www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOP88IrDlRM

Games that define player capability and possess understated basketball genius often go unnoticed within the marathon of a long season. On Thursday night, Stephen Curry had one of these games, soon to be forgotten by everyone but Warriors’ fans, but directly correlated to a future hope. It was a near flawless game, a unique performance characterized by a thoroughly unselfish 36-point output and a variety of dominance. In this ideal near-perfection of basketball, meaning reigns undeniably, quietly, and hidden, never sought after but easily found upon careful examination.

For much of the season, the ankles of Stephen Curry have been a far more noticeable media staple point than his developing game. Curry, now in his third year league, has faced frequent ankle injury troubles during the last two years, highlighted by the significant injury that led him to miss an eight-game stretch in January. Before his injury, this season was viewed as an important one for Curry. The Warriors are a talented team, if dysfunctional and inherently flawed, but quickly fall into innate mediocrity without Curry. He’s the closest thing the team has to a young franchise star, and seemed poised to make the leap that fellow young, talented guards have made (Ty Lawson and James Harden, among others). Injury woes struck, but Thursday night’s game served as a reminder of why Curry belongs near the forefront of that group when healthy.

Curry’s game is one defined by a certain conciseness and poise. He often reaches a screen, collects as if to pull for three (a dangerous proposition for opposing defenses) and then quickly veers and strikes through the heart of the defense. If the defense tries to adapt to Curry’s two-fold scoring ability, he’s easily able to rattle off consecutive threes or assists with little trouble. The parts of Curry’s game that remain a work in progress -- skirting double teams, defensive mechanics, capitalizing consistently on transition possessions -- were remiss from action Thursday night, while the strengths were presented with alacrity.

Against the Nuggets, everything that makes Curry’s offensive game so thoroughly enticing was on full display. His shot was falling, he created space with ease, and he reached the rim with little trouble. Above all, he was managing to score at a terrific pace without forcing bad shots, a rare phenomenon. There were no obvious “heat check” shots to enumerate; instead, Curry found the open man without hesitation when unable to create for himself. Instead of forcing himself into a trap of forced shot attempts, Curry simply ran the offense and remained within his role. He finished with seven points and seven rebounds to go along with 36 points on 13-17 shooting, providing exclamation points on a performance that screamed, “Exclamation point!”

Maybe what Thursday night’s game revealed (in terms of long-term significance) lies in the number of skills Curry proved he’s capable of providing on any given night. This was a performance that seemed natural before all else, despite its outstanding qualities. Curry’s tools often appear so seamless on the court that one expects he could fit seamlessly into any backcourt in the league within an instant. Curry is far more than just a three-point shooter, equipped with an offensive game that can rest on several productive laurels before reaching ineffectiveness. He’s having the most efficient season of his career in limited time, shooting 50.8% from the field and 42.9% from three while averaging a career high in assists (6.8 APG, to accompany a sterling 23.3 PER). Curry’s ability to function as a natural scorer as well as an all-around difference maker bodes well in respect to his chances of developing into the star that the Warriors so desperately need.

Thursday night’s game was just a moment in a series of moments that form the 2011-2012 NBA season, but it’s important that its contents not be lost in the fray of a frantic schedule. Stephen Curry, illuminated in all of his emerging and quiet brilliance, is not someone to ignore.

Photo via Santina Amato

Ray Allen is having the kind of season that pure shooters dream about, only better. At 36 years old and in the middle of a lockout-shortened and condensed season, Allen is shooting a career-high 49.6% from the field. He’s shooting 51.5% from three, also a career high. His free throw percentage is, as usual, above 90%. Add it all up and you get 15.2 points on 10.9 shots per game with a 62.3 eFG% and a 65.6 TS%. Individually, he’s playing his role on the Celtics about as perfectly as it can be played. What can’t be overlooked though, is how much help he’s getting from his teammates, who are doing an exceptional job putting him in a position to succeed on offense.

