Aussies in the NBA: Where Patty tosses one for the barbie
In this edition of our weekly wrap for Aussies in the NBA, Andrew Bogut continues to assert his dominance over the NBA landscape. On the other hand, we have Patty absolutely owning social media with the latest H-E-B burger ad. Who's your pick for NBA Aussie of the week? Here's our top 3 highlights for the week, featuring Bogey, Bogey and more Bogey! (great work from Alistar Sullivan) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2gNL8uA4Qo&feature=youtu.be
Andrew Bogut (Golden State Warriors)
Date Team Mins Points Shots 3P FT Rebounds Assists Steals Blocks TO PF +/- 16 Nov 2014 @LAL 21 15 7/9 0 1/1 10 4 0 1 0 4 21 15 Nov 2014 CHA 22 13 6/7 0 1/2 9 (2 off) 2 1 0 2 3 24
When interviewed by The Pick and Roll's Darrel Wilson at the Lakers game, Bogut mentioned the evolution of his role this season involved an increased emphasis on his role being more aggressive on offense. He needed to go beyond being an offensive rebounder; to go to the basket and put pressure on the defense instead. Bogut has certainly done that so far: he's averaging 8.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and an impressive 1.8 blocks per game right now, while clocking 27.6 minutes a game. It's no wonder Bogut has nothing but good words about head coach Steve Kerr on his rejuvenated career. (Lakers game highlights) Of course, we can't forget his teammates for making fantastic passes like these: Andrew Bogut's latest blog entry on NBA Australia also talks about his journey on trying to be more aggressive on offense, amongst other topics. On a lighter note, Bogey gets on a ride home with teammate Steph Curry:
Catching Bart home from SF with my PG @StephenCurry30 #rushhour #packed pic.twitter.com/heO3immMVt
— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) November 19, 2014
Finally, let's not forget about this big game in the making, where three Aussies in the NBA face off on the court.
Good win! Looking fwd to a few days rest before we face my fellow countryman @Joeingles7 and @daanteee s Utah Jazz on friday.
— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) November 17, 2014
Aron Baynes (San Antonio Spurs)
Date Team Mins Points Shots 3P FT Rebounds Assists Steals Blocks TO PF +/- 19 Nov 2014 @CLE 13 6 3/4 0 0 3 (1 off) 0 0 1 1 4 0 17 Nov 2014 PHI 19 12 5/8 0 2/2 9 (1 off) 0 0 1 0 3 6 15 Nov 2014 @SAC 18 2 1/5 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 1 -11
Aron tied his season scoring high this week with 12 points against the Philatankia 76ers, along with 9 rebounds and a block. Throughout the Cleveland and Sixers games, the Spurs have used Baynes' ability as a roll man with great results. His ability to set solid screens, roll hard and get deep position in the paint has allowed his teammates like Diaw and Parker to get the ball to him in positions to score or get fouled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-uyO8mY6WM Baynes didn't do so well against Cousins last weekend, but c'mon it's freakin' 2014 Boogie we're talking about here - he's essentially unstoppable unless he gets into foul trouble these days. Not Baynes' fault, even Tim Duncan got bulled by DMC in that Kings victory. Case in point:
Patty Mills (San Antonio Spurs)
If you haven't seen this hilarious H-E-B ad yet, you are missing out. The Spurs have a good old barbie, and egg Patty on for their favourite Aussie one-liner, to which Patty obliges. "Toss another burger on the barbie?" Pure gold! Post by The Pick and Roll - Everything NBA.
Kudos to H-E-B for coming up with such an enjoyable snippet. Don't forget to check out the other H-E-B Spurs ads too: Toga featuring a Spurs toga craze (except Timmy), and Wise, where Manu finds himself at one with nature.
Matthew Dellavedova (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Whilst we're all waiting for Delly to heal up and return to the court, he's been sighted with former Bendigo Braves teammate Damon Byrne in Cleveland. #teammatesforever
A photo posted by matthewdelly (@matthewdelly) on Nov 11, 2014 at 5:57pm PST
Delly also caught up with Tommy Greer and Liam Santamaria in their Downtown podcast titled Grizz & Tizz From Way Downtown Podcast: Matthew Dellavedova, and talks about his injury, the Cavaliers landscape and more.
