NBA Facts and Tidbits - February

The NBA season is the longest of the major professional sports here in America. Because of that, so many things going on in the league go unnoticed, overlooked, or forgotten about. But in each addition of "NBA Tid Bits," you will get an edification on some of the NBA's most intriguing, but disregarded, facts, information, and details.

East Coast/West Coast

Did you think the reemergence of the Boston Celtics would help level the playing field between the two conferences? Well, if you did, you were wrong. Despite Boston being undefeated against the West Coast and Detroit with 12-7 Western Conference record, the contenders in the West Coast still far outnumber those in the East. In fact, the buck pretty much stops with the Celtics and Pistons. If the third place Orland Magic were in the West Coast with their 32-30 record, they would be in 7^th place and fighting to hold on for a playoff spot. On the other hand, the West Coast has at least four teams that vying for a championship this season, and if you include the stunning New Orleans Hornets and the red-hot Utah Jazz, that makes six.

King James or King Clutch?

Just as recently as last season, LeBron James and his ability to take the big shots in the 4^th quarter were being questioned. He calmed some of that down with his amazing stretch of points in Game 5 of last year's Eastern Conference Finals, but that didn't get rid of all of his doubters. Well, how about these stats? LeBron leads the league in double-digit scoring outputs in the 4^th quarter, and he is not doing this when his team is way behind or way out in front. In fact, his ability to turn it on in the 4^th quarter is the only reason the Cavaliers are going to make the playoffs. They point differential is -0.8. That differential would suggest that they should be 22-27 and just barely in the playoff picture. Instead, they are 28-21, because LeBron has been bailing them out of 4^th quarter deficits all season long.

Player You Never Heard Of...

How about Thaddeus Young? He is the reserve small forward for the Philadelphia 76ers, but he won't be on the bench in the near future. He's 19, only in his rookie season, and plays a mere 17 minutes per game, but he still maintains a Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 16.19, which is above league average and ranks him first among rookies (as of 2/10/08)! That is extremely impressive for a guy who gets so few touches on the offensive end. Currently, he averages 6.4 points per game, but that is 14.6 points per 40 minutes. His rebound rate 13.0, which is higher than LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul Pierce, who are all all-stars at the small forward position. Believe it won't be long before Thaddeus is getting the minutes he deserves and you recognize both his name and his game.