Aussies in the NBA: Joe Ingles continues sizzling from deep, exhibits point forward smarts
Joe Ingles is quickly becoming a guy opposing teams need to guard very closely when he is shooting three-pointers. This past week Ingles shot 50% from downtown, looking comfortable and confident in his shot.
In the 4 games this week, Ingles shot 22 three's and drained 11 of them. It has been great to see Ingles continue to shoot with confidence and show that he is a genuine threat from the outside.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Ingles' week were his 6 assists against Sacramento. As he was dishing the ball to his team mates he looked in control and only committed one turnover for the game.
As the below video shows, Ingles shows his patience and doesn't force anything. He waited for the best option and then fired it over to a waiting Chris Johnson.
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Ingles' basketball smarts are on display below. By drawing in two defenders, he was able to find the driving Derrick Favors for the easy slam.
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Ingles had a great all-round game against the Kings, finishing with 10 points (2/4 from 3), 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in 21 minutes of court time.
Over the past 4 games, Ingles has only turned the ball over 4 times. This is yet another signal proving just how comfortable he is with his role in the team and the flow of the NBA game.
Ingles converting Gordon Hayward into an AFL fan?
It appears Joe Ingles' love for Hawthorn has rubbed off on his Utah team mate Gordon Hayward.
Goodluck to my AFL team @hawthornfc & Roughie @jr3502!!! #Roughieeeeeeeee
— Gordon Hayward (@gordonhayward) April 6, 2015
It's always great to see Ingles sharing his Australian roots with his team mates.
Ingles caught up with the boys from 'The Zone' to have his weekly chat.
When asked about what it is like playing with the second unit, and not having the 'main' guys on the court with him often, Ingles said "Nobody wants to go out there and change the way they play depending on who they're playing with. The only thing I look at sometimes is depending on who I'm out there with is just how aggressive I am. For me, sometimes its more of a sit back and take those open shots, sometimes I have to take the ball and be aggressive."
"I'm more than happy to take an open shot or a shot that I think is a good one."
When asked about the resting of players late in the NBA season Ingles said "I've never been apart of it really, or seen it. In Europe [the games] are spread out, there's two games a week... Teams and clubs would never rest their best players, the mentality is to try and win no matter what."
"I'm exhausted."
On his transition into NBA life and where he is now: "It's been challenging at times, just getting used to it and just trying to figure out the league. When I first started it took me a few months to feel comfortable before I could really play the way I wanted to play. I've got great team mates that have helped me."
Utah have just three games remaining in their season, and none of them are easy. They take on the Blazers in Portland today, battle the Mavericks in their last home game, and then travel to Houston for their last game of the season.
It has been a great rookie season for Ingles, and I know he would be hoping to finish the season off strongly.