Thomas must have a good agent. His story is getting out there more than I expected.
NBA: **Cyclones in the NBA and G-League, 2019-2020
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Thomas must have a good agent. His story is getting out there more than I expected.
Matt has done his life story thing with Gottlieb on air when he was at ISU IIRC
Doug Gottlieb's podcast with Matt Thomas has dropped. He spends like the last 40 minutes just going back and forth with the Ice Man. Kind of interesting to hear his thoughts on how much freedom ISU allowed them to play with when he was there and how maybe they needed a bit more discipline to go further in the tourney. Lots of inside info (Matt can be a little dry as an interview; not the clown that Georges is sometimes). He talks all the way from Onalaska through Spain and to his NBA debut. This is Gottlieb's "All Ball" podcast that is only about hoops. It's available through many sources but here's a link through a browser:
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-doug-gottlieb/all-ball-lakersclippers-GLzkfOH6qj3/
This made me feel a little better tonight - Georges Niang continues to fill it up for the Jazz since they traded Ed Davis. Check out this absolute shooting show from the 3-point line:
Monte Morris started out like he was going to have a big night and cooled off in the 2nd half. He was 3-4 with 6 points in the first half and ended 3-7 FG with those same 6 points. He had 3 assists and his first turnover since around mid-December.
It's a bummer that neither Nader or Burton got on the court for the Thunder, with a healthy complement of players. Nader started 5 games for them for ****'s sake.
It's a bummer that neither Nader or Burton got on the court for the Thunder, with a healthy complement of players. Nader started 5 games for them for ****'s sake.
Comments on Georges' performance tonight by Donovan Mitchell and Niang himself in the SLC Trib:
Mitchell finished with 32 points (on 14-of-21 shooting) plus six assists, but was more interested afterward in talking about Niang’s 15 off the bench (on 5 for 8 from deep).
“He came out there hitting shots, making the right reads. He’s a guy that’s not really talked about, but one that should be,” Mitchell said. “He’s a guy that puts in a lot of work. We respect him, we all love him, he brings the same energy every day, good or bad. It’s days like this, when you see him hoop the way he’s been hooping, it’s incredible to see. We love it, I’m happy for him, and I expect more [of this] out of him.”
For his part, Niang said the only thing that was really different in the final period from the preceding ones was “the ball going through the hoop.
“I was just running to my normal spots, and once I hit a couple, guys really started looking for me,” he added. “It felt good to see shots go in, and once you’re in a zone, you just stick to it.”
Indeed, after burying those three in a row, he improbably launched a heat-check attempt on the subsequent possession, finally drawing iron instead of net.
“That was my first one [in the NBA] — that’s why I apologized after I did it,” Niang said, a bit chagrined. “… That was a quick one. Usually that wouldn’t be a shot I would take, but I thought it was going in.”
Mitchell finished with 32 points (on 14-of-21 shooting) plus six assists, but was more interested afterward in talking about Niang’s 15 off the bench (on 5 for 8 from deep).
“He came out there hitting shots, making the right reads. He’s a guy that’s not really talked about, but one that should be,” Mitchell said. “He’s a guy that puts in a lot of work. We respect him, we all love him, he brings the same energy every day, good or bad. It’s days like this, when you see him hoop the way he’s been hooping, it’s incredible to see. We love it, I’m happy for him, and I expect more [of this] out of him.”
For his part, Niang said the only thing that was really different in the final period from the preceding ones was “the ball going through the hoop.
“I was just running to my normal spots, and once I hit a couple, guys really started looking for me,” he added. “It felt good to see shots go in, and once you’re in a zone, you just stick to it.”
Indeed, after burying those three in a row, he improbably launched a heat-check attempt on the subsequent possession, finally drawing iron instead of net.
“That was my first one [in the NBA] — that’s why I apologized after I did it,” Niang said, a bit chagrined. “… That was a quick one. Usually that wouldn’t be a shot I would take, but I thought it was going in.”
The Jazz stars have been talking Niang up quite a bit. I’m sure he’s a locker room favorite. Seems like it’s them trying to talk the team into bringing him back next year.
And you won't find anyone better with fans and community relations, of course.
But he's raised his 3pt percentage to over 45% for the season, so that could go a long way to getting the attention of Snyder and Utah's front office.
Niang has definitely had his best stretch as a pro recently. I would assume this year is the most Cyclone points scored in the NBA since Hornacek retired.
Mitchell started tweeting at Hawk fans when Georges was mixing it up with them on twitter.
The Utah Jazz' radio play-by-play man has a nice segment on Georges Niang's recent uptick in importance and how the team basically handed him J. Green's minutes at the back-up 4. He talks about how he has altered his game from his college days to contribute in the NBA and how well-liked he is. It's at about the 11:50 mark. The first part of the podcast is about how the Jazz played great defense - he goes into details - in their win against the Magic; if you like the technical side of hoops, it's kind of interesting. The 5 or so minutes on Georges are definitely worth the listen:
https://www.lockedonjazz.net/jazz/l...zz-defense-is-dialed-up-and-monday-runaround/
https://www.lockedonjazz.net/jazz/l...zz-defense-is-dialed-up-and-monday-runaround/
It looks like Matt Thomas is close to getting back on an NBA court - he's playing tonight with "905", Toronto's G League team in a rehabilitation assignment:
