November 30, 2011
Sim Season
Regular Season Wrap

by Bradford Doolittle

When last we talked, the Miami Heat were 9-1, the Orlando Magic had won eight straight and the Washington Wizards appeared to be historically bad. That was last week, the day after Thanksgiving, when as it happens, the NBA solved its labor dispute and we had to return to the real world. Or at least basketball's version of it.

Over the last few days, our friends at Strat-O-Matic have been putting a bow on Sim Season and today we bring you the final results. As I mentioned last time out, it's not realistic to code up over 1,000 box scores, so you won't get that level of detail. Also, I won't be able to offer you the full suite of Basketball Prospectus' performance metrics, but I will give you a version of the final standings that include team efficiencies. We'll also have a final leaderboard. (Note: My attempt to post a long scroll with the team-by-team stats did not go over well with our article publishing machinery. Final team by team stats can be found here.)

So what happened? Here's a few highlights:

• The Heat finished first in the East, edging the Bulls by a single game. The last time they met was in Chicago on April 12. LeBron James scored 39 points as the Heat won 102-94. On the last day of the regular season, Chicago won at New Jersey, but Miami held off the 76ers at home to clinch the top seed.
• In the West, the resurgent Lakers won going away, finishing with a six-game bulge over Dallas and with the top overall record in the NBA.
• The Magic came back to the pack in a big way, ending up 45-37 and the fifth seed in the East.
• Denver was the hottest team in the early going and played well all season, but was edged out by Oklahoma City for the Northwest Division title.
Kevin Durant averaged 30.5 points per game, easily outdistancing Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant for the league's scoring title. Kevin Love led the league in rebounding. Steve Nash was the top assist man.
• The Kings and Raptors tied for the league's worst record at 22-60. Those Wizards who started so poorly ended up winning 30 games.
• The most disappointing team? Gotta go with the Hornets, who slipped six games under .500 and finished last in the Southwest.
• Most surprising? Well, remember how excited I was about the Timberwolves? Well, Minnesota won 37 games, a 20-game improvement over last season, and just missed sneaking into the Western Conference playoffs. Dang.
Andrea Bargnani scored an NBA season-high 61 points on Feb. 1 against the Celtics. No, really.

Stayed tuned over the next few days, when I'll be revealing round-by-round results of the postseason. We'll crown a Sim Season champion on Dec. 8, the day before camps open in the NBA the player movement frenzy begins.

Through last night, we've played 1,230 games, or 240 more than the NBA will, as part of Sim Season, our Strat-O-Matic simulation of the locked out 2011-12 season. Watch for the #simseason hashtag.

Follow me on Twitter for Sim Season updates.

