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Today, the Roundup takes a look back at the action over the weekend, when those of you prone to temptation might have gotten distracted by such trifles as football, the World Series and other nocturnal attractions. Based on reader feedback from the first week of PBP Roundup, I've tweaked the categories in the box scores. Hope you enjoy. Also, in a programming note, I heard from a handful of Bulls fans anxious to get my Five Thoughts on the Bulls' stirring comeback in their home opener on Saturday against Detroit, with a special curiosity about the out-of-left-field performance from James Johnson. Sorry, I didn't go to the game. I was one of those distracted over the weekend, by Mizzou and Utah football in my case. I watched all my NBA action from Saturday after the fact. I touch on Johnson below and will keep a close watch on him tonight when the Blazers come to town. I'll be there this time, with a prime seat under the basket.
TODAY AT BASKETBALL PROSPECTUS
1. John Perrotto takes his weekly spin around the virtual newsroom of the league, with bits on the Heat, contraction and Michael Jordan's musing on his team.
2. A major announcement by our John Gasaway on the college side of the Basketball Prospectus empire.
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FRIDAY'S BOX SCORES
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PACERS 104, BOBCATS 101 (box): Charlotte's Stephen Jackson missed an open look at a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game. For those worried about Charlotte's point guard situation, it surely can't be taken as a good sign that the Bobcats have the league's worst turnover rate in the early going and aren't countering that with the high rate of forced turnovers that helped fuel last season's playoff run. Indiana center Roy Hibbert continued his fast start with 13 points, 8 boards, 6 assists and 4 blocks. He may be one of this season's breakout players.
IND PLY USG PCP +/- GR CHA PLY USG PCP +/- GR
granger,danny 69 36% 1.21 +7 28.4 augustin,d.j. 75 22% 1.08 -9 27.1
hibbert,roy 70 13% 1.59 +12 24.7 wallace,gerald 75 28% 1.16 -6 26.1
dunleavy jr.,mike 63 19% 0.93 +7 14.6 diaw,boris 60 18% 1.18 -8 15.0
hansbrough,tyler 36 15% 1.72 +12 13.1 jackson,stephen 53 25% 0.90 -7 12.6
mcroberts,josh 32 13% 2.00 +2 9.5 thomas,tyrus 39 21% 1.15 +2 12.1
collison,darren 45 27% 0.80 0 9.4 brown,derrick 29 17% 1.41 +11 7.6
george,paul 39 12% 1.69 -9 7.8 mohammed,nazr 25 19% 0.81 -1 6.4
ford,t.j. 43 17% 1.12 +3 7.2 hendersonjr,gerald 28 7% 2.41 +5 4.4
posey,james 25 9% 0.99 -10 2.3 livingston,shaun 17 19% 0.63 +7 2.9
jones,solomon 18 18% 0.33 -9 1.3 diop,desagana 40 3% 0.36 -9 0.6
foster,jeff (DNP) carroll,matt (DNP)
rush,brandon (DNP) collins,sherron (DNP)
PACE: 88.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 88.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
pacers,indiana 118.2 .525 .231 .114 .120 bobcats,charlotte 114.8 .471 .375 .193 .225
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NETS 106, KINGS 100 (box): The Nets hit 9-of-14 from the field and outscored the Kings 9-0 from the line in the fourth quarter as New Jersey overcame a six-point deficit after three periods to improve to 2-0. New Jersey, which lost its first 16 games a season ago while starting point guard Devin Harris was injured, got two big shots from Harris in the final minute. Tyreke Evans was back for the Kings after missing the season opener due to a league suspension, but Sacramento was -20 during his 36 minutes.
SAC PLY USG PCP +/- GR NJN PLY USG PCP +/- GR
evans,tyreke 76 28% 0.89 -20 37.0 farmar,jordan 54 23% 1.11 +4 34.9
garcia,francisco 66 15% 1.75 0 17.8 lopez,brook 75 34% 0.84 +15 20.4
udrih,beno 76 20% 0.92 0 12.6 harris,devin 73 22% 1.45 +19 19.7
jackson,darnell 46 20% 1.06 +13 9.1 outlaw,travis 65 20% 1.16 +3 14.8
cousins,demarcus 44 20% 0.88 -4 6.8 favors,derrick 41 17% 1.12 -1 4.7
landry,carl 58 25% 0.68 -13 5.6 humphries,kris 48 9% 1.13 -2 3.7
casspi,omri 42 25% 0.51 -16 3.5 williams,terrence 24 40% 0.35 -18 2.6
head,luther 43 4% 1.20 +18 2.1 morrow,anthony 72 6% 0.74 +14 2.5
greene,donte 7 22% 1.54 +10 2.1 smith,joe 21 8% 1.21 +6 2.1
thompson,jason 30 10% 0.76 -6 2.0 petro,johan 15 18% 0.13 -9 0.3
dalembert,samuel 13 12% 0.24 -12 1.1 james,damion 15 5% 0.00 +0 0.0
wright,antoine (DNP) graham,stephen (DNP)
PACE: 100.4 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 100.4 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
kings,sacramento 99.6 .446 .208 .119 .114 nets,newjersey 105.5 .574 .192 .269 .197
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HAWKS 104, 76ERS 101 (box): For the second straight game Philly dug itself a big hole then fell short with a fourth-quarter rally. Atlanta's Josh Smith blocked Andres Nocioni's three at the buzzer, his sixth block of game. He also hit a big three of his own in final minute and has two treys this season after going 0-of-7 from beyond the arc last season.
ATL PLY USG PCP +/- GR PHI PLY USG PCP +/- GR
crawford,jamal 60 20% 1.46 +7 40.3 iguodala,andre 80 26% 1.39 +3 33.6
williams,marvin 62 14% 0.73 +2 18.8 brand,elton 73 18% 1.34 +4 17.6
johnson,joe 61 31% 0.93 -5 10.7 holiday,jrue 60 16% 1.03 +5 15.1
horford,al 64 18% 1.58 -4 10.3 williams,lou 37 27% 1.34 -4 14.4
smith,josh 54 29% 0.89 +11 10.2 nocioni,andres 57 17% 1.29 -2 13.4
bibby,mike 64 12% 1.32 -5 9.8 young,thaddeus 33 21% 0.80 -3 7.0
pachulia,zaza 27 21% 1.31 +7 6.0 hawes,spencer 42 24% 0.57 -7 4.5
powell,josh 42 13% 0.97 -1 5.9 battie,tony 19 6% 1.79 +3 2.3
teague,jeff 21 11% 1.29 +3 2.1 turner,evan 35 11% 0.64 -6 2.3
collins,jason (DNP) kapono,jason 15 3% 0.43 -2 0.4
crawford,jordan (DNP) speights,marreese 5 53% 0.00 -6 0.0
thomas,etan (DNP) songaila,darius (DNP)
PACE: 91.3 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 91.3 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
hawks,atlanta 113.9 .557 .294 .219 .149 76ers,philadelph 110.7 .441 .250 .099 .159
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RAPTORS 101, CAVALIERS 81 (box): Any positive buzz the post-LeBron Cavs might have generated by beating the Celtics in their season-opener disappated after Cleveland was throttled by Toronto, one of this season's projected dogs. Cleveland played without Mo Williams, who has a groin injury, and Anderson Varejao, who missed Brazil Night in Toronto due to a death in his family. Fellow Brazilian Leandro Barbosa scored 13 points off the bench for Toronto, which also got a team-high 14 boards from Reggie Evans. Evans has been a one-man wrecking crew off the boards fro the Raptors in the early going, with 30 boards in two games.
