Copyright © 2018 | Sports
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Last week: 1 The Mavericks have won five of their last six games and are slowly moving toward .500, thanks in large part to Doncic, who was second only to Trae Young this week in usage rate among rookies. Given his passing ability and overseas track record, Doncic’s assists numbers have been a bit low this season, which is somewhat expected considering he has to get used to his new teammates and the NBA style of play. His rebounding, however, has been better than expected, and he’s using it as a catalyst to get the Mavericks out in transition, where they’re among the best in the league in efficiency (second in the NBA at 1.188 points per possession, according to Synergy Sports Tech). Doncic uses his size and skill to either set up teammates or finish himself when they’re out on the break. |
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Last week: 2 The Suns just keep on losing, though you can’t point the finger at Ayton. He’s been the pinnacle of efficiency on offense while boasting a double-double average in three games this week, all losses. The No. 1 overall pick held his own against mountainous Thunder center Steven Adams, who is as tough of a matchup for a 20-year-old as they come. Another encouraging sign: Ayton dished out five assists in Wednesday’s loss to Chicago, the first time he’d reached that mark in seven games. The Suns want to use Ayton as a facilitator, particularly given their point guard troubles, and they need the big man’s playmaking to survive offensively. |
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Last week: 6 Jackson has developed much faster offensively than most anticipated, and he continues to be a defensive terror for the surprising Grizzlies. As if he needed another weapon, Jackson seems to be getting more comfortable from the 3-point line, hitting 4-of-8 from distance this week. He’s hit at least one 3 in four of the last five games, which will only make him and Memphis more dangerous. |
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Last week: Unranked Bagley was the subject of some controversy this week, as reports surfaced saying that Kings management wasn’t happy with the role he was playing under coach Dave Joerger. The 19-year-old responded by putting up probably the best three-game stretch of his young career, scoring efficiently (58 percent from the field this week), rebounding and blocking shots consistently. Bagley has played well as an energy big off the bench, and whether management likes it or not, it’s working for the surprisingly competitive Kings. |
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Last week: 4 Sexton still isn’t racking up assist numbers generally associated with a point guard, but he at least limited his turnovers this week — he didn’t commit any in either of his two games. He had a rough 5-of-17 shooting night in LeBron James‘ return to Cleveland, showing the fans they’ve got a long way to go to get back to relevance. Sexton is making strides, however, and should only improve as he becomes more comfortable in the NBA. |
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Last week: 3 Doc Rivers has scaled back SGA’s minutes to a reasonable 29 minutes per game now that Avery Bradley is back healthy, but it hasn’t slowed the talented rookie’s progress. He’s remained in the starting lineup despite Bradley’s return, scoring 16 and 17 points in back-to-back games against the Hawks and Wizards, after getting into foul trouble last Saturday against the Nets. Gilgeous-Alexander was also active on the defensive end, picking up four steals and two blocks on the week. |
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Last week: 7 Young had another horrific week shooting the basketball (33 percent from the field, 1-of-11 3-pointers), and he’s now shooting 15 percent from 3-point range (8-for-53) over his last 10 games. On the season, Young is shooting 32 percent on 47 catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts, but that number dwindles to a paltry 17 percent on 52 pull-up 3-point attempts. Thus far in his career, Young hasn’t proven that he can consistently make off-the-dribble 3-pointers, which was supposed to be one of his main skills coming out of Oklahoma. He’s less than 20 games into his NBA career, but these are shots Young will have to start making if he’s going to live up to his potential. |
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Last week: Unranked Holiday received significant minutes for the first time in his career this week due to an injury to Victor Oladipo, and boy did he rise to the occasion. Holiday scored 31 points on 11-for-16 shooting in back-to-back wins against the Hawks and Jazz. He struggled to get going offensively against the Hornets, shooting 2-of-9 from the field, but found a way to impact the game in other ways, picking up six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in a career-high 24 minutes. Oladipo should be back within the next couple games, so it will be interesting to see if Nate McMillan can find playing time for Holiday moving forward. |
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Last week: 10 Bridges looked like one of the more NBA-ready players coming into the draft, and we’re seeing his immediate impact in recent weeks. He entered the starting lineup alongside Devin Booker for two of three games this week, providing exactly what he was expected to provide — strong outside shooting (6-for-12 on 3-pointers) and disruptive defense (a ridiculous 10 steals in three games). The Suns haven’t taken the step forward that they’d hoped so far this season, but it’s clear that Bridges is a tremendous asset moving forward. |
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Last week: 5 It’s hard to shine for a lousy team, and Carter’s numbers have taken a hit in recent weeks. It looked for a while that he was turning into a double-double machine, but he failed to record more than five rebounds in any game this week. He’s still been efficient (a 2-for-8 performance against the Raptors aside), and he continues to defend. It will be interesting to see how Carter’s role changes when Lauri Markkanen returns to the lineup. |
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