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After getting some feedback on the Fantasy Projections download, we'll be tweaking things a little. First off, most of you feel like a Monday through Sunday window would be a better fit for most fantasy leagues. Here's what we're going to do: We're going to upload it daily. Each day, you can go in a grab the new sheet, and it will cover next the seven days. The sheet will be re-written each day, so you'll have to be sure to download it on the day you need it, though I will add tabs to archive the previous three days' worth of forecasts. There will be one day lag. For example, the sheet I upload on Sunday will cover the following Monday through the next Sunday.
Also, I should have the playing time grid ready by the end of the week, so the numbers will reflect probable player usage for the week, including injuries and latest transactions. This will not be a perfect science--just to be clear. There are many times when you read about a player being almost certainly out of action, then he plays and does just fine. Then you have guys with nagging issues that aren't ever reported, then suddenly they sit out a game. I will err on the side of caution. Unless I read a definitive statement that a player is going to miss X amount of games, I will assume he's going to play. Sometimes, I'll be wrong.
Once these depth charts are finished, then there will be a "Base Position" column added to the sheet, which will reflect his most likely current position. It will not reflect his overall positional eligibility for your league. That will be up to you.
Finally, I will be adding a second tab to the sheet which will include all the single-game projections for each player for the seven-day window, with one game per line. Hopefully, this will all be up and running by the end of the week, and I'll alert you when it's ready. If you have any other suggestions or questions, please don't hesitate to drop me a line by clicking on the e-mail link at the end of this article.
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FANTASY PROJECTIONS
This week's first downloadable fantasy projection spreadsheet is available for anyone that has at least a free basic subscription to Prospectus. If you don't have one, just go here and register. As I say, this one is free, but to get further updates, you'll need a subscription to Basketball Prospectus Premium. Once you're registered, the sheet will be available on your 'Manage Profile' page.
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LIVE AT BASKETBALL PROSPECTUS
1. In the latest Poll Position, John Gasaway looks at North Carolina's issues on offense. (premium)
2. What does Utah's propensity for comeback wins foretell? Kevin Pelton has the answers. (premium)
3. Asher Fusco says that college basketball's version of the perfect game happens more often than you'd think. (premium)
4. Kevin Pelton's latest Trend Watch has items on the Nuggets' offense, Kris Humphries and this year's surprise rookies. (premium)
5. In his Prospectus debut, Sebastian Pruiti has a video analysis of Raymond Felton's problems in the pick-and-roll. (Free preview)
6. Bradford Doolittle breaks down this weekend's five-player trade between the Hornets and the Raptors. (premium)
7. Our own Asher Fusco was at Madison Square Garden, covering the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, featuring luminaries Texas, Maryland, Pittsburgh and Illinois. (premium)
8. Kevin Pelton got a first-hand glimpse of John Calipari's new-look Kentucky squad. (premium)
9. Should ESPN's early-season hoops marathon actually kick off the campaign? (premium)
10. Bradford Doolittle offers an early glimpse of Missouri's revamped roster. (Unfiltered)
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HOT FIVES
POWER RATING (POW) GR (11/21/10) WP82 -- ALL WP82 -- ROOKIES
spurs,sanantonio, 63.5 anthony,carmelo, 44.8 james,lebron, 25.8 griffin,blake, 11.2
celtics,boston, 62.4 ginobili,manu, 33.9 williams,deron, 24.2 wall,john, 8.5
hornets,neworleans, 59.4 westbrook,russell, 32.0 bryant,kobe, 22.3 bledsoe,eric, 5.0
bulls,chicago, 56.8 durant,kevin, 30.3 durant,kevin, 20.5 cousins,demarcus, 3.1
lakers,losangeles, 55.5 gordon,eric, 29.9 anthony,carmelo, 20.4 turner,evan, 3.1
Note: GR leaders are from previous night only.
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MONDAY'S BOX SCORES & RECAPS
NOTE: Glossary is at bottom of page.
