Bret Favachio
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2 more double-doubles for Jared Sullinger, D'Angelo Russell shows slight improvement
Bret Favachio via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Week 3 of the NBA season has concluded. Let's take a look at how former Ohio State Buckeyes fared.
Last week was a quiet one for the two former Buckeye guards who are living out their NBA dreams, Mike Conley and D'Angelo Russell. It was mostly the week of Kosta Koufos, Evan Turner, and Jared Sullinger. Who shined this time around?
Mike Conley, PG, Memphis Grizzlies
After a rough start in the first two games of the week against the Warriors and Trail Blazers, Conley responded in a big way in the final two outings. It was an up-and-down sort of week for the former Ohio State student-athlete. Yes, Conley did see slight decreases in minutes, points, field goals made, field goals attempted, and rebounding, but he still put together a respectable statistical week. Conley really started to find his rhythm from the three-point line as he shot a combined 8-11 from distance in the final two games of the week and would ultimately finish at 47.4% from long range all together. Conley also assisted much better in comparison to last week, as he tallied 8.5 per game -- a hair over four dimes better than last week. The final line for the Grizzlies guard would read 14.3 points, 8.5 assists, and 1.8 rebounds per contest in the week.
Best Performance: Undoubtedly the best showing for Conley came on Monday night against the Thunder. In just 31 minutes -- his lowest of the week -- Conley piled up 22 points on 61.5% shooting (8-13). The 22 points would tie Conley's season high as he also put up the number against Brooklyn in the third game of the season. Also, of the eight makes for the 6'1, 175-pounder, he knocked four (of five) of them down from three-point range. Conley would also commit zero turnovers while snagging four rebounds, nine assists, and one victory over Oklahoma City.
Team Record: 6-6
Upcoming Games: 11/20 vs Houston Rockets, 11/21 @ San Antonio Spurs, 11/24 vs Dallas Mavericks.
Kosta Koufos, C, Sacramento Kings
It was a forgettable week for Kings big man Kosta Koufos. After getting praise for his first two weeks of the NBA season with his new team, it was simply an abysmal last three games for the 7-footer. Koufos regressed in every single statistical category outside of turnovers, personal fouls, and his +/- rating. Quite frankly, that is what happens when you do not perform and start losing minutes. After averaging about 25 minutes per night coming into the week, Koufos only earned 18.3 in his three latest contests and has seen a decrease in minutes each night for the last five games. We'll see if this trend continues and it probably should if he isn't getting the job done. Because of the poor showings from Koufos, there is simply no reason to discuss his "best performance" because there isn't any worth acknowledgement. To make matters worse, Koufos has yet to receive a positive +/- rating this year. Let's hope he can get things back on track this upcoming week.
Team Record: 4-7
Upcoming Games: Tonight @ Atlanta Hawks, 11/19 @ Miami Heat, 11/21 @ Orlando Magic, 11/23 @ Charlotte Hornets.
D'Angelo Russell, SG, Los Angeles Lakers
It was a rough first two weeks in the NBA for D'Angelo Russell and the fact of the matter is, the expectations have yet to be reached. The good news is, Russell put together his best week as an NBA player to date.This week, in four games, Russell averaged 11.2 points and three assists per contest. While it's still not what we all are hoping to see eventually, fact of the matter is, Russell is making progress -- slowly. Head coach Byron Scott increased his minutes, albeit not by very much, and Russell quickly delivered by doing the opposite of Koufos, and increasing on the majority of his numbers compared to last week. The only notable thing Russell saw a slight drop in was his field goal percentage and three-point percentage. While it may be difficult for Lakers fans to have patience with the youngster, this is at the very least, a positive sign.
Best Performance: In a game against Orlando this past Wednesday, Russell received his highest on-court work when he picked up 31 minutes of action. The No. 2 overall pick in the draft promptly dropped 14 points, his best of the week, making six of his 15 shot attempts. Of the six buckets Russell put in, two of them came from downtown, where he shot 40%. Russell also was helpful on the boards as he pulled down six missed attempts from the opposition and also dished out three assists. Unfortunately, despite the main blemish being his three giveaways, Russell and the Lakers came up short against the Magic courtesy of a Nikola Vucevic game-winner at the horn.
Team Record: 2-9
Upcoming Games: 11/20 vs Toronto Raptors, 11/22 vs Portland Trail Blazers, 11/24 @ Golden State Warriors.
