Hughes, the All-Star organiser, content producer, YouTube host and producer, commentator and social media observer, is once again charged with selecting a Player and Team of the Week, though the individual honour was an easy choice this time following one of the performances of the season so far.
Have your say on this week's choices and give a shout-out to the players you think deserve one using the hashtag #NBL2324 and #ReboundTOTW. Don't forget to tag us!
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Chris will pick a Player of the Week and four other selections to round out his Team of the Week, paying attention to the following criteria:
Other players will also receive a shout out as honourable mentions at the bottom of the piece.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Derby’s number 12 and this week’s Rebound Player of the Week hit his jersey number in threes, making shooting beyond the arc look too easy in an astonishing display.
The shooter was razor-sharp and his team needed him to be, in the high-scoring eight-point W, as the rest of the squad - Sam Masten apart - struggled to get going with a collective five threes from 17 attempts.
Toluwase put up a tough 32-point, 11-rebound double-double to inspire Birmingham to continue their unbeaten start to life in NBL1.
He worked hard in the paint and his rebounding at both ends, as part of a team effort, helped COB to outscore the Cavaliers by twice as many second-chance points even with Toluwase’s side making less boards.
Williams makes a back-to-back ‘Team of the Week appearance with a high-scoring masterclass in the four-point win, as the All Star almost got as many points as the remaining Dragons starters combined (31v35).
The third quarter was the most open with the Dragons outscoring the Hoods by eight, as Williams made a trio of threes as well as completing three-point play from a trip to the line to help the cause.
Is it a team of the week without Sam Masten? The floor general was once again a key piece as Coach Shaw benched him for barely a minute.
Masten was tough to stop, making eight from 11 from inside, as Hemel were unable to stop him driving to the bucket.
The Trailblazers are second for most threes attempted and on average the most made threes per game.
A good general leads his team to victory, and Powell did just that. He was busy from the start, assisting the first bucket and then making a completed and-one as the Rockets propelled themselves into a 10-point lead after a quarter. It was a gap the Riders couldn’t bridge.
In the 21-point win which pitted two unbeaten sides against each other, Powell was the difference-maker and Reading performed the best when he was on the floor as part of a team effort.
Derby landed the first punch between two title hopefuls as they beat reigning champs Hemel 🥊
— NBL (@NBLengland) October 30, 2023
That and more from D1M:https://t.co/LzfKVjIIJx pic.twitter.com/k0KHb4AEyU
Derby shot 52% from inside, 50% from beyond the arc and 100% from the line in the 104-96 win over Hemel, and while sometimes the defence was questionable, they took care of business to entertain the masses.
In a game where Coach Shaw heavily relied on the starters, Charlie Brown and Rob Marsden came on in impressive albeit small cameo roles, with the duo combining for 6 offensive boards as the five starters combined only recorded two as Derby scored 13 second-chance points.
On Halloween, the scary news is Derby are impressing with players to come back from injury, including 2x Rebound All Star Jase Harrison.
Corey Johnson (DTB) - 8P/8R/13A/1S/21EFF
Daniel Johnson-Thompson (WOR) - 13P/9R/1A/1B/+-13/15EFF
Ishmael Fontaine (WOR) - 12P/6R/3A/3S/20EFF
Elijah Maynard (REA) - 11P/5R/2A/2S/2B/+-24/16EFF
Zion Tordoff (BRA) - 10P/14R/3A/5S/24EFF
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Main image credit - Ivan Grotsev
