Aussies in the NBA Week 3. Photos: @sixers, @utahjazz Twitters.
Five Aussies got minutes during Week 3 of NBA action highlighted by Matisse Thybulle continuing to dominate on the defensive end, while Joe Ingles earned starts in two games.
Patty Mills
3 Games, 3 Wins, 10.6pts, 1.3reb, 3.3ast
Patty Mills and the Brooklyn Nets had a perfect week winning all three of their games, beating the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors.
Mills provided more scoring punch off the bench, reaching double figures against the Hawks and Raptors with 14 and 13 points respectfully.
He also was given more opportunities to run the offence with Brooklyn playing a 10-man rotation. This proved effective with Mills having strong games passing the ball against the Hawks with six assists and in the Pistons match-up with four assists.
Brooklyn current sits third in the East Conference with a 7-3 record and are on a five-game win streak after a streaky start to a season full of high expectations.
Joe Ingles
4 Games, 2 Wins, 7.5pts, 2.5reb, 4.5ast
Ingles struggled to make a scoring impact in multiple of the Jazz’s games this week only scoring in double digits once.
Thursday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks was Ingles’ best performance putting up 19 points, four rebounds and three assists on five-of-six shooting from behind the arc. Ingles also earned a start in this game with Donovan Mitchell out.
Ingles earned another start later against the Orlando Magic in the absence of Mike Conley however was unable to score as effectively, struggling from deep shooting one-of-seven and only managing five points.
Ingles was however able to show off his ability to play-make, one of his most underrated skills. Ingles is currently averaging the third most assists per game on the Jazz and often takes on ball-handling duties when Mitchell plays off-ball.
Josh Giddey
3 Games, 2 Wins, 9pts, 6.6reb, 6.3ast, 1.6stl, 1blk
Josh Giddey continues to make his case as a dark horse for Rookie of the Year, again filling up the box score for the Thunder and helping them to two wins this week.
Giddey had a strong first game to the week with 15 points, five rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks against the LA Clippers.
While he was unable to back up the scoring production a few nights later in another comeback from behind win over the LA Lakers, he still managed eight rebounds and assists and showed his ability to impact on the defensive end with three steals and a block.
While Giddey has struggled with his efficiency scoring the ball, his capacity to impact the game in other ways has proved an asset for the Thunder.
Giddey currently leads the team in assists with 6.1 and leads the team in steals averaging 1.6. He also leads all rookies in assists and is ranked third in rebounds. It’s been an outstanding start to his career in the NBA.
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Matisse Thybulle
3 Games, 3 Wins, 5pts, 2reb, 1ast, 2.3stl, 1.3blk
It was another strong week on the defensive end for Matisse Thybulle, continuing to show that he is the best on-ball defender on the 76ers.
Thybulle collected three steals and a block on Monday against the Trailblazers, with the defensive performance impressing coach Doc Rivers enough to put Thybulle into the starting line-up for the following game against the Chicago Bulls.
Thybulle did not disappoint able to collect three steals and two blocks to go along with eight points. He remained in the starting the in the following game against the Pistons but was only able to collect one steal and block.
Thybulle was then ruled out of Chicago’s final game of the week against the Chicago Bulls, out due to the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, joining teammates Tobias Harris and Isaiah Joe who missed earlier in the week under the same protocol. Given he’s vaccinated, Thybulle should return early in Week 4.
Jock Landale
1 Game, 0 Wins, 10pts, 1reb, 1ast
The 2021 NBL Grand Final MVP only managed to get minutes in one of the San Antonio Spurs games this week, in a loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Landale made the most of the limited minutes he was given putting up 10 points on a perfect four of four shooting in just five minutes.
Landale will need to continue to make the most of the limited minutes he is given to try and push his case for more minutes and a bigger role in the Spurs rotation.
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