HOOPLOG: Mehmet Okur

Houston's Season Has Now, Officially, Gone to Hell

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 14:58:25 -0800

Jonathan Feigen tells the story of Yao Ming's season-ending broken foot in the Houston Chronicle. "I was just fighting for position," Yao said about the injury. "I think (Mehmet) Okur kicked my foot. That happens on the court. I believe...

Fantasy Basketblog Midseason Awards

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 09:35:33 -0800

What, you thought I’d let DM give out the midseason awards? As if …

Stud of the Year : To the best-performing first-round pick.
Shawn Marion, PHO
And it really isn’t even close. With Amare sidelined, Marion has been forced to pick up his game, and boy, has he ever. His FG% is up to a remarkable 51%, and he’s a legitimate 7-category player. He’s solved his struggles at the line, going from 68% in December to 86% in January. It’s at the point where, if he keeps it up, Marion could be considered for the #1 overall pick next year. Runner-up: LeBron James.

Supporting Stud of the Year : To the best-performing second- or third-round pick.
Rashard Lewis, SEA
Lewis has been the prototypical supporting stud this year. He’s a huge asset in two categories (threes and points), and doesn’t really hurt you anywhere. I’ve been very critical of Lewis in the past because he doesn’t rebound enough to be a good forward, nor does he get many assists, but at the end of the day, he does enough of everything else to give him supporting stud of the year. Runner-up: Chauncey Billups.

Breakout Player of the Year
David West, NOK
Despite the fact that I hate him for what he did to my Wizards on Monday night, West is undoubtedly the breakout player of the year. His per-minute averages haven’t changed all that much, other than points, and he’s a perfect example of why we preach minutes above all else here at FBB. Still, can he maintain those percentages in the long run? Runner-up: Mehmet Okur.

Breakdown Player of the Year : To the premier player who’s lost the most value between draft day and today.
Steve Francis, ORL
Listen, we’ve been through a lot with Steve Francis, starting with his “99.9%” guarantee to return to Maryland for his senior year. Then there was the draft debacle when he practically died on the spot when drafted by Vancouver. Then his clashes with folks in Houston. Then his clashes with Orlando when they traded his buddy Cuttino Mobley. Still, through it all, his numbers stayed OK. But now he’s complaining again, and his suspension earlier this year got him “last straw” status here at FBB. Now he’s basically admitting he’s not playing his best, because of trade rumors, and the last straw was … well, you know. You just can’t trust the Franchise anymore as a stud, and he should be avoided until at least the middle of the third round in fantasy drafts next year. Runner-up: Stephon Marbury.

Leaper of the Year : To the player who’s made the leap to stud status.
Pau Gasol, MEM
Admittedly, this has very little – if anything – to do with Gasol’s play. But when you draft him, you know you’re going to dominate the Beards category. Plus, he’s getting real live stud minutes now that the Hubie experiment is over in Memphis, and that’s allowed him to finally live up to the promise he showed his first two years in the league. The free throws are a worry, but it’s always good to have something to work on. Runner-up: Carmelo Anthony.

Junior Leaper of the Year : To the mid-round pick who’s made his way to supporting stud status.
Samuel Dalembert, PHI
All he needed was someone to believe in him. Now that he’s getting starter’s minutes, he’s turned into a legit 2nd-tier center. His blocks are absolutely incredible, but don’t overlook his respectable FT% for a center. Runner Up: Rasheed Wallace.

Jazz withstand late rally from Blazers

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 00:18:29 -0800

Mehmet Okur had 28 points and eight rebounds, and the Utah Jazz withstood the Portland Trail Blazers' second-half rally for a 98-93 victory Sunday night. Matt Harpring added 20 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute, as the Jazz snapped a three-game losing streak. The Blazers, losers of four straight, trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half.

Too Much Jazz

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:52:56 -0800

Okur, Humphries, Palacio? Not exactly the Jazz we've come to know and hate, but they are still Utah, we're still Seattle, and we will always wish the worst to them. Especially when they come to our court and walk away with a victory .

The Sonics made a game of it after falling behind 61-44 in the third quarter - a methodology that is growing thin despite the recent spate of victories.

Bright spots? Sugar Ray and Rashard, naturally. Not much else, although Cleaves managed nine points in only 13 minutes.

