Western Conference TPR Allstars

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

Western Conference TPR Allstars  
By: Joe Schaller
Date: February 3, 2003

***You could probably identify some of the league leaders in points per
minute as well as rebounds, blocks, steals and assists per minute. However
could you even come close on the turnovers per minute leaders?

It's odd that in baseball and football we are presented with plenty of
information regarding errors, fumbles, interceptions, dropped passes etc. yet
in basketball negatives such as turnovers and missed shots are barely
mentioned despite their close correlation with actual wins and losses.

You might be surprised to know the season's top 5 in turnovers per minute are
Rodney White, Jason Kidd, Glen Robinson, Mark Jackson and Steve Francis. Kidd
makes up for it somewhat with large numbers of assists however Francis has a
horrible assist/turnover ratio for a point guard and this further supports my
contention that the Rockets would be better served with Francis as a 2-guard
and Mobley as Sixth Man.

The "out of control" Francis is a bad choice for the allstar team and Stephon
Marbury even more mind boggling. I've heard about a "revived" Marbury (just
look at the feature in USAToday today) yet he is essentially the same as last
season and far below his outstanding final season in Jersey. The assumption
to be drawn from this erroneous media hype must be that the overachieving
Suns success is Marbury's doing. The improved performance of their power
positions is a better assessment and this will likely not last with the Suns
the most likely to be passed by the Lakers and miss the playoffs.

The inclusion of a rookie who has not "paid his dues" along with Francis and
Marbury means exclusion of numerous players more worthy.


***Ben Wallace is the number one rebounder per minute (along with Kelvin Cato
), #11 for blocks/minute and is highly praised despite being a "non-scorer".
So where's the praise for David Robinson? He's #8 for rebounds/minute, #13
for blocks/minute and a much better scorer than Wallace. In fact, Robinson is
still the second best center in the NBA yet the media has already buried him
even during his farewell tour. His omission from the allstar game is
shameful.


***I'm not sure why Jerry Sloan doesn't get more minutes out of Andrei
Kirilenko as a swingman. The Roadrunner is third in the league in field goal
percentage, tenth in blocks/minute and twelth in steals/minute. Utah
continues to surprise the pundits with their outstanding season yet are left
out while Houston and Phoenix manage 2 allstars apiece. At least one of
Kirilenko, Karl Malone and John Stockton should be on the team.


***The Shaft Award: This years winner is Elton Brand, who has my highest
score without making the allstar game.


***Worst Selections: Marbury, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jamal Mashburn


***Highest TPR Allstar Game Score: Tim Duncan (389).


***While only 4 players from the East would make my Western team, 17 players
from the West would make my Eastern team, including Bobby Jackson but not
including Michael Finely.


Here's my criteria:
1. Half a season does not an allstar make: You have to pay your dues, people!
How many times do we see a first half flash fizzle down the stretch? Or a
slow starter like Karl Malone have a sterling second half run?
The current season counts half and the previous season half. This takes into
account consistency and durability.
By this reasoning rookies are not allowed!

2. Minutes played are factored: Players who did not have the durability or
coaches confidence are essentially penalized despite their outstanding TPR.

3. Flexibility: The East is loaded with guards and weak at forward- solution;
6 guards, 4 forwards.
The West is loaded with forwards- solution; 6 forwards, 4 guards.

4. No room for sentimentality: Even Michael Jordan has to earn his way.
Allstar selections should be all about truth and justice and when an
undeserving player is selected it means a deserving player is slighted.


Allstar Game Score = Last season's TPR + This season's TPR + minutes bonus


TPR WEST ALLSTARS
Guards.......'02TPR..'03TPR.."bonus..score

Kobe Bryant....136.....146.....65... 347

Gary Payton....137.....131.....68... 336

Steve Nash.....116.....123.....56... 295

John Stockton..128.....113.....50... 291

Forwards

Tim Duncan.....163.....158.....68... 389

Kevin Garnett..150.....162.....68... 380

Dirk Nowitzki...138.....151.....60... 349

Shawn Marion..132.....135.....68... 335

Chris Webber...141.....129.....52... 322

Elton Brand.....131.....118.....63... 312

Centers

Shaquille O'Neal.162...149.....47... 358

David Robinson.128....126.....47... 301
Others.......'02TPR..'03TPR.."bonus..score

Karl Malone......125.....116.....60... 301

Andrei Kirilenko..114...143.....44... 301

Rasheed Wallace.119....111...57... 287

Peja Stojakovic.114....119.....49... 282

Bobby Jackson.107.....134.....38... 279

Michael Finley..104.....110.....61... 275

Doug Christie...104.....111.....59... 274

Steve Francis...98......111.....59... 268

Pau Gasol........99......107.....61... 267

Andre Miller.....119.....80......61... 260

Rashard Lewis..110.....91......58... 259

Brent Barry.....115.....88......55... 258

Total Performance Ratings (The Total 12)

Scoring

Scoring Efficiency

Ballhandling

Rebounding

Disruptive Defense

One on one Defense

Team Defense

Team Game Pace

Positional Norms

Schedule Strength

Projected Improvement or Decline

Teams Wins Adjustment
Ratings indicate productivity per minute played. See my feature "The TPR
Formula" for more information.