NBA Roundup: Tony Allen Out 3-4 Weeks With Injury

It was an up and down week for the former Cowboys in the pros, with one going down with injury, one impressing in the fourth quarters, and two making plays in the G-League.

Let’s recap the week (plus) that was.

Tony Allen

Last Week: Pelicans 2-3

The bad news struck Tuesday with the announcement that Allen will miss three to four weeks after being diagnosed with a fibula fracture in his left leg.

The injury came in the first half of the Pelican’s win over Philadelphia on Sunday.

The former defensive stalwart has played a limited role for New Orleans off the bench this season, averaging 12.4 minutes a game, and averaging 4.7 points. He only appeared in two games last week, sitting sitting out the loss to Sacramento with a DNP-Coach’s Decision.

Father time seems to be catching up with Allen. Hopefully he can come back, finish the season strong, and get one more trip to the play-offs with a currently 14-14 Pelicans squad.

Marcus Smart

Last Week: Celtics 3-2

Despite the Celtics going 3-2, it was a rough week for Smart. He was under all of his averages on the season. What’s worse, both of the Celtics’ losses came with Smart in the starting line-up.

That includes Tuesday night when he finished with a plus/minus of -16 and went just 5 of 12 from the field.

On the plus side, he did hit a three!

Marcus Smart from downtown!

The @celtics have won 5 of their last 6 games, as they go up against a @chicagobulls team that has won 2 straight games. #Celtics x #BullsNation pic.twitter.com/EiW3nN5ELl

— NBA (@NBA) December 12, 2017

He actually went 3-6 from beyond the arc in the loss.

Smart had his best game of the week came against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday with a 12/2/3 stat line and a plus/minus of +10. It may not have been a Kyle Korver like performance like Pistons’ head coach Stan Gundy feared, but it was his best of the week and the best in the game off the bench for the Celtics.

Jawun Evans

Last Week: Clippers 2-2

Despite injuries and an obvious lack of talent at the point guard position for the Clippers, Evans continues to get limited minutes this season. He’s averaging just 12.1 minutes a game in 18 of the Clips 25 games so far.

If Evans is upset by his lack of playtime, he’s being a team player and not making it known in public.

Jawun Evans on recent play time: "I'm just taking it as a blessing, just going in just doing everything i can for my teammates to force to win so on the defensive end, offensive end just try to do everything I can."

— Delmy Barillas (@DelmyBarillas) November 26, 2017

He did have one bright spot this week: he lead a second unit against the Timberwolves on Wednesday that pulled the Clippers back within six points early in the fourth quarter, though the team did go on to lose that game.

He’s been solid coming in early in fourth quarters, including in Monday’s win over Toronto where the Clippers trailed by four entering the final frame.

#Clippers tie it back up at 74 apiece thanks to Jawun Evans and Montrezl Harrell buckets and #Raptors call for timeout. 8:44 left in this game.

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 12, 2017

I miss Evans.

Jawun Evans going to miss the layup but creates a chance for the putback with this drive.

Watch how he runs into the ball, attacking on the catch. Really good skill that a player, especially at evans size, should have in his arsenal. pic.twitter.com/5vIie3vGNN

— Clipper Film Room (@ClipperFilmRoom) December 4, 2017

G-League

The Oklahoma City Blue are now 8-7 on the season after a 2-1 week. Former Cowboys Markel Brown and Michael Cobbins continue to make major contributions on the Thunder’s G-League affiliate team.

Markel Brown put up a game-high 41 points in a loss to the Wisconsin Herd last Friday. He was impressive shooting 15 of 29 from the field, grabbing 10 rebounds, and forcing three steals, including this one.

And we missed this from last week, but Cobbins put up a nice dunk in win over the Salt Lake City Stars back on Dec. 1st.