FINAL STANDINGS

EAST                     W   L   PCT    PT_DIFF      TEMPO     OFF RTG     DEF RTG
Miami Heat              60  22  .732  + 8.9 ( 2)  87.2 (29)  116.8 ( 4)  105.1 (27)
Chicago Bulls           59  23  .720  +10.3 ( 1)  87.5 (28)  113.6 ( 9)  102.2 (30)
Boston Celtics          55  27  .671  + 5.9 ( 7)  88.9 (21)  109.9 (18)  103.4 (29)
New York Knicks         46  36  .561  - 0.5 (14)  90.1 (12)  114.3 ( 7)  113.7 ( 8)
Orlando Magic           45  37  .549  + 5.1 ( 8)  89.7 (15)  113.5 (10)  108.7 (24)
Indiana Pacers          44  38  .537  + 0.7 (12)  91.9 ( 7)  112.2 (12)  110.1 (22)
Atlanta Hawks           40  42  .488  - 1.1 (16)  89.2 (17)  108.7 (23)  111.5 (15)
Charlotte Bobcats       38  44  .463  - 2.7 (19)  87.6 (27)  108.8 (22)  111.8 (14)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philadelphia 76ers      36  46  .439  - 1.1 (16)  90.1 (13)  109.7 (19)  109.7 (23)
Milwaukee Bucks         35  47  .427  - 3.3 (20)  89.1 (19)  101.0 (30)  104.2 (28)
Washington Wizards      30  52  .366  - 5.6 (26)  91.0 (10)  104.8 (28)  111.2 (16)
Cleveland Cavaliers     28  54  .341  - 7.0 (28)  88.5 (22)  107.7 (26)  115.4 ( 2)
New Jersey Nets         26  56  .317  - 4.9 (25)  90.6 (11)  107.7 (25)  113.2 (10)
Detroit Pistons         24  58  .293  - 5.6 (26)  86.2 (30)  109.5 (21)  113.8 ( 7)
Toronto Raptors         22  60  .268  - 8.1 (29)  87.6 (26)  105.8 (27)  114.5 ( 4)
==================================================================================
WEST                     W   L   PCT    PT_DIFF      TEMPO     OFF RTG     DEF RTG
Los Angeles Lakers      63  19  .768  + 8.2 ( 3)  91.4 ( 8)  116.8 ( 3)  108.3 (26)
Dallas Mavericks        57  25  .695  + 7.3 ( 4)  88.4 (23)  114.9 ( 6)  108.3 (25)
Oklahoma City Thunder   56  26  .683  + 6.2 ( 6)  89.1 (20)  117.5 ( 2)  110.3 (21)
Denver Nuggets          55  27  .671  + 6.4 ( 5)  91.3 ( 9)  119.7 ( 1)  111.2 (17)
San Antonio Spurs       55  27  .671  + 4.5 ( 9)  89.2 (18)  116.5 ( 5)  111.1 (18)
Houston Rockets         45  37  .549  + 1.5 (11)  92.6 ( 6)  114.2 ( 8)  112.1 (12)
Portland Trail Blazers  43  39  .524  + 0.3 (13)  88.0 (25)  110.5 (16)  110.6 (20)
Memphis Grizzlies       40  42  .488  + 1.8 (10)  94.3 ( 2)  112.6 (11)  110.9 (19)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Orleans Hornets     38  44  .463  - 0.5 (14)  88.2 (24)  111.1 (13)  111.9 (13)
Minnesota Timberwolves  37  45  .451  - 1.7 (18)  93.2 ( 4)  110.7 (14)  113.3 ( 9)
Golden State Warriors   37  45  .451  - 3.6 (22)  92.7 ( 5)  109.6 (20)  114.7 ( 3)
Phoenix Suns            34  48  .415  - 4.4 (24)  93.9 ( 3)  110.6 (15)  117.0 ( 1)
Los Angeles Clippers    31  51  .378  - 3.3 (21)  89.9 (14)  110.2 (17)  114.0 ( 5)
Utah Jazz               29  53  .354  - 4.2 (23)  89.5 (16)  108.0 (24)  113.1 (11)
Sacramento Kings        22  60  .268  - 9.3 (30)  95.6 ( 1)  103.6 (29)  113.8 ( 6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FINAL LEADERS

SCORING AVERAGE     REBOUNDS⁄GAME       OFF REB⁄GAME        DEF REB⁄GAME
K.DURANT  OKC 30.5  K.LOVE    MIN 12.8  Z.RANDOLP MEM  4.3  K.LOVE    MIN  9.0
D.ROSE    CHI 27.8  D.HOWARD  ORL 12.5  J.NOAH    CHI  4.1  D.HOWARD  ORL  8.9
C.ANTHONY NYK 27.2  Z.RANDOLP MEM 12.5  K.LOVE    MIN  3.8  K.HUMPHRI NJN  8.3
K.BRYANT  LAL 27.1  K.HUMPHRI NJN 11.3  D.HOWARD  ORL  3.7  Z.RANDOLP MEM  8.2
L.JAMES   MIA 26.3  B.GRIFFIN LAC 11.2  P.GASOL   LAL  3.3  B.GRIFFIN LAC  8.1
D.NOWITZK DAL 25.4  J.NOAH    CHI 11.0  L.ALDRIDG POR  3.3  K.GARNETT BOS  7.5
K.MARTIN  HOU 25.3  P.GASOL   LAL 10.2  A.BYNUM   LAL  3.1  C.BOOZER  CHI  7.5
D.GRANGER IND 24.4  D.LEE     GSW 10.0  G.MONROE  DET  3.1  J.SMITH   ATL  7.2
A.STOUDEM NYK 23.9  A.BOGUT   MIL 10.0  M.CAMBY   POR  3.1  A.BOGUT   MIL  7.1
D.GALLINA DEN 23.3  A.JEFFERS UTA 10.0  B.GRIFFIN LAC  3.0  A.HORFORD ATL  7.1

