Could Roy Hibbert really block more shots than an entire team?

2014 NBA Season, Indiana Pacers, Stats December 3, 2013 Comments: 2

The rest of the league has finally caught up to Roy Hibbert’s blocks. Well, for the most part.

Just two weekends ago, Hibbert had 56 blocks in 13 games, good for more than eight teams: Washington (55 blocks), Orlando (54), Minnesota (54), New York (53), Memphis (52), Brooklyn (52), Chicago (47), and Sacramento (34).

But Hibbert has been in a “slump” since then, blocking just six shots in his last five games with two of those matchups coming against teams most often rejected: Minnesota and Charlotte. Seven of the eight previously listed teams caught up or surpassed the 7’2” behemoth, leaving only Sacramento behind. The current block score between Hibbert and the Kings: 62-48 in Hibbert’s favor.

Can he keep this up for a whole season?

Not since 2009 has one player single-handedly blocked more shots than an entire team, when Dwight Howard had 231 to the New York Knicks’ 204, the lowest of any team in NBA history save for the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, according to Basketball-Reference. That Knicks squad, coached by Mike D’Antoni, played a ton of small ball with David Lee in the middle and Al Harrington at the ‘4’. The same thing also happened to the Knicks of ’08, led by Isiah Thomas where they blocked less shots (213) than Marcus Camby (285) and Josh Smith (227) while going possibly too big with Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph.

This year’s Kings fit somewhere in between those two Knicks rosters. They’re neither as mobile up front as D’Antoni’s Knicks nor as large as the Knicks of 2008, but there’s a chance Sacramento is equally as dysfunctional as the two. So there’s that.

The Kings just don’t have the personnel up front to be even an average shot-blocking team. DeMarcus Cousins can swat some but he fouls 5.1 times per 36 minutes, and there’s little protection when he’s in foul trouble or needs a breather. Chuck Hayes is an immovable force but that’s for better and for worse, Derrick Williams is like Blake Griffin in the way his athleticism doesn’t translate to blocking shots (and it doesn’t help that he logs time at small forward), Jason Thompson at least looks like he could get up and swat a couple, but his foul rate so far, 6.0 per-36, hasn’t helped and Patrick Patterson, like mostly every other power forward on the Kings, is undersized and a gamble on defense (though offensively he fits in).

Some of the lack of blocks can be attributed to the Kings allowing the least amount of shots within the restricted area by a comfortable margin, according to NBA.com, but there has to be a correlation between that and leading the league in fouling. Still, despite opposing teams scoring at will once they’re near the rim (68.4 percent, last in the league), Sacramento’s allowed only 20.1 attempts from there. Second-place Washington has allowed 23.3 attempts while Indiana sits in seventh place at 24.8.

And really, the Kings are safe from breaking the ’09 Knicks record for the least amount of blocks in an 82-game season. They’re on pace for 262 which is doable when DeMarcus Cousins, as unpredictable as he can be, has at least been consistently durable throughout his career. An injury (or suspension) to him, though, and things could get interesting.

Minnesota also lurks as a possible candidate to be outblocked by Hibbert. There’s not much between a slashing guard and the rim when Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic are the frontline, but guys like Dante Cunningham, Ronny Turiaf, and Gorgui Dieng are threats in their limited playing time off the bench. Cunningham’s the only player consistently in the rotation, though, while Turiaf is out with a fractured elbow and Dieng has been slow to adjust to the NBA, fouling 7.9 times per-36. The Timberwolves make up for the lack of a rim presence by forcing turnovers and not fouling. When that doesn’t work, though, it’s kind of a really big problem.

And some of this weird accomplishment of blocking more shots than an entire team is up to Hibbert, after all. Right now, his foul rate of 3.7 per 36 minutes isn’t an outlier; it’s back down to about where it was in 2012. His blocking frequency is more of a concern. Only 26 times in NBA history has a player blocked eight percent of field goal attempts while on the floor and playing over 70 games, according to Basketball-Reference, the latter necessary should Hibbert block more than Sacramento or Minnesota. That may seem like a realistic rate for an entire season but Manute Bol, Jim McIlvaine, and Shawn Bradley account for over half of those 26 occurrences. That, and only five times has a player had a block rate of eight percent while logging 30 minutes per game.

