Three Arizona Wildcats have been affected the most at this point in terms of playing time since the return of Allonzo Trier last week at UCLA.
They are Rawle Alkins, Keanu Pinder and Parker Jackson-Cartwright. Here’s the breakdown (comparing the average minutes played against UCLA and Washington State and what the average was before):
[table “” not found /]No surprise: Lauri Markkanen has played slightly more, averaging 31.5 minutes in the last two games as opposed to 31.3 before.
Interesting to note is that so far Kobi Simmons’ minutes have not been altered much averaging 30 minutes against UCLA and Washington State after averaging 30.1 in the previous games. I thought Simmons would feel the pinch the most because Trier and Simmons are shooting guards.
The decrease in playing time for Alkins and Jackson-Cartwright most likely will not be as dramatic as the games go on. This is only a two-game sample of change.
Keanu Pinder is stuck in a numbers game behind Markkanen, Dusan Ristic and Chance Comanche on the frontcourt. With the return of Trier, coach Sean Miller is also more apt to go with a smaller lineup with more of ability to score.
To the credit of Alkins and Jackson-Cartwright, their production against UCLA and Washington State despite the fewer minutes must be admirable for Miller and his staff.
Alkins averaged the second-most minutes played behind Markkanen before Trier’s return. Five players, including Trier, averaged more minutes than him against UCLA and Washington State.
Arizona’s balance and apparent chemistry feeds into why it has won 13 consecutive games and is 8-0 in the Pac-12.
Alkins made 7 of 12 shots from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range, for a total of 22 points against UCLA and Washington State. He also was 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Jackson-Cartwright had nine assists with only one turnover against the Bruins and Cougars. He didn’t take a shot against Washington State and was 2 of 4 against the Bruins, but he buried an important 3-pointer in the first half last week that helped the Wildcats make an early statement against UCLA.
WHAT IS PRODUCTIVITY RATING?:
PP: Productivity Points (Points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocked shots, FGs made, FTs made added together and then subtracted by missed FGs, missed FTs, personal fouls and turnovers)
MIN: Minutes played overall
PR: Productivity rating per minute played (Productivity points divided by minutes played)
SEASON PRODUCTIVITY RATING
[table “” not found /]
PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
ARIZONA PAC-10/12
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR:
[table “” not found /]
PREVIOUS GAME
ARIZONA 79, WASHINGTON STATE 62
PRODUCTIVITY RATING
* — STARTERS
[table “” not found /]
ARIZONA SCHEDULE/PRODUCTIVITY RESULTS
*-Honolulu
**-Las Vegas
***-Los Angeles
****-Houston
[table “” not found /]
FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
Recommended for you