CELTICS 99, HAWKS 76 (box): The Hawks' 6-0 start against a soft early schedule managed to get a lot of people excited, but Atlanta has dropped back to the pack with a resounding thud. The Hawks have dropped six of eight games. What's worse is that five of those losses have come at Philips Arena. The Celtics hit Atlanta with a blitzkrieg on Monday, starting the game with one of the more dominant quarters you're ever going to see. The Celtics led 39-13 after the opening period, led by as many as 27 points, and never trailed en route to a wire-to-wire victory. Boston shot 18-of-25 in the first quarter, the Hawks managed just 4-of-17. Other first quarter nuggets: The Celtics outscored Atlanta 20-0 in the paint, 7-0 on second-chance points and 7-0 on fastbreaks. Boston outrebounded Atlanta 16-3 and had 12 assists to the Hawks' three. Sheer domination. Josh Smith had two points--none from the field--in 22 minutes in his head-to-head matchup with Kevin Garnett.
BOS (10-4) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR ATL (8-6) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
garnett,kevin 50% 26% 1.66 +32 27.3 crawford,jordan 47% 32% 0.98 +13 14.4
o'neal,shaquille 44% 23% 1.55 +26 20.2 crawford,jamal 65% 17% 1.32 - 3 11.9
pierce,paul 56% 18% 1.22 +35 16.4 powell,josh 53% 13% 1.29 - 2 10.9
robinson,nate 63% 15% 2.43 +26 14.2 johnson,joe 49% 23% 0.89 -34 10.8
allen,ray 54% 18% 1.15 +33 11.0 bibby,mike 42% 18% 1.54 -25 8.3
davis,glen 52% 23% 0.55 - 2 4.9 collins,jason 23% 19% 1.21 + 6 7.2
west,delonte 40% 23% 0.90 - 1 4.6 evans,maurice 43% 18% 0.70 - 3 6.5
erden,semih 40% 11% 0.73 - 6 4.3 teague,jeff 21% 24% 1.15 + 3 6.1
wafer,von 30% 15% 1.04 - 8 3.7 horford,al 57% 21% 0.60 -25 5.0
daniels,marquis 44% 15% 0.82 -12 3.6 williams,marvin 35% 16% 0.53 -20 3.5
bradley,avery 13% 40% 0.57 - 4 1.7 smith,josh 46% 12% 0.33 -20 1.3
harangody,luke 13% 24% 0.73 - 4 1.2 pachulia,zaza 21% 29% 0.10 - 5 0.9
PACE: 87.6 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 87.6 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
celtics,boston 113.1 .567 .313 .194 .090 hawks,atlanta 86.8 .383 .167 .137 .085
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PACERS 93, HEAT 77 (box): This score was shocking only in how it really didn't feel shocking. Indiana enjoyed a big second quarter, led by as many as 18 points, and were never seriously challenged in the second half. All of Miami's warts were festering. Lack of shooting? The Heat were 4-of-20 on threes. Lack of rebounding and interior defense? Indiana grabbed 12-of-45 offensive boards, while the Heat got just 6-of-42. Also, Indiana outscored the Heat 38-19 in the paint. Lack of quality depth? Indiana's bench outscored Miami's 40-4. The Heat looked old and unenergetic for much of the game, which sort of underscores my point in the preseason of how Pat Riley erred by stocking his bench with so many retreads. Dwyane Wade was back in the lineup for Miami, but perhaps he shouldn't have been. Wade scored three points on 1-of-13 shooting and spent a lot of time in the second half standing in the corner, watching LeBron James work. The Heat are floundering and it's not going to get any easier. Next up: At Orlando on Wednesday.
