While Horns in the League will be a daily feature during the NBA’s regular season, the simple fact of the matter is that the preseason doesn’t matter. In a league where the playoffs are nearly as long as the interminable regular season, a few extra weeks of exhibitions seems a little excessive. But, hey. It means basketball starts a month earlier, and we certainly can’t complain about that. So between now and October 30th, HitL will only be updated on a weekly basis. Last week T.J. Ford took Europe by storm, averaging 25.3 minutes in the Raptors’ three exhibitions overseas. His highest scoring output came on Thursday, when he dropped 18 on Real Madrid. He also dished out eight assists in his 27 minutes of play that night, although Toronto fell short, 104-103. His 13.7 PPG average over the first three preseason games puts T.J. behind only Chris Bosh and big man Andrea Bargnani on the squad. Take that, Jose Calderon! Royal Ivey has played in all three games with his new squad, the Milwaukee Bucks. He’s averaging 20 minutes per contest, which is a good sign as he fights for a spot on the 12-man roster. He is shooting a team-best 58.3% so far this preseason, and is also tied for the team lead with one steal per game. Daniel Gibson leads the Eastern Conference Champion Cavaliers with his 27 MPG this preseason, and trails only LeBron with his three assists per game. D-Gib is scoring 9.7 points per contest during the exhibition games, but is only hitting his threes at a 40% clip, noticeably lower than the 99.9999999999999% he was shooting in last year’s playoffs. LaMarcus Aldridge seems to be fully recuperated following his heart problems at the end of last season. He is playing 25 minutes per game so far for the Trailblazers, and his 15.5 PPG is second only to youngster Martell Webster, who is having an absolute breakout preseason in his third year. L.A. is also averaging seven boards per game so far, but has yet to record a block. Kevin Durant has picked up where he left off at Texas, once again emerging as the star of a young team. K-Smoove’s Sonics are only 1-2 in preseason play, but he is averaging 16 PPG along with five rebounds. He is playing 27 minutes per game for Seattle so far, but will be counted on for many more minutes once the regular season kicks off. The offseason was good for Maurice Evans, who struggled down the stretch in 2006-07 with injuries. He joined the Lakers on their recent Hawaiian exhibition tour, appearing off the bench in all five contests. Mo is only logging 16.4 MPG for the Lakers, but that is good enough for second among their reserves, while his five points per game leads all bench players. Tuesday Wednesday T.J. Ford and the Raptors host Zalgiris Kaunas, defending champions of the Lithuanian League, at 6 P.M. Central. Thursday Friday Out west, LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trailblazers host Sacramento at 9 P.M. This one is also televised locally, on Comcast SportsNet-West. |
2 Responses to “Horns in the League – Preseason Week One”
on 16 Oct 2007 at 9:35 am # caradoc
Great to hear about Longhorns in the pros. I’m looking forward to this as a continuing series.
And the news was good. Especially that TJ seems to have overcome his physical problems and Ivey finally seems to have caught on with a team that will play him. I’m hoping the Gibson is not the victim of unrealistic expectations after the playoffs — at UT he was also streaky as hell. Finally, I didn’t see anything here on Chris Mimm — is he still in league? And whatever happened to Brandon Mouton?
on 16 Oct 2007 at 6:27 pm # Ryan
Mihm missed all of last season after ankle surgery, but the Lakers resigned him in the offseason. I completely overlooked him when writing this up, although for some reason he’s not listed on the L.A. stats page – which is wrong. He’s scored 11 points in each of his first two preseason games, and NBA.com is reporting he’ll likely start for the Lakers, although his minutes will be limited as he regains his conditioning.
Last I heard on Mouton, he had returned to UT to get a Master’s degree. I’ll talk to some folks and get a more definitive answer for you in the near future.