I’m not sure. It’s the first time that I’ve ever gotten that alert.
Anyway, Bufkin is on a 10-Day with the Lakers!
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Caris having a good career doesn’t surprise me. He was really, really good as a sophomore. It was just a question of whether his body could hold up. Hardaway had good NBA size (which was a question for Trey) and just needed to be more consistent.
But Dunc … yeah.
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@PAX are you at this Magic game in Germany
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Orlando getting absolutely run in Berlin in Franz’s return to the lineup (and Mo’s 2nd game) is a little sad.
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They’ve showed @PAX a few times now! Also you spoke a little to soon MGL, this game has a lot of whiplash but love this Magic team. Also love Dirk just going on and on praising the bros 
Also love when Moe cooks JJJ - a lot to love it would appear!
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Lol they’re gonna win
Grizzlies give Jock Landale and Cam Spencer 30+ mpg? What league is this?
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The Ja Effect
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it’s a @PAX sighting!
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Moritz’s mom never ages. Uncanny. Will always love her for being the lucky charm for the MSG tourney Big 10 championship run.
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Danny Wolf
https://www.instagram.com/p/DTmGzRWDnSL/?img_index=1&igsh=eXk4bGwzcmVzanhv
EDIT on 1/18: Well, the Forum is still doing that thing where I can’t make back-to-back posts in a thread so I’ll just add here that Kobe Bufkin got 2nd quarter minutes last night and finished with 9 points in the Lakers loss to Portland.
Also, TIMMAY had a season-high 30 points in the Nuggets win over the Wiz. His shooting stats have surprisingly improved since Jokic went down. He’s shot .431 from 3 over the 9 games he’s played w/o the Joker.
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I missed my update time by a little bit because I have a stupid job and need to earn money, so slightly larger sample this time! I’m also, as we’re right around the 41 game mark, going to note season averages.
Isaiah Livers played 6 of the Suns’ 9 games. Hard to point to a reason why he missed those three, they were non-consecutive games, he got a DNP in one and was inactive the other two. I’m going to say, generally, the answer is that he’s a rickety guy. Regardless, in these 6 games, he played about 45 minutes and change - 7.5 average, though his load spanned from 3 to nearly 14 in this span. He made 4 of his 10 shots (2/5 from both 2 and 3), and collected 8 boards. SEASON: 22 games, 10.5 mpg, 2 ppg, 2 rpg, 0.5 spg. 35.7% from the floor, 32.3% from 3, 45.5% from 2
Danny Wolf played in all 10 Nets games, getting 4 starts. He averaged a bit over 22 minutes per game, scoring 7.5 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0.8 blocks, and only 0.5 turnovers. He shot 41.8% from the floor (34.3% from 3, and 46.7% from 2. He shot 70% on 10 total FT’s). The Rebounding is pretty good, the shooting from both 3 and 2 grades out to mediocre and combined to bad. Obviously, you want your 7 footer to shoot over 50% from 2 (maybe over 60% from 2) and he’s not particularly close there. Interestingly, 10 of his season’s 17 steals occurred in this span. He’s getting a ton of minutes now, which is great, but the productivity isn’t really quite there yet. SEASON STATS: 26 games, 19.6 mpg, 7.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg (1 oreb), 1.8 apg, 0.7 spg, 1.1 turnovers per game. 39.8% from the floor, 35.7% from 3, 43.1% from 2.
Moussa Diabate missed three of his team’s games but started the other 7, averaging 29.9 minutes, 9 points, 9.6 boards, 2.3 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game. 3.6 of his rebounds were offensive (he’s still top in the league in offensive rebounding rate). His offense is basically limited to putbacks, rarely taking more than 5 shots (5.1 average), and shot 67%. He did have two games with larger FT loads (8 and 7). The team stinks, but Diabate has shown he’s an actual NBA player. Season Stats: 39 games, 24.4 mpg, 8.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg (3.7 offensive), 1.5 apg, 1 bpg. 59.3% from the floor, 61.5% from 2 (yes, he took a 3).
Caleb Houstan played in two blowouts, totaling 5.5 minutes. He went 1/2 from 3 and committed a foul. Season stats: 10 games, 5 mpg, 2.3 ppg, 46.7% from the floor, 50% from 3, 33.3% from 2.
Jett Howard played in 4 of the Magic’s 8 games, averaging about 10 minutes and 25 seconds. They weren’t blowouts, so Jett is mostly on the fringes of the rotation, stepping in when their are enough injuries. He scored 14 points in these games on 21 shots - not the best. He was 14% from the floor (25% from 3, 7.7% from 2, saved by 6/7 from the line). For a guy whose job is to put the ball in the hoop, he’s still struggling and been basically the same guy for 2.5 seasons. It would not shock me to see the Caleb Houstan path here. Season Stats: 27 games, 10.7 mpg, 4.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.9 apg, 36.8% from the floor, 32.9% from 3, 43.2% from 2.
