Horns in the NBA: 2/24 - 3/2

Based the current standings, eight former Texas Longhorns are on pace to participate in the NBA postseason. Most are sitting comfortably in the mix of things, but DJ Augustin, Mohamed Bamba, and the Orlando Magic are flip-flopping between the eighth and ninth seed, while Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson and Memphis’ Avery Bradley are fixating more on the draft lottery.

LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs

• Mon, 2/25 - Road loss to the Brooklyn Nets: 26 points (12-21), 10 rebounds, 1 assist
• Wed, 2/27 - Home win over the Detroit Pistons: 24 points (11-22), 5 rebounds, 3 assists
• Sat, 3/2 - Home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder: 27 points (10-18), 10 rebounds, 1 assist

Last week’s brusque shooting woes fed into a dominant week all-around for Aldridge. He averaged 25.7 points per game over three games, boasting two double doubles, one of which came when guarded by fellow Longhorn Jarrett Allen.

Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors

• Mon, 2/25 - Road win over the Charlotte Hornets: 20 points (7-15), 7 rebounds, 4 assists
• Wed, 2/27 - Road loss to the Miami Heat: 29 points (9-21), 5 rebounds, 5 assists
• Thu, 2/28 - Road loss to the Orlando Magic: DNP (Rest)
• Sat, 3/2 - Road win over the Philadelphia 76ers: 34 points (11-24), 5 rebounds, 5 assists

Surprisingly, the Warriors lost consecutive games for the first time since December this week, putting them just 1.5 games in front of Denver. In Durant specific news, he’s scoring like his OKC-self with an average of 30 points per game over his last nine games. His run has come paired with efficient shooting numbers, more so than usual. Over the same 30 points per game span, Durant has connected on 55.7 percent of his attempts.

Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers

• Mon, 2/25 - Road loss to the Detroit Pistons: 7 points (3-10), 5 rebounds, 0 assists
• Wed, 2/27 - Road loss to the Dallas Mavericks: 13 points (4-10), 5 rebounds, 1 assist
• Thu, 2/28 - Home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 points (1-2), 1 rebound, 0 assists
• Sat, 3/2 - Home loss to the Orlando Magic: 10 points (4-9), 6 rebounds, 1 assist

I was going to go all in on joining the Pacers bandwagon, but that seemed untimely considering they went 1-3 through a cupcake schedule. What you could notice through the past four games has been Turner’s frustrating week of rust lingering from last week’s hip injury. He’s shot with patent rustiness, connecting on 38.7 percent of shots from the field and 33.3 percent of threes. To reference that, Turner has shot at a 50 percent clip from two, and 40 percent from three all season.

Cory Joseph, Indiana Pacers

• Mon, 2/25 - Road loss to the Detroit Pistons: 2 points (1-3), 2 rebounds, 4 assists
• Wed, 2/27 - Road loss to the Dallas Mavericks: 7 points (3-8), 4 rebounds, 4 assists
• Thu, 2/28 - Home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves: 8 points (3-6), 5 rebounds, 12 assists
• Sat, 3/2 - Home loss to the Orlando Magic: 14 points (6-9), 3 rebounds, 3 assists

Joseph’s week was very low-key up until his Saturday game, when the guard went for 14 points while helping suppress fellow Longhorn DJ Augustin, who went 1-5 from the field.

Avery Bradley, Memphis Grizzlies

• Mon, 2/25 - Home win over the Los Angeles Lakers: 15 points (5-14), 6 rebounds, 3 assists
• Wed, 2/27 - Home loss to the Chicago Bulls: 23 points (7-18), 7 rebounds, 7 assists
• Sat, 3/2 - Road win over the Dallas Mavericks: 15 points (5-12), 5 rebounds, 5 assists

The Grizzlies; man do they have their moments. A franchise that’s regularly subject to internet memes and addictive tanking beat LeBron James and the Lakers, leaving NBA junkies everywhere questioning whether the King deserves to sit on his throne. Then, two days later, they lose to the Bulls. At least Avery Bradley has maintained a speck of consistency for this team. He’s in the high teens every night in the scoring column, and racks up a decent number of assists, rebounds, and steals (.9 per game as a Grizzly). There’s a lot of new faces in Memphis, and Bradley is emerging as the guy.

Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers

There’s still no timetable for Thompson’s return, and with the Cavs more bought into the Zion Williamson sweepstakes than hunting down a playoff bid, the organization won’t be rushing him back onto the court.

Jarrett Allen, Brooklyn Nets

• Mon, 2/25 - Home win over the San Antonio Spurs: 9 points (4-4), 8 rebounds, 0 assists
• Wed, 2/27 - Home loss to the Washington Wizards - 12 points (6-9), 6 rebounds, 0 assists
• Fri, 3/1 - Home loss to the Charlotte Hornets - 10 points (4-5), 2 rebounds, 2 assists
• Sat, 3/2 - Road loss to the Miami Heat - 6 points (3-6), 3 rebounds, 0 assists

Allen rejected three shots and stole the ball once in their loss to the Wizards, his first game with a steal and multiple blocks since Brooklyn’s triple OT game versus the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Mohamed Bamba, Orlando Magic

No status change here, Bamba is still out indefinitely.

DJ Augustin, Orlando Magic

• Sun, 2/24 - Road win over the Toronto Raptors: 12 points (5-6), 5 rebounds, 8 assists
• Tue, 2/26 - Road loss to the New York Knicks: 13 points (5-10), 5 rebounds, 6 assists
• Thu, 2/28 - Home win over the Golden State Warriors: 14 points (6-11), 0 rebounds, 3 assists
• Sat, 3/2 - Road win over the Indiana Pacers: 3 points (1-5), 2 rebounds, 4 assists

Augustin continues to be a rock solid piece to a team that’s climbing up the Eastern Conference standings. He valleyed on Saturday with a poor offensive performance, but his games prior to that showed his ability to facilitate to teammates and score the ball at an efficient rate.

PJ Tucker, Houston Rockets

• Mon, 2/25 - Home win over the Atlanta Hawks: 8 points, (3-8), 3 rebounds, 2 assists
• Wed, 2/27 - Road win over the Charlotte Hornets: 15 points (5-5), 2 rebounds, 0 assists
• Thu, 2/28 - Home win over the Miami Heat: 6 points (2-2), 3 rebounds, 1 assist
• Sun, 3/3 - Road win over the Boston Celtics: 9 points (3-6), 8 rebounds, 1 assist

This entire season has been a scoring lull for Tucker, but he’s shown flashes in the past two weeks of efficient scoring, especially knocking down the three-ball (12-18 from beyond the arc this week).