FIELD GOAL PCT      FREE THROW PCT      THREE POINT PCT     ASSIST⁄GAME
T.CHANDLE DAL .627  S.NASH    PHX .959  J.JONES   MIA .507  S.NASH    PHX 11.6
D.HOWARD  ORL .592  S.CURRY   GSW .944  T.LAWSON  DEN .503  R.RONDO   BOS 11.3
J.HARDEN  OKC .590  D.AUGUSTI CHA .928  J.MEEKS   PHI .499  D.WILLIAM NJN 10.5
N.HILARIO DEN .583  C.BILLUPS NYK .923  J.HARDEN  OKC .493  C.PAUL    NOH 10.4
A.BYNUM   LAL .572  D.NOWITZK DAL .911  R.JEFFERS SAS .486  J.CALDERO TOR  9.4
R.JEFFERS SAS .558  K.MARTIN  HOU .907  K.DURANT  OKC .484  J.KIDD    DAL  8.6
M.BROOKS  NJN .555  B.UDRIH   MIL .907  M.BIBBY   MIA .476  J.WALL    WAS  8.5
D.WILLIAM MIN .554  J.FREDETT SAC .903  C.ANTHONY NYK .476  D.ROSE    CHI  8.0
T.PARKER  SAS .550  M.GINOBIL SAS .891  G.HILL    IND .474  R.WESTBRO OKC  7.7
L.FIELDS  NYK .547  D.COLLISO IND .884  K.MARTIN  HOU .472  T.PARKER  SAS  7.3

STEALS⁄GAME         TURNOVERS⁄GAME      BLOCKS⁄GAME         ASSIST⁄TO RATIO
R.RONDO   BOS  2.2  D.HOWARD  ORL  3.4  A.STOUDEM NYK  2.9  K.LOWRY   HOU 6.41
C.PAUL    NOH  2.0  J.WALL    WAS  3.4  J.McGEE   WAS  2.7  J.KIDD    DAL 5.59
T.ARIZA   NOH  1.8  D.COUSINS SAC  3.2  A.BOGUT   MIL  2.5  M.CHALMER MIA 5.41
A.IGUODAL PHI  1.8  A.STOUDEM NYK  3.2  S.IBAKA   OKC  2.5  K.BOGANS  CHI 5.05
R.GAY     MEM  1.8  L.JAMES   MIA  3.2  T.DUNCAN  SAS  2.4  K.HINRICH ATL 5.04
L.JAMES   MIA  1.6  D.WILLIAM NJN  3.1  D.HOWARD  ORL  2.1  J.CALDERO TOR 4.98
R.WESTBRO OKC  1.5  S.CURRY   GSW  3.1  P.GASOL   LAL  2.0  C.PAUL    NOH 4.93
A.BLATCHE WAS  1.5  S.JACKSON MIL  2.9  E.UDOH    GSW  2.0  M.CONLEY  MEM 4.21
M.CONLEY  MEM  1.5  J.SMITH   ATL  2.9  D.JORDAN  LAC  2.0  S.NASH    PHX 4.12
T.ALLEN   MEM  1.5  S.NASH    PHX  2.8  B.LOPEZ   NJN  1.8  E.MAYNOR  OKC 4.09