Sour notes? Let's see, Da Fort managed 3 fouls, 3 turnovers, 1 board, no points in four minutes. The Center by Committee showed up late for the meeting, it appears, as Petro and the Potato (isn't that a show on PBS?) combined for 2 points and 1 rebound. Folks, when I'm using the singular to recount our center's rebounding totals we may be in trouble.

The good news is the Sonics are playing on Thanksgiving against the woeful Lakers. So far this season the Lakers have beaten Denver (twice), Atlanta, and the Knicks - and nobody else. Let's see ... national t.v., Kobe, Ray Allen, crappy Laker team - I'm guessing the over/under on Kobe's FGA around 37. Any takers?

Okur's huge night can't lift Jazz to win

Sat, 12 Nov 2005 21:20:39 -0800

Luol Deng scored 21 points and Kirk Hinrich added 19 points and 11 assists to lead the Chicago Bulls over the Utah Jazz 103-98 Saturday night Mehmet Okur had a career-high 33 points and 17 rebounds for Utah, which played most of the game without Andrei Kirilenko after he injured his left ankle early in the second quarter. Ben Gordon scored 17 points and Andres Nocioni added 15 for Chicago.

Kirilenko in form for Jazz

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 09:26:20 -0800

Andre Kirilenko scored 19 points and Mehmet Okur had 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 92-73 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in a preseason game at the University of Oregon on Thursday night.Rookie Deron Williams the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA draft came off the bench to score 12 points for the Jazz while Kris Humphries added 10.

Overall Rankings: 91 to 120

Thu, 20 Oct 2005 17:00:35 -0800

1 to 30
31 to 60
61 to 90

91. Jamaal Tinsley – The ultimate tease; few can match his 3s/steals/assists combo, but he plain cannot shoot or stay healthy.
92. Eddie Jones – Certainly on the downside of his career, but can handle lots of minutes and hit 3s with the best.
93. Al Harrington – Won’t ever have a huge breakout like some had hoped, but should be solid as long as minutes are there.
94. Morris Peterson – See above.
95. Gerald Wallace – His big numbers (for his position) in steals and blocks will do a lot to offset his seriously lackluster shooting.
96. Ricky Davis – He’ll start, yes, but averaged 33 mpg last year and wasn’t anything all that special.
97. Sam Cassell – Could be a disaster, but Livingston is young and injury-prone; can’t forget how consistently awesome Sam was the three years before last.
98. Mike James – As long as he’s starting, he’ll be well worth using.
99. Mike Sweetney – Needs to lock down starting job, but will be a rebound/FG% monster if he does.
100. Sebastian Telfair – If he could shoot the 3 he’d be better, but 6.7 apg and 1.4 spg in April make him an OK option.
101. Mehmet Okur – As always, potential is there, but he’s usually frustrating to own with Sloan getting much of the blame.
102. Joel Przybilla – Ask the folks who drafted Mark Blount and Samuel Dalembert last year how reliable big men who finish strong are.
103. J.R. Smith – Hasn’t shown he can do anything but shoot a bunch of 3s; don’t go crazy with the kids.
104. Troy Murphy – We’re never too high on non-hustle stat guys, but if the Warriors run enough he should have some value.
105. Ben Gordon – Have to think he’ll break into the starting lineup eventually; still is a pretty one-dimensional player.
106. Raja Bell – Someone will probably jump the gun thinking he’ll replicate JoeJohn’s numbers from last year; that’s quite unlikely, but he should be solid.
107. Al Jefferson – Pick him up in January after the guy who drafted him too early gets frustrated and drops him.
108. P.J. Brown – Keeps on plugging away; needs to get that FG% back up to around 47%, but will be underrated as usual.
109. Wally Szczerbiak – His strong percentages make him worth having around, especially if he can get back up to 15 shots per game.
110. Nenad Krstic – Another one of those strong-finish big men to be wary of, especially since he doesn’t block many shots.
111. Brendan Haywood – OK, a bit of a homer pick, but it’s not unreasonably to expect 2 bpg with very nice boards and FG%.
112. Erick Dampier – He might be interested, he might not. His 12/12 with 2 blocks from a couple years is hard to ignore, but honestly, you probably should.
113. Eddy Curry – All of the big men in this batch have major questions, so just pick one you like. Could be an offensive force, but don’t expect any rebounds or blocks all of a sudden.
114. Jameer Nelson – He seems to be buried right now, just can’t understand why; 14.9/4.0/4.6 with 1.5 spg and 1.2 3pg after the break shows he’s more than ready.
115. Bonzi Wells – Is slated for lots of PT, but doesn’t have the greatest game and can get on coaches’ bad sides quickly.
116. Theo Ratliff – Even in a very off year averaged 2.5 bpg; if Przybilla isn’t for real should get a chance to reclaim his starting job.
117. Darius Miles – Perennial tease, but Portland is very thin this year and he does get a decent number of steals and blocks for his position.
118. Eddie Griffin – Yet another perennial tease, but he can be very effective with only 25-28 mpg.
119. Raymond Felton – We think he’ll get there eventually…
120. Brevin Knight – But until then, these two are going to hurt each other’s value.

