Hoosiers In The NBA: Multiple former Indiana basketball players set to begin postseason play

The NBA playoffs are set to begin this week and after all the dust settled, multiple former Indiana basketball players are set to play in the postseason.

In total, there were seven former Indiana basketball players on NBA rosters this season — and six will be playing in the playoffs.

The names are headlined by OG Anunoby, Eric Gordon and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Here is a breakdown of who is in postseason play and a rundown of their season.

OG Anunoby, New York Knicks

Anunoby was traded midway through the year from the Toronto Raptors to the New York Knicks and has been critical in their path to securing a two-seed in the Eastern Conference. Anunoby is averaging 14.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game this season. He is shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and 38.2 percent from three on two made 3s per game.

Anunoby has four 20+ point games in his playoffs career in 27 starts.

The Knicks begin play this weekend against the winner of the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers.

Eric Gordon, Phoenix Suns

Gordon is coming off another good regular season with the Suns. He is averaging 11.0 points and shooting 37.8 percent from the floor in 68 games and 24 starts. It was just the second year since 2018-19 he’s appeared in more than 60 games.

Gordon has 16 20+ point games and one 30-point game in 60 career playoff appearances.

The Suns are the six seed in the west and will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Golden State Warriors

Jackson-Davis was one of the good rookie stories this season. After being selected No. 57 overall by the Warriors, he went on to average 7.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game this season. He started 16 games and appeared in 68. Jackson-Davis was fantastic towards the back half of the season, starting 13 of the final 21 games — seeing averages of 11.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. On the season, Jackson-Davis shot 70.2 percent from the floor and had six double-doubles.

The Warriors are the 10-seed and face the Kings in the play-in round of the playoffs. The winner plays the loser of the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers for a chance to play the No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets.

Thomas Bryant, Miami Heat

Bryant finished this season averaging 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in 38 games. His playing time has been inconsistent most of the season but had a 10-game stretch last month where he averaged 9.1 points in 14.3 minutes a game.

Bryant has played just 30 seconds in his postseason career, coming last season en route to winning a championship with the Denver Nuggets.

The Heat play the Philadelphia 76ers in the play-in round of the playoffs. The winner plays the No. 2 seed New York Knicks in the first round.

Cody Zeller, New Orleans Pelicans

Zeller is once again on a playoff team. He appeared in 43 games for the Pelicans this season, albeit in very much a reserve role. He averaged 1.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in 7.4 minutes. All were career-low numbers.

The Pelicans will play the Lakers in the play-in round of the playoffs. The winner gets a matchup with No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets, while the loser will face the winner of Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.

Jalen Hood-Schifino, Los Angeles Lakers

It has been a difficult season for the rookie first round pick. Hood-Schifino spent the majority of the first half of the season injured. After that, he played in 21 games and averaged 1.6 points in 5.2 minutes per game.

The Lakers play the Pelicans in the play-in round. The winner will play No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets, while the loser will face the winner of Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.

The full NBA playoff schedule can be found here.

SEE ALSO: ‘For a rookie, it’s amazing what he’s doing’: Former Indiana basketball star Trayce Jackson-Davis turns in career-high 20 points as stellar rookie year continues

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