Jared Sullinger, PF, Boston Celtics
When it comes to the best former Buckeye in the NBA. it's undoubtedly Mike Conley. However, with the way Jared Sullinger is performing so far in the 2015-2016 campaign, he's making sure he isn't the forgotten one. After a double-double performance last week, Sully one-upped it this time around as he tallied two double-doubles this week. Sullinger received a minutes increase this week and had his best rebounding week thus far. He did drop slightly on plenty of categories but with two more double-doubles under his belt, surely he'll live with it.
Best Performance: Like mentioned above, Sullinger acquired two double-doubles in the four games the Celtics played this week, so it was no easy task to focus on just one. However, the stat line he put together in the victory against the Hawks this past Friday is a bit more appealing. This double-double included 10 points and 10 rebounds for the 6'9, 260-pounder. Despite having one less point, one less rebound, and a small drop in field goal percentage compared to his other double-double, Sullinger did have one block, three less turnovers, and one less foul with a positive +/- rating.
Team Record: 6-4
Upcoming Games: Tonight vs Dallas Mavericks, 11/20 vs Brooklyn Nets, 11/22 @ Brooklyn Nets, 11/24 @ Atlanta Hawks.
Evan Turner, SF, Boston Celtics
Last week, it was an Evan Turner week. This week, not so much. The 2-11 shooting display Turner notched against the Hawks on Friday could mostly sum up how things went. Turner played average to below-average at best in all but one of the Celtics four meetings, the one being a game against the Pacers that will be discussed later. ET finished the week with 8.6 points, four rebounds, and three assists and you can credit most of that to the outing against the Pacers. The good news is that Turner still played much better this week than he did in the first week of the year. He also had a positive +/- rating in three of the four games.
Best Performance: Turner began the new week with a solid outing last Wednesday when the Celtics took on Indiana in the TD Garden. He received 33 minutes of action -- his season high -- and it certainly paid off. It was a 20-point performance for the former Buckeye, also a season best, and he did so by knocking down nine of his 13 attempts -- good for a healthy 69.2% from the field. Turner also added three rebounds and three assists but it wasn't enough for Boston on that night. The Pacers handed them their only loss of the week as they defeated Turner and the Celtics by a final score of 102-91.
Team Record: 6-4
Upcoming Games: Tonight vs Dallas Mavericks, 11/20 vs Brooklyn Nets, 11/22 @ Brooklyn Nets, 11/24 @ Atlanta Hawks.
Continue reading...
Bret Favachio via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Week 3 of the NBA season has concluded. Let's take a look at how former Ohio State Buckeyes fared.
Last week was a quiet one for the two former Buckeye guards who are living out their NBA dreams, Mike Conley and D'Angelo Russell. It was mostly the week of Kosta Koufos, Evan Turner, and Jared Sullinger. Who shined this time around?
Mike Conley, PG, Memphis Grizzlies
After a rough start in the first two games of the week against the Warriors and Trail Blazers, Conley responded in a big way in the final two outings. It was an up-and-down sort of week for the former Ohio State student-athlete. Yes, Conley did see slight decreases in minutes, points, field goals made, field goals attempted, and rebounding, but he still put together a respectable statistical week. Conley really started to find his rhythm from the three-point line as he shot a combined 8-11 from distance in the final two games of the week and would ultimately finish at 47.4% from long range all together. Conley also assisted much better in comparison to last week, as he tallied 8.5 per game -- a hair over four dimes better than last week. The final line for the Grizzlies guard would read 14.3 points, 8.5 assists, and 1.8 rebounds per contest in the week.
Best Performance: Undoubtedly the best showing for Conley came on Monday night against the Thunder. In just 31 minutes -- his lowest of the week -- Conley piled up 22 points on 61.5% shooting (8-13). The 22 points would tie Conley's season high as he also put up the number against Brooklyn in the third game of the season. Also, of the eight makes for the 6'1, 175-pounder, he knocked four (of five) of them down from three-point range. Conley would also commit zero turnovers while snagging four rebounds, nine assists, and one victory over Oklahoma City.
Team Record: 6-6
Upcoming Games: 11/20 vs Houston Rockets, 11/21 @ San Antonio Spurs, 11/24 vs Dallas Mavericks.
Kosta Koufos, C, Sacramento Kings
It was a forgettable week for Kings big man Kosta Koufos. After getting praise for his first two weeks of the NBA season with his new team, it was simply an abysmal last three games for the 7-footer. Koufos regressed in every single statistical category outside of turnovers, personal fouls, and his +/- rating. Quite frankly, that is what happens when you do not perform and start losing minutes. After averaging about 25 minutes per night coming into the week, Koufos only earned 18.3 in his three latest contests and has seen a decrease in minutes each night for the last five games. We'll see if this trend continues and it probably should if he isn't getting the job done. Because of the poor showings from Koufos, there is simply no reason to discuss his "best performance" because there isn't any worth acknowledgement. To make matters worse, Koufos has yet to receive a positive +/- rating this year. Let's hope he can get things back on track this upcoming week.