2005 NBA Draft Preview by Gabe Kahn

Tue, 28 Jun 2005 09:39:13 -0800

Welcome to another round of NBA Roulette, more commonly known as the NBA Draft. As always, my crazy friend 'Neal and I get together and see if we can predict where each player will land in the first round using team needs, past tendencies and overall guess work that we like to refer to as "logic." It's a lot like throwing darts while blindfolded without even knowing if you're facing the target. As if it's not challenging enough, general managers everywhere love messing with our guesses by trading their selections even as the draft is going on. Last year, we got five out of 30 picks right, and, here's the kicker, we felt pretty good about ourselves. So take everything we say with a grain of salt, especially because 'Neal is at his caffeinated best during the draft. It's a sight to behold. Trust me.

Like every year, these picks were all made with the assumption that every team will select in this order, and that no trades will be made. Also like every year, I'll slow dance to Lady in Red with the 8-pound piece of machismo that is my dog if that actually happens. Onto the picks:

1. Milwaukee Bucks
Andrew Bogut- How can they pass on a potentially dominant big man when they desperately need a center?

2. Atlanta Hawks
Marvin WIlliams- Yes, they're stacked at the wing, but Williams is the type of player you build around.

3. Portland Trailblazers
Martell Webster- Assuming they keep this pick, and we're assuming they don't, Webster will be their man. Don't expect it to happen, though.

4. New Orleans Hornets
Chris Paul- From day one, Paul's been the best point guard in the draft. After all is said and done, that should still be true.

5. Charlotte Bobcats
Deron Williams- They wanted either Paul or the other Williams, but they'll be content to select the second best PG in the draft and team him up with Emeka Okafor.

6. Utah Jazz
Raymond Felton- Jerry Sloan needs a point guard and will either try to use this pick to trade up and grab Deron Williams/Paul, or he'll be content with the best PG available.

7. Toronto Raptors
Gerald Green- Considered by many to be the best talent in the entire draft, Toronto has needs everywhere except power forward and Green could be in the mold of Vince Carter.

8. New York Knicks
Channing Frye- Assuming Kurt Thomas is traded to Phoenix, Isiah Thomas will need more help than ever at center.

9. Golden State Warriors
Charlie Villanueva- The Warriors are a lousy team with depth at almost every position. Center is the weakest, so they'll take the most versatile big man left on the board.

10. Los Angeles Lakers
Fran Vasquez- Without a good option at the point, Phil Jackson will try to make up for the Lack-o’-Shaq. They’d like to move up and grab Green, though.

11. Orlando Magic
Antoine Wright- Wright is too good to pass up on this late in the draft. Will this move spell the end of the Stevie Franchise era in Orlando already?

12. Los Angeles Clippers
Yaroslav Korolev- Of all the rumors regarding promises, this one seems most likely to be true.

13. Charlotte Bobcats
Danny Granger- With Okafor, Primo Brezec and now Deron Williams, Bernie Bickerstaff now needs to fill up his wing positions. Granger is a ready-made contributor.

14. Minnesota Timberwolves
Sean May- Minny can get away with using an undersized PF because Kevin Garnett can make up for May's lack of length. We like this pick.

15. New Jersey
Hakim Warrick- Jersey hopes that Warrick will remind them of Kenyon Martin.

16. Toronto Raptors
Andrew Bynum- Since the Raptors are going to have to wait for Green to develop, they might as well wait for Bynum, too.

