Out of boredum, here are all the all-stars, sorted by PER.



Then here are players who didn't make the team that came in top 5 (of those that didn't make the team) in either RAPM, PER, or WS/48 (700+ MP):

So Splitter is 5th in the NBA in WS/48?

I like the Pelicans name change and the logo. That's all.

edit: Also, New Orleans has a long history of baseball teams named the Pelicans so it's a nice tie in to the city's sports history, too.

Thanks, all.

To answer a couple questions, Tom Haberstroh and I will continue to split Per Diem with occasional guest appearances from the rest of the Insider stat-minded team.

The future of the book has been discussed to some extent. As was the case when Hollinger stopped writing the Forecast, the same content will go into the player/team previews next fall, but there still might be the opportunity to offer it in some kind of book version, at least to Insiders. Something similar is probably true of the SCHOENE projections. Have to figure out what role, if any, they might play on the fantasy side of things.

This, the Bulls record, and Derrick Rose's absence are his qualifications.

I guess I get the defense argument, but if records are an argument I don't see why the Bulls get two all-stars when neither the Nets nor the Hawks have any.

And there's part of me that doesn't like putting generic offensive guys who play good perimeter D in the All-Star game. On the one hand, the All-Star team shouldn't only be based on offense, and it's good to recognize guys for more than that. But, aesthetically, the last thing I want from my All-Star game viewing is a guy like Deng who is fine on offense and does nothing special, but can play good D on the wing. What fun is that? Give me Josh Smith throwing down alley-oops and jacking up silly threes or Kyle Lowry zipping up and down the court or whatever instead. Part of me prefers that and letting someone like Deng get recognized through the All-Defenseive team if he's really that good.

I also recognize that there's a bit of a position imbalance - the East is heavy with bigs and point guards, but not as much with wings.

And, Kevin, thanks for the update. Jason Kidd is still not an All-Star, though. :-)

Well, I expected that Pelton would get part of Hollinger's old job, and the promotion is well-deserved.

I cancelled my BaskPro subscription (the articles are good, but I don't follow college ball enough to make it worth it for me personally) so now I will have to consider the Pelton/Abbott calculus in terms of re-activating Insider (yes, I know that Abbott is not behind the paywall).

Give me Josh Smith throwing down alley-oops

Josh Smith just isn't going to make an All-Star team. Last year was the year. I think the coaches have him labelled as a problem, and nothing is going to change that.

Course, him getting suspended for actions in practice pretty much ended his All-Star chances this season.

There are far too many tweets involved to link, but Hardwood Paroxysm's twitter feed has been telling anecdotes from Igoudala about playing D in the league, especially on LeBron, Kobe, Wade, and the like. It's fascinating.

Booey,

You asked who I would leave off the all-star team for Gasol on the last page. First, if there is only going to be one Grizzly, it should be Gasol and not Randolph, so I would be fine making that trade. Randolph is important and is having a fine season, but the Grizzlies win because they are either the best or second-best defense in the NBA. The reason that is true is because of Gasol.

Secondly, if I was picking the teams, I would have no problem leaving Dwight off instead of Gasol. I think it's an open question on which one of them is more valuable on offense, and I am nearly positive that on defense it's Gasol by a fair margin. Of course it's fan voting, so that was never going to happen, but if we're talking what should happen the abstract, that's what I think.

Finally, I also think Gasol is better/more valuable than Aldridge or Lee, so if I have to pick him over one of those two, I would. I agree with you that Lee is more deserving than Aldridge, so I wouldn't drop him if I didn't have to.

No argument on Duncan or Griffin.

Anyway, it's just the all-star game, so who cares, but if I was picking the Western team those are my thoughts.

