The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1468055
JUNE / JULY 2022 THE WOLVERINE 63 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE A t least one former Michigan player will celebrate winning the NBA title this season since there is at least one Wolverine on each of the four remain- ing teams. That will mark the first time a U-M player has accomplished the feat since Juwan Howard, now the program's head coach, did so with the Miami Heat in 2013. The Western Conference Finals will feature Jordan Poole (Golden State War- riors) against a pair of U-M products in Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. (Dallas Mavericks). Meanwhile in the East, Duncan Robinson's Heat are pit- ted against Nik Stauskas and the Boston Celtics. Poole is the only Wolverine to have played in each of his team's playoff games, with five starts in 11 appear- ances. He ranked third on the Warriors with 19.3 points and 4.8 assists per game through the first two rounds of the postseason. Per DraftKings Sportsbook, as of May 16, the Warriors (+135) were the favorites to win it all, ahead of the Celt- ics (+190), Heat (+475) and Mavericks (+550). FORMER WOLVERINES IN THE NBA Through May 16 • Trey Burke (2011-13 at U-M), G, Dallas Mavericks: Averaged 3.3 points per game in three appearances during the fourth-seeded Mavericks' 4-2 first- round series victory over the Utah Jazz … Played in four outings in the second round, a 4-3 series win over the top- seeded Phoenix Suns … Totaled seven points and one rebound in 17 minutes. • Tim Hardaway Jr. (2010-13), G, Dal- las Mavericks: Hasn't played since Jan. 25 due to a foot injury that required surgery … On May 1, head coach Jason Kidd said Hardaway began straight jog- ging and was set to progress to cutting and jumping three to four weeks after that point. • Jordan Poole (2017-19), G, Golden State Warriors: Put up 21.0 points, 5.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game in the No. 3 seed Warriors' 4-1 first-round series win over the Denver Nuggets … Scored 27 or more points in the first three games … Notched 17.8 points, 4.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds per contest in a six-game series triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies, including a 31-point per formance in Game 1 and three showings each of at least 20 points in the first three contests … Shot 41.9 percent overall and 29.7 percent from beyond the arc in the series. • Duncan Robinson (2014-18), F, Miami Heat: Went off for 27 points on 9-of-10 shooting — including an 8-of-9 effort from deep — in Game 1 of the top-seeded Heat's 4-1 series vic- tory over the Atlanta Hawks in the first round … Appeared in each of the next four games but scored just nine more points and averaged only 13.2 minutes per contest for the series … Saw action in three games — all wins — during a 4-2 series win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the conference semifinals, to- taling four points, three rebounds and one assist in 19 minutes. • Nik Stauskas (2012-14), G, Boston Celtics: Did not play in the Celtics' first- round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, but made five appearances in the confer- ence semifinals against the Milwau- kee Bucks … The Celtics won in seven games, and Stauskas registered one as- sist in seven minutes. FORMER WOLVERINES IN THE NHL Through May 16 • Matty Beniers (2020-22 at U-M), Jordan Poole is one of five former Wolverines playing in the NBA conference finals in May. He ranked third on the Golden State Warriors with 19.3 points and 4.8 assists per game through the first two rounds of the postseason. PHOTO COURTESY GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS MICHIGAN IN THE PROS At Least One Former U-M Player Will Lift The NBA's Larry O'Brien Trophy