17. Indiana Pacers
Francisco Garcia- Larry Bird would probably like to add to Indiana’s point guard depth, but Roko Ukic has contract issues and Jarrett Jack is too much of a stretch at 17, so he'll try to replace Reggie Miller instead.

18. Boston Celtics
Chris Taft- Danny Ainge has never been concerned with taking the popular player. Ukic is a possibility here, too, and Danny might consider trading down. Say what you want about Taft's attitude, but the kid can play.

19. Memphis Grizzlies
Roko Ukic- The Griz need to replace Earl Watson and drafting Ukic allows them to trade Jason Williams for someone other than a point guard.

20. Denver Nuggets
Joey Graham- Denver needs a shooting guard and they'll be thrilled if a guy as good as Graham is still around this late in the draft.

21. Phoenix Suns
Ike Diogu- Phoenix has a tendency to draft good players, regardless of need. Diogu's ability to play both the 3 and the 4 fits in well with the Suns. Not to mention that it’s rumored Phoenix made a promise to him.

22. Denver Nuggets
Johan Petro- Nene's slow development and undetermined position leaves Denver weak at the 5-spot. The Ghost of Skita will scare Kiki Vandeweghe away from Martynas Andriuskevicius

23. Sacramento Kings
Rashad McCants- Getting McCants should make up for the loss of Cuttino Mobley.

24. Houston Rockets
Wayne Simien- They need a PG, but they need a PF, too. Simien is a bit small, but that's not so bad when you're playing next to Yao.

25. Seattle SuperSonics
Martynas Andriuskevicius – Without any legitimate players left on the board, they'll take a flyer on Andriuskevicius, leave him in Europe for a couple years and see if he develops. Because so many of their players are going into free agency, the Sonics are a real wild card here.

26. Detroit Pistons
Jarrett Jack- The Pistons wouldn't mind having someone to put behind Chauncey Billups besides Lindsey Hunter and Carlos Arroyo. Jack is steady, if unspectacular.

27. Utah Jazz
Julius Hodge- After selecting Felton, the Jazz still have a hole at SG. If they select Hodge, they have an opportunity to go very big with Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko in the front court.

28. San Antonio Spurs
Andray Blatche- The Spurs will eventually need a center. They can afford to wait by selecting Blatche.

29. Miami Heat
Matt Walsh- With Eddie Jones possibly on the outs in Miami, the Heat will need a good role-playing small forward to step up.

30. New York Knicks
Monta Ellis- Troubled that, with Frye and Bruno Sundov, he has too much size, Thomas will take a PG with the final selection in the first round.

No Trade for Kirilenko

Fri, 27 May 2005 10:54:28 -0800

Ever since Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery dealt the Jazz the No. 6 selection in the league's June 28 draft much talk in Utah has focused on the possibility of trading up. Multiple team officials have said that option will be explored. But one thing the Jazz won't do owner Larry H. Miller suggested is destroy the franchise's foundation. I think we've got four really good players under contract Miller said. The Jazz owner presumably was referring to forward Andrei Kirilenko big man Mehmet Okur forward Matt Harpring and big man Carlos Boozer. Miller said what he did knowing that might mean the Jazz are unable to draft the premier point guard they seek be it Wake Forest University's Chris Paul or the University of Illinois' Deron Williams. To be honest with you Miller said we're just not willing to give up the core players I referred to which are the ones that would move us up at this point.

Rebounding defense equals minutes

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 09:56:49 -0800

A pair of Jazz rookies could learn from Mehmet Okur. In Wednesday's surprising victory over San Antonio Okur scored a game-high 25 points including the game-winning basket but that's only part of the reason he played a season-high 42 minutes. Okur also grabbed 16 rebounds played solid defense and dished out four assists. It's hard to take guys out of the ballgame if they're rebounding coach Jerry Sloan said.

Defensive Stat

Sun, 20 Feb 2005 16:00:43 -0800

One of the statistics I have been looking at a lot lately has been the on court off court defensive stats at the 82 games site. Many believe figuring out who are good defenders and who are not is almost impossible. I think its difficult, but not impossible. I believe the following on court off court defensive statistic is one of the best barrometers I have found to giving a fairly accurate account as to who can play defense and who can't. What the following stat shows is who gave up more points against the other team when they were on the court as compared to their own teamates when they were off the court. I have calculated the top 100 or so players in the NBA plus anyone who recieved more then two votes in the ALL NBA defensive team voting in any of the last 3 seasons. I think its a complete list of the best players and defenders. The list is for the last 3 years starting with 3 years ago and finishing with their average for the last 3 seasons combined.

