It has been quite a busy couple of weeks for Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors.
First came All-Star Weekend. Favors participated in the Rookie Challenge, in which the first-year players beat the sophomores 148-140 on Feb. 18.
About the time he returned to the New York Nets, he was traded to the Jazz. (In a touch of irony, for months Favors had been rumored to part of a deal for the Nets to acquire Carmelo Anthony from the Nuggets. Anthony was traded to the Knicks on Feb. 21 -- two days before Favors was dealt to Utah.)
Favors was the No. 3 overall selection in last spring's NBA draft and at 19 is the youngest player in the league.
Early in his first game with the Jazz he threw down a thunderous dunk in a 95-84 victory at the Indiana Pacers. He wound up with six points and three rebounds.
"It helped a lot. It built my confidence up," Favors told the Deseret News of the early dunk. "I got into the groove of the game, and I was just ready."
Favors wound up playing more minutes than expected because of his strong defense.
"I was nervous," he said. "I was anxious and just ready to get the first game out of the way so I can get comfortable and everything."
"It's gotta be difficult coming into a team 50-something games into the season with one practice and be expected to play and kind of know the offense and blend in," Jazz rookie Gordon Hayward said. "I think the most important thing," he added, "is [he] competed, which is what you want from players coming in."
Said Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin: "Derrick Favors is a great young guy in this league, and he has a chance to make us better."
In his three games with the Jazz, Favors has averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds.
The week that was
The Clippers' Al-Farouq Aminu (Norcross High) averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in four games this past week -- all losses.
Bobcats center Kwame Brown (Glynn Academy) averaged 9.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in two games, a 110-98 victory against Sacramento and a 100-86 loss to Orlando.
Pistons guard Will Bynum's week was wildly inconsistent. His scoring ranged from four points (2-for-7 from the field) in a 92-90 loss to the Bucks on Tuesday to 29 points (12-for-24) in a 110-94 loss to the 76ers. For the week, Bynum (Georgia Tech) averaged 13.3 points and 6.3 assists in four games (1-3).
In his three games, J.J. Hickson (Wheeler High) of the Cavaliers scored four points (shooting 2-for-9 from the field) with three rebounds on Feb. 23 in a 12-119 loss to the Rockets, but bounced back with 24 points (9-for-15) with 15 rebounds in a 115-109 victory against the Knicks on Friday. On Sunday, he scored 22 points and had 16 rebounds in a 95-91 loss to the 76ers. After their NBA record 26-game losing streak, the Cavs have won three of their past six games.
The Hornets' Jarrett Jack (Georgia Tech) averaged 11.3 points in four games (2-2), with 17 points in a 96-90 loss to the Raptors on Tuesday.
The Nets' Anthony Morrow (Georgia Tech) averaged 19.3 points and 3.3 rebounds on 43.5 percent shooting in three games, all losses. In the 104-103 loss to the Suns on Monday, Morrow helped force overtime by scoring nine points in a 20-second stretch.
Suns backup center Garret Siler (Augusta State) made a brief appearance, scoring one point in three minutes of a 110-92 victory at Toronto.
The Wizards' Al Thornton (Perry High) scored six points in a 117-94 loss at Philadelphia on Feb. 23, but he missed Monday's game against the Bulls with a sprained ankle.
For the Philadelphia 76ers, Jodie Meeks (Norcross High) averaged 11.8 points in four games (3-1). He scored 16 points with four rebounds and three assists in a 101-93 loss to the Mavericks on Tuesday. Meeks scored 14 points, all in the second half, in a 95-91 win against the Cavaliers on Sunday. The loss to Dallas ended a four-game winning streak. Guard Louis Williams (South Gwinnett High) averaged 7.3 points for the four games, with 16 in the win at Cleveland. Forward Thaddeus Young (Georgia Tech) averaged 11.8 points for the week.
The Superstars
In three games, the Heat's Chris Bosh (Georgia Tech) averaged 14 points and 9.7 rebounds. He scored 20 points and snagged 12 rebounds in a 91-86 loss at home Sunday to the Anthony-led Knicks. In a 93-89 loss at Chicago last Thursday, he scored seven points while shooting 1-for-18 from the field.
The Magic's Dwight Howard (Southwest Atlanta Christian) averaged 30.1 points and 14.5 rebounds in four games, including a 40-point, 15-rebound, six-block performance in a 111-88 victory against the Thunder last Friday. The Magic have won three in a row.
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