IND (6-6) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR MIA (8-6) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
rush,brandon 79% 20% 1.25 +17 24.2 bosh,chris 81% 26% 0.92 -22 25.9
granger,danny 81% 30% 1.08 - 3 22.3 james,lebron 87% 31% 0.97 - 1 17.9
ford,t.j. 55% 19% 1.51 +26 19.5 ilgauskas,zydrunas 46% 25% 1.10 - 7 15.7
dunleavy jr.,mike 36% 23% 1.30 +16 12.7 arroyo,carlos 52% 14% 1.54 0 15.6
posey,james 47% 17% 1.12 +15 6.5 wade,dwyane 78% 26% 0.36 -18 4.4
hibbert,roy 45% 26% 0.69 - 8 4.1 magloire,jamaal 32% 7% 1.69 - 9 2.9
jones,solomon 43% 11% 1.15 +21 4.0 howard,juwan 32% 2% 1.88 + 6 1.1
collison,darren 45% 20% 0.65 -10 3.2 house,eddie 48% 11% 0.12 -16 0.4
hansbrough,tyler 14% 12% 1.53 + 5 2.7 jones,james 44% 6% 0.00 -13 0.0
mcroberts,josh 54% 7% 0.71 + 1 2.0 anthony,joel (DNP)
george,paul (DNP) chalmers,mario (DNP)
jones,dahntay (DNP) stackhouse,jerry (DNP)
PACE: 91.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 91.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
pacers,indiana 101.2 .456 .267 .141 .062 heat,miami 83.8 .419 .143 .239 .182
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THUNDER 117, TIMBERWOLVES 107 (box): The Thunder welcomed starting forwards Kevin Durant and Jeff Green back to the lineup, and both enjoyed big nights. Minnesota got good performances from its starting frontcourt, which continues to coalesce into an interesting offensive unit. And, yes, that includes Darko Milicic, who scored 21 points in his third straight solid outing. The Timberwolves led 105-104 after a Kevin Love layup with 1:20 to play, but the Thunder scored 12 points from the line to close out the game. Oklahoma City enjoyed a 32-11 scoring advantage from the charity stripe, and its overall offensive flow was much better, with 29 assists on 40 made field goals.
MIN (4-11) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR OKC (10-4) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
ridnour,luke 67% 22% 1.25 +13 24.4 westbrook,russell 75% 30% 1.10 +24 32.0
love,kevin 79% 21% 1.63 -25 24.3 durant,kevin 84% 30% 1.03 +20 30.3
beasley,michael 76% 31% 0.59 -20 16.1 sefolosha,thabo 76% 11% 1.63 + 8 15.1
milicic,darko 75% 19% 1.19 - 1 14.1 green,jeff 81% 20% 1.31 +18 13.8
brewer,corey 35% 26% 1.20 + 8 12.5 harden,james 38% 14% 1.21 - 6 8.5
tolliver,anthony 67% 13% 1.05 + 1 10.1 ibaka,serge 40% 20% 0.94 + 1 7.7
johnson,wesley 52% 12% 0.94 - 6 4.9 krstic,nenad 45% 14% 1.32 +11 4.6
telfair,sebastian 33% 6% 1.29 -23 3.1 collison,nick 36% 10% 1.01 -12 4.6
ellington,wayne 15% 4% 0.00 + 3 0.0 maynor,eric 25% 6% 2.86 -14 3.0
hayward,lazar (DNP) ivey,royal (DNP)
koufos,kosta (DNP) mullens,byron (DNP)
gaines,sundiata (DNP) white,d.j. (DNP)
PACE: 97.7 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 97.7 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
timberwolves,minn 109.5 .545 .250 .184 .072 thunder,oklacity 119.7 .582 .152 .164 .180
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SUNS 123, ROCKETS 116 (box): Steve Nash was back in the lineup and all is again well in the Valley of the Sun. Nash had 24 points and nine assists, and Phoenix shot 7-of-13 from three-point range. (Houston was 6-of-26.) Houston mounted a fourth quarter rally with its second unit, as Brad Miller and Chase Budinger scored 10 points apiece in the final period. Houston closed within 113-108 on Kevin Martin's layup, but Martin missed a free throw that would have completed a second straight three-point trip for the Rockets, then the Suns closed out the win with a free throw parade. Phoenix snapped a three-game skid, while the Rockets dropped their fourth in a row in what is shaping up as a long season in Houston.
