Combat Players of the Week: November 2 to November 8

Basketball is combat. You have to attack your man on both ends of the floor. That means pushing the ball on offense, taking it to the hole, being willing to draw contact and then fight through it to finish. It means attacking on defense. Getting position and maintaining that position. Taking the ball away and altering shots. And owning the glass – being relentless on both the offensive and defensive side.

Every Monday, a guard, a wing, and a big will be nominated as the Combat Players of the Week. The team that exemplifies what Combat is all about will be recognized, as well. Here are the players who were Prepared For Combat last week.

Guard: Louis Williams (Philadephia 76ers)
Against New York on Wednesday, Louis played a career high in minutes (42) and pulled down a career high 10 rebounds. On the season he is 2nd among guards in rebounds (5.6) and is attacking the basket, getting to the line 5 times per game.

Wing: Danny Granger, (Indiana Pacers)
Granger leads Wings in two key categories that symbolize how often he is attacking. On offense, it’s getting to the line – 7.4 times a game. Meanwhile on the defensive side, he's dictating position, resulting in a more than solid 2.4 steals/game.

Big: Chris Kaman (Los Angeles Clippers)
Who would have thought the Clippers would be hanging tough with Blake Griffin on the sidelines? Kaman has scored over 20 in 6 straight games – averaging 23.0 points, which is nearly double the 12 points per game he averaged last year. He's attacking in a variety of ways – facing the basket, finishing at the rim, and posting up on the block. Oh and he's adding 9.9 boards and 1.9 blocks every night.

Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
This team has grown up before our eyes – routing the Magic by 28 and taking the Lakers to OT before losing. And they are coming out with a killer attitude we didn't see as often last year. Against the Magic and up by 9 at halftime, the Thunder came out and opened the 3rd quarter with an 8-0 run. That’s what tough teams do – they close out games and come out attacking.

Who should be the Combat Player of the Week? Williams, Granger, or Kaman?