Like DeMarcus Cousins though, Hibbert has been durable throughout his career. And like in the previous paragraph, his foul rate is down which has allowed him to play a couple more minutes per game.

Besides, the statistics aren’t that much of an outlier when his work over the off-season got the attention of Grantland, among others. He also dwarfed Tim Duncan, Tiago Splitter, and Ian Mahinmi in one specific, amusing photo. All that hard work is aimed towards helping the Pacers with their journey to a championship, not some weird statistical accomplishment that doesn’t accomplish anything if it doesn’t come with all the little things a great defense like Indiana’s is made of.

Maybe the last five games are just variance anyway, balancing out the ridiculous start Hibbert had. We’re still in “SMALL SAMPLE SIZE ALERT!” territory, after all. But if blocking more shots than an entire team comes within the confines of playing great defense, it would be one of multiple ways showing how Hibbert has become a premier force of nature.

For more odd accomplishments I hope for this season, check this out. 

The good, the bad, and the ugly shooting stats from SportVU

2014 NBA Season, Sport VU December 2, 2013 1 Comment

sportvu

We’re now one month into the NBA season, but also one month into sorting through STATS LLC’s SportVU Player Tracking system where stats from hockey assists to a player’s speed can be tracked, among other things. (Shameless promotion: I wrote about my first impressions of it here.)

And though it’s still too early to draw permanent impressions from information it’s spat out, some of it is still glaring like shooting percentages, for example. It’s easy to decipher between a pull-up jumper and a catch-and-shoot situation, making those two statistics a couple of the easiest to sort through the good, bad, and ugly that I handpicked and posted here.

For ‘the good’ and ‘the bad’, I took a handful of players from each category I thought qualified while one special player made ‘the ugly’.

I also included two other SportVU categories: Drives and Defensive Impact to go along with Pull-Up and Catch and Shoot.

Anyway, enjoy:

Pull-Up

The good:

FGM FGA FG% 3PTM 3PTA 3PT%
Patty Mills 21 37 56.8% 5 7 71.4%
Dirk Nowitzki 41 86 48.3% 2 4 50%
O.J. Mayo 40 84 47.6% 9 15 60%
Eric Bledsoe 36 77 46.8% 10 22 45.5%
Kevin Durant 52 115 45.2% 11 21 52.4%

This is all quite amazing. Bledsoe, a perceived brick thrower last year, has been hot this season. It’s one example of why I wrote some of the stats being glaring. These all may be small sample sizes right now, but they catch the eye nonetheless and make me curious if they hold up in the long run.

The bad:

  FGM FGA FG% 3PTM 3PTA 3PT%
Steve Nash 9 38 23.7% 2 6 33.3%
Luke Ridnour 9 46 19.6% 1 9 11.1%
Lance Stephenson 5 30 16.7% 0 4 0%
Tyreke Evans 7 43 16.3% 0 7 0%
J.R. Smith 10 62 16.1% 1 17 5.9%

Even with his improvements across the board, I still think Lance Stephenson shoots with his eyes closed.

The ugly:

  FGM FGA FG% 3PTM 3PTA 3PT%
Corey Brewer 0 30 0% 0 8 0%

Kevin Love‘s outlet passes make up for this.

Catch and Shoot

The good:

FGM FGA FG% 3PTM 3PTA 3PT%
Harrison Barnes 18 27 66.7% 12 20 60%
Andre Iguodala 24 39 61.5% 21 34 61.8%
LeBron James 21 36 58.3% 18 30 60%
Anderson Varejao 27 48 56.3% 0 4 0%
Ryan Anderson 28 52 53.8% 26 46 56.5%

Could someone make this a 5-man lineup and see if anyone dribbles?

The ugly:

FGM FGA FG% 3PTM 3PTA 3PT%
Jeff Teague 8 35 22.9% 8 31 23.3%
Trey Burke 4 20 20% 4 14 28.6%
Reggie Bullock 4 22 18.2% 4 21 19%
Eric Bledsoe 3 17 17.6% 2 15 13.3%
Alexey Shved 3 18 16.7% 3 15 20%

There’s Eric Bledsoe again. Another notable is Reggie Bullock, who has the potential to carve out a career as a three-and-D wing, one the Clippers could use right now but he hasn’t provided much so far.