MINUTES PLAYED      PRODUCTION          EFFECTIVE FG%       DEFENSIVE STOPS
A.IGUODAL PHI 3278  L.JAMES   MIA 29.7  J.HARDEN  OKC .696  A.IGUODAL PHI  150
T.EVANS   SAC 3234  K.DURANT  OKC 28.8  J.MEEKS   PHI .669  D.WILLIAM NJN  149
A.STOUDEM NYK 3151  C.PAUL    NOH 27.5  R.JEFFERS SAS .662  R.RONDO   BOS  135
A.AFFLALO DEN 3139  K.LOVE    MIN 27.4  L.FIELDS  NYK .633  A.HORFORD ATL  133
R.ALLEN   BOS 3138  P.GASOL   LAL 27.0  T.CHANDLE DAL .627  A.BOGUT   MIL  133
S.JACKSON MIL 3134  D.ROSE    CHI 26.5  C.BILLUPS NYK .604  C.PAUL    NOH  133
R.GAY     MEM 3131  D.HOWARD  ORL 26.1  K.MARTIN  HOU .603  D.HOWARD  ORL  133
L.JAMES   MIA 3122  D.NOWITZK DAL 25.0  A.AFFLALO DEN .600  J.SMITH   ATL  133
L.DENG    CHI 3115  C.ANTHONY NYK 24.6  K.LOWRY   HOU .598  J.NOAH    CHI  130
M.CONLEY  MEM 3112  B.GRIFFIN LAC 24.5  D.HOWARD  ORL .593  C.BOSH    MIA  125

INDIVIDUAL GAME HIGH RECORDS FOR 201112N - 2011-12 NBA SIM

NAME             MINUTES                 NAME             POINTS
Z.RANDOLPH, MEM  56 NYK   1⁄12 (3 OT)   A.BARGNANI, TOR  61 @BOS  2⁄1          
C.ANTHONY, NYK   55 @MEM  1⁄12 (3 OT)   K.DURANT, OKC    54 @CHA 11⁄14         
A.STOUDEMIR, NYK 53 @MEM  1⁄12 (3 OT)   L.JAMES, MIA     53 @LAC  1⁄11 (1 OT)  
L.WILLIAMS, PHI  53 @CHA  3⁄17 (1 OT)   D.WADE, MIA      52 NJN   1⁄23         
A.IGUODALA, PHI  50 @CHA  3⁄17 (1 OT)   C.ANTHONY, NYK   52 NJN   2⁄4          
A.IGUODALA, PHI  50 @IND  4⁄3  (1 OT)   D.GALLINARI, DEN 51 @LAL  4⁄13         
R.GAY, MEM       49 NYK   1⁄12 (3 OT)   C.ANTHONY, NYK   49 CLE   3⁄31         
A.AFFLALO, DEN   49 UTA   2⁄3  (1 OT)   K.BRYANT, LAL    48 @PHI  2⁄6          
D.WILLIAMS, NJN  48 @CHA 12⁄2           S.NASH, PHX      47 @SAC  2⁄11         
K.DURANT, OKC    48 MIN  12⁄18          K.BRYANT, LAL    47 DAL   4⁄15         

NAME             FG MADE                 NAME          FG ATTEMPT
A.BARGNANI, TOR  22 @BOS  2⁄1           L.JAMES, MIA     37 @LAC  1⁄11 (1 OT)  
K.DURANT, OKC    20 @CHA 11⁄14          A.BARGNANI, TOR  36 @BOS  2⁄1          
L.JAMES, MIA     20 @LAC  1⁄11 (1 OT)   K.LOVE, MIN      34 @SAC 11⁄30         
D.WADE, MIA      20 NJN   1⁄23          C.ANTHONY, NYK   33 PHI  12⁄15         
P.GASOL, LAL     20 @DEN  2⁄21          T.EVANS, SAC     33 MIL   1⁄4  (1 OT)  
D.NOWITZKI, DAL  18 @NJN 11⁄9           D.ROSE, CHI      33 @ATL  3⁄28         
D.ROSE, CHI      18 @SAC 12⁄28          C.BOSH, MIA      32 HOU  12⁄12         
B.GRIFFIN, LAC   18 DET   3⁄18          K.DURANT, OKC    32 MIN  12⁄18         
C.ANTHONY, NYK   18 CLE   3⁄31          A.STOUDEMIR, NYK 31 @MEM  1⁄12 (3 OT)  
L.ALDRIDGE, POR  17 DEN  11⁄3           D.WADE, MIA      31 NJN   1⁄23         

