Tag: ducks in the nba

Boston Celtics catch fire after moving Payton Pritchard into larger role

Former Oregon Ducks guard Payton Pritchard stepped up his game for the Boston Celtics recently, leading to a surge in the standings.

[jwplayer CpaHH9zr]

On February 12, 2022, the Boston Celtics were sitting in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings with a disappointing 32-25 record.

Despite a roster with uber stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and quality role pieces like Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, and Grant Williams, the Celtics were struggling to gain traction and looked destined to miss out on home-court advantage in the play-offs, or worse, find themselves having to deal with a play-in game.

However, Boston has turned a corner in the past six weeks, going 14-3 and moving from seventh place to fourth place in the East, comfortably in the playoff picture and still fighting for home-court advantage, now ahead of struggling teams like Chicago and Cleveland.

[lawrence-related id=21426]

While there are a handful of reasons for this surge, including the performance of trade deadline acquisition Derrick White, one key piece has been the emergence of former Oregon Ducks guard Payton Pritchard.

Pritchard was a key piece off the bench for the Celtics as a rookie during the 2020-21 season, playing just under 20 minutes per game and averaging 7.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.1% from deep.

However, he struggled to find his footing early in the season – the dreaded sophomore slump – and ended up relegated to the outside of the rotation for the first part of the year.

[lawrence-related id=21354]

From opening night until February 12 – when Boston was still in seventh place – Pritchard averaged just 12.2 minutes per game. He was shooting just 37.9% from the field, and while his 37% mark from deep was still good it was not up to his usual production – and neither were his averages of 4.8 points, 1.7 assists, and 1.6 rebounds per night.

Since then, however, Pritchard has played his way back into the rotation in a major way. The 14-3 streak over the past few weeks has seen Pritchard average 16.9 minutes per game, and the increased numbers speak for themselves: 8.5 points, 2.4 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 52% from the field, and a whopping 47.9% from three.

He’s been really, really good in the past week alone, going 17-for-24 (70.8%) from three in his past four games while averaging 15 points and 3.5 assists. Boston is 4-0 in that time and Pritchard is a staggering +86 across those four contests.

The West Linn product and Oregon star is and always has been a winner, so it should not be a surprise to anyone that he is stepping up when his team needs him most. And when the playoffs roll around, Pritchard will almost certainly be at his best.

[mm-video type=video id=01fyygc01qwwka7pcey7 playlist_id=01f27mq9z7hjgk6vc6 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fyygc01qwwka7pcey7/01fyygc01qwwka7pcey7-8af50e936d442d6004093f464897e60d.jpg]

[listicle id=21382]

Chris Duarte to miss Rising Stars game with toe injury

Former Oregon Ducks guard Chris Duarte will miss the NBA Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend with a toe injury.

[jwplayer ZTdrZQVm]

Former Oregon Ducks guard Chris Duarte, now a rookie with the Indiana Pacers, will miss the NBA Rising Stars game at All-Star Weekend with a toe injury, according to a tweet from Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Duarte will be replaced by Golden State Warriors rookie forward Jonathan Kuminga.

The Rising Stars game underwent a new format for this year, with 28 players – 12 rookies, 12 sophomores, and four members of the G League Ignite – divided up into four different teams to compete in three games on Friday, February 18.

Duarte was a part of Team Payton, alongside LaMelo Ball, Scottie Barnes and Davion Mitchell, among others.

Duarte initially suffered the injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He missed the rest of the game and has not played since, and is now set to miss the All-Star festivities over the weekend.

Fortunately, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle does not believe the injury is too serious, saying he expects he will be back in action after the All-Star break.

[listicle id=20021]

Boston Celtics trade injured Bol Bol to Orlando Magic

The Boston Celtics are cutting costs by shipping former Oregon Ducks big man Bol Bol to the Orlando Magic while he rehabs a foot injury.

The Boston Celtics era of Bol Bol’s NBA career is over before it even began, as his roller coaster of a season will continue in Orlando following his second trade of the year.

The Celtics are sending Bol, PJ Dozier, a future second round pick, and cash to the Orlando Magic in exchange for a future second round pick, according to a tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The move is cost cutting in nature for the Celtics, with both Dozier and Bol out for the season with injuries.