Allen has what some people like to call “in-the-gym” range. As in, if he’s in the gym; he’s in range. That, combined with his lightning-quick release make him nearly impossible to stop when he gets going; all he needs is a smidgen of separation and he fires up a swish. His teammates, namely Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Jermaine O’Neal, do a great job of creating that separation for him. There’s a reason that 139 of his 228 field goals attempted (60.9%) and 73 of his 113 field goals made (64.6%) have come after 0 dribbles; he’s always open.

The Celtics’ ability to create open looks for him is a big reason why he’s been assisted on a career-high 81.7% of his field goals according to HoopData, continuing the upward trend that started when he came to Boston 5 seasons ago. His percentage of assisted baskets has risen every season since he’s become a Celtic, from from 64.5 in 2008, to 69.3% on 2009, 72.8% in 2010, 74.0% in 2011 and 81.7% this year.

Allow for a slight digression here; Allen has really struggled when he’s tried to create his own offense this season. Isolations, post-ups and plays where he is the pick-and-roll ball-handler this season have accounted for 17.4% of Allen’s possessions according to mySynergySports and he’s shot just 28.5% on those plays. These are plays that often call for him to create for himself, and he hasn’t been very successful. For the season, he’s shooting just 34.5% on field goals where he has taken 3 or more dribbles before shooting. Conversely, he’s shooting 52.8% when he takes 2 dribbles or less. So letting his teammates get him open shots is a really good strategy for him. End of digression.

The primary way the Celtics get Allen open is by running him off screens, sometimes two or three times on the same possession. Coming off screens accounts for 36% of Allen’s possessions.

A staple for the Celtics involves Allen starting the play in the corner, getting a back screen (or two, or three) along the baseline and materializing in the opposite corner for a wide open three. It’s a simple, effective way to get a knockdown shooter a free look.

Another play has Allen start on the block and come off a down-screen, flaring it into the corner. The corner is Allen’s sweet-spot, and the Celtics often work to get him open looks from that spot.

The Celtics also set screens for Allen even when he’s not involved in the primary action. Sometimes they’ll have Rajon Rondo or Paul Pierce run a pick-and-roll as the primary action at the top of the key with Allen making a V-cut toward the top of the key and then getting a back-screen as he makes his way to the corner.

Allen’s active off the ball movement, Garnett and O’Neal’s picture-perfect (or extremely dirty) screens and Rondo and Pierce’s pin-point passing have led to lots of open shots and it has come together to produce 1.13 Points Per Possession (PPP) off screens for Allen, which places him 5th in the league.

The Celtics also like to have Allen spot-up off the ball when the primary action is a pick-and-roll or isolation for Rondo or Pierce. They’ll station Allen in the corner in order to space the floor, and if the defense collapses on Rondo or Pierce on the drive, they simple kick it out to Allen for a three. Spot-ups account for 19.6% of Allen’s possessions.

The scoring threat of Paul Pierce off the dribble and Kevin Garnett as a roll man often opens up the court for Allen to camp out along the three-point line. He’s been able to capitalize on the space created for him by shooting 49% on spot-ups and registering 1.29 PPP, good for 15th in the NBA. He’s made 18 of 38 spot-up threes, a 47.4% clip.

Another way Allen finds openings is in transition. He usually does this in one of two ways: he’ll either run directly to a spot on the floor while Rajon Rondo pushes the ball in transition and wait for a pass, or he’ll trail Rondo and come around behind him for a hand-off. Transition opportunities have accounted for 16.5% of Allen’s possessions.

The chaos often created in transition and Rondo’s (and to a lesser extent, Pierce’s) ability and willingness to find Allen wherever he is on the break have coalesced into a ridiculous 1.37 PPP in transition for Allen, 18th in the NBA. He’s shooting 65.7% in transition and has made 11 of 22 transition threes.

These three plays account for 72.1% of Allen’s possessions, and he’s shooting 53.2% on them. If you want to know why he’s been so successful shooting the ball, you really don’t have to look much further.

