The NBA is officially back in action, following a four and a half month hiatus thanks to a COVID-19 outbreak in mid-March.
The league is playing an abbreviated eight game regular season finale, featuring 22 teams, and then will head into the playoffs with the usual 16 teams.
Four former USC Trojans are on NBA rosters for the time being: DeMar DeRozan and Chimezie Metu (Spurs) De’Anthony Melton (Grizzlies) and Nikola Vucevic (Magic).
Metu did not play for San Antonio in their first game back, a win over the Sacramento Kings. DeRozan did, however, and he paced the team with 27 points, 10 assists and five rebounds – his seventh double-double of the ‘season’.
Vucevic looked excellent for the Magic in their win over the Nets, dropping 22 points with seven rebounds and five assists.
Lastly, Melton came off the bench for the Grizzlies in their thrilling overtime loss to the Blazers, where he dropped seven points with four rebounds and a pair of assists.
The Spurs, Grizzlies, Blazers and Magic are all teams that are fighting for a spot in the playoffs, and these next seven games will be crucial for each squad if they want to keep playing into September.
Keep checking back for more updates on the Trojans in the NBA and their playoff aspirations.
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