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I received two more e-mails today regarding NBAPET lines and the "reliability" of them as a guide for placing wagers. So I guess I need to reiterate: The lines are not meant to be used as a guideline for betting. I don't gamble. (Not even poker.) I don't keep tabs on the Vegas lines. I have never done one second of study to determine how NBAPET does against the spreads it generates. All the lines represent are very simplistic predictions to serve as a baseline of expectation for each game, nothing more. The system picks about 72-73 percent of all winners accurately. (It's actually a little lower than I quoted previously, when I was going off the top of my head.) All the success rate means is that it's not that hard to pick winners straight up in the NBA. It really is a simplistic system which doesn't weigh recent performance nor does it consider player availability.
I also got an e-mail wondering if you could use the fantasy download spreadsheet as a game forecaster since it does consider current player rotations. I really have no idea, however, I doubt that it would be that reliable. There is no home advantage factored in plus at this point, I'm not sure if the weight given preseason SCHOENE projections is appropriate once you tabulate the numbers up to the team level. I have not analyzed how the fantasy projections work as a game forecaster and I have no plans to look into the issue. For one thing, I am adamantly opposed to gambling. It's probably the one issue where I reside in conservative territory.
This all does bring to mind an amusing encounter I had at a bar last week. It was at a place I go to a lot and the bartender started asking me about the Bulls, which spurred the guy next to me to start in. He engaged me in NBA chatter for quite awhile, during which it became apparent that he didn't know what the hell he was talking about. A little later, he decided to share with me the fact that he is a bookie. Okay. I asked him how he set his lines and--this is the part that kills me--he said he doesn't use lines. He only accepts bets on straight-up winners. He makes his money by making his own pick on each game and then accepting the majority of the bets on the teams he thinks are going to lose.
I don't know much, or anything, about the bookie business, but this system struck me as exceedingly insane. For one, it's just not that hard to pick winners straight up--in any sport. For instance, NBAPET has picked 34 of the last 37 games played correctly. So, by my calculations, if I had placed a $100 bet on each game with this guy, I would be $3,400 up. As long as I was betting every game, there would be no way for me to lose. Don't worry--I have no intention of trying this guy out. Besides the reasons already stated and the questionable legality of the process, one look at this guy told me two things: He's full of crap and even if he's not, his ability to pay off these bets is shaky at best.
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LIVE AT BASKETBALL PROSPECTUS
1. In this week's Poll Position John Gasaway muses whether Missouri is more appropriately evaluated by the humans or the computers. As a Mizzou guy, for what it's worth, I agree with John. Mizzou just hasn't been impressive so far, but there is plenty of potential on the Tigers' roster. There is also some limbo. Starting guard Michael Dixon was suspended yesterday for violating team rules and it's unknown how long Mike Anderson is going to hold him out. It's also unknown whether stud recruit Tony Mitchell is going gain eligibility for the second semester. Everyone is waiting around for an NCAA decision on that one. I also agree with John that humans dig Mizzou. (premium)
2. Kevin Pelton notes how it is only now becoming clear just how much of Cleveland's success the last few years was because of LeBron James. (premium)
3. John Perrotto goes Around the Rim with items on West Virginia, Rutgers and the impending debuts of some high-profile players. (premium)
4. In NYC in the NEC: A New Day, Asher Fusco looks at the Big Apple's role in the NEC. (Free preview)
5. An effusive John Gasaway dances on the grave of rebound margin. (Unfiltered)
6. In Every Play Counts, Kevin Pelton breaks down the intricacies of the highly-effective zone defense of the Dallas Mavericks. (premium)
7. On the Beat touches on the dissolution of the Charlotte Bobcats. (premium)
8. In this week's Poll Position, college guru John Gasaway weighs in on the ramifications of Kyrie Irving's injury. (premium)
9. The Clipboard: Variety is the Spice of Jason Richardson's Game says Sebastian Pruiti in his latest video-charged breadown. (premium)
10. Trench Watch has analysis of the Hornets, Ray Felton and a league-wide trend in free throws. (premium)
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FANTASY PROJECTIONS
Our downloadable Basketball Fantasy Projection spreadsheets are available for anyone with a premium subscription to Basketball Prospectus. The sheet is updated daily and can be found on your 'Manage Profile' page. The download includes a forecast for the next seven days for every player, game-by-game projections and health status updates.
