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TOP NBA POINT GUARDS OF 2011-2012 (complete regular season)
Each year QFTR publishes Real Player Ratings for every player in the NBA who has played at least 300 minutes. Real Player Ratings are comprehensive player ratings that are very carefully designed and quality controlled. Starting in 2012, the Ratings are supplemented by seven per 36 minutes charts which show player performance in seven of the very most important performance measures, all of which are components of Real Player Ratings (but there are other components that go into Real Player Ratings). These charts are stationed on the home page at all times. This is most likely the only place on the Internet where this key player information is shown in this optimal way.

Here we have the leading point guards of the NBA in 2011-2012 ranked according to number of plays made per 36 minutes playing time. This is "AST" in the chart. The assists and all other items shown in the chart other than the percentages and the minutes played are per 36 minutes, which is much smarter to use than per game numbers.

For this and all the other charts, a minimum of 300 minutes of playing time is required. A player must have made at least 6 assists per 36 minutes (or at least 1 assist every 6 minutes) to be shown here.

This is one of the seven "7/36 Charts". A short user guide for these is found in this Report.

Here now are how the best point guards in the NBA in 2011-2012 rated and ranked:
Player               Tm   MP   FG  FGA  3P 3PA  FT FTA ORB DRB  AST STL BLK TOV  PF  PTS  FG%  3P%  FT%
Steve Nash PHO 1961 5.4 10.2 1.0 2.6 2.3 2.6 0.5 2.9 12.2 0.7 0.1 4.2 1.0 14.2 .532 .390 .894
Rajon Rondo BOS 1957 4.7 10.5 0.2 0.8 2.0 3.3 1.1 3.6 11.4 1.7 0.1 3.6 1.8 11.6 .448 .238 .597
Jose Calderon TOR 1799 4.4 9.5 1.2 3.2 1.2 1.4 0.4 2.8 9.4 0.9 0.1 2.1 1.9 11.1 .457 .371 .882
Chris Paul LAC 2181 7.0 14.7 1.3 3.5 4.3 5.0 0.7 2.8 9.0 2.5 0.1 2.0 2.3 19.6 .478 .371 .861
Andre Miller DEN 1809 4.8 11.0 0.4 1.7 2.7 3.4 1.1 3.3 8.8 1.3 0.2 3.5 2.6 12.7 .438 .217 .811
Tony Parker SAS 1923 8.0 16.7 0.3 1.1 4.2 5.3 0.4 2.8 8.7 1.1 0.1 2.9 1.4 20.5 .480 .230 .799
Jamaal Tinsley UTA 507 4.0 10.0 0.7 2.6 0.9 1.2 0.4 2.8 8.7 1.2 0.6 3.7 3.3 9.7 .404 .270 .765
Deron Williams NJN 1999 7.0 17.3 2.1 6.2 4.6 5.5 0.4 2.9 8.7 1.2 0.4 3.9 2.2 20.8 .407 .336 .843
Ricky Rubio MIN 1404 3.6 10.0 0.8 2.4 3.2 4.0 0.5 3.8 8.6 2.3 0.2 3.4 2.5 11.2 .357 .340 .803
Jonny Flynn TOT 416 4.0 11.3 0.9 2.9 2.5 3.4 0.7 2.7 8.3 0.5 0.2 3.1 2.0 11.3 .351 .294 .744
Jeremy Lin NYK 940 6.5 14.7 0.9 2.9 5.6 7.0 0.7 3.4 8.3 2.1 0.3 4.8 3.0 19.6 .446 .320 .798
Baron Davis NYK 595 4.1 11.1 1.6 5.1 1.0 1.5 0.8 2.6 8.2 2.1 0.2 4.6 3.7 10.8 .370 .306 .667
Jose Barea MIN 1032 5.8 14.6 1.8 5.0 2.7 3.4 0.5 3.5 8.1 0.7 0.0 3.6 2.1 16.2 .400 .371 .776
Derrick Rose CHI 1375 7.9 18.2 1.4 4.5 5.1 6.3 0.7 2.7 8.0 0.9 0.7 3.1 1.4 22.3 .435 .312 .812
John Wall WAS 2386 5.7 13.5 0.0 0.6 4.8 6.1 0.7 3.8 8.0 1.4 0.9 3.8 2.1 16.2 .423 .071 .789
D.J. Augustin CHA 1408 4.7 12.5 1.6 4.6 2.7 3.1 0.6 2.2 7.8 0.9 0.0 2.8 1.7 13.6 .376 .341 .875
Beno Udrih MIL 1080 4.9 11.1 0.6 2.0 1.3 1.8 0.9 2.5 7.6 1.2 0.0 2.6 2.3 11.6 .440 .288 .709
Greivis Vasquez NOH 1706 4.7 11.0 0.9 2.8 2.0 2.5 0.5 3.2 7.6 1.3 0.2 3.1 2.7 12.4 .430 .319 .821
Earl Watson UTA 1033 1.9 5.6 0.3 1.8 1.1 1.6 1.0 3.2 7.6 1.9 0.8 3.0 3.7 5.2 .338 .192 .674
Ramon Sessions TOT 1707 5.1 11.9 0.9 2.0 4.1 5.2 0.7 3.8 7.5 0.9 0.1 3.0 2.1 15.2 .428 .443 .782
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Raymond Felton POR 1906 4.9 12.1 1.2 3.8 1.9 2.3 0.5 2.3 7.4 1.5 0.2 3.2 2.3 12.9 .407 .305 .806
Kyle Lowry HOU 1510 5.0 12.2 1.9 5.0 4.1 4.7 0.9 4.2 7.4 1.7 0.3 3.1 3.2 16.0 .409 .374 .864
Goran Dragic HOU 1752 5.7 12.3 1.4 4.2 3.1 3.9 1.1 2.4 7.2 1.7 0.2 3.2 3.4 15.9 .462 .337 .805
Nate Robinson GSW 1192 6.2 14.6 2.0 5.5 2.8 3.4 0.5 2.6 7.0 1.8 0.1 2.3 3.6 17.2 .424 .365 .832
Manu Ginobili SAS 792 6.8 13.0 2.4 5.7 4.0 4.6 0.8 4.5 6.9 1.1 0.5 2.9 2.5 20.0 .526 .413 .871
Charles Jenkins GSW 893 5.2 11.7 0.1 0.8 1.4 1.6 0.3 2.4 6.9 1.3 0.2 2.4 3.4 12.0 .447 .150 .872
Jason Kidd DAL 1379 2.6 7.1 2.1 5.8 0.6 0.7 0.4 4.8 6.9 2.1 0.3 2.4 2.2 7.8 .363 .354 .786
Jameer Nelson ORL 1706 5.5 12.8 1.8 4.9 1.5 1.9 0.6 3.2 6.9 0.8 0.1 2.8 2.7 14.3 .427 .377 .807
Stephen Curry GSW 732 7.1 14.6 2.7 6.0 1.9 2.3 0.7 3.6 6.8 1.9 0.4 3.2 3.0 18.8 .490 .455 .809
Ty Lawson DEN 2124 6.3 13.0 1.2 3.4 3.0 3.7 0.9 2.9 6.8 1.4 0.1 2.5 1.6 16.9 .488 .365 .824
Mike Conley MEM 2174 4.9 11.3 1.0 2.6 2.3 2.6 0.4 2.2 6.7 2.3 0.2 2.1 2.2 13.0 .433 .377 .861
Jarrett Jack NOH 1530 6.3 13.7 0.9 2.6 3.0 3.5 0.5 3.6 6.7 0.7 0.2 2.5 2.2 16.5 .456 .348 .872
Devin Harris UTA 1741 5.0 11.2 1.6 4.4 3.2 4.3 0.2 2.1 6.5 1.3 0.3 2.5 2.8 14.8 .445 .362 .746
Kyrie Irving CLE 1558 8.1 17.3 1.7 4.2 4.0 4.5 1.0 3.4 6.4 1.2 0.5 3.7 2.5 21.8 .469 .399 .872
C.J. Watson CHI 1159 5.0 13.6 2.1 5.4 2.6 3.2 0.7 2.6 6.2 1.4 0.2 3.0 3.2 14.7 .368 .393 .808
Shelvin Mack WAS 779 4.1 10.2 0.6 1.9 1.9 2.7 0.6 3.7 6.1 1.3 0.1 2.2 2.3 10.6 .400 .286 .712
Jerryd Bayless TOR 705 6.0 14.1 2.2 5.3 3.8 4.5 0.4 3.0 6.0 1.2 0.2 2.7 3.6 18.0 .424 .423 .852
LeBron James MIA 2326 9.6 18.1 0.8 2.3 6.0 7.8 1.5 6.2 6.0 1.8 0.8 3.3 1.5 26.0 .531 .362 .771



Monday, December 31, 2007

Warriors 105 Nuggets 95, and Ten Guidelines for the Inconsistent Nugget's Offense

The make it up as we go Denver offense, like an old, failing transmission that sometimes still works and sometimes fails to shift into gear, failed to get into gear, and the Nuggets were embarrassed at home 105-95 by the Golden State Warriors, who have one of the worst defenses in the NBA because, for one thing, they don’t really care very much about defense. This game provided huge proof that the Nuggets are doomed until they, with or without a set of planned plays, play smarter on offense. The Denver coaching staff is unable, unwilling, or both (probably both) to provide any structure for the offense, so that leaves fans to determine on their own what would prevent embarrassments like this game. You can come up with guidelines. The more of these that are fulfilled in a given game, the more likely the Denver offense will shift into gear and not turn into an embarrassment. Here are 10 guidelines:

1. Allen Iverson must pass the ball more. The more assists Iverson gets, the more likely the Nuggets offense stays in gear, it is that simple. The easiest and most likely the best way to accomplish this is to have Iverson play point guard. The next easiest way is to provide a few set plays. The next easiest way is to reduce Iverson’s minutes down to a more reasonable amount. The important thing is to get his passing up, how it is done is much less important.

2. Allen Iverson must dribble the ball less. When Iverson is moving, his teammates don’t move enough, because they assume he is going to attempt a shot without even attempting to find an open man.

3. J.R. Smith must start and, even if he doesn’t start, more importantly, he must get at least 24 minutes a game, as an absolute minimum. Smith is the number three offensive threat on the team, close in behind Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. The time Smith is getting is a joke at this point. He’s had 4 straight great games, so there is no excuse for 8-16 minutes anymore. If and when he gets his minutes, Smith must mix his threes with drives to the hoop and passes to the open man.

4. Everyone including Carmelo Anthony has to try to forget about the futility of the all Iverson all the time offense, and the lack of direction coming from the coaches, and hustle on offense more, meaning they have to fight to get open, look for cutting lanes, and do screens and so forth. If you don’t hustle, if you don’t screen, then don’t expect to get the ball much.

5. Carmelo Anthony must get the ball more. The more shots Melo takes, the more likely the Nuggets offense stays in gear, it’s that simple. Carmelo Anthony is a proven star in high pressure situations, like it or not. When Anthony gets fewer than 20 shots off, the Nuggets very frequently lose. Allen Iverson gets all the shots he wants because of his position, but this is not true with Melo. The Nuggets have to get off their behinds to make sure Melo gets the ball enough, and Melo has to earn respect from his teammates and the referees by getting some rebounds and making a substantial number of drives to the hoop in every game. I sometimes think that the Nuggets would be a better team if Anthony played shooting guard or even point guard. It couldn’t be any worse than this game was against the Warriors. Unless the efforts are made to get the ball to Melo more, the Nugget’s offense will be unbalanced, with Iverson getting too many shots and Melo getting too few shots. This lack of balance between the two stars has produced at least as many losses as wins overall, and is a hopeless strategy for the playoffs.

6. Melo must avoid games in which he refuses to go to the hoop much at all, and also avoid games in which he refuses to rebound much at all. The Nuggets are too dumb to win with him just concentrating on scoring, and he must realize that. Melo must also continue, as he has always done, to pass well out of double teams where his court spot or the specific defenders involved would make it a bad idea to attempt a shot.

7. Even if getting offensive structure in general is just a dream, the Nuggets need to at the very least establish who, besides J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza, are going to be the go-to players for three point shots. You need to have either 4 or 5 three-point shooters designated. I would go with Smith, Kleiza, Najera, Anthony, and either Yakhouba Diawara or Bobby Jones in limited minutes as the 5th designated 3-point shooter. Like it or not, three point shooting is an absolute necessity come playoff time; it is the one thing that can offset the better and more aggressive defending that you will encounter in the playoffs. Among the best teams in the West, the only two bad three-point shooting teams are the Jazz and the Nuggets. This alone is enough to explain why the Northwest Division is regarded as inferior to the Southwest and the Pacific Divisions. The Jazz have a more structured and smarter offense than the Nuggets do, but despite that, they are still having difficulties this year and the number one reason is that they are a really bad three-point shooting team. The Jazz have made a move to shore up their three-point shooting by acquiring Kyle Korver, but it will almost certainly not be enough. The Nuggets need to stop playing as if they are expecting the League Commissioner to ban the three point shot before the end of the season.

8. Chucky Atkins needs to start at point guard, like it or not. Right now, Atkins is looking like a fool with his all 3-point shots all the time shooting, which he is doing to try to get the point guard starting slot back as soon as possible. Why have players who have proved themselves over a period of years have to re-earn their positions, over many weeks, after they have been out with an injury? Atkins is a better distributor than Anthony Carter, pure and simple. Give Atkins the starts at point guard if you refuse to start Iverson at the point, and warn him to worry more about distributing than jacking up threes. Carter is the third choice at point guard, and, while he is not playing badly, he isn’t as good a passer as Atkins or Iverson, and he is about the same liability on defense and with turnovers as they are.

9. If Kenyon Martin and /or Nene are going to be injury outs for most games, then Linas Kleiza should start over Eduardo Najera, I have concluded, because Kleiza is playing too well to ignore at this point. Without three-point shooting from Kleiza, the Nuggets have no chance in the playoffs. Najera is needed for threes also, but he just doesn’t get the ball enough on offense because he is not an offensive weapon in general, whereas Kleiza is more of an offensive weapon in general.

10. The Nuggets absolutely have to cut down on turnovers, or they are going to lose games even when they are doing some of the things above. Not only are the Nuggets leading the NBA in turnovers this year, they have opened up a substantial lead in turnovers over the next worse team, the Supersonics youngsters. Fortunately, turnovers will be reduced if and when some of the things above are done, especially Iverson dribbling less, Atkins getting more time than Carter, and Melo avoiding desperation shots.

So there you go. Either the Nuggets do these things more or continue to have periodic offensive breakdowns. These breakdowns are the norm when they are playing the best defenses in the NBA but, as we saw in this Warriors game, they can occur at any time, even against one of the worst defensive teams.

In this offensive breakdown, the Nuggets were just 29/84 from the field, or 34.5%. The only offensive producers were Smith, Anthony, and Kleiza, and Anthony only got 17 shot attempts, as he went long stretches in the 2nd half without even getting the ball at all. Making things even more miserable was that the Nuggets committed 24 turnovers, not far from double the normal for an NBA game. The unstructured make it up on the fly offense has broken down into a ridiculous number of turnovers at this point. What does George Karl think, that teams will be shocked into poor defense when the Nuggets throw a lot of variety at them? What a ridiculous idea, if that is what he thinks. Any opposing player or coach can see with their own eyes that the Nuggets are a mess offensively, and can be defended on the fly without too much trouble, usually with zone defense since the Nuggets have become bad again at three-point shooting.

ALERT STATUS PROBLEMS
As of December 31, 2007

The Nuggets are under a YELLOW ALERT, on account of the following problems.

INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
1. Kenyon Martin injury 19 Points
1. Steven Hunter injury 4 Points

UNEXPECTED AND SEVERE PLAYER PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS
There are none at this time.

BAD OR INADEQUATE COACHING
1. George Karl over relies on his starters and won’t play the non-starters enough: 5-25 Points. The severity varies depending on the circumstances, mainly Karl’s beliefs and moods, and whether the other team is playing well enough to take advantage of the Nuggets playing with not enough breathers, with too many fouls, and so forth. Karl will normally be in the 5-15 range, but it could spike to as much as 25 in the event of the benching of a major player such as Kenyon Martin. The current points reported are for the use, or should I say the misuse, of the reserves for the most recent games, with the most weight being given to the game being reported on here. The bad use of reserves score for this game is 8 points.

2. Lack of adequate offensive schemes: 10 Points. This would be up to 20 points, except that Iverson reduces the damage. Another way of describing this is that the team has failed to decide whether it wants Melo alone, Iverson alone, Melo and Iverson together, or neither of them to be firstly responsible for scoring enough points to keep the Nuggets in games. If it were neither, I call the name of that strategy the "share the wealth" strategy.

INTENSITY, HUSTLE, AND HEART
1. The Nugget’s intensity, hustle and heart are lacking: 0 Points. It’s not anywhere near as bad as some fans think it is.

TOTAL PROBLEM POINTS: 41, which constitutes YELLOW ALERT.

YELLOW ALERT (40-54): Minor damage is occurring to the season. The entire season is under medium threat. Beating quality teams is much more difficult and will be pretty rare. About 1/2 of all wins against good teams will now be losses. Beating mid-level teams is a little more difficult. About 1/4 of games that would be wins against mid-level teams will now be losses. Beating low level teams is still relatively easy, but no longer almost a sure bet. A good team has become in between a good team and a mid-level team when it is under this alert.

We are in yellow alert with Martin or Nene out and orange alert if they are both out.

RESERVE WATCH

Number of Players Who Played at Least 6 Minutes: Nuggets 9 Warriors 9
Number of Players Who Played at Least 10 Minutes: Nuggets 9 Warriors 8

Nuggets Non-Starters Points: 31
Warriors Non-Starters Points: 15

Nuggets Non-Starters Rebounds: 17
Warriors Non-Starters Rebounds: 13

Nuggets Non-Starters Assists: 8
Warriors Non-Starters Assists: 6

This feature is under development, and it will be gradually expanded. The complications involved explain why (a) there are no formal statistics anywhere on the internet on the subject of how much non-starters contribute to different teams and (b) why coaches are not compared statistically the way players are. There are a lot of variables that come into the use of reserves that interfere with the objective of judging their use. Statisticians call this “statistical noise,” and if you have a substantial amount of it, then what you are trying to do with your statistics becomes very difficult or next to impossible.

GEORGE KARL CONFIDENCE IN HIS TEAM RATING (Scale of 0 to 10)
3.0-He’s thinking seriously of and getting ready to make a break for the exits.

ESPN PLAYER RATINGS FOR THIS GAME:
You can tell how well they played at a glance. Of the advanced statistics I have seen on the internet, this one seems to have the best balance between offense and defense. Many other advanced statistics are biased in favor of good defenders, and do not reflect the heavy importance of offense in basketball. Here is the formula for the ESPN rating of a player:

Points + Rebounds + 1.4*Assists + Steals + 1.4*Blocks - .7*Turnovers + # of Field Goals Made +1/2*# of 3-pointers Made - .8*# of Missed Field Goals - .8*# of Missed Free Throws + .25 *# of Free Throws Made

All players on each team who played at least 5 minutes are shown. The number after “game,” is how well the player did in this game, whereas the number after “season” is that player’s overall average for the entire season.

NUGGETS
Carmelo Anthony: Game 40.2 Season 38.1
Linas Kleiza: Game 30.8 Season 18.0
Marcus Camby: Game 29.5 Season 32.7
J.R. Smith: Game 23.2 Season 15.3
Allen Iverson: Game 20.4 Season 40.9
Eduardo Najera: Game 15.6 Season 13.9
Anthony Carter: Game 12.3 Season 20.0
Nene Hilario: Game 1.5 Season 12.2
Chucky Atkins: Game 0.5 Season 8.6

Bobby Jones: Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision
Yakhouba Diawara: Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision
Jelani McCoy: Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision
Von Wafer: Did Not Play-Coach's Decision

Kenyon Martin: Did Not Play-Injury
Steven Hunter: Did Not Play-Injury

WARRIORS
Baron Davis: Game 47.3 Season 39.9
Stephen Jackson: Game 36.1 Season 31.6
Al Harrington: Game 30.7 Season 23.8
Andris Biedrins: Game 27.8 Season 26.1
Monta Ellis: Game 21.7 Season 28.3
Matt Barnes: Game 20.7 Season 17.1
Mikael Pietrus: Game 9.3 Season 10.8
Kelenna Azubuike: Game 3.8 Season 18.3
DJ Mbenga: Game 2.4 Season 4.4

NOTE: these stats do not correct for the big differences in playing times. Players with small minutes would get a higher rating if they had more minutes.

OBSERVATIONS ON RATINGS:
Linas Kleiza is the one and only Nuggets second string player who has survived the periodic benchings and the inconsistent Denver offense. He is having a heck of a year so far, and has given the Nuggets about 3 wins already that would have been losses. In this game, Kleiza was the one of just two Nuggets who pumped out more production than usual. The other one was J.R. Smith, who has played outstanding ball in his last 4 games. However, Smith overall has not survived the George Karl continual wash, rinse, and go to the doghouse treatment of secondary players, as his minutes, production, and real performance are all down 10-20% from last year to this year. Now that both Carmelo Anthony and Eduardo Najera have lately stopped hitting threes on a regular basis, the Nuggets are starved for three points shooting again, with Kleiza and Smith being the only truly reliable three point shooters left.

Quite honestly, both Allen Iverson and Anthony Carter were overdue for poor games, as both have been playing better than fans could expect over the last several weeks. So, neither one is due any major criticism for their sorry performances in this game. Baron Davis defended Iverson very well in this game.

On the other hand, neither Nene nor Chucky Atkins have any excuse for their disasters. Both of them are back from long injury layoffs, but both of them played as if they had been out of basketball for 6 years instead of 6 weeks.

Unlike the Nuggets, the Warriors were solid across the board with the lone exception of Kelenna Azubuike. Four of the five Warrior starters produced more than usual, whereas only two Nuggets starters produced more than usual, and it was only a little more than usual from Anthony and Najera.
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NUGGETS REAL PLAYER RATINGS—EXPLANATION
A Great New Feature from Nuggets 1

The Real Player Rating reflects reality better than the gross player rating, since it washes out differences in playing times among the players. The straight up player rankings are obviously heavily affected by how many playing minutes the various players get. With many teams, you can rely on the coach to give his various players roughly the playing time that makes the most sense for his team. Unfortunately, some coaches bring other factors besides actual performance into their rotation decisions. Therefore, it makes good sense to introduce a new and extremely important statistic that Nuggets 1 calls the Real Per Minute Player Rating. As the name implies, this is the gross ESPN player rating divided by the number of minutes. The statistic is called Real Player Rating for short.

This statistic allows anyone to see whether or not players who play only a small number of minutes are doing better than their low gross rating will indicate. You can spot diamond in the rough players who are not getting all the respect and playing time due to them. At the same time, it will allow anyone to see whether players with a lot of minutes are playing worse than, as well as, or better than their gross rating shows.

In summary, the Real Player Rating allows the reader, at a glance, to see exactly how well each player is doing without regard to playing time, which is subject to coaching error and subjective and less important factors such as a player's personality. The Real Player Rating provides the real truth-pure knowledge not available anywhere else.

SCALE FOR THE REAL PLAYER RATINGS
1.60 More Superstar Performance beyond the Michael Jordan Level
1.40 1.60 Superstar Performance-Michael Jordan Level
1.20 1.40 Superstar Performance
1.00 1.20 Star Performance
0.90 1.00 Outstanding Game
0.80 0.90 Very Good Game
0.70 0.80 Good Game
0.60 0.70 Mediocre Game
0.50 0.60 Poor Game
0.40 0.50 Very Poor Game
0.25 0.40 Near Disaster
Less 0.25 Total Disaster

NUGGETS-WARRIORS REAL PLAYER RATINGS
All players who played 5 minutes or more are included. Any player who played only 5-9 minutes is noted

1. Al Harrington, GS 1.616
2. J.R. Smith, Den 1.289
3. Linas Kleiza, Den 1.283
4. Andris Biedrins, GS 1.158
5. Baron Davis, GS 1.126
6. Carmelo Anthony, Den 0.957
7. Stephen Jackson, GS 0.880
8. Marcus Camby, Den 0.894
9. Matt Barnes, GS 0.796
10. Eduardo Najera, Den 0.780
11. Monta Ellis, GS 0.556
12. Anthony Carter, Den 0.535
13. Allen Iverson, Den 0.474
14. DJ Mbenga, GS 0.400…Mbenga played only 6 minutes.
15. Mickael Pietrus, GS 0.321
16. Kelenna Azubuike, GS 0.271
17. Nene Hilario, Den 0.088
18. Chucky Atkins, Den 0.025

OBSERVATIONS ON THE NUGGETS-WARRIORS REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Al Harrington was the clear king of the hill in this game. J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza were superstars for the Nuggets, while Baron Davis and Biedrins were stars for the Warriors. Carmelo Anthony was outstanding, which was not good enough for the Nuggets in this game.

Najera wasn’t bad, but both Carter and Iverson had truly poor outings. Nene and Chucky Atkins were just taking up space out there. At least half the basketball players reading this could have done better. There is really no excuse for either one of them in this game, since the Warriors are not the kind of team that can totally shut down a player’s game. Atkins, aside from damaging the Nuggets in this game especially, is making me look like a jerk for saying that he should have immediately gotten the point guard starting position back from Anthony Carter. But the Nuggets are doomed in the playoffs if Anthony Carter starts at point guard. In my defense, how was I supposed to know that Atkins was going to be as cold as this time of the year is?

NUGGET’S PLUS—MINUS
This tells you how the score changed while a player was on the court. All Nuggets who played at least 6 minutes are shown.

Eduardo Najera: +6
Chucky Atkins: +6
J.R. Smith: +3
Linas Kleiza: -5
Carmelo Anthony: -7
Nene: -9
Anthony Carter: -13
Marcus Camby: -13
Allen Iverson: -18

OBSERVATIONS ON PLUS—MINUS
The Atkins number is very strange, since Atkins himself did almost nothing in this game.
Smith and Kleiza were the two best Nuggets, and their relatively good plus-minus is more proof. Because he received no help from Kenyon Martin, who is out with a hamstring injury, and little help from Nene, who was terrible, Camby was beaten by the combination of Biedrins and Harrington. Iverson was overdue for a bad game and got it. All stars occasionally have bad games in basketball, and it’s nothing for anyone to get worried about.

NUGGETS MADE WHAT?
All Nuggets who played at least 6 minutes are shown. The order is from lowest to highest in real player rating.

Chucky Atkins played 20 minutes and was 0/5 and 0/4 on 3’s for 0 points, and he made 3 assists and 1 steal.

Nene played 17 minutes and was 0/5 and 1/4 from the line for 1 point, and he made 8 rebounds.

Allen Iverson played most of the game, 43 minutes, and was 2/12 and 9/12 from the line for 13 points, and he made 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals.

