Looking Closely At Andris Biedrins

First off, I have to start by saying that I still cannot believe this guy is more than a year younger then I am. It's ludicrous! There must be some kind of Danny Almonte birth certificate deal going on here and I refuse to believe that I will be able to rent a car faster than the starting center for the Golden State Warriors. Just look at the man; the chiseled jaw, the constant look of unquestioned patience even in the most wild of times, the hair, and the uncanny body control scream out to us that Andris has to be at least 25. 

I ran a comparison of Andris, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming and Andrew Bynum to see if I could uncover anything interesting about our favorite Latvian I must say that the results were somewhat staggering. On the surface, Andris's stats are comparable with our future starting centers in the All-Star game and Bynum. Points per game are a little lower and rebounds per game are a little higher. However, we all know that over the course of an entire season, (I also looked over their entire careers) Biedrins receives lower amounts of playing time in Don Nelson's system when compared to the other 3. This is where the advanced statistics were needed from basketball-reference to truly uncover the brilliance of Hair Product Central. I picked out the stats that Andris was tops in when compared to the other 3 centers. The following statistics were from each of the 4 players' careers. It's too early for this particular season to give effective analysis on these advanced statistics. 

ORtg: Offensive Rating is points produced per 100 possessions. It has a whole bunch of different algorithms and other math words I don't know the meaning of but the essence of the stat is points produced per 100 possessions. Guess who leads in this category? None other than our man Andris. While it may be hard to find in a boxscore, this man's efficiency every time he touches the ball on offense is through the roof. This leads into my next stat...

Usg%: Usage percentage is an estimate of the percentage of team plays used while this player is on the court. As one would expect, Andris had the lowest usage percentage of the bunch. I didn't need to tell anyone this, just watch a Warriors game. The man sometimes disappears during Warrior offensive sets, but when he does touch the ball, great things happen.

eFG%: Effective field goal percentage adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal. For example, suppose Player A goes 4 for 10 with 2 threes, while Player B goes 5 for 10 with 0 threes. Each player would have 10 points from field goals, and thus would have the same effective field goal percentage of 50%. Andris tops the group far and away. This must mean that he knows his role better than the other 3 and attempts less from downtown. He also is much more effective in his 2pt. field goal percentage.

TS%: Same thing as the one before only this one takes into account free throws rather than 3 pointers. Biede heads up this department which was a surprise to me. I figured that Yao's uncanny ability to hit free throws would push him over the edge on this statistic. It just goes to show you how much MORE effective Andris is at hitting his shots that aren't free throws. 

ORB%: Offensive rebound percentage is an estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while he was on the floor. The man has an ability to be in the right place in the right time. This stat more than anything shows his natural instinct around a basketball. While he does not top off the list for defensive and total rebounding percentage, I felt that this stat was telling of the type of player Andris is. Another reason this stat is near and dear to my heart is that Jeff Foster has been in the Top 2 for this percentage over the past 10 years.

STL%: Just like our last stat only with steals. He leads the stat because of his complete awareness on the defensive end of the court. Andris doesn't just go for the blocks, (as evidence of him being 3rd in that category of our 4 centers) but he also plays the passing lanes and I would imagine that a majority of these steals come from his ability to snake his way around other post players to nab errant entry passes. 

TOV%: Same as the last two stats only with turnovers. Remember, this data I am presenting DOES take into account playing time and even so, Andris still commits the least amount of turnovers by far. He protects the ball and won't try to go into an advanced set of moves that could allow for a guard to sink in and swipe at the ball mid possession. His moves around the basket are quick and deliberate, lowering his turnover numbers.

DRtg: Defensive Rating is points allowed per 100 possessions. Often times, blocks and steals are used to determine how effective a player is on the defensive end. This stat looks at if your man is scoring on you or not. And in Andris's case, his man isn't scoring on him as often as the other 3 centers. I'd argue that this statistic would be the hardest to accurately keep track of with all the double teams, switches, help defense, zone defense and matchups. Still, I was impressed that he showed up as the leader in this category. 

So what can we take away from these stats? Obviously Andris is an unheralded elite center who does not receive the attention deserved due to the limits put on his minutes. Raw numbers are harder to come by but the percentage at which he preforms in measurable statistical categories is at or often above the most elite centers of the game. 

Look at the data for yourself. 

Here is the glossary I used along with the formulas for each stat.