Dante Exum (Utah Jazz)
Date Team Mins Points Shots 3P FT Rebounds Assists Steals Blocks TO PF +/- 18 Nov 2014 OKC 15 9 3/5 3/5 0 1 5 0 0 0 2 8 15 Nov 2014 @TOR 18 6 2/4 1/1 1/2 2 2 1 0 3 1 -6
Not a Jazz fan, but it's honestly pretty amazing, the way they have transformed their playing style so much this season. The passing's more fluid, there's the beginnings of a tangible outside threat, and big men are getting good finishes at the basket. I wouldn't call them a lock for the playoffs, but it's encouraging progress. Full credit to head coach Quin Snyder, but you'd have to imagine Exum's presence has helped. As a shooting guard with good passing instincts and length, he's only beginning to explore the depths of his potential. Aside from the catch and shoot opportunities we observed last week, Dante has gotten more opportunities to create with the ball this week. He's made the most of those possessions by driving and looking for the right pass at the same time, be it the lurking shooter or a big man in the paint. Exum came off a screen, drove in and had two options: either the dump to the big man in the paint, or a kick out to the 3 point. It's great that he read the defense correctly and hit the open shooter, instead of forcing the issue inside. Related:
Joe Ingles (Utah Jazz)
Date Team Mins Points Shots 3P FT Rebounds Assists Steals Blocks TO PF +/- 18 Nov 2014 OKC 25 5 2/3 1/2 0 4 1 3 0 2 1 14 15 Nov 2014 @TOR 24 3 1/4 1/3 0 3 4 2 0 0 1 -4
How much of a difference maker has Ingles been to the Jazz so far? He's made the most of the gap left behind by rookie Rodney Hood's plantar fasciitis injury, that's for sure. Hood has been listed as being out indefinitely, with a re-evaluation to come in a few weeks. Ingles has played increasingly heavier minutes over the past two games, doing a bit of everything from ball-handling to shooting to defense. It's evident he's becoming a steady cog on the team, providing a veteran savvy to the bench. Head coach Quin Snyder has complimented Ingles on his unselfish play before, and Jingles showed his passing skills to fine advantage with four assists against the Raptors, finding little pocket passes for the easy buckets. His length has also enabled him to pick off the stray pass and ignite a fast break, something that the youthful Jazz uses well. It will be interesting to see how Ingles will fare against the Golden State Warriors later, should he be placed in a matchup against Andre Iguodala.
Cameron Bairstow (Chicago Bulls)
Date Team Mins Points Shots 3P FT Rebounds Assists Steals Blocks TO PF +/- 20 Nov 2014 @SAC 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -3
During an earlier interview with #TeamPnR correspondent Darrel Wilson, Bairstow mentioned learning the ropes from Bulls teammate Joakim Noah, whom he described as "a great guy, extremely hardworking, and a great guy to learn from." All those lessons from Noah came into play as Cameron emerged against the Sacramento Kings. Taj Gibson notched three fouls in the second quarter, and that in turn got Cam an opportunity to get onto the court. Cam's clean stat line in six minutes of play however, did not tell the real story. He was playing hard and going after offensive rebounds, and tipped a loose ball that resulted in a Noah board. It would've been two, except Noah threw one away to Gay by accident. One solid screen allowed Jimmy Butler to score on a jumper. He guarded Carl Landry for most of his minutes, but switched to Cousins on defense during one possession, and gamely kept up. Whilst the team wasn't really looking for Bairstow on offense, there are positive signs that bode well for his opportunities in Chicago as a bench big who can be counted on to rebound and slug it out on defense. Go Cam!
Ater Majok
No update on Ater Majok's status with the Lakers just yet. We'll put it up soon as something appears.
Game schedule for the week potentially featuring Aussies in the NBA
Sat, 22 Nov
SAS @ MIN 12:00 pm
UTA @ GSW 2:30 pm
CHI @ POR 2:30 pm
Sun, 23 Nov
BKN @ SAS 12:30 pm
NOP @ UTA 1:00 pm
Mon, 24 Nov
GSW @ OKC 11:00 am
Tue, 25 Nov
CHI @ UTA 1:00 pm
Wed, 26 Nov
GSW @ MIA 11:30 am
CHI @ DEN 1:00 pm
Thu, 27 Nov
GSW @ ORL 11:00 am
UTA @ OKC 12:00 pm
IND @ SAS 12:30 pm
All times are indicated in AEST. Schedule timings extracted from Sportal - NBA Australia