Re: USA Today Player rankings

["Lance Jacobson" <lancejacob@xxxxxxxxx>]

Shucks.  Another article telling us Pierce is great.  Between Paul and Tammo
telling us, it must be true.

If we don't win the Finals, it's the fault of everyone except The Witness.
Damn, we're lucky to have him.

Please let me know who he's guarding tonight BEFORE the game stats are
calculated.  I'm sure he's not covering that SF Nowitzki, or SG Finley.
Maybe he's covering Del Harris, who will probably not outscore our
"consistent" Mr. Pierce.

Next we'll have "Best Headband" contests.  Keep me posted, please.
----- Original Message -----
From: <Tammo29@AOL.com>
To: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2002 10:35 AM
Subject: USA Today Player rankings


> More from USA Today.
> They've ranked each player by position from last years statistics.
> The ranking system is pretty simplistic so their conclusions are arguable.
> Still interesting to see where each of the Celtics show up when compared
to
> their opponents in each category.
> <A
>
HREF="http://usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2002-10-22-player-rankings-s
t
> ory_x.htm">
> USA Today Player rankings story</A>
>
> Numbers tell another story of NBA stars
>
> By David DuPree USA TODAY
>
> When any conversation about who is the best player in the NBA gets going,
it
> usually is confined to the same handful of players b Shaquille O'Neal,
Kobe
> Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd and Tim
> Duncan.
>  However, looking at it strictly from a statistical point of view, none of
> those players was even the best at his position last season.
>
> By Jack Gruber, USA TODAY
> Based on a ratings system using nine statistical categories and the team
> winning percentage, the top players at their positions last season were
San
> Antonio's David Robinson at center, Boston's Paul Pierce at small forward,
> Sacramento's Chris Webber at power forward, Seattle's Gary Payton at point
> guard and Seattle's Brent Barry at shooting guard.
>
> This is the second consecutive year in which Robinson has outpointed
O'Neal,
> who is unchallenged as the league's most dominant player. Robinson is the
> only player to repeat as the best at his position.
>
> Though all of their selections will raise a few eyebrows, Barry is likely
the
> biggest surprise. He wasn't even a starter before last season.
>
> Not only did he beat out McGrady, Bryant, Iverson and Ray Allen, but he
did
> it handily. Barry had the best total score of any player at any position,
and
> his margin over second-place finisher McGrady was the largest margin
between
> first and second at any position.
>
> Barry, a former NBA dunk champion was consistent and versatile. He was one
of
> only eight players in the league to average at least five rebounds and
five
> assists a game (Garnett, Kidd, McGrady, Bryant, Michael Jordan, Antoine
> Walker and Steve Francis were the others) and one of only two players
(Wally
> Szczerbiak was the other) who shot at least 50% from the field, 40% from
> three-point range and 80% from the foul line.
>
> "It's kind of cool," Barry says of his top ranking, but he's careful not
to
> lay claim to being the best of the best. "I guess it shows consistency and
> efficiency ... and it proves that you can do anything with numbers if you
> twist them around right."
>
> How the numbers were derived: Starters (or the player who played the most
> minutes) at each position last season were compared to other starters at
the
> same position. The players were ranked 1-29 in 10 categories, from best to
> worst. No category carried more weight than another.
>
> The categories: Team winning percentage, turnovers, three-point shots made
> per game, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebound average,
> assists average, steals average, blocked shots average and scoring
average.
>
> If a player was the highest-scoring power forward, for instance, he got
one
> point. The power forward with the lowest scoring average got 29 points.
The
> player with the fewest total points is, theoretically, the best at his
> position.
>
> <A
>
HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2002-10-23-player-rankin
g
> s.htm#sg">USA Today rankings by position</A>
>
> For those that don't want to take the time to look.
>
> PG-Non of the current Celtics are ranked.
>       Kenny Anderson came in 17th.
>
> SG- Eric Williams was dead last in the rankings at 29th.
>
> SF- Paul Pierce was 1st
>
> PF- Antoine Walker was tied for 8th
>       Vin Baker was 25th
>
> C-  Tony Battie was 15th