Team Record: 4-7
Upcoming Games: Tonight @ Atlanta Hawks, 11/19 @ Miami Heat, 11/21 @ Orlando Magic, 11/23 @ Charlotte Hornets.
D'Angelo Russell, SG, Los Angeles Lakers
It was a rough first two weeks in the NBA for D'Angelo Russell and the fact of the matter is, the expectations have yet to be reached. The good news is, Russell put together his best week as an NBA player to date.This week, in four games, Russell averaged 11.2 points and three assists per contest. While it's still not what we all are hoping to see eventually, fact of the matter is, Russell is making progress -- slowly. Head coach Byron Scott increased his minutes, albeit not by very much, and Russell quickly delivered by doing the opposite of Koufos, and increasing on the majority of his numbers compared to last week. The only notable thing Russell saw a slight drop in was his field goal percentage and three-point percentage. While it may be difficult for Lakers fans to have patience with the youngster, this is at the very least, a positive sign.
Best Performance: In a game against Orlando this past Wednesday, Russell received his highest on-court work when he picked up 31 minutes of action. The No. 2 overall pick in the draft promptly dropped 14 points, his best of the week, making six of his 15 shot attempts. Of the six buckets Russell put in, two of them came from downtown, where he shot 40%. Russell also was helpful on the boards as he pulled down six missed attempts from the opposition and also dished out three assists. Unfortunately, despite the main blemish being his three giveaways, Russell and the Lakers came up short against the Magic courtesy of a Nikola Vucevic game-winner at the horn.
Team Record: 2-9
Upcoming Games: 11/20 vs Toronto Raptors, 11/22 vs Portland Trail Blazers, 11/24 @ Golden State Warriors.
Jared Sullinger, PF, Boston Celtics
When it comes to the best former Buckeye in the NBA. it's undoubtedly Mike Conley. However, with the way Jared Sullinger is performing so far in the 2015-2016 campaign, he's making sure he isn't the forgotten one. After a double-double performance last week, Sully one-upped it this time around as he tallied two double-doubles this week. Sullinger received a minutes increase this week and had his best rebounding week thus far. He did drop slightly on plenty of categories but with two more double-doubles under his belt, surely he'll live with it.
Best Performance: Like mentioned above, Sullinger acquired two double-doubles in the four games the Celtics played this week, so it was no easy task to focus on just one. However, the stat line he put together in the victory against the Hawks this past Friday is a bit more appealing. This double-double included 10 points and 10 rebounds for the 6'9, 260-pounder. Despite having one less point, one less rebound, and a small drop in field goal percentage compared to his other double-double, Sullinger did have one block, three less turnovers, and one less foul with a positive +/- rating.
Team Record: 6-4
Upcoming Games: Tonight vs Dallas Mavericks, 11/20 vs Brooklyn Nets, 11/22 @ Brooklyn Nets, 11/24 @ Atlanta Hawks.
Evan Turner, SF, Boston Celtics
Last week, it was an Evan Turner week. This week, not so much. The 2-11 shooting display Turner notched against the Hawks on Friday could mostly sum up how things went. Turner played average to below-average at best in all but one of the Celtics four meetings, the one being a game against the Pacers that will be discussed later. ET finished the week with 8.6 points, four rebounds, and three assists and you can credit most of that to the outing against the Pacers. The good news is that Turner still played much better this week than he did in the first week of the year. He also had a positive +/- rating in three of the four games.
Best Performance: Turner began the new week with a solid outing last Wednesday when the Celtics took on Indiana in the TD Garden. He received 33 minutes of action -- his season high -- and it certainly paid off. It was a 20-point performance for the former Buckeye, also a season best, and he did so by knocking down nine of his 13 attempts -- good for a healthy 69.2% from the field. Turner also added three rebounds and three assists but it wasn't enough for Boston on that night. The Pacers handed them their only loss of the week as they defeated Turner and the Celtics by a final score of 102-91.
Team Record: 6-4
Upcoming Games: Tonight vs Dallas Mavericks, 11/20 vs Brooklyn Nets, 11/22 @ Brooklyn Nets, 11/24 @ Atlanta Hawks.
Continue reading...