There were a couple of former IU men’s basketball players who stood out in the NBA last week. A few players continued to see a lot of playing time while others were dampened by injury.
After struggling to shoot over 30 percent from the field for multiple games in the beginning of the season, Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon looked like he turned a corner this past week.
The Rockets went 2-2 in those four games, but Gordon shot 47 percent from the field while averaging 23.5 points per game. Gordon shot 46 percent from beyond the arc last week after only having one game earlier in the season where he shot over 33 percent. His best game of the week came last Monday against the Washington Wizards where he scored 36 points while shooting 8-16 from three.
Monday afternoon, the New York Post wrote a story on New York Knicks forward Noah Vonleh where it mentioned how he’s the most complete player on the roster. Vonleh started 17 of 24 games and scored 15 points in the last game Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks. Vonleh averages 8.3 points and 8.1 rebounds in 25 minutes per game.
Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Zeller only played seven minutes against the Utah Jazz on Friday before leaving with a rib injury. He sat out the following game against New Orleans and is questionable to play in the next game against Minnesota on Wednesday night. Zeller averaged 9.32 PPG and 5.41 RPG while starting in every game he’s appeared in.
Washington Wizards center Thomas Bryant has remained in the starting lineup this past week due to Dwight Howard undergoing surgery soon for two herniated discs in his back. Howard won’t be back for about eight weeks, so that should mean that Bryant will continue to see steady minutes. Bryant has made the most of his opportunity by playing double-digit minutes in the past seven games. Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers, Bryant had a season-high 12 points to go with seven rebounds.
After missing three straight games, Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby has played in five straight. Anunoby scored eight points to go with six rebounds Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s remained a consistent defensive presence off the bench for the Raptors and is averaging 8.61 PPG and 2.61 RPG this season.
Sacramento Kings forward Troy Williams has seen quite a bit of minutes the past two games against the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers. Williams scored 12 points in 16 minutes of action against the Pacers but only had six points in 23 minutes against the Clippers.
It’s been a rough past week for Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo and Sacramento Kings guard Yogi Ferrell. Oladipo hasn’t played in the past two weeks due to a sore right knee, and he is out indefinitely. He’s also become a meme on Twitter due to being a multimillionaire that drinks out of an 89-cent jug of tap water everywhere he goes.
Ferrell rarely sees the court anymore for the Kings and has only seen six minutes of action over the past six games.
