What is the official "average" for an NBA power forward or center? I think that'd settle this. :)
I hate the rebounds per minute stat, because it generally favors players who give it their 150% for 15 minutes or so-- so let's ignore those guys, and let's focus on players who get 24+mpg. Keep in mind that Frye's sample set is a bit small, so we really don't know if Frye/Curry would be able to average around 8.5+rpg if he was kept on the floor for 36 minutes...
I'm going to choose several prominent NBA stars for comparison, just to show how much Frye really might be right around average for an NBA starter--- and perhaps may be right on par with some of the stars in the NBA. I've already shown that the amazing Amare Stoudemire rebounds at a similar rate to Frye and that the great Dirk Nowitzki rebounds less frequently. I'll try to choose player 6'9"-6'11" for comparison.
All numbers are based on last season:
rpm = rebounds per minute
Player 1: .24 rpm
Channing Frye, 5.8rpg in 24.2mpg. The basis of this all... a "below average rebounder"
Player 2: .227 rpm
Pau Gasol, #17 in the NBA, with 9rpg in 39.2mpg.
Player 3: .19 rpm
Rasheed Wallace, STARTING PF for the #1 regular season team in the east. 6.8rpg in 34.7mpg. Sure, he had two outstanding rebounding teammates (Ben Wallace and Antonio McDyess), but for a 6'11" PF VETERAN, this is inexcusable. :)
Player 4: .232 rpm
Antawn Jamison, #11 in the NBA in rebounding, 9.3rpg in 40.1mpg
Player 5: .228 rpm
Lamar Odom, #12 in the NBA in rebounding, 9.2rpg in 40.3mpg
Player 6: .236 rpm
Dirk Nowitzki, #16 in the NBA in rebounding, 9.0rpg in 38.1mpg
Player 7: .234 rpm
Zach Randolph, #19 in the NBA in rebounding, 8rpg in 34.4mpg - ok, fine, he's on the mend... so he deserves a break.
Player 8: .207 rpm
Nenad Krstic, 6.4rpg in 30.9mpg - for the Atlantic Division winning NJ Nets (yeah, sure, they get great rebounding from Kidd, Jefferson, and Carter...)
Player 9: .232 rpm
Eddy Curry, 6rpg in 25.9mpg - Not significantly worse than Frye.
Player 10: .194 rpm
Jared Jeffries, 4.9rpg in 25.3mpg - I'd be worried that we're getting the next Tim Thomas...
My whole point is that in spite of their apparent ineptitude at rebounding, Frye and Curry would each pull down about 8.5 rpg each if they could stay on the floor for 36mpg. It's not outstanding, but it's roughly on pace with many players who ranked in the top 11-20 in rebounds.
They're not among the elite 6'11" per minute rebounders like Jeff Foster (.363!!! 9.1rpg in 25.1mpg), Drew Gooden (.305), or Erick Dampier(.331). I won't even mention KG, Howard, and Duncan, who post big numbers in combination with big minutes.
But they're certainly better than Radmanovic, Raef LaFrentz, Tony Battie, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Krstic, and Rasheed Wallace.
This all gets very interesting when you look at the numbers of many of the backup big men in the NBA who post excellent rebounding numbers per minute yet can never seem to nail down starting jobs.
Basically, I think one thing we all can agree on is that there's room for improvement in both Frye and Curry-- the first step is improving technique, and the second is proving they can maintain it over extended playing time.
Posted by Solace:
When you talk about rebounding numbers, you have to keep something in mind. Curry is also a below-average rebounder at the center position. Put two poor rebounders at PF/C together and, look, someone has to get some rebounds, otherwise we lose every game by 35.
Also, 5.8 rpg in 24.2 minutes is below average for a 6-11 power forward. Still, is there time to improve? Absolutely. I hope he does. We're going to need him to, because if it's Frye, Lee, Marbury and Nate that we're building around, we need to have two studs in that core, if we're really going somewhere.
