 |
| RealGM Hoop Net |
|
| Search |
|
|
|
|
| Trade Checker ID |
| Draft Sim ID |
| Newsletter |
|
|
|
|
28th April, 2008 - 9:49 pm
|
|
|
| Current Features |
|
SCOOP DU JOUR: T-Mac, A.I., Trade, Suspensions And Guns!
Tracy McGrady will rest for three weeks, Michael Curry on resting Allen Iverson, Javier Vazquez almost a Brave, six NFL players suspended and Steve Smith robbed.
PLAYER RANKINGS: The NBA Player Rankings For The Week Of November 25th
The current top-five players in the NBA according to RealGM's FIC, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh, were all on Team USA's 2008 Gold Medal team. How does the rest of the NBA rank?
LOCKER TALK: Monta: I Was Racing Baron And Elton
Monta Ellis is still at least a full month away from his return to the court for the Warriors, but he recently called RealGM with the full story behind his ankle injury.
STANDING 10: Top-10 Careers Of Players Picked 3rd
Just three installments remain in the series, with this chapter housing names like Michael Jordan, Kevin McHale, and Carmelo Anthony. It was incredibly hard to leave off a number of players, and I’m sure after reading you’ll see exactly whom I decided skip over this time around.
MOCK DRAFT: 2008 NBA Mock Draft, Version 13.0 (Draft Day Edition)
Weeks and months of waiting has finally come to an end, and Draft day is officially here.
CLASSICS: Hakeem Vs. Ewing: Who Was The Better Center?
Born within six months of each other in opposite corners of the world, two seven footers who are finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame this fall are two of the best ever to play the center position.
|
By Christopher Reina
Certainly many of you are already familiar with my Floor Impact Counter and Reina Value. (Please click here to familiarize yourself with the systems.)
I also use the FIC to calculate team totals, both by game and for the season.
In order to determine my team rankings, I have calculated the difference between a team's own FIC per game and their opponents' FIC for the entire season. Boston was easily the leading team this season with a 19.7 differential.
The number in parenthesis is the difference between their FIC differential in 07-08 and their differential from last season, which goes a long way in determining how significantly a team has improved or declined.
Team: 07-08 FIC Differential (Improvement from 06-07)
1. Boston Celtics : 19.7 (+28.8)
The way in which Kevin Garnett improved the Celtics from game one to game 82 was more incredible than even the biggest Boston optimist could have predicted. Assuming Rajon Rondo would have come on as he did (13.4 per 40 FIC), plus healthy seasons from Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, a Boston team with Al Jefferson would have won the Atlantic Division as well, but they would have come up 16 wins short of 66.
2. Phoenix Suns : 16.2 (-0.1)
The Suns led the NBA in FG%, shooting 50% from the floor. Amare Stoudemire shot 59.0%, which is an improvement over his career average of 54.1%. Stoudemire finished 5th amongst all players in season FIC (1,429 and 21.4 per 40,) and Nash finished 7th (1,380 and 19.9 per 40).
3. Utah Jazz : 16.1 (+7.5)
Deron Williams ranked 9th in season FIC with Carlos Boozer not too far behind at 14th. Williams posted a per 40 FIC of 14.2 last season and 17.6 this season, fully becoming one of the NBA’s best point guards.
4. Detroit Pistons : 15.8 (+6.8)
The Pistons were once again stingy on defense, finishing fourth in defensive efficiency.
Chauncey Billups was signed to a new contract last summer and was worth every penny and more as the 23rd best player in the NBA.
5. L.A. Lakers : 14.4 (+15.0)
Kobe Bryant was 4th in season FIC but, more importantly, was probably Lamar Odom’s season in which he was 17th in the NBA. Odom was 57th in the category last season (14.7 per 40 compared to 16.3 in 07-08) as he played in just 56 games.
6. Houston Rockets : 10.7 (+2.7)
The Rockets managed to withstand the loss of Yao Ming in the second half, largely thanks to an underrated defense that gave up just 98.8 points per 100 possessions, which was second in the NBA behind Boston. Yao had the highest season FIC total despite playing in just 55 games, finishing 50th with Tracy McGrady right behind him as the 56th most productive player.
7. Dallas Mavericks : 9.4 (-3.8)
The Mavs won 16 fewer games than they did in 2006-07, but they overachieved by about four games that season and underachieved by about four games this season. Certainly the Mavs were superior a season ago, but the difference wasn’t as large as the surface suggested and the mortgage of their future for Jason Kidd was hardly a worthwhile gamble.
8. New Orleans Hornets : 9.1 (+12.6)
Chris Paul was involved with 49.1% of the Hornets' field goals, which was second to just John Stockton for the single-season record in ‘Hands on Buckets.’ As overachieving as the NOH were this season, their Pythagorean record actually had them going 58-24 instead of 56-26.
9. San Antonio Spurs : 8.8 (-8.2)
The Spurs got very little from outside of their big-three this season, with Fabrico Oberto (144th) the highest ranked player who spent the entire season in San Antonio. Duncan had a 20+ FIC Per 40 for the second consecutive season.
10. Denver Nuggets : 7.9 (+5.6)
The Nuggets were 8th in defensive efficiency, and Marcus Camby (6th) and Allen Iverson (8th) were among the NBA’s most productive players.
