Rebound's Chris Hughes, the All-Star organiser, content producer, YouTube host and producer, commentator and social media observer, was on hand to take in wins for Derby, Hemel, Bradford and Reading as all four teams moved on to next week's semi-finals.
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
Justin Williams is Rebound’s NBL Player Of The Week following a super-efficient and influential shooting performance.
Williams impressed throughout before netting 15 points in the final two minutes to give Bradford their route to the final fours with a big win over second seeds Essex.
Williams also disrupted the Rebels’ offensive strategy with six steals, a tally that matches the combined efforts of the entire 11-man roster Essex roster.
Malcolm Smith was unstoppable to start the post-season and was unfortunate not to get this week’s top individual honour.
A lights out shooting performance knocked out Nottingham as Smith was again too tough to guard in the paint (11/13 2pt).
The regular season MVP candidate also flirted with a double-double as well as adding four dimes to ensure it was a strong offensive performance, both personally and collectively.
Zion Tordoff was a key cog in the surprise of the weekend as Bradford pulled off a big road win in Essex.
Tordoff is an accomplished forward at this level and posted another monster double-double to add weight to his growing pedigree.
The 24-year-old's rebounding as part of a team effort helped gain an advantage in the paint at both ends, with Bradford dominating the glass, second chance opportunities and points in the paint.
The Final Fours are on!
— NBL (@NBLengland) April 15, 2024
How the weekend went down to leave teams just one win away from the NBL playoff finals 👇
🗞 https://t.co/odzmxMpjLU pic.twitter.com/Dmv9Yu7YYg
Sam Newman is a dime merchant and once again showed why he was the regular season’s assist king with an 18/14 double-double.
Newman was a key catalyst in the fourth, directly contributing to 14 of Hemel’s 19 points. That including draining the winning free throws to prove Newman is also a clutch player when needed.
Reis Pinnock put in a super-efficient two-way performance to ensure Reading protected their home court in round one of the play-offs.
In a high scoring 33-6 first quarter, Pinnock influenced proceedings as part of a team effort at both ends in a superb performance.
The Semi-Finalists are now confirmed!
— NBL (@NBLengland) April 14, 2024
Which match up are you most excited for?#NBL2324 pic.twitter.com/WNy10zvmJi
Reading had the perfect start to the playoffs with a 33-6 opening quarter against a Newcastle side fighting through some key injuries.
The hosts shot well with a nice 56FG% along with an NBA-esqe 64% from downtown to create an early advantage that the North East side wouldn't be able to overcome.
Reading also made the most of their free throws, hitting 76% from the line on 17 attempts.
It was a great team performance, with multiple players contributing to the big win as the Rockets now move on to play #1 seeds Derby.
Elijah Maynard (REA) - 22P/3R/21EFF
Taylor Johnson (HEM) - 27P/7R/3A/5STL/30EFF
Justin Hedley (LOU) - 19PTS/9REB/6AST/20EFF
Tre Chapman (ESS) - 18P/11R/27EFF
Christian Alexander (REA) - 8P/10R/3B/14EFF
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Main image credit - Luke Simock