NAME            3PT MADE                 NAME         3PT ATTEMPT
R.JEFFERSON, SAS  9 OKC  11⁄21          E.GORDON, LAC    18 @POR  2⁄16         
J.RICHARDSO, ORL  9 @NYK 11⁄30          D.GRANGER, IND   15 @OKC 11⁄4          
C.DELFINO, MIL    8 NYK  11⁄5           M.GINOBILI, SAS  15 @HOU 11⁄26         
D.GRANGER, IND    8 HOU  11⁄8           D.ROSE, CHI      15 ATL  12⁄13         
R.ALLEN, BOS      8 @GSW  3⁄14          K.MARTIN, HOU    15 CHI  12⁄14         
V.CARTER, PHX     8 @DEN  4⁄6           M.GINOBILI, SAS  15 MIA   2⁄1          
M.WILLIAMS, LAC   7 CHI  11⁄19          R.ALLEN, BOS     15 @GSW  3⁄14         
K.MARTIN, HOU     7 NJN  11⁄19          E.GORDON, LAC    14 POR  11⁄4          
D.WRIGHT, GSW     7 UTA  11⁄26          K.MARTIN, HOU    14 NOH   1⁄7          
D.WILLIAMS, NJN   7 SAS  11⁄29          D.GRANGER, IND   14 @MEM  2⁄10         

NAME             FT MADE                 NAME          FT ATTEMPT
D.GALLINARI, DEN 24 @LAL  4⁄13          D.GALLINARI, DEN 28 @LAL  4⁄13         
K.BRYANT, LAL    22 DAL   4⁄15          D.HOWARD, ORL    25 MIN   2⁄17         
D.NOWITZKI, DAL  21 MEM  11⁄11          D.HOWARD, ORL    24 @MIL  3⁄27         
D.ROSE, CHI      19 @DAL 11⁄1           D.HOWARD, ORL    24 DAL   3⁄30         
A.STOUDEMIR, NYK 19 IND  11⁄12          K.BRYANT, LAL    23 DAL   4⁄15         
C.MAGGETTE, CHA  19 @WAS  3⁄20          C.ANTHONY, NYK   22 BOS   4⁄17         
K.BRYANT, LAL    18 MIN  11⁄29          D.ROSE, CHI      21 @DAL 11⁄1          
R.STUCKEY, DET   18 @CLE  2⁄21          D.NOWITZKI, DAL  21 MEM  11⁄11         
B.LOPEZ, NJN     18 ATL   4⁄14          K.BRYANT, LAL    21 MIN  11⁄29         
K.MARTIN, HOU    17 SAS  11⁄26          D.HOWARD, ORL    21 OKC   3⁄1          

NAME            REBOUNDS                 NAME            OFF REB
D.HOWARD, ORL    26 PHI   4⁄16          K.LOVE, MIN      12 DAL  12⁄23         
K.LOVE, MIN      25 @SAC 11⁄30          E.OKAFOR, NOH    11 @PHI 12⁄2  (1 OT)  
J.NOAH, CHI      23 SAC  11⁄12          A.VAREJAO, CLE   11 DAL   2⁄4          
K.HUMPHRIES, NJN 22 GSW  11⁄21          Z.RANDOLPH, MEM  11 GSW   2⁄18         
K.LOVE, MIN      22 @BOS  1⁄25          A.JEFFERSON, UTA 10 MIL   1⁄3          
Z.RANDOLPH, MEM  22 CLE   3⁄27          J.NOAH, CHI      10 @WAS  2⁄29         
K.HUMPHRIES, NJN 22 @SAC  3⁄31          J.NOAH, CHI      10 DET   3⁄3          
P.GASOL, LAL     22 HOU   4⁄6           J.NOAH, CHI       9 SAC  11⁄12         
S.IBAKA, OKC     21 @GSW 11⁄30 (1 OT)   Z.RANDOLPH, MEM   9 LAL  11⁄22         
Z.RANDOLPH, MEM  21 @DEN  1⁄23          A.BYNUM, LAL      9 @UTA 12⁄2          

