Pro Blue: Jordan Poole shines in the spotlight

It was a feast or famine week for the Michigan contingent in the NBA this week. Jordan Poole and Franz Wagner continue to be the most successful former Wolverines, while Isaiah Livers and Tim Hardaway Jr. each returned following brief absences.

Note: All stats are as of March 29.

Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors

Poole has been playing through wrist soreness of late. However, it hasn’t slowed down his play at all. He dropped 33 points in 32 minutes against the 76ers on Friday, and backed that up with 27- and 21-point performances against Minnesota and New Orleans, respectively. He is now averaging more than 20 points per game and shot an astounding 92% from the free throw line in March. Poole is third on the Warriors in scoring and fifth in minutes.

Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic

Wagner left last Thursday’s game against the Knicks after 32 minutes and 16 points with a sprained ankle. Many feared he may be shut down for the season since Orlando is out of contention, but he was back by Sunday and recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. On Tuesday in Memphis, he dropped 25 points on 5-for-12 shooting from three. This was his highest point total since Jan. 20.

Caris LeVert, Cleveland Cavaliers

On Thursday night in Brooklyn, LeVert scored 12 points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. More importantly though, he assisted Isaac Okoro’s game-winning jumper. Since Thursday, he scored 10 points on Sunday off the bench, and nine points on Tuesday in Atlanta while starting for the first time in a while.

Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks

Luckily, Hardaway Jr. only missed two games due to his illness and returned to the starting lineup on Sunday in Charlotte. In his two games back this week, he scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, while shooting a combined 5-for-13 from three. He’s now scored double digits in seven of his last 10.

Moritz Wagner, Orlando Magic

Wagner continued to get very limited minutes this week. In his first two games, he made the most of it by scoring 11 points in 17 minutes against New York, and 12 points in 17 minutes against Brooklyn. Sadly, he was held scoreless in Memphis on Tuesday in just six minutes of action. It remains baffling to me why he gets so few minutes despite his production.

Isaiah Livers, Detroit Pistons

Livers returned from his four-game absence and was immediately inserted into the starting lineup. With Detroit very much out of contention, expect Livers to be force-fed minutes in these last few games. In his two games back this week, Livers scored 12 points in 30 minutes in Toronto, and followed that up with nine points in 35 minutes against Milwaukee. He has been a very efficient shooter this season, but has shot a low volume of shots.

Moussa Diabate, Los Angeles Clippers

I removed Diabate from this list last week because he hadn’t appeared in the NBA since Feb. 26. Apparently I spoke too soon! He was called up and appeared in two games this week for the Clippers. He scored two points in each game and also tallied an assist, a block and a steal in four minutes against the Bulls on Monday. Hopefully he’s able to stay with the pro club the remainder of the season.

Duncan Robinson, Miami Heat

Robinson appeared in two contests this week. In the first, he played just four minutes and his only recorded stat was one missed shot. In the second game, he scored four points in 12 minutes while canning one three-pointer. It has become a bit of a lost season for him.

Caleb Houstan, Orlando Magic

Houstan remains stuck in an uninspiring skid of late, despite remaining on the NBA roster. This week, he appeared in three of Orlando’s games, seeing 20+ minutes in two of the three. He scored eight points total and has been 0-for-8 from the field in the last two games.