"Where'd you learn to dunk? Finishing school?" via imaginaryyear.com

With the exception of Kobe Bryant’s three-game 40-point run — his middle finger to Father Time — Ricky Rubio going all “Pistolero” on the NBA and The Jeremy Lin Experience (Have you ever really been experienced?), this truncated NBA season hasn’t provided a the range of exquisite flavors an 82-game season does.

As opposed to the grind of a full season (which I don’t mind because it allows players, teams and story lines to develop), this lockout-truncated season has been more meat grinder. It has been more about what’s missing. First, it was the league itself. Now, it’s the players’ health. By the end, it may be their sanity because squeezing 66 games into just under 130 days is plain crazy.

That’s not to say there haven’t been sublime NBA moments this season. Considering these are The Stinkface Chronicles, you’ll note that I take note of those that have been above the rim. Here are the five I’ve enjoyed most so far.

DeAndre Jordan on Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, Dec. 19, 2011

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gDMERiw9Vs

This one happened during the preseason in December, which just goes to show you how weird this season has been. But this flush on the Lakers’ formidable frontline not only provided a glimpse into the denizens of Lob City (ironic, though it was a bounce pass off a pick-and-roll) but also harkened back to another preseason perpetration of Staples-on-Staples crime and the first entry in The Stinkface Chronicles. The Clippers’ bench — and Lakers haters — took great glee in this one, though Lakers’ fans could counter that the Clips should have been whistled for a technical foul for having 12 men on the court after Jordan’s flush.

4. Vince Carter on Emeka Okafor, Jan. 7, 2012

www.youtube.com/watch?v=efxVcT7GpDk

It’s vintage Vince, the greatest in-game dunker in NBA history and it’s beautiful. Also, that’s the fastest Brendan Haywood has moved in quite some time, even with Delonte West riding shotgun.

3. Dwyane Wade on Landry Fields, Jan. 27, 2012

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEsQm3cxw2A

Wade shows Fields the ball, loops it around Fields’ noggin and then slams said ball on said noggin’. Euro-steppin’.

2. LeBron James on/over John Lucas III, Jan. 29, 2012

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvjjEtjwKHE

Here’s a little bit of trivia for you: who was the announcer when Vince Carter unleashed “Le Dunk du Morte“? On the US broadcast, it was Mike Breen, who had a similar reaction to Bron’s dunk as Doug Collins’ did to Vince’s. Breen chuckles a little like Santa Claus — “Hohohoho” — as he should because these two dunks were the best gifts any dunk connoisseur could receive. (An aside, when I saw LeBron’s slam, all I could think of was Collins’ “he jumped over his heeeeaaad” commentary.)

1. Blake Griffin on Kendrick Perkins, Jan. 30, 2012

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w_Vy0lDk_A

I rate this slightly ahead of LeBron’s dunk because Lucas didn’t see it coming while Perkins knew full well what he was getting into. Perkins’ act of engagement (and aiding his rise by graciously providing his chest as a step stool) helped make this the dunk* of the season … thus far. So, we thank you, Kendrick.

As for Griffin’s full-fledged assault on Perkins’ puss, we can’t call it the greatest dunk of all-time. That belongs to Vince in 2000. I’ll also argue it doesn’t belong in the Top 10* on two points: One, it had a precedent, specifically Griffin’s throwdown on Timofey Mozgov in the 2010-11 season; and, two: neither were technically dunks as Griffin threw both into the rim instead of grabbing the rim. While I won’t be too much of a Grinch to give the plays their due, I can’t put either into the greatest of all time because of it. What follows is a list of my favorite all-time dunks in an NBA game. Make it yours, because, really, you can’t go wrong when you reference them.

FAVORITE IN-GAME DUNKS OF ALL-TIME (PRE-2011-12 EDITION)

Amar’e Stoudemire on Michael Olowokandi

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mbLdZlQC1U

This dunk is the genesis of The Stinkface Chronicles. We thank thee, Amar’e and you as well, Starbury. Your expression speaks volumes. (For more Amar’e, check out a similar destruction of Anthony Tolliver.)

