Tag: player of the month

Maine Celtics’ Luka Samanic wins NBA G League Player of the Month for November

The accolades keep rolling in at every level of the organization this month.

The accolades for the month of November are rolling in for the Boston Celtics, and it’s begun to spread beyond the confines of the NBA itself, with Celtics affiliate player Luka Samanic — currently suiting up for the Maine Celtics, Boston’s Portland-based developmental affiliate — winning Player of the Month honors for November at the G League level per the team’s Instagram account.

The Maine Celtics have jumped out to an 8-2 start as one of the G League’s hottest ball clubs, and Samanic’s play is no small part of the reason for that hot start. Averaging 21.7 points and 11.4 rebounds, the 2022 Celtics camp invitee leads the G League in double-doubles with a total of nine already this season.

Samanic joins superstar forward Jayson Tatum as a player of the month at the NBA level, with Boston interim head coach Joe Mazzulla being tabbed for Coach of the Month honors as the parent club has also jumped out to a sizzling start with an 18-4 record behind Mazzulla’s coaching and Tatum’s MVP-caliber play.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Boston’s Jayson Tatum named East Player of the Month

Devin Booker won the award for the Western Conference.

The NBA has named superstar Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum their Eastern Conference Player of the Month for games played in October and November (October being a partial month in terms of the league calendar). The St. Louis native is joined by Phoenix Suns star guard Devin Booker for the award in the Western Conference.

Per the league, other players in consideration for the East award included Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), O.G. Anunoby (Toronto Raptors), DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls), Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers), Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic).

Those in the running in the West include Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers), Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks), De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings), Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons (Portland Trail Blazers), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets) and Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies).

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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49ers P Mitch Wishnowsky is NFC Special Teams Player of the Month

49ers punter Mitch Wishnowsky is earning the heck out of his contract extension.

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What a month for Mitch Wishnowsky, huh? The 49ers’ 2019 fourth-round pick earned a contract extension before Week 2, and after an excellent performance in Denver in Week 3 he was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month.

Wishnowsky has once again become a field position weapon for the 49ers, something he’s become reliable for during his three-plus seasons in the NFL.

The 30-year-old punter had 14 kicks in the month of September. Eight of them pinned the opposing team inside its own 20. Only two of them were returned for a grand total of six yards.

Kicks inside the 20 that returners don’t have time to make plays on are the ideal punts, and Wishnowsky delivers a lot of them.

Of all the players that got contract extensions, it’s hard to argue anyone has earned theirs more so far this season than the 49ers’ punter.

Former Saints punter Thomas Morstead named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month

Former Saints punter Thomas Morstead was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December. Keep punting, Falcons:

There aren’t many former New Orleans Saints players still so beloved by fans as punter Thomas Morstead, even after he went turncoat and signed with the team’s biggest rival. But there’s good news: the more often Morstead goes out to punt, the fewer points Atlanta is putting on the board. So it’s still easy to root for him in his new role — just not any of his teammates.

And Morstead has been outstanding. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December, having dropped 6 of his 11 punts inside the opposing 20-yard line while averaging 49 yards per try. He’s bounced back in a big way from his final season in black and gold, between his two stops with Atlanta and, earlier, the New York Jets. Good for him.

But his successor in New Orleans has been terrific, too. Blake Gillikin put his rookie year (effectively a redshirt season on injured reserve, studying up on what’s made Morstead so successful for so long) to good use, winning recognition as the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October. For context, Gillikin put 10 of his 17 punts inside the opponents’ red zone that month. There’s no buyer’s remorse here despite Morstead’s continued high level of play.

So don’t be too hard on Morstead while he’s punting for the dirty birds. Remember, they don’t want him out there too often — so it ultimately benefits the Saints when he’s putting in a hard day’s work, even if he’s doing it well. Let’s hope every Falcons drive ends with a Morstead punt in Week 18’s regular season finale against New Orleans.

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Cowboys Defensive Rookie of the Month Micah Parsons to challenge banged-up Saints OL

Cowboys’ Micah Parsons, newly-minted Defensive Rookie of the Month, to challenge banged-up Saints OL

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It’s looking like tough sledding is in store for the New Orleans Saints offensive line again this week, with bookend tackles Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk both ruled out against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night while managing knee injuries. That puts veteran backups James Hurst and Jordan Mills as the next men up at left tackle and right tackle, respectively (with second-year pro Calvin Throckmorton starting in place of Andrus Peat at left guard).

Facing them is a solid Dallas defensive front spearheaded by November’s Defensive Rookie of the Month: Micah Parsons, a college linebacker who has spent a lot of time playing off the edge, and thriving in that role for the Cowboys. Parsons has racked up 45 quarterback pressures and double-digit sacks through 11 games, primarily rushing off Dallas’ left side against opposing right tackles. That puts him on a collision course with Mills, who has only taken a single snap this season with 84 starts at right tackle (mainly with the Buffalo Bills) behind him.

On top of the threat Parsons poses off his side of the formation, look for DeMarcus Lawrence to make an impact in his first game back from injured reserve. Lawrence has bagged 10 pressures and 3 sacks in three games against the Saints before. While he has also mainly been a left end in recent years, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn should find ways to get both of his best edge rushers on the field together and send them at weak links in the Saints offensive line. Unfortunately for New Orleans, it’s looking like they have more vulnerabilities than areas of strength on Thursday night.

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Saints P Blake Gillikin named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October

New Orleans Saints punter Blake Gillikin has been named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October.

New Orleans Saints punter Blake Gillikin has been named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October.

Over four games in October, Gillikin averaged 49.6 yards per punt with a 45.5 net average and 10 punts inside the 20-yard line.

