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Joe Ingles feeling confident ahead of new NBA season and how the Aussies fared in the NFL’s Week 5

JOE Ingles is feeling it ahead of the new NBA season with a cheeky boast while Ben Simmons stars and Deng Adel monsters Melbourne United. Plus, the best of the Aussies in the NFL, NHL and MLB.

Michael Randall and Ben Higgins
6 min read
October 9, 2018 - 9:00AM
Best of Aussies in the US.
Best of Aussies in the US.

IT’S been a pretty good week for Utah Jazz cult figure Joe ingles.

Salt Lake City’s much-loved Aussie celebrated his 31st birthday by pouring in 24 points on the Toronto Raptors and declaring he was the “best shooter in the league”.

While there are a couple of men in Golden State who might have something to say about that, as a spot up shooter, it’s hard to argue with the lanky Adelaide-born forward who does a bit of everything for the Jazz.

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After he broke the franchise record for three point makes last season (204) at an elite 44 per cent, Ingles picked up where he left off against the Raptors, draining five treys on 11 attempts to go with four assists in a 105-90 win.

Asked after the game if he lost confidence after missing his first couple, Ingles showed his typical Aussie wit: “I’m the best shooter in the league, that’s a silly question.”

On Saturday - before the Jazz took on Ingles’ hometown NBL club Adelaide 36ers - he doubled down on his claim.

Joe Ingles in action for the Utah Jazz against the Toronto Raptors.
Joe Ingles in action for the Utah Jazz against the Toronto Raptors.

“I’m the best shooter in the league,” he said.

“The numbers I’ve shot, the percentages, they are what they are and people are going to dissect everything, but I honestly feel like they’re all going to go in when I shoot the ball.

“When I feel like it’s my shot within the flow of our offence and getting it in rhythm I feel like I should make every one of them - that’s why it pisses me off so much in practice when I miss open shots because I fell like I should make them.”

Things didn’t quite go to plan in the 129-99 win over the Aussie club (three points on 0-4 shooting in 16 minutes) but he backed it up on Monday with a typically diverse stat line of 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists to go with a pair of three-pointers in a 123-112 win over the Portland Trailblazers that took the Jazz to 4-0 in the pre-season.

Aussie teammate Dante Exum was also involved in that one, managing nine points off the bench.

Philadelphia sensation Ben Simmons took The Process to China for a tilt against the Dallas Mavericks’ and Rookie of the Year fancy Luka Doncic.

And no, despite what you might see on twitter, Ben can’t win ROY again, but he did churn out a near triple-double with nine points, nine rebounds and 10 assists, adding some lockdown defence on Doncic as the Sixers pulled out a 120-114 win over the Mavs.

Aussie rookie Jonah Bolden did plenty with just 10 minutes of playing time, producing five points, three rebounds and an assist, but also turning it over three times.

On the opposing team, Frankston rookie Ryan Broekhoff drained a three and had a trio of boards in 17 minutes.

Aussie Deng Adel - hoping to pin down a roster spot with Raptors - lit up his hometown club Melbourne United with 16 points on a perfect 5-5 shooting, adding three rebounds in the Raptors’ 120-82 NBLxNBA belting of the Australian champions.

Deng Adel tries to stop Melbourne United's Tohi Smith-Milner.
Deng Adel tries to stop Melbourne United's Tohi Smith-Milner.

It’s been an innocuous start for the Aussies in Milwaukee. Matthew Dellavedova hasn’t seen a minute in two games, while Thon Maker played 17 minutes, but scored just three points in a 116-82 opening night win over Chicago before missing Monday’s 125-107 win over Minnesota.

Patty Mills hasn’t clocked 20 minutes in any of San Antonio’s three pre-season games, with coach Gregg Popovic sharing the minutes, but figures to play a big role in the new-look Spurs’ this season.

Aron Baynes clocked up six points and four fouls in 11 minutes as a starter for the Boston Celtics as they were rolled by Kyrie Irving’s former club Cleveland 113-102.

BERRY BOUNCES BACK

AFTER a difficult start to the season, Jordan Berry has played a crucial role in Pittsburgh’s crucial win over Atlanta.

The Melbourne-born punter endured calls for his sacking and two punting competitions in the pre-season and opening four weeks but impressed against the Falcons with three punts and a season-high average of 47.7 yards.