The ugly:

FGM FGA FG% 3PTM 3PTA 3PT%
Jamaal Tinsley 0 13 0 0 13 0

Who knows if Tinsley can revive these numbers. He was waived three weeks ago by the Jazz.

Defensive Impact

The good:

OPP FGM at rim per game OPP FGA at rim per game OPP FG% at rim
Brook Lopez 3.0 8.8 34.1%
Roy Hibbert 3.6 9.9 36.9%
Chris Kaman 2.2 5.8 37.7%
John Henson 2.3 5.7 40.0%
Bismack Biyombo 2.1 5.3 40.5%

Chris Kaman making a list like this is so much better than one about centers who take wayyy too many jumpers. Also worth noting is John Henson, who in time can form a nice rim-protecting duo with Larry Sanders (whenever the latter plays again).

The bad:

OPP FGM at rim per game OPP FGA at rim per game OPP FG% at rim
DeAndre Jordan 5 8.4 59.2%
J.J. Hickson 3.3 5.4 59.8%
Gustavo Ayon 3.3 5.4 60.5%
Al Jefferson 3.8 6.1 61.8%
Anderson Varejao 4.1 6.4 63.3%

Before the season, it sounded like DeAndre Jordan was going to be Defensive Player of the Year, so this disappoints me intensely.

The ugly:

OPP FGM at rim per game OPP FGA at rim per game OPP FG% at rim
Udonis Haslem 1.8 2.4 72.7%

Who knows just how much of an impact Haslem will be going forward since Michael Beasley is logging consistent (AND PRODUCTIVE!!!) minutes off the bench.

Drives

The good:

FG% on drives Total Drives Player PTS on Drives Drives per game PPG on Drives Team PPG on drives
Manu Ginobili 75.0% 53 42 3.1 2.5 4.1
LeBron James 68.4% 92 72 5.4 4.2 6.6
Andre Iguodala 66.7% 32 15 2.5 1.2 3.3
Jeremy Lin  65.4% 137 96 8.6 6 10.6
Tony Parker 64.5% 154 111 9.6 6.9 11.3

You can pick and choose which player is more meaningful when driving to the rim, with LeBron likely being a favorite.

The bad:

FG% on drives Total Drives Player PTS on Drives Drives per game PPG on Drives Team PPG on drives
Vince Carter  33.3% 50 34 2.9 2 3.1
Deron Williams  33.3% 39 10 4.3 1.1 4.1
Corey Brewer 33.3% 37 20 1.9 1.1 2.3
O.J. Mayo 27.6% 47 22 3.1 1.5 2.9
Russell Westbrook  21.7% 90 35 7.5 2.9 7.1

Surely Russell Westbrook’s percentages will bounce back. I worry about Corey Brewer’s though. He’s like a paper airplane: once you let him fly, you have no idea where he’ll land. It’s made for several “noooo…yes!” moments and vice versa.

The ugly:

FG% on drives Total Drives Player PTS on Drives Drives per game PPG on Drives Team PPG on drives
Jose Calderon 0% 30 2 1.8 0.1 1.7

This isn’t really terrible since Jose Calderon is in the top 50 in hockey assists at least. He rarely gets into the paint anyway compared to the rest of the league’s guards, though the points he generates per drive is more similar to those in ‘the bad’ category than ‘the good’.

Through 17 games, Calderon’s stats when driving to the rim are more perplexing than ugly.

All statistics are from NBA.com. 

Pacers face tough test over next few weeks

Indiana Pacers December 2, 2013 Leave a comment

200px-Indiana_Pacers.svg

Most knew the Indiana Pacers would build off their appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, but through one month they’ve blitzed their opponents for the best record in the league: 16-1. Their average margin of victory of 11.1 is best in the league thanks to their usual dominance on the defensive end — comfortably first in defensive rating and defensive EFG% – while getting improvements on offense, most notably from Paul George and Lance Stephenson.