Anthony Carter played 23 minutes and was 3/9 and 0/1 on 3’s for 6 points, and he made 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Eduardo Najera played 20 minutes and was 3/7, 0/1 on 3’s, and 5/6 from the line for 11 points, and he made 4 rebounds and 1 steal.

Marcus Camby played 33 minutes and was 2/9 and 4/4 from the line for 8 points, and he made 15 rebounds, 6 blocks, and 2 assists.

Carmelo Anthony played most of the game, 42 minutes, and was 8/17, 0/1 on 3’s, and 10/11 from the line for 26 points, and he made 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal.

Linas Kleiza played 24 minutes and was 5/9, 1/3 on 3’s, and 4/5 from the line for 15 points, and he made 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.

J.R. Smith played 18 minutes and was 6/11 and 3/8 on 3’s for 15 points, and he made 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

NEXT UP
The next game will be Thursday, January 3 in Denver to play the Spurs at 7 pm mountain time. Neither the Nuggets nor the Spurs will be playing on back to back nights.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

The Wild West Game: The Nuggets Narrowly Beat the Warriors 124-120

The Nuggets and Warriors, who along with the Lakers and Suns are the highest scoring teams in the NBA, played the kind of up tempo game that folks like Carlos Boozer, Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen, Antonio McDyess, Kevin Garnett, Chuck Hayes, and Yao Ming are so good at slowing down in the playoffs. With Kenyon Martin back out with an injury again, and this time just a hamstring and not a damaged knee, we have been told, with Nene just back from thumb surgery and playing limited minutes, with Melo focusing more on offense and less on defense again, and with Camby alone not being enough to slow a run and gun team down, the Nuggets gave in to the temptation to allow the Warriors to dictate the pace and the flow of the game. Had either one of the superstars Allen Iverson or Carmelo Anthony not had the scoring touch, the Nuggets would have lived to regret being unable to slow the pace and being without Kenyon Martin.

For the third time in the last 5 games, the Nuggets came away with a very close win. The Warriors, who live and die with the three point shot, were unable to hit three point shots when it was most critical to do so, in the 4th quarter. The Nugget’s record of 18-11 is not that bad for a team that has been one of the more banged up teams in the League, and for a team that can’t deploy strategies that would allow them to win over the best teams in the NBA. Allen Iverson and Linas Kleiza are the Nuggets playing a little better this year than last year, and it is those improvements which are the most important reasons why the Nuggets are winning the close games that they mostly lost last year.

The game was close from start to finish. The Nuggets led 71-64 at the half, and 102-97 at the end of 3 quarters. The Warrior’s defense is as simplistic as the Nugget’s offense is, and they don’t usually bother with double teams. Carmelo Anthony took advantage of his holiday away from being double teamed, and he took what the defense was giving to him, which was almost everything, and made a lot of easy, short jumpers.

Allen Iverson was repeatedly hacked by increasingly desperate defenders, but the referees and Iverson made the Warriors pay, as Iverson made 13 of 15 free throws. Melo was 8/8 from the line, and even Linas Kleiza, the most improved Nugget from last year, got to the line a lot, and he was 8/8 from there as well. Altogether, the Nuggets were 33/37 from the line, whereas the Warriors were just 18/23. Simple math tells you that if the Nuggets had hit a more usual 80% of free throws instead of the 90% that they did hit, or 4 fewer, then this game would probably have been won by the Warriors. So the fact that Iverson, Kleiza, and Melo were a combined 29/31 on free throws is more important than it might seem, as is the fact that Camby, who has been mostly horrible at free throw shooting this year, was able to make 3/4 of them in this game.

It is the Nuggets who are guilty of leading the NBA in committing fouls, but in this game, at least, they were able to avoid an excessive number of them, while Iverson, Kleiza, and Anthony were able to draw fouls. On the other hand, though, Carmelo Anthony did get into foul trouble, which cost the Nuggets about 7 minutes of Melo playing time.

The Nuggets led by 5 with 5 minutes to go and by 6 with 3 minutes to go. But then the Warriors, who made the majority of their threes in the first half, and fell on serious hard times in the 2nd half, decided to start driving the ball to the hoop for layups. Two of those, along with a Baron Davis block on Carmelo Anthony, made it 118-116 Nuggets with about 2 minutes left. Then center Andris Biedrins blocked Anthony on a mini-jumper, and then a tired Iverson badly missed a three. Baron Davis put in a little jumper, so now the Warriors had tied the game at 118 with 1:25 to go, and the Nuggets were down to just luck again as their only strategy.

And luck is exactly what they received. Iverson made a little 9-footer, and then Baron Davis lost it to Anthony Carter. Then Anthony sunk two free throws after he was fouled on a layup by Stephen Jackson, so now it was 122-118 Nuggets with 53 seconds left.

But Davis made a nice 21 footer, and Melo missed a 12 footer, and the Warriors called timeout with 21 seconds to go down by only 2 points. The Nuggets were saved when Stephen Jackson missed an open look 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, and Camby was there for the rebound. Camby then made not one but both free throws to ice the game for the Nuggets, which was yet more luck for the Nuggets, considering how much trouble Camby has had at the line this season. Since the Nuggets were up by only 2 when Camby was intentionally fouled, the Warriors would have been able to send the game into overtime had Camby missed one of the free throws and had the Warriors then hit on a three. But Camby calmly sunk both free throws, and the Nuggets put yet another close game in the win column, with even more assistance from good luck.

The Warrior’s all guns blazing style works very well on offense but, unfortunately, there is no defensive version of it that works. The Warriors are generally unable to make anyone miss much, not only because they lack great defenders who make shooters miss without fouling excessively, but also because they lack the clutch rebounding and blocking that can prevent easy late scores in the paint. The Warriors are the NBA’s 3-pointer maniacs, the team that can beat anyone if enough threes go in, but lose to anyone if they don’t. Instead of getting uptight like the Nuggets do these days about their frequent lack of aggressive and smart defending, the Warriors just jack up another three. Their fans love the “don’t worry, be happy” style, simplistic though it may be.

Don’t feel sorry for the Warriors, because the Nuggets are worse off, since they no longer really have a style. You don’t know anymore how well the Nuggets are going to play on offense in a given game. In the early part of the 2006-07 season, the Nuggets had a run and gun offense similar to that of the Warriors, even though they never had anywhere near the 3-point shooting potential the Warriors do, with only J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza available to shoot 3’s in those days. The brawl in New York, the mega suspensions, and the gradual banishment of J.R. Smith from the lineup brought the run and gun wildness to a gradual end, to be replaced by the all Iverson all the time offense in some games, and with the Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson score as much as possible while passing as little as possible offense in others. The Nuggets now are in a fantasy world if they think they are a true run and gun team, or if they are wild in a good way on offense. No they are wild mostly in a bad way, as they lead the NBA in turnovers.

The Nugget’s offense is so simplistic that it really should not be called a style at all, especially since, if Anthony or Iverson are not hitting shots, the offense collapses completely, whereas, for example, with a motion offense featuring a lot of picks and rolls, and passing to the open man on the perimeter, players who are not hitting shots can simply give up a few shots they might otherwise take to teammates who are making shots.

For example, for the Spurs, some nights Tony Parker and Michael Finley might be hitting, whereas other nights Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, and Brent Barry might be the ones to get the job done. The smartest, best managed teams have offensive schemes in place that allow for some flexibility in who takes the most shots. The Nuggets have almost none of this critical flexibility, so they live and die mostly based on whether Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson have the shooting touch or not. Linas Kleiza, though improved from last year, is simply not experienced or good enough yet to make up for a severe Melo or Iverson shooting slump, Camby and Najera are inconsistent. Kenyon Martin can’t stay healthy, Nene is an unknown quantity, and J.R. Smith is mostly benched.

An offense featuring a lot of isolation plays is nothing more than Russian roulette with a gun where, if the star player who is supposed to make all the buckets starts missing, your team has just shot itself in the head. Would any truly good coaching staff put an offense like that on the court in the NBA and expect to be competitive in the playoffs? Of course not.

Despite the apparent insanity of their offenses, the Nuggets thanks to Anthony and Iverson have been able to just about keep up with the Warriors in terms of point production, while developing some defensive presence that the Warriors couldn’t care less about. The trouble is, neither the Warriors nor the Nuggets have an offense that has enough variety in it to be able to beat a good team in the playoffs, such as the Phoenix Suns or San Antonio Spurs. Last year, Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks choked when the Warriors started hitting a lot of threes. Inexperienced Dallas Coach Avery Johnson could not figure out a way to slow the games down enough or to reduce the number of wide open threes, many of which were made off of picks and rolls.

But when the victorious Warriors went on the play Utah, a team most thought was not quite as good as the Mavericks, they met up with one of the better defensive and overall coaches in the League, Jerry Sloan, Sloan had his squad slow down the games, kept everyone calm, focused, and on plan, and kept the number of open threes attempted by the Warriors within reason. When these simple but crucial steps were taken, the Warriors were easily defeated by the Jazz.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets were just as easily defeated by the Spurs, whose Coach Greg Popovich did not have to do much of anything out of the ordinary to shut down the Nugget’s offense, since the Nuggets themselves were helping to shut the Nuggets offense down, by running an offense featuring two star players in a lot of isolation scoring attempts, and by making roster and motivation blunders that directly led to the complete collapse of their 3-point shooting potential. But simplistic offenses and lack of 3-point shooting both spell certain and quick doom in the playoffs.

In summary, the Warriors and Nuggets are fun to watch, but until and unless one of them gets extremely lucky, as in once in 100 years lucky, their simplistic offensive schemes and inconsistent defensive efforts will lead to inevitable early outs in the playoffs to teams with full scale offensive and defensive strategies and players.

But considering that both the Nuggets and the Warriors have been winning some lucky games lately, maybe this is the 100th year for one of them.

ALERT STATUS PROBLEMS
As of December 27, 2007

The Nuggets are under an unusually dangerous and damaging alert status, so the following update is provided.

INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
1. Kenyon Martin injury 19 Points
1. Steven Hunter injury 4 Points

UNEXPECTED AND SEVERE PLAYER PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS
There are none at this time.

BAD OR INADEQUATE COACHING
1. George Karl over relies on his starters and won’t play the non-starters enough: 5-20 Points. The severity varies depending on the circumstances, mainly Karl’s beliefs and moods, and whether the other team is playing well enough to take advantage of the Nuggets playing with not enough breathers, with too many fouls, and so forth. Karl will normally be in the 5-15 range, but it could spike to as much as 20 in the event of the benching of a major player such as Kenyon Martin. The current points reported are for the use, or should I say the misuse, of the reserves for the most recent games, with the most weight being given to the game being reported on here. The bad use of reserves score for this game is 11 points.

2. Lack of adequate offensive schemes: 10 Points. This would be up to 20 points, except that Iverson reduces the damage. Another way of describing this is that the team has failed to decide whether it wants Melo alone, Iverson alone, Melo and Iverson together, or neither of them to be firstly responsible for scoring enough points to keep the Nuggets in the game. If it were neither, I call the name of that strategy the "share the wealth" strategy.

INTENSITY, HUSTLE, AND HEART
1. The Nugget’s intensity, hustle and heart is lacking: 0 Points. It’s not anywhere near bad as some fans think it is.

TOTAL PROBLEM POINTS: 44, which constitutes YELLOW ALERT.

YELLOW ALERT (40-54): Minor damage is occurring to the season. The entire season is under medium threat. Beating quality teams is much more difficult and will be pretty rare. About 1/2 of all wins against good teams will now be losses. Beating mid-level teams is a little more difficult. About 1/4 of games that would be wins agsinst mid-level teams will now be losses. Beating low level teams is still relatively easy, but no longer almost a sure bet. A good team has become in between a good team and a mid-level team when it is under this alert.

We are in yellow alert with Martin or Nene out and orange alert if they are both out.

RESERVE WATCH

Number of Players Who Played at Least 6 Minutes: Nuggets 9 Warriors 8
Number of Players Who Played at Least 10 Minutes: Nuggets 8 Warriors 8

Nuggets Non-Starters Points: 32
Warriors Non-Starters Points: 23

Nuggets Non-Starters Rebounds: 16
Warriors Non-Starters Rebounds: 13

Nuggets Non-Starters Assists: 1
Warriors Non-Starters Assists: 4

This feature is under development, and it will be expanded. The complications involved explain why (a) there are no formal statistics anywhere on the internet on the subject of how much non-starters contribute to different teams and (b) why coaches are not compared statistically the way players are. There are a lot of variables that come into the use of reserves that interfere with the objective of judging their use. Statisticians call this “statistical noise,” and if you have a substantial amount of it, then what you are trying to do with your statistics becomes very difficult or next to impossible.

GEORGE KARL CONFIDENCE IN HIS TEAM RATING (Scale of 0 to 10)
2.0-He's making a run for the exits.

ESPN PLAYER RATINGS FOR THIS GAME:
You can tell how well they played at a glance. Of the advanced statistics I have seen on the internet, this one seems to have the best balance between offense and defense. Many other advanced statistics are biased in favor of good defenders, and do not reflect the heavy importance of offense in basketball. Here is the formula for the ESPN rating of a player:

Points + Rebounds + 1.4*Assists + Steals + 1.4*Blocks - .7*Turnovers + # of Field Goals Made +1/2*# of 3-pointers Made - .8*# of Missed Field Goals - .8*# of Missed Free Throws + .25 *# of Free Throws Made

All players on each team who played at least 5 minutes are shown. The number after “game,” is how well the player did in this game, whereas the number after “season” is that player’s overall average for the entire season.

NUGGETS
Allen Iverson: Game 55.1 Season 40.9
Marcus Camby: Game 40.0 Season 32.7
Carmelo Anthony: Game 38.7 Season 38.1
Linas Kleiza: Game 24.7 Season 18.0
Anthony Carter: Game 20.5 Season 20.0
Nene Hilario: Game 12.2 Season 12.2
J.R. Smith: Game 9.9 Season 15.3
Chucky Atkins: Game 9.1 Season 8.6
Eduardo Najera: Game 6.0 Season 13.8

Bobby Jones: Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision
Yakhouba Diawara: Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision
Jelani McCoy: Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision
Von Wafer: Did Not Play-Coach's Decision

Kenyon Martin: Did Not Play-Injury
Steven Hunter: Did Not Play-Injury

WARRIORS
Baron Davis: Game 60.1 Season 40.1
Stephen Jackson: Game 42.2 Season 31.8
Andris Biedrins: Game 32.7 Season 26.3
Monta Ellis: Game 23.8 Season 28.2
Al Harrington: Game 16.8 Season 23.6
Matt Barnes: Game 15.0 Season 17.0
Kelenna Azubuike: Game 13.1 Season 18.2
Mikael Pietrus: Game 9.9 Season 10.8

NOTE: these stats do not correct for the big differences in playing times. Players with small minutes would get a higher rating if they had more minutes.

OBSERVATIONS ON RATINGS:
Another one of those monster games from Iverson here, which is good for what ails you, but this dose came without the frequent nasty side effect of Melo’s game going into the tank. You can have your cake and eat it too with the Warriors happy go lucky approach to the game. Baron Davis did slightly more than Iverson, and Stephen Jackson did slightly more than Carmelo Anthony.

NUGGETS REAL PLAYER RATINGS—EXPLANATION
A Great New Feature from Nuggets 1

The straight up player rankings are obviously heavily affected by how many playing minutes the various players get. With many teams, you can rely on the coach to give his various players roughly the playing time that makes the most sense for his team. Unfortunately, you can not rely on George Karl to award playing time in just about the best way possible. He brings other factors besides actual performance into his rotation decisions. Therefore, it makes good sense to introduce a new and very important statistic that Nuggets 1 will call the Real Per Minute Player Rating which, as the name implies, is the gross ESPN player rating divided by the number of minutes. The statistic is called Real Player Rating for short.

This statistic allows everyone to see whether or not players who play only a small number of minutes are doing better than their low gross rating will indicate. At the same time, it will allow everyone to see whether players with a lot of minutes are playing worse than, as well as, or better than their gross rating shows. This is another big improvement in the Nuggets 1 never ending quest to give readers total information about the Nuggets. This statistic allows the reader, at a glance, to see exactly how well each player is doing without regard to playing time. So it gives you pure knowledge not available anywhere else..

SCALE FOR THE REAL PLAYER RATINGS
1.60 More Superstar Performance beyond the Michael Jordan Level
1.40 1.60 Superstar Performance-Michael Jordan Level
1.20 1.40 Superstar Performance
1.00 1.20 Star Performance
0.90 1.00 Outstanding Game
0.80 0.90 Very Good Game
0.70 0.80 Good Game
0.60 0.70 Mediocre Game
0.50 0.60 Poor Game
0.40 0.50 Very Poor Game
0.25 0.40 Near Disaster
Less 0.25 Total Disaster

NUGGETS-WARRIORS REAL PLAYER RATINGS
All players who played 5 minutes or more are included. Any player who played only 5-9 minutes is noted

1. Baron Davis, GS 1.541
2. J.R. Smith, Den 1.238…Smith played only 8 minutes
3. Allen Iverson, Den 1.224
4. Carmelo Anthony, Den 1.173
5. Andris Biedrins, GS 1.168
6. Marcus Camby, Den 1.053
7. Linas Kleiza, Den 1.029
8. Stephen Jackson, GS 0.898
9. Anthony Carter, Den 0.759
10. Kelenna Azubuike, GS 0.728
11. Mickael Pietrus, GS 0.707
12. Nene Hilario, Den 0.678
13. Matt Barnes, GS 0.625
14. Monta Ellis, GS 0.610
15. Al Harrington, GS 0.542
16. Chucky Atkins, Den 0.433
17. Eduardo Najera, Den 0.231

OBSERVATIONS ON THE NUGGETS-WARRIORS REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Once again, George Karl looks like an idiot for not playing J.R. Smith for more minutes. Baron Davis was by far the best player on the court, but Allen Iverson and Carmelo Antony were both extremely good as well. Andris Biedrins slightly outplayed Marcus Camby, but who cares what the centers are doing in a game like this?

NUGGET’S PLUS—MINUS
This tells you how the score changed while a player was on the court. All Nuggets who played at least 6 minutes are shown.

Anthony Carter: +8
Eduardo Najera: +6
Marcus Camby: +6
Carmelo Anthony: +4
Allen Iverson: +2
J.R. Smith: +0
Linas Kleiza: +0
Nene: -2
Chucky Atkins: -4

OBSERVATIONS ON PLUS—MINUS
The game was close the whole way through, so you can’t really tell very much from the plus-minus. You can see that Anthony Carter once again outplayed Chucky Atkins, meaning we are going to be stuck with Carter starting instead of Atkins for who knows how long.

NUGGETS MADE WHAT?
All Nuggets who played at least 6 minutes are shown. The order is from lowest to highest in real player rating.

Eduardo Najera played 26 minutes and was 1/4 and 0/2 on 3’s for 2 points, and he made 2 steals, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Chucky Atkins played 21 minutes and was 2/6 and 2/5 on 3’s for 6 points, and he made 4 rebounds.

Nene played 18 minutes and was 2/5 and 1/2 from the line for 5 points, and he made 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Anthony Carter played 27 minutes and was 3/6 for 6 points, and he made 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Linas Kleiza played 24 minutes and was 3/7, 1/4 on 3’s, and 8/8 from the line for 15 points, and he made 5 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal.

Marcus Camby played 38 minutes and was 6/10 and 3/4 from the line for 15 points, and he made 16 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and 1 assist.

Carmelo Anthony played 33 minutes and was 11/22, 0/2 on 3’s, and 8/8 from the line for 30 points, and he made 8 rebounds.

Allen Iverson played for virtually the whole game, 45 minutes, and was 12/21, 2/4 on 3’s, and 13/15 from the line for 39 points, and he made 6 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal.

J.R. Smith played for 8 minutes and was 3/4 for 6 points, and he made 1 assist and 1 rebound.

NEXT UP
The next game will be Sunday, December 30 in Denver to play the Warriors at 6 pm mountain time. Neither the Nuggets nor the Warriors will be playing on back to back nights.

Friday, December 28, 2007

The Nuggets' Best 8 Players Are Exactly as Good as the Spurs' Best 8, But...

It's time to see how the Nuggets stack up against the boogeyman, the San Antonio Spurs.

ABOUT THE REAL PLAYER RATING
1 The real player rating is calculated for the top 300 players ranked according to gross player rating.
2 A player must have at least 8 minutes per game to be included.
3 A player must have played in at least 1/4 of the number of games that the player or players who have played in the most games have played to be included.
4 Real Player Rating = Gross Player Rating / Minutes Per Game.
5 Gross Player Rating is the net total of the following:

ADD THE FOLLOWING
Points
Rebounds
1.4 X Assists
Steals
1.4 X Blocks
# of Field Goals Made
0.5 X # of 3-Pointers Made
0.25 X # of Free Throws Made

SUBTRACT THE FOLLOWING
0.7 X Turnovers
0.8 X # of Missed Field Goals
0.8 X # of Missed Free Throws

The Real Player Rating reflects reality better than the gross player rating, since it washes out differences in playing times among the players. The straight up player rankings are obviously heavily affected by how many playing minutes the various players get. With many teams, you can rely on the coach to give his various players roughly the playing time that makes the most sense for his team. Unfortunately, some coaches bring other factors besides actual performance into their rotation decisions. Therefore, it makes good sense to introduce a new and extremely important statistic that Nuggets 1 calls the Real Per Minute Player Rating. As the name implies, this is the gross ESPN player rating divided by the number of minutes. The statistic is called Real Player Rating for short.

This statistic allows anyone to see whether or not players who play only a small number of minutes are doing better than their low gross rating will indicate. You can spot diamond in the rough players who are not getting all the respect and playing time due to them. At the same time, it will allow anyone to see whether players with a lot of minutes are playing worse than, as well as, or better than their gross rating shows.

In summary, the Real Player Rating allows the reader, at a glance, to see exactly how well each player is doing without regard to playing time, which is subject to coaching error and subjective and less important factors such as a player's personality. The Real Player Rating provides the real truth-pure knowledge not available anywhere else.

Rank, Player, Team, Pos., Real Player Rating
DENVER NUGGETS
13 Carmelo Anthony, Den SF 1.024
19 Allen Iverson, Den G 1.002
29 Marcus Camby, Den C 0.948
101 J.R. Smith, Den SG 0.776
112 Kenyon Martin, Den PF 0.764
116 Linas Kleiza, Den GF 0.759
146 Anthony Carter, Den PG 0.708
225 Eduardo Najera, Den F 0.606

SAN ANTONIO SPURS
8 Tim Duncan, SA FC 1.116
10 Manu Ginobili, SA SG 1.090
22 Tony Parker, SA PG 0.994
125 Brent Barry, SA G 0.740
133 Fabricio Oberto, SA C 0.727
151 Matt Bonner, SA FC 0.705
219 Ime Udoka, SA SF 0.616
234 Michael Finley, SA GF 0.595
248 Francisco Elson, SA FC 0.573
270 Jacque Vaughn, SA PG 0.527
289 Bruce Bowen, SA SF 0.412

Now if you compare the 8 Nuggets who are among the 290 NBA players good enough to be ranked to the BEST 8 Spurs, by taking the averages of the player ratings, this is what you get:

Nuggets: 0.823
Spurs: 0.823

The two teams best 8 players are exactly equal as of December 28, 2007. But that's it for the Nuggets. The Spurs have three more players who are ready right now to play in the playoffs and the Nuggets technically have none. On the bright side, both Nene and Chucky Atkins are back from long injury outs and, as long as these two get back into gear, the Nuggets will have 9, only 1 fewer than the Spurs.

However, if George Karl goes ballistic again and benches anyone for the playoffs, then the Spurs would enjoy the 10-8 advantage in players ready to bring home another series win for San Antonio, as if they need one.

In any event, no matter how many good players Karl has on paper, he usually can only figure out a way to use 8 of them effectively in games anyway, and sometimes only 7. Coach Greg Popovich of the Spurs almost always makes use of 9 players in individual games, and sometimes even 10.

The other caution to keep in mind is that neither this nor any other statistic measures the intensity and quality of defending, and everyone knows that the Spurs have some of the best defenders in the NBA, whereas the Nuggets are just a little above average in made you miss defending at best.

NBA Real Player Ratings as of December 28, 2007: The Real Truth About How Good Each Player Is

Who are really the best players in the NBA? You came to the right place to find out. The Nuggets 1 Real Player Rating has been calculated for the top 300 players according to gross player rating.

ABOUT THE REAL PLAYER RATING
1 The real player rating is calculated for the top 300 players ranked according to gross player rating.
2 A player must have at least 8 minutes per game to be included.
3 A player must have played in at least 1/4 of the number of games that the player or players who have played in the most games have played to be included.
4 Real Player Rating = Gross Player Rating / Minutes Per Game.
5 Gross Player Rating is the net total of the following:

ADD THE FOLLOWING
Points
Rebounds
1.4 X Assists
Steals
1.4 X Blocks
# of Field Goals Made
0.5 X # of 3-Pointers Made
0.25 X # of Free Throws Made

SUBTRACT THE FOLLOWING
0.7 X Turnovers
0.8 X # of Missed Field Goals
0.8 X # of Missed Free Throws

The Real Player Rating reflects reality better than the gross player rating, since it washes out differences in playing times among the players. The straight up player rankings are obviously heavily affected by how many playing minutes the various players get. With many teams, you can rely on the coach to give his various players roughly the playing time that makes the most sense for his team. Unfortunately, some coaches bring other factors besides actual performance into their rotation decisions. Therefore, it makes good sense to introduce a new and extremely important statistic that Nuggets 1 calls the Real Per Minute Player Rating. As the name implies, this is the gross ESPN player rating divided by the number of minutes. The statistic is called Real Player Rating for short.

This statistic allows anyone to see whether or not players who play only a small number of minutes are doing better than their low gross rating will indicate. You can spot diamond in the rough players who are not getting all the respect and playing time due to them. At the same time, it will allow anyone to see whether players with a lot of minutes are playing worse than, as well as, or better than their gross rating shows.

In summary, the Real Player Rating allows the reader, at a glance, to see exactly how well each player is doing without regard to playing time, which is subject to coaching error and subjective and less important factors such as a player's personality. The Real Player Rating provides the real truth-pure knowledge not available anywhere else.

Nuggets players are highlighted in yellow.

TO LOCATE A PLAYER QUICKLY, USE THE FIND FUNCTION. (PRESS THE CONTROL KEY AND THE F KEY AT THE SAME TIME.)