11. Orlando Magic : 7.0 (+7.0)
Relying so heavily on the 3-point shot, the Magic scored 1.33 points per shot, which was second only to the Suns. Dwight Howard became an unequivocal top-five player in the NBA.
12. Toronto Raptors : 5.8 (+2.8)
In a walk year, Jose Calderon had a shocking 17.9 per 40 FIC and was the 22nd most productive player in the NBA for the season. Jamario Moon was a +1,539 RV bargain, but Andrea Bargnani had a disappointing 7.9 per 40 FIC.
13. Cleveland Cavaliers : 0.6 (-6.4)
LeBron James was the 2nd most productive player in the NBA behind Paul, finishing the season with a 21.5 per 40 FIC but had little help beyond a nice season from Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
14. Philadelphia 76ers : 0.5 (+4.4)
Andre Iguodala finished 20th, Andre Miller 33rd, and Samuel Dalembert was 42nd to form a formidable and surprisingly effective big-three.
15. Golden State Warriors : 0.2 (+2.6)
The Warriors got breakout seasons from Monta Ellis (24th) and Andris Biedrins (44th) and career seasons from Baron Davis (11th) and Stephen Jackson (67th) but still couldn’t reach the postseason. Their 48 wins surely should have been good enough to make the playoffs, but they had a better FIC differential than just two others teams that made the second season.
16. Portland Trail Blazers : -0.9 (+7.3)
Brandon Roy (40th) and LaMarcus Aldridge (53rd) had excellent sophomore seasons as a consistent supporting cast supported them. The five-man combo of Steve Blake, Jarret Jack, Travis Outlaw, Roy, and Aldridge was third in the NBA in +/- per 48 with +24.
17. Atlanta Hawks : -1.1 (+6.5)
The Hawks had five players in the top-100: Josh Smith, 19th; Joe Johnson, 26th; Al Horford, 52nd; Josh Childress, 80th; and Marvin Williams, 91st but got little help beyond those five until Mike Bibby arrived.
18. Washington Wizards : -3.2 (+0.5)
The Wizards were able to reach the postseason despite losing Gilbert Arenas for virtually the whole season largely because of the consistency of the soon to be free agent Antawn Jamison.
19. Indiana Pacers : -3.8 (-0.9)
Mike Dunleavy finally had a season that the Warriors were expecting from him when they drafted him 3rd overall in 2002 as he was the 38th best player in the NBA. Danny Granger also had a nice season, but Jamaal Tinsley and Jermaine O’Neal were hurt too much and underperformed when they were healthy.
20. Chicago Bulls : -4.6 (-13.9)
Unlike the Clippers, Heat, and T-Wolves who also free-falled, the Bulls weren’t plagued with those kinds of injuries or the loss of their franchise player. Luol Deng and Ben Gordon didn’t have the kind of seasons they were expecting to when they declined extension offers, and Kirk Hinrich was a disappointment in the first season of his new deal.
21. New Jersey Nets : -6.1 (-5.6)
The Nets could have made a playoff push and remained mediocre while clinging to a faint hope, but Rod Thorn made a bold trade. Now the Nets are nicely setup to rebuild around Devin Harris, who has one of the best contracts in the game. Vince Carter, who signed an extension that the Nets are now lukewarm about, had a +0% Reina Value.
22. Sacramento Kings : -8.4 (-2.9)
Brad Miller had a nice comeback season, playing in 72 games and ranking 41st in season FIC.
23. Charlotte Bobcats : -8.5 (-2.8)
The Sam Vincent-era was short-lived, and nice seasons from Jason Richardson and Emeka Okafor couldn’t get the Bobcats into the postseason as Gerald Wallace missed 20 games.
24. L.A. Clippers : -11.6 (-14.2)
Chris Kaman had a 16.7 per 40 FIC, but his season was cut short, and Elton Brand played in just eight games.
25. Milwaukee Bucks : -12.4 (+1.4)
The Bucks once again underachieved, but they actually improved from 06-07. Andrew Bogut proved worthy of a new contract as the 35th best player in the NBA this season, but Michael Redd had a -35% Reina Value and a 12.6 per 40 FIC.
26. Miami Heat : -15.5 (-18.0)
Despite playing hurt, Dwyane Wade had a respectable 15.0 per 40 FIC, but he was at 19.6 in 06-07.
27. Memphis Grizzlies : -15.7 (-3.2)
Rudy Gay had a breakout season as the 45th best player in the NBA, but it is difficult to imagine the Grizzlies returning to the postseason anytime soon unless they land Michael Beasley.
28. Seattle SuperSonics : -16.6 (-9.6)
Nick Collison had the highest season FIC despite playing six fewer minutes per game than Kevin Durant. Earl Watson increased his value by posting a per 40 FIC of 13.4.
29. New York Knicks : -16.8 (-9.9)
David Lee’s per 40 FIC went from 17.6 in 06-07 to 15.3 this season, but he was still the Knicks’ most productive player.
30. Minnesota Timberwolves : -17.1 (-12.0)
Al Jefferson was a stat stuffer (17.7 per 40 FIC, 13th overall) with very little help on a team that desperately missed Randy Foye, not to mention the player who let them land Jefferson.
|