Dwyane Wade on Kendrick Perkins

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cYau7gba5Y

Now, this is a dunk on Kendrick Perkins.

John Starks on Michael Jordan*

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCTfxOrX4k8

OK, it technically wasn’t on Jordan, but he was in the picture and I just wanted to remind everyone about that.

Dominique Wilkins on Larry Bird

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ngtWdgOz0o

Bird looks like he was shot out of the sky.

Baron Davis on Andrei Kirilenko

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYpwjB0IzoU

Isn’t it amazing what Baron Davis can do when he’s in shape and interested?

Tom Chambers on Mark Jackson

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7T_Wg5ilo8

This dunk has the Chris Webber seal of approval.

Shawn Kemp on the Knicks

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVm6USjXAzk

While most people will give Kemp props for his destruction of Alton Lister, I prefer this one because of the degree of difficulty. A double-pump reverse on two defenders? Get the hell outta here /NewYorkvoice. (It’s No. 3 in this compilation which includes classics such as Chris Gatling giving the Reignman his props and Kemp putting a knee into Bill Laimbeer’s onions.)

Julius Erving on Michael Cooper

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCT9QyqhkBU

From the cradle to the crowd rising, like the crest of a wave, as Dr. J skims across the Spectrum floor to Chick Hearn’s call of the cradle (“Way … he rocks the baby to sleep…”) to Michael Cooper going into the fetal position to Beard Dude, everything about this is cool.

Vince Carter on Alonzo Mourning

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcU66xdeGck

Carter, the greatest in-game dunker in NBA history, (I need to trademark that), has more than his share of show-stoppers, but Carter goes chest-to-chest with Zo, one of the more feared shotblockers in NBA history, and destroys him. I had this saved on my DVR for more than two years. I wish I still had it.

Michael Jordan on Patrick Ewing

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R015PScpTM

Oh, no, Jordan’s trapped in the corner by two Knicks. Wait, no he isn’t. But, oh no, there’s no way he’s going to the make it to the hoop. Ewing is there to block it … Never mind. A seven-foot obstacle is no impediment. After Jordan stares down Ewing, you can hear Cliff Livingston go, “Wooohoohoo!” as he mock sprints from the scene of the crime. Or, later in the highlight, Walt “Clyde” Frazier noted that Jordan was gyratin’ and vibratin’ and manages to get a Diet Pepsi commercial all in one comment.

This one play may encapsulate Michael Jordan’s gifts better than any play in his career: the improvisation, the athleticism, the competitiveness. Of all the great dunks in Jordan’s career, this one rises above the rest.

Photo from podnosh via Flickr

Nikola Pekovic being a monster is not a surprise. At 26 years old, he’s been standing 6’11” and weighing 290 lbs for quite a while now. The spine-shiveringly intimidating left arm tattoo (I can never tell if it’s a templar standing atop a gigantic pile of skulls or an artistic interpretation of what Dahntay Jones does to basketball on a nightly basis) has been there for quite a while. The unquenchable thirst for blood, the sheer enjoyment on the behemoth’s face as he tears the limbs off unsuspecting mortals and chews on their final remains of dignity? Yeah, you’re born with that. You better believe that Pek has been punching fake-tough toddlers when he was still in diapers.

Nikola Pekovic being a productive NBA player, though? That’s new.

My first extended glimpse of Pekovic came in the 2010 Eurobasket qualifiers, when the big man toyed with the inadequate defensive lines of such middle-class squads such as Italy, Israel, Latvia and Finland. No, the competition wasn’t top-notch, but Pekovic was so dominant, his skill set so perfectly tailored for the sliver of the NBA game that is post scoring, that the notion of him being unsuccessful in while stateside seemed impossible.