Rank, Player, Team, Pos., Real Player Rating

1 LeBron James, Cle SF 1.261
2 Carlos Boozer, Uta FC 1.253
3 Amare Stoudemire, Pho C 1.196
4 Chris Paul, Nor PG 1.161
5 Kobe Bryant, LAL SG 1.151
6 Dwight Howard, Orl C 1.145
7 Steve Nash, Pho PG 1.145
8 Tim Duncan, SA FC 1.116
9 Kevin Garnett, Bos F 1.110
10 Manu Ginobili, SA SG 1.090
11 Yao Ming, Hou C 1.032
12 Dirk Nowitzki, Dal PF 1.027
13 Carmelo Anthony, Den SF 1.024
14 Al Jefferson, Min FC 1.022
15 Andrew Bynum, LAL C 1.017
16 T.J. Ford, Tor PG 1.015
17 Chris Bosh, Tor FC 1.012
18 Baron Davis, GS PG 1.003
19 Allen Iverson, Den G 1.002
20 Dwyane Wade, Mia G 0.995
21 Tracy McGrady, Hou GF 0.994
22 Tony Parker, SA PG 0.994
23 Chauncey Billups, Det PG 0.979
24 Deron Williams, Uta PG 0.979
25 Chris Kaman, LAC C 0.972
26 Jose Calderon, Tor PG 0.960
27 Josh Smith, Atl F 0.957
28 Caron Butler, Was SF 0.956
29 Marcus Camby, Den C 0.948
30 Josh Howard, Dal GF 0.942
31 Shawn Marion, Pho F 0.932
32 Jermaine O'Neal, Ind FC 0.926
33 Vince Carter, NJ GF 0.918
34 Michael Redd, Mil GF 0.916
35 Andris Biedrins, GS C 0.915
36 Zach Randolph, NY PF 0.915
37 Shaquille O'Neal, Mia C 0.901
38 Paul Pierce, Bos GF 0.901
39 Antawn Jamison, Was F 0.897
40 Mike Dunleavy, Ind GF 0.889
41 Sam Cassell, LAC PG 0.888
42 Jason Kidd, NJ PG 0.887
43 Pau Gasol, Mem FC 0.884
44 Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cle C 0.883
45 Corey Maggette, LAC GF 0.880
46 David West, Nor PF 0.879
47 Richard Jefferson, NJ SF 0.869
48 Kevin Martin, Sac SG 0.865
49 Stromile Swift, Mem FC 0.865
50 LaMarcus Aldridge, Por FC 0.862
51 Leandro Barbosa, Pho G 0.861
52 Hedo Turkoglu, Orl GF 0.856
53 Brandon Roy, Por G 0.853
54 Al Harrington, GS FC 0.852
55 Rudy Gay, Mem GF 0.843
56 Brendan Haywood, Was C 0.835
57 Jamaal Tinsley, Ind PG 0.834
58 Rasheed Wallace, Det FC 0.834
59 Gilbert Arenas, Was PG 0.828
60 Andre Miller, Phi PG 0.825
61 Chris Wilcox, Sea FC 0.825
62 Kevin Durant, Sea GF 0.824
63 Grant Hill, Pho GF 0.821
64 Andres Nocioni, Chi F 0.821
65 Richard Hamilton, Det SG 0.819
66 Louis Williams, Phi G 0.819
67 Craig Smith, Min FC 0.817
68 Andre Iguodala, Phi GF 0.816
69 Joe Johnson, Atl G 0.816
70 Brian Skinner, Pho FC 0.816
71 Jordan Farmar, LAL G 0.816
72 Gerald Wallace, Cha F 0.815
73 Kris Humphries, Tor F 0.815
74 Ron Artest, Sac SF 0.811
75 Mo Williams, Mil PG 0.809
76 Monta Ellis, GS G 0.809
77 Devin Harris, Dal PG 0.806
78 Tyson Chandler, Nor C 0.805
79 Emeka Okafor, Cha FC 0.805
80 Amir Johnson, Det F 0.802
81 Jason Terry, Dal G 0.801
82 Andrei Kirilenko, Uta F 0.799
83 Andray Blatche, Was FC 0.797
84 Marquis Daniels, Ind GF 0.797
85 Mike Miller, Mem GF 0.797
86 Jose Juan Barea, Dal G 0.794
87 Luol Deng, Chi GF 0.794
88 Nick Collison, Sea FC 0.793
89 Joe Smith, Chi PF 0.793
90 David Lee, NY F 0.789
91 Troy Murphy, Ind FC 0.789
92 Sean Williams, NJ FC 0.788
93 Hakim Warrick, Mem F 0.787
94 Andrew Bogut, Mil C 0.784
95 Jason Maxiell, Det FC 0.784
96 Derek Fisher, LAL PG 0.781
97 Paul Millsap, Uta F 0.780
98 Stephen Jackson, GS GF 0.779
99 Jameer Nelson, Orl PG 0.777
100 Samuel Dalembert, Phi C 0.777
101 J.R. Smith, Den SG 0.776
102 Danny Granger, Ind F 0.775
103 Channing Frye, Por FC 0.775
104 Sasha Vujacic, LAL G 0.773
105 Jason Richardson, Cha GF 0.772
106 Trevor Ariza, LAL SF 0.770
107 Alonzo Mourning, Mia C 0.769
108 Brad Miller, Sac C 0.769
109 John Salmons, Sac GF 0.768
110 Ray Allen, Bos SG 0.766
111 Antonio McDyess, Det PF 0.765
112 Kenyon Martin, Den PF 0.764
113 Wally Szczerbiak, Sea GF 0.764
114 Tyrus Thomas, Chi F 0.762
115 Travis Outlaw, Por F 0.761
116 Linas Kleiza, Den GF 0.759
117 Nazr Mohammed, Cha C 0.759
118 Joakim Noah, Chi FC 0.758
119 Raymond Felton, Cha G 0.755
120 Francisco Garcia, Sac GF 0.755
121 Shawne Williams, Ind F 0.750
122 Marvin Williams, Atl GF 0.743
123 Bonzi Wells, Hou SG 0.741
124 Antoine Walker, Min F 0.740
125 Brent Barry, SA G 0.740
126 Charlie Villanueva, Mil F 0.739
127 Rashard Lewis, Orl F 0.737
128 Lamar Odom, LAL F 0.735
129 Matt Harpring, Uta GF 0.731
130 Drew Gooden, Cle PF 0.729
131 Ronnie Brewer, Uta GF 0.729
132 Jeff Foster, Ind FC 0.728
133 Fabricio Oberto, SA C 0.727
134 Kyle Lowry, Mem G 0.726
135 Eddie House, Bos SG 0.725
136 Eddy Curry, NY C 0.724
137 Brandon Bass, Dal F 0.724
138 Nate Robinson, NY G 0.723
139 C.J. Miles, Uta G 0.720
140 Ronald Murray, Det SG 0.720
141 Luis Scola, Hou F 0.719
142 Rajon Rondo, Bos G 0.715
143 Ronny Turiaf, LAL F 0.715
144 Matt Barnes, GS SF 0.713
145 Rashad McCants, Min G 0.712
146 Anthony Carter, Den PG 0.708
147 Yi Jianlian, Mil PF 0.707
148 Delonte West, Sea G 0.707
149 Jake Voskuhl, Mil C 0.706
150 Tayshaun Prince, Det SF 0.705
151 Matt Bonner, SA FC 0.705
152 Carlos Delfino, Tor SG 0.703
153 Glen Davis, Bos F 0.702
154 Thaddeus Young, Phi F 0.702
155 James Jones, Por SF 0.700
156 Al Horford, Atl FC 0.699
157 Jamal Crawford, NY SG 0.696
158 Juan Dixon, Tor G 0.695
159 Gerald Green, Min GF 0.692
160 Aaron Gray, Chi C 0.692
161 Ben Gordon, Chi SG 0.689
162 Damon Stoudamire, Mem PG 0.688
163 Stephon Marbury, NY PG 0.688
164 Marko Jaric, Min GF 0.687
165 Josh Childress, Atl GF 0.686
166 Dorell Wright, Mia GF 0.686
167 Erick Dampier, Dal C 0.681
168 Udonis Haslem, Mia PF 0.680
169 Kelenna Azubuike, GS GF 0.676
170 Beno Udrih, Sac PG 0.675
171 Luke Ridnour, Sea PG 0.672
172 Earl Watson, Sea PG 0.671
173 Jeff Green, Sea F 0.670
174 Juan Carlos Navarro, Mem G 0.669
175 David Harrison, Ind C 0.669
176 Vladimir Radmanovic, LAL PF 0.667
177 Joel Przybilla, Por C 0.667
178 Kirk Hinrich, Chi G 0.665
179 Carlos Arroyo, Orl PG 0.663
180 James Posey, Bos GF 0.662
181 Keyon Dooling, Orl PG 0.661
182 Tim Thomas, LAC F 0.660
183 Jared Dudley, Cha F 0.659
184 Damien Wilkins, Sea GF 0.658
185 Melvin Ely, Nor FC 0.658
186 Mehmet Okur, Uta FC 0.657
187 Anderson Varejao, Cle FC 0.656
188 Willie Green, Phi SG 0.655
189 Daequan Cook, Mia G 0.654
190 Luke Walton, LAL SF 0.652
191 Peja Stojakovic, Nor GF 0.651
192 Ryan Gomes, Min F 0.650
193 Antonio Daniels, Was PG 0.647
194 Damien Wilkins, Sea GF 0.646
195 Daniel Gibson, Cle G 0.644
196 Nick Young, Was GF 0.643
197 Eddie Gill, NJ PG 0.643
198 Jerry Stackhouse, Dal GF 0.639
199 Ricky Davis, Mia GF 0.635
200 Jason Kapono, Tor GF 0.633
201 Chris Mihm, LAL FC 0.632
202 Andrea Bargnani, Tor FC 0.631
203 Roger Mason, Was PG 0.631
204 DeSagana Diop, Dal FC 0.631
205 Johan Petro, Sea C 0.630
206 Marcus Banks, Pho PG 0.630
207 Jarrett Jack, Por PG 0.628
208 Jamario Moon, Tor SF 0.628
209 Anthony Johnson, Atl PG 0.627
210 Mickael Pietrus, GS GF 0.626
211 Kendrick Perkins, Bos C 0.625
212 Dan Dickau, LAC PG 0.624
213 Jarvis Hayes, Det SF 0.624
214 Sebastian Telfair, Min PG 0.623
215 Anthony Parker, Tor GF 0.623
216 Bostjan Nachbar, NJ SF 0.622
217 Luther Head, Hou G 0.622
218 Mike James, Hou PG 0.619
219 Ime Udoka, SA SF 0.616
220 Shannon Brown, Cle GF 0.614
221 Martell Webster, Por GF 0.613
222 Rafer Alston, Hou PG 0.612
223 Al Thornton, LAC F 0.611
224 Royal Ivey, Mil PG 0.606
225 Eduardo Najera, Den F 0.606
226 Boris Diaw, Pho FC 0.605
227 Bobby Jackson, Nor PG 0.604
228 Chris Duhon, Chi PG 0.603
229 Ryan Hollins, Cha C 0.600
230 Morris Peterson, Nor GF 0.599
231 Josh Boone, NJ FC 0.599
232 Ruben Patterson, LAC GF 0.599
233 Malik Allen, NJ PF 0.598
234 Michael Finley, SA GF 0.595
235 Rasho Nesterovic, Tor C 0.594
236 Kareem Rush, Ind SG 0.592
237 Cuttino Mobley, LAC SG 0.591
238 Jason Williams, Mia PG 0.588
239 Steve Blake, Por PG 0.587
240 Shelden Williams, Atl F 0.586
241 Zaza Pachulia, Atl FC 0.585
242 Kyle Korver, Phi SF 0.584
243 Darko Milicic, Mem FC 0.580
244 Desmond Mason, Mil GF 0.579
245 Mikki Moore, Sac FC 0.578
246 Jason Smith, Phi F 0.576
247 Rodney Carney, Phi GF 0.575
248 Francisco Elson, SA FC 0.573
249 Darius Songaila, Was PF 0.569
250 Jannero Pargo, Nor PG 0.564
251 Chuck Hayes, Hou F 0.563
252 Brevin Knight, LAC PG 0.562
253 Steve Francis, Hou PG 0.560
254 Chris Quinn, Mia G 0.558
255 Matt Carroll, Cha GF 0.557
256 Ira Newble, Cle GF 0.557
257 Maurice Evans, Orl GF 0.556
258 Joey Graham, Tor GF 0.556
259 Raja Bell, Pho SG 0.554
260 Hilton Armstrong, Nor FC 0.554
261 Tony Allen, Bos G 0.548
262 Reggie Evans, Phi PF 0.548
263 Keith Bogans, Orl GF 0.545
264 Larry Hughes, Cle G 0.542
265 DeShawn Stevenson, Was SG 0.536
266 Devin Brown, Cle SG 0.536
267 Arron Afflalo, Det G 0.535
268 Tyronn Lue, Atl PG 0.535
269 Ben Wallace, Chi C 0.533
270 Jacque Vaughn, SA PG 0.527
271 Derek Anderson, Cha GF 0.526
272 Fred Jones, NY GF 0.506
273 Antoine Wright, NJ GF 0.497
274 Shane Battier, Hou SF 0.493
275 Charlie Bell, Mil GF 0.487
276 Bobby Simmons, Mil GF 0.486
277 Greg Buckner, Min GF 0.480
278 Quinton Ross, LAC GF 0.478
279 Rasual Butler, Nor GF 0.475
280 Corey Brewer, Min GF 0.473
281 Anfernee Hardaway, Mia GF 0.466
282 Damon Jones, Cle PG 0.459
283 Quentin Richardson, NY GF 0.458
284 Nenad Krstic, NJ FC 0.454
285 Acie Law, Atl G 0.453
286 Jeff McInnis, Cha PG 0.452
287 Smush Parker, Mia PG 0.417
288 Eddie Jones, Dal GF 0.412
289 Bruce Bowen, SA SF 0.412
290 Sasha Pavlovic, Cle GF 0.411

There was 1 player who could not be included because his minutes are less than 8 per game.
There were 9 players who could not be included because they have appeared in fewer than 8 games.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

The Nuggets Rout Another Lottery Team in the Mile High City, the Bucks, 125-105

According to the under development Real Team Ratings, which no one has seen yet because they have yet to be posted for the first time, there are only 5 teams in the NBA worse than the Milwaukee Bucks. So since the Nuggets, unlike last year when they could and did lose to anyone anywhere, have been going to town on almost all of the lottery teams that have come to the Mile High City, it was no surprise that the Nuggets routed the Bucks 125-105. The Nuggets assumed the lead 5 minutes into the game on a mid-range Allen Iverson jumper and never looked back.

The Nuggets led 28-17 after the 1st quarter, 68-38 at halftime, and 95-66 after 3 quarters. Therefore, the entire 4th quarter was garbage time, also known as J.R. Smith time in George Karl’s brain. The Nuggets defeated the lottery bound Bucks 125-105 after surrendering 39 points in garbage time with garbage defense, while scoring 30 in that period themselves.

The Bucks had no injuries to key players, a situation that the Nuggets almost but not quite enjoyed for the 1st time this season, but since Michael Redd, by far their scoring leader, had one of the worst games of his career, the Bucks never had a chance in this game. Redd was 1/8, 0/3 on 3’s, and 7/8 from the line for 9 points, not exactly typical for one of the top ten scorers in the League. Maybe he had too much wine or turkey during the holiday the day before. But his teammates and coaches were of no assistance in getting the ball to him, so they bear a large part of the blame.

The Nuggets were not quite injury free, because Kenyon Martin’s hamstring problem limited his playing time and production severely.

PG Mo Williams was by far the best Buck in this game. He made 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals to go along with his 28 points on 12/24 shooting. One of his point guard backups, Royal Ivey, also played extremely well in limited minutes. William’s other PG backup, Charlie Bell, played well, as did PF Charlie Villanueva. But that was it for the Bucks, so the shortage of Bucks playing well and the Redd disaster made it oh so easy for the Nuggets to showboat (in a good way) to the easy win.

If you are wondering what ever happened to Earl Boykins, who played very well for the Nuggets at the point early in the 2006-07 season, he decided to become a free agent, rather than to fulfill the option year on his 2 year contract with the Bucks. No team has signed him since that questionable decision. Maybe this was his round about way of retiring?

The high flying Nuggets had a huge 44 fast break points in this game, while keeping their turnovers within reason. The Nuggets demolished the Bucks in the paint 54-34, and almost managed a rare instance of having their reserves score more points than the reserves of their opponent. Howver, the Buck’s reserves defeated the Nugget’s reserves 52-49.

Yi Jianlian, the rookie starting power forward for the Bucks, made his first appearance in the Mile High City, but didn’t play well at all. On the season, though, Jianlian has earned his role as a starter. He’s only 7 feet instead of 7 ½ feet like Yao Ming, but he makes threes and other jump shots better than Yao does. Right now he’s just a poor man’s Yao, but he will definitely get better, and most likely become one of the top dozen power forwards within half a decade or so.

But in this game, Jianlian and the Center, Andrew Bogut, who played better than Jianlian but still not very well, could have learned some things from Marcus Camby, who made 10 blocks and 11 rebounds to go along with 10 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals. I think we should just give Camby the defensive player of the year award right here and now because it’s obvious he’s the NBA’s top man on defense. The Spurs may have the team as far as defense is concerned, but the Nuggets clearly have the man. And if Nene and Kenyon Martin were to both be healthy come playoff time, which I know is like asking for the moon, and if Anthony were to continue to keep his rebounding up, which may be asking for another moon, the Nuggets could then maybe have a defense that Camby could be proud of.

When you write about a sports team and you watch for every little thing, you sometimes get annoyed that a player has caused you to start putting out complaints and warnings that later turn out to be a lot to do over relatively little. In this case I’m talking about the Carmelo Anthony slump, and how it seemed like the world was coming to an end because Allen Iverson, Anthony Carter, and George Karl had taken over the Denver offense, left Anthony out of the front seat, and were destined to drive the team into the ditch. Karl himself was quoted as saying that he was going to figure out what to do to bring Carmelo Anthony back into the central flow of the Nugget’s offense.

We now know for sure that Carmelo was trying to be a superstar on the cheap during the slump days. What seems to have happened is that Anthony finally realized that if you base most of your worth as a player on your scoring, and you think you are one of the greatest jump shooters of all time, but then you start missing a few jumpers that normally go in every game, suddenly you are just an ordinary player and Allen Iverson has completely taken over the show. Realizing that the Carmelo Anthony show just didn’t have enough variety in it, and was getting trashed in the ratings by the Iverson show, Anthony set about to expand out the variety in his production. Starting with the December 20 Rockets game, Melo switched from a score as much as possible and assist on the side overall approach to a score and rebound aggressively and assist on the side overall approach.

When he started rebounding big, everything on the points side came back to him, including the seemingly unrelated jumpers. But nothing is unrelated in basketball. If a player cheats any aspect of his game, from time to time other aspects of his game will suffer, as if the player was being punished by his own soul for bringing a cheap version of his game to the court. The usual mechanism for that is that teammates sense intuitively whether a player is going all out or not, and if they feel he is not, they won’t make as much effort to get the ball to him in easy scoring situations. In this case, specifically, Melo has been rewarded for this rebounding by players such as Iverson, Carter, and Camby, who have become more willing to get the ball to him, despite the frequent double teaming of Anthony.

This is a much more likely reason for the new Melo than thinking that Karl did anything big about stopping the developing all Iverson all the time train wreck that was threatening to destroy the Nuggets. When was the last time Karl used a basketball strategy to solve a tough basketball problem? No, all Karl did was to tell Melo to rebound more. Since Anthony is not an idiot, I am sure he could, and in fact did, figure out on his own the how to get the ball more equations I just discussed here.

And the referees, like teammates, also respond favorably when they see a player who can be kind of lazy sometimes fighting for rebounds and loose balls. They reward that player with more trips to the foul line and a break here and there on turnover calls against him such as offensive fouls. The refs don’t even know they are doing it; they do it unconsciously.

J.R. Smith was actually fully back in the doghouse with the returns of Nene and Chucky Atkins, but he got to play anyway during the extensive garbage time in the 4th quarter. When Karl thinks of garbage time, he thinks of J.R. Smith, and when he thinks of J.R. Smith, he thinks of garbage time. But objective analysis shows that Smith can not possibly be worse than the 6th best player on the Nuggets. Smith had that tragic and asinine traffic accident this past summer, and that bizarre and asinine incident in the Denver bar, but his biggest mistake career wise is thinking that he will ever get good playing time under George Karl. It just isn’t going to happen ever, no matter what.

One of the delights I will have sometime in the next few years will be to see Smith’s performances go up when he is on another team. Now that the Nuggets are winning all the games for which they have a large skills advantage, George Karl is probably not going to be fired even if, for the zillionth straight year, the Nuggets bow out quickly in the 1st round of the playoffs. So unless Smith wants to keep playing less than 20 minutes a game when he could be playing about 30 minutes a game elsewhere, he and his agent are going to have to find another team for the video game playing guy with the odd personality that makes Karl’s skin crawl.

The Nuggets had the luxury of Allen Iverson playing very well, but seemingly not needing him all that much to win this game. In a post game interview, Iverson was quoted: "My concern is never our offense because we can score with the best of them. If we get any type of defensive mentality, and we take it personally night in and night out, teams are not going to score big on us, and we can be dangerous." And I’m thinking, I’d be happy if Camby, Nene, Martin and Anthony are completely free of physical ailments come playoff time. Because you don’t have to worry too much about the brains working durng an athletic contest, whereas a bad hamstring means the player will not be on the court.

And there is no injury list for brains that are not thinking straight, though if there were one, I know for a fact that George Karl thinks that J.R. Smith would be on it most of the season.

ALERT STATUS PROBLEMS
As of December 27, 2007

The Nuggets are under an unusually dangerous and damaging alert status, so the following update is provided.

INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
1. Steven Hunter injury 3 Points

UNEXPECTED AND SEVERE PLAYER PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS
None

BAD OR INADEQUATE COACHING
1. George Karl over relies on his starters and won’t play the non-starters enough: 5-20 Points. The severity varies depending on the circumstances, mainly Karl’s beliefs and moods, and whether the other team is playing well enough to take advantage of the Nuggets playing with not enough breathers, with too many fouls, and so forth. Karl will normally be in the 5-15 range, but it could spike to as much as 20 in the event of the benching of a major player such as Kenyon Martin. The current points reported are for the use, or should I say the misuse, of the reserves for the most recent games, with the most weight being given to the game being reported on here. The bad use of reserves score for this game is 9 points.

2. Lack of adequate offensive schemes: 10 Points. This would be up to 20 points, except that Iverson reduces the damage. Another way of describing this is that the team has failed to decide whether it wants Melo alone, Iverson alone, Melo and Iverson together, or neither of them to be firstly responsible for scoring enough points to keep the Nuggets in the game. If it were neither, I call the name of that strategy the "share the wealth" strategy.

INTENSITY, HUSTLE, AND HEART
1. The Nugget’s intensity, hustle and heart is lacking: 0 Points. It’s not anywhere near bad as some fans think it is.

TOTAL PROBLEM POINTS: 22, which constitutes GREEN ALERT.

GREEN ALERT (20-29): A set of minor problems whose total impact is very small. There is very little effect on the team’s ability to win games against teams from any level.

Man, the first ever green alert, but it’s probably a fly by night one because Kenyon Martin is probably more or less injured again for at least another win, which will push it very close to yellow alert.
RESERVE WATCH

Number of Players Who Played at Least 6 Minutes: Nuggets 11 Bucks 11
Number of Players Who Played at Least 10 Minutes: Nuggets 10 Bucks 9

Nuggets Non-Starters Points: 49
Bucks Non-Starters Points: 52

Nuggets Non-Starters Rebounds: 18
Bucks Non-Starters Rebounds: 14

Nuggets Non-Starters Assists: 14
Bucks Non-Starters Assists: 11

This feature is under development, and it will be expanded. The complications involved explain why (a) there are no formal statistics anywhere on the internet on the subject of how much non-starters contribute to different teams and (b) why coaches are not compared statistically the way players are. There are a lot of variables that come into the use of reserves that interfere with the objective of judging their use. Statisticians call this “statistical noise,” and if you have a substantial amount of it, then what you are trying to do with your statistics becomes very difficult or next to impossible.

GEORGE KARL CONFIDENCE IN HIS TEAM RATING (Scale of 0 to 10)
3.0- He’s hiding under his seat and he’s thinking seriously of and getting ready to make a break for the exits.

ESPN PLAYER RATINGS FOR THIS GAME:
You can tell how well they played at a glance. Of the advanced statistics I have seen on the internet, this one seems to have the best balance between offense and defense. Many other advanced statistics are biased in favor of good defenders, and do not reflect the heavy importance of offense in basketball. Here is the formula for the ESPN rating of a player:

Points + Rebounds + 1.4*Assists + Steals + 1.4*Blocks - .7*Turnovers + # of Field Goals Made +1/2*# of 3-pointers Made - .8*# of Missed Field Goals - .8*# of Missed Free Throws + .25 *# of Free Throws Made

All players on each team who played at least 5 minutes are shown. The number after “game,” is how well the player did in this game, whereas the number after “season” is that player’s overall average for the entire season.

NUGGETS
Carmelo Anthony: Game 50.4 Season 38.0
Marcus Camby: Game 42.6 Season 32.8
Allen Iverson: Game 36.7 Season 41.6
Anthony Carter: Game 35.4 Season 20.5
Linas Kleiza: Game 24.9 Season 17.6
Nene Hilario: Game 20.8 Season 13.7
J.R. Smith: Game 18.1 Season 15.0
Chucky Atkins: Game 16.2 Season 10.3
Eduardo Najera: Game 6.9 Season 13.8
Yakhouba Diawara: Game -1.2 Season 6.0
Kenyon Martin: Game -1.9 Season 19.4

Bobby Jones: Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision
Jelani McCoy: Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision
Von Wafer: Did Not Play-Coach's Decision

Steven Hunter: Did Not Play-Injury

BUCKS
Mo Williams: Game 47.2 Season 30.3
Charlie Villanueva: Game 25.6 Season 14.7
Royal Ivey: Game 22.5 Season 8.0
Charlie Bell: Game 18.3 Season 9.2
Andrew Bogut: Game 16.1 Season 25.7
Michael Redd: Game 13.3 Season 35.9
Dan Gadzuric: Game 11.8 Season 6.5
Jake Voskuhl: Game 11.0 Season 7.0
Yi Jianlian: Game 10.2 Season 19.9
Awvee Storey: Game 5.2 Season 4.3
Bobby Simmons: Game 1.4 Season 10.0

NOTE: these stats do not correct for the big differences in playing times. Players with small minutes would get a higher rating if they had more minutes.

OBSERVATIONS ON RATINGS:
LeBron James and Kobe Bryant get a substantial number of 50+ games, but Carmelo Anthony has been content with very few of them. Could this be the start of Melo finally bringing his Team USA mentality to the lowly Nuggets? Time will tell.

Anthony Carter had a superb game and Linas Kleiza was outstanding yet again.

For the Bucks, only Mo Williams was huge, and Michael Redd should have stayed in Milwaukee.