1-Tim Duncan-------///-9.0///-5.5///-8.2=-7.6
2-Theo Ratliff--------///-7.6///-6.9///-5.4=-6.6
3-Jeff Foster---------///-2.3///-8.8///-8.3=-6.5
4-Rasheed Wallace---///-6.8///-4.3///-8.0=-6.4
5-Bruce Bowen-------///-6.6///-4.5///-5.4=-5.5
6-Kevin Garnett------///-9.6///-6.5///+0.1=-5.3
7-Dirk Nowitzki-------///-5.7///-1.4///-6.0=-4.4
8-Kelvin Cato---------///-3.3///-4.8///-4.8=-4.3
9-Andre Kirilenko-----///+3.1///-2.5//-12.7=-4.0
10-Ron Artest---------///-1.6///-4.0///-5.6=-3.7
11-Antonio Davis------///-2.8///-2.0///-5.3=-3.4
12-Ben Wallace--------///-3.1///-3.0///-3.9=-3.3
13-Dikembe Mutumbo-///-0.4///-1.2///-8.3=-3.3
14-Shane Battier-------///-1.5///-1.4///-6.0=-3.0
15-Bobby Simmons----///****///-4.2///-1.7=-3.0
16-Brad Miller---------///+0.8///-5.5///-2.9=-2.5
17-Ray Allen-----------///-3.7///+1.0///-4.5=-2.4
18-Kirk Hinrich--------///****///-3.7///-0.9=-2.3
19-Larry Hughes-------///+1.5///-2.9///-5.5=-2.3
20-Reggie Miller-------///+1.2///-6.7///-1.3=-2.3
21-Roberty Horry------///-5.1///-0.8///-0.6=-2.2
22-Jason Kidd----------///+5.0///-6.1///-4.5=-1.9
23-Baron Davis---------///-3.3///-4.6///+2.3=-1.9
24-Bobby Jackson------///-2.4///-1.3///-1.5=-1.7
25-Jermaine Oneal-----///-0.5///-3.7///+1.6=-1.5
26-Tyson Chandler-----///+0.7///-3.8///-0.9=-1.3
27-Michael Finley------///-5.9///-2.2///+4.7=-1.3
28-Kenyon Martin-----///-0.6///-5.2///+2.1=-1.2
29-Eddie Jones---------///-1.3///-0.3///-2.0=-1.2
30-Shaq Oneal---------///+0.8///-3.9///-0.6=-1.2
31-Kobe Bryant--------///-0.6///+0.7///-3.3=-1.1
32-Elton Brand---------///-0.9///+3.9///-4.7=-0.8
33-Doug Christie-------///+1.0///+1.9///-5.2=-0.8
34-Andre Igoudala-----///****///****///-0.8=-0.8
35-Chris Bosh----------///****///+3.4///-4.7=-0.7
36-Josh Howard--------///****///+1.2///-2.3=-0.6
37-Emeka Okafor-------///****///****///-0.6=-0.6
38-Brian Grant----------///+2.6///-0.3///-4.1=-0.6
39-Vince Carter---------///-2.0///+1.8///-1.7=-0.6
40-Nazr Mohammed----///+1.5///-0.7///-2.6=-0.6
41-Manu Ginobili--------///+2.5///+3.4///-7.5=-0.5
42-Rchard Jefferson-----///+0.8///-0.9///-1.0=-0.4
43-Paul Pierce-----------///-0.4///-0.1///-0.8=-0.4
44-Darrell Armstrong---///+2.5///-1.8///-2.0=-0.4
45-Q Richardson--------///-2.5///+0.8///+0.5=-0.4
46-Steve Francis--------///+0.9///-1.9///+0.2=-0.3
47-Eric Snow------------///-1.1///-0.6///+0.7=-0.3
48-Hydayet Turkoglu---///+1.1///-2.5///+2.2=-0.3
49-Jamal MaGloire------///+1.0///+1.3///-2.6=-0.1
50-Raef Lafrentz--------///+3.0///-4.8///+1.6=-0.1
51-Zyd Ilgauskas--------///-4.0///+4.0///-0.1=-0.0
52-Jamal Tinsley--------///+4.6///-5.3///+0.7=-0.0
53-Tony Parker---------///-2.5///+4.1///-1.2=+0.1
54-Latrell Sprewell------///+4.5///-0.8///-3.3=+0.1
55-Tayshawn Prince----///+4.3///+0.9///-4.6=+0.2
