Pro Hoop Hogs report: Joe’s record-setting three-point shooting, Portis’ double-double earns each Player of the Week honors

By Kevin McPherson

LITTLE ROCK — Several former Arkansas stars are already thriving just a month into the 2023-24 NBA regular season, and at the top of the heap in week four was fourth-year pro Isaiah Joe. In week three, it was ninth-year veteran Bobby Portis.

Joe (6-4 guard, Fort Smith native) of the Oklahoma City Thunder established both a personal and organization record by finishing a game with seven made three-pointers without a miss — 23 points (7-of-7 field goals all from 3, and 2-of-3 free throws), 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and a boxscore plus-21 in 25 minutes — in OKC’s 128-109 road win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, Nov. 16.

He followed that up with a 10-point (including 2-of-4 shooting from 3), 4-rebound, 3-assist, 1-steal, 1-block, box-plus-17 performance in the team’s 130-123 road win over the Warriors two days later (Saturday, Nov. 18). Then on Sunday, Nov. 19, marking the third and final game of OKC’s mini west coast road swing, Joe made his first five three-point attempts en route to finishing with 15 points (5-of-6 field goals all from 3), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, and a boxscore plus-20 in 14 minutes in the Thunder’s 134-91 road win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Including a 123-87 home win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, Nov. 14, when he scored 8 points (2-of-3 shooting from distance), Joe averaged 14.0 points with an 80.0% efficiency shooting from three (16-of-20) in his team’s four wins last week.

For his performances in Week 4, Joe has been named Pro Hoop Hogs Player of the Week. He was also the PHH Co-Player of Pre-Season along with former Arkansas star Moses Moody of the Golden State Warriors.

On the season, Joe has played played off the bench in all 14 games for OKC (10-4) and is averaging 10.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 19.6 minutes while shooting 46.9% from the field, including 39-of-78 from 3 for 50.0% (ranks 6th in the NBA in efficiency, and his 39 makes are easily the most among the Top 10 NBA three-point field goal efficiency shooter). He’s shooting 76.5% from the free throw line. His Net Rating (offense/defense) of 14.1 ranks 6th in the NBA, his Defensive Rating of 103.8 ranks 26th in the league, his Offensive Rating of 117.9 ranks 50th in the league, and his 3 drawn charges ranks tied for 9th in the league.

Isaiah Joe game highlights linked here:https://x.com/ARHoopScoop/status/1725395857854328898?s=20

At the end of week 3 in the NBA, Portis (6-10 forward / center, Little Rock native) recorded his first double-double of the ’23-24 campaign — 19 points (7-of-10 field goals, including 3-of-6 from 3, and 2-of-2 free throws), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block in 25 minutes in Milwaukee’s 118-109 home win over the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 13 — and in doing so Portis earned PHH Player of the Week for week 3 of the NBA regular season.

Portis an NBA Champion (’20-21) and NBA Sixth Man of the Year finalist (’22-23) — has played off the bench in all 13 game for the Bucks (9-4), averaging 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 23.2 minutes per game while shooting 49.6% from the field, including 32.4% from 3, and 75.8% from the free throw line for the Bucks (3-2). His 123.8 rating on offense ranks 3rd in the NBA, and his net rating of 9.4 ranks 31st in the NBA.

Here’s a recap of what 9 more Pro Hoop Hogs have accomplished during the first month of the ’23-24 NBA regular season …

– Fifth-year center Daniel Gafford (6-10, El Dorado native) totaled 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Washington Wizards combined in back-to-back losses to Dallas (130-117) and New York (120-99) last week. Gafford has started in all 10 games he’s played in for the Wizards (2-10), averaging 8.6 points, a career-best 7.2 rebounds, a career-best 2.0 blocks, and a career-best-matching 1.1 assists in 23.6 minutes per game while shooting 72.8%% from the field and 64.0% from the free throw line. He’s recorded one double-double — 10 points (3-of-4 field goals and 4-of-6 free throws), 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 28 minutes in a 113-106 home win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 28. He ranks 5th in Effective Field Goal Percentage (72.9%), 7th in True Shooting Percentage (72.9%), and 6th in blocks per game (2.0) in the NBA.

