8. Gorgui Dieng (9)
Season stats: 17.9 MPG – 6.2 PPG – 4.8 RPG – 0.3 BPG – 47.7% FG – 27.6% 3PT – 77.6% FT
Weekly stats: 19.9 MPG – 6.7 PPG – 6.0 RPG – 0.7 BPG – 38.5% FG – 60% 3PT – 87.5% FT
Last week was a tough one for Gorgui Dieng.
He hit rock bottom in the power rankings for the first time all season, after projecting to be one of the better backup big men in the league. This week was a slightly different story, however, as the 6-foot-11 center showed signs of life, moving his way up the Minnesota all-time leaderboards while he was at it.
He has struggled with his shot blocking this season, but Iron G’s two blocks against the Suns moved him past former wolf Rasho Nesterovic in the franchise record books with his 374th and 375th swats.
The Senegalese giant also showed he can still actually nail the 3-point shot that he flashed promising signs of last season, burying three of his five attempts this week.
Gorgui Dieng drills the three 👌
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) December 24, 2017
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It wasn’t all good this week for Dieng though, as his mid-range and post-game virtually disappeared, leaving him with a ghastly 38.5 percent field goal percentage over the three games.
The highlight of the week for the big man was certainly the aforementioned Phoenix game, where he dropped 10 points and pulled down 7 important rebounds.
With his shot blocking and long-range shooting starting to fire, Iron G will need to improve his inside game to continue climbing the power rankings ladder.