But the Pacers have a three-week, ten-game stretch that will further prove whether they’re truly a title-contending team or raise suspicions they’ve fed off an Eastern Conference that is becoming more comedic each week. The first half of those ten games is a road trip out West, which has started well with a 105-100 victory over the Clips. They’ll play at Portland tonight, then Wednesday at Utah and end the week with a back-to-back at San Antonio and Oklahoma City. Three of those teams left on the schedule are a combined 22-1 at home. (I’m sure you can figure out who was left out.)

It won’t get much easier for the Pacers in the couple weeks following that road trip. Though the five games during that timespan feature four at home, they’ll play Miami twice (once on the road) and cap it off with Houston.

It’s all a great test for Indiana, who trail only San Antonio in SRS thanks to playing the second-softest schedule so far, according to Basketball-Reference. There will be those who think the Pacers are good but overrated because of that, which will only amplify should they falter over the next few weeks. Just like every other team though, it’s understandable for Indiana to drop a few games during a difficult stretch, especially one that features back-to-backs on the road and a couple games against the defending champs.

There’s a lot to look forward to in those games, too. Tonight’s game at Portland features the matchup at power forward between David West and LaMarcus Aldridge. There’s a five-year age difference between the two but they have nearly identical games, at least statistically. Just take a look at them when they each were 27, when West first became an all-star in 2008 and where Aldridge was last season:

aldridge west

via Basketball-Reference (click to enlarge)

Meanwhile, there’s a lot of great matchups over the next few weeks for Paul George, whether it’s against Nicolas Batum, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, or Josh Smith. And teams who don’t provide interesting matchups at the ‘3’ make up for it with their presence inside. Utah features Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors. Detroit, on the calendar for December 16, features Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe while Houston will have Dwight Howard and Omer Asik (if the latter isn’t traded by then).

Should the Pacers get through the next three weeks mostly unscathed, they can feast on an East-heavy schedule from December 22 to January 18. Eight of the 12 games during that time are at home. Brooklyn and New York, two teams that could be better in a month, are on the schedule but for now are decimated by injuries.

Awaiting Indiana after that, however, is a second five-game road trip out West from January 20 to 28. Let’s see how they finish their first.

The rise and fall of Derrick Williams through trade rumors

2014 NBA Season, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings November 26, 2013 Comments: 2

May 17, 2011

Despite having the most lottery balls, Minnesota ends up with the second overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. It all but leads to the Timberwolves either drafting Derrick Williams or trading the pick.

May 19, 2011

The Pacers are making seriously play for the No. 2 pick with Danny Granger, Michael Beasley, and Ricky Rubio also being involved.

Royce Young of CBS’ Eye on Basketball with a nice take on why Rubio and Beasley were involved:

I can’t say that I quite understand why Rubio and Beasley were also included in the deal, but hey, it’s David Kahn and I’m not going to start posing questions that have no answers.

However, Kahn all but laughed off the rumors:

Talks between the two teams would continue though. Oh, yes, they would.

June 21, 2011

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! reports more discussions between the Pacers and Timberwolves:

With an eye on drafting Arizona’s Derrick Williams, the Indiana Pacers have discussed a package including center Roy Hibbert (notes) and the 15th pick for the Minnesota Timberwolves’ second overall pick, league sources said. Nevertheless, the overture hasn’t gained traction in Minnesota.

Thinking results-oriented leaves me dizzy. 2011 Roy Hibbert really wasn’t the same defensive monster he is today.

Larry Bird squashed any rumors of a trade centered around Hibbert anyway, according to Jeff Rabjohns.

That same day, though, Taylor Zarzour of the CBS Charlotte wrote about how the Bobcats should trade everyone for Derrick Williams.

June 23, 2011

Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Hawks’ interest in the No. 2 pick, dangling Josh Smith as bait.

In a lust to draft center Enes Kanter, the Atlanta Hawks are trying to engage the Minnesota Timberwolves in discussions to trade Josh Smith(notes) for the No. 2 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

So far, the Wolves haven’t been forthcoming on a potential deal, but sources say Atlanta was still trying to discuss a deal in the hours leading up to the draft.

The same key components of the trade pop up later in Bill Simmons’ 2012 NBA Trade Value column.