Of course, one year in, my conviction was long gone. When a rookie Pek first strolled through the hallways of the Target Center, the frightening off-court specimen did a very poor job driving the same type of fear into his opponents’ hearts during actual basketball games. Instead, he drove arms into their jumpshots, hips into their sides as they tried to rebound, or anything that would make a striped-shirted gentleman blow a whistle in his general direction.

In 2010-2011, Pekovic accumulated 181 personal fouls in 887 minutes of play for a downright obscene average of 8.16 fouls per 40 minutes. Just think about what that means. Essentially, at that pace, Pekovic would foul out on a nightly basis after an average of 29.4 minutes. No less than 105 players averaged more minutes per game than that figure. Essentially, if every single player last season was a Pek clone, almost a quarter of the league would have fouled out every game. Pekovic wasn’t exactly a smooth sailor overseas – in his final Euroleague season with Panathinaikos, he averaged just 5.04 fouls every 40 minutes throughout 13 games, in and of itself a high number. But it also isn’t a near-historic mark, and it came with the added benefits of a dominant post present, one who shot 60% from the field, got to the line 6 times a night, and was generally unstoppable once he had the ball in close vicinity to the hoop.

Somehow, it just wouldn’t and couldn’t translate. Be it the stank of backing up Darko, the incompetence of being coached by Kurt Rambis, a streak of bad luck, or just troublesome adjustment, the aggression that European frontlines wilted under was instead manifesting itself in carelessness and frustration, notions of blood-hungry dominance buried under the pile of towels that was left forgotten by Pekovic’s prime spot on the bench. Even the strongest of believers, those with Montenegrin blood in their veins and horrible Nikola puns on their lips were left wondering if Pek would even be able to live out his initial 3 year deal.

Of course, this is a story that wouldn’t have been written if not for the impressive turnaround of this current season. As Spanish point guards with smiles that make hearts melt and veteran coaches who know actual basketball combined to lift the Timberwolves up the staircase of respectability, Pekovic regained that which made him an NBA prospect in the first place. After a one-year-one-lockout hiatus, the brute strength flipped back from weakness to asset, the post game rose from the dead, the rival centers cowered back under their security blankets.

The numbers are so startling that they overstate the impact – 20 and 11 per 40 minutes, an all-star PER of 21.15, mind-boggling mySynergySports numbers that rank Pek as the league’s 16^th best offensive player and the 8^th best defensive one (3^rd in the entire league as the p&r roll man! THIRD! That doesn’t happen without a passing savant up at point). These are league best numbers, for a center or for an anything, and while they’re clearly overshot by a mile, they do mean something. Like an up-and-coming team finding itself an up-and-coming big man. Or that Malicious Milicic finally his shameful left hook shots far away from the timid, innocent, deep blue eyes of Ricky Rubio, storing them far away, where they belong.

More than that, though, they teach us a lesson of patience. Nikola Pekovic arrived in Minneapolis a 24 year old, an age at which most basketball players are, if not a finished product, very close to being one. He showed absolutely nothing for a full season, at which point he blossomed. Not because he learned something new, or because he needed a full year to power up on the souls of those that he brutally destroyed (though this is possible), but because comfort means that much.

It’s easy to forget how these players are nothing more than young men, some of them thousands of miles away from home, speaking languages they don’t understand with people the like of which they’ve never met, playing a game dramatically different from the one they knew. Just like a Brandon Jennings can be dramatically better in the NBA than he was in Europe, not because of talent, but because of a fitting style, so too can happen with a Nikola Pekovic, the other way around. Acquitting one’s self to this new world is no easy task. It requires patience. It requires guidance. It requires a system willing to accept that the first year could be a disgusting affair that isn’t worth our time.

Time. It’s what is required more than anything. Even if you’re a monster.

