Auburn Tigers in the NBA: April 10 edition 

On3 imageby:Keith Niebuhr•04/10/23•

On3Keith

With Auburn now having several former basketball players playing professionally, last fall we launched a weekly look at the Tigers in the NBA. Now that the 2022-23 NBA regular season is in the books, here’s a quick overview of how they fared.

WALKER KESSLER, UTAH

SEASON: Rookie

MARKET WATCH: Stock up. Kessler, a first-round pick, surpassed the expectations of many with a stellar rookie season during which got better seemingly every month. Jazz Nation is excited about his future.

UP-TO-DATE KEY STATS: 9.2 pts., 8.4 rebs., 2.3 blks. (March 28 update: 9.1 pts., 8.3 rebs., 2.4 blks.)

GAMES/STARTS: 74/40

MINUTES PER GAME: 23.0

FIELD GOAL %: 72

BEST GAME: 3-25 vs. Sacramento (L): 31 pts., 11 rebs., 1 blks.

HIGH POINT TOTAL: 31

BEST REBOUND TOTAL: 21

HIGH BLOCK TOTAL: 7

BEST ASSIST TOTAL: 4

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Pretend for a minute you cannot read the name on the back of the jersey of the player in the above image, and that you have not read the title of this article. From there, try and guess who the missing name is that fits this list of every NBA player in the 2022-23 regular season, sorted by win shares, as calculated by Basketball-Reference.com.

It seems unlikely, but it is true. In amongst all those All-Stars sits Utah Jazz rookie centre, Walker Kessler.

Use a different metric, and you’ll find a similar result. On the same website, using the VORP rating instead, Kessler ranks 48th, with only one other rookie – Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder – placing in the top 100. Kessler also ranks 49th in FiveThirtyEight’s own formulation of the WAR metric, and in their own RAPTOR ranking, he ranks even better at 37th, tied with All-Star and Most Improved Player candidate Domantas Sabonis.” — FORBES

CHUMA OKEKE, ORLANDO

SEASON: Third

MARKET WATCH: Down. Okeke missed 41 games with a knee injury. When healthy, he posted career-low numbers in points and field goal percentage. And his minutes were way down. He has yet to become the player the organization hoped but he’s still only 24.

UP-TO-DATE KEY STATS: 4.7 pts., 3.6 rebs., 1.4 asts. (March 28 update: 4.5 pts., 3.5 rebs., 1.1 asts.)

GAMES/STARTS: 27/8

MINUTES PER GAME: 19.2

FIELD GOAL %: 35.2

BEST GAME: 11-3 vs. Golden State (W): 16 pts., 9 rebs., 3 ast.

HIGH POINT TOTAL: 16

BEST REBOUND TOTAL: 9

HIGH BLOCK TOTAL: 2

BEST ASSIST TOTAL: 5

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Shooting has been a struggle for Chuma Okeke all season too. Like Caleb Houstan, Chuma Okeke is a great positional defender and will typically be in the right spot to get stops and make plays.

But his value decreases the more he misses. And with the Orlando Magic making him almost exclusively a 3-point shooter the last two years, he has struggled to be consistent.”

Okeke was hitting his threes in his season finale. At least that will be a good taste for him heading into his offseason.

He scored 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting, making four of his eight 3-pointers. These kinds of games are what the Magic were always envisioned for him. And he delivered in his last game of an injury-filled season.” — Orlando Magic Daily

ISAAC OKORO, CLEVELAND

SEASON: Third

MARKET WATCH: Stock up. After an incredibly slow start to the season, Okoro heated up down the stretch as his offense picked up. He finished the regular season shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor. Okoro missed six games late with left knee soreness but figures to be a key component for the Cavs entering the playoffs.

UP-TO-DATE KEY STATS: 6.4 pts., 2.5 rebs., 0.4 blks., 1.1 asts. (March 28 update: 6.4 pts., 2.5 rebs., 0.4 blks., 1.1 asts.)

GAMES/STARTS: 76/46

MINUTES PER GAME: 21.8

FIELD GOAL %: 49.4

BEST GAME: 2-5 vs. Indiana (W): 20 pts., 3 rebs.