CLE PLY USG PCP +/- GR TOR PLY USG PCP +/- GR
gibson,daniel 60 14% 1.16 -11 17.0 kleiza,linas 54 29% 1.22 +21 36.0
parker,anthony 57 18% 1.11 -19 10.3 bargnani,andrea 59 25% 1.10 +15 17.7
jamison,antawn 50 21% 1.31 -3 9.8 barbosa,leandro 41 25% 1.18 +2 9.2
harris,manny 24 22% 1.65 +2 8.3 derozan,demar 53 22% 1.02 +18 9.1
sessions,ramon 47 31% 0.39 -12 7.5 jack,jarrett 42 25% 0.82 +4 8.8
powe,leon 33 21% 0.82 -5 7.3 evans,reggie 53 3% 2.74 +20 5.9
hollins,ryan 47 9% 1.41 -14 6.8 weems,sonny 41 32% 0.91 -1 5.6
samuels,samardo 14 35% 1.04 -1 5.5 calderon,jose 47 11% 0.77 +15 5.1
williams,jawad 38 30% 0.59 0 5.5 andersen,david 28 18% 1.20 +6 4.6
hickson,j.j. 36 29% 0.46 -20 4.6 johnson,amir 39 7% 2.68 +3 4.2
moon,jamario 56 6% 0.74 -20 2.3 banks,marcus 6 16% 1.26 0 0.9
graham,joey 8 21% 0.51 +3 1.0 wright,julian 8 9% 0.26 -3 0.2
PACE: 94.2 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 94.2 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
cavaliers,clevel 86.0 .435 .205 .202 .047 raptors,toronto 107.2 .512 .314 .202 .084
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CELTICS 105, KNICKS 101 (box): It was a partially brilliant night for Boston's Rajon Rondo, who handed out 24 assists and upped his season total to 50 dimes in three games. In his on-court interview after the game, Rondo called the performance, in which he also scored 10 points and chased down 10 rebounds, "probably one of my worst games as a Celtic." His performance was an abject lesson why you have to look at the full range of a player's stat line beyond the raw counting totals of the big three categories, that is if you want to get a true sense of the context in which a player put up those numbers. Rondo committed seven turnovers and took 12 shots to get those 10 points and also went just 2-of-6 from the line. Rondo put on an amazing show against the Knicks, but it didn't reach the level of brilliance that it was made out to be most everywhere--except out of the mouth of the man himself.
NYK PLY USG PCP +/- GR BOS PLY USG PCP +/- GR
douglas,toney 50 19% 1.39 0 22.5 pierce,paul 78 26% 1.30 +8 44.6
chandler,wilson 67 28% 0.86 -2 21.2 rondo,rajon 91 19% 1.44 +9 21.9
fields,landry 69 12% 1.65 -10 17.0 garnett,kevin 59 29% 1.11 -9 14.5
stoudemire,amare 72 31% 1.08 -3 15.4 allen,ray 81 15% 0.89 -1 9.4
felton,raymond 74 21% 1.16 -10 15.0 davis,glen 47 22% 1.15 +14 7.2
turiaf,ronny 45 6% 2.15 +10 5.3 o'neal,shaquille 45 13% 1.36 +2 4.7
walker,bill 35 9% 1.39 +1 3.2 daniels,marquis 35 16% 0.66 +6 3.9
mozgov,timofey 34 15% 0.58 -11 2.7 robinson,nate 40 11% 0.91 -6 2.7
gallinari,danilo 24 30% 0.27 -3 1.4 wafer,von 5 15% 0.00 -3 0.0
mason,roger 13 5% 1.66 +8 1.1 erden,semih (DNP)
rautins,andy (DNP) harangody,luke (DNP)
williams,shawne (DNP) west,delonte (DNP)
PACE: 96.4 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 96.4 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
knicks,newyork 104.8 .488 .184 .104 .123 celtics,bosto 108.9 .511 .326 .187 .082
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THUNDER 105, PISTONS 104 (box): There was a wild game-closing sequence in Detroit. With time winding down, the Pistons' Ben Gordon drove into the lane and kicked to Charlie Villanueva in corner for three, which he nailed to put Detroit up one with just over five seconds remaining. After a timeout, the Pistons did a great job of denying an entry pass to Kevin Durant, but things crumbled from there. Pistons coach John Kuester seems to be emerging as one of my whipping boys this season. I predicted he'd be the first coach fired, then mocked his shunning of Greg Monroe in Detroit's opener. Monroe got another DNP on Friday. On the Pistons' pentultimate defensive possession against OKC, Kuester went with a front line of Ben Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Jason Maxiell. Prince was the one that did such a great job of denying Durant the ball. However, the entire Detroit defense really overplayed Durant on the strong side, and the other Thunder spread the floor. The pass came into Jeff Green, who had Maxiell in his sights with no help defender in position to come to the rescue. Green dribbled right around Maxiell for a layup. Maxiell couldn't even get close enough to commit a foul and prevent the game-winning basket. Oklahoma City had Green, Durant and Serge Ibaka in the game at the time. Detroit had mobile forwards Austin Daye and Villanueva on the bench. If ever there was a defensive situation calling for dopplegängers Daye and Prince to be paired together, this was it. After Green's layup the Pistons, who were out of timeouts, got the ball in to Gordon who dribbled to halfcourt as the game expired.
OKC PLY USG PCP +/- GR DET PLY USG PCP +/- GR
ibaka,serge 55 17% 1.51 -15 36.3 gordon,ben 61 30% 1.39 +7 32.8
durant,kevin 80 32% 0.99 +2 24.6 stuckey,rodney 76 26% 1.18 -2 27.9
westbrook,russell 76 22% 1.25 +7 17.1 hamilton,richard 57 21% 0.99 -7 13.2
green,jeff 82 24% 0.88 +8 13.5 villanueva,charlie 52 24% 0.91 +8 11.3
krstic,nenad 39 27% 1.17 +16 12.9 prince,tayshaun 75 14% 1.03 -8 11.0
sefolosha,thabo 56 1% 7.44 +11 4.5 daye,austin 49 20% 0.63 -1 6.1
maynor,eric 18 12% 1.58 -6 2.4 mcgrady,tracy 12 5% 1.93 +6 4.3
harden,james 32 16% 0.17 -10 0.9 wallace,ben 40 12% 0.92 -9 2.8
cook,daequan 31 5% 0.00 -8 0.0 maxiell,jason 47 5% 0.96 +2 1.6
aldrich,cole (DNP) summers,dajuan 0 -% 0.00 -1 0.0
ivey,royal (DNP) bynum,will (DNP)
white,d.j. (DNP) monroe,greg (DNP)
PACE: 93.7 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 93.7 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
thunder,oklacity 112.1 .400 .391 .128 .207 pistons,detroit 111.0 .518 .341 .192 .094
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HEAT 96, MAGIC 70 (box): This was a frightening outcome for the rest of the NBA. The Magic have looked like it was midseason form ever since the beginning of preseason. The Heat had looked like a team still trying to piece things together. The result? Miami held Orlando to its lowest point total in five years. Miami quietly disrupted the Orlando offense all night, perhaps best illustrated by Orlando's stupefying total of five assists in the game. No Magic player had more than one dime. No team in the last decade had fewer than six assists in a game. The Heat simply took away the Magic's signature ball movement and Orlando doesn't have the dribble penetrators to counter. The perimeter action was amazing. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are so fast on their rotations that they can collapse on Dwight Howard and scramble back to the three-point line as if they were four players instead of two, and are seemingly immune to screens. On other end, the Magic did similarly well in forcing jumpers, but Miami's supporting players shot well and they really excelled in transition, which is something that should persist all season. The Heat's halfcourt offense still feels like guys are just taking turns right now.
