As NBA teams have now completed roughly a quarter of their regular season games, there are still plenty of former IU men’s basketball players who continue to impress.
One of the players who has seen an increase in playing time is Washington Wizards center Thomas Bryant. Bryant has started the last three games for the Wizards while Dwight Howard has been out with an injury. In those three games, Bryant has averaged six points and 4.6 rebounds but has yet to receive more than 19 minutes of playing time in any of the games.
Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo has missed the last three games due to a right groin injury but may return Monday night against Utah. In his last game against the Atlanta Hawks, he only played four minutes before leaving with the injury. Oladipo has averaged 21.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists per contest through 16 games.
New York Knicks forward Noah Vonleh has continued to put together his best season through 21 games. Vonleh has averaged a near double-double as a daily starter with 8.33 points and 8.38 rebounds while also averaging one block per game. In his last game, Vonleh helped the Knicks beat the Pelicans with 14 points and 11 rebounds to go with two steals and two blocks in the 114-109 victory.
Another consistent starter this season has been Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller. The former No. 3 overall pick had 15 points and five rebounds against the Indiana Pacers last Wednesday in the victory. Zeller has started all 19 games this season and is averaging 9.37 point, 5.53 rebounds and a career-high 2.16 assists.
It’s been a rough season so far for Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon. He’s shooting only 26 percent from three-point range, while attempting over eight per game, and is shooting only 33 percent from the field. Gordon has been in a shooting slump but that didn’t stop him from making the tying layup against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night to force overtime. Gordon also had a season high 28 points while shooting five for 11 from three-point land in a loss to Cleveland on Saturday night.
In his first game back from a wrist injury, Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby scored 15 points in 19 minutes of action off the bench. He’s played in 15 out of 20 games this season while averaging 9.1 points and 2.5 rebounds.
Sacramento Kings guard Yogi Ferrell and forward Troy Williams both haven’t seen much playing time lately. In the last game against the Utah Jazz, Williams scored eight points and Ferrell scored five points in four minutes apiece. Williams is averaging 6.5 points and 2.6 rebounds through 10 games, while Ferrell is averaging 5.75 points and 1.67 rebounds through 12 games.