56-Keith Van Horn------///+0.2///+0.8///-0.1=+0.3
57-Rueben Patterson----///+1.2///-1.3///+1.2=+0.4
58-Alonzo Morning------///****///+2.9///-2.1=+0.4
59-Mehmet Okur--------///-0.4///-1.7///+3.2=+0.4
60-Grant Hill------------///+1.7///****///-0.8=+0.5
61-Chauncey Billups-----///+3.5///+1.0///-2.7=+0.6
62-Dwight Howard------///****///****///+0.7=+0.7
63-Antawn Jamison-----///+4.8///+0.4///-2.4=+0.9
64-Jason Terry----------///+0.1///+4.1///-1.6=+0.9
65-James Posey----------///+1.2///-0.1///+1.9=+1.0
66-PJ Brown--------------///+5.7///-4.5///+2.7=+1.3
67-Kurt Thomas----------///-0.9///+2.1///+2.9=+1.4
68-Rip Hamilton----------///+3.3///+3.7///-2.7=+1.4
69-Carlos Boozer----------///+6.6///-0.6///-1.9=+1.4
70-Yao Ming--------------///+2.6///-1.6///+3.4=+1.5
71-Troy Murphy----------///+1.4///-0.1///+3.8=+1.7
72-Dewayne Wade--------///****///-1.4///+4.9=+1.8
73-Al Harrington----------///-2.5///+9.2///-1.4=+1.8
74-Lebron James---------///****///+5.2///-1.4=+1.9
75-Wally Z----------------///+3.1///-3.9///+6.4=+1.9
76-Cutino Mobley---------///+1.4///+1.9///+3.5=+2.3
77-Zach Randolph---------///+5.8///+2.0///-2.3=+2.3
78-Sam Cassell------------///+10.0//-1.7///-0.9=+2.5
79-Shawn Marion---------///+5.2///+1.2///+1.5=+2.6
80-Gilbert Arenas---------///+5.8///+4.2///-1.9=+2.7
81-Allen Iverson----------///+5.1///+0.9///+2.5=+2.8
82-Chris Webber----------///+3.6///-0.4///+5.3=+2.8
83-Mike Miller------------///+3.2///+3.9///+1.3=+2.8
84-Joe Johnson------------///+2.3///+1.4///+4.7=+2.8
85-Drew Gooden----------///+0.7///+6.6///+1.0=+2.8
86-Lamar Odom-----------///+4.6///+2.1///+2.2=+3.0
87-Antonio Daniels---------///+2.7///+2.3///+4.4=+3.1
88-Amare Stoudemire-----///+3.5///+2.2///+4.0=+3.2
89-Mike Bibby-------------///+5.7///+5.8///-1.9=+3.2
90-Steve Nash------------///+4.3///+3.1///+2.3=+3.2
91-Marcus Camby---------///+6.3///+1.4///+2.4=+3.4
92-Peja Stojacovic---------///+7.1///+2.5///+0.6=+3.4
93-Stephon Marbury------///+7.8///+1.9///+0.9=+3.5
94-Cliff Robinson----------///+3.1///+2.0///+5.6=+3.6
95-Desmond Mason--------///+5.4///-2.6///+8.1=+3.6
96-Jason Richardson-------///+7.3///-1.1///+5.0=+3.7
97-Carmelo Anthony------///****///+5.9///+1.4=+3.7
98-Andre Miller-----------///+8.2///+0.5///+2.8=+3.8
99-Gary Payton-----------///+5.2///+1.8///+4.7=+3.9
100-Rashard Lewis--------///+6.4///+2.1///+3.2=+3.9
101-Tracy McGrady-------///+6.4///+2.4///+3.4=+4.1
102-Matt Harpring--------///+3.1///+1.4///+8.5=+4.3
103-Corey Maggette-------///+6.2///+1.2///+5.7=+4.4
104-Jeff McCinnis----------///+8.4///+2.2///+4.7=+5.1
105-Michael Redd----------///+3.3///+9.1///+5.6=+6.0
106-Antoine Walker--------///+0.6///+4.6//+13.8=+6.3
107-Pau Gasol--------------///+10.8//+8.2///-0.4=+6.5

