Tag: irish in the NBA

Pat Connaughton NBA Tracker: Jan. 4-10

With four games for the Milwaukee Bucks during this past week, it seemed like plenty of opportunities for Pat Connaughton were coming.

With four games for the Milwaukee Bucks during the past week, it seemed like plenty of opportunities for Pat Connaughton to contribute off the bench were coming. Instead, left groin soreness kept him out for three of those games. That the Bucks had a back-to-back may or may not have made a difference as to whether he missed two games or three.

Connaughton returned for the back end of the back-to-back Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, which was a 100-90 win for the Bucks. Perhaps as Mike Budenholzer’s plan to ease him back into action, he played just under 11 minutes, the fewest of anyone on the team. That was enough time for him to hit a pair of 3-pointers and grab four rebounds. He now has the transposing averages of 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds a game for the season while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 52.2 percent from 3-point range.

Pat Connaughton NBA Tracker: Dec. 28-Jan. 3

After a slow start to his season, Pat Connaughton came alive over the past week.

After a slow start to his season, Pat Connaughton came alive over the past week. The guarantee with Connaughton lately is that when he does damage, he prefers to do so from behind the 3-point line. In his three most recent games, all but three of his 14 field-goal attempts came from that far out, and those were his only field goals that went through the hoop. He made eight of them while missing a pair of close shots and one perimeter shot.

Though Connaughton’s Milwaukee Bucks blew out the Miami Heat by 47 points Dec. 29, he shot only 1 of 3 in a season-low 12 minutes, though he also had three assists for the game. The Bucks played the Heat again the next night, and this time, he was 4 of 6, all from behind the 3-point line, to set his scoring high of the season thus far at 12. His hot streak continued New Year’s Day against the Chicago Bulls, during which he made all three of his 3-point attempts and knocked down his first two free throws of the season in an 11-point, five-rebound performance. His 8.7 scoring average during the week bumped his season average to 6.3, and he’s now at an even 50.0 percent from 3-point range in this young season.

Pat Connaughton NBA Tracker: Preview

The 2020-21 NBA season is underway after the league had its shortest offseason ever.

The 2020-21 NBA season is underway after the league had its shortest offseason ever. Sadly, only one former Notre Dame players is on an NBA roster. Yes, the royalty the Irish have in basketball pales greatly in comparison to football. That means we must appreciate whoever is playing in the league while we can.

Pat Connaughton enters his sixth NBA season and third with the Eastern Conference-contending Milwaukee Bucks. He’ll be with the Bucks for a little longer after signing a three-year, $16 million contract with them Nov. 23. Last year, he averaged 5.4 points a game, tied his career high in rebounds (4.2) and competed in the Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend. His preseason was nothing to write home about, shooting 2 of 10 from the field in three games, but Milwaukee obviously has a lot of confidence that he’ll pick it up once the games count.

Connaughton will find himself in the rotation behind newcomer Jrue Holiday, whom the Bucks acquired in a trade Nov. 27. Holiday is coming off a nice run in New Orleans, and he could make the difference in whether the Bucks finally get back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974. That being the case, Connaughton might be overlooked at times. Still, he’ll be a valuable player off the bench for a team with high expectations, and he’ll surely take that situation anytime.

 

Pat Connaughton Competes in Controversial Dunk Contest

The dunk contest during this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago will go down in infamy. A fantastic duel between the Miami Heat’s Derrick Jones Jr. and the Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon was ruined by questionable judging decisions in the final …

The dunk contest during this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago will go down in infamy. A fantastic duel between the Miami Heat’s Derrick Jones Jr. and the Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon was ruined by questionable judging decisions in the final tiebreaking dunk-off. The debate as to who should have won this will live for years.

But before the panel of Dwyane Wade, Common, Candace Parker, Chadwick Bosman and Scottie Pippen made its biggest blunder of the night, it made one that served as a precursor to what eventually happened. Notre Dame legend Pat Connaughton, now with the Milwaukee Bucks, didn’t make it out of the first round even though a strong case could be made for it.

This first dunk, for which Connaughton was dressed in “White Men Can’t Jump” garb and Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich was involved, only netted him a 45, but tell me this shouldn’t have been a 50:

Connaughton’s second dunk involved teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo. He got a 50 this time, but it wasn’t enough to escape the undeserved low score of the first dunk.

Oh, and perhaps in the ultimate show of disrespect, DJ Khaled, who was tasked with introducing the participants, admitted to the whole world he couldn’t pronounce Connaughton’s last name, even though he should have had more than enough time to learn beforehand.

Oh well. Enter the contest again next year, Pat. Maybe things will go a lot better.