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Almost halfway through March, every team in the NBA has played at least 65 games. Like any other year, this season has seen plenty of drama - the Cleveland Cavaliers' up-and-down (more down), the Houston Rockets' amazing run so far, the tankathon at the bottom of the standings in both Conferences and the slippage of the San Antonio Spurs over the past few weeks. Not to mention the reported rift between the Spurs and Kawhi Leonard over the superstars' injury rehab.
There has been plenty of news coverage on a lot of the above-listed storylines (some being broadcasted in a negative light). It's time to shine some positivity.
With these many games already ticked off, it's highly unlikely that any stat-wise rankings will see drastic changes. So without any further ado, here are 5 underrated amazing stats from this season.
Note: Ideally, these stats are under-the-radar numbers that are huge reasons for success or show the real value of players.
#5 Steven Adams - Most Valuable Teammate?
Steven Adams was a huge reason why the Oklahoma City Thunder was a menace defensively at the beginning of the season. And although the team, as a whole, has slipped on that end of the floor since losing Andre Roberson to a left knee injury on January 28th, Adams' numbers have been quite consistent and among the league's elite.
Adams' biggest value to the team doesn't show on traditional stats but when you dig deeper, his impact is clear. He ranks sixth in the league in contested shots per game with 13.0 per game. In games played till the All-Star Break, he leads the league in Box Outs (11.3 per game) with the next being Enes Kanter averaging 9.5 per game.
Those were his defensive impact. Now, for the other end of the floor. He ranks second in the league in screen assists (4.9 per game), only Rudy Gobert is better averaging 5.9 per game but the Utah Jazz center has played 23 fewer games. While that's a huge contribution in itself, his offensive rebounding numbers will say more.
He ranks second to Andre Drummond (5.2) in offensive rebounds per game (4.9). Even in terms of offensive rebound chances, he (10.5) is second only to the Pistons' big man (10.8). The two brute centers are tied, however, when it comes to contested offensive rebounds per game - 3.5.
#4 DeMar DeRozan's 3-point shot & APG
There's hardly been any mention of DeMar DeRozan in any MVP discussion so far this season. No doubt, he's been named in the Top 10 and on certain occasions even in the Top 5 but rarely has he been consistently mentioned and talked about.
DeRozan's play or rather his sacrifice is a huge component of the Toronto Raptors' 50 wins so far. Everybody has talked about how the team is different this time with their strong bench, improved ball movement and outside shooting. DeRozan, as the team's All-Star, has been at the forefront of their transformation.
He has become an outside threat with three-pointers this season, knocking them down at a far more respectable rate (31.9% as compared to 26.6% last season) on way more attempts (3.6 to 1.7 last season). In terms of distributing and sharing, the California native is averaging a career-high 5.2 assists, a considerable leap from his 3.9 apg last year despite holding the ball far lesser than last season.
#3 Boston Celtics' Record even without Hayward
As we neared the All-Star Break, the Boston Celtics began to look human, going in losing four of their last five games. Being second in the East with an assured Playoff spot, they've played at such a high level all season that we tend to forget that they have been without a key two-way player in Gordon Hayward since the season's tip-off.
At the time of writing, other than Hayward, four of their key rotation players have been in-and-out of the team's past few games and will continue to be going ahead due to injuries but they have been able to steady the ship. Since the All-Star break, they have gone 6-2 in eight games but injuries are forcing them to go really deep into their roster, yet they almost won a game on Sunday against the Indiana Pacers.
Brad Stevens is a huge reason for the team's success. He's been able to establish a system where they plug in any of their players from the roster and the team tends to be competitive on both ends of the floor.
So while all of us mention these Celtics among the elite of the league, a right they have most certainly earned, let's take a second to remember who they have been missing all this while and what they have achieved so far despite that.
#2 Russell Westbrook could average a triple-double again
Also read: Top 10 of Russell Westbrook's Triple Doubles
Since Kevin Durant left to sign with the Golden State Warriors, we have witnessed an unleashed Russell Westbrook taking over the league. Everybody was tracking his movements last year, as he broke the record for most triple-doubles in a season (42) and became the first player since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62 to average a triple-double in a season.
Last year, the supporting cast around him was so bad that people followed the Thunder games only to check out Westbrook's record-breaking triple-double performances. This year is slightly different. Having acquired Paul George and Carmelo Anthony this past offseason, the Thunder management has assembled few superstars alongside their MVP. This might not have resulted in a deep bench but it certainly raised the talent level of the team.
While the possibility of averaging a triple-double this season, has gotten some coverage, it's been majorly overshadowed by the team's up-and-down play. The team is currently 41-29 right now, having won four straight but they have faced their fair share of troubles in the early part of the year. And with their best perimeter defender in Andre Roberson out for the season, it might not get any easier going ahead.
Note: Westbrook needs to average 10.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists over the remaining games to average triple-double for the season
#1 Kemba Walker's value
Now, on the surface, Kemba Walker is a 6'1" Tier-2 point guard in this league who has been trying and failing to lead his franchise - the Charlotte Hornets - to relevancy for the past three-four years. None of his stats, this year, are career numbers but don't judge his value to the team based on that. Despite being just 6'1", he's a huge asset to the team while on the floor.
He's been able to single-handedly carry the team on few occasions to wins but at the end of the day, it's a team game. He can't do it alone and unfortunately, the team has lost more than they have won (current record: 29-39) in three of the last four seasons. They had a slight resurgence just after the All-Star break, where they won four straight but their slim Playoff hopes were completely extinguished when the lost six of their next seven.
From the 68 games so far, the Hornets have a net rating of +2.9 when Walker is on the floor. That's effectively the best in the team (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist who has played more than 750 minutes lesser has a higher net rating of 4.2). And when Walker is off the floor, the Hornets have a net rating of -10.0 (by far the best, with Dwight Howard being next at -5.5).
And this isn't a one-season wonder. Walker's value by these number holds true even last year (On the court: +3.6, Off the court: -7.0). The blame has to go on the management, in not being able to effectively assemble a capable and competitive roster around their best player - an All-Star.
Guess the Lakers players!
