NBA Monday Night Slate: Rookies to Track
It’s a packed evening of games in Monday night NBA action — with 10 contests to be underway.
A number of rookies competing, plenty looking to continue their first season campaigns in the right direction.
Of the first few matchups, the Detroit Pistons’ Ausar Thompson will face off against the Atlanta Hawks at the same time Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the Miami Heat will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Thompson has been a bright spot within a very dim team thus far for the two-win Pistons, solidifying his promise as an NBA talent despite a rough situation. He’s averaging just over 10 points a night on 47% shooting while adding 8.1 rebounds — running the floor as he does and continually providing effort.
Against the Hawks (10-15), it will be another challenge for Thompson and the Pistons.
As for Jaquez, he and the Heat must see the No. 1 team in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are 8-1 in their last nine games. He has continued to produce heavily for Miami, posting double-digit points in his last 13 games — three of those at least 20-plus.
He’s been an efficient contributor on top of that, with 49–40–84 shooting splits in December.
But Jaquez will be put to the test Monday night against a large, physical Timberwolves team.
In the later slate, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren with the Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Memphis Grizzlies before Dereck Lively II and the Dallas Mavericks face the Denver Nuggets.
Rookies Holmgren and Wallace have been very fluent and seamless within the Mark Daigneault-led Thunder offense. Both have been considerably efficient early in the season — though finally regressing to the means somewhat, they’ve helped Oklahoma City to a 16-8 record.
And as for a struggling Memphis team without its’ young star Ja Morant thus far, both Holmgren and Wallace could potentially have another outing of cohesive, team-centric productivity.
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