There are far too many tweets involved to link, but Hardwood Paroxysm's twitter feed has been telling anecdotes from Igoudala about playing D in the league, especially on LeBron, Kobe, Wade, and the like. It's fascinating.

it really is great. some highlights:

Iguodala turns sideways often when contesting guys going ISO, says it lessens the likelihood of getting a foul drawn.
Iguodala revealed a trick. When offensive players clear out, he'll lean backwards with the shove, but grab the hand with it. Buys him time.
"The second (grabbing their hand) buys me is the time they need to get a shot off. By the time they recover I'm back in front."
"WAY harder to guard a guy off stationary position or triple-threat. Easy to guard a guy on the dribble."
Iguodala says Parker and LeBron are the 2 most deadly guys in transition in NBA. Key is to meet them in the paint the second he gets there
How does he time a block on Westbrook ISO? "When he jumps off that right foot (driving left) I know he can't dunk it. So I have a second."
"LeBron has a play he did something in Cleveland where he'd call a number in fast breaks..." (cont)
"You'd see him get those weak side blocks on fast breaks when a guy would try and lay it up? He'd do is call out a number, like '5!" (cont)
"then the guy in front of the ball, all he would do is cut 'em off and make 'em take a side-step." (cont)
"Once you make a side-step, you don't have as much lift. And that's why they'd always have to lay it up. Then he'd come in for the block."
"So that's the same thing, I just want to make LeBron side-step. I'm not even trying to do anything, I just get the strip."

and then there was this:

I fed Iguodala a softball for his ego. "Are you the best perimeter defender in the NBA?" AI: "Nope." Me: ....Who?" AI: "Hand to God, Jrue [holiday]."

Celtics-Hawks tonight:

29-10 Celtics after 1.
48-21 Celtics midway through 2nd.
Since: 38-11, Hawks. 59-59, midway through the 3rd.

I am fast becoming a Jimmy Butler fan boy. When rose is back I would like him to split time at the 2 and 3 getting 20-30 min a game keeps out nate ans helps bolster the crapton, rip and deng

Wow. Just watched Drummond, isolated against Wade at the top of the key, cleanly and easily strip Wade as Wade went into his crossover and then handle the ball all the way up the court with Wade and another Heat defender trailing him before getting fouled as he went for a layup. Impressive stuff.

10 games over .500 without rose who would have thought that?

Drummond has posted a higher PER as a pro than he did in college...

I do not understand the problem some Bulls fans have with Nate Robinson. He takes some dumb shots at times, but he's been great off the bench and it's pretty close between him and Bellinelli who's the best 3pt shooter this year. He's better than JL3, and he was a fan favorite before he stepped on the court. Only Boozer has a better PER on the team right now (he's tied with Noah). When Rose comes back, it's Hinrich (and Rip*) who should lose minutes to Rose (and Butler), not Nate. He's also perfectly adequate on defense.

*I really don't want to see Rip play at all - he's pretty much on the Bogans plan of starting the halfs and not coming back in or playing more than 20mins. I think the Bulls would get by just fine mixing Butler, Bellinelli and Robinson/Hinrich at the 2 (and the first 2 backing up Deng at the 3 or sliding Deng to minutes at the 4 and Hinrich and Robinson splitting time at the 1 - they've starting to play minutes together now in preparation for when they're the backup backcourt).

10 games over .500 without rose who would have thought that?

I did predict them as the 2 seed on this thread, so I'll take credit for that. And to answer one of Matt's questions from the last page, I'll repost this tweet that about sums it up:

@jerryhizonfire Thibs' system is like a McDonald's franchise. No matter who you put in it, it'll be successful

I said it before, but all the talk about the players the Bulls lost this offseason slightly overrated their impacts**. As we talked about on this thread several years ago when Brewer/Korver/Bogans/Watson were signed, they weren't exactly celebrated or praised as brilliant acquisitions at the time, but the roles worked and the team was greater than the sum of the parts. It's happening again with this group - Butler, Bellinelli, and Robinson*** have all fit it nicely after some initial struggles. Thibs is just a great f'in coach; now we need to see him work his magic in a playoff series against a better/favored team.

**Asik is a different story. He's a legit talent they lost, and it's a damn shame Jerry's cheapness won out. The minutes the Bulls got from him the last couple of years were really a luxury, but he could have been a difference maker in the playoffs this year and in the future.
***Watson would have been just fine and would likely be outperforming Hinrich. That wasn't a cheap move for the Bulls, and at best they're breaking even.

That's a great tweet Moses, nailed it.