Importantly, Berry’s punts barely allowed any return (net punt average of 46.6 yards) and trapped Atlanta’s high-powered offence inside their own 20-yard line twice.

The Steelers veteran is now the 10th ranked punter on total yardage but remains 27th on average.

Fellow Aussie Cam Johnston is No.1 on average with a whopping 50.7 yards per punt.

While Philadelphia crashed to another defeat, Johnston continues to produce impressive results in his rookie campaign.

The former Melbourne Demons rookie finished with four punts at an average of 46.8 yards per punt, trapping Minnesota inside its 20-yard line twice.

Despite the Eagles being reigning Super Bowl champions, Johnston has had plenty of work to do, pumping out punts longer than 50 yards in every game this season and averaging more than 50 yards in three of five games.

Meanwhile in Seattle, Sydney’s Michael Dickson has again broken out the drop-kick kick-off.

The Seahawks are using Dickson’s talents not only as a punter but also as a kicker instead of veteran Sebastian Janokowski in pressure situations, such as Monday’s (AEST) loss to undefeated division rivals Los Angeles Rams.

Dickson finished the game with four punts at an average of just 34.5 after shanking one kick badly - his worst statistical game of the year.

It was a quieter day for Lachlan Edwards as his New York Jets thrashed Denver.

Edwards was called in to punt just three times and finished with an average of 44.7 with two of his three kicks downed inside the Broncos’ 20-yard line.

On the other side of the field, Adam Gotsis impressed despite the Broncos’ defence being shredded by veteran running back Isiah Crowell.

Gotsis had three tackles for the second straight week and forced a fumble against Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold but remains sackless through five games after two last year.

Adam Gotsis celebrates after causing Sam Darnold to fumble.
Adam Gotsis celebrates after causing Sam Darnold to fumble.

LIAM REFLECTS ON BIG DAY

IT wasn’t the happy ending the nation had hoped for when pitcher Liam Hendriks became the first Aussie to open a post-season MLB game, but the Perth product is taking a philosophical approach.

Hendriks - who chose baseball over Aussie Rules - gave up a two-run homer to New York slugger Aaron Judge as the Yankees spanked the Oakland Athletics 7-2 in the sudden-death American League Wildcard game.

“I got the ball back (after the homer) and I’m like ‘screw it, If I’m going out, I’m going to go out the way I want to and I’m going to go out and I’m going to go after every person’,” Hendriks told the Outta The Park Podcast.

“And that’s what ended up happening. I came up ... I got (Aaron) Hicks out, and then I struck out (Giancarlo) Stanton before I got (Luke) Voit to fly out.

Liam Hendriks after giving up a home run to Aaron Judge.
Liam Hendriks after giving up a home run to Aaron Judge.

“It’s one of those things where it’s if you didn’t have that mindset from the get go, I think it could have been a very different game.

“Unfortunately for me it was just a number of things that didn’t quite work out for the first two batters, but I was able to put it together for the last three.”

Hendriks’ career was at a crossroads in late June when he was designated for assignment to the A’s Triple A affiliate - kind of like being dropped to the reserves.

He fought his way back to become an integral part of Oakland’s run to the post-season - its first since 2014 - pitching 24 innings with 22 strikeouts and an ERA of 4.13 - better than his career mark of 4.72.

WALKER FACES FIGHT AFTER STRONG START

NATHAN Walker made a strong start to the NHL season but could find himself in the stands.

The Australian winger produced an assist in Washington Capitals’ season-opening 7-0 win over Boston and showed plenty of speed in the 6-7 loss to Pittsburgh the following day.

However, the Capitals’ acquisition of Dmitrij Jaskin puts his place in jeopardy heading into Thursday’s (AEST) Stanley Cup Finals rematch against Las Vegas Golden Knights.

Ironically, Jaskin is Czech, the country Walker started his journey to the NHL as a 14-year-old.

Walker is expected to stay with the NHL squad but could be sent back to American Hockey League affiliate Hershey Bears, which could force him to clear waivers.

A similar situation saw Edmonton Oilers pick Walker up for a short stint last year before again being placed on waivers and returning to Washington.

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/us-sports/joe-ingles-feeling-confident-ahead-of-new-nba-season-and-how-the-aussies-fared-in-the-nfls-week-5/news-story/df5809ddb00adf96e79f4e4f7657a052