It has been almost a month since the 2018-19 NBA season started, and there are multiple former IU men’s basketball players that have shown improvements from the previous season.
Over the past two weeks, Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo has continued to see his numbers rise. He is averaging 23.79 points per game, 7.14 rebounds per game, and 4.93 assists per game. Oladipo was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 23.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 4.0 APG and 2.0 steals per game while leading the Pacers to a 3-1 record that week and hitting a game-winning shot against the Boston Celtics.
The second Hoosier that has played in every game this season is New York Knicks forward Noah Vonleh. He’s quietly been one of the most improved players in the NBA this season, while averaging 7.43 PPG and 8.29 RPG in the starting lineup for nine of those games. Vonleh had a double-double last week against the Atlanta Hawks with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Eric Gordon has missed three games due to injury, but has remained a key player for the struggling Houston Rockets this season. In 32.7 minutes per game, Gordon has averaged 15.22 PPG and 3.56 RPG while seeing more opportunities in the starting lineup despite being primarily used as the sixth man. Gordon was also rumored to be in a package offer to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Jimmy Butler, but the Wolves decided to trade with the Philadelphia 76ers instead.
In the last game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby had his best game of the young season. Anunoby scored 17 points in 24 minutes played off the bench. He’s averaged 9.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG while emerging as one of the best wing defenders in the NBA.
The final Hoosier is Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller, who has played in every NBA game this season. His season averages have taken a small dip to 9.23 PPG and 5.69 RPG, but he had 14 points and six rebounds in a win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
As the Sacramento Kings have been one of the surprising teams in the NBA this season, guard Yogi Ferrell has appeared in 10 games but has missed the last two. He hasn’t seen the floor as much as he did recently due to the strong play of De’Aaron Fox.
Neither Washington Wizards center Thomas Bryant nor Kings forward Troy Williams has appeared in many games this season, but Williams is averaging 7.17 PPG and 2.67 RPG while Bryant is averaging 3.25 PPG and 1.75 RPG.
