Statistics and Dreamscapes: January 4th, 2010
2010-01-05
I got a hunch after watching the Bobcats game last night, and I decided to go to the numbers to check it out. Here’s what I got:
Stephen Jackson, 09-10 : 49.8% TS/14.2 AST/12.5 TO/7.2 REB/23.3 USG
Secret Mystery Player X: 48.0% TS/17.1 AST/10.3 TO/5.4 REB/20.7 USG
Stephen Jackson, 09-10: 42%/30%/79%, 44.1% eFG, 10.1% Foul Rate
Secret Mystery Player X: 40%/33%/68%, 43.9% eFG, 13.3% Foul Rate
Secret Mystery Player X is somebody I used yesterday for emphasis, Larry Hughes from his 06-07 campaign with the Cavs. Although he wouldn’t spawn heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com until the 07-08 season, when he did play slightly worse, I think 06-07 Larry Hughes is a fair example of the absolute worst-case scenario production-wise for a Cavalier getting 30-35 minutes a night. (Hughes gets the edge over Eric Snow in this regard, as Snow seemed to know that he was a bad offensive player.)
For all the stir that Stephen Jackson possibly becoming a Cav caused earlier this season, Stephen Jackson has played like Larry Hughes with worse playmaking, slightly better rebounding, and better free-throw shooting. His numbers would probably be better in the Cavs’ offense, but that’s the guy everyone was ready to give the starting two-guard spot to for a championship run? (Not to mention the guy who would have killed the Cavs’ cap flexibility until after the predicted date of the apocalypse.)
Why do I mention this? Because with the February 18th deadline getting closer and closer, trade season is about to begin in earnest. And with the Cavs in “2010 is coming” mode and a gaping hole in the rotation (“starting” power forward), this looks like it’s shaping up to be a particularly crazy month and a half for trade rumors. Whenever I’ve done the Daily Dime Live chat this season, I’m immediately flooded with trade questions, like the Cavs are a fantasy team.
So before everybody begins to go stir-crazy over every single trade rumor, I just want to go on record as saying that for fans, the grass is always greener on the other side during trade season. Fans see other guys for a few games, see what they do well, and imagine them only doing those good things when they get settled in with their favorite teams.
But more often than not, guys keep their bad habits when they change jerseys, and the team that traded them realizes they gave up assets to acquire a player who only existed in their imagination.
So as the rumors start up, keep in mind that the “last piece” that Ferry should sell the farm for a stab at this deadline could be another Larry Hughes, or even another Jiri Welch.
By the way, latest batch of 82games data is in. Here’s my favorite oddity:
JJ Hickson has 25 “ball handling” turnovers so far this season. LeBron James has 29. I’m not much for math, but by my rough calculations JJ has used 269 possessions this year, while LeBron has used 1,233. JJ Hickson’s hands are genuinely fascinating. Until tomorrow, everyone.
While I was not a Larry Hughes fan, he did start on a team that made it to the finals. His length bothered guards. He won a few (very few) games for us with 30 point outbursts. If we had spent like the mid-level on him it would not have been bad – he gets a little too much hate from Clevelanders. Stephen Jackson is a versatile player that can create his own shot. There is a difference between having a low true-shooting percentage because you are taking contested 17 footers at the end of shot clocks and having a… Read more »
Living in the bay area I am a diehard warriors fan, and I would have traded Jackson for NOTHING. He was a ridiculously overrated player with inflated per game stats from playing in Nelson’s “system”. I was, however, very pleased that the Cavs did not get him. They are the team I root for in the playoffs, and Stephen Jackson would’ve been a detriment to the team this year and for many years in the future. I can’t believe he got that joke of an extension (it’s clear the warriors management is completely inept), and am ecstatic that he’s no… Read more »
I was soo glad the cavs didn’t get Stephen Jackson. Now I am thoroughly pumped for the trade deadline and there is one name we all know we want…Jamison. Let us just hope and pray the collapse of the wizards continues this month so next month they will be in sell mode.
nice work! when my friends would ask me if i felt a stephen jackson trade would be good for the team, i’d tell them i hated it because he just chucks the ball all the time a la larry hughes. that was purely conjecture for me though. i didn’t realize they would be this similar!