As the NBA heads into 2015, let’s take a look back at how the Aussies fared in the final month of 2014.
Thankfully we saw two return to action from injury but lost another to what could be a long-term issue.
Andrew Bogut (Golden State Warriors)
Firstly, I must offer my apologies to Andrew Bogut and the entire Warriors franchise after praising his good health in last month’s article.
Unfortunately for Bogut, the Warriors and Australian NBA fans, he was sidelined in early December with a knee issue that required surgery and has seen him out indefinitely with no timetable for a return.
In his three full games in December he posted double digit rebounds in every game and the Warriors were undefeated. Obviously every NBA fan in Australia is hoping to see him out on the court soon and ready to tackle the playoffs in good health. Sorry for the jinx, mate.
December Numbers: 4 games played (GP), 22.8 minutes per game (MPG), 4.8 points per game (PPG) (36%), 9.8 rebounds per game (RPG) and 1.8 assists per game (APG)
Dante Exum (Utah Jazz)
This is now month two of the NBA career of Dante Exum and we got to see a tiny glimpse of potential in back-to-back road games against the Pelicans and Magic. Against the Pelicans he posted a career high 12 points in 20 minutes of action and then backed it up the next game against the Magic with 10 points in 24 minutes.
You can see that Exum is starting to gain a little more confidence with every strong performance and in a few games has been preferred down the stretch to a struggling and undersized Trey Burke.
What is still a concern is Exum’s passiveness on offence at times and his inconsistent play. His main duties seem to be limited to bringing the ball up the court before handing it off, being a spot up shooter and running the occasional pick and roll with a big. Whether this is due to the demands of the Quin Synder or if he is still trying to find his feet, only time will tell.
Again, I would love to see him be more aggressive and take it to the rim, something he is more than capable of doing with a first step as quick as his. In December he only averaged an attempt every 33 minutes and attempted less than half of them than in November (eight compared to 19). His numbers across the board are down as he competes with Rodney Hood and Patrick Christopher for bench minutes.
Finishing off with a positive, his three-point shooting numbers are looking solid at 38.2 per cent and with Alec Burks out for the season there should be plenty of opportunities to increase his minutes and show Snyder that he should be above Hood and Christopher in the rotation.
December Numbers: 15 GP, 18.0 MPG, 4.7 PPG (41.3%), 1.5 RPG and 1.5 APG
Matthew Dellavedova (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Delly made his return from injury in early December and in his second game back made a huge impact in a come-from-behind win against the Raptors. James LeBron praised Dellavedova’s play in that game as a huge part of the win and confirmed the importance of Dellavedova on this roster.
“Delly is a guy that’s always been counted out. Saying he can’t make it, he can’t do this, he can’t shoot enough, not fast enough, not tall enough,” LeBron said.
“One thing about it: heart and effort will take away a lot of the things that you cannot do. I’ll take a guy like that any day on my team.”
With injuries to Kyrie Irving and LeBron, Dellavedova was given the opportunity to start in five games, including the final four games of December and performed well (8.4 PPG and 3.8 APG).
The numbers don’t tell the whole story with Dellavedova (as with most of the Aussies) as he plays hounding defence – a useful commodity on this clueless Cavs team – and can nail a three pointer when required.
With LeBron out for at least another week and Irving still not 100 per cent it will be up to Dellavedova to shoulder more responsibility and I feel confident he will take it in his stride and just get on with the job.
December Numbers: 14 GP, 21.2 MPG, 4.5 PPG (31.8%), 2.1 RPG and 2.9 APG
Patty Mills (San Antonio Spurs)
Another Aussie made his return to the court in December and boy do the Spurs need Patty Mills right now. Due to injuries and the triple overtime bonanzas they are playing, their stars are playing more than they would like at this stage of the season (four of their starters average more than 30 minutes).
December for Mills was only three games long so we won’t see what he can contribute to the Spurs until around the middle of January. When he does start to get more familiar with NBA basketball again he will have to battle with Cory Joseph for minutes.
Joseph has been a great backup to Tony Parker with Mills out of the line-up and has even started 14 games in Parker’s absence. I have every confidence that Mills will find his feet and provide some important minutes off the bench while Gregg Popovich ramps up his resting policy.
December Numbers: 3 GP, 22.3 MPG, 8.3 PPG (33.3%), 2.3 RPG and 2.3 APG
Aron Baynes (San Antonio Spurs)
Baynes had a bit of a mixed bag December with four starts in place of Tim Duncan thrown in with a couple of did not plays and some games where he didn’t see much action.
That is the nature of the Spurs front court under coach Pop but the positive thing for Baynes was his play when starting. As a starter in December, Baynes averaged 14 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game, including a season high 16-point game against Dallas as a substitute for Tim Duncan.
While it is great that he gets the occasional start, his minutes allocation game to game is very inconsistent so tuning in to a Spurs game to catch Baynes is a very hit and miss affair. Watch for more starts against the Timberwolves, Hornets and Lakers in January as they fall on the second night of a back-to-back games for the Spurs.
December Numbers: 16 GP, 15.3 MPG, 6.3 PPG (58.2%), 4.7 RPG and 0.7 APG
Joe Ingles (Utah Jazz)
Jingles is creating a niche for himself with this Jazz team as his basketball intangibles are becoming more valuable. His numbers are only noticeable in their absence but his effect on a game can’t be measured with stats.
The commentators are now joking about his willingness to pass up every open shot available to him but it’s all in good fun and is usually followed with good words about his game.
Highlights include two games in double digits scoring and a career high 13 points against the Hornets. Like Dellavedova, Ingles can have a big impact on the game without showing in the box score. While the majority of the focus for Australians watching Jazz games will be Dante Exum, it is Ingles that is having the biggest impact so far.
December Numbers: 15 GP, 14.0 MPG, 2.8 PPG (42.5%), 1.3 RPG and 1.7 APG
Cameron Bairstow (Chicago Bulls)
Bairstow saw only 10 total minutes in December with 90 per cent of them coming in a blowout win against the Nets (he only grabbed two rebounds and missed all three shots).
With such a deep rotation of bigs and a coach that loves to play his core group in big minutes I don’t see a change of fortune for Bairstow in his rookie season.
December Numbers: 3 GP, 3.5 MPG, 0.0 PPG, 1.0 RPG and 0.0 APG
Let’s finish the monthly wrap up with a few Joe Ingles to Dante Exum highlight plays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idppscuzEwoandamp;list=UU8-RQ5zGg-Fizu4KVh4dZZg
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