THE FLATS – Iman Shumpert’s no longer underrated on “Dancing with the Stars”… Josh Okogie gets fourth start of the season vs. Clippers … Derrick Favors’ wanted to start against old Jazz teammates … Thaddeus Young lobbies for more time with his play … Q&A with Jose Alvarado … more in this week’s #ProJackets Report.
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IMAN SHUMPERT NO LONGER UNDERRATED ON “DTWS”
Last week on “Dancing With the Stars,” something unexpected happened: NBA star Iman Shumpert finally got the credit he deserved.
Shumpert and his professional dance partner, Daniella Karagach, pulled off one of the greatest routines in 30 seasons of the ABC reality competition show, with a flawlessly choreographed contemporary dance inspired by Jordan Peele’s horror flick “Us”: the judges described it as “genius,” “sheer perfection,” “brilliant” and “a masterpiece.”
The comments on social media were ecstatic, including rave reviews from Shumpert’s former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate LeBron James and “Us” star Lupita Nyong’o:
The performance earned the pair a perfect score, which was significant because Shumpert has been consistently underrated all season. While the judges have given him plenty of praise, he has also been subject to lower-than-deserved scores and overly critical comments, especially from judge Len Goodman.
Shumpert and Karagach danced the Paso Doble to “Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen on Dancing with the Stars Queen Night on Monday.
https://youtu.be/6eB01d2Yl3A
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FAVORS WANTED TO START AGAINST JAZZ
Derrick Favors won’t be starting every Oklahoma City Thunder game. The organization has emphasized its dedication to developing the youth on the team, and Favors, a veteran who arrived on a salary dump, does not fall into that category.
But against his former team, Favors wanted to start.
In the season opener on Tuesday, Favors got the nod at center to tip off against the Utah Jazz, a team he spent more than nine years playing for. The big acknowledged after the game that he wanted to be in the starting rotation for this game specifically.
“For selfish reasons, yeah,” Favors said. “Obviously I was here for so long, and I just wanted to start. For selfish reasons.”
He said he would not place the same importance on his role in the rotation on other games.
Derrick Favors smokes the point blank layup pic.twitter.com/4OJJ6CAY2U
— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) October 31, 2021
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YOUNG LOBBIES FOR MORE PLAYING TIME WITH HIS PLAY
The San Antonio Spurs are 1-4 this season, and in the team’s only victory, Thaddeus Young scored a season-high 10 points in 16 minutes, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor, with eight rebounds and three assists, the type of production that made him such a valuable member of the Chicago Bulls last season.
Through five games, Young has averaged 4.4 points and 3.6 rebounds while averaging 13.2 minutes.
Young looks ahead to the season
Thaddeus Young after playing a season high 15 minutes in @spurs win against the @Bucks “I’m a basketball player…I’m going to make passes, get all the guys involved. As long as we are moving the ball side to side & get cohesiveness as a group, we’re going to be able to score.”
— Jeremiah Johnson (@PacersJJ) November 1, 2021
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OKOGIE MAKES FOURTH START WEDNESDAY NIGHT
Josh Okogie made his fourth start of the season Wednesday night in a 126-115 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers that left the Timberwolves feeling better about their offense.
The Wolves scored 115 points, the most they had since their season-opening win against Houston. They shot an OK 14 of 40 from three-point range (though it looks small in comparison to the Clippers’ 58%) but a lot of the supporting cast got to see shots go through without D’Angelo Russell in the lineup.
Seven different players finished in double figures led by Anthony Edwards with 28 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 while Josh Okogie (11), Patrick Beverley (10), Malik Beasley (14), Jarred Vanderbilt (13) and Naz Reid (11) also reached double digits.
More from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune
JOSH OKOGIE.
NINE STRAIGHT POINTS.— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) November 4, 2021
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PELICANS Q&A WITH JOSE ALVARADO
New Orleans rookie point guard Jose Alvarado shares something in common with fellow Pelicans first-year pro Herbert Jones, in that both were named major-conference players of the year in 2020-21 – Alvarado claimed the ACC honor, while Jones captured the SEC’s award. On NBA draft night in August, however, their paths diverged, with Jones being chosen in the second round by New Orleans, while Alvarado was not among the 60 picks.
As Alvarado explained, however, going undrafted is something he spent very little time dwelling on this summer. The Georgia Tech product was thrilled to have an opportunity to get his foot in the door at the professional level, whether that might be in summer league or with a ticket to the G League. Thus far the two-way contract signee has spent training camp, preseason and the regular season with New Orleans, picking up valuable experience, including during practices. The 23-year-old discussed some of his background with Pelicans.com recently:
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