NUGGETS REAL PLAYER RATINGS—EXPLANATION
A Great New Feature from Nuggets 1

The straight up player rankings are obviously heavily affected by how many playing minutes the various players get. With many teams, you can rely on the coach to give his various players roughly the playing time that makes the most sense for his team. Unfortunately, you can not rely on George Karl to award playing time in just about the best way possible. He brings other factors besides actual performance into his rotation decisions. Therefore, it makes good sense to introduce a new and very important statistic that Nuggets 1 will call the Real Per Minute Player Rating which, as the name implies, is the gross ESPN player rating divided by the number of minutes. The statistic is called Real Player Rating for short.

This statistic allows everyone to see whether or not players who play only a small number of minutes are doing better than their low gross rating will indicate. At the same time, it will allow everyone to see whether players with a lot of minutes are playing worse than, as well as, or better than their gross rating shows. This is another big improvement in the Nuggets 1 never ending quest to give readers total information about the Nuggets. This statistic allows the reader, at a glance, to see exactly how well each player is doing without regard to playing time. So it gives you pure knowledge not available anywhere else..

SCALE FOR THE REAL PLAYER RATINGS
1.60 More Superstar Performance beyond the Michael Jordan Level
1.40 1.60 Superstar Performance-Michael Jordan Level
1.20 1.40 Superstar Performance
1.00 1.20 Star Performance
0.90 1.00 Outstanding Game
0.80 0.90 Very Good Game
0.70 0.80 Good Game
0.60 0.70 Mediocre Game
0.50 0.60 Poor Game
0.40 0.50 Very Poor Game
0.25 0.40 Near Disaster
Less 0.25 Total Disaster

NUGGETS-BUCKS REAL PLAYER RATINGS
All players who played 5 minutes or more are included. Any player who played only 5-9 minutes is noted

1. Dan Gadzuric, Mil 1.686…Played only 7 minutes
2. J.R. Smith, Den 1.645
3. Carmelo Anthony, Den 1.626
4. Anthony Carter, Den 1.475
5. Marcus Camby, Den 1.420
6. Mo Williams, Mil 1.388
7. Linas Kleiza, Den 1.311
8. Royal Ivey, Mil 1.250
9. Nene Hilario, Den 1.224
10. Jake Voskuhl, Mil 1.222…Played only 9 minutes
11. Allen Iverson, Den 1.019
12. Charlie Villanueva, Mil 0.948
13. Charlie Bell, Mil 0.796
14. Chucky Atkins, Den 0.771
15. Andrew Bogut, Mil 0.596
16. Awvee Storey, Mil 0.520
17. Michael Redd, Mil 0.475
18. Yi Jianlian, Mil 0.352
19. Eduardo Najera, Den 0.300
20. Bobby Simmons, Mil 0.052
21. Yakhouba Diawara, Den -0.150…Played only 8 minutes
22. Kenyon Martin, Den -0.127

OBSERVATIONS ON THE NUGGETS-TRAILBLAZERS REAL PLAYER RATINGS
With the fast pace and the lack of lock down defenders in the game, it was everyone can be like Mike day at the Pepsi Center. That is, a lot of players could put out the performance of a Michael Jordan if they really had the right stuff and the right effort. There were essentially 5 players who played at Michael Jordan’s level, if only for a night, and 4 of them were Nuggets: J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Carter, and Marcus Camby. For the Bucks, Mo Williams was the Michael Jordan designate for the night after Christmas offensive fireworks.

Aside from the Jordans, for the Nuggets, Kleiza played lights out and Nene was huge, especially considering this was his first game back after 7 weeks out of action due to a thumb injury. For the Bucks, Royal Ivey played extremely well, but not quite up to the Michael Jordan level. Oh well, he can go for it again when the Bucks play the Timberwolves or the Knicks.

NUGGET’S PLUS—MINUS
This tells you how the score changed while a player was on the court. All Nuggets who played at least 6 minutes are shown.

Carmelo Anthony: +26
Allen Iverson: +22
Eduardo Najera: +19
Kenyon Martin: +17
Marcus Camby: +16
Anthony Carter: +16
Linas Kleiza: +3
Chucky Atkins: +2
Nene: -2
Yakhouba Diawara: -7
J.R. Smith: -10


OBSERVATIONS ON PLUS—MINUS
The Bucks were so depleted that, for a change, neither Linas Kleiza nor Eduardo Najera led the plus-minus. It was Anthony and Iverson on top, simply because they played the most minutes in the three quarter rout leading up to garbage time. .

NUGGETS MADE WHAT?
All Nuggets who played at least 6 minutes are shown.

Yakhouba Diawara played 8 minutes and was 0/1 for 0 points, and he made 1 rebound.

Eduardo Najera played 23 minutes and was 1/5 and 0/1 on 3’s for 2 points, and he made 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

Nene played 17 minutes and was 3/4 and 5/8 from the line for 11 points, and he made 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal.

Chucky Atkins played 21 minutes and was 2/6 and 2/5 on 3’s for 6 points, and he made 6 assists, 1 steal, and 1 rebound.

Anthony Carter played 24 minutes and was 6/7 and 1/2 from the line for 13 points, and he made 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals.

Kenyon Martin played 15 minutes and was 0/4 for 0 points, and he made 2 rebounds.

J.R. Smith played 11 minutes and was 3/6, 2/4 on 3’s, and 4/4 from the line for 12 points, and he made 2 assists and 1 block.

Linas Kleiza played 19 minutes and was 4/6, 2/4 on 3’s, and 3/4 from the line for 13 points, and he made 5 rebounds and 3 assists

Marcus Camby played 30 minutes and was 4/7, 1/1 on 3’s, and 1/4 from the line for 10 points, and he made 11 rebounds, 10 blocks, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

Carmelo Anthony played 31 minutes and was 11/16 and 7/8 from the line for 29 points, and he made 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Allen Iverson played 36 minuets and was 11/21, 0/1 on 3’s, and 2/3 from the line for 24 points, and he made 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 rebound.

NEXT UP
The next game will be Friday, December 28 in Oakland to play the Warriors at 8 pm mountain time. Neither the Nuggets nor the Warriors will be playing on back to back nights.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Supernatural Luck Was Needed, but Linas Kleiza and the Nuggets Defeat the Kings 106-105

SF Carmelo Anthony and C Marcus Camby played well enough to just about offset the best Kings, SF Ron Artest and C Brad Miller, and Nuggets F-G Linas Kleiza came up huge in the game as a whole, and in making the buzzer beater shot, as the Nuggets were behind all game long, but defeated the Sacramento Kings 106-105. Kleiza is one of three Nuggets playing better this year than he did last year, the other two being Allen Iverson and Yakhouba Diawara. Kleiza’s big improvement has more than made up for the small drop in the performance of J.R. Smith.

The Nuggets played poor defense in the 1st half, but stepped it up somewhat in the second half. On offense, Iverson played very poorly in the 1st half but much better in the second half, whereas both Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby, the other two Nuggets who played most of the game, were consistent on offense throughout the game.

Although the Nuggets, led by Melo, Camby, and Kleiza, took the 3rd quarter 26-21, the Kings still led 87-77 going into the last quarter. Chucky Atkins made his only shot of the night, a three, to start off the 4th quarter, but Francisco Garcia answered that shot with a three of his own. A Kleiza three and an Iverson drive for a layup reduced the Kings lead to 6 with about 9 minutes to play. The two teams then traded a few baskets, and the Kings still had a fairly good lead, 101-94, with 3:38 left. But then Allen Iverson made a critical three for 101-97 Kings.

After Anthony blocked a little Garcia jumper, he missed a three. Ron Artest took the rebound and made a layup to give the Kings a 103-97 lead with 2:29 left. PG Beno Udrih, who played poorly in the game as a whole, then fouled Allen Iverson on a good layup, and A.I. almost never misses clutch free throws, so it was 103-100 Kings. Then Udrih turned it over via an offensive foul, and Kleiza made a short jumper to make it 103-102 Kings with 1:53 left. The Kings lead was gone and the Nuggets finally were in position to win it.

After Brad Miller missed a jumper and Iverson got a piece of a John Salmons jump shot, Camby traveled and then Udrih pumped in a long two to make it 105-102 Kings with 53 seconds left. After a Denver timeout, Kleiza missed a long range shot, but Beno Udrih bricked two free throws when he was fouled by Anthony Carter. It was still 105-102 Kings with 34 seconds to go. After the Denver 20 second timeout, Melo drove it in for 105-104 Kings with 17 seconds left.

For the second straight game, the Nuggets passed up a three attempt while down by three with fewer than 24 seconds left. But this time, the gamble paid off, as Brad Miller clunked two free throws off the intentional foul. With 3 seconds left, Iverson missed a short jumper, but Camby deflected the ball and it fortunately went out to Kleiza near the top of the key, and he cleanly drained a buzzer beater shot to give the banged up and mismanaged Nuggets the unlikely win over the couldn’t make a free throw Kings.

For the third straight game, Carmelo Anthony was in double digits for rebounding, with 12, and Eduardo Najera had a rare 11 rebounds, as these two made up for the absences of Kenyon Martin and Nene. I have been complaining about the lack of assistance for Camby on the boards during the power forward injuries, and my wish that Camby get badly needed help in scrambling for rebounds finally was fulfilled. Overall, the Nuggets pulled down a big 53 rebounds in this game, versus 46 for the Kings.

But Nuggets won this on the cheap offensively, having made only 39/91 shots, or 42.9%. But the Kings were in just about the same dismal boat, as they made 39/90 shots or 43.3%. The Nuggets made 9/28 threes, as J.R. Smith came out of his shooting slump to make 4 of 8 of them. The Kings made 8/23 threes; SF Francisco Garcia led with 3/6. Another cheap aspect of the win was that the Nuggets actually had more turnovers, 19, than they had assists, 18. The Kings beat the Nuggets on assists, with 23-19, and also on turnovers, 15-19, although they committed several turnovers in the 4th quarter at the worst possible time, which helped them to lose the game.

Both teams are banged up. Denver's starting PF Kenyon Martin missed his second straight game with a strained right hamstring, which he injured Thursday in Denver against Houston. The second PF, Nene, remained out, as did back up center Steven Hunter. For the Kings, PG Mike Bibby has been out all year after suffering a preseason torn ligament in his right thumb. He is expected to return in January. PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim has been plagued by knee trouble. And leading scorer SG Kevin Martin is out until sometime in January with a groin injury.

One thing I like about sports is that he who is top of the heap today is not necessarily top of the heap tomorrow. If somebody plays well enough, they take over as top dog. With this game, Carmelo Anthony completed a huge recovery from his early December slump and, for now at least, reclaimed his position at the heart of the Nuggets’ offense, joining Allen Iverson, Anthony Carter, and Linas Kleiza there. Melo’s recovery has been spectacular and very quickly accomplished. As recently as December 16 versus the Trailblazers in Denver, Melo was out of the main flow of the Iverson-Carter centered Nuggets offense, and played at a mediocre level, which is not good enough to win many games in the NBA, and is completely out of whack for an all-star caliber player.

In the first half of the ensuing game on December 20 against the Rockets, Melo was still missing every shot, but he got a huge number of rebounds and you could tell from his smile while missing a large number of 1st half shots that he knew he was about to come out of his shooting slump. Sure enough, he then hit 7 straight shots in the second half, and finished the double overtime game having put in a star performance, and having finally drawn even with Iverson for the first time in over two weeks.

Following this pulling even with Iverson, Melo had his first game in too long that was clearly better than Iverson’s game the next night, December 21, at Portland against the Trailblazers. This was a superstar performance. Melo’s December 23 game at Sacramento was merely a star performance instead of a superstar one, while Iverson was just good, which is bad for Iverson, well below his normal. But Nuggets fans don’t have to worry, like they did and may in the future have to worry with respect to Anthony, that Iverson will to any degree become marginalized or kept out of the main flow of the offense. Iverson will always be in the main flow of the offense, no matter exactly how well he plays, because of the position he plays, because of how aggressively he plays, and because the Coach is comfortable with him running things on offense.

Now Nuggets fans merely have to hope that Carmelo Anthony does not repeat any time soon the same mistakes he made when he fell out of the flow and into a major slump. He needs to keep hustling, to keep going for more rebounds than in the past, to keep defending better as possible and, most importantly, to keep shaking off defenders more often, so his pass and turnover challenged teammates are not afraid to pass to him. If Melo does most of these things most of the time, as in the past 3 games, he will get the ball much more often than he got it during his slump, even if the opposing teams religiously double team him.

In a word, Iverson is automatically at the center of the Denver offense, whereas Carmelo Anthony has to hustle and scrap a little more than he may want to in order to stay in the center of the Denver offense. It is almost obvious that the only way the Nuggets can win in the playoffs is if both Melo and A.I. are equally at the center of the offense, so what we are discussing is very important to say the least.

I am scratching my head trying to figure out why Yakhouba Diawara was brought out of mothballs to start at small forward, with PF Kenyon Martin and PF Nene both still out with injuries, while Carmelo Anthony was slid over to the power forward position. First, why would you want to move your star forward to another position for a road game unless you are forced to? Second, why would you think you would be successful taking a player who hasn’t played much since late November and inserting him as a starter? Which is it, is Diawara really bad and someone who should be mostly benched, or is he really good and worthy of starting in place of Melo small forward?

Is Karl using his moods instead of his brain to make decisions like this? Why is it so often one extreme or another with Karl and the reserves? Why can’t Diawara play 10-12 minutes or so most games, instead of just garbage time at one extreme, or starting and playing 15-25 minutes at the other extreme?

In this game, Karl was apparently fighting a war with himself regarding whether and to what extent Diawara should play. First he went to the extreme of starting him. Then, when Diawara did almost nothing in the first 6 minutes of the game and had his head handed to him by Ron Artest, Karl predictably panicked and took out Diawara and didn’t dare reinsert him for the entire rest of the game. So much for trying to restore Diawara’s confidence and his sharpness for dealing with real games instead of just practices. The Kings blitzed to a 20-10 lead during the 6 minutes. The Diawara-Ron Artest 3-spot match up with which the Nuggets started this game will be one of the most lopsided starting lineup matchups in the NBA this year. It’s kind of embarrassing even to be just a fan of a team that sometimes does stuff this stupid.

For the record, obviously, Melo should have started at small forward, with either Eduardo Najera or Linas Kleiza starting at power forward. My preference would be Najera, but Karl almost never does what I want him to do, so it would have been Kleiza starting if Diawara had not started. But if Najera is not good enough to start at power forward in an emergency, then why does he get all the playing time he enjoys?

Both Beno Udrih and Brad Miller are 80% free throw shooters, so how they missed 4 straight crucial free throws is beyond me and anyone else. The Nuggets were just plain beyond lucky to win this game. They now have a lucky win in the bank that they can use to offset an unlucky loss down the road, when it happens. Don’t worry, it will happen.

Winning this game was an unexpected holiday gift for Nuggets fans. I think they earned it, given all the injuries and Karl mistakes they have had to endure already, with the season not even half over yet. Being a Nuggets fan is truly miserable sometimes, and we deserved the extra gift that was put under the tree when those 4 free throws were missed and when Kleiza swished the buzzer beater. Something or somebody was watching over us.

ALERT STATUS PROBLEMS
As of December 24, 2007

The Nuggets are under an unusually dangerous and damaging alert status, so the following update is provided.

INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
1. Kenyon Martin injury 13 Points
2. Nene injury 9 Points
3. Steven Hunter injury 2 Points

UNEXPECTED STAR PLAYER PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS
None

BAD OR INADEQUATE COACHING
1. George Karl over relies on his starters and won’t play the non-starters enough: 5-20 Points. The severity varies depending on the circumstances, mainly Karl’s beliefs and moods, and whether the other team is playing well enough to take advantage of the Nuggets playing with not enough breathers, with too many fouls, and so forth. Karl will normally be in the 5-15 range, but it could spike to as much as 20 in the event of the benching of a major player such as Kenyon Martin. The current points reported are for the use, or should I say the misuse, of the reserves for the most recent games, with the most weight being given to the game being reported on here. The bad use of reserves score for this game is 11 points.

2. Lack of adequate offensive schemes: 9 Points. This would be up to 18 points, except that Iverson reduces the damage. Another way of describing this is that the team has failed to decide whether it wants Melo alone, Iverson alone, Melo and Iverson together, or neither of them to be firstly responsible for scoring enough points to keep the Nuggets in the game. If it were neither, I call the name of that strategy the "share the wealth" strategy.

INTENSITY, HUSTLE, AND HEART
1. The Nugget’s intensity, hustle and heart is lacking: 0 Points. It’s not anywhere near bad as some fans think it is.

TOTAL PROBLEM POINTS: 44, which constitutes YELLOW ALERT.

YELLOW ALERT (40-54): Minor damage is occurring to the season. The entire season is under medium threat. Beating quality teams is much more difficult and will be pretty rare. About 1/2 of all wins against good teams will now be losses. Beating mid-level teams is a little more difficult. About 1/4 of games that would be wins agsinst mid-level teams will now be losses. Beating low level teams is still relatively easy, but no longer almost a sure bet. A good team has become in between a good team and a mid-level team when it is under this alert

RESERVE WATCH

Number of Players Who Played at Least 6 Minutes: Nuggets 9 Kings 8
Number of Players Who Played at Least 10 Minutes: Nuggets 9 Kings 8

This feature is under development, and it will be expanded. The complications involved explain why (a) there are no formal statistics anywhere on the internet on the subject of how much non-starters contribute to different teams and (b) why coaches are not compared statistically the way players are. There are a lot of variables that come into the use of reserves that interfere with the objective of judging their use. Statisticians call this “statistical noise,” and if you have a substantial amount of it, then what you are trying to do with your statistics becomes very difficult or next to impossible.

GEORGE KARL CONFIDENCE IN HIS TEAM RATING (Scale of 0 to 10)
2.0-He's making a run for the exits

ESPN PLAYER RATINGS FOR THIS GAME:
You can tell how well they played at a glance. Of the advanced statistics I have seen on the internet, this one seems to have the best balance between offense and defense. Many other advanced statistics are biased in favor of good defenders, and do not reflect the heavy importance of offense in basketball. Here is the formula for the ESPN rating of a player:

Points + Rebounds + 1.4*Assists + Steals + 1.4*Blocks - .7*Turnovers + # of Field Goals Made +1/2*# of 3-pointers Made - .8*# of Missed Field Goals - .8*# of Missed Free Throws + .25 *# of Free Throws Made

All players on each team who played at least 5 minutes are shown. The number after “game,” is how well the player did in this game, whereas the number after “season” is that player’s overall average for the entire season.

NUGGETS
Carmelo Anthony: Game 48.4 Season 37.5
Marcus Camby: Game 40.4 Season 32.2
Allen Iverson: Game 31.2 Season 41.3
Linas Kleiza: Game 28.4 Season 17.0
Eduardo Najera: Game 19.7 Season 14.3
J.R. Smith: Game 17.7 Season 15.1
Anthony Carter: Game 6.3 Season 19.4
Chucky Atkins: Game 5.8 Season 8.7
Yakhouba Diawara: Game -1.6 Season 6.3

Bobby Jones: Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision
Jelani McCoy: Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision
Von Wafer: Did Not Play-Coach's Decision

Kenyon Martin: Did Not Play-Injury
Nene: Did Not Play-Injury
Steven Hunter: Did Not Play-Injury

KINGS
Ron Artest: Game 51.1 Season 33.5
Brad Miller: Game 39.0 Season 27.7
John Salmons: Game 23.3 Season 26.9
Mikki Moore: Game 22.8 Season 16.0
Francisco Garcia: Game 19.4 Season 19.8
Beno Udrih: Game 17.3 Season 24.4
Quincy Douby: Game 11.5 Season 5.6
Spencer Hawes: Game 5.2 Season 5.6

NOTE: these stats do not correct for the big differences in playing times. Players with small minutes would get a higher rating if they had more minutes.

OBSERVATIONS ON RATINGS:
After about half a dozen games with Iverson doing more than Anthony, and two games where they were even, this game featured Anthony doing substantially more than Iverson for a change. Camby, back from missing the Trailblazers loss with a relatively minor back contusion problem, was huge in this game, with 19 points on 8/13 shooting to go along with 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. I guess Camby did not want to be the only Nugget still in a scoring slump over the Christmas holiday. Iverson missed 14 of 18 jump shots, though he made 6 assists and 3 steals. Linas Kleiza did a lot more than make the game winning shot at the final buzzer. He was as much above his average as Melo was above his. The Nuggets were kept in this game mainly by the tenacity and confidence of Camby, Anthony, and Kleiza.

For the Kings, Ron Artest was huge, and Brad Miller was big, but the absence of the injured starting SG, Kevin Martin, who is the leading scorer for Sacramento, was very damaging to the Kings in this game. Had Martin played, the Kings would most likely have been able to defeat at home the banged up and mismanaged Nuggets.

NUGGETS REAL PLAYER RATINGS—EXPLANATION
A Great New Feature from Nuggets 1

The straight up player rankings are obviously heavily affected by how many playing minutes the various players get. With many teams, you can rely on the coach to give his various players roughly the playing time that makes the most sense for his team. Unfortunately, you can not rely on George Karl to award playing time in just about the best way possible. He brings other factors besides actual performance into his rotation decisions. Therefore, it makes good sense to introduce a new and very important statistic that Nuggets 1 will call the Real Per Minute Player Rating which, as the name implies, is the gross ESPN player rating divided by the number of minutes. The statistic is called Real Player Rating for short.

This statistic allows everyone to see whether or not players who play only a small number of minutes are doing better than their low gross rating will indicate. At the same time, it will allow everyone to see whether players with a lot of minutes are playing worse than, as well as, or better than their gross rating shows. This is another big improvement in the Nuggets 1 never ending quest to give readers total information about the Nuggets. This statistic allows the reader, at a glance, to see exactly how well each player is doing without regard to playing time. So it gives you pure knowledge not available anywhere else..

SCALE FOR THE REAL PLAYER RATINGS
1.60 More Superstar Performance beyond the Michael Jordan Level
1.40 1.60 Superstar Performance-Michael Jordan Level
1.20 1.40 Superstar Performance
1.00 1.20 Star Performance
0.90 1.00 Outstanding Game
0.80 0.90 Very Good Game
0.70 0.80 Good Game
0.60 0.70 Alright Game
0.50 0.60 Mediocre Game
0.40 0.50 Poor Game
0.30 0.40 Very Poor Game
0.20 0.30 Near Disaster
Less 0.20 Total Disaster

NUGGETS-KINGS REAL PLAYER RATINGS
All players who played 5 minutes or more are included. Any player who played only 5-9 minutes is noted

1. Ron Artest, Sac 1.161
2. Carmelo Anthony, Den 1.152
3. Quincy Douby, Sac 1.150
4. Marcus Camby, Den 1.063
5. Linas Kleiza, Den 1.052
6. Brad Miller, Sac 1.026
7. J.R. Smith, Den 0.983
8. Mikki Moore, Sac 0.814
9. Eduardo Najera, Den 0.758
10. Allen Iverson, Den 0.709
11. Francisco Garcia, Sac 0.693
12. John Salmons, Sac 0.597
13. Spencer Hawes, Sac 0.520
14. Beno Udrih, Sac 0.455
15. Anthony Carter, Den 0.332
16. Chucky Atkins, Den 0.290
17. Yakhouba Diawara, Den -0.267

OBSERVATIONS ON THE NUGGETS-TRAILBLAZERS REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Each team had 3 players who played extremely well, though no one had a “Michael Jordan zone” type of game. However, one of the 3 Kings stars, Quincy Douby, played only 10 minutes. Anthony and Camby roughly cancelled out Artest and Miller, so Kleiza was the x-factor that paved the way for the Nuggets to win. Both Anthony Carter and Allen Iverson played much worse than usual.

Also, although for the second straight game the Nuggets had most of the worst players on the court, the Nuggets did better in the middle range of players, as J.R. Smith and Eduardo Najera were a little better than Mikki Moore, Francisco Garcia, and John Salmons.

NUGGET’S PLUS—MINUS
This tells you how the score changed while a player was on the court. All Nuggets who played at least 6 minutes are shown.

Linas Kleiza: +10
J.R. Smith: +8
Eduardo Najera: +7
Marcus Camby: -2
Carmelo Anthony: +0
Chucky Atkins: +0
Allen Iverson: -1
Anthony Carter: -6
Yakhouba Diawara: -11

OBSERVATIONS ON PLUS—MINUS
This reading frequently but not always gives you clues about who should be playing more and who should be playing less. Linas Kleiza has been often coming out strong on the plus-minus very often lately, since he is hustling on defense and hitting shots, while usually avoiding a lot of fouls and almost always avoiding a lot of turnovers. The up and down J.R. Smith, who was more down than up in the last month, was up in this game. Anthony Carter was badly off, and Diawara was destroyed by Ron Artest and company in his measly 6 minutes.

NUGGETS MADE WHAT?
All Nuggets who played at least 6 minutes are shown.

Yakhouba Diawara played 6 minutes and was 0/2 and 0/1 on 3’s for 0 points.

Eduardo Najera played 26 minutes and was 2/4 and ½ from the line for 5 points, and he made 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.

Anthony Carter played 19 minutes and was 1/2 for 2 points, and he made 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 rebound.

Chucky Atkins played 20 minutes and was 1/7 and 1/5 on 3’s for 3 points, and he made 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds.

Linas Kleiza played 27 minutes and was 5/12 and 2/5 on 3’s for 12 points, and he made 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.

J.R. Smith played 18 minutes and was 5/9 and 4/8 on 3’s for 14 points, and he made 2 rebounds.

Marcus Camby played 38 minutes and was 8/13 and 3/5 from the line for 19 points, and he made 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists.

Carmelo Anthony played most of the game, 42 minutes, and was 11/21, 0/2 on 3’s, and 8/8 from the line for 30 points, and he made 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 assists.

Allen Iverson played virtually the entire game, 44 minutes, and was 6/21, 2/7 on 3’s, and 7/7 from the line for 21 points, and he made 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, and 1 block.

NEXT UP
The next game will be Wednesday, December 26 in Denver to play the Bucks at 7 pm mountain time. Neither the Nuggets nor the Bucks will be playing on back to back nights.

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Although there is a guaranteed minimum rate of Report production regardless of traffic, IT IS IN YOUR POWER to help increase the number of and frequency of QFTR Reports (or to in other words increase the number of production hours that go into producing QFTR).

All Quest Internet sites including QFTR are developed and produced according to both superseding criteria and site traffic. Beginning in 2011 QFTR is the only Site that Quest Internet has a guaranteed production level for, meaning that QFTR is NOT in competition with other Sites for scarce production time. (In other words, other projects are treated like garbage compared to the treatment that QFTR gets.)

QFTR has a production base that is completely independent of traffic. On top of that there is a standing offer that production will increase if traffic increases above a certain level.

