Bret Favachio
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Mike Conley and Kosta Koufos have started well, but other Buckeyes in the NBA have struggled out of the gate
Bret Favachio via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Land-Grant Holy Land takes a look at all five former Buckeyes now on the big stage to see how they fared in week one of the NBA season.
Mike Conley, PG, Memphis Grizzlies
It's been a fairly decent start for Mike Conley, the man who runs the show for one of the West's best teams. Conley is starting the 2015-2016 campaign with over double figures in the points column at 13.4 per game and is currently 6th in the NBA in assists, with seven dimes per night. Conley had a combined -59 +/- and shot 4 of 18 in two blowout losses to Cleveland and Golden State, the 6'1, 170-pounder has played well in the Grizzlies three other meetings.
Best Performance: Against Brooklyn on October 31st, Conley flirted with a double-double with 23 points and 8 assists. However, he did reach the mark against Indiana in the second game of the season. Conley was able to dish out 10 assists, grab four rebounds, and score 13 points while shooting a hair over 45% from the floor. You could make an argument for either game, but we'll recognize the double-double effort in the win over the Pacers as his best performance.
Team Record: 3-2
Upcoming Games: 11/5 @ Portland Trail Blazers (TNT), 11/7 @ Utah Jazz (NBATV), 11/9 @ Los Angeles Clippers.
Kosta Koufos, C, Sacramento Kings
On July 14th of this year, Kosta Koufos officially joined Sacramento, signing a four year deal. So far, despite being just one week deep into the NBA season, George Karl may have added a solid piece to his squad. Koufos is averaging 8.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and one block per game. He's already got the starting nod twice in Sacramento -- one due to Demarcus Cousins suffering an Achilles injury -- and is picking up close to 25 minutes of action per contest while shooting 57.1% from the floor. The big thing for Koufos will be to limit his fouls, which can be tough as a big man. He's averaging over four fouls per night, and that's going to limit how long he can be on the floor.
Best Performance: Despite not knowing he was going to be the starter alongside Cousins in the frontcourt until a few hours prior to tip-off, Koufos put together a fine game in 23 minutes for the Kings home and season opener. The 7'0, 265-pounder successfully finished five of his six shots, while pulling down seven rebounds (three offensive) and blocking two shots. Despite the ten point performance by Koufos, it was the Clippers who walked away with the victory.
Team Record: 1-3
Upcoming Games: Tonight @ Phoenix Suns, 11/6 vs Houston Rockets, 11/7 vs Golden State Warriors, 11/9 vs San Antonio Spurs.
D'Angelo Russell, SG, Los Angeles Lakers
It hasn't been the start that Laker fans had hoped for when it comes to D'Angelo Russell's rookie season. The former five-star recruit out of high school is scoring 8.5 points per game, an averaging close to three dimes. It's not a terrible start by any means for Russell, but certainly not what the expectations were. The good news is that it's just the first week of the season and Russell can and likely will turn things around sooner rather than later. It's a positive that the Lakers first round selection is getting a bit more than 24 minutes a night. Surely if he can find his groove, that number will begin to slowly increase.
Best Performance: In the second tilt of the year for the gold and purple, Russell and the Lakers went head-to-head with the in-state Sacramento Kings. This was a night in which last years Buckeye star acquired his highest point total, while being efficient at the same time. Russell made 5 of his 10 field goal attempts, for 13 points. The Kentucky native also secured two rebounds and recorded two assists while only turning the ball over once in the 23 minutes of action he received.
Team Record: 0-4
Upcoming Games: 11/6 @ Brooklyn Nets, 11/8 @ New York Knicks, 11/10 @ Miami Heat.