PHX (7-7) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR HOU (3-10) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
richardson,jason 69% 23% 1.29 +10 28.7 lee,courtney 42% 31% 1.18 + 4 19.0
turkoglu,hedo 79% 15% 1.32 + 1 21.5 lowry,kyle 67% 13% 1.87 -15 17.0
nash,steve 78% 27% 1.11 +13 20.1 scola,luis 60% 28% 0.87 -13 14.5
hill,grant 80% 16% 1.48 +13 16.7 martin,kevin 59% 23% 1.13 -11 13.7
childress,josh 32% 25% 1.08 0 12.0 miller,brad 43% 14% 2.15 + 6 12.4
frye,channing 72% 13% 1.24 + 3 10.4 hill,jordan 46% 19% 1.38 + 1 10.5
warrick,hakim 37% 30% 0.80 + 4 7.5 battier,shane 60% 20% 1.00 -13 10.3
dragic,goran 22% 14% 1.15 - 6 5.2 hayes,chuck 50% 15% 1.30 - 8 9.0
dudley,jared 31% 14% 0.87 - 3 3.3 smith,ishmael 33% 11% 1.29 + 8 7.5
barron,earl (DNP) budinger,chase 40% 18% 0.88 + 6 4.4
clark,earl (DNP) jeffries,jared (DNP)
siler,garret (DNP) taylor,jermaine (DNP)
PACE: 98.1 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 98.1 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
suns,phoenix 125.4 .583 .154 .122 .170 rockets,houston 118.3 .520 .400 .153 .067
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SPURS 106, MAGIC 97 (box): The argument about who the NBA's best closer may be has always struck me as an overly abstract notion. But if you want to go there, then I don't see how you can argue with Kobe Bryant. However, I'm not so sure that Manu Ginobili is too far behind. The guy just doesn't seem to miss clutch shots. (This is all anecdotal, of course.) Against Orlando, Ginobili scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from the field, with one three-pointer, and 3-of-3 from the line. The Spurs outscored Orlando 32-20 and shot 5-of-5 on threes in the final period, winning their 11th game in a row. Perhaps most importantly, the win bumps the Spurs into the top spot of the Hoops List.
ORL (9-4) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR SAS (12-1) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
howard,dwight 85% 24% 1.36 - 4 24.1 ginobili,manu 72% 32% 1.29 + 6 33.9
redick,j.j. 51% 23% 1.14 - 2 19.4 parker,tony 75% 27% 1.41 +14 27.0
lewis,rashard 80% 14% 1.23 - 4 17.7 bonner,matt 76% 11% 1.97 +10 16.5
nelson,jameer 61% 29% 0.89 - 8 11.0 jefferson,richard 72% 11% 1.17 + 8 12.9
pietrus,mickael 55% 9% 1.88 - 5 8.7 duncan,tim 59% 22% 1.16 + 8 12.1
richardson,quentin 54% 12% 0.74 - 7 7.0 hill,george 62% 19% 0.84 + 1 6.3
duhon,chris 39% 16% 1.01 - 1 6.5 mcdyess,antonio 41% 17% 0.90 + 3 5.2
bass,brandon 25% 36% 0.39 - 7 5.0 blair,dejuan 20% 19% 0.59 0 2.1
carter,vince 35% 24% 0.76 - 4 4.4 neal,gary 23% 8% 0.00 - 3 0.0
gortat,marcin 15% 5% 3.21 - 5 2.4 splitter,tiago (DNP)
anderson,ryan 0% 303% 0.00 + 2 0.0 green,danny (DNP)
williams,jason (DNP) quinn,chris (DNP)
PACE: 91.3 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 91.3 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
magic,orlando 106.2 .544 .176 .175 .067 spurs,sanantonio 116.1 .571 .081 .109 .111
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JAZZ 94, KINGS 83 (box): The Utah second unit continues to play well despite some flux. Jerry Sloan has apparently answered the "Who is Deron Williams' backup?" question by not choosing. Earl Watson and Ronnie Price have been playing together for many of their minutes, and it's been working fine. It's an undersized configuration, but they actually complement each other pretty well. Price is a better catch-and-shoot player and is more explosive in the open floor. Watson plays more under control and is a better ball distributor. With rookie Gordon Hayward proving not to be ready for prime time, this is the best the Jazz can do right now. In any event, the reserve core has been sparked by athletic wing C.J. Miles, who topped 20 points for the second straight game.