Franz Wagner came back on 1/15 for the Magic’s European tour with the Grizzlies (played in Berlin and London). He played a but over 26 minutes, scored 16 ppg, grabbed over 6 boards, handed out 2.5 assists, and shot pretty poorly - 11/29 from the floor and 3 of 6 from 3. Obviously, he’s got some rust to knock off here, but good to see him back. Season Stats: 26 games, 32.8 mpg, 22.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.1 spg, 48.2% from the floor, 36.8% from 3, 52.1% from 2.
Mo Wagner also returned for the European tour, seeing his first game action of the season, and didn’t really seem to miss a beat in being a quality offensive bench big. He averaged 12 mpg, 7.5 ppg, and 3 rpg. He shot 50% from the floor, 25% from 3, 66.7% from 2, and canned all four of his free throws.
Jordan Poole played in all 10 Pelican games, ranging from a 38 minute start to 11 minutes off the bench. In all, he averaged 22.4 mpg, scored 11.3 ppg,and dished 2.8 assists. He shot 38.5% from the floor, but 46.8% from 3! That means….that two point shooting had to be pretty bad right? Right! He shot 23.5% from 2 on 3.4 attempts per game, which nearly defies beliefs. I say it, I feel, a ton, but Poole’s best play has nearly always corresponded with moderate volume high efficiency (for a guard) two point scoring - this season he’s morphed into low volume, poor efficiency. Season Stats: 26 mpg, 15 ppg, 3.1 apg, 2 topg, 38% from the floor, 35% from 3, 43.1% from 2.
Caris Levert has lost minutes this year due to the Pistons abundance of quality bench level wings, but his per 36’s are pretty similar to his standard - about half a point per 36 minutes less than in cleveland last year on similar shooting splits, rebounding assists. One level of creep has been an uptic in three point volume (and down-turn in 2 point volume) as the Pistons search for shooting. His three point shooting continues, overall to be “fine” - 35.4% on 5.8 attempts per 36 minutes. Caris missed 3 of the Pistons’ 7 (!?) games since our last update, avearging 18 minutes, 6.3 pounts, but over 3.5 assists. Seasons stats: 30 games, 19.8 minutes, 8.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1 spg, 0.7 bpg, 43.9% from the floor, 35.4% from 3, 52% from 2.
Tim Hardaway Jr. continued to shoot the cover off the ball, even without Jokic, playing in 9 of the Nuggets’ 10 games. He averaged 29.6 minutes, 17.3 points, and a bit over 2 boards and 1 assist. The headline is the shooting - 32 threes on 75 attempts across 9 games (42.7% on 8.3 attempts). He was also 62.5% on a low volume of 2’s, and made 30/33 free throws. Really hard to find any fault here, and super-impressive given this came without Jokic. Season Stats: 42 games, 27.3 mpg, 14 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, 46% from the floor, 41.2% from 3, 57% from 2. A career high 63.9% true shooting.
Duncan Robinson also had a hot span here, playing all of the Pistons’ 7 games. The headline is that he shot 50% on 44 threes in 7 games (6.3 attempts in 24 mpg). He averaged 13.9 ppg. Season Stats: 38 games, 28.8 mpg, 12.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, 44.3% from the floor, 40.4% from 3, 58.7% from 2.
Kobe Bufkin has played in the past 4 games for the Lakers, averaging a bit over 11 mpg, and scoring 3 ppg. He’s shot 36.4% from the floor, 28.6% from 3, and 50% from 2. He was initially called up with Doncic and Reaves out, with Doncic back, he was limited to just 2 minutes of garbage time in a runaway win vs the Raptors.
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11 points and 14 boards for Moussa in today’s win over the Wiz.
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Moussa had 18 points and 19 rebounds tonight in the Hornets win over the Grizz.
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I appears as if Franz’s return was either ill-advised and/or a PR stunt as the games were in Berlin, because he hasn’t played since.
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I highly doubt we see Franz again until post all star weekend
Isaiah Livers missed 3 of the Suns’ last 8 games since our last update. In the 5 he played, he averaged about 10 minutes and 20 seconds of time, and made 7of the 10 shots he took, 2/4 from three, and also grabbed 12 boards in this time, which is a pretty solid rebound per minute rate. He’s obviously on the fringes of their roation, and his usage is comically low again (10.2%), but he does remain in the rotation, getting minutes as health allows on a solid team.