Jared Sullinger, PF, Boston Celtics
In the offseason, Boston went out an acquired David Lee from the Golden State Warriors. At that time, the expectation was that Jared Sullinger might be a guy who saw a slight decrease in minutes. In those circumstances, the only thing you can do is perform when your number is called and that is what Sullinger has done up to this point. In two of the first three contests this season for the Celtics, Sullinger has been fairly effective off of the bench for Brad Stevens. 9.3 points and six rebounds per contest isn't a bad thing to have in your rotation but we'll see if he can keep it up. Unfortunately for Sullinger, recent news came about that he will become a restricted free agent after the season because the Celtics decided not to extend the 6'9, 260-pounder at the deadline on November 2nd. While his long-term future with Boston is up in the air for the time being, it'll be important for the fourth year forward to play well in the minutes he receives when coming off of the bench for the green and white.
Best Performance: In Boston's first game of the 2015-2016 season in which they squared off against Philadelphia, Sullinger put up 12 points and was efficient in doing so. The former Northland High School and Ohio State star made six of his eight shot attempts on the night which was was good for 75%. Sullinger also secured seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block in the Celtics defeat of the 76ers.
Team Record: 1-2
Upcoming Games: Tonight @ Indiana Pacers, 11/6 vs Washington Wizards, 11/10 @ Milwaukee Bucks.
Evan Turner, SF, Boston Celtics
It's been a rough start for one of the most enjoyable Buckeye basketball players in the programs history. While Sullinger is making some positive noise, you could say Turner is doing the opposite. Taking care of the ball has always been a criticism of Turner's and him averaging 2.7 turnovers per game won't help calm those claims. He's only been able to score on 5 of his first 20 attempts this year -- one being a garbage time lay in against the Spurs with not much effort given -- which goes for exactly 25%. Not ideal for Turner but certainly not time to panic.
Best Performance: Much like Sullinger, Turner put together his best --yet underwhelming -- stat line in the lone Boston win this season. Last Wednesday, in 22 minutes on the hardwood for the C's, Turner put up six points, four rebounds, and two assists. Boston was also +23 with Turner on the floor against Philly. Despite it being his best performance on the very short season thus far, the former Buckeye standout did have three turnovers -- something that has always been a problem for him as mentioned above.
Team Record: 1-2
Upcoming Games: Tonight @ Indiana Pacers, 11/6 vs Washington Wizards, 11/10 @ Milwaukee Bucks.
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Bret Favachio via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Land-Grant Holy Land takes a look at all five former Buckeyes now on the big stage to see how they fared in week one of the NBA season.
Mike Conley, PG, Memphis Grizzlies
It's been a fairly decent start for Mike Conley, the man who runs the show for one of the West's best teams. Conley is starting the 2015-2016 campaign with over double figures in the points column at 13.4 per game and is currently 6th in the NBA in assists, with seven dimes per night. Conley had a combined -59 +/- and shot 4 of 18 in two blowout losses to Cleveland and Golden State, the 6'1, 170-pounder has played well in the Grizzlies three other meetings.
Best Performance: Against Brooklyn on October 31st, Conley flirted with a double-double with 23 points and 8 assists. However, he did reach the mark against Indiana in the second game of the season. Conley was able to dish out 10 assists, grab four rebounds, and score 13 points while shooting a hair over 45% from the floor. You could make an argument for either game, but we'll recognize the double-double effort in the win over the Pacers as his best performance.
Team Record: 3-2
Upcoming Games: 11/5 @ Portland Trail Blazers (TNT), 11/7 @ Utah Jazz (NBATV), 11/9 @ Los Angeles Clippers.
Kosta Koufos, C, Sacramento Kings
On July 14th of this year, Kosta Koufos officially joined Sacramento, signing a four year deal. So far, despite being just one week deep into the NBA season, George Karl may have added a solid piece to his squad. Koufos is averaging 8.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and one block per game. He's already got the starting nod twice in Sacramento -- one due to Demarcus Cousins suffering an Achilles injury -- and is picking up close to 25 minutes of action per contest while shooting 57.1% from the floor. The big thing for Koufos will be to limit his fouls, which can be tough as a big man. He's averaging over four fouls per night, and that's going to limit how long he can be on the floor.