HIGH POINT TOTAL: 20

BEST REBOUND TOTAL: 7

HIGH BLOCK TOTAL: 2

BEST ASSIST TOTAL: 5

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff isn’t downplaying the difference starting small forward Isaac Okoro could make for the team in its upcoming first-round NBA playoff series.

It’s a sign the Cavs are optimistic Okoro will be able to return from his left knee injury to face the New York Knicks.

The best-of-seven series between the Eastern Conference’s fourth-seeded Cavs (51-31) and fifth-seeded Knicks (47-35) will begin with Game 1 at 6 p.m. Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Meanwhile, Okoro was sidelined for the sixth consecutive game when the Cavs fell 106-95 to the Charlotte Hornets (27-55) in the regular-season finale Sunday afternoon. He last played March 26, when the Cavs clinched their first playoff berth since 2018 with a 108-91 victory over the Houston Rockets.

‘It’d be huge for us,’ Bickerstaff said Sunday when asked about the possibility of Okoro returning for the playoffs, “especially you watch his matchups defensively and what he’s able to do and how he can contain the ball and defeat screens and pick and roll, which you’re going to see a bunch of.'” — Akron Beacon. Journal


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JABARI SMITH JR., HOUSTON

SEASON: Rookie

MARKET WATCH: Stock up. After some rough patches, Smith played much better in the final 1/4 of the season as both his scoring and shooting percentage rose. He scored in double figures each of the last 11 games this season. All told, Smith recorded 16 double-doubles. In March and April, he averaged more than 15 points a game.

UP-TO-DATE KEY STATS: 12.8 pts., 7.2 rebs., 0.9 blks., 1.3 asts. (March 28 update: 12.6 pts., 7.1 rebs., 0.9 blks., 1.3 asts.)

GAMES/STARTS: 79/79

MINUTES PER GAME: 31.0

FIELD GOAL %: 40.8

BEST GAME: 3-9 vs. Indiana (L): 30 pts., 12 rebs., 1 blk., 3 asts.

HIGH POINT TOTAL: 30

BEST REBOUND TOTAL: 15

HIGH BLOCK TOTAL: 3

BEST ASSIST TOTAL: 6

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “Smith’s definitive moment came two weeks ago, when he drilled a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining to give the Rockets a victory against the New Orleans Pelicans. As the team celebrated around him, some of the edge of the season’s rough start melted away a bit.

It was a rare bright spot in a first season that has been light on wins. Houston lost 18 of 19 games at one point and 11 straight games during another stretch. One of the team’s then veterans, Eric Gordon, said in January “there’s no improvement” when summing up the state of the Rockets — not ideal for a young player trying to find positivity in early struggles.

The Rockets coaches worked with Smith on having better balance on his shot. He worked out alone with his dad, who played four years in the NBA in the early 2000s.” — ESPN.COM

JT THOR, CHARLOTTE

SEASON: Second

MARKET WATCH: Mixed. On the one hand, Thor was a non-factor for much of the season. On the flip side, the light seems to have come on of late. From March 14 to last weekend, he scored in double figures six times. That said, his shooting percentage remains low. The good news: Thor is only 20.

UP-TO-DATE KEY STATS: 3.8 pts., 2.2 rebs., 0.3 blks. (March 28 update: 3.2 pts., 2.0 rebs., 0.3 blks.)

GAMES/STARTS: 69/8

MINUTES PER GAME: 14.0

FIELD GOAL %: 39.9

BEST GAME: 3-28 vs. Oklahoma City (W): 14 pts., 6 rebs., 4 asts., 1 blk.

HIGH POINT TOTAL: 14

HIGH REBOUND TOTAL: 7

BEST BLOCK TOTAL: 2

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “The last seven games have been Thor’s most successful and consistent as a pro. Thor has had three games during that stretch where he has had double figures in points and is averaging 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 56.5% from the field and 42.3% from three. As Eric Collins has mentioned frequently, Thor is currently on a streak of at least one made three in each of his past nine games.” – SI.com

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