JR is cheap but how good are the guys he has put in charge? Asik, Butler, Mirotic, Gibson, Nate Rob, etc have all been to borrow a phrase from Lloyd Carr: tremendous acquisitions. Also, they didn't overthink the Rose verse Beasley thing which many a dumber franchise might have.

Then they took a chance on Thibs and it worked.

It's a bit sickening to realize how good they could be with deep pockets though, or at least how much easier they'd make it on GarPax and Thibs.

I am fast becoming a Jimmy Butler fan boy

Deng getting injured has been perhaps the biggest "blessing in disguise" development of this season. Now Deng doesn't have to play 40+ anymore. Thibs has zero excuse not to up Butler to 20 so minutes a game, 15 at SF and 5 at sg or so.

I'm with Moses, just bench Hamilton until like game 3 of the playoffs. Then he'll be awesome.

In the past 2 years Kobe Bryant went from being a guy I hated more than any other NBA player ever except maybe MJ and Chris Duhon to a guy I really liked. In the past month, @kobebryant has made Kobe Bryant start to challenge LeBron as my favorite player in the league.

Also, they didn't overthink the Rose verse Beasley thing which many a dumber franchise might have.

I don't know about that. Remember the rumors that Pat Riley wasn't even going to take Beasley second, because he didn't like his attitude (he was going to take Mayor instead, supposedly, as I recall)? In hindsight, it seems like the red flags with Beasley were plenty bright.

So Splitter is 5th in the NBA in WS/48?

Splitter is first in career WS/48 of all players drafted in 2007. You know, the year Oden (3rd in WS/48) was drafted ahead of some Seattle draftee who is 2nd in WS/48.
With playing time, Splitter is only 16th in WS, trying to catch Aaron Brooks who has played 4810 more minutes.

Worst career PER in history?
Aron Baynes, 00:00 PT; 1 TO.

I don't know about that. Remember the rumors that Pat Riley wasn't even going to take Beasley second, because he didn't like his attitude (he was going to take Mayor instead, supposedly, as I recall)? In hindsight, it seems like the red flags with Beasley were plenty bright.

But, Riley did take him. So I'm not sure that refutes his point.

Jason Collins last night: 13 minutes, 0-1 shooting, 0 points, 0 reb, 0 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk, 1 TO, 4 fouls

challenge LeBron as my favorite player in the league.

I liked James' doing the full bearhug celebration with the little tubby guy who made the halfcourt hook for 75K.

Jason Collins last night: 13 minutes, 0-1 shooting, 0 points, 0 reb, 0 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk, 1 TO, 4 fouls

Sounds like his brother's typical stat line when Jarron used to start for the Jazz (k, not really).

I always find it amusing whenever players put up numbers that I could duplicate.

if there is only going to be one Grizzly, it should be Gasol and not Randolph, so I would be fine making that trade. Randolph is important and is having a fine season, but the Grizzlies win because they are either the best or second-best defense in the NBA. The reason that is true is because of Gasol.

Anyone hear the Simmons/Jalen Rose podcast from a couple weeks back, where they "drafted" the top 20 or so NBA players? I think Jalen took Z-Bo #9, and Simmons was angry that Jalen "stole his pick". It was kinda weird.

Anyone hear the Simmons/Jalen Rose podcast from a couple weeks back, where they "drafted" the top 20 or so NBA players? I think Jalen took Z-Bo #9, and Simmons was angry that Jalen "stole his pick". It was kinda weird.

Yeah that's too high. I think Randolph now gets a bit more credit than he deserves for the Grizzlies success because a)he's the most well-known of their players, b)he did give them an identity when he first got here, and c)he was such a bad ass when they first popped on the scene in '10 in that series against the Spurs. He's still pretty good and certainly isn't a bad pick for the ASG, but I'd rather lose him than Gasol without a doubt, and honestly he might be less important to them than Conley at this point.

Actually I know I'd rather lose him than Conley because Conley's backup is Jerryd Bayless, whereas they'd just replace Z-Bo with Darrell Arthur and Rudy playing some 4.

If a Grizzly is showing up in a top 20 type list at all, it should be Marc Gasol. Elite defensive centers don't grow on trees, especially ones like Gasol with a wide-range of offensive skills.