NAME             DEF REB                 NAME            ASSISTS
K.HUMPHRIES, NJN 19 GSW  11⁄21          S.NASH, PHX      22 CHA   2⁄4          
D.HOWARD, ORL    19 PHI   4⁄16          J.CALDERON, TOR  21 @CLE 12⁄26         
K.LOVE, MIN      18 @BOS  1⁄25          J.KIDD, DAL      20 @NJN 11⁄9          
K.LOVE, MIN      17 @SAC 11⁄30          S.NASH, PHX      20 @SAS 12⁄2          
C.BOOZER, CHI    17 @NJN  4⁄18          D.WILLIAMS, NJN  20 HOU   3⁄12 (1 OT)  
D.HOWARD, ORL    16 @CHA 11⁄25          R.RONDO, BOS     20 NJN   4⁄11         
K.LOVE, MIN      16 CHI   2⁄10          C.PAUL, NOH      20 @MEM  4⁄18         
K.HUMPHRIES, NJN 16 WAS   2⁄11          R.RONDO, BOS     19 GSW  11⁄20         
M.WILLIAMS, ATL  16 DET   2⁄29          J.CALDERON, TOR  19 HOU   3⁄7          
K.LOVE, MIN      16 LAC   3⁄5           S.NASH, PHX      18 CHI  11⁄18 (1 OT)  

NAME              BLOCKS                 NAME             STEALS
A.STOUDEMIR, NYK 11 @MEM  1⁄12 (3 OT)   M.CONLEY, MEM     8 @MIL  2⁄28         
S.IBAKA, OKC     11 BOS   2⁄22          R.RONDO, BOS      7 @DET 11⁄27         
M.GASOL, MEM      7 @MIA 11⁄27          D.WEST, NOH       7 SAC   3⁄24         
T.DUNCAN, SAS     7 UTA  12⁄4           R.RONDO, BOS      7 UTA   3⁄28         
A.BYNUM, LAL      7 DAL   1⁄16          M.WILLIAMS, ATL   6 @CHI 11⁄5          
A.BOGUT, MIL      7 ATL   4⁄3           R.WESTBROOK, OKC  6 @NYK 11⁄8          
J.McGEE, WAS      7 IND   4⁄4           A.BLATCHE, WAS    6 @MIN 12⁄17         
P.GASOL, LAL      7 HOU   4⁄6           P.MILLSAP, UTA    6 @IND 12⁄18 (1 OT)  
D.MILICIC, MIN    6 @PHI 11⁄4           C.BILLUPS, NYK    6 @LAC 12⁄31         
S.IBAKA, OKC      6 @DAL 11⁄5           K.IRVING, CLE     6 @UTA  1⁄10         

NAME            TURNOVERS
L.JAMES, MIA     10 @PHX  1⁄8          
D.HARRIS, UTA    10 CLE   1⁄10         
D.COUSINS, SAC   10 @DEN  3⁄5          
D.ROSE, CHI       9 ATL  11⁄5          
J.WALL, WAS       9 @MIA 11⁄6          
J.HOLIDAY, PHI    9 @DAL 11⁄22         
S.JACKSON, MIL    9 @NJN  2⁄19         
J.WALL, WAS       9 GSW   3⁄5          
J.WALL, WAS       9 @DAL  3⁄13         
J.HICKSON, SAC    9 MIN   3⁄18  

Bradford Doolittle is an author of Basketball Prospectus. You can contact Bradford by clicking here or click here to see Bradford's other articles.