Deacons in the NBA
2/6/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2012
By Currie McFayden, WakeForestSports.com
SF Al-Farouq Aminu, New Orleans Hornets
With just over a third of the shortened, 66-game season in the books, Aminu has appeared in all 23 games with five starts for the Hornets since being shipped to New Orleans as a piece of the Chris Paul blockbuster deal. Most of his time has been spent as a backup to starting small forward Trevor Ariza, but Ariza was hobbled for a five-game stretch at the beginning of January, opening a spot for Aminu in the starting lineup. The second-year forward capitalized on his chance, notching his first career double-double (15 points and 12 rebounds) in a 96-81 loss to Dallas on Jan. 7. He broke into double-digits in scoring two other times as well, scoring 11 points on both Jan. 2 and Jan. 25. Thus far for the season, Aminu is averaging 4.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in 19.7 minutes on the court. The Hornets (4-19) have struggled through the first month due to injuries and inconsistent play from their starting unit.
PF/C Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Despite holding the title of oldest Deacon in the NBA and facing his 36th birthday in April, Duncan continues to show few signs of slowing down due to physical wear on his body. The iconic power forward has notched double figures in 18 of the 23 games that he has played in, including a 28-point outburst in a 104-102 victory over New Orleans on Jan. 23, his highest point production since matching that total on Dec. 16, 2010. Duncan has also collected five double-doubles on the year, even with a slight drawback in his minutes per game, a mark that currently stands at a career-low 27.2 minutes per contest. While he may no longer be a nightly 20-10 threat, the former two-time league MVP is averaging 13.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and has hauled in 142 total defensive rebounds this season, a number that places him in the top 20 of the NBA in that category. The Spurs (15-9), a perennial powerhouse, are tied with the Clippers for the third-best record in the Western Conference, four games behind the leading Oklahoma City Thunder.
SF/SG Josh Howard, Utah Jazz
Functioning primarily as a bench player for the Jazz this season, Howard has clearly shown that he has completely recovered from the troublesome knee injuries that have nagged him over the last two seasons. He has appeared in 18 of Utah's 22 contests and has tallied three starts along the way during a stretch in late January. In one of those starts, a 119-101 loss to Golden State on Feb. 2, Howard was on the court for 40 minutes, his highest amount of playing time in a single game since logging the same amount on Dec. 18, 2009. Additionally, he scored 19 points, his most since Feb. 19, 2010. The ninth-year veteran leads all of Utah's bench players with 23.6 minutes per game and is also pitching in a strong 9.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game so far in 2012, potentially setting himself up for consideration as a sleeper candidate in the Sixth Man of the Year race. Utah (13-9) holds the fifth-best record in the conference and is performing well this season, especially considering that they share a division with two of the strongest teams in the Western Conference in Oklahoma City and Denver.
F James Johnson, Toronto Raptors
Since being acquired by Toronto in a trade deadline deal last season, Johnson has flourished north of the border. The third-year forward has started in 10 of his 23 appearances this season and has several important marks to show for it. He notched the first double-double of his NBA career on Jan. 24 with 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 99-96 win over the Suns, scored a career-high 23 points on Jan. 20 against Portland and is currently 12th in the league in blocks per game (1.61). With Andrea Bargnani out indefinitely due to a calf injury, Johnson's minutes figure to increase in order to make up for his absence. Through 23 games, he has stuffed the stat line by averaging 7.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game and is, by far, off to the best start in his pro career. Toronto (8-16) has work to do to climb back into the playoff picture, but the wide-open Eastern Conference could provide just the opportunity that they need.
PG Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
Perhaps Wake Forest's most recognizable alumnus currently in the league, Paul's image has only been helped by his stellar performance so far in 2012. Between himself and Blake Griffin, the much-maligned Clippers have emerged as a powerful threat in the Western Conference just a season removed from a 32-50 overall record. A hamstring injury sidelined Paul for five of Los Angeles's games, but he has started all 16 of his appearances and has been very strong in the process. Along the way he has recorded his 8,000th point and his 2,000th rebound and has reached the 30-point plateau twice, including a 34-point, 11-assist outburst in a 107-105 win over the Jazz on Feb. 1. The 34 points were his best in a game since totaling 38 on Jan. 27, 2010. The "Lob City" moniker for the Paul-Griffin combination has held strong thus far in terms of the star point guard dishing out assists; he is currently second in the NBA in assists per game (8.9) and in assist/turnover ratio (4.47). The Clippers (14-7) have defied even the boldest of expectations and already have some pundits questioning whether the balance of power in Los Angeles could finally be shifting away from the Lakers. The two sides split the first two games of their rivalry, but the regular season "tiebreaker" game will not come until Apr. 4.
PG Ishmael Smith, Golden State Warriors/Orlando Magic
No stranger to spending time with two different teams in a season, Smith has already followed that same path in his second professional season. Signed in the offseason by Golden State, the fan favorite point guard saw action in six games with them, including a start in place of the injured Stephen Curry, before being waived on Jan. 13. Smith's single start was likely the best all-around game of his NBA career thus far as he tallied 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals in only 29 minutes on the court. Rather than slipping into the D-League, however, Smith was signed by the Magic on Feb. 2 and made his debut the following night with a solid four-assist outing. Normal starter Jameer Nelson is expected back soon from his concussion, which will leave Smith and former Duke star Chris Duhon to split the backup minutes. Orlando (15-9) is the center of speculation around superstar Dwight Howard, but the front office seems unlikely to shake up the team prior to the All-Star break.
PG Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks
Now in his third NBA season, Teague has finally earned the starting point guard job for the Hawks and has excelled in his new role. He has started all 24 games for Atlanta and has been strong in all areas of his game. He is ranked fifth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (46.7 percent), fourth in total steals (45) and 14th in assists per 48 minutes (7.5). Teague's best contest of the season came on Jan. 29 in a 94-72 win over New Orleans; the former first-round pick was lights out from the field, shooting 9-for-11 including four three-pointers to match his career-high of 24 points that he previously set back on Mar. 12, 2011. He also recorded a double-double of 20 points and 10 assists on Jan. 14, his first since the final game of his rookie season on Apr. 14, 2010. Atlanta (16-8) holds the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference despite a rash of injuries that the team has suffered over the last few weeks. Once the team reaches full health, the Hawks could be a trendy pick in the opening round of the playoffs as the season draws to a close.
G L.D. Williams, Springfield Armor (NBDL)
The former Deacon defensive standout, now in his second season in the NBA's Development League, has statistically been one of the best players on his squad all season. Williams leads the team in total points (441) and is the second-leading rebounder (167) on the Armor, winners of four of their last five games. He has reached double figures in 25 of his team-leading 28 appearances on the season and is averaging 15.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest. After missing the playoffs last season, Springfield (15-13) currently holds the seventh seed by a single game over the Bakersfield Jam.
Deacons in Other Professional Leagues
Justin Gray - Fraport SKY (Germany)
Jamaal Levy - Lanus (Argentina)
Chas McFarland - Yokohama (Japan)
Darius Songaila - Galatasaray (Turkey)
Kyle Visser - NY Phantoms (Germany)
David Weaver - Energa Czami (Poland)
Eric Williams - BC Astana (Kazakhstan)
