I'm not really sure what to call this, but while Scott has occasionally checked in with how this year's call-ups have been doing, we're hoping to make a regular feature out of it. I'm going to try to watch more NBA games to see how these players are doing "in person," but the Game Flows over at Popcorn Machine are also very good at giving a feel for a game even if you didn't see it. So here's a look at some notable NBA performances by call-ups over the past week or so.
Chris Hunter, Golden State Warriors - Hunter has played the entire fourth quarter in the Warriors' last two games, matched up against players like Carlos Boozer, Josh Smith and Al Horford. He's acquitted himself pretty well defensively in those two contests, particularly last night against Atlanta, and had one of his best games overall this season with 12 points, four boards and two blocks in 19 and a half minutes. He has a combined eight rebounds over the last two fourth quarters, and while single-game plus/minus isn't the most reliable stat, it's worth nothing that Hunter was a combined +34 against the Hawks and Jazz.
Anthony Tolliver, Golden State Warriors - Tolliver's play has been a little more uneven than Hunter's recently, though he also worked his way into the starting lineup at times. He also was on the floor for the entire fourth quarter against the Jazz, and came through with five rebounds, a steal, a block and a pair of three-pointers. The game was firmly in Utah's control by that point, but several Jazz starters were out there as well. Tolliver also played just under 25 minutes against the Kings this week, and grabbed eight rebounds. Tolliver hasn't had the best shooting performances, but that's not really why he was called-up; the games where he hit the boards go much better for him.
Garrett Temple, Houston Rockets - Temple hasn't played particularly well, but bear with me, there weren't a whole lot of games this week due to the All-Star break. Temple did have a nice second quarter against Milwaukee on Wednesday; he didn't have the best shooting day, but he grabbed three rebounds in those nine minutes.
Others, briefly: Chris Richard played the entire fourth quarter on Tuesday against the Knicks, while the game was well in hand. He had four rebounds in that frame, but also three fouls. He's technically not a call-up, but still, I knew there was a reason I liked D.J. White.
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