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HOT FIVES
POWER RATING (POW) GR (12/15/10) WP82 -- ALL WP82 -- ROOKIES
celtics,boston, 67.3 durant,kevin, 38.0 james,lebron, 25.0 griffin,blake, 16.4
spurs,sanantonio, 61.4 felton,raymond, 37.4 williams,deron, 23.6 wall,john, 7.7
mavericks,dallas, 60.3 aldridge,lamarcus, 34.1 bryant,kobe, 23.2 bledsoe,eric, 3.1
bulls,chicago, 58.8 allen,ray, 33.9 ellis,monta, 19.0 fields,landry, 3.1
heat,miami, 58.3 ginobili,manu, 32.9 rose,derrick, 18.8 cousins,demarcus, 2.9
Note: GR leaders are from previous night only.
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WEDNESDAY'S BOX SCORES & RECAPS
NOTE: Glossary is at bottom of page.
LAKERS 109, PACERS 94 (box)
LAL (19-7) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR IND (11-13) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
gasol,pau 75% 30% 1.25 +12 30.8 collison,darren 70% 20% 1.28 -12 23.7
odom,lamar 72% 19% 1.22 +18 24.0 posey,james 39% 14% 1.97 - 6 17.6
bryant,kobe 71% 29% 1.61 +16 22.7 dunleavy jr.,mike 57% 16% 1.49 +11 13.5
artest,ron 56% 15% 1.71 +20 17.4 rush,brandon 66% 22% 1.16 -20 13.3
blake,steve 61% 10% 1.18 + 2 10.3 granger,danny 68% 28% 0.70 -21 9.0
brown,shannon 29% 28% 0.94 - 1 5.8 hibbert,roy 64% 24% 0.82 -15 8.5
walton,luke 17% 10% 1.55 0 3.9 jones,solomon 27% 19% 1.19 + 5 7.9
fisher,derek 39% 11% 0.98 +13 3.5 hansbrough,tyler 24% 13% 1.51 + 6 4.9
barnes,matt 39% 14% 0.84 - 4 2.9 ford,t.j. 30% 10% 0.94 - 3 3.9
bynum,andrew 37% 15% 0.85 0 2.9 foster,jeff 17% 18% 0.89 - 1 2.5
ebanks,devin 5% 20% 0.95 - 1 0.8 mcroberts,josh 30% 17% 0.52 -19 2.5
caracter,derrick (DNP) jones,dahntay 8% 12% 0.72 0 0.5
PACE: 87.2 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 87.2 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
lakers,losangeles 125.0 .561 .324 .115 .121 pacers,indiana 107.8 .506 .093 .080 .081
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CELTICS 118, KNICKS 116 (box)
BOS (20-4) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR NYK (16-10) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
allen,ray 86% 21% 1.32 - 3 33.9 felton,raymond 95% 23% 1.40 - 6 37.4
pierce,paul 84% 27% 1.34 0 27.1 stoudemire,amare 88% 33% 1.12 + 9 29.1
garnett,kevin 76% 24% 1.23 - 4 21.0 chandler,wilson 90% 19% 1.16 + 1 20.7
rondo,rajon 71% 20% 1.26 - 8 13.4 gallinari,danilo 89% 18% 1.14 + 1 15.6
robinson,nate 48% 14% 1.26 +12 11.2 fields,landry 75% 8% 1.19 + 8 8.2
davis,glen 58% 19% 0.90 + 4 8.6 douglas,toney 33% 18% 0.75 - 9 7.8
daniels,marquis 36% 8% 1.08 + 4 5.0 williams,shawne 11% 15% 0.71 - 3 2.5
erden,semih 33% 10% 1.78 - 1 4.2 turiaf,ronny 18% 3% 0.89 -11 1.0
wafer,von 7% 14% 0.00 + 6 0.0 mason,roger (DNP)
bradley,avery (DNP) mozgov,timofey (DNP)
harangody,luke (DNP) randolph,anthony (DNP)
o'neal,shaquille (DNP) walker,bill (DNP)
PACE: 94.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 94.9 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
celtics,boston 124.4 .564 .297 .137 .097 knicks,newyork 122.3 .586 .243 .179 .121
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76ERS 105, CLIPPERS 91 (box)
LAC (5-21) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR PHI (10-15) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
griffin,blake 82% 26% 1.18 -17 24.9 young,thaddeus 51% 18% 1.31 + 4 20.5
gordon,eric 77% 31% 0.75 -23 23.7 iguodala,andre 86% 11% 2.22 +24 20.4
davis,baron 56% 30% 1.18 - 1 13.8 holiday,jrue 81% 25% 1.33 + 8 20.1
jordan,deandre 74% 8% 2.24 + 1 10.4 brand,elton 76% 18% 1.17 +16 15.6
