1)
Nate is has the second highest scoring average:
Kevin Martin 22.5
Nate Robinson 21.7
JR Smith 21.4

Great!
But I'm really concerned about his poor assist average: 2.0.
I've only seen one game, the second one, and it didn't look
like he was looking to pass much.

2)
Check out Jackie Butler's stat line from yesterday:
13 points on 6-7 shooting, 3 reb, 2 assists in 26 minutes!
Can anyone who saw the game comment on how he looked?
How did he score those points?
In general his averages are not bad either:
7 pts on 60% shooting, 4.5 rebs, in 19.3 mins.
Ok, fouls a bit high at 4.3, but at least there's something
encouraging going on there.

3)
Same with David Lee.
Yesterday:
19 pts on 5-6 + 9-10 from the line(!), 8 rebs, in 33 mins.
Great to see he's getting to the line a lot. AND making them!
Average:
12.8 pts on 50%, 7(!) RPG, in 23 minutes.
Sixth in the SL in RPG.

4)
Ariza, stats look ok.
Average:
11 pts on 47%, 4.3 rebs, 3 assists, in 31 mins.
But frankly he has not flourished like I had hoped he would.
I really wanted to see him get out there and tear it up.
I wanted to see his jump shot improved, and expected he could
be scoring near 18-20 points a game in SL. But alas, I don't
see much improvement.

5)
I'm not even going to comment on Channing, there's a whole other
thread for that.

6)
Maciej watch. He's 3rd in the SL in RPG at 7.7.
Scoring 11 per in only 24 minutes. Better than expected.
Better per minute than our fan-favorite Ariza. The watch
continues. BTW, they have him listed at 275 pounds! Has
he gained weight?! He was a stick when we drafted him!


[Edited by - panos on 07/12/2005 09:18:53]

[Edited by - panos on 07/12/2005 09:20:38]

I don't and never did expect much out of Ariza. He's a GREAT energy player. An intangible that can completely turn a game around once he gets in the game. Very good at overplaying the passing lanes and igniting fastbreaks & rebounding. That is why I consired him tradeable. Some people still think he's the next marion, grant hill, pippen, etc and use the he's still 19 excuse. If you're 19 and show flashes of being a polished player but consistency is your only problem then you can develope but if those skills aren't there to begin with like shooting, penetrating, ballhandling etc its not happening. Don't be surprised if David Lee gets more minutes than Ariza this year. He has skills like dribbling and passing and is a great rebounder

[Edited by - gunsnewing on 07/12/2005 09:32:04]

Ya, I think expecting more than what these players can give you right now. Ariza is like your everday Freddie Jones'es - he brings energy, alot of it.

Maybe you didn't get the memo, but the SL Statisticians suck, plain and simple. Nate is averaging closer to 5+ APG.

I'm not worried about Frye just yet. Lee is giving me more than I expected from him so far, so that's a pleaseant surprise.

Posted by martin:

check out some of the reviews by the DraftExpress guys and some of your questions may be answered....

- stat guys suck and probably don't record all of the assist totals. Also, if a PG makes a great pass and the receiving players doesn't put it away like the would in The Show, the bucket and assist are blown.

- Ariza ain't piling up the stats but he IS helping his teammates get stats.



I want to know why Sundov is still getting burn. The guy does not deserve any more leeway. Give the minutes to Jackie or some other big.

I'm still laughing at Fish's joke when he said something like "You'd think Sundov must have stopped a truck from running over Isiah a few years ago" (or it was something about Sundov saving his life)

I don't think Ariza is really even looking to score. He's deferring to his teammates and playing good D. The one thing I did want to see out Ariza however is a markedly improved jumpshot, and so far there havent been any indications of that.