Belinda has recovered from her pregnancy and had an exceptional season with the Stanford Cardinals. The Cardinals have been ranked #1 for seven weeks in a row under the fiery pace of the guard. They have not lost a game since the beginning of the season, and Belinda plays a central role.
Tara VanDerveer was a little worried about Belinda's ability to recover, but her doubts were quickly swept away.
13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and especially 11.7 assists on average. We are in a historic season in this area, which is the quality of Belinda's performance.
Her neat feints and speed make her a headache for opposing defenses. She is referred to as a first-round pick in the 2021 draft because she is eligible at the end of the season. His goal is to win a title with Stanford; she is doing everything to achieve it. But the road to get there is hard; nothing is impossible by continuing like this.
While Belinda is in the joys of victory, Hector is in the misfortunes of defeat. It was because the Kings beat the New York Knicks in their final home game. 10 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Since the beginning of January, Hector has been averaging 3.7 blocks per game, obviously the best in the league during this period. Unfortunately, the Kings lost more than they won, so that's flying under the radar.
But where would Hector have been if we had to redo last season's draft? According to the specialists, 3rd or 4th at worst according to the margin of progression of R.J. Barrett. Zion Williamson has finally started the serious stuff. After his strange rookie year, he rushed to the All-Star Game this season, averaging 26 points. His status as the 1st indisputable pick is confirmed despite losing the Rookie of the Year.
Rookie of the Year Ja Morant is also improving. We see his progression in the visual impression, and he is changing Memphis with his spectacular game. His average went from 17 to 19 points, which is not negligible.
R.J. Barrett when divides. Despite somewhat flattering statistics and progress, Barrett does not seem consistent and reliable enough in terms of efficiency, but his "all-around" side pleases everyone. The fact that he was snubbed in the top five of rookies last year explains the whole problem concerning him.
Then comes Hector. Performing on both ends of the pitch from the rookie season is easy. This season, he confirms the promises observed and more than that. But having all the responsibility for a team's defense from the season sophomore, even if the Kings' defense is cheese, Hector is an elite defenseman recognized by his friends.
In reality, Hector's offensive progress is more than evident since he is only used in pick-and-roll skating. He is the second offensive initiator of the Kings behind Fox and the 3rd rebounder of all NBA so far, surpassed only by Clint Capela and Rudy Gobert, and they are the only ones with more than 13 rebounds on average. He is also in the top 10 in blocks and flights this season, which is incredible.
So much so that his impact is visible in statistics, but since he is not in a winning team and has a bad defense, he needs to have the visibility he deserves. But no one dares to say that he is overrated.
Most people would take Hector third, but since people only see the points, this is what he is debating with Barrett. But for specialists, Hector is much better.
During the road trip, the first two games of the Memphis were canceled due to COVID. A back-to-back was planned initially but had to be cancelled and postponed in the season. So the Kings flew to Orlando to challenge the Magic. The rested Kings beat the Magic, buoyed by Buddy Hield's 29 points.
This is one of the few games where Hector did not make blocks. But he's still on his standards with 20 points and 13 rebounds. De'Aaron Fox finished with a double-double, 19 points, and 10 assists.
Hector is naturally associated with Europeans and gets along very well with Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier. Both scored 51 points combined, but more was needed. Hector is multilingual and likes to speak their native language to Europeans. Giannis was surprised to see Hector speak Greek to him, just as Evan was surprised to hear him speak French. He even spoke Russian with Alex Len. Even though he is Ukrainian, he can speak Russian.
We wonder where this knowledge comes from, but Hector will never say it under penalty of ending up dissecting Area 51...
(PS: I'm going to spoil something that happens later. When needed, a South American player will revitalize the Kings and form a super duo from South America. The Kings will become "Los Reyes.")