ORL PLY USG PCP +/- GR MIA PLY USG PCP +/- GR
howard,dwight 52 33% 0.84 -15 20.8 bosh,chris 54 18% 1.04 +29 40.4
anderson,ryan 25 28% 1.51 -4 15.5 wade,dwyane 62 38% 0.99 +32 28.5
nelson,jameer 45 32% 0.61 -13 8.9 james,lebron 55 25% 1.23 +13 14.7
pietrus,mickael 43 20% 0.52 -15 7.7 jones,james 49 8% 2.30 +10 7.4
bass,brandon 38 22% 1.02 +5 7.4 arroyo,carlos 46 12% 1.57 +21 6.3
richardson,quentin 40 12% 0.68 -16 4.7 haslem,udonis 41 21% 1.17 +2 4.2
redick,j.j. 56 6% 1.09 +1 4.6 ilgauskas,zydrunas 29 28% 0.82 0 4.1
gortat,marcin 26 5% 2.69 -9 4.1 house,eddie 44 22% 0.89 -1 3.5
carter,vince 25 22% 0.45 -26 3.2 magloire,jamaal 9 6% 1.35 -2 0.2
duhon,chris 42 7% 0.43 -13 1.8 anthony,joel 41 2% 0.00 +23 0.0
lewis,rashard 45 26% 0.07 -25 1.0 chalmers,mario (DNP)
williams,jason (DNP) stackhouse,jerry (DNP)
PACE: 87.8 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 87.8 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
magic,orlando 79.8 .333 .178 .182 .170 heat,miami 109.4 .463 .304 .137 .135
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TIMBERWOLVES 95, BUCKS 85 (box): A rough start for Milwaukee, which fell to 0-2 in its two road games to begin the season and managed just a .374 eFG% in the game. In the (very) early going, the Bucks are in the bottom three of the league in Offensive Rating (29th), eFG% (28th) and offensive rebounding (29th). Minnesota fans have to be excited about the apparent fit between young forwards Micheal Beasley and Kevin Love, especially when coach Kurt Rambis actually leaves them on the floor.
MIL PLY USG PCP +/- GR MIN PLY USG PCP +/- GR
jennings,brandon 69 25% 0.87 -15 17.8 beasley,michael 64 25% 1.26 +11 29.4
maggette,corey 62 31% 1.02 -13 15.2 ridnour,luke 67 11% 2.11 +8 16.4
bogut,andrew 57 11% 1.43 -1 13.1 love,kevin 55 30% 1.01 +19 14.7
gooden,drew 38 38% 0.67 -8 9.6 johnson,wesley 56 24% 0.80 +5 10.5
delfino,carlos 59 12% 1.13 -12 7.3 brewer,corey 43 27% 0.62 +7 7.0
dooling,keyon 24 22% 0.30 +1 6.6 tolliver,anthony 47 10% 1.55 -1 6.7
salmons,john 44 24% 0.65 -4 5.4 ellington,wayne 42 16% 1.16 +6 5.4
sanders,larry 22 15% 0.92 -12 4.4 milicic,darko 50 17% 0.44 -1 4.2
mbahamoute,luc 37 10% 0.83 +3 3.7 koufos,kosta 19 16% 0.97 -3 2.9
boykins,earl 29 11% 0.66 +7 2.3 pekovic,nikola 14 16% 0.39 +3 0.9
brockman,jon 28 5% 0.78 +1 2.0 telfair,sebastian 30 15% 0.46 +3 0.4
ilyasova,ersan 16 21% 0.00 -2 0.0 hayward,lazar 1 68% 0.00 -2 0.0
PACE: 97.4 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 97.4 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
bucks,milwaukee 87.3 .374 .176 .144 .113 timberwolves,minn 98.6 .412 .400 .195 .163
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HORNETS 101, NUGGETS 95 (box): Depth was supposed to be an issue for the Hornets this season, but the reserves were the primary reason New Orleans improved to 2-0. Marcus Thornton, Jerryd Bayless, Peja Stojakovic and company handily outplayed their Denver counterparts. With just five shots in 36 minutes, Nenê needs to become more involved in the Denver attack.
DEN PLY USG PCP +/- GR NWO PLY USG PCP +/- GR
billups,chauncey 64 31% 0.90 +7 23.8 paul,chris 68 20% 1.36 +1 20.3
anthony,carmelo 73 26% 1.13 +5 21.6 okafor,emeka 57 15% 1.35 -1 18.9
afflalo,arron 66 6% 2.61 -7 20.4 west,david 67 22% 1.00 -3 14.0
williams,shelden 43 22% 0.97 -1 13.1 ariza,trevor 58 17% 1.25 -12 12.9
smith,j.r. 39 31% 0.92 -5 11.6 thornton,marcus 34 25% 1.19 -5 10.9
harrington,al 46 22% 0.90 -4 7.1 bayless,jerryd 26 27% 1.03 +10 8.8
lawson,ty 31 21% 0.75 -16 5.2 belinelli,marco 43 15% 0.83 +4 8.1
hilario,nenê 68 6% 1.70 0 5.0 stojakovic,peja 25 27% 1.08 +7 7.9
ely,melvin 10 7% 0.08 -9 0.1 smith,jason 15 34% 0.75 -1 4.4
balkman,renaldo (DNP) mensahbonsu,pops 12 13% 1.51 +4 4.3
carter,anthony (DNP) green,willie 25 8% 2.48 +16 4.0
forbes,gary (DNP) ilungambenga,didier 10 9% 0.00 +10 0.0
PACE: 88.1 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 88.1 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
nuggets,denver 107.8 .528 .314 .227 .125 hornets,neworlean 114.6 .532 .297 .170 .120
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GRIZZLIES 91, MAVERICKS 90 (box): Marc Gasol made 1 of 2 free throws late to put Memphis up one. The Grizzlies then did a great job of denying a Dallas entry pass and Jason Kidd wound up throwing the ball away to O.J. Mayo, giving Memphis the win in a game in which Zach Randolph sat out with a tailbone injury. Memphis forced 20 Dallas turnovers, 12 coming off steals, as the Grizzlies' athleticism proved to be tough for mistake-averse Dallas to overcome.
MEM PLY USG PCP +/- GR DAL PLY USG PCP +/- GR
mayo,o.j. 70 24% 1.21 +4 25.3 kidd,jason 66 20% 1.15 -7 20.2
gasol,marc 63 11% 1.82 +14 19.7 nowitzki,dirk 72 25% 1.26 -5 19.2
gay,rudy 83 22% 1.11 -3 17.1 marion,shawn 46 27% 0.87 +7 16.3
conley,mike 71 19% 0.83 +8 14.1 butler,caron 65 29% 0.85 -4 15.5
arthur,darrell 50 19% 1.16 +6 11.1 barea,jose 30 23% 1.24 +2 13.1
allen,tony 26 33% 0.79 +7 6.4 terry,jason 69 18% 1.08 +3 8.8
henry,xavier 24 36% 0.44 -8 2.9 chandler,tyson 54 6% 1.03 -1 3.4
thabeet,hasheem 22 0% 6.43 -11 2.2 jones,dominique 17 9% 1.45 0 2.0
haddadi,hamed 6 27% 0.57 -2 0.9 haywood,brendan 37 6% 0.28 0 0.4
law,acie 20 6% 0.29 -7 0.3 cardinal,brian (DNP)
young,sam 20 21% 0.06 -3 0.2 mahinmi,ian (DNP)
carroll,demarre (DNP) stevenson,deshawn (DNP)
PACE: 90.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 90.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
grizzlies,memphis 100.1 .413 .275 .143 .174 mavericks,dallas 99.0 .514 .205 .220 .116
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WARRIORS 109, CLIPPERS 91 (box): The Warriors are making SCHOENE look good so far, and are fun to watch to boot. Golden State got a terrific outing from Dorell Wright, who is taking advantage of his full-time role. Wright scored 24 points and needed just 13 shots to get there. He went 6-of-8 on threes. On the downside, Stephen Curry re-sprained his ankle and had to leave the game. He's listed as day-to-day. Monta Ellis, who scored 46 points in the Warriors' opener, toned down his gunslinging act and took just 12 shots in 33 minutes while handing out a team-high 11 assists.
