Around the middle of last week, I decided that if I'm going to continue to make this a weekly thing, I'm going to do it after the final NBA game ends on Sunday. Also because I wanted to see if Alvin Gentry decided to play Zabian Dowdell at all. Which he didn't, much to my chagrin.
To start off this second edition of Ridiculous Update, I'd like to take a more in depth look at the second list featured in the original update, the list of undrafted former D-Leaguers now in the NBA (updated for posterity, of course).
Jeff Adrien (F, Golden State Warrios. Erie BayHawks/RGV Vipers)
Lou Amundson (F, Golden State Warriors. Colorado 14ers) - D-League Rookie of the Year/First Team
Joel Anthony (F/C, Miami Heat. Iowa Energy)
Jose Juan Barea (G, Dallas Mavericks. Fort Worth Flyers)
Earl Barron (F/C, Milwaukee Bucks. Huntsville Flight/Florida Flame/LA D-Fenders/Iowa Energy)- NBA Champ
Will Bynum (G, Detroit Pistons. Roanoke Dazzle)
Matt Carroll (G/F, Charlotte Bobcats. Roanoke Dazzle)- D-League MVP
Zabian Dowdell (G, Phoenix Suns. Tulsa 66ers)
Gary Forbes (G/F, Denver Nuggets. Sioux Falls Skyforce/Tulsa 66ers)
Sundiata Gaines (G, New Jersey Nets. Idaho Stampede)
Alonzo Gee (G/F, Cleveland Cavaliers. Austin Toros) D-League Rookie of the Year
Stephen Graham (G/F, New Jersey Nets. Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Hamed Haddadi (C, Memphis Grizzlies. Dakota Wizards)
Chuck Hayes (F/C, Houston Rockets. Albuquerque Thunderbirds)
Othyus Jeffers (G/F, Washington Wizards. Iowa Energy)
Pooh Jeter (G, Sacramento Kings. Colorado 14ers)
Chris Johnson (C, Portland Trail Blazers. Dakota Wizards)
Jeremy Lin (G, Golden State Warriors. Reno Bighorns)
Cartier Martin (G/F, Washington Wizards. Iowa Energy)
Jamario Moon (F, Los Angeles Clippers. Mobile Revelers/Huntsville Flight/Fort Worth Flyers)- NBA Rookie 2nd
Josh Powell (F, Atlanta Hawks. Fort Worth Flyers)- 2 time NBA Champion
Samardo Samuels (F/C, Cleveland Cavaliers. Erie BayHawks)
Mustafa Shakur (G, Washington Wizards. Tulsa 66ers/RGV Vipers)
Garret Siler (C, Phoenix Suns. Iowa Energy)
Ishmael Smith (G, Memphis Grizzlies. Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Garrett Temple (G, Charlotte Bobcats. RGV Vipers/Erie BayHawks)
Anthony Tolliver (F, Minnesota Timberwolves. Iowa Energy/Austin Toros/Idaho Stampede)
Ben Uzoh (G, New Jersey Nets. Springfield Armor)
C.J. Watson (G, Chicago Bulls. Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Reggie Williams (G/F, Golden State Warriors. Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Looking at this list of players, we find that most of them are benchwarmers, unsurprisingly. But a select few aren't. Here's a breakdown.
One of them starts for his current NBA team (Alonzo Gee).
Twelve others could be considered "rotation players" (Anthony, Barea, Bynum, Hayes, Jeter, Martin, Moon, Powell, Samuels, Tolliver, Watson and Reggie Williams).
Of those thirteen, four are currently playing significant minutes on a team currently in the playoffs (Joel Anthony, J.J. Barea, Josh Powell and C.J. Watson).
Taking this entire second list into account, the leading scorer is Barea, at 9.1 points per game. Using this extremely rudimentary statistical analysis, one can conclude that Jose Juan Barea is the great hope of the D-League. Feel free to cry uncontrollably for a few minutes.
Alright, now that that's done with, here's this week's player of the week.
Former D-Leaguer of the Week: Dorell Wright, Golden State Warriors.
I said that most of my candidates would be from the undrafted pool, and I stick by that assertion. Dorell Wright was just too fantastic to ignore. Since the first Ridiculous Update on March 16, D Wright has scored more than 20 points three times, two of them being 30 point outbursts. Chief among these was his 34 points on 14-21 shooting (3-6 from 3, 3-4 from the line), to go along with five rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block in 43 minutes. Golden State lost that game to Houston, 131-112 (Warriors defense hurrah!)
Runner-Up: Gary Forbes, Denver Nuggets.
Gary Forbes playing time has taken a sharp hit since the Carmelo Anthony trade (the only negative aspect of that trade in my humble opinion), but he got some burn in the Nuggets recent 123-90 win over Toronto, scoring 14 points on 5-9 shooting. Gary Forbes can play in the NBA.
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