Weekly NBA Canada Roundup: Saturday, November 14-Friday, November 20

Weekly NBA Canada Roundup: Saturday, November 14-Friday, November 20

Three and a half weeks into the NBA season, teams are starting to settle in and for the Canadian players it is no different. After a couple weeks of ups and downs, the Canadians in the league are beginning to find their roles on their respective teams. For the most part, these young, talented players are taking advantage of their opportunities, and it is awesome to see.

Let’s start with Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks. This young man from Toronto, Ontario has been nothing but consistent helping his Mavericks to a surprising 9-4 start. Each and every game, Powell comes off the bench, battles on the glass, defends, and makes his shots. He’s not going to put up huge numbers, but head coach Rick Carlisle must be ecstatic to have such a reliable, young player on his bench. This week, in four meetings, the 6’11” power forward played a productive 24 minutes per game. He averaged 9.3 points to go with 6.8 rebounds on 52 percent shooting from the field.

Tristan Thompson, a 6’9” power forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, is settling into his own bench role. Much like Powell, the Brampton, Ontario native comes off the bench, battles very hard on the glass (especially offensively), plays hard defense and makes a good percentage of shots. Thompson, however, isn’t a very offensively gifted player, so most of his field goals come off of put-backs and dunks while Powell scores a lot of his points from outside the paint. Thompson also played 24 minutes per game this week, in three games averaging 7.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and an efficient field goal percentage of 63 percent. After a tough double overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on November 14^th, Thompson and the Cavaliers bounced back and beat the same Bucks in Cleveland on November 19^th, 115-100. Thompson came up with a huge double-double in this game posting 12 points and 11 rebounds on five-of-seven shooting in 26 minutes.

Kelly Olynyk, another big man settling into his bench role, had a nice week as well for his Boston Celtics. The 7’0” center is a very effective offensive player when at his best and can also rebound the basketball productively. The Toronto-born player is still searching for his consistency, but it is getting better. In four games this week, Olynyk played 19 minutes per game scoring an average of 6.0 points to go with 6.5 rebounds. The 24-year-old will continue to improve as the season progresses.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Nik Stauskas had a tough week to say the least. The Mississauga, Ontario native started the week off with consecutive zero-point performances. In a 92-83 loss in San Antonio, Stauskas played 18 minutes but didn’t record a single point, rebound, or assist on six shots. Two nights later against the Mavericks, Stauskas followed up his zero-point effort with another zero point effort on four shots. This time, at least, he added two rebounds and an assist. The 6’6” guard, however, did respond in his next two with decent performances of seven points on three-for-eight shooting and 15 points on five-of-twelve shooting including three-of-eight from deep. Stauskas struggled in his first season with the Sacramento Kings and is looking to bounce back this season with the rebuilding 76ers. It’s early, give him some time and he should improve.

Toronto Raptors point guard Cory Joseph has continued his impressive start to the season this week. In his first ever season as a solidified backup, Joseph has embraced his role in Toronto. The Pickering, Ontario native is very quick and crafty making him a great driver and finisher. One cannot help but think of San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker when watching his game. Joseph played his first four NBA seasons with the Spurs and was mentored by Parker, and it has helped his game immensely. The 6’3” guard also uses his quickness to his advantage on defense making him an outstanding defender. Joseph has been very efficient as he has the third highest field goal percentage among point guards in the league this year at 55 percent. Go figure, in fourth place, one spot below Joseph, is former teammate and mentor Tony Parker with a field goal percentage of 53 percent. This week has been no different for Joseph from the rest of the season as he knocked down 57 percent of his shots. In four meetings this week, Joseph has played 25 minutes per game off the bench scoring 12.3 points per game to go with 3.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. The 24-year-old had two particularly impressive games this week: On November 15^th, in a loss to Sacramento, Joseph scored 17 points on an incredible 8-for-10 shooting to go with four rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes of action. Two nights later in what was a very tough loss to the undefeated Golden State Warriors, Joseph came up big scoring 13 points on four-of-seven shooting. He also dished out six assists and hauled in five rebounds. Joseph has proven to come up big in important situations and has been a critical piece in Toronto thus far.

Cory Joseph Has Provided Steady Production For The Raptors Off The Bench// via nba.com

All NBA Canada Player of the Week: There were some very impressive showing by the Canadians this week, but none better than Minnesota Timberwolves star Andrew Wiggins. After struggling to get going early on this year, Wiggins is back in the form he finished last season. You have to love the way this kid plays the game. The Vaughan, Ontario native is freakishly athletic and uses his ability to drive hard to the basket, absorb contact, draw fouls, and finish around the rim which quite often means throwing down highlight-reel dunks over bigs who are supposed to be protecting the paint. He can also use his length to step outside and knock down three-balls as well as mid-range twos. Wiggins is at his best when he is mixing it up on offense and using his athleticism to defend which he does very well. He did those things well this week and in four games, the 6’8” small forward played 36 minutes per game averaging 23.5 points on an efficient 45 percent shooting. The 20-year-old also grabbed 3.5 rebounds and added 1.5 assists per game. He also did an incredible job getting to the line and making his free throws. Wiggins made a total of 31 free throws this week on 41 total trips to the line; that’s an average of 7.8 free throws made per game on 10.3 attempts. Wiggins’ most impressive game this week was on November 18^th in an overtime loss to the Orlando Magic. Wiggins hit a big shot to send the game to overtime with a couple seconds left on a beautiful spin move and finish. He finished the game with 28 points and five rebounds but what was most impressive about his game was his ability to draw fouls. Wiggins got to the line a total of 14 times in this one making 12 of them. This kid has a very bright future in the league.

Andrew Wiggins Has Been A Big Part Of Minnesota’s Early Season Success// via nba.com

Players to watch for next week: Andrew Wiggins- Wiggins is heating up and is very fun to watch when he is playing well.

Cory Joseph- The Raptors are struggling right now, but Joseph’s game remains a positive. Watch for Joseph to help the Raptors get over the hump.

Dwight Powell- Powell and his Mavericks are hot having won six straight games. Keep an eye on Powell and his surging Mavericks

Consistency is the big word surrounding Canadian basketball. Some players are counting on it as their strength while others have everything but consistency. Overall this week was a good one for Canadian basketball, and hopefully the strong Canadian play carries into next week and going forward.

Next week, on Saturday, November 28^th, read about how the NBA’s Canadian kids perform following an exciting week of action covering Saturday, November 21-Friday, November 27 in next week’s Weekly NBA Canada Roundup.