Bol began the season buried on the bench for the Denver Nuggets, appearing in just 14 games before succumbing to a foot injury. That injury voided a trade that would have sent the young center to Detroit, but he ended up getting shipped to Boston less than a week later.

Now, he’ll continue to rehab in Orlando with the Magic. Orlando has a very good group of young guards, including Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony, and adding a lottery ticket big man like Bol makes a lot of sense as this team looks to climb out of the Eastern Conference cellar in the next few years.

[listicle id=18254]

Chris Duarte selected for 2022 Rising Stars Game at NBA All-Star Weekend

Former Oregon Ducks guard Chris Duarte was selected to participate in the 2022 Rising Stars competition as part of NBA All-Star Weekend.

Former Oregon Ducks guard Chris Duarte has been selected to participate in the 2022 Rising Stars game, which will be played as part of NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland on Friday, February 18.

Duarte, a member of the Indiana Pacers, was one of 12 rookie players selected by NBA coaches to participate in the game.

Rising Stars has undergone a facelift this year. Instead of rookies vs. sophomores, or separating players by home country, there will be a pool of 12 rookies, 12 second-year players, and four players from the G League Ignite.

Those 28 players will be drafted into four seven-player teams, who will then compete in a mini tournament – with the semifinal games playing to a score of 50.

The two winners will play in the championship, shooting to be the first squad to reach 75 points in honor of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Season.

Duarte got off to a scorching hot start after joining Indiana as the 13th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. He is now averaging 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 43.2% from the floor and 34.9% from three.

He is sixth in scoring, second in three-pointers made, and third in steals among all the league’s rookies at this point in the season.

[listicle id=17461]

Chris Duarte No. 4 in latest NBA Rookie Power Rankings from Rookie Wire

Indiana Pacers guard Chris Duarte is having an excellent week, ranking No. 4 on Rookie Wire’s NBA Rookie Power Rankings.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f27mq9z7hjgk6vc6 player_id=none image=https://duckswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Former Oregon Ducks guard Chris Duarte may not be playing quite as well as he did at the beginning of his rookie season with the Indiana Pacers – but his most recent performances are nothing to shake your head at either.

Over his previous six games, Duarte averaged 16.7 points, five rebounds, and 3.3 assists. He tied a career-high with 27 points in a huge win over the Golden State Warriors, and has now scored in 11 of his past 13 games.

The strong showing over the past few weeks has him back in the Rookie of the Year conversation, and squarely back in the Rookie Power Rankings – done every week by the fine folks over at USA TODAY’s Rookie Wire:

The latest power rankings have Duarte fourth, one spot ahead of No. 5 pick Jalen Suggs and only trailing Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, and Franz Wagner.

While the power rankings are intended to be the picture of a players’ current performance, Duarte’s overall body of work this year at least has him in the conversation for Rookie of the Year.

He is now averaging 13.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game for Indiana, helping the team in a big way early in the year when they were without veteran guard Caris LeVert.

[listicle id=17047]

Bol Bol traded from Denver Nuggets to Boston Celtics in three-team deal

Bol Bol is on the move again. The Boston Celtics acquired the former Duck as part of a three-team trade with the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday evening.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f27mq9z7hjgk6vc6 player_id=none image=https://duckswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

It looks like former Oregon Ducks center Bol Bol is on the move after all.

Less than a week after the trade from Denver to Detroit was voided because of a failed physical, the Nuggets found another home for Bol in Boston as part of a three-team deal.

Boston gets Bol and PJ Dozier, Denver gets shooter Bryn Forbes, and San Antonio gets versatile wing Juancho Hernangomez in a deal that has a lot of moving parts.

For Boston, this deal is more about getting under the luxury tax than it is about the two players coming back in the deal, seeing as Dozier is out for the season with a torn ACL and Bol is expected to miss the next two to three months after having foot surgery.

Wojnarowski also reported that Boston does not intend to waiver either Dozier or Bol, at least until after the All-Star break. It’s possible Bol will return before the season is up, and he could offer this team some depth in the frontcourt if he is able to get 100 percent healthy in time.

[listicle id=16550]

Slow your Bol: Nuggets – Pistons trade is off after failed physical from Bol Bol

Former Oregon Ducks big man Bol Bol failed his physical with the Detroit Pistons, voiding the trade and returning him to the Denver Nuggets.