– Third-year guard/wing Moses Moody (6-5, Little Rock native) recorded a couple of double-digit scoring games last week for the Golden State Warriors — he’s scored in double-figures in six games so far mostly as a reserve playing with the team’s second unit. On the season, Moody has played in all 14 games with 1 start for the Warriors (6-8), averaging career bests of 7.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.0 steals in 17.4 minutes while shooting 45.1% from the field, including 34.0% from 3, and 77.8% from the free throw line. He’s been one of the best defensive guards in the NBA as his Defensive Rating of 103.6 ranks 23rd in the league.

– Second-year forward/center Jaylin Williams (6-9, Fort Smith native) missed Oklahoma City’s first five games of the season with a strained hamstring, but since his return to the lineup he’s played in all 9 games for the Thunder (10-4) while averaging 3.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 12.8 minutes off the bench while shooting 41.9% from the field, including 4-of-17 from 3 for 23.5%, and 5-of-6 from the free throw line for 83.3%. Williams — he led the NBA in drawn charges last season as a rookie — drew his first charge of ’23-24 on Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers.

– Second-year guard Stanley Umude (6-6) recorded a career-high 19 points (5-of-6 field goals, including 2-of-3 from 3, and 7-of-8 free throws) to go with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block in 25 minutes in Detroit’s 142-113 road loss against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. Umude is on a two-way contract with the Pistons (2-12), he’s recorded four games of double-figure scoring in his 10 outings, and he’s averaging 5.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per contest while shooting 56.0% from the field, including 9-of-16 from 3 (56.3%), and 19-of-21 (90.5%).

– First-year guard Anthony Black (6-7, Duncanville, Texas) started all of the Orlando Magic’s games last week, which included his 7-point, 5-rebound, 2-block, 1-steal performance in the team’s 128-116 road win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Black has played in 11 games with 6 starts for the Magic (8-5), averaging 5.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists, in 19.5 minutes per game while shooting 51.1% from the field, including 29.4% from 3, and 68.8% from the free throw line. In his first career start — a 120-101 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 4 — Black finished with a career-high 11 points (4-of-6 field goals, including 2-of-3 from 3, and 1-of-1 free throw) to go with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and a game-high boxscore plus-32 in 30 minutes.

– First-year guard Nick Smith, Jr. (6-4, Jacksonville native) saw his first meaningful minutes of the season last week in Charlotte’s 111-105 home loss against the Miami Heat as he clocked the final 10 minutes of the 4th quarter while finishing with 3 points (his three-pointer cut a 7-point deficit to a two-possession game, 97-93, with 6:17 to play) and 1 rebound in 15 total minutes of game action. Smith has appeared in 5 games and totaled 37 minutes while contributing a collective 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block while shooting 5-of-18 from the field (27.8%), including 3-of-7 from 3 (42.9%). He was named PHH Rookie of the Preseason after appearing in four preseason games and averaging 7.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 14.3 minutes while shooting 13-of-26 from the field for 50.0%, including 2-of-6 from 3 for 33.3%, and 3-of-4 from the free throw line for 75.0%. His most productive preseason game was an 11-point and 5-rebound outing against the Miami Heat on Oct. 10, and he had a 7-point, 5-rebound, 4-assist effort against the Boston Celtics on Oct. 19.

– First-year guard Jordan Walsh (6-7, DeSoto, TX) has yet to play in an NBA game with the Celtics — that could change today (Monday, Nov. 20) as Walsh will be active when the Celtics play the Charlotte Hornets — but in four NBA G-League games playing with the Maine Celtics he’s averaged 17.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.8 steals in 30.4 minutes while shooting 45.7% from the field, including 33.3% from 3, and 76.9% from the free throw line.

– First-year guard Ricky Council IV (6-5) had his two-way contract waived by the Philadelphia 76ers only to be re-signed by the Sixers to another two-way deal, although he has yet to appear in an NBA game. Through 4 NBA G-League game with the Delaware Blue Coats, Council is averaging 21.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.3 assists in 31.6 minutes while shooting 42.6% from the field, including 37.5% from 3, and 72.2% from the free throw line.

– Twelfth-year guard Patrick Beverley (6-2) has played in all 13 games with the Philadelphia 76ers (10-3), averaging 2.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 15.6 minutes per game off the bench while shooting 31.4% from the field and 60.0% from the free throw line. His Defensive Rating of 98.6 ranks 4th in the NBA, and his Net Rating (offense/defense) of 13.7 ranks 7th in the league.

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– Pro Hoop Hogs Report 1 (preseason recap followed by weeks 1 and 2 of the ’23-24 NBA regular season) are linked here: https://forums.hogville.net/index.php?topic=760000.0