Danny Wolf does NOT play on a solid team, and has popped in and out of the starting lineup (with minutes fluctuating) as Michael Porter Jr.’s availability (both from being generally rickety and also due to tanking, floating him as a trade piece) has changed. In the 8 games, Wolf participated in all, averaging 21 minutes, 7.5 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and 1/2 a turnover. Danny’s best game was in a 37 point loss to the Clippers where he scored 14 despite shooting 3/13 from the field (he made 7/8 free throws), and added 7 boards and 4 assists in nearly 26 minutes. The shooting is still a challenge here - 36% from the floor, 21.9% from 3, and 61.5% from 2. For this time period, his to-par 2 point shooting covered for the struggles from 3, but that’s largely not the case for the year, where he’s 38.9% from the floor, 31.9% from 3, and 45.3% from 2. With only 46 FTA in 34 games (1.35 a game), he really has no other avenue to improve efficiency. His shot distro will reveal some familiar challenges: he struggles to get to the rim (roughly have his 2pa’s are “other twos”, the majority of which are floater range (3-10 feet), on which he shoots 32%. His rim finishing is more “good for a guard” at 57% - not what you want, really, from your 7 footer. In other words - he struggles somewhat go get to the rim in general and takes low-efficiency shots at poor efficiency, and when he gets to the rim, he’s not been great at finishing. His three point shot, as we all know, is a bit questionable. His rebounding is good, his defense, by all accounts, is good, and his reduction of turnovers given his play-making level is also quite strong. The big challenge right now is the extreme inefficiency scoring the ball.
The Hornets are 4th in the NBA in net rating (SERIOUSLY) in the last three weeks, have won 6 straight, and are now positive net rating for the season…meanwhile Moussa Diabate has been pretty darn good. Moussa started all of their 7 games in this stretch, averaging nearly 28 minutes, 11 points, 9 rebounds, and nearly 2 assists per game, along with 1.3 blocks. Further, he’s averaging 3.4 offensive boards a game, and shot 76.2% from the floor (and a three!). His highlight was an 18/19 with 2 assists and 2 steals in a 15 point win over the Grizzlies - according to the game score metric (for whatever it’s worth), his best game of the season.
Caleb Houstan has been inactive since our last update.
Jett Howard has played in 2 games since our last update - 18 minutes in a 30 point loss, and 2 in a 9 point loss. He was 4/7 from the floor, and 3/6 from 3. He grabbed 1 rebound and dished 1 assist.
Franz Wagner has been inactive since our last update. As I noted above, it seems like there were extenuating circumstances - either from him or the league (or maybe some bad medical advice) - that got the star of the German National Team to return to action in his team’s game in Berlin (and then London), because he hasn’t been dressed since, and his injury status seems wrapped in mystery.
Mo Wagner on the other hand, has played, but minutes loads suggest he’s still working his way back. In the 6 games, the Magic have played, Wagner has played 9.3 minutes, but scored 6.3 points per game on 41.7% shooting.
Jordan Poole has, in a verbatim quote from James Borrego, been benched in New Orleans, receiving DNP’s in their last 4 games. Prior to that, he shot 6/25 in the first two games of this stretch, merely continuing a season-long run of pretty dreadful play, and a return to the lack of seriousness that made him so meme-able two years ago. It seems as if the franchise, at least for the time being, is committed to not letting him touch the floor unless garbage time breaks out. Poole is owed $34 million next year - he’s one of the most negative contracts in the league.
Caris Levert has missed the Pistons’ last 6 games due to an undisclosed illness - a stretch spanning nearly two weeks. In the one game he played, he was 1/6 in 17 minutes. Caris’ minutes have reduced this year, but he’s mostly been the same guy as always per minute when he’s on the floor. Given the duration of his illness, at this stage, my main thought here is simply that I hope he’s ok.
When what you mostly do is shoot threes, your quality of play is going to fluctuate, as Tim Hardaway Jr. experienced in the last 2 weeks. He started our stretching shooting 0/13 in 2 games (he had shot 1/5 in the final game of our previous time period - so a 1/18 stretch), then made 19 of his next 36 (52.8%), before missing all 4 attempts last night. Total it up, and he was 35.8% from 3 - ok, but not up to his season to date, not that I’m worried. Tim had back-to-back 20 point games in wins over Brooklyng and the Clippers. on 1/27 and 1/29.
Similarly, our other sniper, Duncan Robinson nestled a cold spell into an otherwise solid shooting period, going 1/14 in games in Denver and Phoenix. In all 8, he shot 34.9% from three, cooling off, like Tim, after a torrid stretch.
Kobe Bufkin did not play in either of the two games remaining on his 10-day contract, it was not renewed, and he’s back with the South Bay Lakers.
As noted above, Vlad Goldin got into Miami’s 43-point demolition of Da Bulls, scoring 2 baskets, grabbing a board, handing out an assist, and blocking a shot in 7:20.
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