During an Oct. 10 game against Washington, Gillikin became the first punter since at least 2000 to have three punts of at least 53 yards downed inside the 3-yard line, according to the Saints. The three punts: a 60-yarder downed at the 1-yard line, a 57-yarder out of bounds at the 3-yard line and a 53-yarder downed at the 2-yard line. He was snubbed for NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Gillikin is the first Saints player to be named a Player of the Month since Cameron Jordan in November of 2020, and he joins Thomas Morstead (2019) as the two Saints punters to be named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

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James Harden earns Player of the Month honor for second consecutive month

James Harden wins Player of the Month for March, making it two months in a row.

James Harden has secured his second Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for the season. The Beard led Brooklyn an NBA-best 11-2 record for the month and he made sure to do it in style too. He averaged 27.9 PPG, 11.5 APG, 9.8 RPG and 1.6 SPG in 38.8 minutes per game.

The MVP candidate had six triple-doubles in the month and, to put the icing on the cake, his efforts have the Brooklyn Nets in first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2003.

According to the Brooklyn Nets PR, Harden  “is the first player to earn Player of the Month honors in each of his first two full months with a new team since the award’s inception in 1979-80, and he is the first player in franchise history to earn Player of the Month honors in consecutive months.”

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Cameron Jordan named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan is the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November after netting 5 sacks in as many games

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An impressive string of performances from Cameron Jordan put the league on notice, and the New Orleans Saints defensive end has been named November’s NFC Defensive Player of the Month. Jordan bagged 5 sacks and 12 tackles (9 solo, 6 tackles for loss of yards) over the last month, totaling 235 snaps played in 5 games. Pro Football Focus credits him with 20 quarterback pressures created in that span, third-most in the conference (NFC South rivals Brian Burns and Shaquill Barrett are tied for the lead with 25).

Not bad for a 31-year old in the 10th year of his NFL career. To take things into greater perspective, Jordan has 6.5 sacks on the year so far, and 93.5 in his career. If he can find a way to double that season total over these last five games, he’ll become just the second player in Saints history to record 100 sacks — trailing only Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee and “Dome Patrol” legend Rickey Jackson, who left the black and gold with 115 sacks to his name.

And 6.5 sacks down the stretch just might be doable. Jordan has another matchup with Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan coming up next; he’s sacked Ryan 21 times in their long rivalry, the most of any defender-quarterback combination since sacks were tracked as a stat back in 1982. Jordan took Ryan down 3 times in their last game and 4 times in last season’s Thanksgiving Day headliner.

He could close the gap to 100 in a hurry between that favorable mismatch and a road trip to Philadelphia the following week — Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has been sacked 46 times in 11 games this year, leading the league. It’s an encouraging second wind for Jordan, who had the quietest start to a season in recent memory to open 2020. Here’s to a strong finish.

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Did Dolphins CB Xavien Howard get snubbed for monthly honor?

Did Dolphins CB Xavien Howard get snubbed for monthly honor?

The Miami Dolphins were among the teams to have a player represented in the NFL’s October awards thanks to the honor given to kicker Jason Sanders. But should the Dolphins have seen another player granted an award for his performance and play throughout the second month of the 2020 NFL season as well? The honor for October’s AFC Defensive Player of the Month went to Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett — and you’d be hard pressed to find an excuse to say Garrett wasn’t worthy.

He collected 6 sacks during the month of October with an additional 4 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles. Those are terrific numbers.

In perhaps another month, or without the herculean effort from Garrett, Howard would have been a great choice. In three games in the month of October, Howard logged 9 total tackles, 3 interceptions and 5 passes defensed as the Dolphins played two dominant defensive games against San Francisco and New York. Add in 54 minutes of play against Russell Wilson that had the team limited to just 17 points (Wilson was masterful at the end of the game to push a 2-point lead to 9 and then a Ryan Fitzpatrick interception put Seattle into a short field and they scored another touchdown to finish with 31) and Miami’s defense certainly had their redeeming moments of play in October to help the cause for Howard.

But it wasn’t meant to be. And you can’t be mad for the league choosing Garrett’s dominant numbers over what Howard has done this month, although we can’t help but wonder in the decision would have been different if Miami’s Week 3 contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars had been played in the month of October instead of on September 24th. Remember: Howard had another interception and another pass defensed in that contest, giving him 4 and 6 respectively over his last 4 contests.

Oh well. There’s always November…

Dolphins’ Jason Sanders named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month

Dolphins’ Jason Sanders named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month

The NFL has one more game left to be played in the month of October this evening, but the league has already announced the winners for the players of the month honors. And the Miami Dolphins have a representative on the list!

Kicker Jason Sanders has been named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October after a scorching hot scoring pace and no missed kicks throughout the month. What’s even more impressive about Sanders’ 18/18 performance in the month of October between both field goals and extra points? The Dolphins served their bye week in October, so Sanders played one less game than many of his colleagues throughout the league.

And yet, sure enough, Sanders’ perfect month landed him the monthly honor for his efforts.

Sanders has been a key piece of Miami’s success in their last four games, his ability to drive the football puts the team in scoring position the moment they cross the opposing 40-yard line. For a kick who came out of college with some accuracy woes, seeing Sanders become the kicker that he has serves as just another example of how this coaching staff is doing what they can to get the absolute best out of their talents.

For Sanders, he’ll have to hope to continue his hot stretch to the season as the Dolphins look to outscore the Los Angeles Rams at Hard Rock Stadium this Sunday. Ram coach Sean McVay has his offense humming and Miami can’t afford to hope to create a low-scoring slugfest and expect great results. If Miami wins, they’ll need points.

And no one on the team is currently better at collecting them than Sanders. Congratulations to him on a well-deserved honor for his kicking in October.