The French in the United States: Killian Hayes restarts the engine, the young man takes action

Killian Hayes lives again in Detroit, the young opportunist, Rudy Gobert looks for the Wolves, Evan Fournier without children: second point of the season for our French expatriates with Uncle Sam.

Every week, Trash Europe offers you a complete overview of the benefits of our French citizens abroad. We also take stock of top expats in the US each month (NBA, G-League, NCAA).

Criticized for his catastrophic start to the filming season, Killian Hayes has silenced his detractors. Since the absence of the leader of the Pistons, Cade Cunningham, last November 9, the French combo guard assumes his responsibilities. His ability with over 30% shooting no longer seems like a handicap and his overall involvement in the game makes him a Detroit centerpiece. Aggressive and more confident, Killian Hayes is therefore better. His 2020 draft partner Theo Maledon is also making his place in the Hornets’ hive, despite a “precarious” two-way deal for his NBA future. Established two days ago against Boston, he brought – in a loss – his 11 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals to the Charlotte collective.

Even younger, Moussa Diabate (20) is pictured this week with the Clippers. Bringing all of his versatility and energy off the bench, he went off with his team’s best +/- of +19 in a hit against Portland. The next day against the Jazz, he continued his momentum with 11 points and 8 rebounds in 16 minutes of play. As he continues to evolve between the G-League and the NBA, his repeated ability could attract the attention of coach Tyronn Lue.
His Thunder compatriot Ousmane Dieng knows more or less the same climb. After a confidence boost following his six-game stint in the G-League averaging 33 minutes of playing time, he continues his apprenticeship in the Thunder’s rotation. A record of 10 points and 7 rebounds in a win against the Spurs in early December does him the most good.

The leadership of the blues in difficulty

Are the Timberwolves already regretting the transfer of Rudy Gobert? In seven weeks of competition, Gobzilla is still not ready with his new franchise. In the soft underbelly of the Western Conference, Minnesota lacks consistency in its twenty or so games without showing any progress on defense, as the Minneapolis front office would have hoped with the signing of Rudy Gobert. With Karl Anthony Towns absent until early 2023, this is an opportunity for him to step up. He will find more of the phases of the game he was used to in the Jazz and will take advantage of the space left by KAT to improve his relationship on the track with the other great players of the pack, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell.

Even more worrying case, that of Evan Fournier sidelined by his coach Tom Thibodeau since November 13th. The hour is serious for the Blues captain who is no longer part of the Knicks rotation, after starting the season in the starting 5. Having arrived in the summer of 2021, Evan Fournier is now patient on the bench of a team with a negative balance , without understanding the reasons for such a decision, apart from the possible difficulty Thibodeau has in integrating it into his system. To date, his future in New York is very mixed. A way out must be found for the Frenchman before his rating collapses completely.

The statistics of the French in the NBA

Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves)
10 wins – 11 losses | 11th in the Western Conference
13.8 points on 64.0% shooting, 12.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 1.5 turnovers and 0.9 assists in 32 minutes (19 games)

Eva Fournier (New York Knicks)
10 wins – 11 losses | 10th in the Eastern Conference
6.9 points on 34.4% shooting, 2.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.1 turnovers in 20 minutes (13 games)

Nicholas Batum (Los Angeles Clippers)
13 wins – 10 losses | 5th in the Western Conference
4.4 points on 41.0% shooting, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.8 blocks and 0.9 turnovers in 19 minutes

Killian Hayes (Detroit Pistons)
5 wins – 18 losses | 15th in the Eastern Conference
7.1 points on 33.9% shooting, 4.4 assists, 2.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.7 turnovers in 24 minutes

Theo Maledon (Charlotte Calabroni)
6 wins – 15 losses | 13th in the Eastern Conference
5.4 points on 45.6% shooting, 2.5 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 1.3 turnovers and 0.8 steals in 17 minutes (19 games)

Ousmane Dieng (Oklahoma City Thunder)
8 wins – 13 losses | 12th in the Western Conference
3.3 points on 31.8% shooting, 2.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.4 against and 0.5 steals in 15 minutes (11 games)

Moussa Diabate (Los Angeles Clippers)
13 wins – 10 losses | 5th in the Western Conference
4.3 points on 60.0% shooting, 3.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 0.5 steals in 9 minutes (4 games)

Joel Embiid (Philadelphia Sixers)
14 wins – 6 losses | 1st in Eastern Conference
32.1 points on 51.9% shooting, 9.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 4.4 turnovers and 1.8 blocks in 35 minutes (13 games)

The statistics of the French in the G-League

Joel Ayayi (Lakeland Magic)
11.6 points on 62.4% shooting, 6.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.0 turnovers for 18.4 rating in 33 minutes (10 games)

Sidy Cissoko (G-League Ignite)
8.7 points on 42.3% shooting, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.6 steals per 9.0 rating in 27 minutes (9 games)

Save Doumbouya (Delaware Blue Coast)
3.3 points on 30.0% shooting, 2.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.1 steals and 0.6 turnovers per 3.5 rating in 12 minutes (8 games)

Adam Mokoka (Oklahoma City Blue)
10.6 points on 49.2% shooting, 4.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.4 steals per 12.4 rating in 28 minutes (9 games)

French NCAA statistics

Joshua Mballa (Miss Ore)
3.3 points on 54.5% shooting, 2.3 rebounds and 0.7 turnover per 4.2 rating in 8 minutes (6 games)

Eddy Kayouloud (Central Arkansas)
15.5 points on 42.1% shooting, 5.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 steals per 13.3 rating in 30 minutes (4 games)

Daniel Batcho (Texas tech)
12.5 points on 59.1% shooting, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.3 turnovers and 1.8 blocks per 18.5 rating in 26 minutes (6 games)

Yvan Ouedraogo (grancanyon)
4.2 points on 81.8% shooting, 5.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.6 steals per 8.8 rating in 22 minutes (5 games)

Yohan Traore (coppery)
4.5 points on 41.7% shooting, 2.7 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 0.8 turnovers per 2.7 rating in 15 minutes (6 games)

Treasure to man (Arizona)
4.7 points on 38.9% shooting, 2.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.7 turnovers per 4.8 rating in 17 minutes (6 games)

Kymany Houinsou (Washington state)
6.2 points on 50.0% shooting, 2.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 2.0 turnovers per 5.2 rating in 18 minutes (5 games)