bledsoe,eric 34% 30% 0.61 -15 9.7 meeks,jodie 69% 14% 1.11 +17 15.0
cook,brian 34% 20% 0.68 -12 8.0 hawes,spencer 71% 29% 0.87 + 5 13.8
gomes,ryan 60% 8% 1.60 - 6 7.8 williams,lou 44% 25% 0.71 - 1 7.7
aminu,alfarouq 32% 10% 0.88 - 3 2.7 turner,evan 20% 12% 1.51 - 6 4.6
foye,randy 10% 17% 0.76 0 1.0 battie,tony 2% 59% 0.00 + 3 0.0
butler,rasual 37% 5% 0.00 + 2 0.0 nocioni,andres (DNP)
collins,jason (DNP) songaila,darius (DNP)
smith,craig (DNP) speights,marreese (DNP)
PACE: 89.3 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 89.3 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
clippers,losangele 101.9 .428 .359 .168 .133 76ers,philadelphia 117.6 .473 .320 .056 .113
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BULLS 110, RAPTORS 93 (box)
CHI (16-8) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR TOR (9-17) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
korver,kyle 44% 25% 1.64 + 4 25.7 bayless,jerryd 68% 25% 1.19 -27 26.8
boozer,carlos 54% 43% 1.48 +23 23.6 barbosa,leandro 63% 23% 1.37 + 4 25.2
deng,luol 74% 20% 1.27 +24 20.3 dorsey,joey 59% 15% 1.65 + 9 20.4
noah,joakim 55% 16% 1.39 +23 17.6 davis,ed 67% 13% 1.42 -24 8.5
rose,derrick 62% 21% 1.13 +22 11.6 weems,sonny 63% 23% 0.70 -16 8.4
brewer,ronnie 55% 12% 1.54 - 7 8.4 derozan,demar 64% 22% 0.69 -19 6.6
gibson,taj 64% 18% 0.72 0 7.5 wright,julian 36% 12% 1.39 + 6 4.9
bogans,keith 34% 6% 3.40 +15 6.8 johnson,amir 42% 15% 0.56 -24 3.2
watson,c.j. 38% 16% 0.90 - 5 3.8 kleiza,linas 38% 23% 0.45 + 6 2.7
asik,omer 20% 2% 3.62 -14 1.0 alabi,soloman (DNP)
johnson,james (DNP) bargnani,andrea (DNP)
scalabrine,brian (DNP) stojakovic,peja (DNP)
PACE: 87.2 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 87.2 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
bulls,chicago 126.2 .574 .368 .161 .121 raptors,toronto 106.7 .459 .283 .115 .081
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HEAT 101, CAVALIERS 95 (box)
CLE (7-18) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR MIA (19-8) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
gibson,daniel 82% 23% 1.41 - 2 25.4 james,lebron 80% 33% 0.90 0 28.9
jamison,antawn 81% 24% 0.84 - 3 22.5 wade,dwyane 83% 26% 1.30 +15 19.7
varejao,anderson 83% 16% 1.42 + 1 17.0 chalmers,mario 73% 14% 1.67 + 4 19.4
williams,maurice 80% 25% 0.86 0 13.1 bosh,chris 84% 20% 0.86 + 8 16.7
parker,anthony 78% 14% 0.88 + 1 11.1 jones,james 51% 8% 3.02 + 1 11.3
sessions,ramon 23% 15% 1.55 - 6 9.1 anthony,joel 46% 15% 0.81 + 1 8.5
graham,joey 34% 22% 0.47 - 9 4.0 ilgauskas,zydrunas 38% 19% 0.86 +12 4.3
hickson,j.j. 40% 13% 0.84 -12 3.1 howard,juwan 16% 17% 0.57 - 2 2.1
harris,manny (DNP) house,eddie 13% 8% 0.93 - 2 0.9
hollins,ryan (DNP) dampier,erick 15% 7% 0.18 - 7 0.2
powe,leon (DNP) arroyo,carlos (DNP)
williams,jawad (DNP) magloire,jamaal (DNP)
PACE: 90.2 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 90.2 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
cavaliers,cleve 105.4 .454 .217 .100 .098 heat,miami 112.0 .529 .243 .155 .200
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GRIZZLIES 113, BOBCATS 80 (box)
CHA (9-16) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR MEM (12-14) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
augustin,d.j. 73% 14% 1.50 -24 19.5 mayo,o.j. 51% 31% 1.51 +34 31.2
jackson,stephen 61% 38% 0.61 -18 14.5 gay,rudy 77% 23% 1.33 +20 18.4
diaw,boris 61% 19% 0.79 -19 8.9 randolph,zach 68% 25% 1.03 +20 17.3
thomas,tyrus 37% 25% 1.07 -15 7.9 gasol,marc 52% 11% 1.31 +15 10.5
brown,derrick 32% 21% 0.77 - 5 7.7 conley,mike 62% 14% 1.36 +17 10.0
