Re: Billups

[jmc@ptc.com (Jonathan McIntyre)]

Michael Gooen said:
> With all the "trade Chauncey" talk going on, has anyone noticed how the 
> point guards against whom he plays tend to have lousy games?  Take

  That's an excellent point.  I'd like to see some numbers on how 
much above/below their average point gaurds play against the Celtics. 
Of course, some of it is the team defense, and when the press is applied 
the ball is often in the hands of the point gaurd.  Even if the point 
gaurd does the right thing and beats the press by passing the ball upcourt 
quickly for an easy layup/dunk, he won't get credit for an assist
because there's usually one more pass before the ball gets to the guy
waiting on the baseline.

  However, Chauncy does have a high number of steals, and he gives us 
size at the PG spot, which is an improvement over previous years with 
our munchkin point gaurds who would have all kinds of trouble gaurding 
the bigger point gaurds of the NBA. 

  Looking at rookie stats at www.nba.com, Billups is 4th among ROOKIES 
in steals per game, 5th among rookies in Free Throw %, 3rd in 3-point %, 
and 8th in scoring. 

  While I'm on the topic of rookie stats, some other interesting stats: 

  Also among rookies, Ron Mercer is 3rd in scoring, 11th in rebounding, 
9th in FG%, and 3rd in the interesting category of steals per turnover. 

  Brevin Knight leads easily assists, steals and steals per turnover, 
and is 7th in FT%.  (I believe Billups is better defensively and will 
catch up offensively). 

  Tim Duncan leads easily in Rebounds, Blocks, and FG%, but most interesingly, 
he's 10th among rookies in assists per game.  If only those ping pong balls 
had bounced another way...

Jon Mc