Tag: Wes Iwundu

Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart react to Kevin Durant, Bucks-Nets Game 7 playoff game

Along with the rest of the NBA world, Lonzo Ball and fellow Pelican teammates reacted to the brilliance of Kevin Durant on Saturday.

The Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks engaged in a memorable instant classic on Saturday night in a Game 7 of the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. To get to that point, the two teams already had memorable performances, none more so than Kevin Durant’s Game 5 in which he scored 49 points with 17 rebounds and 10 assists while playing all 48 minutes in a win.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton responded together in Game 6 in Milwaukee with a combined 68 points, setting the stage for Saturday’s Game 7 back in Brooklyn with the NBA world watching. Naturally, the two teams lived up to the billing with a back-and-forth contest that went all the way to the wire.

With the game and season on the line, Kevin Durant had one of the biggest shots of his career, forcing overtime with a turnaround jumper on the 3-point line with one second remaining.

With the near entirety of the NBA world – fans, media and players alike – tuning in, the reactions were both widespread and in awe of Durant’s moment, including from Pelicans Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Wes Iwundu.

Overtime between the two was rather anticlimactic, a byproduct of the two teams playing with short benches and nearly every player on the court looking exhausted. Incredibly, the Bucks hung on in the extra session to win on the road in a Game 7, but only after a nearly identical attempt from Durant that would have sent the game to a second overtime.

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2020-21 New Orleans Pelicans Player Review: Wes Iwundu

A mid-season acquisition, Wes Iwundu failed to find his footing with the Pelicans in his brief time with the team this season.

A mid-season acquisition, Wes Iwundu’s arrival came at the price of JJ Redick, whose departure brought its own stir of turmoil. For Iwundu, in a compacted season in which he joined a new team for the third time in two seasons, finding his footing and role with the Pelicans was a challenge.

For a team lacking wings, though, Iwundu could be one of the few internal options for New Orleans moving forward.

Stat of the Season

11.1%.

In 18 games with the Pelicans, Iwundu shot 2-of-18 from the 3-point line, or 11.1%. That percentage is not nearly as far away from his career 3-point percentage as it should be as he’s just a 28.6% 3-point shooter over his 223 games.

Notable quote from exit interview

On his focus in the offseason…

“First and foremost, getting healthy…and next after that comes the shooting part. I think those are my two main biggest focuses going into this offseason in order to look forward to next season and fitting in with the team even more.”

Overview

On paper, Iwundu is exactly what teams want in a wing. He’s 6’6″ with a wingspan over seven feet, athletic and fits the physical bill of a 3&D wing.

However, as noted, the 3-pointer part did not click in New Orleans and has not clicked during his time in the NBA. In 2018-19, Iwundu shot 36.7% from the 3-point line on 79 attempts. Take out that season and Iwundu has shot 24.8% on 169 attempts the rest of his time in the league.

Outlook

Fortunately, he now with the equivalent of the modern-day shot doctor in Fred Vinson. In working with Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Zion Williamson, Vinson has helped each improve aspects of their shooting. If he can have a similar impact on Iwundu, it could transform his role and impact on the team.

It’s a big ask, but it’s the clearest path to Iwundu being a productive member of the Pelicans moving forward. He’s under contract for next season but it may be one of his final chances in the league.

LeBron James says Jared Dudley backed up his words in earning ejection at Magic

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James believed his teammate Jared Dudley had his heart in the right place when he ejected on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Lakers earned yet another road victory and their fifth straight overall on Wednesday night as they began a five-game road trip with 96-87 victory over the Orlando Magic.

The Lakers led by 24 early on in the game and even held the Magic to just nine points in the first half, but the Magic clawed back the subsequent quarters to make the game a lot more interesting. They got the lead down to as few as two points before the Lakers started to regain control. But in the fourth quarter, the Magic got a little rowdy with Dwight Howard after Howard drew a loose ball foul after getting two offensive rebounds in the same position.

Orlando’s Wes Iwundu had a shove on Howard after the play, which triggered Dudley to step into the fray and shove Iwundu. The altercation would result in a double ejection for Dudley and Iwundu.

However, after the game, LeBron loved what he saw from Dudley as the veteran forward backed up his words from Lakers media day that he would defend his teammates if opponents messed with them, according to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times.

Here’s what LeBron said after the game.

That’s all it take to get ejected these day? Just a little shove? I’ve seen a lot more than that. Duds would do whatever like he said. He told you guys at media day that if someone were come in to do something crazy to to me or AD or whoever on the team, he’s going to be the muscle. Y’all forgot about that right?

…

They tried to gang up on Dwight right there so we got to try to even the numbers up a little bit, no jump sessions.

After the game, Dudley compared defending his teammates to defending his own child, according to The Athletic’s Bill Oram.

With the win, the Lakers won their 12th straight road game and managed to remain undefeated away from Los Angeles so far this season. But they will continue to face challenges throughout the rest of their current road trip, starting Friday night against the 18-6 Miami Heat.