06 Ohio State Redux

With the youngest/most talented squad in the NBA, the Blazers and Kevin Pritchard are looking to finish what they began in the 2007 draft by trying to get a hold of Mike Conley to provide a familiar 1-2 punch with former teammate Greg Oden. Hindsight now telling us that neither of them are going to be that good, why would you trade Travis Outlaw and Sergio Rodriguez for arguably the biggest disappointment in the 07 draft, Conley, and dunking salary mongerer, Hakim Warrick. I guess this is to light a fire underneath Oden? In that thinking, should they keep Sergio to light a fire under a much more interesting prospect of Rudy Fernandez?

-I'm interested in seeing how BJ Mullins and Demar DeRozan figure their game out. I haven't watched ANY college BBall, but will when i get back home, i need some inspiration though, don't know who to look for anymore besides our man Stephen

Rise from your Grave

-Whew... back at it, Poot's World here i come. Wish i had a microphone, when i get back California i may have to purchase one.

-I am watching the Cavs Warriors game as we speak... The Cavs took a page out of the Celtic's (Poot's World's) Kevin Garnett scream to open up the starting line-ups, except they use Varejao instead of Lebron. Sounded oddly like an Altered Beast morph.

-Warriors are on a tough road stretch, but started it off in terrible fashion letting the Wizards run all over them... super garbage Andray Blatche in particular. Check this, the Warriors dodged two bullets very recently, one, when Baron opted out, Gilbert Arenas was offered the max by the dubs which was then matched, and Al Harrington was about to get traded for Kirk Hinrich before Big Kansas hurt his thumb! jeez, i honestly couldn't live with myself if the warriors had Agent Zero sitting on the bench right now, they messed up once by not making him their franchise player back in 2003 or 4, so let's get him when he's injured and washed up to make up for it!

-I was extremely pumped on the Jamal Crawford deal if Mr. Offense can change his game a little once Monta comes back and be a distributor. As you well know, they already have too many scorers, but Crawford could potentially provide both a deadly left-open threat, and a passer, we'll see.

-I'm about half-way through Gunnin' For that #1 Spot... would have been WAY cooler seeing it last summer before the draft, now seeing Kevin Love trod down court averaging 9 and 7, Donta Greene and Jerryd Bayless, riding the pine, and Kyle Singler under-achieving at Duke, i was kind of deflated watching the youngsters... what was a nice surprise was getting a look at Tyreke Evans who is tearing it up at Memphis and Lance Stephenson. Check it out if you haven't seen it Poot http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VNNEKNVX

-Camping was dope but I kept having flash backs to our excursion to Manchester. 2 Right? First, Who are we gonna bring, 2nd Donuts, Pee on Fire? I'll remember that trip forever, it'd be cool to figure out how to do another one before we croak.

-Watching all these warriors games has me thinking about Andres Biedrins... He is on a slump right now, but every single Center he goes against that is supposed to do the same things he does, just can't even touch how efficiently Biedrins gets stuff done. His hands are ball magnets, his finger roll is unstoppable, and his active rebounding is bar-none the best i have ever seen. After watching so much AB, Chris Kaman looked TERRIBLE, Drew Gooden a lowly Thug, Varejao may have a lot better D, but is definitely a lesser in all the other categories, and i get to watch David Lee in a couple of days to see how he compares.... Some statistics Poot?

-Derick Rose single-handedly took apart the Warriors last week, who knew he had a ridiculous jumpshot? Looks like the real deal numero 1.

More thoughts soon...

Note: Kyle Singler is not under-achieving at Duke... Averaging 17 and 7

Strange & Outlandish Observations

-While watching the Nuggets play last night, I noticed that Kenyon Martin completely turned his back and ran away from rebounding the ball on an attempted free throw...twice...and one of the shooters was Chris Anderson, which is not a guaranteed make.

-Pacers do not win games where they are in the lead. In their 8 losses, Indiana was winning 78% of the time. Statistically, they are the 7th ranked team in the NBA, but are the only team in the top 16 with a losing record. This stat has to do with point differential, and fg% differential to name a couple. One of those cases where statistics do not tell the entire story. For the Pacers, its their inability to close out games in the 4th quarter. 

-Anthony Marrow is on pace to have the highest True Shooting Percentage for a guard in NBA history. The formula is pts/(2 x (fga+0.44 x fta)) Its a way to include free throw percentage into a shooters body of work. For every 7 three pointers he attempts, Anthony hits 4 of them on average. Keep shooting big guy.

-In NBA regular season games, Greg Oden averages 7 more rebounds per game after major season-ending surgery when compared to surgery-free play. 

-Lakers rank 1st in the league on the defensive end and 3rd on offense. Has their ever been a team this efficient on both ends of the court? I'm off to do so research, keeping in mind that we are only 13 games into this regular season. 