LAC PLY USG PCP +/- GR GSW PLY USG PCP +/- GR
gordon,eric 63 33% 0.86 -16 23.5 carney,rodney 39 24% 1.30 +1 28.8
davis,baron 68 19% 1.35 -13 20.7 wright,dorell 76 17% 1.93 +14 18.8
griffin,blake 58 30% 0.81 -2 15.0 ellis,monta 65 20% 1.55 +22 17.4
kaman,chris 60 25% 0.81 -9 11.5 lee,david 61 23% 1.07 +12 14.9
jordan,deandre 27 14% 1.62 -5 6.1 curry,stephen 53 20% 1.54 +17 11.6
gomes,ryan 58 9% 1.04 -12 5.1 wright,brandan 28 22% 0.65 +1 5.1
foye,randy 51 14% 0.81 -9 5.0 biedrins,andris 32 16% 1.29 +21 5.0
cook,brian 25 27% 0.59 -4 3.4 radmanovic,vladimir 39 22% 0.80 +3 4.7
butler,rasual 46 3% 2.17 -6 2.9 williams,reggie 52 15% 0.81 0 3.9
bledsoe,eric 10 15% 0.90 +2 2.1 gadzuric,dan 26 17% 0.99 -1 3.8
aminu,alfarouq 10 9% 0.26 +2 0.3 lin,jeremy 5 19% 0.32 0 0.3
collins,jarron (DNP) bell,charlie (DNP)
PACE: 95.3 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 95.3 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
clippers,losangel 95.5 .416 .275 .178 .148 warriors,goldenst 114.4 .617 .257 .199 .078
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LAKERS 114, SUNS 106 (box): Reports that the Lakers haven't played much defense so far are greatly exaggerated. L.A. has simply played two fast-pace teams and while they've given up 108 points per game, the Lakers still rank fifth in the league in Defensive Rating. Ho hum. The Suns got some nice performances from reserves Goran Dragic and Jared Dudley, but the second unit wasn't able to carry Phoenix as it did against the Lakers in last spring's Western Conference Finals.
LAL PLY USG PCP +/- GR PHX PLY USG PCP +/- GR
odom,lamar 79 16% 1.66 +10 27.3 dragic,goran 36 30% 1.38 -10 19.5
bryant,kobe 66 32% 1.09 +9 26.4 lopez,robin 63 25% 1.11 -6 18.0
gasol,pau 77 20% 1.53 +15 18.6 richardson,jason 57 29% 1.03 +2 17.8
fisher,derek 57 15% 1.05 -2 14.1 hill,grant 66 23% 1.07 -2 16.8
artest,ron 72 17% 1.15 -4 12.1 dudley,jared 36 12% 1.76 -10 12.6
barnes,matt 35 21% 1.45 +5 8.2 nash,steve 57 19% 1.21 +2 10.2
blake,steve 36 18% 1.00 +10 6.7 turkoglu,hedo 60 12% 1.41 -10 9.1
brown,shannon 30 22% 0.94 +4 5.6 warrick,hakim 34 8% 1.37 +2 4.3
ratliff,theo 16 5% 0.88 -7 2.7 childress,josh 27 18% 0.78 -6 3.4
caracter,derrick (DNP) frye,channing 30 10% 0.53 -2 1.4
ebanks,devin (DNP) clark,earl (DNP)
vujacic,sasha (DNP) siler,garret (DNP)
PACE: 93.6 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 93.6 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
lakers,losangeles 121.8 .547 .295 .118 .056 suns,phoenix 113.2 .522 .267 .107 .061
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SATURDAY'S BOX SCORES
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HAWKS 99, WIZARDS 95 (box): The Hawks are getting balance and a wide distribution of assists, and their offensive efficiency is near the top of the league. So far, so good for Larry Drew's new system. John Wall had his first big game for the Wizards with 28 points on 17 shots. Washington was beaten on the boards once again, but center JaVale Mcgee blocked seven shots. The Wizards are last in the league in defense and rebounding, with what little resistance they've shown so far coming from steals and blocks.
WAS PLY USG PCP +/- GR ATL PLY USG PCP +/- GR
thornton,al 82 21% 1.17 +2 32.3 johnson,joe 84 29% 0.92 +14 26.9
wall,john 82 27% 1.26 +3 29.6 crawford,jamal 66 23% 0.91 -1 23.8
blatche,andray 65 33% 0.75 0 17.9 horford,al 50 26% 1.42 -6 19.0
hinrich,kirk 80 8% 1.57 -5 10.6 bibby,mike 61 11% 1.85 +15 10.9
jianlian,yi 47 19% 0.75 +5 6.2 smith,josh 66 18% 1.10 -1 10.0
mcgee,javale 52 16% 0.91 -6 5.1 teague,jeff 27 24% 0.70 -6 7.9
armstrong,hilton 15 18% 0.13 0 0.5 pachulia,zaza 33 16% 0.89 +2 3.6
young,nick 20 7% 0.00 -2 0.0 powell,josh 27 7% 0.57 +5 2.0
booker,trevor (DNP) williams,marvin 41 4% 0.84 -10 1.3
armstrong,hilton (DNP) collins,jason 10 36% 0.39 +8 1.1
hudson,lester (DNP) crawford,jordan (DNP)
seraphin,kevin (DNP) thomas,etan (DNP)
PACE: 92.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 92.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
wizards,washingto 102.3 .526 .211 .194 .100 hawks,atlanta 106.6 .451 .333 .183 .142
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KINGS 107, CAVALIERS 104 (box): After Omar Casspi missed two free throws in the waning seconds, Cleveland coach Byron Scott called timeout with the Cavaliers trailing by three. Kings coach Paul Westphal elected to foul Jawad Williams to prevent a game-tying three. Williams made one free throw, then missed the second on purpose. DeMarcus Cousins snared the rebound and was fouled. Two seconds still remained. Cousins made only one of two, but Cleveland was out of timeouts, and the game ended on Daniel Gibson's futile heave from beyond halfcourt. Gibson is getting extra run with Mo Williams out and is averaging 15 points and six assists in three games. On the downside, Antawn Jamison is shooting 32 percent and has been a non-factor in his bench role.
SAC PLY USG PCP +/- GR CLE PLY USG PCP +/- GR
evans,tyreke 78 29% 0.95 +2 23.7 gibson,daniel 58 27% 1.38 +5 23.9
casspi,omri 78 11% 2.36 +12 20.3 sessions,ramon 58 26% 1.20 -4 20.5
cousins,demarcus 52 30% 0.88 0 19.5 hickson,j.j. 52 26% 1.02 -6 19.7
thompson,jason 23 34% 0.92 -3 13.3 parker,anthony 58 18% 1.06 -6 14.4
landry,carl 61 15% 1.36 +1 12.7 williams,jawad 33 19% 1.82 0 11.4
udrih,beno 62 16% 1.61 +4 12.5 moon,jamario 60 11% 1.24 +1 9.0
garcia,francisco 32 15% 0.76 +2 6.7 varejao,anderson 65 13% 0.83 -9 8.6
head,luther 20 7% 3.31 -13 4.0 hollins,ryan 25 16% 1.32 +6 5.5
dalembert,samuel 31 13% 0.94 +5 3.9 jamison,antawn 34 19% 0.42 -1 2.7
jackson,darnell 12 13% 2.01 +7 2.4 harris,manny 6 14% 0.00 -1 0.0
greene,donte 0 -% 0.00 -1 0.0 graham,joey (DNP)
wright,antoine (DNP) powe,leon (DNP)
PACE: 89.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 89.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
kings,sacramento 119.0 .578 .306 .167 .117 cavaliers,cleve 115.7 .525 .238 .145 .142
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TRAIL BLAZERS 100, KNICKS 95 (box): The Knicks blew a nine-point lead in last five minutes, a collapse caused by forced shots, turnovers and missed free throws. The last miscue was Amar'e Stoudemire's sixth turnover, coming at about the six second mark with New York down by two. Portland's finished the game with a decisive 17-3 run and improved to 3-0 on the season, all three wins coming on fourth quarter rallies. Wilson Chandler continued his fast start and ranks fourth in the league in WP82.
