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Georgia Tech #ProJackets Basketball Report

THE FLATS – The NBA is set to return to action with 22 teams at the end of July, concluding a regular season that ended abruptly on March 12 in late July and then conducting playoffs, all at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla. Derrick Favors is the only one of the former Yellow Jackets in the NBA who will be a part of this restart, as his New Orleans Pelicans team is one of the 22 teams gathering at Disney.

This week’s #ProJackets Report compiles more of the latest news, stories and social media posts on former Jackets and their activities of the past week.

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FAVORS READY TO CONTINUE TO HELP LEAD PELICANS’ DEFENSIVE TURNAROUND

Beginning with New Orleans’ first preseason game in his home city of Atlanta, Pelicans center Derrick Favors was accustomed to seeing his young children in the stands, cheering for Dad. When Favors decided to join his teammates in the upcoming bubble in Orlando, he knew it meant sacrificing not being there for two special occasions in the Favors family – July 22 and Aug. 14 are both birthdates for his kids.  READ MORE

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FAVORS USED TIME OFF TO GET RIGHT MENTALLY AFTER LOSS OF MOTHER

Derrick Favors’ mother, Deandra, died unexpectedly a few days before Thanksgiving. She was 55. The Pelicans were roughly one-quarter of the way through the season then. Favors took two weeks off, which he said wasn’t enough time for him to truly process what had happened. He said the time off has allowed him to heal.  On Wednesday, the Pelicans leave Louisiana for Florida. They are one of 22 teams that will finish the season at Walt Disney World. Favors said he feels great “physically and mentally” as he prepares to leave home for the next five weeks at minimum.  READ MORE

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WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT FAVORS AND THE PELICANS

From CBSSports.com: The Pelicans treaded enough water (before the shutdown and in the absence of Derrick Favors and Zion Williamson because of injuries) to head into Orlando with an opportunity to crack the postseason. When play resumes, they’ll sit three games back of No. 8 Memphis with the easiest remaining schedule of any team at Disney. That’s the good news. The bad news is the Kings and Spurs are within three games as well, and the Blazers, though four games back in the loss column, are actually in better position with a slightly higher winning percentage that would give them the tiebreaker. New Orleans will play the first game back, against Utah, at 6:30 p.m. ET.  READ MORE

From Pelicans.com: The planned starting five of Ball, Jrue HolidayBrandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and Derrick Favors did not play together until Game 45 on Jan. 22, but from that point forward, the group dominatedREAD MORE

From Nola.com: The Pelicans’ roster in Florida will not look much different than it did before the pandemic. So far, they haven’t brought in any supporting pieces in anticipation of the resumption of the season. They are expected to have Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday in the back court, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson at forward and Derrick Favors at center. JJ Redick, Josh Hart and Nicolo Melli will be key bench pieces. That was what the rotation looked like in March, and what it should look like later this month.  READ MORE

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BOSH TALKS BIG 3 ON 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DECISION

From Isaiah Smalls of the Miami Herald: Rewatch the 2011 NBA Finals and you will notice something a bit off about Chris Bosh’s game. It wasn’t his defense. It certainly wasn’t his scoring either. No, what’s ultimately absent from Bosh’s game is the very thing that later brought Miami back-to-back titles: his ability to space the floor.

“For me, that’s one of the things I wish I would’ve done and I think we could’ve been more effective earlier if I would have figured out how to… really be a three-point threat early on,” Bosh told ESPN’s Zach Lowe.  READ MORE

More from ESPN: Three Days in July, The High-Stakes Maneuvers that assembled LeBron, Wade and Bosh

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BOSH STILL HAS PAT RILEY’S 2006 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP RING

This story has made the rounds on several news site in the last week: Heat president Pat Riley famously put his championship rings on the table to recruit LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the summer of 2010. Riley apparently even let Bosh keep Miami’s 2006 championship ring with a challenge: Come here, win your own then return it. In 2014, Bosh revealed he still had itREAD MORE

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DESPITE CAREER CUT SHORT, BOSH NEEDS CREDIT AS ONE OF BEST BIG MEN

Garrett Burke of Sportscasting.com writes that Chris Bosh should get credit for being one of the best big men of his generation, despite a career cut short by health problems.

“Just as Chris Bosh was about to receive the credit he deserved, a heart problem meant he played his final NBA game at the age of 32. He tried to ignore the severity of his ailments to stay on the court. But the potentially deadly consequences convinced Bosh that a comeback was impossible. The choice pained the center, but ball is not, in fact, life. Even with a truncated career, Bosh deserves to receive honors as one of the best big men of his generation.  READ MORE

#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

#PROJACKETS IN THE NBA/G LEAGUE IN 2023-24

PLAYERDATANUMBERSTEAM
JOSE ALVARADO
Team: New Orleans Pelicans
Number: 15
NBA Experience: 3rd year
Years at Georgia Tech: 2017-21
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Status: Active
6-0, 179 lbs
2023-24 Stats
7.1 ppg
2.3 rpg
2.1 apg
41.2% FG
Record: 49-33
Standing: 7th place, -8.0 GB
Streak: L1
Last 10: 5-5
JAMES BANKS III
Team: Maine Celtics
Number: 5
G League Experience: 3rd year
Years at Georgia Tech: 2018-20
Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
Status: Active
6-10, 250 lbs
2023-24 Stats
5.3 ppg
4.7 rpg
1.5 bpg
54.2% FG
Record: 21-13
Standing: 2nd place, -1.0 GB
Streak: W1
Last 10: 8-2
MICHAEL DEVOE
Team: Memphis Hustle
Number: 10
G League Experience: 2nd year
Years at Georgia Tech: 2017-21
Hometown: Orlando, Fla.
Status: Active
6-4, 183 lbs
2023-24 Stats
13.9 ppg
3.9 rpg
3.1 apg
47.4% FG
Record: 15-19
Standing: 12th, -9.0 GB
Streak: W1
Last 10: 3-7
DERRICK FAVORS
Team: Windy City Bulls (G League)
Number: 14
NBA Experience: 12 seasons
Years at Georgia Tech: 2009-10
Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
Status: Active
6-9, 265 lbs
2023-24 Stats
6.2 ppg
4.7 rpg
0.7 bpg
66.7% FG
Record: 15-19
Standing: 13th place, -7.0 GB
Streak: L1
Last 10: 4-6
JOSH OKOGIE
Team: Phoenix Suns
Number: 2
NBA Experience: 5 seasons
Years at Georgia Tech: 2016-18
Hometown: Snellville, Ga.
Status: Active
6-4, 213 lbs
2023-24 Stats
4.6 ppg
2.6 rpg
1.1 apg
41.7% FG
Record: 49-33
Standing: 6th place, -8.0 GB
Streak: W3
Last 10: 7-3
THADDEUS YOUNG
Team: free agent
Number: 30
NBA Experience: 16 seasons
Years at Georgia Tech: 2006-07
Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.
Status: Active
6-8, 235 lbs
2023-24 Stats
4.2 ppg
3.0 rpg
1.7 apg
60.2% FG
Record: 49-33
Standing: 6th place, -8.0 GB
Streak: W3
Last 10: 7-3

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