There's a certain sad (if you're a Celtics or Lakers fan) symmetry in today's ABC games: BOS/MIA (1 pm), LAL/OKC (3:30). Expecting two blowouts.

If Dwight is playing, which he should be, I wouldn't be surprised if the Lakers somehow beat OKC today. Yeah, I said it. And will likely regret it.

the knicks shooting looked awful last night against the sixers. was fun to watch.

Rondo out. Getting an MRI for a hyperextended knee, apparently.

@DavidBaumann33 Solid #NBA source tells me the Boston @Celtics are fearing a possible torn ACL for Rajon #Rondo. Results from MRI coming soon. Updates ASAP.

The Lakers' season Pace factor is 94.6 (3rd in the NBA); against Utah, it was 87.7. They have to keep doing that if they hope to smell .500, and they obviously have to do it if they want to have a chance today.

I hope Rondo is all right. I don't like the guy, obviously, but everybody loses out when quality players get hurt and miss time.

Weird that some random Florida sports radio guy would be getting that tip. But he does seem awfully confident.

Edit: Maybe someone with the Heat heard that and passed it along to him? I suppose that's possible.

The Lakers' season Pace factor is 94.6 (3rd in the NBA); against Utah, it was 87.7. They have to keep doing that if they hope to smell .500, and they obviously have to do it if they want to have a chance today.

I hope Rondo is all right. I don't like the guy, obviously, but everybody loses out when quality players get hurt and miss time.

Sorry for the double post. Computer issue.

@SeanDeveney I'm no doctor, but an MRI on someone w a hyperextended knee to check for a torn ACL doesn't mean he has a torn ACL. That's why they do MRIs.

Rondo tore his ACL per Doris Burke on ABC.

Torn ACL for Rondo just confirmed by Doris Burke.

EDIT: Coke.

Confirmed: Rondo's ACL is torn.
EDIT: Also Coke.

@CelticsHub To reiterate earlier observation, Rondo likely played at least final two minutes of Hawks loss with torn ACL. He is tough as nails.

He got a triple-double, too (his second in a row).

Edit: That said, seems like maybe he somehow tore it today? That's not what people are reporting, but by all accounts he seemed to be moving normally after the Hawks game and was a very late scratch today.

The Nuggets blew out Sacramento last night and are now tied with Golden State for the 5th spot. They have their next 5 games at home, then the next 3 road games are Cleveland, Boston, and Toronto. I thought they could catch Memphis by the end of the month, but the Grizzlies seem to be pulling out of their funk.
Ty Lawson threw up 23 in a quarter 10 days ago on 8-8 shooting. He had 26 in 25 minutes last night on 11-15 shooting (4-5 from 3). The Nuggets had 23 assists in the 1st half alone.

The Lakers' season Pace factor is 94.6 (3rd in the NBA); against Utah, it was 87.7. They have to keep doing that if they hope to smell .500, and they obviously have to do it if they want to have a chance today.

Kobe did a great job running the offense. He's one of the last players I'd expect to say dominated offensively with only 14 points, but he completely took over and got everyone involved. By the end even I was kind of pulling for him to get the triple double.

On the Jazz side, I'm getting fed up with Corbin not finding any more PT for the young guys. There's a lot of talk about young players having to earn their PT, but Hayward is playing better than ever (last night's turnovers included)and far better than the other wings and is getting less PT, while Favors is still the Jazz best defender and showing more moves on offense and is getting the same PT.

Heat about to lose to the Rondo-less Celtics, sad. Amazing they aren't a better team than they are.

Edit-Maybe not, Ray Ray just hit a huge three on a terrible turnover by Boston, 1 point game.

Fitting that Ray would do that. The reason Miami isn't better than they are is that they're small -- they're a really poor rebounding team.

By the way, this appears to be the play on which Rondo was injured.

I actually loved the Chris Andersen signing the Heat made, too bad they refuse to play him.

Lebron was the saving three, holy crap. OT Time.

That Lebron, he's pretty clutch.

Jason Terry trying to guard Lebron, too funny.

Apparently, Lebron's going to eat the Celtics all by himself.