Aussie's in the NBA preseason
We have had several Aussies suit up for their prospective NBA teams already in the NBA preseason. And the the young players were those I was excited to see take their shot at a bigger role on their team, or even how they played. Dyson Daniels missed nearly all of the summer league after being drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans and Jock Landale was traded to the Phoenix suns. Josh Giddey has started hot but lets break down some of the action.
Jock Landale - Phoenix suns
The phoenix suns were blown away by the hot shooting Adelaide 36ers which you can read about in my game review. But they suited up against the Los Angeles Lakers today and Jock Landale played a bigger role this time out. The whole bench unit played better this game, and the ball moved through hands a lot better with Cameron Payne not in the lineup. The Suns walked away with the win after trailing for the majority of the game.
Jock Landale had some great plays through the game but really came to the show in the last quarter, dropping two 3's and grabbing some offensive boards.
He finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in 23 minutes.
Good all round game from Jock. Hopefully we will get to see him get real minutes with the Suns when they start the regular season.
Torrey Craig also played but only for 15 minutes and pulled down 7 rebounds with 6 points.
Dyson Daniels - New Orleans Pelicans
Dyson Daniels suited up for the first time in an NBA preseason for the New Orleans Pelicans against the Chicago Bulls, and he just looks so comfortable as an NBA player. He is tall (grew two more inches last year), athletic and looks strong for his age. When he moves on defense he seems to be everywhere, stopping his player, but also being great as the help defender getting some big Blocks against the Chicago Bulls.
Late in the game Dyson had a few big plays getting steals, dropping a 3 ball and securing the game at the foul line to push the lead out to 4 points, dropping both foul shots with 11 seconds left in the game, and the Pelicans walked away with a win against the Bulls.
Daniels made some strong drives to the bucket through the game, but looked to struggle with finishing his shot close to the rim. With some more experience under him and if he increases his shooting percentage at the rim, and three point line he will be absolutely deadly. An all around solid player who can play lock down D, make the right pass and get to the rim whenever he wants. The only thing missing is the experience and finishing which will come in time. A great pickup for New Orleans in the draft! He could see some good minutes in the season with his strong defense that the Pelicans really needed last season.
Look at these plays to close out the game. That's a winner! I'm very excited to see the player he develops into, throughout the season and beyond.
Daniels finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 Blocks.
Josh Giddey - Oklahoma City Thunder played against Josh Green Dallas Mavericks
Josh Giddey looks to have bulked up in the offseason and is looking strong to start the new NBA season. His floater and shot are both looking better and in his first two preseason games, is putting up some good numbers.
In his first game that was not televised against Denver Giddey put up: 14 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists.
In his second game against the Dallas Mavericks where he only played 17 minutes, mostly in the first half, he had 13 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Shooting 60% from the field.
Giddey was throwing some insane passes to find open team mates as usual, but some tough shooting kept his assist numbers lower in this game.
Josh Green had some great plays and looked aggressive from the tip. He looks to enjoy playing against Giddey. Green made a couple of great plays and is just a solid piece to have on your team. He doesn't try to do too much, but can do a little of everything, and with the speed and size he still looks to have a lot potential in his game.
They might have a bit of a rivalry building after Green beat Giddey out of the last spot on the Boomers squad before the last Olympics. Thunder Vs Mavericks games will definitely be good entertainment for the aussies watching.
Josh Green in 22 minutes finished with 9 points, 4 assists and 2 steals
No comments:
Post a Comment