SAC (4-9) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR UTA (10-5) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
cousins,demarcus 60% 31% 0.93 - 8 23.9 jefferson,al 73% 29% 0.95 + 5 27.7
evans,tyreke 63% 26% 0.79 -16 13.9 williams,deron 71% 27% 0.89 + 4 16.4
landry,carl 51% 28% 0.75 - 6 12.0 miles,c.j. 50% 30% 1.42 + 7 14.2
head,luther 54% 18% 1.07 - 4 11.5 millsap,paul 66% 18% 1.04 + 7 11.7
greene,donte 48% 21% 0.91 + 8 7.7 kirilenko,andrei 50% 17% 1.18 + 4 9.4
jeter,pooh 25% 9% 2.26 +11 7.3 price,ronnie 26% 18% 1.56 +10 8.0
casspi,omri 30% 17% 1.80 -10 5.6 bell,raja 65% 4% 2.14 +10 7.8
garcia,francisco 35% 8% 2.23 -13 4.0 watson,earl 29% 13% 1.07 + 7 6.5
thompson,jason 32% 19% 0.86 + 3 3.3 elson,francisco 28% 5% 2.99 + 1 4.7
dalembert,samuel 48% 7% 1.25 - 5 2.9 fesenko,kyrylo 30% 24% 0.18 +13 1.0
udrih,beno 38% 20% 0.50 -14 2.7 hayward,gordon 9% 12% 0.00 - 9 0.0
jackson,darnell 16% 3% 0.00 - 1 0.0 evans,jeremy (DNP)
PACE: 87.6 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 87.6 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
kings,sacramento 94.8 .389 .348 .183 .136 jazz,utah 107.4 .467 .209 .091 .166
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NUGGETS 106, WARRIORS 89 (box): Right now, the Warriors just seem to be finding ways to lose games. Against Denver, Golden State shot just 40.2 percent from the field and 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) from three-point range. Still, the Warriors only trailed by four midway through the fourth quarter before Denver closed the game on a 20-7 run. Overall, the Nuggets outscored the Warriors 55-37 in the second half, with Carmelo Anthony getting 22 of his 39 points after the break. Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry combined to shoot 5-of-19 for Golden State, which has lost five of six since David Lee went down with an elbow injury.
DEN (8-6) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR GSW (7-7) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
anthony,carmelo 76% 46% 1.11 +11 44.8 carney,rodney 41% 26% 1.36 - 8 20.4
harrington,al 72% 17% 1.94 +19 27.6 williams,reggie 63% 25% 0.87 -12 19.6
afflalo,arron 82% 17% 1.32 +15 15.5 curry,stephen 85% 26% 0.91 -19 15.1
lawson,ty 69% 16% 1.49 +17 14.0 ellis,monta 86% 28% 0.91 -15 14.6
hilario,nenê 62% 11% 1.31 +22 6.2 biedrins,andris 58% 8% 1.88 -16 13.1
andersen,chris 38% 9% 1.78 - 5 4.7 gadzuric,dan 68% 14% 0.98 -13 10.9
smith,j.r. 34% 22% 0.51 + 9 1.9 lin,jeremy 29% 8% 1.58 0 3.4
carter,anthony 31% 15% 0.37 0 1.5 wright,dorell 64% 11% 0.43 - 5 1.8
williams,shelden 28% 9% 0.90 + 1 1.4 adrien,jeff 7% 13% 0.00 + 3 0.0
forbes,gary 8% 11% 0.31 - 4 0.2 bell,charlie (DNP)
balkman,renaldo (DNP) radmanovic,vladimir (DNP)
ely,melvin (DNP) wright,brandan (DNP)
PACE: 90.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 90.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
nuggets,denver 117.8 .547 .263 .189 .127 warriors,goldenst 98.9 .437 .213 .111 .078
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CLIPPERS 99, HORNETS 95 (box): The Clippers win! The Clippers win! The Clippers win! I'll admit that I have an unrealistic affinity for young basketball teams. Unrealistic in that if I spy the makings of a young core that can grow together, I want to brush the veterans out of the way and let the kids roll. That's pretty much what's worked so well for Oklahoma City, but usually coaches try to keep a veteran presence in their lineup. Nevertheless, it thrilled me that the Clippers picked up their second victory of the season--and handed the Hornets their second loss--by starting Blake Griffin (seasonal age of 22.1), Eric Gordon (22.3), DeAndre Jordan (22.8), Al-Farouq Aminu (20.6) and Eric Bledsoe (21.4). That's an average of 21.8 years of age. Now, the Clippers have some veterans on their roster and in their rotation. However, just going by that average age for the starting lineup, you'd have to think there are some mid-major college programs out there with older lineups.