February 15, 2012

Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports on Minnesota pursuing Pau Gasol:

In other news involving NBA big men, a source said Wednesday that Minnesota continues to pursue a possible trade for Lakers forward Pau Gasol, dangling rookie Derrick Williams, who is from the Los Angeles area, and draft choices. The only players considered untouchable by the Timberwolves, who are seeking to add a veteran by the trade deadline, are Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. The Timberwolves believe it could be enticing for Gasol to play on the same team as fellow Spaniard Rubio.

I can’t say I remember that trade rumor from the 2011-12 season, but it would come back ten months later.

June 28, 2012

This seemed like Kahn being Kahn more than anything else.

July 5, 2012

But Kahn would stop at nothing for Nicolas Batum.

July 6, 2012

Darren Wolfson reports about a different sign-and-trade scenario, this one involving Philadelphia:

According to the source, the way to get Batum here is still via a sign-and-trade. David Kahn, the Wolves’ president of basketball operations, will continue to talk with the Portland Trail Blazers throughout the weekend.

One scenario involves a three-way trade with Philadelphia. Andre Iguodala would go to Portland, Derrick Williams would go as part of a package to the Sixers and Batum would come to Minnesota. So far, Portland is balking.

December 6, 2012

We’re into Derrick Williams’ second season now. I’ll always remember his rookie campaign when he slammed home alley-oops from Ricky Rubio, who was also a rookie. They both sent the Target Center into a frenzy I hadn’t seen since Game 7 of the Western Semis back in 200-fricken-4. It was exciting as hell.

But everything else about Williams’ game was inconsistent including what position he would play. You could see the confusion when he was on the floor, and, as a result, his stock start to plummet. He was becoming just a trade piece to something involving bigger names.

From Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press:

The Los Angeles Lakers recently rejected a Timberwolves trade offer for forward Pau Gasol that would revolve around Minnesota center Nikola Pekovic and forward Derrick Williams, according to an ESPN.com report citing sources with knowledge of the Lakers’ thinking.

The report claimed that the Lakers also turned down an offer from the Toronto Raptors.

It seemed like the biggest piece the Lakers would’ve taken back was Nikola Pekovic, versus Derrick Williams. That would’ve been flip-flopped ten months earlier.

February 20, 2013

Paul Millsap would’ve been a terrific rent for Minnesota, but by then it would’ve been a lopsided trade if no other players or draft picks were involved.

June 26, 2013

Chad Ford brings back memories of two years ago, when Indiana was rumored to have baited Danny Granger, then Roy Hibbert to move up to No. 2 to get Derrick Williams:

The Wolves continue to try to move up higher in the draft to land either Victor Oladipo or Ben McLemore. The latest rumbles have them reaching out to the Magic, Bobcats and Suns offering Derrick Williams and the No. 9 and No. 26 picks in return for Orlando’s No. 2 pick, Charlotte’s No. 4 pick or Phoenix’s No. 5 pick.

November 12, 2013

One tidbit from Adrian Wojnarowski’s column about the Knicks chasing Kevin Love:

Kevin Love is on deck to be recruited to New York in 2015, and that’s among the reasons the Timberwolves are so determined to make deals to climb deep into the playoffs these next two years. Young Minnesota players Derrick Williams and Alexey Shved are available in deals for veterans to help these T’wolves now, league executives told Yahoo Sports.

By now, Williams’ trade value is at an all time low, with returns ranging from Iman Shumpert to…

November 25, 2013

At last, the real trade that would end Derrick Williams’ campaign in Minnesota:

The Timberwolves now have a dream starting five of Lucs and Kevins: Kevin Martin, Luc Mbah a Moute, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Love, and Luc Longley. Or something like that.

November 26, 2013

And it’s official, from the Wolves press release:

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has acquired forward Luc Mbah a Moute (BAH-ah MOO-tay) from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for forward Derrick Williams.

“We are excited to acquire a solid veteran player in Luc Mbah a Moute,” said Flip Saunders, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations. “Luc is known as one of the premier defensive players in the league with an ability to guard multiple positions. He adds a lot of energy, grit and a high basketball IQ to our team. We thank Derrick for his contributions to our organization and wish him well in Sacramento.”