mcguire,dominic 59% 11% 1.16 - 6 6.2 young,sam 13% 37% 1.10 + 1 6.4
livingston,shaun 31% 12% 0.89 -10 5.7 arthur,darrell 35% 21% 1.09 +15 6.2
mohammed,nazr 37% 16% 0.75 - 6 5.4 henry,xavier 45% 17% 0.78 + 1 5.7
brown,kwame 57% 21% 0.56 -23 4.8 thabeet,hasheem 30% 14% 1.34 + 9 5.5
carroll,matt 26% 19% 0.50 -21 1.8 vasquez,greivis 38% 11% 0.98 +16 5.0
hendersonjr,gerald 20% 14% 0.62 -14 1.2 allen,tony 24% 10% 1.25 +11 2.5
diop,desagana 6% 13% 1.71 - 4 1.0 haddadi,hamed 6% 33% 0.81 + 6 0.9
PACE: 94.7 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 94.7 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
bobcats,charlotte 84.5 .449 .132 .232 .121 grizzlies,memphis 119.4 .549 .167 .127 .135
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HORNETS 94, KINGS 91 (box)
SAC (5-18) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR NWO (15-10) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
evans,tyreke 89% 25% 1.07 - 7 22.1 west,david 86% 18% 1.01 0 22.7
udrih,beno 83% 19% 1.36 - 4 18.7 paul,chris 78% 21% 1.60 + 4 20.8
greene,donte 43% 27% 0.95 +10 17.6 thornton,marcus 50% 36% 1.04 +22 16.0
cousins,demarcus 57% 25% 0.89 - 9 12.7 green,willie 52% 14% 1.36 +19 12.2
casspi,omri 46% 11% 1.01 - 6 8.7 okafor,emeka 69% 13% 1.26 + 4 9.4
landry,carl 43% 30% 0.88 + 2 8.1 jack,jarrett 28% 39% 0.47 - 2 7.5
thompson,jason 60% 13% 0.60 - 6 6.9 belinelli,marco 43% 30% 0.75 -17 7.1
jeter,pooh 20% 19% 0.95 + 3 3.3 smith,jason 35% 6% 3.42 + 2 5.0
dalembert,samuel 39% 3% 2.39 + 1 2.4 andersen,david 11% 22% 1.06 0 3.7
head,luther 19% 14% 0.36 + 1 1.1 ariza,trevor 42% 5% 0.50 -19 0.7
garcia,francisco (DNP) pondexter,quincy 7% 28% 0.00 + 2 0.0
jackson,darnell (DNP) ilungambenga,didier (DNP)
PACE: 89.5 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 89.5 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
kings,sacramento 101.7 .500 .231 .179 .059 hornets,neworleans 105.0 .462 .289 .134 .147
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THUNDER 117, ROCKETS 105 (box)
HOU (10-15) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR OKC (18-8) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
lowry,kyle 72% 18% 1.20 - 3 22.3 durant,kevin 74% 32% 1.28 +15 38.0
martin,kevin 57% 30% 1.36 0 17.7 green,jeff 80% 22% 1.30 +13 21.8
hill,jordan 50% 29% 0.84 -11 16.7 harden,james 66% 16% 1.61 +10 17.0
scola,luis 56% 29% 1.02 - 6 13.0 westbrook,russell 66% 22% 1.11 + 8 17.0
hayes,chuck 47% 12% 1.83 - 2 12.1 sefolosha,thabo 71% 16% 1.37 +14 12.2
lee,courtney 57% 11% 1.81 -12 9.3 maynor,eric 34% 11% 1.33 + 4 8.3
battier,shane 69% 11% 1.14 - 4 7.6 ibaka,serge 49% 8% 1.83 + 3 5.7
budinger,chase 32% 24% 0.83 - 9 5.4 collison,nick 27% 13% 0.73 + 9 4.6
patterson,patrick 8% 24% 1.46 + 4 4.7 white,d.j. 18% 22% 0.81 - 6 3.4
miller,brad 25% 10% 1.43 - 8 3.8 mullens,byron 11% 27% 0.42 - 5 0.9
smith,ishmael 28% 20% 0.37 - 9 3.0 ivey,royal 2% 44% 0.00 - 5 0.0
jeffries,jared (DNP) peterson,morris (DNP)
PACE: 90.8 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 90.8 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
rockets,houston 115.7 .518 .214 .121 .136 thunder,oklacity 128.9 .627 .296 .187 .141
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SPURS 92, BUCKS 90 (box)
MIL (10-14) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR SAS (21-3) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
gooden,drew 52% 41% 0.87 +10 25.0 ginobili,manu 64% 34% 1.24 0 32.9
douglas-roberts,ch 83% 23% 1.09 - 2 21.7 parker,tony 72% 26% 1.04 + 4 23.1