NWO (11-2) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR LAC (2-13) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
west,david 75% 37% 1.08 - 6 24.6 gordon,eric 77% 29% 1.20 + 7 29.9
paul,chris 67% 24% 1.19 - 2 21.3 aminu,alfarouq 76% 20% 1.09 + 7 18.5
jack,jarrett 34% 35% 1.05 - 3 21.0 jordan,deandre 67% 16% 1.14 + 6 16.9
belinelli,marco 82% 18% 0.87 - 4 11.4 griffin,blake 80% 29% 1.13 +10 15.5
ariza,trevor 77% 17% 0.81 -11 11.0 cook,brian 24% 24% 1.09 - 2 8.7
green,willie 38% 17% 0.90 + 4 10.1 bledsoe,eric 48% 13% 1.33 - 4 8.1
okafor,emeka 71% 5% 1.64 + 8 4.8 warren,willie 23% 6% 3.15 + 4 4.1
pondexter,quincy 13% 6% 2.40 + 1 1.6 smith,craig 28% 8% 1.20 - 7 4.0
smith,jason 29% 5% 0.99 - 8 1.3 gomes,ryan 29% 8% 2.01 + 2 3.3
ilungambenga,didier 11% 10% 0.40 + 6 0.4 butler,rasual 23% 21% 0.52 - 4 2.4
mensahbonsu,pops 3% 41% 0.00 - 5 0.0 foye,randy 23% 13% 0.46 + 1 0.9
thornton,marcus (DNP) collins,jarron (DNP)
PACE: 88.4 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 88.4 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
hornets,neworleans 107.5 .513 .225 .158 .115 clippers,losangele 112.0 .547 .279 .147 .169
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NEWS & MOVES
Minutiae from around the league
NBA: "The New York Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire and the Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively for games played Monday, Nov. 15, through Sunday, Nov. 21." (source)
Wrong answers! I stumped for Stephen Jackson for the Eastern Conference award yesterday and, at that point, I hadn't even looked at the weekly GR data. Since he played three games and all of his GR scores were in the top 10 single-game results for the week, I thought Jackson was a safe bet. Sure enough, Jackson led the conference in both total and average GR last week. Danilo Gallinari came in second in total GR, while Derrick Rose, who won the award last week, came in second in terms of average. Stoudemire not only finished behind those three, but also behind Raymond Felton, Andrea Bargnani and LeBron James. Yes--Amar'e finished third on his own team. As for Westbrook, he ranked behind Kobe Bryant, who should have won the award, Eric Gordon, Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Paul in total GR for the Western Conference. I know these awards mean next to nothing and are quickly forgotten, but I've got the data processed, so I don't think using one paragraph a week to complain is overkill. You do get a sense when looking at the weekly winners of how voters quickly default to scoring average. Stoudemire averaged 29.0 points last week. Funny thing is--he didn't lead the East. Rose averaged 29.3. Apparently voters looked at that and thought, 'Well, we gave it to Rose last week, so ...' Westbrook was probably more recognized for the Thunder's big road wins in Boston and Milwaukee over the weekend, games which Kevin Durant sat out with injury. And, really, that's a defensible position.
HEAT: "The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed free agent center Erick Dampier. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed." (press release)
Well, they had to do something, and if Dampier is in shape, he'll move quickly into the starting lineup. Dampier doesn't do much to help Miami's problem of having too many old players, but he puts up 12+ rebounds per 40 minutes like clockwork, numbers which the Heat can definitely use.
RAPTORS: "The Toronto Raptors announced Monday rookie forward Ed Davis will participate with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League for a short-term rehabilitation and conditioning stint. Davis sustained a meniscus tear in his right knee prior to the start of training camp and has been cleared to resume game action. He will continue to be included on the Raptors roster, but will be placed on the team's inactive list." (press release)
We've written about how the Raptors are in the mode of collecting young pieces. Davis is a potentially crucial piece, and it'll be interesting to see him in action.