Best of luck to Derrick Williams. Minnesota never felt like the best fit for him.

Fantasy basketball history: The Most Improved Players

Fantasy Basketball, Reminiscing, RotoMonster November 25, 2013 Comments: 4

Last week, I wrote about MVPs in the NBA normally not being the best in fantasy basketball. A couple questions popped into my head while writing that piece:

  1. Which players in fantasy basketball were one-hit wonders?
  2. What about breakout seasons, much like contract years in the real NBA?

Introducing, fantasy basketball’s most improved players! It was yet another excuse to reminisce about the recent history of the NBA and the players I grew up watching. I found 15 players — one for each season since 1998 — who may have swung the fortunes of their fantasy basketball owners.

Each player is also linked back to RotoMonster where their fantasy basketball rankings came from. It’s a neat site, one I’ve used for my most recent fantasy basketball postings.

Onto this list though. Let the reminiscing begin:

1998: Wesley Person, Cleveland Cavaliers

8-cat ranking: 16

9-cat ranking: 6

As I said in my post about the 1994 NBA Draft, I thought it was so cool his last name was actually ‘Person’.

With his 192 three-pointers, Wesley Person was the most valuable three-point shooter in ’98 ahead of Reggie Miller and Glen Rice, among others. He also became a nice source of steals. Outside of those two categories, Person didn’t do anything too good or bad. He was a steady all-around player that nearly ascended to the top of the fantasy basketball world, all while being a teammate to the immortal Shawn Kemp.

1999: ???

I actually skipped this season because, well, it sucked.

2000: Michael Dickerson, Vancouver Grizzlies

8-cats: 34

9-cats: 27

Michael Dickerson’s one of a handful of players in the early 2000s I hated to see their career cut short due to injury. I still have a page on my bedroom wall from the March 2001 issue of NBA Inside Stuff where veterans and coaches talked about up and coming players from that time. In particular, Derek Anderson talked about Dickerson:

“The most underrated guy in the league. I think he’s sort of like Clyde Drexler. He’s one of those guys who scores, does it all, plays hard and just wants to get a win. You can tell he’s come from a good, solid program. He’s just been in a situation where they’re not winning. But he still plays hard on both ends.”

Unfortunately, groin and sports hernia injuries forced him into an early retirement. 2000 was his best season overall when he played all 82 games and was a nice source of points, threes, and free throws for fantasy basketball owners. He wasn’t too damaging in any other category.

I’ll always remember Dickerson as an Arizona Wildcat. The same goes for Miles Simon. I’ve come to despise college basketball, but I’ll never forget when those two guys won an NCAA title in 1997.

2001: Antoine Walker, Boston Celtics 

8-cats: 5

9-cats: 13

Antoine Walker was actually a decent guy to draft in the 8-category leagues since turnovers don’t count, and he turned it over a ton, making his rankings between the 8 and 9-cats pretty drastic. Walker was also major minuses in field goal percentage and free throw percentage over the years.

In 2001, though, Walker became an unusual source of assists and steals for power forwards. He also exploded in three-pointers, becoming the most valuable player for that category ahead of Ray Allen (2001’s best overall player in both leagues) and Dirk Nowitzki. Top it off with taking less free throws, an element in the game he often struggled with, and Walker had a career fantasy year.

But it wasn’t enough for Walker to make an All-NBA Team. He actually never made one his entire career. Things happen when you start your career nearly the same time as Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett while playing at a loaded position in general.

2002: Michael Jordan, Washington Wizards  

8-cats: 92

9-cats: 107

This is a reverse one-hit wonder, if anything. 2002 was actually the only time Michael Jordan played more than 50 games and finished outside the top 100 in either fantasy basketball league.

Since this was when he was a Wizard, let’s pretend this never happened. It’s much more fun to look at the 10 seasons Jordan went either first or second in fantasy basketball.

2003: Eric Snow, Philadelphia 76ers

8-cats: 32

9-cats: 36

Most categories for Eric Snow emit light red on RotoMonster, which explains why he finished out of the top 100 nine out of his 13 seasons. He was often a nice source of assists and steals though. In 2003, free throw percentage was thrown into the positives he gave fantasy basketball teams, shooting nearly 86 percent on 4.6 attempts per game. He was also a not-so-bad point-producer, which was nice given he was a role player on every team he played for.

