Weekly Zags in the Pros Update (4/15)

The NBA playoffs are underway, and the Gonzaga Grizzlies will be carrying the flag in the Western Conference as the two seed. While BC and Tillie will continue on, the rest of our NBA Zags have seen their seasons come to an end over the last week. Regular seasons are still chugging on overseas, with Filip Petrusev and Jessie Loera each posting 28-point games this week.

Brandon Clarke closed the regular season in style, putting up 20 points, five rebounds and three assists in a weekend win over the Pelicans. He finished the regular season with 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and a career high 1.1 blocks per game. Killian Tillie remains out with a knee injury; he ended the season averaging 3.3 points in 36 games. The Grizzlies will take on the No. 7 seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round starting tomorrow.

Zach Collins and the Spurs also briefly took part in the NBA Playoffs, falling to New Orleans in the play-in tournament. Collins contributed five points and two rebounds in the loss. He ended the regular season averaging 7.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in 28 games after returning from his extended injury absence.

It was a strong end to the season for Rui Hachimura, who had back-to-back 21-point games to close out the calendar. He scored exactly 21 points in five of Washington’s last eight games, and finished the season averaging 11.3 points and 3.8 rebounds and shooting a career high 44.7% from beyond the arc. Corey Kispert also ended the season on a high note, scoring 20 points on 4-8 shooting from three in the season finale. He finished his rookie season with six 20-point games and 8.2 ppg overall.

Domantas Sabonis did not play over the Kings’ last nine games and finished the season with 18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and a career-high 62.3% field goal percentage. He finished with 46 double-doubles and five triple-doubles, upping his career totals to 196 and 19, respectively.

Jalen Suggs missed 11 of the Magic’s last 13 games due to injury, but still managed to end his rookie season with 11.8 points and 4.4 assists per game. He had four 20-point games and a pair of double-doubles for Orlando.

Kelly Olynyk scored 17 points with five rebounds and five assists in his last game of the season, a week ago against the Bucks. He ended his first season in Detroit with 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 40 games.

The Ayayi Express made a pair of stops in the G-League Playoffs, including a 21 point, ten rebound, four assist effort in a win over the College Park Skyhawks. Capital City fell in the second round, with Joel putting up two points and three assists.

Filip Petrusev had his best two-game stretch of the Turkish Super League season this week in a pair of wins for Anadolu Efes. He scored a season-high 28 points with nine rebounds on Sunday, followed by 22 and six on Wednesday. He’s averaging 16.3 points in eleven Turkish league games. P.S: Wishing Filip a Happy Birthday!

Geno Crandall recorded his seventh 20-point game of the season in Leicester’s win this week, scoring 23 and dishing six assists. He’s averaging 13.5 points and is fourth in the league with 6.8 assists for the Riders, who have clinched the BBL top seed with three games remaining.

Steven Gray has been on a hot streak for Peristeri, averaging 17 points over his last three games as the team makes a playoff push. He had 16 with three rebounds and three assists in their last game, a win on Saturday. Peristeri are currently on the playoff bubble, sitting seventh of eight playoff teams with five games left.

Ira Brown recorded his eighth double-double of the season on Sunday, finishing with 15 points and 14 rebounds for Osaka. He’s averaging 11.3 points and 7.2 rebounds on the season.

Jessie Loera put up another stellar performance for Nyon, finishing with 25 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and a career high tying nine steals on Wednesday. It was the third nine-steal game for Loera this season, who leads the Swiss league with 5.4 per game. Nyon is two games out of first at 19-4 with a pair of games remaining.

Zykera Rice has been on a tear for PeKA in the Finnish league semifinals, scoring 47 points across Games 3 and 4 and 5, including 25 and six boards on 11-15 shooting in the third game. PeKa advanced to the league finals with an 81-64 win today.