POR PLY USG PCP +/- GR NYK PLY USG PCP +/- GR
roy,brandon 77 36% 0.94 +2 23.0 chandler,wilson 72 28% 1.13 -2 32.2
aldridge,lamarcus 80 29% 0.78 +10 21.0 douglas,toney 52 22% 0.85 +1 13.9
miller,andre 62 22% 1.54 +7 21.0 stoudemire,amare 67 31% 0.73 -2 12.3
matthews,wesley 49 21% 1.05 -4 18.0 felton,raymond 72 18% 1.29 -7 12.0
batum,nicolas 54 10% 1.80 +16 13.7 walker,bill 34 12% 2.07 -1 11.6
camby,marcus 48 8% 1.10 +1 3.5 fields,landry 48 15% 1.43 -7 8.5
fernandez,rudy 31 10% 1.15 -1 3.4 turiaf,ronny 48 5% 2.28 +5 4.8
oberto,fabricio 33 7% 1.18 -7 3.1 gallinari,danilo 29 25% 0.40 -11 3.7
cunningham,dante 22 2% 2.60 -3 1.0 mozgov,timofey 30 12% 0.64 +2 3.3
johnson,armon 9 8% 0.25 +4 0.2 mason,roger 10 5% 0.00 -3 0.0
babbitt,luke (DNP) rautins,andy (DNP)
mills,patrick (DNP) williams,shawne (DNP)
PACE: 92.7 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 92.7 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
trailblazers,port 107.8 .526 .214 .162 .142 knicks,newyork 102.4 .460 .360 .183 .119
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PACERS 99, 76ERS 86 (box): Philly still looks lost on offense and may be digging a huge hole for themselves. The good news is that Jason Kapono, who started the Sixers' first two games, got a DNP is this one. Small victories. Roy Hibbert had another solid outing for the Pacers, whose first unit is crystallizing with Josh McRoberts at the four. Tyler Hansbrough had a nice outing off the bench for Indiana.
PHI PLY USG PCP +/- GR IND PLY USG PCP +/- GR
williams,lou 41 32% 1.28 +1 18.1 granger,danny 77 20% 1.29 +13 29.1
brand,elton 67 23% 0.93 -20 17.0 dunleavy jr.,mike 73 15% 1.28 +22 17.7
young,thaddeus 51 18% 1.14 +13 15.7 collison,darren 50 27% 1.13 +16 13.3
holiday,jrue 60 23% 0.80 -18 9.8 hibbert,roy 65 23% 1.08 +25 12.7
iguodala,andre 67 24% 0.69 -28 9.1 george,paul 40 15% 1.52 -9 10.4
nocioni,andres 62 10% 1.11 -9 8.5 mcroberts,josh 60 20% 0.78 +13 8.5
turner,evan 65 18% 0.74 +5 6.6 hansbrough,tyler 46 21% 0.99 +13 6.2
hawes,spencer 27 16% 0.71 -17 3.1 ford,t.j. 45 19% 0.90 -3 5.6
speights,marreese 17 3% 3.32 0 2.0 posey,james 12 12% 0.43 -13 0.6
battie,tony 18 13% 0.16 +8 0.6 jones,solomon 6 12% 0.00 -12 0.0
kapono,jason (DNP) jones,dominique (DNP)
songaila,darius (DNP) rush,brandon (DNP)
PACE: 95.1 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 95.1 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
76ers,philadelphia 90.5 .476 .255 .200 .074 pacers,indiana 104.1 .455 .320 .189 .116
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BULLS 101, PISTONS 91 (box): The Bulls outscored Detroit 34-9 in the fourth quarter, salvaging what would have been a discouraging home opener for coach Tom Thibodeau and his new roster. Much of Chicago's run came with reserves Omer Asik, Kyle Korver and James Johnson on the floor. Johnson's corner three at the 5:03 mark tied the game and completed Chicago's rally from 21-point deficit. During the run, Asik altered several shots and drew a pair of charges. The Pistons, who fell to 0-3 despite holding fourth quarter leads in all three of their games, died by the double-edged sword of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva's streak shooting. Gordon had a ridiculous first half with 21 points on just five shots. He had zero points on five shots in the second half. Johnson's huge fourth quarter may have been a career changer. He showed a full range of skills and was the most confident and assertive he's been since turning pro. JJ made some mistakes, but he was very active and his energy helped shake Bulls out of their doldrums. His putback dunk off Derrick Rose's missed layup late in the game was the exclamation mark on the comeback and his signature moment as a professional. Johnson's help defense in the 4th qtr was fantastic.
DET PLY USG PCP +/- GR CHI PLY USG PCP +/- GR
gordon,ben 57 30% 0.91 +5 17.6 rose,derrick 78 46% 1.02 +15 41.3
stuckey,rodney 77 21% 1.12 -18 16.3 noah,joakim 81 17% 1.23 +12 14.8
villanueva,charlie 59 27% 0.83 -1 15.6 johnson,james 38 16% 1.85 +24 11.4
prince,tayshaun 85 19% 0.85 -11 13.1 deng,luol 53 24% 0.56 -4 7.2
wallace,ben 53 10% 1.58 -14 9.1 scalabrine,brian 42 11% 1.41 +5 6.8
daye,austin 35 17% 0.94 -3 6.6 gibson,taj 37 20% 0.86 0 4.9
hamilton,richard 46 20% 0.39 -21 6.0 korver,kyle 44 9% 1.02 +16 4.4
maxiell,jason 30 16% 0.82 -10 3.3 watson,c.j. 20 20% 0.92 -5 4.3
mcgrady,tracy 34 14% 0.66 +12 2.5 bogans,keith 48 7% 0.60 -3 3.3
monroe,greg 15 10% 0.94 +11 2.4 asik,omer 31 3% 1.89 +12 2.0
bynum,will (DNP) brewer,ronnie 13 19% 0.73 -13 1.9
summers,dajuan (DNP) thomas,kurt 6 17% 0.33 -9 0.3
PACE: 98.4 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 98.4 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
pistons,detroit 92.5 .409 .245 .183 .156 bulls,chicago 102.6 .459 .304 .163 .139
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GRIZZLIES 109, TIMBERWOLVES 89 (box): Wow. Memphis jumped out to a 2-4 lead and cruised thanks to an avalanche of steals and fastbreak dunks. Minnesota committed a franchise-worst 30 turnovers, 22 coming off Memphis steals--also a franchise record. Memphis has won both its games without Zach Randolph, who missed his second straight game. In his place, Darrell Arthur has played well. The real story for Memphis so far has been Mike Conley, who looks like a player coming into this own. Conley had 14 points, seven boards, 11 assists and seven steals, more than offsetting a 5-of-15 shooting performance. Conley ranks 24th in the league in WP82 so far, just behind teammate Rudy Gay.
