league’s best passers, averaging 9 assists per game. Wall has also emerged as one of the game’s top thieves with 1.8 steals per contest, swipes which he converts to easy scores at the other end of the floor. Wall’s electric skills and personality have already greatly impacted the Washington franchise and if he can lower his turnovers and improve his shooting, tasks that are a necessity for every rookie, he will become one of the elite players in the association.

• DeMarcus Cousins, PF/C, Sacramento Kings

The big man has lived up to his name as both a potent inside presence and head case. Cousins has averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds for the month of January and seems to be figuring things out on the court from an offensive perspective. The 6’11 Alabama native still needs to work on his defense where he is averaging less than one block per game and often finds himself in foul trouble. At times Cousins can appear like an All-Star, showing an array of post moves and outmuscling veteran opponents for rebounds, but there are also instances in which the big man’s decision making can come into question. Late in Monday’s game against Atlanta on the NBA schedule, Cousins hurled an ill-advised deep pass from his baseline following a Hawks bucket that would have ended the game had it not been for a fortuitous bounce. DeMarcus is destined to continue the tradition of NBA big men who possess immense talent but can undermine their massive accomplishments with one boneheaded choice.

• Landry Fields, SG, New York Knicks

The surprise sleeper of the draft has solidified his position as a starter for what appears to be a playoff team in New York. From day one of training camp, Knicks’ Coach Mike D’Antoni has appreciated Fields’ game; a blend of just slightly above average skills that adds up to create a fantastic role player who loves doing the dirty work. Fields’ selfless attitude fits perfectly with a Knicks team that is not short on offensive weapons and his ability to run the floor and hit jumpers certainly endears him to D’Antoni, preacher of the fast break. Fields has found a niche as a scrappy defender, fill in scorer and most notably, impressive rebounder from the wing position. The pick that was met with shoulder shrugs initially has now become a contributor to a winning basketball team and a fan favorite at the Garden – an accomplishment for any rookie, even a late round selection.

• Greg Monroe, C, Detroit Pistons

The former Georgetown Hoya started slowly but has picked up his play thanks to endless battles in practice with former NBA champion and Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace. Monroe is now showing the skills he possesses as a 7-footer that made him such a prize prospect heading into the draft.The versatile pivot has moved into the Pistons’ starting lineup and is making the most of it, averaging 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds since Coach Jon Kuester made the change. Monroe has also shown a knack for coming up with loose balls as evidenced by his average of at least a steal per game. The more Monroe becomes acclimated to the NBA game, the larger role he will play in the Pistons’ offense and he will truly blossom as a player, using the high basketball I.Q. and skill set he developed in John Thompson III’s Princeton offense at Georgetown.

Those betting on NFL odds on Sunday can get warmed up on Saturday with a couple of games, and then on Sunday, there is a meeting of two great point guards.

Clippers Bulls Betting (Saturday, 8:00 PM ET)

The Bulls will be favored at home in this contest, even though they’re 1-4 SU and ATS in their last five games at the United Center against the Clippers. Los Angeles could actually keep it close as the Bulls lost their best defender, Joakim Noah, which means it could be a big night for Blake Griffin.

Warriors Trailblazers Betting (Saturday, 10:00 PM ET)

The Trailblazers will be home favorites in this contest as they’re 4-1 SU and ATS in their last five at the Rose Garden against the Warriors, who are 7-7 ATS away from home. Portland is 7-3 ATS at home this season, and it’s a matchup of offense (Golden State) against defense (Portland).

Suns Thunder Betting (Sunday, 7:00 PM ET)

The Thunder should be favored at home against the Suns, who are 3-1 SU in their last four in Oklahoma City, but they’re 1-3 ATS. Oklahoma City is 6-7 ATS at home this season, while the Suns are 5-6-1 ATS as of Friday. Everyone will be looking at the point-guard matchup of Phoenix’s Steve Nash against Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, both of whom could be in the top-five conversation depending on who you talk to, but they’re definitely top-10, so sports online betting players should check it out.

So….within a week or two of each other, we get reports saying that Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis both want to leave their teams, the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, respectively. These two formed one of the most exciting NBA duos in recent memory, powering the Warriors through an enthralling two-round run in the 2006-07 playoffs, punctuated by:

Now, it’s not like the Warriors or Clippers had great NBA betting odds to start with. The Warriors would be a bit improved, but still not challenging in the West, while the Clippers….well, the less said about them, the better. But the tandem of B-Diddy and Captain Jack were as entertaining as anyone in the league, and sometimes, that’s all that matters.