Julius Randle, Los Angeles Lakers
Not to take away from other former Wildcats who started their NBA season Tuesday night, but the main topic of conversation today is surrounding former Wildcat, Julius Randle.
Midway through the 4th quarter of what ends up being a 108-90 loss for the Lakers to the Houston Rockets, Julius Randle seemed to lose his footing, running into two Houston Rockets, causing him to fall and fracture his right tibia. It’s likely that Randle will miss the remainder of the season and will require surgery, soon.
With the immense amount of support he is receiving on social media, he knows the Big Blue Nation is behind him throughout his recovery, along with the Laker Nation. I’m positive he will come back stronger than before. Don’t forget, he missed his senior year of high school basketball due to an injury and he did just fine his first year of college.
Oct 28, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) rebounds over Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier (10) during the fourth quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Magic 101-84. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Now onto good news. Former Kentucky Wildcat, Anthony Davis, proved himself in an extravagant way last night in his 2014-2015 NBA debut, he had an absolute ridiculous night.
The New Orleans Pelicans walked away with a 101-84 win over the Orlando Magic on opening night. Behind that performance is none other than former Wildcat and current NBA standout, Anthony Davis. Davis played 36 minutes and was one block away from a triple-double…a triple-double on opening night, completely absurd. If it was any player other than Anthony Davis, I would consider it a fluke night, but I think this is going to become a consistent thing for Davis.
Davis shot 10-22 from the field and 6-9 from the free throw line, picking up 26 points. Davis grabbed 17 rebounds, 9 offensive and 8 defensive, blocked 9 shots and then tallied 3 steals and 2 assists to fill out his box score completely. If that’s not an impressive opening night for the 2 year experienced player, I don’t know what is.
Oct 28, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) controls the ball against Houston Rockets forward Terrence Jones (6) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Terrence Jones, Houston Rockets
Starting for the Houston Rockets in their 2014-2015 NBA Debut win against the Los Angeles Lakers, Terrence Jones didn’t disappoint.
Jones saw 31 minutes of playing time. Jones shot 8-16 from the field, 0-1 from behind the arc and 0-1 from the free throw line, so he tallied up 16 points for the Rockets.
Along with his offensive performance, Jones had a pretty decent defensive night. Jones grabbed 13 rebounds, 6 offensive and 7 defensive, blocked 2 shots and then tallied up 3 assists and 2 steals to round off a pretty decent night for the new, upcoming star.
For a complete article about the location of every former Kentucky Wildcat in the NBA, Paul Jordan has a nice article for you.