Travis's UK Players in the NBA Update

by:Matt Jones03/05/07
bogans_inside_041101.jpeg Regular contributor to the blog Travis Waldron brings us our occasional update on the UK players and how they are doing in the pros.... Kelenna Azubuike, Golden State It was a common thought among UK fans that Azubuike left prematurely, and while he may have taken an indirect route to the NBA, it’s certainly hard to question Buike now. He’s shooting 46% from three point land (third in the NBA) and averaging 10.0 points per game since landing with the Warriors, and right now, he’s the most successful professional Wildcat not named Tayshaun Prince. Azubuike scored double digit points in three straight games heading into All-Star Weekend, and has scored 14, 23 and 13 in his last three games as well. Keith Bogans, Orlando ]Bogans is having a weird season. Looking at his shooting seasons, he would appear to be having his best season yet–his 41% field goal percentage and 42% three point percentage are career highs. But he’s doing that in a career-low 17 minutes, leading to career-lows in points (5.1), rebounds (1.5) and assists (1.1) too. Bogans hasn’t been in double figures since the first week of February, when he did it twice. Chuck Hayes, Houston Hayes isn’t scoring a ton, only 4.8 per game, but he’s increased his rebounding for the Rockets in his second season. He averaged 4.5 rebounds a game as a rookie, but he’s increased that number to 6.1 this season. Hayes is playing 21 minutes a game for the Rockets, and he logged 14 rebounds in a win over Sacramento on February 13. It was the fourth time this season that Hayes has had a double-digit rebounding game. He had 10 points and 8 rebounds in Houston’s Feb. 28 loss to Toronto. Jamaal Magloire, Portland Mags’ career appears to be on the downswing. His rebounds (5.2) and points (5.6) are his lowest since his rookie season, and once considered a handy defensive stopper, Magloire is averaging less than a block a game for the first time in his career. He did have a double-double (14 pts, 10 reb.) on Feb. 23 against Memphis, but he hasn’t been a consistent threat for the Blazers all season. He hasn’t had double figure points in consecutive games this season. Nazr Mohammed, Detroit Detroit has surged to the top of the Eastern Conference, and Mohammed has had a front row seat, with plenty of emphasis on “seat.” He played 10 minutes on March 2, the first time he’d played that much since Feb. 15. He had a whopping 10 points and 10 rebounds in the entire month of February. Tayshaun Prince, Detroit The good news for the Pistons? They’re playing better, and Prince is having his best season statistically since his second season, in which they won the NBA title. Prince has now started 221 consecutive regular season games, scoring 14.5 points and a career-high 5.6 rebounds per game in his 57 starts this season. He had 22 points and 7 boards against Miami on March 2, then followed it up by scoring 10 points in the 4th quarter in a comeback victory over Memphis the next night. He had 17 points total in that game. Derek Anderson, Charlotte Anderson is starting to play more, and his production is up too. He logged at least 25 minutes in 5 of his last 7 games and had at least 11 points in three of those games. During that stretch, he had 5 assists in 4 of the games. He’s averaging 6.5 points and 2.5 assists in 37 games this season. Scott Padgett, Memphis Padgett has played in three games since being traded from Houston to Memphis, but he’s yet to score a point. He did have four rebounds in eight minutes against Philly on March 2. Rajon Rondo, Boston After hardly playing early, Rondo is finally getting minutes for the worst team in the NBA. Rondo scored 23 points in early February, tying his career high, but he hasn’t been scoring much. But he did nearly have an odd double-double on Feb. 28, pulling down 9 rebounds and dishing out 8 assists. Rondo has played 19.1 minutes and scored 5.1 points in 53 games this season. Antoine Walker, Miami In probably his best game this season, Walker lit up the Pistons for 22 points on March 2. He made 8 of 14 field goals, including 3 three pointers and pulled down four rebounds. Still, Walker’s averaging career lows in minutes (23.0), points (8.1) and rebounds (4.2).

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2024-03-28