MIN PLY USG PCP +/- GR MEM PLY USG PCP +/- GR
telfair,sebastian 51 24% 1.02 0 12.9 gay,rudy 97 23% 1.12 +30 30.6
love,kevin 55 29% 0.92 -22 11.5 conley,mike 85 21% 1.22 +27 24.9
tolliver,anthony 49 8% 1.56 +8 8.4 mayo,o.j. 89 27% 1.26 +26 17.7
johnson,wesley 55 16% 0.74 -2 8.4 arthur,darrell 68 21% 1.02 +18 11.0
ellington,wayne 65 16% 1.28 -24 8.1 gasol,marc 70 15% 1.09 +31 7.7
pekovic,nikola 31 27% 0.74 -5 7.9 allen,tony 48 20% 0.98 -1 6.7
ridnour,luke 56 19% 0.79 -20 6.3 carroll,demarre 4 23% 1.88 -4 1.7
hayward,lazar 27 10% 1.56 -1 5.3 law,acie 16 4% 0.88 -4 0.5
beasley,michael 46 26% 0.46 -22 4.5 young,sam 29 8% 0.12 -13 0.3
milicic,darko 44 23% 0.50 -20 4.4 haddadi,hamed 7 12% 0.29 +3 0.3
brewer,corey 45 17% 0.79 +4 4.1 thabeet,hasheem 18 9% 0.00 -10 0.0
koufos,kosta 14 17% 0.64 +4 0.8 carroll,demarre (DNP)
PACE: 107.5 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 107.5 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
timberwolves,minn 82.8 .382 .358 .279 .131 grizzlies,memphis 101.4 .505 .191 .167 .074
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NUGGETS 107, ROCKETS 94 (box): Denver's Al Harrington scored 28 points off the bench. Harrington gives Denver's depth a huge boost. Once Chris Anderson returns, this may be the best second unit Denver has had under coach George Karl, with a a group featuring Ty Lawson, J.R. Smith, Anderson and Harrington. Harrington was a killer down the stretch against the Rockets and the difference in the game with 10 points in the final period. Yao Ming has a long way to go. His 24-minute limit has caused a lot of consternation, but right now that may be too many minutes for him. The Rockets are better without him--for now. That's obviously going to change in the long run. Houston is -25 with Yao on the floor in the two games in which he's played.
DEN PLY USG PCP +/- GR HOU PLY USG PCP +/- GR
harrington,al 60 37% 1.22 +21 35.3 scola,luis 77 22% 1.45 -2 29.6
anthony,carmelo 73 29% 1.04 +20 29.0 martin,kevin 74 28% 0.91 -4 21.9
billups,chauncey 67 18% 1.01 +2 12.6 budinger,chase 38 24% 0.91 -4 11.3
afflalo,arron 69 9% 1.58 +7 9.2 brooks,aaron 53 21% 0.82 -11 10.5
hilario,nenê 68 13% 1.34 +1 8.5 ming,yao 46 27% 0.94 -19 8.9
williams,shelden 67 7% 1.47 +4 5.6 lee,courtney 27 9% 2.64 -7 4.6
smith,j.r. 35 23% 0.97 -2 4.8 lowry,kyle 42 23% 0.39 -4 4.2
lawson,ty 41 23% 0.53 +9 3.8 miller,brad 33 18% 0.38 0 1.9
forbes,gary 9 40% 0.28 +3 0.7 battier,shane 60 3% 1.27 -9 1.8
balkman,renaldo (DNP) hayes,chuck 32 15% 0.49 -6 1.4
carter,anthony (DNP) hill,jordan 7 11% 0.00 +1 0.0
ely,melvin (DNP) jeffries,jared (DNP)
PACE: 97.8 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 97.8 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
nuggets,denver 109.4 .433 .271 .123 .148 rockets,houston 96.1 .475 .205 .194 .094
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BUCKS 98, BOBCATS 88 (box): Brandon Jennings notched his first career triple-double for Milwaukee, but was overshadowed by Carlos Delfino's efficient 23 points and solid work limiting the previously red-hot Gerald Wallace. Milwaukee was 11-of-22 from three-point range in picking up its first win. D.J. Augustin had a big scoring night for Charlotte, but the Bobcats continue to struggle on both ends of the floor.
CHA PLY USG PCP +/- GR MIL PLY USG PCP +/- GR
augustin,d.j. 69 20% 1.92 -1 28.3 delfino,carlos 73 21% 1.52 +8 37.3
jackson,stephen 74 25% 1.16 -16 21.4 bogut,andrew 61 21% 1.01 +15 20.8
brown,derrick 22 11% 2.11 -2 12.4 jennings,brandon 70 15% 2.30 +14 16.7
diaw,boris 43 9% 1.03 -3 10.0 salmons,john 59 22% 1.09 +8 12.3
livingston,shaun 27 9% 1.54 -2 9.2 mbahamoute,luc 60 7% 2.16 +9 11.5
wallace,gerald 74 21% 0.51 -11 9.0 maggette,corey 32 45% 0.48 -2 10.8
thomas,tyrus 37 38% 0.54 -10 9.0 gooden,drew 23 25% 0.40 +1 3.7
mohammed,nazr 39 15% 0.38 -13 3.0 boykins,earl 8 8% 4.62 0 3.1
hendersonjr,gerald 25 10% 0.46 +10 2.3 brockman,jon 22 9% 0.80 -5 1.1
diop,desagana 8 34% 0.24 -2 0.7 dooling,keyon 8 31% 0.00 +0 0.0
carroll,matt (DNP) boykins,earl (DNP)
collins,sherron (DNP) sanders,larry (DNP)
PACE: 83.5 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 83.5 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
bobcats,charlott 105.4 .539 .161 .216 .121 bucks,milwaukee 117.3 .528 .378 .216 .142
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HORNETS 99, SPURS 90 (box): The Hornets won in San Antonio to remain unbeaten and further justify the optimism of both SCHOENE and NBAPET. Chris Paul is back to MVP caliber, it appears. As with what happened when Dwyane Wade suffered through an injury-marred campaign, I think it's easy to overlook star players still in their primes who are coming off of injury. I guess nobody wrote off Paul like they did Wade, who drew Penny Hardaway comparisons, but people were missing the boat on the Hornets. Paul looks great even with a knee brace. Tim Duncan played only one minute in the fourth quarter as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich elected to go with a small lineup to get the Spurs back into the game. It nearly worked, as the Spurs rallied from 18 down and closed within three on a Manu Ginobili jumper with 2:05 to play.
NWO PLY USG PCP +/- GR SAS PLY USG PCP +/- GR
paul,chris 61 32% 1.25 +4 25.7 ginobili,manu 72 29% 1.09 -4 29.4
west,david 50 33% 0.89 +11 23.8 jefferson,richard 65 18% 1.34 -3 17.3
okafor,emeka 36 17% 1.21 -2 11.9 hill,george 52 12% 1.50 +3 14.0
thornton,marcus 60 23% 1.23 +4 11.6 parker,tony 53 24% 0.99 -11 9.1
green,willie 46 23% 1.11 +1 10.8 neal,gary 37 16% 1.43 +1 6.3
ariza,trevor 61 14% 0.96 +10 8.7 mcdyess,antonio 41 18% 0.83 -18 6.3
belinelli,marco 45 10% 1.15 +10 5.1 anderson,james 21 20% 1.26 -4 4.7
smith,jason 41 13% 1.04 +6 5.1 blair,dejuan 75 14% 0.53 -6 4.6
bayless,jerryd 22 14% 0.32 -7 1.2 duncan,tim 54 22% 0.56 -3 4.2
ilungambenga,didier 30 9% 0.36 +3 0.9 gee,alonzo (DNP)
mensahbonsu,pops 19 5% 0.57 +5 0.5 simmons,bobby (DNP)
stojakovic,peja (DNP) temple,garrett (DNP)
PACE: 93.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 93.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
hornets,neworlean 105.4 .545 .091 .170 .080 spurs,sanantonio 95.8 .424 .229 .149 .098
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SUNDAY'S BOX SCORES
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HEAT 101, NETS 78 (box): Stifling defense? The Nets scored .92 points per possession, so check. Efficient offense? 1.19 points per possession and .575 eFG%. Check that. Sharing the ball? Well, 29 assists on 36 made field goals with four players getting four or more assists. Yep, sharing the ball just fine. The Heat have won three straight games since losing at Boston to start the season and lead the league in Defensive Rating by a good margin. After listening and reading to lots of reports about Derrick Favors being not quite what the Nets thought they were getting, I got a chance to watch the rookie for a full game for the first time. Sure, some of his game lacks polish, but the guy's length, instincts, strength and quick leap combine to make him an absolute beast around the offensive glass. He had 10 more offensive boards on Sunday and is averaging 18.8 rebounds per 40 minutes in the Nets' first three games, while shooting 58 percent from the floor. Troy Murphy may assume the starting four spot once he returns from his back woes, but Nets fans will be clamoriong for Avery Johnson to put Favors in the starting five and leave him alone. The one concern I see at this point is his high foul rate.
