Maryland making noise in the NBA: Feb. 10-16

With a shortened week of action because of the NBA All-Star Game, former Terps Kevin Huerter, Alex Len and Jake Layman each played three games last week and continued to make Maryland fans proud.

Tracking their success for the rest of the NBA season, TSR takes a look at how Huerter, Len and Layman fared each week. Here’s a look at their performances from Feb. 10-16.

Kevin Huerter (2018-2019: 27.3 MPG, 9.3 PPG, 2.8 APG, 3.2 RPG)

Huerter started his week off hot with 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 28 minutes Feb. 10 as his Atlanta Hawks lost 124-108 to the Orlando Magic. However, the rest of the rookie’s week wasn’t quite as fruitful. Huerter followed up that performance with just five points, one rebound, two assists, and two steals in 25 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers. Huerter shot just 2-for-7 from the field in a four-point win over L.A. but did finish the game on the floor for the Hawks and even scored the his team’s final points. It was reported after the Lakers game that Huerter may have suffered a minor ankle injury, which he played through Feb. 14 against the New York Knicks but seemed to be hampered by as he went scoreless in a game he was active for the first time since Nov. 11. Huerter did, however, dish out four assists and rip down four boards in his 23 minutes against the Knicks.

Alex Len (2018-2019: 19.1 MPG, 10.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 0.9 BLKPG)

Considering he didn’t play many minutes, Len had himself a nice stretch of games for the Atlanta Hawks prior to the All-Star break. The fifth-year pro scored 16 points, including two three-pointers, in 19 minutes Feb. 10 against the Magic and a few days later scored 11 in 12 minutes while hitting three from downtown against the Lakers. Len has always had some touch on his shot for a 7-foot-1 center, but it was on full display last week. While it’s nice that he has some range as part of his game, the Hawks need Len to be more of the true big they pay him to be, sort of like he was Feb. 14 against the Knicks when he finished with a line of six points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 24 minutes. But Len was still inefficient scoring in the post on Valentine’s Day, shooting just 1-for-7 from the field against New York and earning half his points off of one make from beyond the arc.

Jake Layman (2018-2019: 17.8 MPG, 7.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG)

Layman’s recent emergence continued in his last three games before the All-Star break. Getting a bit more run for the Portland Trail Blazers over the past few weeks as they continue to work out their rotation after the addition of wing Rodney Hood, Layman has thrived and is making a strong case for more minutes down the stretch of the season. Following a modest nine-point, two-rebound, one-assist effort Feb. 10 in 26 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks, Layman had back-to-back games with 17 points while shooting over 71 percent from the field in both outings. Against some of the best teams in the Western Conference right before the break, Layman also played solid defense that helped Portland be competitive in a narrow loss Feb. 11 to the Oklahoma City Thunder and pull off the victory over the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors Feb. 13. The second-year wing swatted four blocks against the Thunder and swiped two steals against the Warriors. Layman also entered the break hot from downtown, combining for six triples over his last three games.