With the All-Star break upon us, the Blue Zone takes a look at how some former Blue Devils have fared in recent games and their outlook going forward.
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
After a tough loss to the Boston Celtics last Friday, the Cleveland Cavaliers have pulled off three straight victories—all with standout performances from the former Duke guard. Irving has been on a tear for the team with an average of 32 points per game during the stretch. The former Blue Devil had 29 points against the New Orleans Pelicans, 32 points and 12 assists against the Sacramento Kings, and finally 35 points and 7 assists against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. The guard's performance even up-staged the final chapter in the Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James rivalry. Irving and his teammates have fought off the adjustment to a new head coach in the middle of the season and appear to be gaining steam at just the right time.
Rodney Hood, Utah Jazz
Hood has been lighting up opponents and contributing to the Jazz’s win total. The second-year swingman hit three three-pointers to go with his 25 points in a winning effort against the Phoenix Suns Saturday. Hood followed that up with 29 points on 12-of-26 shooting against the Mavericks, including a cold-blooded three to send the game to overtime.
The Jazz have gone as Hood has gone of late and with the forward's play trending up, his team has won nine of 11 games to move to the eighth position in the Western Conference standings. Hood will participate in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge Friday in Toronto for All-Star weekend.
J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers
Redick’s shooting numbers have stayed strong his last three games. But the guard faces one of his biggest challenges of the season this weekend when he will toe the line against Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson among others in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest.
In the absence of star forward Blake Griffin, Redick has stepped up admirably and put up efficient numbers in games against the Magic, Heat, 76ers and Celtics with an average of 21 points per game in his team's four-game stretch. Redick hit his 1,000th career 3-pointer in the game against the Celtics, but unfortunately could not pull out a win to end the road trip for his team. The Clippers will need the former ACC Player of the Year at his best following the All-Star break to maintain a spot in the upper echelon of the wild Western Conference.
Justise Winslow, Miami Heat
Although he hasn't put up dominant numbers, Winslow has showcased the talent and finesse that allowed him to be selected as a lottery pick in last year's draft.
Even as a rookie, the Houston native has been tasked with guarding team's top scorers for much of the season. He did so in Sunday’s matchup with the Clippers, where he went toe-to-toe with swingman Jamal Crawford and then again Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs, where he matched up against superstar Kawhi Leonard.
Although the rookie came out on the short end of the stick in both encounters, Winslow has taken minutes from two other former Blue Devils in Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts due to his hustle and energy on the floor. Winslow’s development on offense should be something very interesting to keep an eye on for the rest of the season and beyond.
Jahlil Okafor, Philadelphia 76ers
Okafor demonstrated his polished offensive game in a pair of games this week. Against the Nets Saturday, the center finished with 22 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as his team came away with only its eight win of the season. Wednesday against the Kings, this year’s third overall draft pick had another monster statline as he finished with 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting in a close defeat. The former ACC Player of the Year, will look to continue providing his team solid post offense in the games post All-Star break. Okafor will hit the court alongside Rodney Hood for Team USA in the Friday's BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge
Mason Plumlee, Portland Trail Blazers
The former Blue Devil may not be the star of the show on a young Portland team, but his impact is certainly making a difference. Despite a reduction in his minutes, Plumlee has averaged 7.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 2016. The Trail Blazers have gone 13-6 in that time and catapulted themselves to the seven seed in the Western Conference. If the center can continue his strong play to the end of the season, Plumlee could be making a surprising playoff appearance with the rebuilding Trial Blazers.
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