ORLANDO, Fla. – With the 2020 NBA Playoffs set to begin Monday, five VFLs concluded their regular-season action in the NBA’s return to play, with four former Vols earning the opportunity to compete for an NBA Championship.
Tobias Harris | Philadelphia 76ers
Final Regular-Season Stats: 72 GP, 72 GS, 19.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.2 APG, .471 FG%, .367 3FG%, 0.7 SPG, 0.6 BPG
Bubble Stats: 7 GP, 7 GS, 21.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 3.1 APG, .465 FG%, .412 3FG%, 0.7 BPG, 0.6 SPG, +4, 32.4 MPG
In Philadelphia’s final two regular-season games, Tobias Harris logged limited minutes, as the 76ers had already clinched the Eastern Conference’s No. 6 playoff seed.
In those two games, against the Raptors and the Rockets, Harris averaged just under one point-per-minute played, averaging 20.0 points in 24.5 minutes per contest.
Harris was a stat-sheet stuffer for the 76ers to conclude the regular season and will be looked upon to be a primary scorer for Philly in its first-round series against the Boston Celtics, which starts Monday night.
Josh Richardson | Philadelphia 76ers
Final Regular-Season Stats: 55 GP, 53 GS, 13.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.9 APG, .430 FG%, .341 3FG%, 0.9 SPG, 0.7 BPG
Bubble Stats: 7 GP, 7 GS, 13.1 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 2.0 APG, .444 FG%, .429 3FG%, 0.3 BPG, 1.0 SPG, -9, 31.1 MPG
Like Harris, Josh Richardson also played limited minutes in Philadelphia’s final two regular-season contests.
He notched one of his most productive seasons in the NBA this year and appears primed to be one of the 76ers’ primary options on offense as the 2020 playoffs tip off Monday.
Admiral Schofield | Washington Wizards
Final Regular-Season Stats: 33 GP, 2 GS, 3.0 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 0.5 APG, .380 FG%, .311 3FG%, 0.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Final Bubble Stats: 6 GP, 2.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 0.2 APG, .385 FG%, .333 3FG%, 0.2 BPG, 0.0 SPG, -26, 12.7 MPG
Admiral Schofield concluded his rookie season with the Washington Wizards, showing multiple bright spots while earning more consistent playing time as the season wore on.
The Wizards finished their time in the bubble with a 1-7 record.
Grant Williams | Boston Celtics
Final Regular-Season Stats: 68 GP, 5 GS, 3.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, .417 FG%, .253 3FG%, 0.4 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Bubble Stats: 7 GP, 2.7 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 0.7 APG, .368 FG%, .273 3FG%, 0.3 BPG, 0.3 SPG, -22, 10.6 MPG
Grant Williams appeared in seven of the Celtics’ eight seeding-game matchups in the bubble. In their final two contests, Williams averaged 22.5 minutes, 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds, while pulling in a season-high eight boards in Boston’s regular-season finale against Washington on Thursday.
The Celtics now face Philadelphia in a first-round series, with game one tipping off Monday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Kyle Alexander | Miami Heat
Kyle Alexander earned his first substantial minutes in the Heat’s regular-season finale against the Indiana Pacers Friday.
In that contest, Alexander scored his first career NBA points and reeled in two rebounds for his first career multi-rebound outing.
Alexander’s Heat earned the Eastern Conference’s No. 5 seed and will take on the Indiana Pacers in the first round. That series set to begin Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET on TNT.
The NBA has narrowed its field down to 16 teams with two Eastern Conference first-round matchups featuring four Tennessee basketball standouts.
#3 Boston Celtics (Williams) vs. #6 Philadelphia 76ers (Harris, Richardson)
#4 Indiana Pacers vs. #5 Miami Heat (Alexander)
VFL Team Schedules & Results
Boston Celtics
7/31 vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 119-112 Loss
8/2 vs. Portland Trail Blazers, 128-124 Win
8/4 vs. Miami Heat, 112-106 Loss
8/5 vs. Brooklyn Nets, 149-115 Win
8/7 vs. Toronto Raptors, 122-100 Win
8/9 vs. Orlando Magic, 122-119 Win
8/11 vs. Memphis Grizzlies, 122-107 Win
8/13 vs. Washington Wizards, 96-90 Loss
8/17 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, Gm. 1 6:30 p.m. ET ESPN
8/19 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, Gm. 2 6:30 p.m. ET TNT
8/21 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, Gm. 3 6:30 p.m. ET TNT
8/23 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, Gm. 4 1 p.m. ET ABC
8/25 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, if necessary Gm. 5 TBD
8/27 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, if necessary Gm. 6 TBD ESPN
8/29 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, if necessary Gm. 7 TBD TNT
Philadelphia 76ers
8/1 vs. Indiana Pacers, 127-121 Loss
8/3 vs. San Antonio Spurs, 132-130 Win
8/5 vs. Washington Wizards, 107-98 Win
8/7 vs. Orlando Magic, 108-101 Win
8/9 vs. Portland Trailblazers, 124-121 Loss
8/11 vs. Phoenix Suns, 130-117 Loss
8/12 vs. Toronto Raptors, 125-121 Loss
8/14 vs. Houston Rockets, 134-96 Win
8/17 vs. Boston Celtics, Gm. 1 6:30 p.m. ET ESPN
8/19 vs. Boston Celtics, Gm. 2 6:30 p.m. ET TNT
8/21 vs. Boston Celtics, Gm. 3 6:30 p.m. ET TNT
8/23 vs. Boston Celtics, Gm. 4 1 p.m. ET ABC
8/25 vs. Boston Celtics, if necessary Gm. 5 TBD
8/27 vs. Boston Celtics, if necessary Gm. 6 TBD ESPN
8/29 vs. Boston Celtics, if necessary Gm. 7 TBD TNT
Washington Wizards
7/31 vs. Phoenix Suns, 125-112 Loss
8/2 vs. Brooklyn Nets, 118-110 Loss
8/3 vs. Indiana Pacers, 111-100 Loss
8/5 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 107-98 Loss
8/7 vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 118-107 Loss
8/9 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 121-103 Loss
8/11 vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 126-113 Loss
8/13 vs. Boston Celtics, 96-90 Win
Miami Heat
8/1 vs. Denver Nuggets, 125-105 Win
8/3 vs. Toronto Raptors, 107-103 Loss
8/4 vs. Boston Celtics, 112-106 Win
8/6 vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 130-116 Loss
8/8 vs. Phoenix Suns, 119-112 Loss
8/10 vs. Indiana Pacers, 114-92 Win
8/12 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-115 Loss
8/14 vs. Indiana Pacers, 109-92 Loss
8/18 vs. Indiana Pacers, Gm. 1 4 p.m. ET TNT
8/20 vs. Indiana Pacers, Gm. 2 1 p.m. ET ESPN
8/22 vs. Indiana Pacers, Gm. 3 3:30 p.m. ET TNT
8/24 vs. Indiana Pacers, Gm. 4 6:30 p.m. ET TNT
8/26 vs. Indiana Pacers, if necessary Gm. 5 TBD
8/28 vs. Indiana Pacers, if necessary Gm. 6 TBD
8/30 vs. Indiana Pacers, if necessary Gm. 7 TBD