Unfortunately, a disturbingly large percentage of existing QFTR production time is used up by tasks that are best described as maintenance, infrastructure, research, and / or development in nature. These tasks are the kind of drudge work which on the one hand is absolutely necessary to produce one of the World's most important and highest quality basketball Sites. But on the other hand, there is so much of that work to do that the amount of time left over for actually producing content that visitors can consume is disturbingly limited. But if you link to QFTR and then traffic increases, most of the resulting production increase would go to Report production and very little of the additional work would go into those things you don't directly see when you visit QFTR.

Until recently this standing offer was really just hypothetical because QFTR traffic was not near the threshold beyond which we will increase production. But recently, thanks to Google Search, QFTR traffic is much closer to that threshold, which means that if as few as a handful of people link to QFTR and we get traffic from those links, it will result in more production.

QFTR NEEDS LINKS OTHER THAN GOOGLE SEARCH LINKS
Fortunately, QFTR is indexed by Google Search to a good extent and obviously, Google Search is who you most want to be producing links for you. So we are way ahead of the near zero traffic that most newer, independent, non-celebrity sites that started with zero traffic get. But the law of unintended consequences has struck and much of the traffic we are getting from Google Search is not exactly the traffic we are most looking for. But to be clear, a small percentage of the traffic we are getting from Google Search is exactly what we are looking for and maybe it's just a rule that you have to get a lot of unimportant traffic in order to get the important traffic.

We are getting a lot of traffic to Reports that are older and/or or not the very most important ones on the Site. And we are getting a lot of "hit and run" traffic. Many of the Site visitors QFTR is getting from Google Search are the hit and run type. But like any other site producer, QFTR values returning visitors much more than "hit and run and never come back" visitors.

Most hit and run visitors are not really looking for much to begin with, and then many of them run away so quickly that they don't even get what little they came for even though it was there in front of them. So it would appear that most hit and run visitors are wasting their time. What happens is Google Search leads them to QFTR but not exactly to the page they want. But then the hit and run losers run so fast that they don't put in the 1-5 minutes needed to locate exactly what they want at QFTR. So they leave empty handed. So again, this is the kind of traffic that is better than nothing, and we do count all traffic as traffic, but it is not exactly what we are looking for.

Given the high level and unique nature of QFTR, it is possible that the traffic we are looking for doesn't exist to any significant extent, but we can't know that for sure unless and until more links to QFTR appear in places other than at Google Search. Specifically, right now only a very small number of basketball and sports sites link to QFTR, and we are looking for more of those. Since QFTR is literally a one of a kind site, bridging various content gaps that exist, it is no surprise that we have very few other sites linking to QFTR. We want to do everything possible to change that, and this message is partly what allows us to rest easy from knowing that everything possible was done.

Our traffic wishes are ridiculously modest. The number of and the frequency of Quest Reports would be up to double what they are if traffic was higher. More specifically, if QFTR obtained the traffic we know it deserves, and given the production math discussed above, production would go from the equivalent of roughly four books about basketball a year to five, six or seven books a year. We will increase production within that range in a linear, pro rata way. So for example, if traffic were just a little bit higher than the threshold, we would produce a little more than four books a year.

WE NEED A GRAND TOTAL OF ABOUT 3 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME
So please take three or four minutes every now and then to recommend QFTR and post links to QFTR on your favorite sports and other sites. There are many contexts in which you can do this. For example, you can wherever possible link to a QFTR Report to back up what you are posting and writing. Or if you have a Site you can link to QFTR in the sidebar (or wherever you link to other Sites).

Here are some quick links that you can use to find a place where you might post a link to any QFTR Report or to QFTR in general....


Share/Bookmark

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AFTER YOU LINK TO QFTR YOU CAN REQUEST ANOTHER REWARD
You can request a link at QFTR to your site. QFTR will on request strongly consider linking to your Site if you link to QFTR. If and when we get links to QFTR and people want QFTR to link back, we will do so in a new sidebar section. We can link to a home page or we can produce links to your latest content.

You may have something else in mind for a reward for linking to QFTR. If so, after linking to QFTR, feel free to e-mail QFTR at thequestforthering1. This is a gmail address, so you use @gmail.com after that address.
BASKETBALL FORUMS THAT ARE OPEN FOR CONTENT FROM ANYONE
Another place you can post links to QFTR Reports is at basketball forums. QFTR started out as a forum poster (and we wish we had the time to post at forums even now.)

As with everything else traffic varies widely from one forum to another. But basketball forums seem to have more staying power than basketball sites in general do.

Beware of "layered" sites. As far as we know, none of the following are layered sites, which are sites that allow contributions from the general public only in hard to find, low traffic areas, while the main areas are off limits for public input and are only for a chosen few. All of the following have at least some notable traffic, and all of them allow relatively equal and open participation. The order is from most recommended to least recommended, based on about half a dozen factors.

FORUMS THAT DO NOT USE TRADITIONAL FORUM TEMPLATES AKA OPEN POSTING SITES
Bleacher Report Open Posting Site
Armchair GM Open Posting Site

FORUMS THAT DO USE TRADITIONAL FORUM TEMPLATES
Inside Hoops NBA Forum
Real GM NBA and Team Forums
Pro Sports Daily NBA Forum
Hoops Hype NBA Forum
Sports Two NBA Forum
NBA Dimensions NBA Forum
NBA Boards NBA Forum
OTR Basketball Forums NBA Forum
Sporting News NBA Forum
KFFL NBA Forum

Notes: There may be a small number of newer forums not on this list (QFTR does not have the time for a full investigation here in 2012). Also, there were other forums when this list was first composed, but they were all very low traffic and low activity ones compared to the ones above. They may have much higher traffic now.

MESSAGE BOARDS AT HUGE COROPORATIONS
In general these are very high traffic but are largely worthless for getting getting quality traffic to sites like QFTR. The Fox NBA board is very low traffic, and the MSNBC NBA board doesn't exist anymore. The CBS Sports NBA Message Board is a layered site; you can NOT post topics nor expect to be considered seriously there until you have spent a few years posting there. We do not recommend CBS Sports. So the only real, fully open NBA forum hosted by a big corporation is the ESPN message board. Be forewarned though that the ESPN board is dominated by very young fans who make very short comments. On the other hand, it is a high traffic site, so we won't stop you from posting a Quest link at ESPN if you want to. (Welcome to the Internet, where the higher the traffic the more shallow the Site, and vice versa).

ESPN NBA Message Board

TOP NBA SCORERS CHART 1 OF 3 >>> TOP VOLUME SCORERS in 2011-2012 (complete regular season)
Each year QFTR publishes Real Player Ratings for every player in the NBA who has played at least 300 minutes. Real Player Ratings are comprehensive player ratings that are very carefully designed and quality controlled. Starting in 2012, the Ratings are supplemented by seven per 36 minutes charts which show player performance in seven of the very most important performance measures, all of which are components of Real Player Ratings (but there are other components that go into Real Player Ratings). These charts are stationed on the home page at all times. This is most likely the only place on the Internet where this key player information is shown in this optimal way.

Here we have the top scorers of the NBA in 2011-2012 as indicated by points per 36 minutes playing time. This is "PTS" in the chart. The points and all other items shown in the chart other than the percentages and the minutes played are per 36 minutes, which is much smarter to use than per game numbers.

For this and all the other charts, a minimum of 300 minutes of playing time is required. A player must have scored at least 18 points per 36 minutes (which is 1 point every 2 minutes) to be shown here. Also, a minimum shooting percentage (field goal percentage) of .400 is required. Players with field goal (shooting) percentages of .399 or less are disqualified from being on this list of top scorers.

This is one of the seven "7/36 Charts". A short user guide for these is found in this Report.

Here now are how the top scorers in the NBA in 2011-2012 rated and ranked:

Player               Tm   MP   FG  FGA  3P 3PA  FT FTA ORB  DRB AST STL BLK TOV  PF  PTS  FG%  3P%  FT%
Kevin Durant OKC 2546 9.1 18.3 1.9 4.9 6.1 7.1 0.6 6.9 3.3 1.2 1.1 3.5 1.9 26.2 .496 .387 .860
Kobe Bryant LAL 2232 9.3 21.5 1.4 4.6 6.1 7.3 1.1 4.0 4.3 1.1 0.3 3.3 1.7 26.1 .430 .303 .845
LeBron James MIA 2326 9.6 18.1 0.8 2.3 6.0 7.8 1.5 6.2 6.0 1.8 0.8 3.3 1.5 26.0 .531 .362 .771
Russell Westbrook OKC 2331 8.9 19.6 1.0 3.0 5.3 6.4 1.5 3.2 5.6 1.7 0.3 3.7 2.3 24.1 .457 .316 .823
Kevin Love MIN 2145 8.0 17.8 1.8 4.7 6.4 7.7 3.8 8.5 1.9 0.8 0.5 2.1 2.6 24.0 .448 .372 .824
Dwyane Wade MIA 1625 9.2 18.5 0.3 1.2 5.2 6.6 1.6 3.6 5.0 1.8 1.4 2.9 2.4 24.0 .497 .268 .791
Carmelo Anthony NYK 1876 8.5 19.7 1.3 3.9 5.7 7.0 1.7 4.9 3.8 1.2 0.5 2.8 3.0 23.9 .430 .335 .804
Dirk Nowitzki DAL 2079 8.2 17.9 1.4 3.7 5.5 6.1 0.8 6.5 2.4 0.7 0.5 2.0 2.2 23.2 .457 .368 .896
Derrick Rose CHI 1375 7.9 18.2 1.4 4.5 5.1 6.3 0.7 2.7 8.0 0.9 0.7 3.1 1.4 22.3 .435 .312 .812
Kyrie Irving CLE 1558 8.1 17.3 1.7 4.2 4.0 4.5 1.0 3.4 6.4 1.2 0.5 3.7 2.5 21.8 .469 .399 .872
LaMarcus Aldridge POR 1994 8.7 17.0 0.0 0.2 4.0 4.9 2.7 5.3 2.4 0.9 0.8 2.0 2.8 21.5 .512 .182 .814
Eric Gordon NOH 310 7.3 16.3 1.2 4.6 5.7 7.5 0.2 2.7 3.6 1.5 0.5 2.8 2.3 21.5 .450 .250 .754
DeMarcus Cousins SAC 1950 8.3 18.4 0.0 0.3 4.8 6.9 4.9 8.1 1.9 1.7 1.4 3.1 4.7 21.4 .448 .143 .702
Andrea Bargnani TOR 1032 7.3 16.9 1.2 4.0 5.3 6.0 0.8 5.2 2.1 0.6 0.5 2.4 1.8 21.0 .432 .296 .873
Deron Williams NJN 1999 7.0 17.3 2.1 6.2 4.6 5.5 0.4 2.9 8.7 1.2 0.4 3.9 2.2 20.8 .407 .336 .843
Blake Griffin LAC 2392 8.4 15.4 0.0 0.2 3.7 7.0 3.3 7.5 3.2 0.8 0.7 2.3 3.3 20.6 .549 .125 .521
Tony Parker SAS 1923 8.0 16.7 0.3 1.1 4.2 5.3 0.4 2.8 8.7 1.1 0.1 2.9 1.4 20.5 .480 .230 .799
Paul Pierce BOS 2075 6.8 15.4 1.7 4.7 5.1 6.0 0.6 4.9 4.8 1.2 0.5 3.0 2.6 20.5 .443 .366 .852
Louis Williams PHI 1682 6.8 16.7 1.8 4.9 5.1 6.2 0.6 2.7 4.7 1.1 0.4 1.5 1.9 20.5 .407 .362 .812
Al Jefferson UTA 2075 9.0 18.2 0.0 0.1 2.4 3.1 2.3 7.8 2.3 0.8 1.8 1.1 2.7 20.3 .492 .250 .774
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Danny Granger IND 2062 6.8 16.4 2.1 5.6 4.4 5.1 1.4 4.0 1.9 1.1 0.7 1.9 2.5 20.2 .416 .381 .873
Monta Ellis TOT 2120 7.6 17.7 1.1 3.4 3.7 4.7 0.3 3.1 5.9 1.4 0.3 3.0 2.3 20.1 .433 .308 .796
Manu Ginobili SAS 792 6.8 13.0 2.4 5.7 4.0 4.6 0.8 4.5 6.9 1.1 0.5 2.9 2.5 20.0 .526 .413 .871
Tim Duncan SAS 1634 8.0 16.1 0.0 0.1 3.8 5.5 2.4 9.0 2.9 0.8 1.9 2.1 2.2 19.7 .492 .000 .695
Jeremy Lin NYK 940 6.5 14.7 0.9 2.9 5.6 7.0 0.7 3.4 8.3 2.1 0.3 4.8 3.0 19.6 .446 .320 .798
Chris Paul LAC 2181 7.0 14.7 1.3 3.5 4.3 5.0 0.7 2.8 9.0 2.5 0.1 2.0 2.3 19.6 .478 .371 .861
Brandon Jennings MIL 2331 7.2 17.3 2.0 6.0 3.0 3.7 0.8 2.7 5.6 1.6 0.3 2.3 1.8 19.5 .418 .332 .808
David Lee GSW 2121 7.9 15.6 0.0 0.1 3.7 4.8 2.9 6.3 2.7 0.9 0.4 2.5 3.0 19.5 .503 .000 .782
Michael Redd PHO 770 6.7 16.8 2.0 6.2 4.1 5.2 0.7 2.9 1.5 0.6 0.0 1.7 1.4 19.5 .400 .318 .793
Dwight Howard ORL 2070 7.2 12.6 0.0 0.1 4.9 9.9 3.5 10.2 1.8 1.4 2.0 3.0 2.8 19.4 .573 .000 .491
Kevin Martin HOU 1264 6.3 15.3 2.2 6.4 4.6 5.1 0.4 2.6 3.1 0.8 0.1 2.0 2.0 19.4 .413 .347 .894
Jordan Crawford WAS 1753 7.2 17.9 1.6 5.6 3.3 4.2 0.9 2.5 3.9 1.2 0.1 2.9 2.3 19.3 .400 .289 .793
James Harden OKC 1946 5.7 11.6 2.1 5.4 5.8 6.8 0.6 4.1 4.2 1.1 0.3 2.5 2.8 19.3 .491 .390 .846
Marcus Thornton SAC 1780 7.1 16.2 2.2 6.3 2.9 3.3 1.7 2.1 2.0 1.4 0.2 1.7 2.2 19.3 .438 .345 .865
Josh Smith ATL 2329 7.8 17.0 0.4 1.7 3.1 5.0 2.1 7.7 4.0 1.4 1.8 2.5 2.7 19.2 .458 .257 .630
Amare Stoudemire NYK 1543 7.4 15.3 0.1 0.5 4.3 5.7 2.5 6.1 1.2 0.9 1.0 2.6 3.2 19.2 .483 .238 .765
Andrew Bynum LAL 2112 7.6 13.6 0.0 0.1 4.0 5.8 3.3 8.8 1.4 0.5 2.0 2.6 1.8 19.1 .558 .200 .692
Joe Johnson ATL 2127 7.2 15.8 2.1 5.4 2.7 3.1 0.9 2.8 3.9 0.8 0.2 2.0 1.3 19.1 .454 .388 .849
Stephen Curry GSW 732 7.1 14.6 2.7 6.0 1.9 2.3 0.7 3.6 6.8 1.9 0.4 3.2 3.0 18.8 .490 .455 .809
Drew Gooden MIL 1469 7.0 16.1 0.4 1.3 4.3 5.1 3.2 5.7 3.5 1.1 0.8 2.7 2.7 18.8 .437 .291 .846
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Antawn Jamison CLE 2151 7.0 17.5 1.5 4.5 3.1 4.5 2.1 4.8 2.2 0.9 0.7 1.5 2.7 18.7 .403 .341 .683
Al Harrington DEN 1761 7.1 15.8 2.1 6.2 2.4 3.6 1.5 6.5 1.8 1.2 0.2 2.3 3.7 18.6 .446 .333 .676
Nikola Pekovic MIN 1264 7.3 12.9 0.0 0.0 4.0 5.3 5.2 4.7 0.9 0.8 0.9 2.5 2.8 18.5 .564 .743
Klay Thompson GSW 1608 7.1 16.1 2.5 6.0 1.8 2.0 0.5 3.1 3.0 1.1 0.4 2.3 3.5 18.5 .443 .414 .868
Leandro Barbosa TOT 1382 7.1 16.6 1.7 4.4 2.6 3.2 0.9 2.5 2.5 1.5 0.2 2.4 3.5 18.4 .425 .382 .815
Chris Bosh MIA 2007 7.0 14.5 0.2 0.6 4.1 5.0 1.7 6.4 1.8 0.9 0.8 2.1 2.3 18.4 .487 .286 .821
Gerald Green NJN 781 7.1 14.8 2.0 5.1 2.3 3.0 0.7 4.3 1.6 1.3 0.8 2.5 3.7 18.4 .481 .391 .754
Carl Landry NOH 999 6.6 13.0 0.0 0.1 5.3 6.6 2.8 4.9 1.4 0.5 0.4 2.3 3.2 18.4 .503 .000 .799
Carlos Boozer CHI 1948 8.3 15.6 0.0 0.0 1.8 2.5 2.1 8.3 2.3 1.2 0.4 2.1 3.1 18.3 .532 .000 .693
Kevin Garnett BOS 1864 7.6 15.0 0.1 0.2 3.1 3.7 1.3 8.3 3.4 1.1 1.2 2.1 2.7 18.3 .503 .333 .857
Rudy Gay MEM 2422 7.2 15.9 0.8 2.6 3.1 3.9 1.9 4.3 2.2 1.4 0.8 2.4 2.1 18.3 .455 .312 .791
Nick Young TOT 1729 6.6 16.3 2.1 5.9 3.0 3.5 0.6 2.1 1.2 0.9 0.4 1.7 2.9 18.3 .403 .365 .852
Paul Millsap UTA 2100 7.3 14.8 0.1 0.5 3.5 4.4 3.1 6.6 2.6 2.0 0.9 1.9 3.8 18.2 .495 .226 .792
Jerryd Bayless TOR 705 6.0 14.1 2.2 5.3 3.8 4.5 0.4 3.0 6.0 1.2 0.2 2.7 3.6 18.0 .424 .423 .852

TOP NBA SCORERS 2012 CHART 2 OF 3 >>> MOST EFFICIENT SCORERS in 2011-2012 (complete regular season)
Each year QFTR publishes Real Player Ratings for every player in the NBA who has played at least 300 minutes. Real Player Ratings are comprehensive player ratings that are very carefully designed and quality controlled. Starting in 2012, the Ratings are supplemented by seven per 36 minutes charts which show player performance in seven of the very most important performance measures, all of which are components of Real Player Ratings (but there are other components that go into Real Player Ratings). These charts are stationed on the home page at all times. This is most likely the only place on the Internet where this key player information is shown in this optimal way.

Here we have the most efficient scorers of the NBA in 2011-2012 as indicated by shooting percentage or in other words field goal percentage. This is "FG%" in the chart. All items shown in the chart other than the percentages and the minutes played are per 36 minutes, which is much smarter to use than per game numbers.

For this and all the other charts, a minimum of 300 minutes of playing time is required. To be on this chart, players had to have a shooting percentage of .500 or higher AND they have to have scored at least 9 points per 36 minutes.

This is one of the seven "7/36 Charts". A short user guide for these is found in this Report.

Here now are how the most efficient scorers in the NBA in 2011-2012 rated and ranked:
Player               Tm   MP   FG  FGA  3P 3PA  FT FTA ORB  DRB  AST STL BLK TOV  PF  PTS  FG%  3P%  FT%
Tyson Chandler NYK 2061 4.2 6.2 0.0 0.0 3.8 5.5 3.7 7.0 1.0 1.0 1.6 1.8 3.2 12.2 .679 .000 .689
DeAndre Jordan LAC 1798 4.1 6.5 0.0 0.0 1.5 2.8 4.0 6.9 0.3 0.6 2.7 1.5 3.8 9.7 .632 .000 .525
Tiago Splitter SAS 1121 6.8 11.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 5.8 3.0 6.8 2.1 0.7 1.5 2.8 4.3 17.6 .618 .691
Brandan Wright DAL 791 6.6 10.6 0.0 0.0 2.4 3.7 2.8 5.1 0.6 1.0 2.9 1.0 2.8 15.5 .618 .000 .634
Andris Biedrins GSW 739 1.9 3.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 2.2 6.4 0.8 1.1 2.2 0.7 6.1 3.8 .609 .111
Kosta Koufos DEN 792 5.2 8.7 0.0 0.0 1.5 2.5 4.3 7.4 0.7 1.1 1.9 1.5 4.4 12.0 .599 .600
Chris Wilcox BOS 481 4.8 8.0 0.0 0.0 1.8 2.9 2.8 6.3 0.9 0.8 0.7 2.2 4.8 11.4 .598 .615
Nick Collison OKC 1307 3.3 5.5 0.0 0.0 1.2 1.7 3.3 4.3 2.3 0.9 0.8 1.7 4.2 7.8 .597 .000 .710
Kenneth Faried DEN 1037 6.3 10.7 0.0 0.0 3.8 5.7 4.9 7.3 1.2 1.2 1.6 1.9 4.0 16.4 .586 .665
Amir Johnson TOR 1553 4.5 7.9 0.0 0.1 1.3 1.9 3.5 6.0 1.8 0.8 1.6 2.2 4.8 10.5 .576 .400 .690
Dwight Howard ORL 2070 7.2 12.6 0.0 0.1 4.9 9.9 3.5 10.2 1.8 1.4 2.0 3.0 2.8 19.4 .573 .000 .491
Nikola Pekovic MIN 1264 7.3 12.9 0.0 0.0 4.0 5.3 5.2 4.7 0.9 0.8 0.9 2.5 2.8 18.5 .564 .743
Joel Anthony MIA 1349 2.3 4.1 0.0 0.0 1.3 1.9 2.7 4.0 0.2 1.0 2.2 1.2 3.4 5.8 .559 .690
Andrew Bynum LAL 2112 7.6 13.6 0.0 0.1 4.0 5.8 3.3 8.8 1.4 0.5 2.0 2.6 1.8 19.1 .558 .200 .692
JaVale McGee TOT 1535 7.2 12.9 0.0 0.0 1.8 3.9 3.8 7.4 0.7 0.8 3.1 2.0 3.9 16.2 .556 .461
Marcin Gortat PHO 2114 7.3 13.1 0.0 0.0 2.8 4.3 3.2 8.1 1.0 0.8 1.7 1.5 2.4 17.3 .555 .000 .649
Al Horford ATL 348 5.9 10.7 0.0 0.1 2.3 3.1 2.7 5.3 2.5 1.0 1.4 1.7 2.2 14.1 .553 .000 .733
Blake Griffin LAC 2392 8.4 15.4 0.0 0.2 3.7 7.0 3.3 7.5 3.2 0.8 0.7 2.3 3.3 20.6 .549 .125 .521
Ryan Hollins TOT 522 3.2 5.8 0.0 0.0 2.7 5.2 2.3 3.3 0.6 0.3 1.2 2.4 5.4 9.0 .548 .520
Chris Andersen DEN 486 4.4 8.0 0.0 0.0 3.7 6.1 3.6 7.4 0.4 1.4 3.4 1.3 3.9 12.4 .546 .610
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Ian Mahinmi DAL 1139 4.1 7.5 0.0 0.0 3.0 4.6 3.4 5.7 0.4 1.2 1.0 1.6 5.6 11.2 .546 .000 .639
Greg Stiemsma BOS 766 3.1 5.7 0.0 0.0 1.4 1.9 2.3 6.1 1.3 1.7 4.0 1.6 6.8 7.6 .545 .707
Nene Hilario TOT 1110 6.8 12.7 0.0 0.1 3.7 5.4 2.0 7.4 2.6 1.4 1.2 3.1 3.1 17.4 .537 .000 .673
Jan Vesely WAS 1078 3.9 7.3 0.0 0.0 1.1 2.1 3.4 4.9 1.6 1.3 1.1 2.0 5.2 8.9 .537 .000 .532
Gustavo Ayon NOH 1088 4.6 8.6 0.0 0.0 1.3 2.1 2.8 5.9 2.4 1.8 1.5 1.5 3.9 10.6 .536 .000 .619
Serge Ibaka OKC 1792 5.3 9.8 0.0 0.1 1.6 2.4 3.9 6.1 0.6 0.7 4.8 1.6 3.6 12.1 .535 .333 .661
Jason Thompson SAC 1657 5.1 9.6 0.0 0.0 2.4 3.9 3.6 6.0 1.7 0.9 1.0 1.5 3.2 12.7 .535 .000 .602
DeJuan Blair SAS 1363 7.1 13.3 0.0 0.0 1.9 3.1 4.1 5.2 2.1 1.6 0.3 2.4 4.4 16.1 .534 .000 .613
Emeka Okafor NOH 781 5.3 9.9 0.0 0.0 1.8 3.4 3.2 6.6 1.1 0.7 1.2 1.7 3.4 12.3 .533 .514
Carlos Boozer CHI 1948 8.3 15.6 0.0 0.0 1.8 2.5 2.1 8.3 2.3 1.2 0.4 2.1 3.1 18.3 .532 .000 .693
Steve Nash PHO 1961 5.4 10.2 1.0 2.6 2.3 2.6 0.5 2.9 12.2 0.7 0.1 4.2 1.0 14.2 .532 .390 .894
Trevor Booker WAS 1261 5.2 9.7 0.0 0.1 1.6 2.7 3.4 5.9 1.1 1.4 1.2 1.7 3.9 12.0 .531 .500 .602
LeBron James MIA 2326 9.6 18.1 0.8 2.3 6.0 7.8 1.5 6.2 6.0 1.8 0.8 3.3 1.5 26.0 .531 .362 .771
Kevin Seraphin WAS 1176 6.2 11.7 0.0 0.0 1.4 2.1 3.2 5.4 1.0 0.6 2.3 2.0 4.1 13.9 .531 .000 .671
Semih Erden CLE 333 4.2 8.0 0.0 0.0 2.3 4.4 2.2 5.6 1.0 1.1 0.5 1.7 6.5 10.7 .527 .512
Manu Ginobili SAS 792 6.8 13.0 2.4 5.7 4.0 4.6 0.8 4.5 6.9 1.1 0.5 2.9 2.5 20.0 .526 .413 .871
Timofey Mozgov DEN 687 5.2 10.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 3.0 2.8 6.6 1.2 0.8 2.2 2.8 4.5 12.5 .526 .684
Greg Monroe DET 2082 7.0 13.5 0.0 0.0 3.5 4.7 4.1 6.9 2.6 1.4 0.8 2.8 3.1 17.6 .521 .000 .739
Jason Smith NOH 947 6.9 13.2 0.0 0.3 1.3 1.8 2.7 4.7 1.3 0.8 1.6 1.5 3.9 15.1 .520 .111 .702
Derrick Brown CHA 1443 5.3 10.2 0.1 0.6 2.3 3.5 2.4 3.5 1.7 1.2 0.3 1.4 2.4 13.1 .518 .250 .667
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Brendan Haywood DAL 1146 3.7 7.2 0.0 0.0 1.4 3.0 4.4 5.8 0.6 0.8 1.7 1.4 3.8 8.8 .518 .469
Dante Cunningham MEM 1124 4.6 8.9 0.0 0.1 1.4 2.2 2.9 5.0 1.2 1.3 1.1 0.9 3.1 10.7 .516 .000 .652
Aaron Gray TOR 813 3.7 7.1 0.0 0.0 1.1 2.1 3.7 8.8 1.2 1.0 0.8 2.3 5.6 8.5 .516 .532
Anderson Varejao CLE 785 5.2 10.2 0.0 0.2 2.0 2.9 5.0 8.2 2.0 1.6 0.8 2.1 2.8 12.4 .514 .000 .672
Ed Davis TOR 1534 4.0 7.9 0.0 0.0 1.7 2.5 3.1 7.1 1.4 0.9 1.5 1.6 3.7 9.7 .513 .000 .670
Ivan Johnson ATL 934 5.4 10.6 0.1 0.2 2.8 3.9 2.5 6.2 1.2 1.7 0.7 2.7 4.5 13.7 .513 .333 .720
LaMarcus Aldridge POR 1994 8.7 17.0 0.0 0.2 4.0 4.9 2.7 5.3 2.4 0.9 0.8 2.0 2.8 21.5 .512 .182 .814
Luc Mbah a Moute MIL 1009 4.7 9.3 0.0 0.1 2.4 3.7 2.7 5.4 1.0 1.4 0.8 1.4 3.3 11.9 .510 .250 .641
Jon Leuer MIL 555 6.3 12.4 0.2 0.6 1.4 1.8 2.9 4.9 1.6 0.9 1.1 1.2 4.3 14.1 .508 .333 .750
Joakim Noah CHI 1945 4.6 9.1 0.0 0.0 2.9 3.8 4.5 7.2 3.0 0.8 1.7 1.7 3.0 12.1 .508 .000 .748
Jordan Williams NJN 635 4.4 8.6 0.0 0.0 2.4 3.7 3.7 5.1 0.6 1.2 0.9 1.3 3.5 11.2 .507 .652
Thaddeus Young PHI 1755 7.1 14.1 0.0 0.1 2.3 3.0 2.8 3.9 1.5 1.3 0.8 1.1 2.6 16.6 .507 .250 .771
Omer Asik CHI 971 2.9 5.8 0.0 0.0 1.7 3.8 4.7 8.3 1.2 1.1 2.5 2.5 4.5 7.6 .506 .456
Samuel Dalembert HOU 1446 5.0 9.8 0.0 0.0 2.2 2.8 3.9 7.4 0.8 0.9 2.8 2.0 4.0 12.2 .506 .000 .796
Craig Smith POR 464 4.6 9.1 0.0 0.1 2.9 4.1 2.6 6.0 1.5 1.2 0.4 1.9 4.3 12.1 .504 .000 .717
Kevin Garnett BOS 1864 7.6 15.0 0.1 0.2 3.1 3.7 1.3 8.3 3.4 1.1 1.2 2.1 2.7 18.3 .503 .333 .857
Carl Landry NOH 999 6.6 13.0 0.0 0.1 5.3 6.6 2.8 4.9 1.4 0.5 0.4 2.3 3.2 18.4 .503 .000 .799
David Lee GSW 2121 7.9 15.6 0.0 0.1 3.7 4.8 2.9 6.3 2.7 0.9 0.4 2.5 3.0 19.5 .503 .000 .782
Pau Gasol LAL 2430 6.8 13.6 0.1 0.4 3.0 3.9 2.7 7.3 3.5 0.5 1.3 2.1 1.9 16.7 .501 .259 .782
Brandon Rush GSW 1717 4.9 9.8 2.1 4.6 1.4 1.7 0.7 4.6 1.8 0.7 1.2 1.4 1.3 13.3 .501 .452 .793

