Weekly Zags in the Pros Update (3/1)

The NBA has returned from it’s All-Star festivities, which means we have more basketball to talk about this week. Sabonis, Suggs, and Olynyk all had big games stateside, while the pride of Nagoya Jeremy Jones continued his hot streak in Japan. The FIBA World Cup Americas qualifiers are underway as well, with a pair of former Zags representing their home countries.

Domantas Sabonis scored 33 points with 14 rebounds and five assists in the Kings’ first game post-break. He followed that with two nearly identical games of 14 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists. Those three games were his 38th, 39th, and 40th double-doubles on the season.

Speaking of double-doubles, Jalen Suggs recorded his second career double-double with 14 points and 10 assists in a win over the Pacers yesterday. Suggs’ passing was on display throughout February as he averaged a season high 5.5 assists per game over the month. Oh, and he also did this:

Kelly Olynyk played one of his best games of the year on Sunday, putting up 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a win over the Hornets. He shot 4-5 from three in the game, but it was a two-pointer that gave Detroit the win:

Corey Kispert ended the month of February averaging 10.3 points, his second highest total in a month this season. He had 12 for the Wizards coming out of the break, and also tied a career high with seven rebounds in their last game. Rui Hachimura has contributed 18 points on 7-13 shooting in Washington’s two games since the break, and finished the month with 10.3 ppg.

Brandon Clarke had 10 points, eight rebounds (including five offensive), and three assists for the Grizzlies in their first game back from the break. He also chipped in eight points and four boards in a win over Zach Collins and the Spurs. He was joined on the big club once again by Killian Tillie, who was recalled from the G-League. Tillie had three points and two rebounds in the San Antonio game.

Zach Collins has been crashing the boards of late, totaling 15 rebounds in his last three games, including a season high seven in a win over the Heat. He had six points and five boards in the loss to the Grizzlies, and four points and three rebounds in a win over Kispert, Rui, and the Wizards.

It has been a bit of a quiet run lately for Joel Ayayi, who has totaled just six points, six rebounds, and three assists in his last two games. He is still averaging 8.8 points and 6.2 assists per game on the season.

Both Kyle Wiltjer and David Stockton are currently taking part in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers for Canada and the U.S. Wiltjer had a great outing in Canada’s last game, scoring 24 points on 8-13 shooting (6-10 3P) in a win over the U.S. Virgin Islands. Stockton also had a solid game as the U.S. took down Mexico, chipping in 15 points and three assists in the Americans won in group play.

On the other side of the planet, Jeremy Jones continues to light things up for Nagoya. He scored 23 points with eight rebounds and four assists in his last game on shooting 10-14 from the field. He totaled 40 points in the two game sweep of Fukushima over the weekend. Jones had a great February, averaging 18 points, including three games scoring at least 20.

Jessie Loera had another solid game for Nyon despite only scoring nine points. She grabbed nine boards (five offensive) and had six steals in a win last Wednesday. She remains top five in the league in scoring and assists and is first in steals.

Courtney Vandersloot has played the true role of point guard in UMMC’s last two games, totaling 15 assists and four steals, along with nine points. UMMC won both games, extending their season-long win streak to a ludicrous 32 games.