bogut,andrew 75% 18% 1.35 - 5 16.7 duncan,tim 65% 22% 1.05 + 2 10.5
jennings,brandon 89% 22% 0.85 + 2 13.9 hill,george 69% 8% 1.13 -10 8.9
ilyasova,ersan 62% 20% 0.99 - 5 10.5 jefferson,richard 71% 19% 0.90 +12 7.9
dooling,keyon 72% 7% 1.44 -10 4.8 bonner,matt 56% 10% 1.22 - 3 6.8
mbahamoute,luc 46% 5% 1.65 + 8 4.8 blair,dejuan 38% 21% 0.86 +13 5.2
boykins,earl 11% 27% 0.44 - 6 1.8 neal,gary 24% 23% 0.43 0 3.1
maggette,corey 10% 18% 0.00 - 2 0.0 splitter,tiago 9% 22% 0.99 + 1 1.6
brockman,jon (DNP) mcdyess,antonio 32% 9% 0.91 - 9 1.5
sanders,larry (DNP) quinn,chris (DNP)
salmons,john (DNP) udoka,ime (DNP)
PACE: 90.7 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 90.7 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
bucks,milwaukee 99.2 .481 .163 .176 .078 spurs,sanantonio 101.4 .543 .083 .187 .121
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SUNS 128, TIMBERWOLVES 122 (box)
MIN (6-20) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR PHX (12-12) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
webster,martell 50% 11% 1.97 + 4 20.4 nash,steve 65% 14% 2.17 +21 25.3
brewer,corey 59% 28% 1.03 +10 18.4 frye,channing 72% 20% 1.54 +15 22.2
love,kevin 79% 20% 1.45 - 4 18.3 hill,grant 67% 19% 1.54 +19 20.9
johnson,wesley 74% 16% 1.31 -11 15.1 richardson,jason 73% 34% 1.00 + 8 18.3
ridnour,luke 66% 12% 1.37 -21 12.9 dragic,goran 35% 27% 1.24 -15 10.5
milicic,darko 72% 22% 0.93 -14 12.0 lopez,robin 50% 18% 1.16 + 9 9.4
beasley,michael 56% 27% 0.90 -14 11.9 dudley,jared 60% 10% 1.79 0 7.7
flynn,jonny 34% 20% 1.19 +15 7.3 warrick,hakim 32% 24% 0.89 -16 7.0
pekovic,nikola 11% 14% 1.98 + 5 3.0 turkoglu,hedo 30% 10% 0.79 -12 2.8
ellington,wayne (DNP) barron,earl 17% 14% 0.71 + 1 1.2
hayward,lazar (DNP) childress,josh (DNP)
telfair,sebastian (DNP) clark,earl (DNP)
PACE: 102.2 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 102.2 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
timberwolves,minn 119.4 .581 .200 .157 .082 suns,phoenix 125.3 .592 .311 .157 .142
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MAVERICKS 103, TRAIL BLAZERS 98 (box)
POR (12-14) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR DAL (20-5) PLY% USG PCP +/- GR
aldridge,lamarcus 87% 36% 1.01 - 4 34.1 butler,caron 70% 33% 1.06 +14 25.9
batum,nicolas 55% 18% 1.29 + 1 16.4 kidd,jason 75% 12% 2.03 +13 21.4
miller,andre 66% 15% 1.57 -10 13.6 nowitzki,dirk 77% 28% 1.05 - 6 17.2
roy,brandon 62% 8% 1.61 - 3 12.6 marion,shawn 53% 15% 1.02 + 2 15.1
matthews,wesley 66% 20% 1.26 - 3 11.3 terry,jason 67% 21% 0.94 + 9 12.8
camby,marcus 43% 12% 1.47 - 5 7.6 chandler,tyson 72% 8% 2.01 + 8 12.1
cunningham,dante 50% 15% 1.22 - 8 6.3 barea,jose 30% 31% 0.90 - 4 9.2
mills,patrick 27% 26% 0.84 + 7 4.6 stevenson,deshawn 28% 18% 0.41 - 8 3.8
fernandez,rudy 34% 24% 0.42 - 2 4.3 mahinmi,ian 7% 15% 1.62 + 4 1.3
przybilla,joel 10% 8% 2.33 + 2 3.1 haywood,brendan 21% 3% 1.84 - 7 1.0
johnson,armon (DNP) cardinal,brian (DNP)
marks,sean (DNP) novak,steve (DNP)
PACE: 86.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA% PACE: 86.0 ORTG eFG% oRB% TO% FTA%
trailblazers,port 114.0 .512 .279 .093 .092 mavericks,dallas 119.8 .561 .167 .140 .107
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NEWS & MOVES
Minutiae from around the league
BULLS: "Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah will have surgery to repair a torn ulna collateral ligament in his right thumb. The surgery will be performed tomorrow morning by Dr. Mark Cohen and Dr. John Fernandez of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University Medical Center." (press release)