TOP NBA SCORERS CHART 3 OF 3 >>> BEST THREE-POINT SCORERS in 2011-2012 (complete regular season)
Each year QFTR publishes Real Player Ratings for every player in the NBA who has played at least 300 minutes. Real Player Ratings are comprehensive player ratings that are very carefully designed and quality controlled. Starting in 2012, the Ratings are supplemented by seven per 36 minutes charts which show player performance in seven of the very most important performance measures, all of which are components of Real Player Ratings (but there are other components that go into Real Player Ratings). These charts are stationed on the home page at all times. This is most likely the only place on the Internet where this key player information is shown in this optimal way.

Here we have the best 3-point scorers of the NBA in 2011-2012 as indicated by 3-point shooting percentage. This is "3P%" in the chart. All items shown in the chart other than the percentages and the minutes played are per 36 minutes, which is much smarter to use than per game numbers.

For this and all the other charts, a minimum of 300 minutes of playing time is required. Players who make at least 2.2 three-point shots per 36 minutes and who have at least a .300 (30%) three-point shot shooting percentage are the only ones qualified to be on this list.

This is one of the seven "7/36 Charts". A short user guide for these is found in this Report.

Here now are how the best 3-point scorers in the NBA in 2011-2012 rated and ranked:

Player                 Tm   MP   FG  FGA  3P  3PA  FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV  PF  PTS  FG%  3P%  FT%
Steve Novak NYK 1020 5.7 11.9 4.7 10.0 0.8 0.9 0.3 3.4 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.7 2.1 16.8 .478 .472 .846
Stephen Curry GSW 732 7.1 14.6 2.7 6.0 1.9 2.3 0.7 3.6 6.8 1.9 0.4 3.2 3.0 18.8 .490 .455 .809
Ray Allen BOS 1565 5.2 11.3 2.4 5.4 2.2 2.4 0.3 2.9 2.5 1.1 0.2 1.6 1.9 15.1 .458 .453 .915
Mike Miller MIA 752 4.4 10.0 2.5 5.6 0.1 0.2 1.1 5.1 2.0 0.7 0.3 1.4 2.8 11.3 .435 .453 .400
Jordan Farmar NJN 831 6.4 13.6 2.4 5.4 2.5 2.7 0.3 2.3 5.6 1.0 0.1 2.9 2.1 17.6 .467 .440 .905
Danny Green SAS 1522 5.0 11.3 2.4 5.5 1.9 2.4 1.3 4.1 2.0 1.4 1.1 1.6 2.5 14.3 .442 .436 .790
Kyle Korver CHI 1469 4.4 10.1 2.9 6.6 1.3 1.6 0.6 3.3 2.7 0.9 0.4 1.3 2.7 13.0 .432 .435 .833
Luke Babbitt POR 537 4.8 11.6 2.9 6.7 1.1 1.3 1.1 5.3 1.1 0.7 0.3 1.8 3.1 13.5 .410 .430 .850
Jerryd Bayless TOR 705 6.0 14.1 2.2 5.3 3.8 4.5 0.4 3.0 6.0 1.2 0.2 2.7 3.6 18.0 .424 .423 .852
Matt Bonner SAS 1326 4.2 9.5 2.9 6.8 0.4 0.6 0.8 5.0 1.7 0.4 0.6 0.4 1.8 11.6 .440 .420 .762
Richard Jefferson TOT 1748 4.2 10.1 2.3 5.5 1.2 1.8 0.5 4.0 1.8 0.8 0.4 1.0 2.5 11.9 .416 .420 .694
Gary Neal SAS 1206 6.3 14.5 2.5 5.9 1.5 1.9 0.4 3.2 3.5 0.8 0.1 1.8 2.2 16.6 .436 .419 .781
J.J. Redick ORL 1765 5.1 11.9 2.3 5.5 2.9 3.2 0.4 2.7 3.3 0.6 0.1 1.4 1.9 15.3 .425 .418 .911
Klay Thompson GSW 1608 7.1 16.1 2.5 6.0 1.8 2.0 0.5 3.1 3.0 1.1 0.4 2.3 3.5 18.5 .443 .414 .868
Manu Ginobili SAS 792 6.8 13.0 2.4 5.7 4.0 4.6 0.8 4.5 6.9 1.1 0.5 2.9 2.5 20.0 .526 .413 .871
James Jones MIA 666 3.1 8.1 2.5 6.2 1.4 1.6 0.3 2.3 1.0 0.9 0.5 0.5 2.4 10.0 .380 .404 .833
Chase Budinger HOU 1298 5.8 13.1 2.4 6.1 1.5 1.9 1.1 5.0 2.1 0.8 0.2 1.5 1.8 15.5 .442 .402 .771
Ryan Anderson ORL 1964 6.1 13.9 3.0 7.7 2.7 3.1 4.1 4.5 1.0 0.9 0.5 1.0 2.7 18.0 .439 .393 .877
John Lucas CHI 726 7.1 17.8 2.7 6.9 1.4 1.6 1.1 2.7 5.4 0.9 0.0 2.1 2.1 18.3 .399 .393 .875
Mo Williams LAC 1472 6.4 14.9 2.3 5.8 1.8 2.0 0.6 1.9 3.9 1.2 0.2 2.1 2.5 16.8 .426 .389 .900
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Cartier Martin WAS 391 5.4 12.3 2.7 6.9 1.0 1.7 1.1 4.2 0.9 1.0 0.2 1.2 3.2 14.5 .440 .387 .579
Randy Foye LAC 1682 5.5 13.8 2.7 7.0 1.6 1.8 0.5 2.4 3.1 1.0 0.5 1.6 2.8 15.2 .398 .386 .859
Chauncey Billups LAC 607 4.9 13.5 2.8 7.4 5.0 5.6 0.2 2.7 4.7 0.5 0.2 2.3 2.4 17.7 .364 .384 .895
Jannero Pargo ATL 671 5.6 13.6 2.8 7.4 1.0 1.1 0.5 3.4 5.2 1.1 0.1 2.6 3.4 15.1 .415 .384 .950
Roger Mason WAS 697 5.3 13.3 3.0 8.0 1.1 1.4 0.4 3.2 2.4 0.7 0.3 1.7 1.7 14.8 .399 .383 .778
Jason Terry DAL 2000 6.4 14.9 2.5 6.6 1.8 2.0 0.3 2.4 4.1 1.3 0.2 2.3 1.2 17.1 .430 .378 .883
Andrew Goudelock LAL 419 5.8 14.9 2.4 6.4 0.9 1.0 0.4 2.2 1.7 0.3 0.0 1.8 2.7 15.0 .391 .373 .917
Anthony Morrow NJN 1636 6.0 14.5 2.3 6.3 2.1 2.3 0.7 2.1 1.3 1.0 0.2 1.5 1.9 16.4 .413 .371 .933
Vladimir Radmanovic ATL 755 3.5 9.4 2.4 6.4 1.0 1.4 1.6 5.2 2.6 1.0 0.7 1.7 3.0 10.5 .376 .370 .759
Jason Richardson ORL 1591 5.5 13.5 2.3 6.3 0.9 1.6 0.8 3.6 2.4 1.2 0.5 1.4 2.1 14.2 .408 .368 .594
Jimmer Fredette SAC 1135 5.5 14.1 2.5 6.9 1.3 1.5 0.5 1.8 3.4 1.0 0.1 2.1 2.3 14.7 .386 .361 .833
Dorell Wright GSW 1650 4.8 11.5 2.3 6.4 1.7 2.1 1.3 4.8 2.1 1.3 0.6 1.1 2.1 13.7 .422 .360 .816
Kevin Martin HOU 1264 6.3 15.3 2.2 6.4 4.6 5.1 0.4 2.6 3.1 0.8 0.1 2.0 2.0 19.4 .413 .347 .894
J.R. Smith NYK 967 6.1 15.1 2.5 7.2 1.5 2.0 1.1 4.0 3.1 2.0 0.2 1.7 3.2 16.2 .407 .347 .709
Daequan Cook OKC 989 4.0 10.8 2.9 8.3 0.5 0.8 0.4 4.0 0.5 0.8 0.4 0.6 2.5 11.3 .368 .346 .636
Mickael Pietrus BOS 921 4.1 10.6 2.4 7.1 0.8 1.2 0.7 4.4 1.0 0.8 0.4 1.3 3.2 11.3 .385 .335 .645

Laugh Out Loud, George Karl: Have You Seen the News Lately?

Laugh Out Loud, George Karl: Have You Seen the News Lately?


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TOP NBA DEFENDERS CHART 1 OF 3 >>> TOP REBOUNDERS in 2011-2012 (complete regular season)
Each year QFTR publishes Real Player Ratings for every player in the NBA who has played at least 300 minutes. Real Player Ratings are comprehensive player ratings that are very carefully designed and quality controlled. Starting in 2012, the Ratings are supplemented by seven per 36 minutes charts which show player performance in seven of the very most important performance measures, all of which are components of Real Player Ratings (but there are other components that go into Real Player Ratings). These charts are stationed on the home page at all times. This is most likely the only place on the Internet where this key player information is shown in this optimal way.

Here we have the best defensive rebounders of the NBA in 2011-2012 as indicated by defensive rebounds per 36 minutes playing time. This is "DRB" in the chart. All items shown in the chart other than the percentages and the minutes played are per 36 minutes are per 36 minutes, which is much smarter to use than per game numbers.

For this and all the other charts, a minimum of 300 minutes of playing time is required. Only players who made at least 6.5 defensive rebounds per 36 minutes are shown here.

This is one of the seven "7/36 Charts". A short user guide for these is found in this Report.

Here now are how the best defensive rebounders in the NBA in 2011-2012 rated and ranked:
Player              Tm   MP   FG  FGA  3P 3PA  FT FTA ORB  DRB AST STL BLK TOV  PF  PTS  FG%  3P%  FT%
Dwight Howard ORL 2070 7.2 12.6 0.0 0.1 4.9 9.9 3.5 10.2 1.8 1.4 2.0 3.0 2.8 19.4 .573 .000 .491
Marcus Camby TOT 1352 3.4 7.6 0.1 0.1 0.8 1.7 4.2 9.9 2.8 1.3 2.3 1.5 3.4 7.6 .446 .400 .453
Tim Duncan SAS 1634 8.0 16.1 0.0 0.1 3.8 5.5 2.4 9.0 2.9 0.8 1.9 2.1 2.2 19.7 .492 .000 .695
Andrew Bynum LAL 2112 7.6 13.6 0.0 0.1 4.0 5.8 3.3 8.8 1.4 0.5 2.0 2.6 1.8 19.1 .558 .200 .692
Aaron Gray TOR 813 3.7 7.1 0.0 0.0 1.1 2.1 3.7 8.8 1.2 1.0 0.8 2.3 5.6 8.5 .516 .532
Joel Przybilla POR 449 1.8 3.8 0.0 0.0 0.9 1.4 2.3 8.7 0.5 0.3 1.3 1.8 5.3 4.4 .458 .611
Kevin Love MIN 2145 8.0 17.8 1.8 4.7 6.4 7.7 3.8 8.5 1.9 0.8 0.5 2.1 2.6 24.0 .448 .372 .824
Jamaal Magloire TOR 374 1.6 4.3 0.0 0.0 0.7 2.6 2.4 8.5 0.6 0.4 1.0 2.1 6.4 3.9 .378 .259
Omer Asik CHI 971 2.9 5.8 0.0 0.0 1.7 3.8 4.7 8.3 1.2 1.1 2.5 2.5 4.5 7.6 .506 .456
Carlos Boozer CHI 1948 8.3 15.6 0.0 0.0 1.8 2.5 2.1 8.3 2.3 1.2 0.4 2.1 3.1 18.3 .532 .000 .693
Kevin Garnett BOS 1864 7.6 15.0 0.1 0.2 3.1 3.7 1.3 8.3 3.4 1.1 1.2 2.1 2.7 18.3 .503 .333 .857
Jordan Hill TOT 551 5.4 10.8 0.0 0.2 2.0 3.1 4.0 8.2 1.0 0.9 1.8 2.0 4.6 12.7 .497 .000 .638
Anderson Varejao CLE 785 5.2 10.2 0.0 0.2 2.0 2.9 5.0 8.2 2.0 1.6 0.8 2.1 2.8 12.4 .514 .000 .672
DeMarcus Cousins SAC 1950 8.3 18.4 0.0 0.3 4.8 6.9 4.9 8.1 1.9 1.7 1.4 3.1 4.7 21.4 .448 .143 .702
Marcin Gortat PHO 2114 7.3 13.1 0.0 0.0 2.8 4.3 3.2 8.1 1.0 0.8 1.7 1.5 2.4 17.3 .555 .000 .649
Reggie Evans LAC 771 1.6 3.4 0.0 0.0 1.7 3.3 4.7 8.0 0.8 1.4 0.3 2.1 5.5 4.9 .472 .507
Udonis Haslem MIA 1589 3.4 8.1 0.0 0.0 1.9 2.3 2.7 8.0 1.0 0.8 0.5 1.4 3.2 8.7 .423 .814
Al Jefferson UTA 2075 9.0 18.2 0.0 0.1 2.4 3.1 2.3 7.8 2.3 0.8 1.8 1.1 2.7 20.3 .492 .250 .774
Andrew Bogut MIL 364 6.0 13.5 0.0 0.1 1.4 2.3 2.2 7.7 3.1 1.2 2.4 2.4 3.6 13.5 .449 .000 .609
Josh Smith ATL 2329 7.8 17.0 0.4 1.7 3.1 5.0 2.1 7.7 4.0 1.4 1.8 2.5 2.7 19.2 .458 .257 .630
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Blake Griffin LAC 2392 8.4 15.4 0.0 0.2 3.7 7.0 3.3 7.5 3.2 0.8 0.7 2.3 3.3 20.6 .549 .125 .521
Spencer Hawes PHI 920 6.1 12.5 0.1 0.5 1.6 2.2 3.1 7.5 3.8 0.6 1.9 2.2 3.9 13.9 .489 .250 .727
Kris Humphries NJN 2162 5.4 11.2 0.0 0.0 3.5 4.6 3.9 7.5 1.5 0.8 1.2 2.0 2.9 14.2 .481 .752
Chris Andersen DEN 486 4.4 8.0 0.0 0.0 3.7 6.1 3.6 7.4 0.4 1.4 3.4 1.3 3.9 12.4 .546 .610
Samuel Dalembert HOU 1446 5.0 9.8 0.0 0.0 2.2 2.8 3.9 7.4 0.8 0.9 2.8 2.0 4.0 12.2 .506 .000 .796
Nene Hilario TOT 1110 6.8 12.7 0.0 0.1 3.7 5.4 2.0 7.4 2.6 1.4 1.2 3.1 3.1 17.4 .537 .000 .673
Kosta Koufos DEN 792 5.2 8.7 0.0 0.0 1.5 2.5 4.3 7.4 0.7 1.1 1.9 1.5 4.4 12.0 .599 .600
JaVale McGee TOT 1535 7.2 12.9 0.0 0.0 1.8 3.9 3.8 7.4 0.7 0.8 3.1 2.0 3.9 16.2 .556 .461
Kenneth Faried DEN 1037 6.3 10.7 0.0 0.0 3.8 5.7 4.9 7.3 1.2 1.2 1.6 1.9 4.0 16.4 .586 .665
Pau Gasol LAL 2430 6.8 13.6 0.1 0.4 3.0 3.9 2.7 7.3 3.5 0.5 1.3 2.1 1.9 16.7 .501 .259 .782
Evan Turner PHI 1713 5.5 12.4 0.2 1.0 1.5 2.3 0.6 7.3 3.8 0.8 0.4 2.2 2.5 12.8 .446 .224 .676
Lavoy Allen PHI 624 4.6 9.6 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.8 2.7 7.2 2.0 0.7 1.0 1.2 4.2 9.7 .473 .786
Ersan Ilyasova MIL 1655 6.4 13.0 1.1 2.4 3.1 4.0 4.3 7.2 1.5 0.9 1.0 1.7 2.9 17.0 .492 .455 .781
Chris Kaman NOH 1372 7.0 15.7 0.0 0.0 2.2 2.8 2.3 7.2 2.7 0.7 2.0 3.4 2.8 16.2 .446 .785
Joakim Noah CHI 1945 4.6 9.1 0.0 0.0 2.9 3.8 4.5 7.2 3.0 0.8 1.7 1.7 3.0 12.1 .508 .000 .748
Zach Randolph MEM 735 6.5 14.0 0.1 0.4 2.8 4.3 3.8 7.2 2.4 1.0 0.2 2.0 2.8 15.9 .463 .250 .659
Ed Davis TOR 1534 4.0 7.9 0.0 0.0 1.7 2.5 3.1 7.1 1.4 0.9 1.5 1.6 3.7 9.7 .513 .000 .670
Tyson Chandler NYK 2061 4.2 6.2 0.0 0.0 3.8 5.5 3.7 7.0 1.0 1.0 1.6 1.8 3.2 12.2 .679 .000 .689
Derrick Favors UTA 1376 5.8 11.6 0.0 0.0 3.3 5.1 4.1 7.0 1.1 1.0 1.7 2.7 3.8 14.9 .499 .649
Marc Gasol MEM 2370 5.4 11.2 0.0 0.2 3.6 4.8 1.8 7.0 3.1 0.9 1.8 1.8 3.1 14.5 .482 .083 .748
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Enes Kanter UTA 874 4.8 9.7 0.0 0.0 2.9 4.3 4.4 7.0 0.3 0.7 0.9 2.2 3.6 12.5 .496 .000 .667
Nikola Vucevic PHI 812 5.8 12.9 0.1 0.4 0.8 1.5 3.9 7.0 1.4 0.9 1.5 1.5 4.9 12.5 .450 .375 .529
Kevin Durant OKC 2546 9.1 18.3 1.9 4.9 6.1 7.1 0.6 6.9 3.3 1.2 1.1 3.5 1.9 26.2 .496 .387 .860
DeAndre Jordan LAC 1798 4.1 6.5 0.0 0.0 1.5 2.8 4.0 6.9 0.3 0.6 2.7 1.5 3.8 9.7 .632 .000 .525
Greg Monroe DET 2082 7.0 13.5 0.0 0.0 3.5 4.7 4.1 6.9 2.6 1.4 0.8 2.8 3.1 17.6 .521 .000 .739
Ben Wallace DET 980 1.2 3.2 0.0 0.1 0.6 1.7 3.0 6.9 1.6 1.7 1.9 1.2 2.2 3.1 .395 .250 .340
Tiago Splitter SAS 1121 6.8 11.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 5.8 3.0 6.8 2.1 0.7 1.5 2.8 4.3 17.6 .618 .691
Roy Hibbert IND 1937 6.2 12.4 0.0 0.0 3.2 4.4 4.0 6.7 2.0 0.6 2.4 2.4 3.6 15.5 .497 .000 .711
Zaza Pachulia ATL 1640 3.7 7.4 0.0 0.0 2.6 3.5 3.4 6.7 1.7 1.2 0.6 1.8 3.8 10.0 .499 .741
Kurt Thomas POR 803 3.3 7.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.9 1.7 6.7 2.1 1.1 1.4 1.4 5.5 7.2 .465 .700
Channing Frye PHO 1669 5.5 13.2 2.0 5.7 1.6 1.8 1.5 6.6 1.9 0.9 1.5 1.4 3.8 14.5 .416 .346 .890
Paul Millsap UTA 2100 7.3 14.8 0.1 0.5 3.5 4.4 3.1 6.6 2.6 2.0 0.9 1.9 3.8 18.2 .495 .226 .792
Timofey Mozgov DEN 687 5.2 10.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 3.0 2.8 6.6 1.2 0.8 2.2 2.8 4.5 12.5 .526 .684
Emeka Okafor NOH 781 5.3 9.9 0.0 0.0 1.8 3.4 3.2 6.6 1.1 0.7 1.2 1.7 3.4 12.3 .533 .514
Al Harrington DEN 1761 7.1 15.8 2.1 6.2 2.4 3.6 1.5 6.5 1.8 1.2 0.2 2.3 3.7 18.6 .446 .333 .676

TOP NBA DEFENDERS CHART 2 OF 3 >>> TOP BLOCKERS in 2011-2012 (complete regular season)
Each year QFTR publishes Real Player Ratings for every player in the NBA who has played at least 300 minutes. Real Player Ratings are comprehensive player ratings that are very carefully designed and quality controlled. Starting in 2012, the Ratings are supplemented by seven per 36 minutes charts which show player performance in seven of the very most important performance measures, all of which are components of Real Player Ratings (but there are other components that go into Real Player Ratings). These charts are stationed on the home page at all times. This is most likely the only place on the Internet where this key player information is shown in this optimal way.

Here we have the best (defensive) blockers of the NBA in 2011-2012 as indicated by blocks per 36 minutes playing time. This is "BLK" in the chart. All items shown in the chart other than the percentages and the minutes played are per 36 minutes, which is much smarter to use than per game numbers.

For this and all the other charts, a minimum of 300 minutes of playing time is required. Only players who made at least 1.5 blocks per 36 minutes are shown here.

This is one of the seven "7/36 Charts". A short user guide for these is found in this Report.

