Michigan still has four players alive in the NBA playoffs, led by a seasoned veteran.
Jamal Crawford, who played 17 games in a Michigan uniform back in the 2000 season, is still contributing at 38 years old. He has put up 15, 8 and 6 points for Minnesota in three playoff games against Houston, a series the Rockets lead 2-1.
Crawford put up his 15 in a 104-101, Game One loss on the road, his best postseason game.
Three other former Wolverines are still alive in the playoffs, though they haven’t made an impact. Indiana’s Glenn Robinson III has played one minute in four playoff games against Cleveland (series tied 2-2), Milwaukee’s D.J. Wilson had yet to play in a first round series with Boston (series tied 2-2) and Derrick Walton Jr. and Miami were down 3-1 to Philadelphia, a series in which Walton has yet to play.
Wilson did create quite the stir with his new look, however.
How they and other Michigan men finished their regular seasons:
Trey Burke (Played at U-M from 2011-13): Burke averaged 12.8 points, 4.7 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game for 29-53 New York, shooting 50.3 percent from the floor and 36.2 from long range in 21.8 minutes per game. He averaged 15.9 points, 5.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds over 23 games after the mid-January All-Star break, the best showing of his career, and put up a huge, 42-point, 15- assist game March 26 at Charlotte.
Burke scored in double digits in 10 of his last 11 games, including 19 points (7-16 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 2-2 FT), five rebounds, nine assists and three steals across 42 minutes New York's 4/11 finale, a win over Cleveland.
“For me, it’s trying to take what the defense gives me as soon as the game starts and not trying to predetermine, ‘OK, I’m going to get four or five shots this quarter’ or ‘I’m going to be aggressive right now,’ ” Burke told the New York Post. “It’s just letting the game come knowing I’m going to have enough opportunities to play-make, to attack. The biggest thing when I’m starting is trying to attack in transition, trying to get my guys easy buckets as quick as possible.”
Here’s an interesting article on how Burke fared in advanced statistical categories this year: TREY BURKE.
Jamal Crawford, SF, Minnesota Timberwolves: Averaged 10.3 points, 2.3 assists and 1.2 rebounds per game for 47-35 Minnesota, shooting 41.5 percent from the floor and 33.1 from long range in 20.7 minutes per game (80 games) … He had a stretch of seven straight double digit games to end March, including three of 20 or more.
Caris LeVert, SG, Brooklyn Nets: Averaged 12.1 points, 4.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game for the 28-54 Nets, shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and 34.7 percent from three-point range in 71 games … He also averaged 1.2 steals per game … LeVert had six or more assists in six of the last eight games in which he played this year … He scored 19 points and dished eight assists in a 110-109 win at Miami March 31, adding 12 rebounds in a near triple-double.
Glenn Robinson III, SF, Indiana Pacers: Had missed every game for 48-34 Indiana after having ankle surgery stemming from an injury suffered during a preseason scrimmage … Returned to practice Jan. 7 … Played in a few G League games and returned Feb. 23 ... Averaged 4.1 points and 1.6 rebounds per game in 23 games (14.7 minutes per game … He notched three straight games of 12 or more points to finish the regular season, including 13 and eight rebounds in the finale with Charlotte … Robinson made an impact on the defense end, hashtagbasketball.com reported:
Luckily for the Pacers, Robinson has made up for his offensive deficiencies on the defensive end. Since returning from injury, the Pacers have a 99 defensive rating when Robinson is on the floor, compared to 104.5 when he is on the bench. That 5.5 difference in defensive rating is what separates the Pacers from having the best defense in the league to having a borderline top ten defense.
Nik Stauskas, SG, Brooklyn Nets: Traded from Philadelphia Dec. 6 … Was out Nov. 7 for several weeks with an ankle injury for 28-54 Brooklyn … Averaged 4.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game in 13.7 minutes per contest (35 games), shooting 39.3 percent from the floor but 40.4 percent from long range … Notched two double-figure scoring games in his last five, including 18 in the finale, a 110-97 loss at Boston.
Derrick Walton Jr., PG, Miami Heat: Played in 16 games, signed to a two-way contract for the 44-38 Heat … Averaged 1.8 points, one rebound and one assist per game in 9.2 minutes per contest … Shot 32 percent from the floor and 41.2 percent from long range ... Played only five minutes in February and March but averaged 16.1 points and 7.0 assists for Sioux Falls of the G-League.
D.J. Wilson, PF, Milwaukee Bucks: Played in 22 games in his rookie year for the 44-38 Bucks … Scored two points since March 1 …Averaged 15.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 11 G-League games with the Wisconsin Herd.
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