Update: The only 2 teams that had the Laker efficiency of this year were the 00-01 Lakers team that won the finals and of course, our good friends the 95-96 Chicago Bulls team that went 72-10. They, of course, were 1st in both categories. What does this all mean? My belief is that Trevor Ariza has been more of a savior this season and not so much Bynum. Don't get me wrong, Bynum helps with a few boards and blocks on the defensive end, but Ariza being able to lock down team's best wings frees up Kobe to be more of a roaming centerfield on defense and allows him to concentrate more energy on offense. If the Lakers manage to stay healthy, this could be another disastrous year for the league as the devil children will prove to be nearly unstoppable.  

-Watch me pull off a big time jinx. Jose Calderon has yet to miss a free throw this season!

-One team that has a lot of room for improvement is the Celtics. They are second in the league in turnover percentage. That means that for the few amount of possessions Boston has per game, (they prefer a slow pace) they are turning the ball over at an alarmingly high rate. Expect for Doc to remedy the situation quickly and look out for an even better Celtic squad.

-I'm not sure where you are Alex, but good luck with whatever you are doing and thanks for keeping us all updated. Surely your lost camping trip was nothing like the Manchester Beach experience. 3 men, no utensils, no bowls for the cereal, no flashlights for the peanut butter sandwich making, and an open tent door during the fire urination session. OH, I FORGOT, no room in the tent for the unlucky person sleeping in the middle!

!!!

I am stuck in a small beach town in Brazil, rained out, on what was expected to be an epic camping trip... bummed doesnt even begin to describe it... finding out Jamal Crawford got traded to the warriors though, has lightened my mood, and made it that much easier to go back and watch the warriors... and anthony morrow

Out Here Grinding

-Last Friday, I went to Barnes and Noble to scout out a pre-order of FreeDarko's Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac. Was lucky enough to get a guy to run to the stock room and snag me a version 5 days early. Needless to say I've been mowing right through this gem whenever I get a chance. So far a personal high point has been reading a chapter on Josh Smith&Gerald Smith. All of the other chapters in the book are devoted to an individual player but they decided to devote one chapter to my two favorite enigmas and their outrageous statistical periods of domination. I'm glad someone else much smarter than I was able to enlighten the rest of the world on two of my favorite players who happened to carry my fantasy basketball last season. Interesting moment for Poot's World Blog; I was able to talk to Bethlehem Shoals today through Facebook chat. He was nice enough to chat with me for a couple minutes and I told him how much I enjoyed the book and his Smith/Wallace chapter in particular. Shoals told me he wished that chapter could have been 20 pages longer (each chapter is about 3 pages, so that would be quite an increase) so he could expand on Josh Smith's personality and Gerald Wallace's "country" soul. The guy is even deep on his Facebook chats. I told him that would be a great place to start next year's almanac. His reply was that it would have to be in a couple of years, as books take a while to write. I suppose I can't argue. He also said that it has been his dream come true with this release of the book and to recieve the outpouring of support it has recieved in its infancy. Anyways, you HAVE to grab a copy of this book, its amazing, and has re readability.


-Still getting a free preview of League Pass and life continues to be high quality. Potentially expensive trips to Madison bars have been replaced with weekends in the apartment watching the NBA in all of its HD greatness.

-Clearly too early to pick league MVP right now, but its going to be a helluva battle betwixt Lebron James and Dwight Howard.

-Golden State continues to intrigue me. I wish they weren't on so late at night, but watching them is enough of an adrenilene infusion to keep me awake past halftime. Don's 4 guard, 1 center lineup causes fits through the first 3 quarters but they just can't seem to hold it up for the full 48. In a league full of on the fly adjustments, its time for the eldest coach in the league to work on a few.

-Refs are calling an inordinately high amount of traveling early this season. Players are doing a poor job of adjusting, as the numbers continue a steady rise. Looks like the referees are holding firm on their attention paid to steps taken. Lebron had 4 against Indiana last week and should have had 2 more. His PER would be even more off the charts minus the high turnover numbers.

-Watched 3 close games this evening that came down to the final shot with teams down 2. Team down 2 ended up attempting a 3 pointer all three times. Not sure I completely agree with that philosophy. My guess is that all three coaches drew up a play that looked to score an easier bucket and perhaps the way things ended up, the 3 point attempted was more of a requirement. Inside the arc, it was a parting of the Red Sea. Catch, two strong dribbles, pull-up 13 footer just seems to be a higher percentage when compared to off-balance 3 point attempt.