SPURS: "The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have waived guard/forward Danny Green. Green was signed by the Spurs on November 17 and appeared in two games, averaging 3.0 points in 4.5 minutes. The Spurs roster now stands at 12." (press release)
Guess they didn't like what they say in Green. This (I think) buys the Spurs a couple of weeks before they have to get up to the league minimum of 13 players, but they didn't waste any time when they dropped to 12 players last week, so we'll see what happens. They have the same roster quandary as they had when Green was signed--there is no true three to back up Richard Jefferson, though Gary Neal can fill the position just fine. These guys have won 11 in a row, so does any of this really make a difference?
THUNDER: "The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed forward Nick Collison to a multi-year contract extension, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, the terms of the agreement were not disclosed." (press release)
Haven't been able to track down terms, so we'll pass those along tomorrow. Collison's numbers are down a bit this year, and he's now on the wrong side of 30 years of age. So this does represent a little bit of a leap of faith by Presti.
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FAB FIVE
A selection of our favorite NBA links
1. Kelly Dwyer says there definitely will be a lockout.
2. And if there is a lockout, Derek Fisher is imploring players to save some money.
3. The Kings have underachieved, to say the least, and now there is some frustration being expressed.
4. A sad day: The Spectrum in being torn down in Philly. Home of Dr. J. Where Rocky almost shocked the world.
5. Bad vibes from Atlanta, where Larry Drew is questioning his players' commitment.
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ON TAP
Tonight in the NBA
WTC VIS @ HOM, GAMETIME NBAPET LINE OFFICIALS
+17 chi @ lal, 10:30 PM EST [ lal by 10 ] Marc Davis, Eric Dalen, Tom Washington
+ 8 cha @ nyk, 7:30 PM EST [ nyk by 4 ] Derrick Stafford, Kane Fitzgerald, Leroy Richardson
- 1 atl @ njn, 7:00 PM EST [ atl by 3 ] Ed Malloy, Kevin Fehr, Mark Lindsay
- 2 det @ dal, 8:30 PM EST [ dal by 15 ] Monty McCutchen, Marat Kogut, Leon Wood
- 4 cle @ ind, 7:00 PM EST [ ind by 12 ] Steve Javie, Eli Roe, Zach Zarba
- 6 phi @ was, 7:00 PM EST [ phi by 1 ] Dan Crawford, Tony Brothers, Haywoode Workman
Note: WTC is a junk stat rating the "watchability" of a game, taking into
account the quality of the opponents and the likelihood of a close game.
Through Monday, 193 of 1,230 games (15.7%) have been played in the 2010-11 NBA regular season.
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GLOSSARY
+/- (Plus-Minus) Raw data is from official box scores from NBA.com.
GR (Game Rating) Reflects a player's Points Created total, or the portion of his team's offense for which he gets credit based on his box score line. This number is then adjusted for estimated defensive performance based on box score counterpart productivity. GR is pace-adjusted so you can compare players from game to game.
PCP (Points Created Per Possession Used) An estimate of each player's points created per possession used, a measure of offensive efficiency. The stat accounts for a player's entire box score line, not just the scoring categories.
PLY% (Play percentage) An estimate of the percentage of a team's possessions on which the player was on the court.
USG An estimate of how many of those plays a player used by shooting, going to the line or committing a turnover, with a portion the team's offensive rebound total subtracted.
TEAM STATS
PACE: Estimated possessions in the game.
ORTG: A team's points per 100 possessions.
eFG%: Team's shooting percentage with an extra half-point added for each made three-point field goal.
oRB%: Percentage of a team's misses that they retrieved off the offensive glass.
TO%: Percentage of at team's possessions resulting in a turnover.
FTA%: Percentage of a team's possessions resulting in a trip to the foul line.
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The 2010-11 Pro Basketball Prospectus is now available in paperback form on Amazon.com. For sample chapters and more information, see our book page.
Bradford Doolittle is an author of Basketball Prospectus.
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