I am not saying this statistic is perfect or totally accurate. One common sense flaw is a team that has great starting defenders and a bench of bad defenders would skew any player on the team depending on whether they are a starter or backup. A great example of this is Manu Ginobili with the Spurs. He came off the bench his first two seasons so didn't play that much with Duncan or Bowen and his numbers were a weak +2.5 and +3.4. This year he starts with those two and he gets a -7.5. So who a player plays with can effect this stat. However, most players play with their teamates quite a bit eventually and 3 seasons is ussually going to have every player play with tons of different players and lineups so it will even out to some degree.

The 4 Mav players are interesting. Of course its great to see Dirk ranked in the top 10 of this stat. Eventually the media will have to start to accept the gathering evidence. Some may take issue with Fin ranked 27th. However, if you look closer you will see that Fin has a bad +- this season. Most of his points were gained 3 seasons ago. Remember, this stat is saying who were good for the last 3 seasons combined. I think Fins numbers show the accuracy of this stat more then anything. Josh is in nice shape at 36 and improving. And Jason Terry is a poor but not horrible 64th. A little below average.

Of the top 38 players on the list, I would call only Brad Miller, Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, Michael Finley, and Chris Bosh less then "very good" defenders. To have 33 of the top 38 players be "very good" or better defenders is very impressive IMO. And I would have called Fin very good 3 seasons ago. Reggie Millers numbers are skewed by his season two years ago when he was injured and played very little, so his -6.7 that season is probably very misleading. As for Brad Miller, Ray Allen, and Chris Bosh, maybe they are a little better then I thought.

As for those ranked in the bottom 25, only Gary Payton, Cliff Robinson, and Marcus Camby I would have called even "good" defenders. And Payton and Robinson are getting extremely old. Maybe they are more cooked then we think. So the only player that really surprised me was Camby. And his numbers are skewed by his +6.3 3 seasons ago when he played very little and so that stat and his ranking might be misleading.

Let me simply ask why Dirk is ranked so high in this stat? Where is the flaw in his ranking? I can't find any. He ussually starts with some real lousy defenders, which should hurt his stat. This year he is starting with Damp and Howard and occasionally he has started with Bradley in the past. However, he hasn't had much help starting with him the last 3 seasons. Bradley, Najera, Bell, and Josh Howard mostly came off the bench. And shouldn't the Mav tempo be higher when Dirk is on the court? So the other team should score more because of that shouldn't they?

All I know is when Duncan and Ratliff are ranked 1-2 and Gasol and Walker are dead last, I think its probably a solid defensive rating system. And Dirk is ranked 7th for the last 3 seasons combined.

Mid Season: Northwest Division / Utah Jazz

Fri, 18 Feb 2005 18:37:16 -0800

The Jazz have proven one thing this season. Andrei Kirilenko is the life and blood of the team. After picking up Carlos Boozer fresh off his betrayal of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Jazz were thought of as a team ready to make a run at the top of their division, or in the very least, a playoff spot.

Well, Kirilenko went down early to a knee injury and missed a few months of actions. The team couldn t take up the slack for AK47 and quickly faded away, which was very unlike any team coached by Jerry Sloan. Sloan has a history of running systems that take advantage of every individual skill available to him from his players, but no system was able to make up for the scoring, rebounding, defense, and hustle the Russian can bring.

Boozer himself has been questioned by the team owner himself recently. The owner made remarks questioning Boozer s heart and ability to step up and lead when his team most needs him. This is quite the hit.

The Jazz also found themselves with a revolving door at the point guard. They started the season with the newly re-signed Carlos Arroyo on the injured list, who suffered an injury against the Knicks in the preseason. The team still had Keith McLeod who performed very well in the first couple of weeks and then saw his play time reduced. Raul Lopez has been playing the bulk of the minutes lately, and Arroyo was traded to Detroit after having some small run ins with the coach and landing firmly in the doghouse.