Former Oregon Ducks big man Bol Bol is not headed to the Motor City after all. According to a tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Detroit Pistons failed Bol on his incoming physical with the team, which allowed them to void the trade.

After one injury-shortened season in Eugene, Bol was the 44th overall pick of the 2019 NBA draft, and was traded one day later to Denver for a future second round pick.

Now he’ll remain with Denver for the time being, a team that has had little use for him this season. Bol has only appeared in 14 games for Denver this year, playing less than five minutes per game.

It is unclear at this point why exactly Bol did not pass his physical, but it stands to reason this could impact Denver’s ability to trade Bol again this season – which is a bummer for Bol who would have had a much better opportunity to see the floor in Detroit.

[listicle id=16229]

Trade to Pistons should create more opportunities for Bol Bol

The Pistons acquired Bol Bol on Sunday, which could jumpstart the former Duck’s young NBA career.

The Denver Nuggets are moving on from center Bol Bol, sending the former Oregon Duck to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Rodney McGruder and a future second round pick – according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Bol was initially drafted by the Miami Heat with the 44th overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, and was traded to Denver one day later for cash and a future second round pick.

He signed a two-way deal with Denver and appeared in seven games as a 20-year-old rookie, playing 12.4 minutes per night and scoring 5.7 points with 2.7 rebounds and an eye-popping 44.4% mark from three.

However, the Nuggets had little use for Bol after that. He played in 32 games in 2020-2021 and appeared in just 14 games this season.

Across those final 46 games on the Nuggets, Bol played just 5.2 minutes per game, and it is not a surprise to see Denver move him somewhere where he can actually get on the floor.

Detroit is rocking with former Washington star Isaiah Stewart at center, with Saddiq Bey playing the four. Veteran Kelly Olynyk remains out with a knee injury, however, and Luka Garza, Trey Lyles, and Micah Potter isn’t exactly a powerhouse group of depth options for the Pistons.

Bol’s length, athleticism, and outside shooting have long made him an intriguing NBA prospect, and a rebuilding team like Detroit is a perfect place for him to gain valuable reps.

Alongside Cade Cunningham, Bol could blossom into a very solid NBA player in time.

[listicle id=16096]

Checking in on former Oregon Ducks playing in the NBA

A look at how seven former Oregon Ducks are performing through the first few weeks of the 2021-2022 NBA season.

The college basketball season is right around the corner, and Dana Altman’s Oregon squad is primed to compete for the top spot in the Pac-12 and another high seed in the NCAA tournament.

Altman and his staff have not only churned out teams capable of making deep runs in March, but he has quite the track record of producing NBA talent.

For much of Oregon’s history their have scarcely been multiple Duck alumni playing in the NBA – but currently there are seven former players suited up at the next level.

That number could reach double digits, or at least nine, if a pair of veteran Ducks return soon.

Dillon Brooks is perhaps Oregon’s most notable alumni, but a broken hand has kept him out of action for the Memphis Grizzlies so far this season. As soon as he is back he will be a vital part of their offensive attack after averaging 17 points per game last year.

Jordan Bell is suiting up for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G-League, and could absolutely spend some time in the NBA with Golden State at some point this year.

Here is a look at how Oregon alumni have performed in the NBA through November 3.

WATCH: Chris Duarte leads Pacers in scoring in preseason debut

Former Oregon Ducks guard Chris Duarte led the Indiana Pacers in scoring in his NBA preseason debut.

Former Oregon Ducks wing Chris Duarte made his NBA preseason debut on Tuesday for the Indiana Pacers, tallying a team-high 15 points and five assists in their 125-104 loss to the New York Knicks.

Duarte was tied for the team lead in minutes played with All-Star Domantas Sabonis, and he looked comfortable right away – teaming up with fellow rookie Isaiah Jackson to score 12 straight points over a five minute span in the first quarter.

“It’s crazy, having my first game at Madison Square Garden,” Duarte said after the game. “It felt good. I felt good out there. First time playing an NBA game, just trying to learn. Trying to learn from mistakes and trying to learn each and every day.”

Indiana made Duarte the 13th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft following a successful senior season in Eugene where he was named the Jerry West Award Winner – given to the nation’s top shooting guard.

Now, he’ll look to carve out a significant role for a rebuilding Pacers squad in his first NBA campaign.

[listicle id=9271]