Notes from the NBA regular season stat audit

First off, here is a weird one: Dominic McGuire of the Kings/Wizards played over 300 minutes and never made a free throw. ...The Denver Nuggets only used 13 players all season.  

I want to throw some love in the direction of Martell Webster. (Pictured to left) The Blazers wing player played only five minutes of one game last season before suffering a season ending foot injury. This year—Webster joined teammate Andre Miller as the only Portland players to play in all 82 regular season games. I like to acknowledge guys with obvious toughness. And Martell Webster fits the toughness bill.

Who do you think had more field goals made this season for Utah: Andrei Kirilenko or rookie Wesley Matthews? That’s right - I would not have asked the question were it not Matthews. The Marquette product made 273 FG’s to AK’s 244.

The problem in Philadelphia was not Eddie Jordan. The problem is their roster. They have legit NBA starters in Lou Williams, Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert but they do not have a superstar. Heck—they barely have a star. Iguodala would be the closest thing to a star. They have solid rotation players in Elton Brand, and Thaddeus Young.

Over in Chicago - how about Brad Miller playing in all 82 games for the first time in his eleven year career? ...Guess which member of the Spurs played in all 82 this season. How about the guy with no ACL’s in either knee; DeJuan Blair.

Since in the past I have not exactly praised Jarrett Jack - I have to come clean and admit that I was wrong about him. He is a better player than I ever gave him credit for being. He plays hard and his shooting has improved to the point that he is now efficient.

Did you know that Ronnie Brewer (pictured below) who was traded by the Jazz to the Grizzlies - had the 19th best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA this season? Brewer played some Point Guard in college so maybe that is where Memphis should give him a look going forward. He doesn’t score enough to be an effective TWO and he doesn’t really shoot well enough to thrive as a THREE. (Hey—at least I’m thinking over here). Brewer at PG would be a more efficient option than Marcus Williams. I’m just saying.

You can count on one hand the guys in the NBA with the skill set and the body to effectively play Point Guard, Shooting Guard and Small Forward. You start with Lebron James, and follow with Joe Johnson. You might think Vince Carter would be a stretch at PG but he does own a healthy 2.23 to 1 assist-to-turnover ratio.