Best Performance: Despite not knowing he was going to be the starter alongside Cousins in the frontcourt until a few hours prior to tip-off, Koufos put together a fine game in 23 minutes for the Kings home and season opener. The 7'0, 265-pounder successfully finished five of his six shots, while pulling down seven rebounds (three offensive) and blocking two shots. Despite the ten point performance by Koufos, it was the Clippers who walked away with the victory.
Team Record: 1-3
Upcoming Games: Tonight @ Phoenix Suns, 11/6 vs Houston Rockets, 11/7 vs Golden State Warriors, 11/9 vs San Antonio Spurs.
D'Angelo Russell, SG, Los Angeles Lakers
It hasn't been the start that Laker fans had hoped for when it comes to D'Angelo Russell's rookie season. The former five-star recruit out of high school is scoring 8.5 points per game, an averaging close to three dimes. It's not a terrible start by any means for Russell, but certainly not what the expectations were. The good news is that it's just the first week of the season and Russell can and likely will turn things around sooner rather than later. It's a positive that the Lakers first round selection is getting a bit more than 24 minutes a night. Surely if he can find his groove, that number will begin to slowly increase.
Best Performance: In the second tilt of the year for the gold and purple, Russell and the Lakers went head-to-head with the in-state Sacramento Kings. This was a night in which last years Buckeye star acquired his highest point total, while being efficient at the same time. Russell made 5 of his 10 field goal attempts, for 13 points. The Kentucky native also secured two rebounds and recorded two assists while only turning the ball over once in the 23 minutes of action he received.
Team Record: 0-4
Upcoming Games: 11/6 @ Brooklyn Nets, 11/8 @ New York Knicks, 11/10 @ Miami Heat.
Jared Sullinger, PF, Boston Celtics
In the offseason, Boston went out an acquired David Lee from the Golden State Warriors. At that time, the expectation was that Jared Sullinger might be a guy who saw a slight decrease in minutes. In those circumstances, the only thing you can do is perform when your number is called and that is what Sullinger has done up to this point. In two of the first three contests this season for the Celtics, Sullinger has been fairly effective off of the bench for Brad Stevens. 9.3 points and six rebounds per contest isn't a bad thing to have in your rotation but we'll see if he can keep it up. Unfortunately for Sullinger, recent news came about that he will become a restricted free agent after the season because the Celtics decided not to extend the 6'9, 260-pounder at the deadline on November 2nd. While his long-term future with Boston is up in the air for the time being, it'll be important for the fourth year forward to play well in the minutes he receives when coming off of the bench for the green and white.
Best Performance: In Boston's first game of the 2015-2016 season in which they squared off against Philadelphia, Sullinger put up 12 points and was efficient in doing so. The former Northland High School and Ohio State star made six of his eight shot attempts on the night which was was good for 75%. Sullinger also secured seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block in the Celtics defeat of the 76ers.
Team Record: 1-2
Upcoming Games: Tonight @ Indiana Pacers, 11/6 vs Washington Wizards, 11/10 @ Milwaukee Bucks.
Evan Turner, SF, Boston Celtics
It's been a rough start for one of the most enjoyable Buckeye basketball players in the programs history. While Sullinger is making some positive noise, you could say Turner is doing the opposite. Taking care of the ball has always been a criticism of Turner's and him averaging 2.7 turnovers per game won't help calm those claims. He's only been able to score on 5 of his first 20 attempts this year -- one being a garbage time lay in against the Spurs with not much effort given -- which goes for exactly 25%. Not ideal for Turner but certainly not time to panic.
Best Performance: Much like Sullinger, Turner put together his best --yet underwhelming -- stat line in the lone Boston win this season. Last Wednesday, in 22 minutes on the hardwood for the C's, Turner put up six points, four rebounds, and two assists. Boston was also +23 with Turner on the floor against Philly. Despite it being his best performance on the very short season thus far, the former Buckeye standout did have three turnovers -- something that has always been a problem for him as mentioned above.
Team Record: 1-2
Upcoming Games: Tonight @ Indiana Pacers, 11/6 vs Washington Wizards, 11/10 @ Milwaukee Bucks.
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