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BasslineSpin.com December 19, 2007 ...To
date—here are the top five players by efficiency at each NBA position. One’s:
1. Steve Nash .699,
2. Chris Paul .693,
3. Jose Calderon .623,
4. Baron Davis .612,
5. Chauncey Billups .611.
The combined record for the five teams those guys play on is 79-46. Each team
has a winning record. ...Two’s: 1. Kobe Bryant .690,
2. Manu Ginobili .677,
3. Caron Butler .586,
4. Allen Iverson .572,
5. Michael Redd .563.
Combined record is 70-49. Only Redd’s Bucks are not winners. ...Three’s: 1. Lebron James .778, 2. Josh Howard .611, 3. Carmelo Anthony .555, 4. Paul Pierce .555, 5. Tracy McGrady .545. Combined record is 74–47.
James’ Cavs have a losing record—due in part to him missing games with an
injury. McGrady and the Rockets are .500 at 12-12. ...Four’s: 1. Carlos Boozer .844, 2. Kevin Garnett .768, 3. Tim Duncan .674, 4. Shawn Marion .651, 5. Dirk Nowitzki .640. Combined record is a staggering
87-36. ...Five’s: 1. Dwight Howard .785,
2. Amare Stoudemire .771,
3. Andrew Bynum .731,
4. Marcus Camby .717,
5. Yao Ming .674.
Combined record is 74-47. December 23, 2007 ...There
were some excellent games over the past few days. The Duke vs. Pitt game at
Madison Square Garden was maybe the best of the year. Pittsburgh was down 16
points with four minutes remaining in the first half - yet they responded and
won by a bucket in overtime. ...Panther freshman DeJuan Blair was outstanding. The Jason
`Maxiellish’ big man stands 6’7” but has a wingspan of 7’3”. He weighs in at
a hefty 275 lbs. Blair grabbed seemingly every rebound (he had 20 in the game
- to go with 15 points.) It was my first real look at Blair - and I liked
what I saw with the exception of his really poor defensive fundamentals. He
lost sight of the ball several times, and generally did not play with the
urgency needed. ...On the Dukie side - DeMarcus Nelson is
hard for me to gauge as far as his NBA prospects go. He is absolutely a
lock-down defender. He has NBA athleticism-plus and he is strong for a guard.
But Nelson is super inconsistent as a shooter. His free throw percentage for
his career is 57% and his Efficiency Rating is .402 (which is low for an NBA
prospect). But back to the plus side -
he takes charges, and he plays hard. He has BIG-game experience, and was well
coached for four years in college. ...I like the game of Dukie freshman Taylor King. ...The next great game was Xavier
hosting Tennessee. Bruce Pearl’s Volunteers
are a fun team to watch. They are kind of like the Golden State Warriors. He
trots out a bunch of undersized kids with heart and they play at a pace that
is faster than fast. They press, press, press; defending inbound plays better than any
team I’ve seen this season. Tennessee
won the game 82-75—winning at the Cintas Center where Xavier had won 14
straight. December 26, 2007 ...I
had the pleasure of meeting a hero the other day when I shook hands and had a
quick chat with Fat Lever. The
former Denver Nuggets guard was - along with Magic Johnson - the guy I most closely associated
with the ‘triple-double’. Lever seemed
as cool I hoped he would be. I’m thinking the NBA needs to honor Lever with a
throwback “swingman” jersey. I have a World B. Free jersey
- and certainly Lever would be among those players from the past that I and
others would enjoy acknowledging. ...Does basketball creep into a hoops
junkie’s Christmas gifts? Of course. My wife bought
me a personalized Bobcats jersey. Mom and Dad bought me basketball cards, NBA notebooks, and a
sweet Kevin Durant Nike
T-Shirt. ...I attended a buzzer-beater the other night at ARCO when the Nuggs
overthrew the Kings on a Linas Kleiza jumper.
Kleiza plays so hard he is easy to appreciate. …Among the highlights of the
game was Slamson - the
Kings mascot - holding mistletoe over Violet Palmer & Ron Olesiak. Palmer kissed Olesiak on the lips -
drawing a good hearted response from most of the 15,000 or so in attendance.
...The Bulls fired Scott Skiles.
Chicago has under-achieved this season. They need more production from Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon. I would play Joakim Noah a bunch more, and I would keep Tyrus Thomas on the floor too. Whoever coaches
Thomas needs to look past whatever mistakes he will make and just let him
play. In the end—I think you get way more positives and way more energy with
Thomas on the floor. ...How about the Blazers? Eleven in a row? Wow! |