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January
31, 2008 PART II ...Teams have obviously digested our
Efficiency Rating rankings at the halfway point : )))). Two days after
writing about the struggles of Jacque Vaughn in San
Antonio and Jeff McInnis in
Charlotte - both may have been replaced or at least shuffled aside. The Spurs
added at least .080 efficiency points by signing Damon Stoudamire. The Bobcats added Earl Boykins which is a huge lift of about .160
efficiency points.
Point Guards ,
Scoring
Guards,
Wing Forwards,
Power
Forwards,
Centers
...Kings radio play-by-play man Gary Gerould (Dad)
is a game time decision for Friday’s Kings-Hornets game. The G-Man has
pneumonia. January
31, 2008 ...Last night we attended the Kings-Bobcats game at
ARCO Arena in Sacramento. Some random thoughts… Nazr Mohammed and Othella Harrington are out of shape relative to the NBA.
...Raymond Felton’s jumper
is still pretty ugly. ...Kudos to our favorite vendor Lucy who won the annual closest to the bull's-eye peanut
toss. ...Another home game. Another no show by Air Slamson. ...The Kings finished January with
a winning record. ...Charlotte’s shiny orange uniforms are so 1990’s. ...My
morning paper says Ron Artest could
be shipped before the Feb. 21st trading deadline. My only thought is that I
hope Sac gets a young Power Forward that can ball in return. Nick Collison, David Lee, Paul Millsap, Joakim Noah, or Linas Kleiza would all work for me. January
29, 2008 ...Watched Oklahoma State at Oklahoma tonight.
Sooner freshman Power Forward Blake Griffin sits
at number eight on my “big board”. He is a
physical
specimen that rebounds outside of his area. His
free throw percentage so far is about 60% but his shot looks better than
that. He plays VERY hard. I like that. ...His shortcomings are typical of an
18 year old BIG. He has more turnovers than assists. ...Looking further into
our halfway stat audit of the NBA - we notice those below the ‘cut-off’ line
at their position. It makes sense to say that the top 60 at each spot should
be either starting or playing bench minutes. If you are not in the top 60 in
efficiency at your position—you be better have a reputation as a great
defender or you could be out of the league before you know it. Point Guards
outside the top 60 who get by on the ‘defensive pass’ are Charlie Bell, Jason Hart, Chris Duhon, Royal Ivey, and Quinton Ross. Those outside the top 60 at PG who
fit the profile of the D-League are Sebastian Telfair, Andre Owens, Chris Quinn, Jacque Vaughn, Darrell Armstrong, and Jeff McInnis. Our common sense index says it is
too early to judge Acie Law, and Marcus Williams who have struggled with injuries.
...My Halfway All NBA Teams: First Team: Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire.
Second Team: Chris Paul, Manu Ginobili, Shawn Marion, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard.
Third Team: Chauncey Billups, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, Marcus Camby. MVP:
Amare. ...Rookie of the Year: No One. ...Trying to find a rookie who has had
a positive impact is tough at the halfway point. Kevin Durant has surprisingly struggled (we think
it is because he is playing on the perimeter too much as a Shooting Guard).
The highest rated rookie at a given position is the Nets’ Sean Williams who is 20th as an NBA Center. The
only other rookies ranked in the top-30 at their positions are Joakim Noah (21st Center or 20th Power Forward),
and Thaddeus Young (28th
at Shooting Guard). ...Durant’s present EFR ranks him 37th as a Small
Forward. ...In Kings land - Sac’s highest ranked player is Kevin Martin - who is fourth at SG. So far—with a
very limited sample size - Mike Bibby is
23rd at PG, Ron Artest is
26th at SF, and Brad Miller is
16th at C. The Kings biggest problem area is Power Forward. Mikki Moore’s EFR ranks him 65th at the position.
That low number is a bit deceiving as a final verdict on Moore’s play. Mikki
takes charges which do not count as an official stat category in the EFR
formula. Plus—Moore is a good teammate who is enthusiastic and unconcerned
with his own scoring numbers. That said - Moore should be a bench player.
...The Kings bench is good. Beno Udrih is
35th at PG. I read this as Udrih being among the top-five bench PG’s in the
NBA. John Salmons rates
22nd at SG which means he is good enough to be a starter in the NBA but not
on the Kings where K-Mart holds the spot. Francisco Garcia is
tied for 31st at SF. Kenny Thomas
really hasn’t played enough but his numbers for the minutes he has played
ranked him 81st at PF. Yuck. Spencer Hawes rates
42nd at Center. January
28, 2008—part ii ...Here is how we would vote for the
All-Star Game reserves if we were NBA coaches. ...East: Chauncey Billups,
Mike Dunleavy Jr., Caron Butler, Josh Smith, Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, and
Antawn Jamison. ...WEST: Steve Nash, Manu Ginobili, Shawn Marion, Carlos
Boozer, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Paul, and Marcus Camby. January
28, 2008 ...I just finished (3:57 am) the annual halfway
Efficiency Rating rankings. This is a tedious process that I am always happy
to have behind me. But I continue to put in the work because I want to know.
I have a curiosity for numbers and which stats are actually worthy of being
paid attention to. Obviously I believe in the EFR formula as a tool that is
handy when combined with some common sense. The EFR isn’t perfect but it does
more good than harm. Virtually without fail—the highest rated players will be
on winning teams. ...One thing I have noticed over the years is how important
it is to have small forwards that can shoot an acceptable three point
percentage. ...Some players who play the THREE that I think should be playing
TWO or FOUR because they don’t shoot it well enough from deep are Gerald Wallace, Trevor Ariza, Matt Barnes, Thaddeus Young, Jamario Moon, and Thabo Sefolosha. If those guys are NOT playing the
THREE and someone who can knock down a deep shot with greater consistency IS
playing—then the floor balance for each team would be better. ...Among the
top-ten rated point guards - nine of the ten are on winning teams. Only Jason Kidd’s Nets have a losing record.
Point Guards ,
Scoring
Guards,
Wing Forwards,
Power
Forwards,
Centers January
27, 2008 ...
Send
it in Jerome! |