MIA PLY USG PCP +/- GR NJN PLY USG PCP +/- GR
james,lebron 51 42% 0.95 +18 30.3 williams,terrence 50 31% 0.66 -14 20.5
bosh,chris 46 22% 1.45 +13 22.1 favors,derrick 43 23% 1.29 -18 16.0
wade,dwyane 48 30% 1.36 +19 19.7 lopez,brook 49 32% 1.01 -10 13.6
house,eddie 42 17% 1.63 +12 15.5 harris,devin 51 20% 1.43 -12 12.6
arroyo,carlos 48 17% 1.52 +5 13.0 humphries,kris 36 8% 1.66 -2 8.1
ilgauskas,zydrunas 32 17% 1.38 +16 5.3 james,damion 33 12% 0.62 -3 5.1
jones,james 54 9% 1.25 +15 5.1 morrow,anthony 49 15% 0.60 -10 4.7
haslem,udonis 43 17% 0.83 +8 4.3 farmar,jordan 29 21% 0.81 -13 4.3
anthony,joel 43 3% 2.04 +9 2.3 petro,johan 24 6% 1.95 -8 3.4
chalmers,mario 6 16% 1.04 0 0.6 graham,stephen 13 30% 0.58 +1 2.0
magloire,jamaal 6 14% 0.41 0 0.2 outlaw,travis 39 10% 0.33 -18 1.3
stackhouse,jerry 6 16% 0.27 0 0.2 smith,joe 9 25% 0.02 -8 0.1
PACE: 85.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 85.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
heat,miami 118.8 .575 .172 .106 .176 nets,newjersey 91.8 .371 .352 .176 .119
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MAVERICKS 99, CLIPPERS 83 (box): None of Sunday's games were close, as the Mavericks 16-point margin of victory at L.A. qualified as the day's nail-biter. The Mavericks rank second to Miami in defensive efficiency right now and if that continues, Dallas could emerge as the favorite in the West. Shawn Marion was the guy who impressed me on the defensive end against the Clippers, but you can't overlook the contributions of Tyson Chandler. The Mavs were +21 with him on the floor and his presence contributed to the combined 9-of-30 shooting performance from Clippers big men Chris Kaman and Blake Griffin. The Clippers' offense hasn't yet reached a point per possession this season and has gotten worse each game. Welcome to life under Vinny Del Negro.
DAL PLY USG PCP +/- GR LAC PLY USG PCP +/- GR
kidd,jason 61 18% 1.65 +21 23.5 griffin,blake 63 32% 0.70 -27 19.5
terry,jason 62 27% 0.92 +20 20.8 gordon,eric 54 19% 0.96 -23 11.2
nowitzki,dirk 59 27% 0.85 +21 15.3 kaman,chris 61 24% 0.85 -22 10.1
butler,caron 55 26% 1.02 +20 11.3 davis,baron 62 19% 0.79 -21 10.0
marion,shawn 53 21% 0.98 -4 9.3 bledsoe,eric 31 24% 0.81 +5 8.2
haywood,brendan 53 9% 1.65 -3 8.8 aminu,alfarouq 45 22% 0.75 +1 7.1
chandler,tyson 37 10% 1.65 +21 5.8 jordan,deandre 38 15% 1.60 +3 7.0
barea,jose 36 19% 0.89 -10 5.6 butler,rasual 39 13% 0.68 +7 6.3
cardinal,brian 16 15% 1.36 -3 3.5 gomes,ryan 48 7% 1.86 -17 6.0
jones,dominique 26 5% 0.90 +1 2.2 smith,craig 22 9% 2.21 +12 4.1
mahinmi,ian 2 40% 0.27 -2 0.4 collins,jarron 2 43% 0.00 +2 0.0
stevenson,deshawn 2 43% 0.00 -2 0.0 cook,brian (DNP)
PACE: 92.8 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 92.8 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
mavericks,dallas 106.6 .513 .195 .151 .137 clippers,losangele 89.4 .366 .313 .183 .147
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JAZZ 120, THUNDER 99 (box): Remember that scene from "A Clockwork Orange" when the old homeless people encounter the rehabilitated Alex out on the street and proceed to take out all their abuse-fueled frustration on the defenseless former practitioner of ultra-violence? That's what the Jazz looked like on Sunday. After getting manhandled in its first two games and facing a tough test at Oklahoma City, Utah responded with an intense, sustained effort on both ends of the floor. It was one of those games where you just shrug your shoulders and say one team was a lot more motivated than the other. The Jazz's struggling offense got it together with Deron Williams notching 15 of Utah's 32 assists. Paul Millsap was a beast off of slip screens and finished with a Boozeresque 30 points and 16 rebounds.
UTA PLY USG PCP +/- GR OKC PLY USG PCP +/- GR
millsap,paul 79 27% 1.36 +24 29.0 durant,kevin 79 33% 0.95 -22 26.1
jefferson,al 85 22% 1.02 +20 27.2 westbrook,russell 62 28% 1.16 -17 19.7
miles,c.j. 51 26% 1.33 +21 19.2 green,jeff 80 20% 0.88 -25 12.9
williams,deron 75 19% 1.58 +18 18.9 maynor,eric 33 15% 1.15 -3 10.9
kirilenko,andrei 79 18% 1.28 +22 15.9 ibaka,serge 47 13% 0.82 -3 9.2
bell,raja 38 8% 2.14 +5 4.9 aldrich,cole 22 15% 1.34 0 8.4
hayward,gordon 31 20% 0.39 -7 3.4 sefolosha,thabo 49 14% 0.89 -16 6.1
watson,earl 24 10% 0.65 +3 1.7 harden,james 68 15% 0.49 -4 4.0
elson,francisco 9 8% 1.62 0 1.1 white,d.j. 6 33% 0.98 +1 2.6
evans,jeremy 12 6% 0.07 -1 0.0 krstic,nenad 31 11% 0.07 -17 0.2
fesenko,kyrylo 7 12% 0.00 +1 0.0 cook,daequan 19 5% 0.00 +1 0.0
price,ronnie (DNP) ivey,royal (DNP)
PACE: 99.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 99.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
jazz,utah 121.3 .572 .205 .162 .133 thunder,oklacity 100.0 .431 .171 .141 .151
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LAKERS 107, WARRIORS 83 (box): Both teams came into this game unbeaten but, not surprisingly, only one of them looked ready for prime time. The Lakers had 18 offensive rebounds in 45 opportunities, leading to 20 second-chance points. The big difference was that the Lakers were able to reduce the Warriors' offense to contested jump shots, resulting in a 23-6 advantage for the champs from the foul line. David Lee went scoreless in 19 minutes in his matchup with Lamar Odom.