It's A Midwest Thing

I've spent over 7 years in Madison, Wisconsin and one of the many things that sticks out at me in my daily routine is a complete absence of the NBA in this region of the U.S. Unlike the Green Bay Packers or the Milwaukee Brewers (who just hired Oakland's finest in Ken Macha to manage), the Milwaukee Bucks are an afterthought in the athletic viewing ladder of Wisconsin. From top to bottom, this is how our state rolls... 1. Green Bay Packers 2. UW Badgers Football 3. Milwaukee Brewers 4. UW Badgers Basketball 5. Marquette Basketball 6. UW Badgers Hockey 7. Chicago Cubs (lots of these nutjobs walking around) 8. Milwaukee Bucks

Does this shock me in the least anymore? I'd have to argue that after 7 years of this hierarchy, you tend to get used to the manner in which sports are viewed in the Midwest. I have about 3 friends that pay very close attention to the NBA, none of whom I've seen in a few years. A few will dabble in the sport, understanding player flow and slight intricacies of the game. If I am to ever talk sports with folks in this area in light conversation and happen to land on the topic of the NBA, I often receive one of two remarks. "Oh?" accompanied with a quizzical look. Or, "I hate the NBA, those guys are overpaid and they don't play hard at all. I only watch college basketball."

For readers of this blog, you are probably familiar with my musings on the NBA vs. College debate and how I am a firm believe in the former. Look back to our first month of existence if you are looking for detailed reasons, but I can sum it up for you in that an 82 game schedule takes much more of a toll on the body and that the effortlessness of NBA players is part of the beauty of why we watch. They look like they aren't trying when in actuality, their supremely fit bodies (in comparison to college players) are firing on all cylinders. Grade A efficiency and brute athleticism are my main points but their our other aspects of the game that cause me to tune into Bill Walton and Mike Breen over Dicky V. and Brad Nessler. Again, just look back in our blog archives.

My theory on why mid-westerners can't stand the NBA lies in the leagues celebration of the individual. Out here, its always about the team. What can this team do to get better and win a championship? The swing offense employed by UW Basketball is a perfect example of killing the individual spirit of potential stars and turning them into one cog of an extensive basketball machine. It's a region that loves watching UW Football teams meticulously grind out every possession with a heavy dose of brute force running games. Big corn fed boys leading the way for an even bigger hog of a running back. Brat in one hand, Miller Lite in the other, the true Midwestern way. You could argue that Brett Favre was a 12 year individual celebration but I look at it as if the folks here believed he exemplified the ultimate TEAM player and just rolled with that.

The moral of this story is that I'm not going to be winning over the hearts of my Midwestern brethren anytime soon with my love of a league whose top players frequent the wrong parts of the sports section, or have a higher tattoo to empty skin ratio than field goal percentage. It's a lost cause. So tonight, as I sit down for the first time in a while to relax and watch a full slate of NBA games, I'll take pleasure in knowing that I am the only one doing so in a 200 mile radius.

Where is Too $hort when you need him?

Some say the apocalypse is coming in a few years, and at times you can't help but buy into some of the morbid hype. The Mayan Calender, Super Volcanoes, Asteroids, whatever... With rumblings in the Monta Ellis circle of a possible trade demand within the next few months comes my first inklings of a world, (no, not Poot's World) falling apart.

After Monta injured his ankle severely this summer and yes, lied about it, everyone was curious to see what was to come next from the warriors execs, let me emphasize curious. No big deal, my dad and I agreed, everyone has seen this guy play and knows that the last thing the warriors would want to do is lose him. Issue a Rad-Man snowboard type penalty and send him a get-well card, but don't blow this thing up. Monta is the future and one of those players that comes around about once every millennium.

However, at the time, I was surprisingly unfamiliar with team president, Robert Rowell. Tim Kawakami wrote an article last week detailing Rowell's prevalence as the teams primary cover-spread the past 2 years, despite much bigger things going on with the franchise, player-wise. This guy is in power, and wants people to know it. Adding to the ego are Rowell's questionable dealings. It was this douche-bag who x'd a3 year Mullin-Baron agreement thought to be set in stone in the early summer, and he expounded getting rid of the most beloved player since Tim Hardaway, and sole reason for the 2007 playoff victory, by denying that he nixed the deal. When called out on it, Rowell angrily contested that he doesn't take the "popularity" of his decisions into account. He is now feuding with former coach Mike Montgomery over an unpaid 1,000,000 dollars, and has been taking cheap shots at Chris Mullin over the teams future.