But Snow was a valuable role player at that. In 2003, he was a great one for fantasy basketball teams as well.

2004: James Posey, Memphis Grizzlies

8-cats: 22

9-cats: 9

James Posey was kind of, sort of similar to Wesley Person in ’98: a solid contributor to threes and steals while not hurting his team too much in categories he didn’t specialize in. For a wing, he was also an unusual positive in field goal percentage.

What was best about Posey though was his production in the last two weeks of the season, normally reserved for the fantasy basketball playoffs. During that span, he averaged 22.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 2.3 threes, 7.1 free throws on 80 percent shooting and shot 51.8 percent from the field through nine games. If that stat line was too long, it can be summarized as this: Posey killed it in six categories, enough to turn an average fantasy basketball team into a title contender.

2005: Larry Hughes, Washington Wizards

8-cat: 24

9-cat: 24

In 2005, Larry Hughes was a top-25 fantasy basketball player. Every other season but one (2004), he finished outside the top 100. That ranking in 2005 is even more shocking when he missed 21 games. Dwyane Wade pulled off a more extreme version of this in 2008, playing only 51 games while making the top 25 in 8-cats.

But to compare the two, Hughes was at least active for the fantasy basketball playoffs. He could’ve anchored a team in steals while not being too big of a minus in field goal percentage, and even though Hughes shot only 28 percent from three, he made one per game. So there’s that. He was also obviously a great contributor in points that season.

After signing with Cleveland, Hughes might’ve been the worst fantasy basketball player ever while making over $12 million per year in real life. My theory behind that terrible contract: Larry Hughes was on Dan Gilbert’s fantasy basketball team the season before.

2006: Mike James, Toronto Raptors

8-cats: 25

9-cats: 24

I laughed while looking at Mike James’ basketball-reference page. Look at all the jerseys he wore over his career:

mike james teams

It reminds me of international competitions when you see all the flags:

image-sports-the-olympics-flags

James will always be known for triggering my embarrassing, irrational excitement for the 2007 Timberwolves thanks to his 20 points per game in ’06. Anything was an upgrade over Marko Jaric.

He was a fine contributor in points, threes, assists, and free throw percentage the year before he came to Minnesota. 2004 was the only other time James finished in the top 100 in fantasy basketball, back when he was part of Detroit’s 2004 championship squad. I actually forgot all about that stage of his career. Add that with the ’07 Timberwolves and Mike James embarrassed my (lack of) basketball knowledge twice.

2007: Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix Suns

8-cats: 15

9-cats: 14

Leandro Barbosa was actually a solid fantasy basketball contributor for a few seasons, but he was huge in 2007. As a team, Phoenix owned that season in fantasy basketball with Shawn Marion, Amar’e Stoudemire, Steve Nash, and Barbosa all in the top 15 in both 8-cats and 9’s. (I already wrote about Shawn Marion’s dominance here.)

Barbosa logged a bunch of threes that season and was either a positive or microscopic negative in any category but rebounds and blocks, stats guards rarely produce anyway.

Looking back on the Suns of the mid-2000s is always depressing though. I’m not a fan of Mike D’Antoni, but those Nash-led teams were so fun and got so close to a title so many times. Bad luck and bad management was too much for them to overcome.

2008: Baron Davis, Golden State Warriors  

8-cats: 5

9-cats: 7

Throughout his career, Baron Davis was hot and cold both in fantasy and real basketball. He was rarely healthy after 2002, wasn’t a great free throw shooter, and in multiple seasons he was the biggest minus in field goal percentage for fantasy basketball. He often alternated with finishing seasons in the top 50 and outside the top 100.

But boy, Davis was a freak in steals and assists. In 2008, only Chris Paul provided better, well-rounded production in those two categories. Playing all 82 games that year also led to being a solid source of points, threes, and an above-average rebounder and blocker (!!!). Being healthy all season led to being a pain with field goal percentage and turnovers, but that was acceptable when he was one of the best in four other categories.