Here now are how the best blockers in the NBA in 2011-2012 rated and ranked:
Player              Tm   MP   FG  FGA  3P 3PA  FT FTA ORB  DRB AST STL BLK TOV  PF  PTS  FG%  3P%  FT%
Serge Ibaka OKC 1792 5.3 9.8 0.0 0.1 1.6 2.4 3.9 6.1 0.6 0.7 4.8 1.6 3.6 12.1 .535 .333 .661
Larry Sanders MIL 643 4.7 10.3 0.0 0.1 1.0 2.1 3.5 5.5 1.8 1.8 4.3 2.4 7.4 10.4 .457 .000 .474
Greg Stiemsma BOS 766 3.1 5.7 0.0 0.0 1.4 1.9 2.3 6.1 1.3 1.7 4.0 1.6 6.8 7.6 .545 .707
Chris Andersen DEN 486 4.4 8.0 0.0 0.0 3.7 6.1 3.6 7.4 0.4 1.4 3.4 1.3 3.9 12.4 .546 .610
JaVale McGee TOT 1535 7.2 12.9 0.0 0.0 1.8 3.9 3.8 7.4 0.7 0.8 3.1 2.0 3.9 16.2 .556 .461
Brandan Wright DAL 791 6.6 10.6 0.0 0.0 2.4 3.7 2.8 5.1 0.6 1.0 2.9 1.0 2.8 15.5 .618 .000 .634
Bismack Biyombo CHA 1455 3.2 6.9 0.0 0.0 1.7 3.5 2.8 6.3 0.7 0.5 2.8 1.8 3.6 8.1 .464 .483
Samuel Dalembert HOU 1446 5.0 9.8 0.0 0.0 2.2 2.8 3.9 7.4 0.8 0.9 2.8 2.0 4.0 12.2 .506 .000 .796
Ekpe Udoh TOT 1290 3.5 8.2 0.0 0.1 2.4 3.2 2.8 4.3 1.6 1.1 2.8 1.5 4.9 9.5 .431 .000 .754
DeAndre Jordan LAC 1798 4.1 6.5 0.0 0.0 1.5 2.8 4.0 6.9 0.3 0.6 2.7 1.5 3.8 9.7 .632 .000 .525
Jermaine ONeal BOS 570 3.3 7.6 0.0 0.0 1.3 2.0 2.3 6.2 0.6 0.5 2.7 1.3 5.1 7.9 .433 .677
Omer Asik CHI 971 2.9 5.8 0.0 0.0 1.7 3.8 4.7 8.3 1.2 1.1 2.5 2.5 4.5 7.6 .506 .456
Andrew Bogut MIL 364 6.0 13.5 0.0 0.1 1.4 2.3 2.2 7.7 3.1 1.2 2.4 2.4 3.6 13.5 .449 .000 .609
Roy Hibbert IND 1937 6.2 12.4 0.0 0.0 3.2 4.4 4.0 6.7 2.0 0.6 2.4 2.4 3.6 15.5 .497 .000 .711
Robin Lopez PHO 895 5.0 10.8 0.0 0.0 4.0 5.6 3.6 4.8 0.8 0.7 2.4 1.7 5.1 14.0 .461 .714
Anthony Randolph MIN 517 6.5 13.9 0.0 0.1 4.5 5.8 2.9 5.6 1.3 0.9 2.4 2.8 3.9 17.5 .470 .000 .762
Marcus Camby TOT 1352 3.4 7.6 0.1 0.1 0.8 1.7 4.2 9.9 2.8 1.3 2.3 1.5 3.4 7.6 .446 .400 .453
Taj Gibson CHI 1284 5.6 11.3 0.0 0.0 2.4 3.8 3.8 5.5 1.3 0.8 2.3 1.7 3.7 13.6 .495 .622
Kevin Seraphin WAS 1176 6.2 11.7 0.0 0.0 1.4 2.1 3.2 5.4 1.0 0.6 2.3 2.0 4.1 13.9 .531 .000 .671
Joel Anthony MIA 1349 2.3 4.1 0.0 0.0 1.3 1.9 2.7 4.0 0.2 1.0 2.2 1.2 3.4 5.8 .559 .690
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Andris Biedrins GSW 739 1.9 3.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 2.2 6.4 0.8 1.1 2.2 0.7 6.1 3.8 .609 .111
Timofey Mozgov DEN 687 5.2 10.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 3.0 2.8 6.6 1.2 0.8 2.2 2.8 4.5 12.5 .526 .684
Louis Amundson IND 753 4.3 9.9 0.0 0.0 1.7 3.9 4.5 6.1 0.7 1.3 2.1 2.2 6.0 10.2 .430 .427
Earl Clark ORL 559 3.3 9.0 0.0 0.0 1.4 1.9 2.3 5.7 1.2 0.8 2.1 1.6 4.6 7.9 .367 .724
Tyrus Thomas CHA 1013 4.3 11.6 0.0 0.1 2.2 2.9 1.7 5.4 1.2 1.3 2.1 1.9 5.1 10.8 .367 .333 .759
Elton Brand PHI 1732 6.0 12.1 0.0 0.0 1.8 2.4 3.0 5.9 2.0 1.2 2.0 1.4 3.7 13.7 .494 .000 .733
Andrew Bynum LAL 2112 7.6 13.6 0.0 0.1 4.0 5.8 3.3 8.8 1.4 0.5 2.0 2.6 1.8 19.1 .558 .200 .692
Dwight Howard ORL 2070 7.2 12.6 0.0 0.1 4.9 9.9 3.5 10.2 1.8 1.4 2.0 3.0 2.8 19.4 .573 .000 .491
Chris Kaman NOH 1372 7.0 15.7 0.0 0.0 2.2 2.8 2.3 7.2 2.7 0.7 2.0 3.4 2.8 16.2 .446 .785
Tim Duncan SAS 1634 8.0 16.1 0.0 0.1 3.8 5.5 2.4 9.0 2.9 0.8 1.9 2.1 2.2 19.7 .492 .000 .695
Spencer Hawes PHI 920 6.1 12.5 0.1 0.5 1.6 2.2 3.1 7.5 3.8 0.6 1.9 2.2 3.9 13.9 .489 .250 .727
James Johnson TOR 1561 5.4 11.9 0.4 1.4 1.9 2.7 1.7 5.0 2.8 1.6 1.9 2.3 4.1 13.1 .450 .317 .704
Kosta Koufos DEN 792 5.2 8.7 0.0 0.0 1.5 2.5 4.3 7.4 0.7 1.1 1.9 1.5 4.4 12.0 .599 .600
Darko Milicic MIN 472 4.5 9.9 0.0 0.0 1.2 2.8 2.7 4.7 1.3 0.7 1.9 2.4 4.5 10.2 .454 .432
Nazr Mohammed OKC 692 4.1 8.8 0.0 0.1 0.7 1.2 3.1 5.8 0.7 1.0 1.9 1.4 5.3 8.9 .467 .000 .565
Ben Wallace DET 980 1.2 3.2 0.0 0.1 0.6 1.7 3.0 6.9 1.6 1.7 1.9 1.2 2.2 3.1 .395 .250 .340
Marc Gasol MEM 2370 5.4 11.2 0.0 0.2 3.6 4.8 1.8 7.0 3.1 0.9 1.8 1.8 3.1 14.5 .482 .083 .748
Jordan Hill TOT 551 5.4 10.8 0.0 0.2 2.0 3.1 4.0 8.2 1.0 0.9 1.8 2.0 4.6 12.7 .497 .000 .638
Al Jefferson UTA 2075 9.0 18.2 0.0 0.1 2.4 3.1 2.3 7.8 2.3 0.8 1.8 1.1 2.7 20.3 .492 .250 .774
Josh Smith ATL 2329 7.8 17.0 0.4 1.7 3.1 5.0 2.1 7.7 4.0 1.4 1.8 2.5 2.7 19.2 .458 .257 .630
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Derrick Favors UTA 1376 5.8 11.6 0.0 0.0 3.3 5.1 4.1 7.0 1.1 1.0 1.7 2.7 3.8 14.9 .499 .649
Francisco Garcia SAC 798 3.9 10.3 1.7 5.9 1.1 1.4 0.5 4.0 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.0 3.3 10.6 .376 .290 .800
Marcin Gortat PHO 2114 7.3 13.1 0.0 0.0 2.8 4.3 3.2 8.1 1.0 0.8 1.7 1.5 2.4 17.3 .555 .000 .649
Brendan Haywood DAL 1146 3.7 7.2 0.0 0.0 1.4 3.0 4.4 5.8 0.6 0.8 1.7 1.4 3.8 8.8 .518 .469
Joakim Noah CHI 1945 4.6 9.1 0.0 0.0 2.9 3.8 4.5 7.2 3.0 0.8 1.7 1.7 3.0 12.1 .508 .000 .748
Tyson Chandler NYK 2061 4.2 6.2 0.0 0.0 3.8 5.5 3.7 7.0 1.0 1.0 1.6 1.8 3.2 12.2 .679 .000 .689
Kenneth Faried DEN 1037 6.3 10.7 0.0 0.0 3.8 5.7 4.9 7.3 1.2 1.2 1.6 1.9 4.0 16.4 .586 .665
Amir Johnson TOR 1553 4.5 7.9 0.0 0.1 1.3 1.9 3.5 6.0 1.8 0.8 1.6 2.2 4.8 10.5 .576 .400 .690
Kenyon Martin LAC 940 3.7 8.4 0.1 0.5 0.8 2.1 1.9 5.1 0.7 1.7 1.6 1.2 3.9 8.3 .441 .231 .370
Jason Smith NOH 947 6.9 13.2 0.0 0.3 1.3 1.8 2.7 4.7 1.3 0.8 1.6 1.5 3.9 15.1 .520 .111 .702
Tristan Thompson CLE 1424 4.9 11.2 0.0 0.1 2.7 4.9 4.7 5.1 0.7 0.7 1.6 2.0 3.4 12.5 .439 .000 .552
Gustavo Ayon NOH 1088 4.6 8.6 0.0 0.0 1.3 2.1 2.8 5.9 2.4 1.8 1.5 1.5 3.9 10.6 .536 .000 .619
Channing Frye PHO 1669 5.5 13.2 2.0 5.7 1.6 1.8 1.5 6.6 1.9 0.9 1.5 1.4 3.8 14.5 .416 .346 .890
Travis Outlaw SAC 500 4.3 12.6 1.2 4.3 2.2 3.3 1.4 3.0 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.4 2.4 12.0 .343 .267 .674
Kendrick Perkins OKC 1744 2.6 5.4 0.0 0.0 1.5 2.3 2.5 6.3 1.6 0.5 1.5 2.4 3.9 6.8 .489 .652
Tiago Splitter SAS 1121 6.8 11.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 5.8 3.0 6.8 2.1 0.7 1.5 2.8 4.3 17.6 .618 .691
Nikola Vucevic PHI 812 5.8 12.9 0.1 0.4 0.8 1.5 3.9 7.0 1.4 0.9 1.5 1.5 4.9 12.5 .450 .375 .529

TOP NBA DEFENDERS CHART 3 OF 3 >>> TOP THIEVES / FAST BREAKERS in 2011-2012 (complete regular season)
Each year QFTR publishes Real Player Ratings for every player in the NBA who has played at least 300 minutes. Real Player Ratings are comprehensive player ratings that are very carefully designed and quality controlled. Starting in 2012, the Ratings are supplemented by seven per 36 minutes charts which show player performance in seven of the very most important performance measures, all of which are components of Real Player Ratings (but there are other components that go into Real Player Ratings). These charts are stationed on the home page at all times. This is most likely the only place on the Internet where this key player information is shown in this optimal way.

Here we have the best thieves / fast breakers of the NBA in 2011-2012 as indicated by steals per 36 minutes playing time. This is "STL" in the chart. All items shown in the chart other than the percentages and the minutes played are per 36 minutes, which is much smarter to use than per game numbers.

For this and all the other charts, a minimum of 300 minutes of playing time is required. Only players who made at least 1.7 steals per 36 minutes are shown here.

This is one of the seven "7/36 Charts". A short user guide for these is found in this Report.

Here now are how the best thieves / fast breakers in the NBA in 2011-2012 rated and ranked:
Player               Tm   MP   FG  FGA  3P 3PA  FT FTA ORB DRB  AST STL BLK TOV  PF  PTS  FG%  3P%  FT%
Tony Allen MEM 1525 5.0 10.6 0.2 0.6 3.3 4.1 2.3 3.2 1.9 2.5 0.8 2.2 3.4 13.4 .469 .308 .800
Sundiata Gaines NJN 793 4.6 12.3 1.3 3.7 2.7 4.4 1.2 3.7 5.7 2.5 0.1 2.4 2.6 13.2 .376 .341 .615
Chris Paul LAC 2181 7.0 14.7 1.3 3.5 4.3 5.0 0.7 2.8 9.0 2.5 0.1 2.0 2.3 19.6 .478 .371 .861
Eric Bledsoe LAC 464 3.8 9.8 0.5 2.3 2.2 3.4 1.7 3.3 5.1 2.4 1.1 3.6 4.5 10.2 .389 .200 .636
Ronnie Price PHO 517 3.4 9.1 0.9 3.1 1.4 1.7 1.3 2.6 4.7 2.4 0.2 3.2 5.0 9.1 .377 .295 .800
Mike Conley MEM 2174 4.9 11.3 1.0 2.6 2.3 2.6 0.4 2.2 6.7 2.3 0.2 2.1 2.2 13.0 .433 .377 .861
Ricky Rubio MIN 1404 3.6 10.0 0.8 2.4 3.2 4.0 0.5 3.8 8.6 2.3 0.2 3.4 2.5 11.2 .357 .340 .803
Baron Davis NYK 595 4.1 11.1 1.6 5.1 1.0 1.5 0.8 2.6 8.2 2.1 0.2 4.6 3.7 10.8 .370 .306 .667
Jason Kidd DAL 1379 2.6 7.1 2.1 5.8 0.6 0.7 0.4 4.8 6.9 2.1 0.3 2.4 2.2 7.8 .363 .354 .786
Jeremy Lin NYK 940 6.5 14.7 0.9 2.9 5.6 7.0 0.7 3.4 8.3 2.1 0.3 4.8 3.0 19.6 .446 .320 .798
Iman Shumpert NYK 1705 4.5 11.3 1.0 3.3 1.8 2.3 0.9 3.0 3.5 2.1 0.2 2.3 3.7 11.9 .401 .306 .798
Corey Brewer DEN 1287 5.6 13.0 0.9 3.6 2.5 3.6 1.2 3.0 2.5 2.0 0.5 1.6 3.2 14.7 .434 .260 .692
Paul George IND 1958 5.2 11.7 1.7 4.3 2.7 3.3 1.0 5.8 2.9 2.0 0.7 2.2 3.5 14.7 .440 .385 .802
Kawhi Leonard SAS 1534 4.7 9.5 1.0 2.6 1.6 2.1 2.4 5.2 1.6 2.0 0.6 1.0 2.1 11.9 .493 .376 .773
Paul Millsap UTA 2100 7.3 14.8 0.1 0.5 3.5 4.4 3.1 6.6 2.6 2.0 0.9 1.9 3.8 18.2 .495 .226 .792
J.R. Smith NYK 967 6.1 15.1 2.5 7.2 1.5 2.0 1.1 4.0 3.1 2.0 0.2 1.7 3.2 16.2 .407 .347 .709
Delonte West DAL 1060 5.6 12.2 0.9 2.6 2.1 2.4 0.4 3.0 4.7 2.0 0.4 2.6 2.3 14.3 .461 .355 .886
Mario Chalmers MIA 1825 4.4 9.8 2.0 5.1 1.6 2.0 0.3 3.1 4.4 1.9 0.2 2.8 3.3 12.4 .448 .388 .792
Stephen Curry GSW 732 7.1 14.6 2.7 6.0 1.9 2.3 0.7 3.6 6.8 1.9 0.4 3.2 3.0 18.8 .490 .455 .809
Carlos Delfino MIL 1537 4.3 10.6 2.0 5.6 0.9 1.1 0.5 4.4 2.9 1.9 0.2 1.5 2.3 11.4 .402 .360 .792
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Earl Watson UTA 1033 1.9 5.6 0.3 1.8 1.1 1.6 1.0 3.2 7.6 1.9 0.8 3.0 3.7 5.2 .338 .192 .674
Trevor Ariza NOH 1350 4.5 10.7 0.8 2.3 2.1 2.7 1.1 4.6 3.6 1.8 0.7 2.0 1.9 11.8 .417 .333 .775
Gustavo Ayon NOH 1088 4.6 8.6 0.0 0.0 1.3 2.1 2.8 5.9 2.4 1.8 1.5 1.5 3.9 10.6 .536 .000 .619
Rodrigue Beaubois DAL 1151 5.9 13.9 1.2 4.1 1.8 2.2 0.6 4.1 4.8 1.8 0.9 2.2 3.1 14.8 .422 .288 .841
Reggie Jackson OKC 501 3.7 11.4 0.9 4.5 1.8 2.1 1.0 2.8 5.1 1.8 0.1 2.6 2.2 10.1 .321 .210 .862
LeBron James MIA 2326 9.6 18.1 0.8 2.3 6.0 7.8 1.5 6.2 6.0 1.8 0.8 3.3 1.5 26.0 .531 .362 .771
Nate Robinson GSW 1192 6.2 14.6 2.0 5.5 2.8 3.4 0.5 2.6 7.0 1.8 0.1 2.3 3.6 17.2 .424 .365 .832
Walker Russell DET 357 3.3 9.6 0.4 1.3 1.4 2.2 0.7 1.9 5.8 1.8 0.1 3.3 2.9 8.5 .347 .308 .636
Larry Sanders MIL 643 4.7 10.3 0.0 0.1 1.0 2.1 3.5 5.5 1.8 1.8 4.3 2.4 7.4 10.4 .457 .000 .474
Chris Singleton WAS 1431 2.9 7.8 1.1 3.2 0.8 1.1 1.1 4.8 1.2 1.8 0.8 1.0 4.4 7.7 .372 .346 .682
Dwyane Wade MIA 1625 9.2 18.5 0.3 1.2 5.2 6.6 1.6 3.6 5.0 1.8 1.4 2.9 2.4 24.0 .497 .268 .791
DeMarcus Cousins SAC 1950 8.3 18.4 0.0 0.3 4.8 6.9 4.9 8.1 1.9 1.7 1.4 3.1 4.7 21.4 .448 .143 .702
Goran Dragic HOU 1752 5.7 12.3 1.4 4.2 3.1 3.9 1.1 2.4 7.2 1.7 0.2 3.2 3.4 15.9 .462 .337 .805
Andre Iguodala PHI 2209 4.7 10.3 1.2 3.1 2.0 3.2 0.9 5.3 5.5 1.7 0.5 1.9 1.5 12.6 .454 .394 .617
Kyle Lowry HOU 1510 5.0 12.2 1.9 5.0 4.1 4.7 0.9 4.2 7.4 1.7 0.3 3.1 3.2 16.0 .409 .374 .864
Rajon Rondo BOS 1957 4.7 10.5 0.2 0.8 2.0 3.3 1.1 3.6 11.4 1.7 0.1 3.6 1.8 11.6 .448 .238 .597
Lance Stephenson IND 442 3.8 10.2 0.3 2.4 0.7 1.4 1.0 3.3 3.7 1.7 0.4 2.9 2.4 8.6 .376 .133 .471
Greg Stiemsma BOS 766 3.1 5.7 0.0 0.0 1.4 1.9 2.3 6.1 1.3 1.7 4.0 1.6 6.8 7.6 .545 .707
Jeff Teague ATL 2183 5.3 11.1 0.8 2.5 2.3 3.1 0.3 2.3 5.3 1.7 0.6 2.2 2.4 13.7 .476 .342 .757
Ben Wallace DET 980 1.2 3.2 0.0 0.1 0.6 1.7 3.0 6.9 1.6 1.7 1.9 1.2 2.2 3.1 .395 .250 .340
Player Tm MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS FG% 3P% FT%
Russell Westbrook OKC 2331 8.9 19.6 1.0 3.0 5.3 6.4 1.5 3.2 5.6 1.7 0.3 3.7 2.3 24.1 .457 .316 .823

From day one we knew that QFTR would never be a hang out place, a place where people come to comment on basketball news and blogs and what not. For one thing, we knew it could never possibly be even a moderate traffic Site (let alone a high traffic Site) regardless of the quality or quantity of basketball content loaded on to it. (It took years and about 15 books worth of content just to go from zero traffic to low traffic). Although you wouldn't expect it to be all that popular, it seems that a serious and unique basketball Site has even a lower potential audience than one would expect.

For another thing, QFTR is too serious for the quick little comments that are a dime a dozen at basketball Sites and blogs around the Internet. And most people who comment like to make only short little comments.

And of course it is well known that only a tiny percentage of blogs get more than a tiny number of comments and that essentially all of the blogs that do get comments are part of blog networks and/or they are run by celebrities.

And there are other reasons but those are the main ones.

The truth though is that your QFTR producer never had the resources to moderate and / or to participate in discussions at QFTR. Before there was a QFTR we participated in forums, and for about 18 months after there was a QFTR we still posted at a couple of forums, but we had to discontinue due to lack of time and because posting at forums was useless for getting traffic to QFTR that would return for future visits. As mentioned above in "Your Ball, Take Your Best Shot, Option 3," QFTR has only roughly 1/10 of the time it would like for producing content and for getting the background work done. So we are not even close to having the time to deal with comments that would go directly onto QFTR. So actually, we are glad that there has been very little interest.

Having said that, until January 2012 there was an option for commenting on Reports etc.. There was a page called "QFTR Discussions" where all comments on all Reports would appear in one place. These were going to be more serious and lengthy comments than the ones you see around the Internet.

Along with the discussion page there was to be an "open blog" called "My Quest for the Ring". Anyone who demonstrated the ability to make important, interesting, and/or useful contributions toward explaining how playoff games are won and lost would be given the keys and would be allowed to post whatever whenever. These would be full posts and not just comments. This would be a collaboration blog.

Both Discussions and My Quest for the Ring were nice, creative ideas, but there were no takers because of some combination of the following:

--Hardly anyone is qualified to discuss basketball at a high level.
--No one who is qualified has the time.
--QFTR traffic has been too low and/or it has the wrong people visiting, so therefore those who might have posted have never seen the option.

Although all of the links to these pages are removed from the QFTR home page as of January 2012 (except for the ones just above) the pages themselves are not being taken down. So if anyone (and it can be just one single person) is interested in posting to either of these Sites, please send an email to:
thequestforthering1 @ gmail dot com
[Remove the spaces and replace "dot" with an actual (.)

If even one person is interested and posts at either of those sites, we will restore all of the links that were removed.

RICKY RUBIO, MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES POINT GUARD

RICKY RUBIO, MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES POINT GUARD

>>>I WANT TO STICK WITH THE WAY OTHER SITES PRESENT POSTS
Due to the number of, uniqueness of, and importance of the many other home page features we have, only one Report loads at a time, currently the one just above. To see the next Report (which would be the one that came out just before the one above) on this home page, click "Older Posts" that is at the very bottom of the Report showing above, just above the section header "Your Ball: Take Your Best Shot".

>>ALTERNATIVE HOME PAGES
There are three home pages, all of which have all of the Reports but which have completely different features appearing on the sidebar and below the one Report that is shown at a time. These pages have been designed so that they fully load in about 10 seconds (no more super long load times we used to be known for.)

HOME PAGE A: ALL REPORTS, READERS CONTAINING REPORTS 1-100, AND UNIQUE FEATURES
HOME PAGE B: ALL REPORTS, READERS CONTAINING REPORTS 1-100, AND UNIQUE FEATURES
HOME PAGE C: ALL REPORTS, READERS CONTAINING REPORTS 1-100, AND UNIQUE FEATURES

>>REPORT READERS: Complete freedom to rapidly choose and read what you need or want to read. The latest 40 Reports are found near the top of all three of the primary home pages (linked to just above) while Reports #41-#100 are found in three separate readers placed at various points down the page on all three primary home pages.

>>EXPRESS VERSION: Every Single Report but no Features: a Fast Loading Page: Click Here



>>FAST BREAK VERSION: The Latest 100 Reports via Report Readers Only; no Features, a Fast Loading Page: Click Here

>>QUEST ARCHIVE HOME PAGES--REPORT ARCHIVES AND A SMALL NUMBER OF CLASSIC FEATURES THAT WON'T FIT ON OTHER HOME PAGES
QUEST 4: REPORTS 101-200
QUEST 5: REPORTS 201-300
QUEST 6: REPORTS 301-400
QUEST 7: REPORTS 401-500
QUEST 8: REPORTS 501-600
QUEST 9: REPORTS 601-700
QUEST 10: REPORTS 701-800

>>FEATURES ONLY HOME PAGES: NO REPORTS, JUST FEATURES THAT WE CAN'T FIT ANYWHERE ELSE
QUEST OVERTIME
QUEST CLASSIC

>>COMPLETE TITLE INDEX: : A Complete Report Title Index, with Express Version Links to all Reports

>>LATEST 25 Reports: Direct links to the latest 25 Reports (with no truncated titles as you find with the poorly designed Google archive). This is located near the very bottom of this page.

>>GOOGLE ARCHIVE you will find this, with Reports shown by week not very far below.

>>I'M NEW AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE I WANT TO GO: Welcome to the Real Zone. Simply browse the page and see for yourself what is here. You will not be disappointed.

>>OR YOU CAN DO A CUSTOM GOOGLE SEARCH OF THE 20 BOOKS AND COUNTING CONTAINED ON THIS SITE>>>>>

SEARCH QFTR, THE EQUIVALENT OF ABOUT 20 BOOKS ABOUT BASKETBALL

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SEARCH THE 20 BOOKS / 2.0 MILLION WORDS

TWO WAYS TO LOOK AT HOW LONG QUEST FOR THE RING HAS BEEN KEEPING IT REAL >>>

The above shows you in two different ways the exact amount of time since The Quest for the Ring began to completely explain how the Quest is won, while having as much fun as possible at the expense of basketball pretenders and player haters. The first panel shows how long it has been in each of seven units. The second panel shows how long it has been in the more usual "remainder" way.

QUEST FOR THE RING SOMETIMES GOES INTO HIATUS
Regardless of any temporary unavoidable absences, the Quest is in this project to explain in detail for the very long term--indefinitely, for many, many, many years ahead. At this writing we have the equivalent of 15 basketball books under our belt and we plan on doing dozens more. Count on us being right where basketball is at, which is here, actually.

GOOGLE ARCHIVE



QUEST FOR THE RING USER GUIDE

QUEST FOR THE RING USER GUIDE: YOU CAN QUICKLY LOCATE AND GET THE SITE INFORMATION YOU NEED OR WANT RIGHT HERE






WELCOME TO THE QUEST--THINGS ARE VERY DIFFERENT HERE

WELCOME TO THE QUEST FOR THE RING, ALSO KNOWN AS THE REAL ZONE
This is one of the most serious basketball sites on the internet, focusing on how and why playoff games and NBA Championships are won and lost. We also love to take comedy and music breaks, but not every day.

WELCOME TO THE QUEST FOR THE RING (QFTR). YOU HAVE LEFT THE HYPE ZONE AND HAVE ARRIVED IN THE REAL ZONE. Please check any rose colored glasses at the door. The Hype Zone that you most likely just came from is where you can find out about the personalities and the styles and how popular they are and what they are up to lately. The QFTR Real Zone is where we DO NOT think personalities and styles and how popular or unpopular they are things to waste time on just for ratings or traffic.

Instead of hype, here we post as much truth about how NBA playoff games and Championships are won as we can 365 days a year and at at any hour of the day or night. Please have a productive visit, and a nice trip back to the Hype Zone when your visit is over.


UNIQUE SITE DESIGN
The Quest is organized in a completely different way from what you are used to on the Internet. We have combined the best features of the blog and the conventional web site formats, the latter being the norm for large organizations. However, since we do not like the idea of using flash to "wow" visitors, we do not use flash except within video and other discrete components. So we are state of the art in terms of expanding the power of visitors to get exactly what they want very quickly, but we do not have the latest flash gadgetry just to "keep up with the Joneses".

More broadly, you will find that Quest for the Ring never seeks to keep up with the Joneses, simply because the Joneses never had the nerve and the intelligence to do what we do.

Unlike many Internet operations QFTR is never going to quit due to low traffic; we have learned over the last decade that traffic is about 95% determined by variables completely out of our control. The 5% that we do control is not enough to change traffic in any significant way. The corporate, hype, and porn sites get all the easy (and sleazy!) traffic. QFTR gets a relatively small amount of traffic but how could it possibly be otherwise? QFTR gets high quality traffic from serious, intelligent people (who are in limited supply) and that is exactly how it was inevitably going to be.