Noah did have surgery, which was successful, and the current timetable for his return is 8-to-10 weeks. Kirk Hinrich had this same injury when he played for the Bulls a couple of years ago and he missed nine weeks. With Noah out, Taj Gibson will move back into the starting lineup, Luol Deng will see more minutes at four, where he was highly effective during Carlos Boozer's absence, and Kurt Thomas will likely be dusted off. I don't look for Omer Asik's minutes to change that much, mostly due to his inability to defend without fouling.
HAWKS: "Hawks guard Jamal Crawford will miss tonight's game at Boston due to a sore back. Joe Johnson remains out after having surgery on his right elbow." (press release)
More Jordan Crawford for at least one night?
ROCKETS: "An MRI performed today on Rockets center Yao Ming revealed a stress fracture of the Medial Malleolus in his left ankle. The fracture, which is related to his previous injury of the Tarsal Navicular bone, presented itself during the course of his current rehabilitation program. There is no timetable for his return at this time."
No short-term ramifications for Houston, as the Rockets have growed used to playing without Yao and, this season, have been more effective when he doesn't play. Long term--you really fear for Yao's future in the NBA.
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ON TAP
Tonight in the NBA
WTC VIS @ HOM, GAMETIME NBAPET LINE OFFICIALS
+14 sas @ den, 10:30 PM EST [ sas by 5 ] Dick Bavetta, Rodney Mott, Haywoode Workman
+13 atl @ bos, 8:00 PM EST [ bos by 13 ] Greg Willard, Mark Ayotte, David Jones
-10 was @ njn, 7:00 PM EST [ njn by 7 ] Ken Mauer, Bennie Adams, Curtis Blair
Note: WTC is a junk stat rating the "watchability" of a game, taking into
account the quality of the opponents and the likelihood of a close game.
Through Wednesday, 376 of 1,230 games (30.6%) have been played in the 2010-11 NBA regular season.
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GLOSSARY
+/- (Plus-Minus) Raw data is from official box scores from NBA.com.
GR (Game Rating) Reflects a player's Points Created total, or the portion of his team's offense for which he gets credit based on his box score line. This number is then adjusted for estimated defensive performance based on box score counterpart productivity. GR is pace-adjusted so you can compare players from game to game.
PCP (Points Created Per Possession Used) An estimate of each player's points created per possession used, a measure of offensive efficiency. The stat accounts for a player's entire box score line, not just the scoring categories.
PLY% (Play percentage) An estimate of the percentage of a team's possessions on which the player was on the court.
USG An estimate of how many of those plays a player used by shooting, going to the line or committing a turnover, with a portion the team's offensive rebound total subtracted.
TEAM STATS
PACE: Estimated possessions in the game.
ORTG: A team's points per 100 possessions.
eFG%: Team's shooting percentage with an extra half-point added for each made three-point field goal.
oRB%: Percentage of a team's misses that they retrieved off the offensive glass.
TO%: Percentage of a team's possessions resulting in a turnover.
FTA%: Percentage of a team's possessions resulting in a trip to the foul line.
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Around the Rim (12/16)
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