For a Sloan coached team to have the season it s had, even now that Kirilenko has returned to the lineup, is surprising to say the least.

The Jazz have a serious lack of consistency at the point guard and have no depth to think of up the middle. Aside from Boozer taking consistent minutes, there is no one else who is cemented in for sure minutes. Even Mehmet Okur who was signed as a free agent has seen spotty play, maybe because he is not a pure rebounding post player since he likes to step out for jump shots.

One thing is for sure. The way the team has played this season seems right if you break down the personnel, but you would never have thought that at the beginning of the season, especially because Jerry Sloan wouldn t allow something this bad to happen.

Count On: Andrei Kirilenko
Best Addition: Carlos Boozer
Rookie To Watch: Kris Humphries
Spark Plug: Raja Bell

Utah Jazz notes

Tue, 15 Feb 2005 16:54:06 -0800

Jerry Sloan's intent was to put a spark into the first-quarter offense by inserting Mehmet Okur and Raja Bell into the starting lineup and he seems to have hit on something good. The revamped lineup which produced a 27-20 first-quarter lead in its debut Friday night against Minnesota was even better Monday against the Suns. Utah shot 68 percent from the field and collected 38 points a first-quarter season-high.

On Tap: The Utah Jazz

Tue, 15 Feb 2005 16:52:58 -0800

After all the ups and downs of the past few weeks the Lakers deserved to catch a break, and they catch a few against Utah tonight.

First, Utah is in the back end of a back-to-back and they are just 3-10 in that situation this year (and they are already just 6-20 on the road). The other is one of those things that occasionally falls to a team during the course of the season both Carlos Boozer (sprained foot) and Andrei Kirilenko (sprained ankle) may not play tonight due to injuries suffered last night in a loss to Phoenix. The Jazz beat reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune told Joel Meyers this morning the two had about a 10% chance of playing.

Utah already has the worst defense in the NBA, giving up 107.8 points per 100 possessions (that is 1.7 worse than the Knicks, the second worst team). In the 26 games Kirilenko has already missed this season due to injury things have been worse the Jazz have no inside presence defensively, allowing teams to penetrate at will. Teams are shooting 50.2% (eFG%) against the Jazz so far this season, tied for the worst in the league (with Atlanta). Teams shoot an average of 34.2 free throws per 100 possessions against the Jazz, far more than against any other team in the league (for example the Lakers allow just 19.2).

(As a just-in-case note if Kirilenko plays, he had eight blocks against the Lakers in a Jazz win back in November.)

Whatever offense they run, the Lakers should be able to score tonight, but that hasn t been the problem. Defense has been what has hurt the Lakers recently.

Not surprisingly, that starts on the perimeter. Stats Pimp calculates a defensive rating per player the same way I often use it here for a team what a player guarded by X scores per 100 possessions. The two worst defenders on the Lakers using that system? Chucky Atkins at 109.4, followed by Tierre Brown at 108.8. (Surprisingly, the best Laker defender using this system is Odom at 103.2.)

In the Lakers last loss to the Jazz Kirilenko and Boozer were not the problem, Matt Harpring had 19 points to lead his team and Raja Bell had 16 (14 in the fourth) shooting over the zone. That was one of the Lakers first games without Kobe and they played a lot of zone. Tonight, even with a slowed Kobe, that will not be the case.

Utah s offense has been average this season (102.5 points per 100 possessions) but in a recent effort to spark it Mehmet Okur and Bell were given spots in the staring lineup two games ago, and in both those games Utah got off to a fast start. That could be trouble for the recently slow-starting Lakers if they fall behind they will make a game out of something a playoff team should win handily.

If the Lakers lose today they go into the All-Star break at .500, which would be a disappointment even with Kobe out for a stretch. A win gives them some needed confidence going into the break.

Jazz end slide, finally beat Spurs (AP)

Tue, 11 Jan 2005 13:39:26 -0800

When Mehmet Okur's putback rolled in at the buzzer, the Utah Jazz celebrated as if they had just won a playoff series. Utah's 97-96 win over San Antonio on Monday night was only a regular season game but it felt like much more to the Jazz, who had lost nine in a row and hadn't beaten the Spurs in nearly five years.