2009: A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION COMES TO QUEST
The QFTR Home Page consists of numerous types of content, organized carefully into clearly labelled sections. Features can be any educational and / or entertaining basketball content you can think of, including everything from music players to videos to photos to breaking NBA news readers to top teams performance breakdown pages.

Quest for the Ring has a world class link system for easy access to many of the Worlds' most important basketball resources. (We don't give a damn that all the outbound links might hurt our placement in search results, because we are not going to cheat visitors just to get more "fly by night" visitors.) But the Quest visitor does not HAVE to hunt for links to have an intelligent and entertaining experience because QFTR is a massive resource in and of itself.

THERE MUST BE FIFTY WAYS TO READ REPORTS [AS PAUL SIMON SANG YEARS AGO, LOL]
Well, maybe not fifty, but there are close to ten ways to find out about, select, and read Quest Reports! The standard, traditional blog presentation is available as one of the many ways to choose, access, and read reports. On the Home Page, only one report loads in the traditional format in order to keep this page as quick loading as possible. See the "Total Freedom of Navigation" section not far below the main Report you have loaded for complete details about how to find, choose, and read reports.

THE QUEST USER GUIDE VERSUS THE MERE ABOUT PAGE
Other sites very often have undeveloped and limited in scope "about pages" which is usually all they have for what we call a "User Guide". The QFTR User Guide is a little blog in itself with several dozen articles explaining aspects of the Site and how you can benefit from them. This approach is a vast improvement, quantitatively and qualitatively, over a mere "about page" While many other sites don't help their visitors to make the best use of the content, we do. Also, the User Guide is chock loaded with invitations to visitors to participate in all kinds of ways, including for example advertising for free, link exchange, and getting a team site supported by Quest. You can access User Guide articles either by visiting the User Guide dedicated page or by locating the list of User Guide articles right on the primary QFTR Home Page.

SEARCH QFTR, THE EQUIVALENT OF ABOUT 20 BOOKS ABOUT BASKETBALL

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RECOMMENDED SCHOOL--CLICK FOR DETAILS


QUEST FOR THE RING VIDEOS--The primary Quest video page with video juke boxes for all 30 teams

QUEST FOR THE RING VIDEOS #2--Specially chosen video juke boxes and individual videos

QUEST FOR THE RING PRIMARY HOME PAGE B--A few key video players are here

LATEST NBA.COM NBA VIDEOS
LATEST YAHOO SPORTS NBA / BASKETBALL VIDEOS
LATEST CBS SPORTSLINE NBA VIDEOS

MOST RECENT LEAGUE WIDE REAL PLAYER RATINGS

Note: This is generally a once a year, end of season Report. For many teams and players, more recent ratings are often available.

NBA REAL PLAYER RATINGS
2009-10 REGULAR SEASON


POSITION AND TEAM CODES
In the Real Player and related ratings shown for the League, two codes follow each players' name (and before his rating). The first code tells you the players' team and the second one tells you his position.

TEAM CODES
ATLA Atlanta Hawks
BOST Boston Celtics
CHAR Charlotte Bobcats
CHIC Chicago Bulls
CLEV Cleveland Cavaliers
DALL Dallas Mavericks
DENV Denver Nuggets
DETR Detroit Pistons
GOLS Golden State Warriors
HOUS Houston Rockets
INDI Indiana Pacers
LACL Los Angeles Clippers
LALK Los Angeles Lakers
MEMP Memphis Grizzlies
MIAM Miami Heat
MILW Milwaukee Bucks
MINN Minnesota Timberwolves
NJRS New Jersey Nets
NORL New Orleans Hornets
NWYR New York Knicks
OKLA Oklahoma Thunder
ORLA Orlando Magic
PHIL Philadelphia 76'ers
PHNX Phoenix Suns
PORT Portland Trailblazers
SACR Sacramento Kings
SANA San Antonio Spurs
TORO Toronto Raptors
UTAH Utah Jazz
WASH Washington Wizards

POSITION CODES
PG Point Guard
SG Shooting Guard
SF Small Forward
PF Power Forward
C Center

SCALE FOR REGULAR SEASON REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Perfect for all Practical Purposes / Major Historic Super Star 1.100 and more
Historic Super Star 1.000 1.099
Super Star 0.900 0.999
A Star Player / A well above normal starter 0.820 0.899
Very Good Player / A solid starter 0.760 0.819
Major Role Player / Good enough to start 0.700 0.759
Good Role Player / Often a good 6th man 0.640 0.699
Satisfactory Role Player / Preferably should not start 0.580 0.639
Marginal Role Player / Generally should not start 0.520 0.579
Poor Player / Should never start 0.460 0.519
Very Poor Player 0.400 0.459
Extremely Poor Player .399 and less

NBA REAL PLAYER RATINGS
2009-10 REGULAR SEASON

--Shows the real quality of players
--Includes all tracked actions and also includes untracked or hidden defending
--The average Real Player Rating for all players who play 300 minutes or more is about .700.
--All players who have played at least 300 minutes are included here and in all other ratings to follow in coming days

MAJOR HISTORIC SUPERSTARS
1 LeBron James CLEV SF 1.382
2 Tim Duncan SANA PF 1.254
3 Chris Paul NORL PG 1.202
4 Dwight Howard ORLA C 1.121
5 Andrew Bogut MILW C 1.112

HISTORIC SUPERSTARS
6 Steve Nash PHNX PG 1.095
7 Jason Kidd DALL PG 1.092
8 Rajon Rondo BOST PG 1.084
9 Deron Williams UTAH PG 1.076
10 Dwyane Wade MIAM SG 1.075
11 Marcus Camby LACL C 1.071
12 Pau Gasol LALK PF 1.065
13 Greg Oden PORT C 1.060
14 Kevin Durant OKLA SF 1.051
15 Dirk Nowitzki DALL PF 1.034
16 Josh Smith ATLA SF 1.033
17 Kevin Garnett BOST PF 1.033
18 Manu Ginobili SANA SG 1.023
19 Kobe Bryant LALK SG 1.005

SUPERSTARS
20 Carlos Boozer UTAH PF 0.994
21 Lamar Odom LALK PF 0.982
22 Andrei Kirilenko UTAH SF 0.976
23 Chris Bosh TORO PF 0.972
24 David Lee NWYR C 0.971
25 Al Horford ATLA C 0.970
26 Marcus Camby PORT C 0.967
27 Jameer Nelson ORLA PG 0.959
28 Joakim Noah CHIC C 0.955
29 John Salmons MILW SF 0.937
30 Andrew Bynum LALK C 0.936
31 Troy Murphy INDI PF 0.934
32 Kevin Love MINN PF 0.934
33 Anderson Varejao CLEV C 0.933
34 Brendan Haywood DALL C 0.929
35 Vince Carter ORLA SG 0.928
36 Gerald Wallace CHAR SF 0.918
37 Sergio Rodriguez SACR PG 0.908
38 Tyrus Thomas CHIC PF 0.904
39 Derrick Rose CHIC PG 0.903

STARS
40 Baron Davis LACL PG 0.899
41 Russell Westbrook OKLA PG 0.897
42 Zach Randolph MEMP PF 0.885
43 Danny Granger INDI SF 0.885
44 Marc Gasol MEMP C 0.885
45 Joe Johnson ATLA SG 0.883
46 Chauncey Billups DENV PG 0.883
47 Roy Hibbert INDI C 0.880
48 Ben Wallace DETR C 0.877
49 Andre Miller PORT PG 0.874
50 Carmelo Anthony DENV SF 0.874
51 Brandon Jennings MILW PG 0.870
52 Tyrus Thomas CHAR PF 0.870
53 A.J. Price INDI PG 0.868
54 Paul Millsap UTAH PF 0.866
55 Craig Smith LACL PF 0.865
56 Samuel Dalembert PHIL C 0.864
57 Andre Iguodala PHIL SG 0.858
58 Raymond Felton CHAR PG 0.857
59 Delonte West CLEV SG 0.856
60 Al Jefferson MINN C 0.856
61 Eric Maynor OKLA PG 0.856
62 Serge Ibaka OKLA PF 0.855
63 Nene Hilario DENV C 0.852
64 Chris Andersen DENV PF 0.849
65 Shaquille O'Neal CLEV C 0.842
66 Brandon Roy PORT SG 0.842
67 Ryan Anderson ORLA PF 0.840
68 Antonio McDyess SANA PF 0.839
69 Tony Parker SANA PG 0.837
70 Paul Pierce BOST SF 0.836
71 Mo Williams CLEV PG 0.835
72 Kyle Lowry HOUS PG 0.835
73 Ersan Ilyasova MILW SF 0.828
74 Amare Stoudemire PHNX PF 0.828
75 Luke Ridnour MILW PG 0.827
76 Erick Dampier DALL C 0.826
77 Tyreke Evans SACR PG 0.825
78 Andris Biedrins GOLS C 0.825
79 Kyle Korver UTAH SG 0.824
80 Anthony Randolph GOLS PF 0.820

VERY GOOD PLAYERS / SOLID STARTERS
81 Eric Maynor UTAH PG 0.819
82 Carlos Arroyo MIAM PG 0.819
83 Antawn Jamison CLEV PF 0.819
84 Nazr Mohammed CHAR C 0.818
85 Luol Deng CHIC SF 0.817
86 Dorell Wright MIAM SG 0.817
87 LaMarcus Aldridge PORT PF 0.817
88 Carl Landry HOUS PF 0.816
89 Luis Scola HOUS PF 0.816
90 Nick Collison OKLA PF 0.812
91 Carlos Delfino MILW SG 0.809
92 Kendrick Perkins BOST C 0.807
93 Jermaine O'Neal MIAM C 0.805
94 Nate Robinson NWYR PG 0.804
95 Goran Dragic PHNX PG 0.803
96 Mike Bibby ATLA PG 0.803
97 Stephen Curry GOLS PG 0.803
98 Mehmet Okur UTAH C 0.800
99 Jose Calderon TORO PG 0.797
100 Jason Terry DALL SG 0.791
101 Ronnie Price UTAH PG 0.784
102 DeJuan Blair SANA PF 0.784
103 Chris Kaman LACL C 0.783
104 Shaun Livingston WASH PG 0.783
105 Joel Przybilla PORT C 0.782
106 David West NORL PF 0.781
107 John Salmons CHIC SF 0.776
108 Matt Barnes ORLA SF 0.775
109 Darren Collison NORL PG 0.775
110 Ronny Turiaf GOLS C 0.774
111 Udonis Haslem MIAM PF 0.774
112 Shawn Marion DALL SF 0.772
113 Jason Williams ORLA PG 0.771
114 Keyon Dooling NJRS PG 0.771
115 Andray Blatche WASH C 0.770
116 James Harden OKLA SG 0.770
117 Brook Lopez NJRS C 0.770
118 Ray Allen BOST SG 0.770
119 Amir Johnson TORO SF 0.769
120 Ty Lawson DENV PG 0.768
121 Beno Udrih SACR PG 0.768
122 Chuck Hayes HOUS PF 0.765
123 Matt Bonner SANA PF 0.763
124 Reggie Evans TORO PF 0.763
125 Gilbert Arenas WASH PG 0.760

MAJOR ROLE PLAYERS / GOOD ENOUGH TO START
126 Zydrunas Ilgauskas CLEV C 0.758
127 Rasheed Wallace BOST PF 0.757
128 Lou Williams PHIL SG 0.756
129 Stephen Jackson CHAR SF 0.754
130 Dan Gadzuric MILW C 0.754
131 Jamario Moon CLEV SF 0.754
132 Ron Artest LALK SF 0.752
133 Rodney Stuckey DETR PG 0.749
134 Shelden Williams BOST PF 0.748
135 Oleksiy Pecherov MINN C 0.748
136 Aaron Brooks HOUS PG 0.747
137 Boris Diaw CHAR PF 0.746
138 C.J. Watson GOLS PG 0.746
139 Brendan Haywood WASH C 0.744
140 Emeka Okafor NORL C 0.742
141 Taj Gibson CHIC PF 0.741
142 J.R. Smith DENV SG 0.738
143 Mike Miller WASH SF 0.732
144 Channing Frye PHNX C 0.731
145 Louis Amundson PHNX PF 0.731
146 Elton Brand PHIL PF 0.726
147 D.J. Mbenga LALK C 0.725
148 Tayshaun Prince DETR SF 0.724
149 Francisco Garcia SACR SG 0.724
150 Tyler Hansbrough INDI PF 0.724
151 Trevor Ariza HOUS SG 0.723
152 Allen Iverson PHIL SG 0.722
153 Rashard Lewis ORLA PF 0.721
154 Richard Jefferson SANA SF 0.721
155 Luc Richard Mbah a Moute MILW SF 0.721
156 Jamal Crawford ATLA SG 0.721
157 Brad Miller CHIC C 0.720
158 Josh Boone NJRS C 0.718
159 Jason Richardson PHNX SG 0.718
160 Sebastian Telfair LACL PG 0.717
161 Marvin Williams ATLA PF 0.716
162 David Andersen HOUS C 0.715
163 Caron Butler DALL SF 0.715
164 Michael Beasley MIAM PF 0.714
165 George Hill SANA PG 0.713
166 Ronnie Brewer UTAH SG 0.712
167 D.J. Augustin CHAR PG 0.712
168 Monta Ellis GOLS PG 0.711
169 Sean May SACR PF 0.710
170 Anthony Tolliver GOLS PF 0.709
171 Kenyon Martin DENV PF 0.709
172 Tyson Chandler CHAR C 0.709
173 Rodrigue Beaubois DALL PG 0.707
174 Stephen Jackson GOLS SF 0.704
175 Shane Battier HOUS SF 0.703
176 Stephen Graham CHAR SF 0.702
177 Mike Conley MEMP PG 0.702
178 Earl Watson INDI PG 0.701
179 T.J. Ford INDI PG 0.700

GOOD ROLE PLAYERS / OFTEN GOOD 6TH MAN PLAYERS
180 Ramon Sessions MINN PG 0.699
181 Corey Maggette GOLS SF 0.699
182 Marcin Gortat ORLA PF 0.698
183 Terrence Williams NJRS SG 0.698
184 Jarrett Jack TORO PG 0.698
185 James Singleton WASH SF 0.696
186 JaVale McGee WASH C 0.694
187 Jose Juan Barea DALL PG 0.694
188 Marcus Thornton NORL SG 0.693
189 Daequan Cook MIAM SG 0.691
190 Jordan Farmar LALK PG 0.689
191 Kirk Hinrich CHIC PG 0.689
192 Carl Landry SACR PF 0.689
193 Shannon Brown LALK PG 0.687
194 Anthony Carter DENV PG 0.686
195 Jason Thompson SACR PF 0.686
196 Mike Dunleavy INDI SF 0.686
197 Robin Lopez PHNX C 0.684
198 Spencer Hawes SACR C 0.680
199 Rudy Fernandez PORT SG 0.678
200 Drew Gooden LACL PF 0.678
201 Steve Blake LACL PG 0.677
202 Bobby Simmons NJRS SF 0.676
203 Larry Hughes NWYR SG 0.675
204 Jerry Stackhouse MILW SF 0.675
205 Quentin Richardson MIAM SG 0.675
206 Rudy Gay MEMP SF 0.675
207 Darko Milicic MINN C 0.674
208 Drew Gooden DALL PF 0.674
209 Reggie Williams GOLS SF 0.673
210 Ronald Murray CHAR SG 0.671
211 Grant Hill PHNX SF 0.669
212 Nate Robinson BOST PG 0.668
213 Travis Outlaw LACL SF 0.668
214 Steve Blake PORT PG 0.667
215 Devin Harris NJRS PG 0.665
216 Antawn Jamison WASH PF 0.665
217 Danilo Gallinari NWYR SF 0.664
218 Wilson Chandler NWYR SF 0.664
219 Gerald Henderson CHAR SG 0.664
220 Tony Allen BOST SG 0.663
221 Kyrylo Fesenko UTAH C 0.662
222 Anthony Morrow GOLS SG 0.661
223 Jordan Hill HOUS PF 0.661
224 Jared Dudley PHNX SF 0.660
225 Daniel Gibson CLEV PG 0.660
226 Jeff Green OKLA PF 0.659
227 Josh McRoberts INDI PF 0.659
228 Anthony Johnson ORLA PG 0.658
229 J.J. Redick ORLA SG 0.658
230 Al Harrington NWYR PF 0.655
231 Luther Head INDI PG 0.654
232 Nicolas Batum PORT SF 0.653
233 Theo Ratliff CHAR C 0.650
234 Mario Chalmers MIAM PG 0.648
235 Brandon Bass ORLA PF 0.648
236 Kris Humphries NJRS PF 0.646
237 Chris Duhon NWYR PG 0.643
238 Nenad Krstic OKLA C 0.642
239 Kris Humphries DALL PF 0.642

SATISFACTORY ROLE PLAYERS / USUALLY DO NOT START
240 Rasho Nesterovic TORO C 0.637
241 Hedo Turkoglu TORO SF 0.635
242 Johan Petro DENV C 0.635
243 Randy Foye WASH PG 0.634
244 Jrue Holiday PHIL PG 0.633
245 Mickael Pietrus ORLA SG 0.631
246 Jared Jeffries NWYR PF 0.627
247 Leandro Barbosa PHNX SG 0.626
248 Joel Anthony MIAM C 0.624
249 O.J. Mayo MEMP SG 0.622
250 Chase Budinger HOUS SF 0.621
251 Roger Mason SANA SG 0.619
252 Caron Butler WASH SF 0.617
253 Peja Stojakovic NORL SF 0.615
254 Marreese Speights PHIL PF 0.613
255 Jamaal Tinsley MEMP PG 0.613
256 Bobby Brown NORL PG 0.611
257 Jonas Jerebko DETR SF 0.610
258 Omri Casspi SACR SF 0.609
259 Kurt Thomas MILW PF 0.608
260 Thaddeus Young PHIL SF 0.607
261 Brandon Rush INDI SG 0.606
262 Hasheem Thabeet MEMP C 0.605
263 Damien Wilkins MINN SG 0.601
264 Rodney Carney PHIL SF 0.601
265 Earl Boykins WASH PG 0.599
266 J.J. Hickson CLEV PF 0.599
267 Willie Green PHIL SG 0.598
268 Anthony Parker CLEV SG 0.596
269 Jamaal Magloire MIAM C 0.594
270 Wesley Matthews UTAH SG 0.592
271 Devean George GOLS SG 0.592
272 Richard Hamilton DETR SG 0.592
273 Kevin Martin SACR SG 0.591
274 Andrea Bargnani TORO C 0.591
275 Ryan Gomes MINN SF 0.589
276 Thabo Sefolosha OKLA SF 0.589
277 Rafer Alston NJRS PG 0.589
278 Tracy McGrady NWYR SG 0.588
279 Marco Belinelli TORO SG 0.587
280 Michael Finley BOST SF 0.585
281 Marcus Williams MEMP PG 0.583
282 Martell Webster PORT SG 0.583
283 Charlie Villanueva DETR PF 0.582

MARGINAL ROLE PLAYERS / RARELY START
284 Derek Fisher LALK PG 0.578
285 Jannero Pargo CHIC PG 0.577
286 Toney Douglas NWYR PG 0.577
287 Chris Hunter GOLS PF 0.576
288 Derrick Brown CHAR SF 0.575
289 Yi Jianlian NJRS PF 0.575
290 Nathan Jawai MINN PF 0.575
291 Ime Udoka SACR SG 0.574
292 Sergio Rodriguez NWYR PG 0.574
293 Arron Afflalo DENV SG 0.573
294 Kevin Martin HOUS SG 0.572
295 Hakim Warrick MILW PF 0.571
296 Al Thornton WASH SF 0.569
297 Will Bynum DETR PG 0.568
298 Jonny Flynn MINN PG 0.568
299 James Posey NORL SF 0.564
300 Mikki Moore GOLS C 0.561
301 Darius Songaila NORL PF 0.561
302 Jerryd Bayless PORT PG 0.556
303 Jon Brockman SACR PF 0.554
304 Sasha Vujacic LALK SG 0.554
305 Dante Cunningham PORT SF 0.551
306 Michael Redd MILW SG 0.551
307 Eric Gordon LACL SG 0.550
308 C.J. Miles UTAH SF 0.549
309 Al Thornton LACL SF 0.547
310 Julian Wright NORL SF 0.545
311 Jeff Teague ATLA PG 0.544
312 Marquis Daniels BOST SG 0.543
313 Dahntay Jones INDI SG 0.542
314 Chris Douglas-Roberts NJRS SG 0.541
315 Zaza Pachulia ATLA C 0.538
316 Etan Thomas OKLA C 0.538
317 Sonny Weems TORO SG 0.537
318 Devin Brown NORL SG 0.533
319 Jason Maxiell DETR PF 0.532
320 Bill Walker NWYR SG 0.532
321 Courtney Lee NJRS SG 0.528
322 James Jones MIAM SF 0.525
323 Donte Greene SACR SF 0.524
324 Kenny Thomas SACR PF 0.523
325 Wayne Ellington MINN SG 0.521
326 Juwan Howard PORT PF 0.520

POOR PLAYERS / SHOULD NEVER START
327 Charlie Bell MILW SG 0.518
328 Corey Brewer MINN SF 0.518
329 Hakim Warrick CHIC PF 0.514
330 DeAndre Jordan LACL C 0.512
331 Rasual Butler LACL SG 0.509
332 Glen Davis BOST PF 0.508
333 Sam Young MEMP SF 0.508
334 Austin Daye DETR SF 0.507
335 Ronald Murray CHIC SG 0.504
336 Vladimir Radmanovic GOLS SF 0.494
337 Solomon Jones INDI PF 0.493
338 Ben Gordon DETR SG 0.491
339 James Johnson CHIC PF 0.487
340 Rafer Alston MIAM PG 0.482
341 Eduardo Najera DALL PF 0.482
342 Chucky Atkins DETR PG 0.477
343 Earl Clark PHNX SF 0.474
344 Joey Graham DENV SF 0.473
345 Fabricio Oberto WASH C 0.468
346 Jason Smith PHIL PF 0.466
347 Andres Nocioni SACR SF 0.464
348 Jared Jeffries HOUS PF 0.462
349 Nick Young WASH SG 0.462
350 Maurice Evans ATLA SF 0.462
351 Keith Bogans SANA SG 0.462
352 Josh Howard DALL SF 0.460

VERY POOR PLAYERS
353 Eddie House NWYR SG 0.454
354 Joe Smith ATLA PF 0.453
355 Kwame Brown DETR C 0.452
356 Antoine Wright TORO SF 0.451
357 Darrell Arthur MEMP PF 0.443
358 Jarvis Hayes NJRS SF 0.438
359 Ricky Davis LACL SF 0.437
360 Mardy Collins LACL PG 0.436
361 Malik Hairston SANA SG 0.433
362 Jeff Pendergraph PORT PF 0.432
363 Jermaine Taylor HOUS SG 0.428
364 Chris Wilcox DETR C 0.417
365 DeMar DeRozan TORO SG 0.414
366 Jodie Meeks MILW SG 0.413
367 Quinton Ross DALL SF 0.406

EXTREMELY POOR PLAYERS
368 Morris Peterson NORL SG 0.394
369 Josh Powell LALK PF 0.386
370 Jason Kapono PHIL SG 0.383
371 Jawad Williams CLEV SF 0.369
372 DeMarre Carroll MEMP SF 0.357
373 Ryan Hollins MINN C 0.351
374 Steve Novak LACL SF 0.345
375 Trenton Hassell NJRS SF 0.342
376 Brian Scalabrine BOST C 0.329
377 Michael Finley SANA SF 0.321
378 Sasha Pavlovic MINN SG 0.314
379 DeShawn Stevenson WASH SG 0.287
380 Malik Allen DENV PF 0.282
381 DaJuan Summers DETR SF 0.266

SCALE FOR REGULAR SEASON REAL PLAYER RATINGS
Perfect for all Practical Purposes / Major Historic Super Star 1.100 and more
Historic Super Star 1.000 1.099
Super Star 0.900 0.999
A Star Player / A well above normal starter 0.820 0.899
Very Good Player / A solid starter 0.760 0.819
Major Role Player / Good enough to start 0.700 0.759
Good Role Player / Often a good 6th man 0.640 0.699
Satisfactory Role Player / Usually do not start 0.580 0.639
Marginal Role Player / Rarely start 0.520 0.579
Poor Player / Should never start 0.460 0.519
Very Poor Player 0.400 0.459
Extremely Poor Player .399 and less

AVERAGE RATINGS BY POSITION
Not all positions are created equal. These are the average ratings by position among all NBA players who play 300 minutes or more. There are very few small forwards and shooting guards who are superstars. Most (but definitely not all) superstars are players who can play point guard, power forward, or center.

Point Guard .750
Shooting Guard .640
Small Forward .640
Power Forward .720
Center .750
All Positions / All Players (NBA Overall Average) .700

PLAYOFF GRADE PLAYERS
Playoff Grade Players have ratings of .560 and higher. Players with ratings below .560 should not play in the playoffs unless the team is forced to play them so that they have two players at a position and/or so that the team has at least eight players playing in the playoffs and/or because the coach is absolutely certain the low rating player will play better in the playoffs than he did in the regular season.

REGULAR SEASON STARTING PLAYERS
All starters on all teams should have ratings of .575 and higher. If a team has no player at a postion with at least a .575 rating, then it is extremely deficient at that position due to injuries or due to management incompetence.

THE ALL IMPORTANT, AWARD WINNING REAL PLAYER RATINGS USER GUIDE
The above are a few hightlights from the User Guide for Real Player Ratings. For complete details regarding how the Real Player Ratings are designed, how and why they work, and how exactly you can use them, see the User Guide. The User Guide for Real Player Ratings is a necessary reference for anyone who wants to truly understand the value of, the validity of, and the ways you can use the Real Player Rating performance measures.

Also, you should become a regular visitor to Quest for the Ring if you want to get the full advantage of reading and using Real Player Ratings Series performance measures. The more you visit and check out ratings, the more quickly and easily you will be able to evaluate what you are seeing.

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Copyright © 2006 through 2013 by QFTR. All rights reserved.

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SEARCH THE QFTR--THE EQUIVALENT OF ABOUT 20 BOOKS ABOUT BASKETBALL

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STAT COUNTER IS THE PRIMARY QUEST TRAFFIC COUNTER SINCE IT IS TRULY EXCELLENT

SITE METER: THE BACKUP QUEST TRAFFIC COUNTER

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GEOGRAPHY OF QFTR VISITORS

NOTES: The map of visitors resets and starts over about once a week. As with most Internet features, this one is very imperfect. Roughly 67% (2/3) of all QFTR visitors and clients show up on this map. Roughly 1/3 of visitors do not show up. None of the visitors who use the RSS feed and do not actually visit the site show up and also not all of the actual visitors show up.