GSW PLY USG PCP +/- GR LAL PLY USG PCP +/- GR
wright,dorell 67 24% 1.03 -22 18.7 odom,lamar 58 17% 1.97 +24 28.2
carney,rodney 34 31% 0.89 -6 14.3 gasol,pau 70 29% 1.20 +33 22.1
ellis,monta 76 29% 0.82 -33 11.8 fisher,derek 50 13% 1.82 +18 14.8
bell,charlie 42 23% 0.74 -2 10.6 bryant,kobe 54 34% 1.00 +21 14.0
biedrins,andris 55 9% 1.71 -18 7.2 barnes,matt 47 14% 1.46 +8 10.0
williams,reggie 46 12% 1.38 -17 6.8 artest,ron 58 15% 0.93 +27 7.4
wright,brandan 34 15% 1.78 +3 6.1 brown,shannon 44 15% 0.73 +5 4.0
lin,jeremy 32 12% 0.92 +3 3.3 vujacic,sasha 16 13% 1.62 -2 3.0
adrien,jeff 8 20% 1.91 +2 2.8 blake,steve 32 16% 0.65 +7 2.3
radmanovic,vladimir 17 25% 0.49 +1 2.2 ebanks,devin 24 26% 0.49 -12 2.2
gadzuric,dan 32 9% 0.94 -5 1.8 caracter,derrick 14 23% 1.07 -1 2.1
lee,david 38 20% 0.18 -26 1.0 ratliff,theo 12 4% 1.86 -8 1.3
PACE: 96.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 96.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
warriors,goldenst 86.5 .438 .288 .188 .060 lakers,losangeles 111.5 .477 .400 .208 .138
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GLOSSARY
PLY is an estimate of how many possessions on which the player was on the court. USG is an estimate of how many of those plays a player used by shooting, going to the line or committing a turnover, with a portion the team's offensive rebound total subtracted. Is an estimate of each player's points created per possession used, a measure of offensive efficiency. The stat accounts for a player's entire box score line, not just the scoring categories. Plus-Minus (+/-) data is from official box scores from NBA.com. Game Rating (GR) reflects a player's Points Created total, or the portion of his team's offense for which he gets credit based on his box score line. This number is then adjusted for estimated defensive performance based on box score counterpart productivity. GR is pace-adjusted so you can compare players from game to game. TEAM STATS: PACE, or esimated possessions in the game; ORTG: a team's points per 100 possessions; eFG%: team's shooting percentage with an extra half-point added for each made three-point field goal; oRB%: percentage of a team's misses that they retrieved off the offensive glass; TO%: percentage of at team's possessions resulting in a turnover; FTA%: percentage of a team's possessions resulting in a trip to the foul line.
NEWS & MOVES
Minutiae from around the league
LEAGUE: "Maurice Lucas, the starting power forward known as "The Enforcer" on the franchise's only NBA Championship team, died Sunday at the age of 58. Lucas battled bladder cancer for the past two years. He was an assistant coach for the Blazers when he had surgery in April of 2009, then appeared to be recovering when he suffered a relapse that hospitalized him in November of 2009. He passed away Sunday evening in Portland with his family by his side." (The Oregonian)
Sad, sad news about a guy remembered for his physical style yet by all accounts was a beloved figure around the league. Lucas played his college ball under Al McGuire at Marquette, broke into the professional ranks as a member of the colorful Spirits of St. Louis in the ABA and teamed with Bill Walton as the second-best player on Portland's 1977 championship team. He twice finished in the top 10 of the MVP balloting. Just in basketball terms, it was an amazing journey for Lucas.
BOBCATS: "Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has exercised the fourth-year option on point guard D.J. Augustin and the third-year option on guard Gerald Henderson." (press release)
Both players have a way to go to earn extensions once these rookie options run dry.
MAGIC: "Jason Williams of the Orlando Magic has been suspended without pay for one game for making contact with a game official following his ejection, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations. The incident occurred with 58 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Magic’s 112-83 victory over the Washington Wizards at Amway Center on Thursday, Oct. 28." (press release)
Williams sat out Orlando's loss at Miami on Friday. His absense is not the reason the Magic lost.
PACERS: "The Indiana Pacers announced Friday they have picked up the fourth-year option on Brandon Rush’s contract. Per club policy no details of the contract are released. Rush, a third-year player out of Kansas, was drafted 13th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft. In his three seasons with the Pacers, Rush has career averages of 8.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game." (press release)
The Pacers don't need to give up on Rush just yet, but they do need the talented wing to mature on and off the court. Indy is in a good cap position and can easily accomodate another year to develop Rush under his rookie deal.
ROCKETS: "Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has picked up the second-year option on the contract of forward/center Jordan Hill and the third-year option on guard Courtney Lee." (press release)
Lee is a bargain under his rookie contract and well worth the extension. Hill's development has been slower, but he's shown enough that you wouldn't want to cut bait already.
SPURS: "The San Antonio Spurs today announced that guard Tony Parker has signed a multi-year contract extension. Per club policy details of the contract were not announced. -- 'We are thrilled that Tony has signed a long-term contract extension.' said Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich. 'He has enjoyed an outstanding NBA career. With all that he has accomplished it is easy to forget that he is only 28-years-old. Tony is a unique talent and a wonderful young man.'" (press release)
Later it was reported that the extension was for 4 years, $50 million. Color me surprised. Because of the possible lockout, the move makes perfect financial sense for Mr. Longoria. Despite what Popovich said, the fact is that Parker is heavily reliant on elite quickness and also takes a lot of physical abuse as a result of his slashing style. He may be 28, but he may also be an old 28, and his performance last season was well below his career standards. I'm surprised because the pragmatic Spurs must be more confident than I am that Parker will retain his value. I'm also surprised because of his celebrity lifestyle, which I would have thought would mean Parker and his wife might be looking for a little higher-profile locale.
TRAIL BLAZERS: "The Portland Trail Blazers exercised their fourth-year options on the contracts of forward Nicolas Batum and guard/forward Rudy Fernandez. The moves, announced today by General Manager Rich Cho, keep both players under contract through the 2011-12 season." (press release)
Guess we probably should stop referring to Rudy Fernandez as "disgruntled." The recent trade that sent Jerryd Bayless from Portland to New Orleans freed up some rotation minutes for Fernandez and perhaps things will work out after all.
OVERSEAS: "Lebanese basketball league champion Riyadi has added more star quality to its roster Wednesday with the signing of Loren Woods from Iranian side Mehram, the current Asian champion. Woods, 32, has enjoyed a successful career in Turkey, Spain and Iran after playing six seasons in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves and should be fit to play in Riyadi’s season opener Friday against newly promoted Haouch Omara." (Lebanon Daily-Star)
Woods, the former Arizona center, went to camp this fall with the Cavaliers.
FAB FIVE
A selection of our favorite NBA links
1. Fanhouse's Sam Amick on the state of the agent industry.
2. The latest Works delves into the league's hype managment machine and other things NBA.
3. Kelly Dwyer with his take on LeBron's fang mouthpiece which caused me to mention to someone the other night that I'm worried he's going the way of Elvis and Michael Jackson. Too much fame, too early.
4. On the other hand, LeBron told reporters that he might do things differently, which at least suggests he hasn't completely lost touch with reality, his latest commercial evidence to the contrary.
5. Ridiculous Upside with the complete D-League allocation list. By the way, the D-League draft is today.
ON TAP
Tonight in the NBA
WTC VIS @ HOM, GAMETIME NBAPET LINE OFFICIALS
+9 por @ chi, 8:00 PM EST [ por by 8 ] Greg Willard, Rodney Mott, Haywoode Workman
+8 tor @ sac, 10:00 PM EST [ tor by 2 ] Joey Crawford, Pat Fraher, Marat Kogut
-27 sas @ lac, 10:30 PM EST [ sas by 17 ] Derrick Stafford, Kane Fitzgerald, Zach Zarba
Through Sunday, 43 of 1,230 games (3.5%) have been played in the 2010-11 NBA regular season.
You can follow Bradford on Twitter at twitter.com/@bbdoolittle.
You can order a copy of Pro Basketball Prospectus 2010-11 here.
Bradford Doolittle is an author of Basketball Prospectus.
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