2009: Mo Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers  

8-cats: 26

9-cats: 25

Mo Williams was one of the Weirdo All-Stars along with Jamaal Magloire and a few others, but was also a unique point guard in fantasy basketball. Though he was one of the best three point shooters and rarely missed a free throw, he wasn’t a big contributor in assists. Williams also wouldn’t hurt teams in field goal percentage like most point guards would. Much of the lack of assists and boost in field goal percentage could probably be blamed on LeBron James. Once LeBron left Cleveland, Williams’ value in fantasy basketball plummeted.

2010: Aaron Brooks, Houston Rockets

8-cats: 31

9-cats: 54

2010 was the only season where Aaron Brooks consistently started, and he did that for all 82 games. He was the most valuable three-point shooter in fantasy basketball, which helped with points as well. Assists and free throws were also positives that came with drafting him.

All of that made for one season where Brooks was a nice addition. He’s been ranked outside of 150 in every other. 2010 was also the season Brooks was the Most Improved Player of the Year. If only Houston could trade him to the Utah Jazz so he could win it twice.

2011: Dorell Wright, Golden State Warriors

8-cats: 20

9-cats: 13

In 2011, Dorell Wright was only a minus in one category: field goal percentage. It was an acceptable tradeoff when, like Aaron Brooks in 2010, he was the best three-point producer. He also produced in categories normally not reserved for small forwards: assists (while not turning it over too much) and blocks.

Overall, 2011 was a breakout year for Wright. It reminded me of Quentin Richardson’s 2005 campaign with Phoenix (here’s a statistical comparison). Richardson tailed off after that season while Wright has been a key reserve on bad teams until now, thanks to Portland storming out of the gates.

2012: Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers

8-cats: 14

9-cats: 19

2012 was Andrew Bynum’s most complete season, being a buy-low sell-high candidate at first until he played nearly every game, 60 out of 66 in a lockout-shortened season. He dominated in four categories (points, rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage) while being a pretty bad contributor in every other, ones where big men typically suffered though.

Then came 2013 when Bynum was the complete opposite of how he finished. He went from buy-low, sell-high to a waste of a first round draft pick in fantasy basketball. Maybe one day he’ll be a master in fantasy bowling.

2013: Amir Johnson, Toronto Raptors

8-cats: 47

9-cats: 29

Last season, Rudy Gay joining the Raptors didn’t affect Amir Johnson’s fantasy basketball value, even though Gay could’ve been a small ball power forward in Johnson’s place.

His 2013 production didn’t really scream effective when looking at it, but little improvements were made in just about every category with the biggest coming in steals, giving him an advantage over most power forwards. Overall, no category was too big of a positive or negative for Johnson, which is different from most players in this post. 

And that’s what was nice about him. It kind of, sort of reflected his game in real life. He wasn’t the main man on the Raptors by any means, but he was one of the better role players despite playing with ball stoppers like Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan.

This year, every player on the Raptors is a question mark in fantasy basketball because of the likelihood of a trade or two happening before the February deadline. We could see Johnson be used a little more if Gay is traded, or we could see him play less if he’s traded to an actual contender and not the East’s fourth seed that’s currently under .500.

Prediction for 2014

It’s hard to judge after only one month but…

Spencer Hawes, Philadelphia 76ers

Best fantasy basketball season: 2013

8-cats: 79

9-cats: 81

Spencer Hawes has done it all this year: score, score efficiently, rebound, pass, make threes, and also turn it over but whatever. Right now, he’s producing in categories some guards can’t even match, most notably the couple of threes per game.

He won’t shoot 49 percent from three all season though and that inevitable downfall will hurt his field goal percentage, but he’s in a situation where everything else can stay steady. The 76ers are really thin up front so he’ll consistently get over 30 minutes of play, at least until March and April. Eventually, Philadelphia will go into the tank, even if the Atlantic Division continues to be terrible. Who knows if Hawes starts developing “soreness” and misses a few games here and there, which would bring his ranking down at the end of the season.

But right now, Hawes is a top-10 fantasy basketball player. All but last year he was outside the top-100. He’ll finish somewhere in between if he can stay relatively healthy, but right now he’s been all that his fantasy basketball owners could ask for and more.

Just like every other player on this list.