Coming to an understanding that there are now 2 Al Davis' in Oakland, the Monta question becomes much more pressing. When Rowell came out with the 30 game suspension for Ellis with a 3 million dollar contract loss, it was an uncompassionate but fitting punishment. However, Rowell decided to go further, into the territory which my dad and I discussed, but never in our wildest dreams thought the Warriors would go forward with. Rowell incited that if Monta struggled to regain form after his injury, his contract could be voided.

Writers discuss the punishment as Double Jeopardy, which despite the its severity, for me, still evokes images of Ashley Judd getting chased by her murderous husband, and a vague memory of Mike telling me how much he wanted to see it over a Dr. Pepper in the hot tub. What I get from it is that Monta basically has the potential to get fucked twice by his injury, once with his ongoing suspension, and the other with Rowell's finger over his head the next 5 years of his contract.

An issue that started with a youngster's mistake, has fallen into the hands of a ruthless number-cruncher, devoid in what seems in any love for the game. What Monta did was retarded, we all know, but jeez, when did riding a moped become career threatening? It is fair to conjure the notion that the quickest player in the league and one who greatly relies on his lateral quickness could be greatly hampered by a shattered ankle, but only time will tell. Monta is young and certainly has the will to recover, and aggravating him by discussing contract termination so early in the recovery process is the product of a true numb skull.

Due to terrible choices in management, a severely broken ankle on a moped has transformed itself into Jason Williams on a street bike. This post started as a plea for Monta to bear with this stuff, but has turned into a shout for Rowell's head. This guy's a one-of-a-kind douche bag Chris Cohan, if you wanted to pull an instant replay of the bay area 07 Mav's victory celebration, just fire him.

Everyone keeps dropping the line that if this goes where it is heading with Monta, then we'll have to live with another 13 year playoff drought, and i couldn't agree more; but, more comes to mind with Monta in a Grizzlies jersey. His picture perfect transition jumpers, contortions surrounded by 2 bigs around the rim, sick cross-overs, Mississippi drawl, and confidence, just scream for more of the most entertaining basketball the NBA has to offer. I don't even think playoffs anymore, it happened already, and never will again in such spectacular fashion, so why not revel in the beautiful pandemonium the Warriors have to offer? I've said it before and I will again, the Warriors are a show. With Baron they were the Suns fast style with a Rucker Park attitude who reinvented the definition of a 3 pointer. And even at 1-3 with Baron and Monta gone, I still love this team, they bring it every night, are young, and got style.But part of that love still contains within it that light at the end of the tunnel when Monta hits the floor in late December, and if these restrictions and threats continue, I won't even be able to blame the guy when he's gone.

I know Poot has got the Mandy leg-humping fetish for Josh Smith, and the same is probably more true for me and Monta, but this kid was the best young player in the league before the injury, and its absolutely devesating watching a front-office cyborg dismantle this rising star. So here's to the next few months Rowell, the world, as all warriors fans know it, rests in your grubby little hands. Maybe if you can get some sense and listen to the fans, you can set things right and save this franchise after all; and Monta, a big shout-out from Poot's World, because we too, know all too well, the aftermath of poorly driven 2-wheel vehicles (Michael).

A Little Fuzz Ball

It was early summer (I think), just before dusk. The perfect time of day for shooting baskets, throwing the football, or playing meadow volleyball, when the last of the sun light trickles through the tops of the redwoods and the earth finally begins to radiate off the summer heat into the cooler evening breeze. I was on my way to the Wakemans’ to take advantage of the ideal climate and join Alex in some basketball. I had just crossed the wooden bridge, which years later would be the site of the historic Nate slip of ’02, and was emerging onto the gravel driveway, when I noticed a small furry lump in the corner of the basketball court. When the lump, which was no bigger than a football, began to move, I thought to myself, “Alex must have gotten a new kitten!” But no, that little fuzz ball was Mr. Otto Wakeman, “The Brute” himself; and while his tiny stature did not betray the massive beast of a dog he would become, that he immediately bit my fingers when I petted him, forewarned of an era of impressively destructive chewing exploits.

In honor of Otto, I present:
The Top Five Fondest Otto Memories

1. Otto chewing to the point of destruction countless items, including my minibike helmet, a cordless phone, and the entire passenger seat of the Wakemans’ car. (Not to be out done, his brother apparently destroyed a washer machine!)
2. Trying to tag Otto, while he out maneuvered both Alex and I.
3. Charging down the trail to the trampoline expecting Otto to move out of the way, but getting knocked on my ass.
4. Despite our best efforts, never being able to push Otto into the pool
5. Otto patiently standing there, while Stubby humps his face

With Otto goes one of the last of our childhood dogs and certainly one of the finest. Say hi to Stubby, Tannin, Mandy, and Sylvester for us…you all are missed.