In this week’s installment of 2×2’s and You, we’ll be taking a look at two advanced statistics that reflect the skills an ideal point guard possesses. As the trigger man of the offense, you want your point guard to put other players on the floor in position to score. You also want him to take care of the ball by not turning it over. However, merely looking at assists per game and turnovers per game does not tell the full story. Therefore, we’ll be using Assist Ratio and Turnover Ratio as our metrics. Quick introduction (or refresher) on these statistics:

Assist Ratio is defined as the percentage of a player’s possessions that ends in an assist. The formulation is as follows: (Assists x 100) divided by [(FGA + (FTA x 0.44) + Assists + Turnovers]

Turnover Ratio is defined as the percentage of a player’s possessions that end in a turnover. The formulation is as follows: (Turnovers x 100) divided by [(FGA + (FTA x 0.44) + Assists + Turnovers]

Note: All numbers courtesy of John Hollinger and are accurate through February 8, 2012.

For simplicity’s sake, we will only be looking at the starting point guard for all 30 teams in the league.

Top Left Quadrant: This was by far the most deceptive quadrant. Classically, this would be the quadrant that you wouldn’t want your point guard to fall into as it contains those PGs with an above average Turnover Ratio and below average Assist Ratio. However, when we look at the names of the players that fall into this quadrant, it is important to look at the roles these players must assume on their particular teams. Of the seven players in the quadrant, five of them (Curry, Douglas, Irving, Wall, and Williams) play on teams that are under .500 while Chalmers and Westbrook man the point position on two of the top three teams in the league. Many of these players’ roles on their respective teams are to be scorers rather than distributors. In fact, Westbrook (2^nd), Williams (3^rd), Irving (7^th), Curry (9^th), and Wall (10^th) all rank among the top ten PGs in the league in points per game. As a result, they will be looking to handle and shoot the ball rather than pass which leads to an increased turnover rate and decreased assist ratio.

Bottom Left Quadrant: This is essentially the previous quadrant on a more efficient scale. Here we’re looking at below average Turnover and Assist Ratios. Players here are typically pure scorers; in fact, of the five players that are in the top ten in scoring among PGs and who didn’t fall into the top left quadrant, Rose (1^st), Jennings (4^th), Parker (6^th), and Evans (8^th) are contained here.  Unless Rose goes on an absolute tear and LeBron stops having one of the most insane statistical seasons we have ever seen, he won’t repeat as Most Valuable Player. When healthy, he has done an admirable job of taking over a game and scoring when he needs to in order to will the Bulls to victory. We saw it so often all last year, particularly in the Bulls-Pacers first round matchup, and Rose has been able to continue his strong work this season.

Bottom Right Quadrant: Breaking news alert: Chris Paul is really, really good. CP3 was the only top ten scoring point guard to register an above average Assist Ratio and below average Turnover Ratio. In other words, he is the complete package. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that has seen Paul play this year, or ever for that matter, but sometimes it’s just nice to see when the numbers back up the “eye test” as well. Jose Calderon meanwhile is quietly having a solid year despite being on a poor Raptors team. Calderon is averaging 8.3 APG and shooting just under 91% from the free throw line while running an offense that does not have many offensive weapons. The fact that he currently holds the highest Assist Ratio among any PG in the league is impressive to say the least.

Top Right Quadrant: You could call this the prototypical point guard quadrant. Despite technically having played enough to qualify, Kidd appears to be an outlier in this quadrant with ridiculously high Turnover and Assist Ratios.  It comes as no surprise to see Nash and Rondo here as they represent two PGs known for their tremendous court vision and passing ability.  As the window continues to close exceedingly fast on Boston’s title window, Rondo needs to continue distributing the ball to the rest of the Big Three and others while simultaneously knowing when and how to take over games when needed. As long as Danny Ainge holds onto Rondo, he is going to be the future in Boston. Knowing this, it is going to be imperative that he refines his game in order to reduce his turnovers as his career evolves. Rondo’s turnovers per game has increased every year since he’s been in the league going from 1.8 per game in his rookie 226-07 campaign to 3.8 per game this season. His turnovers per 36 minutes have also increased every year since his sophomore season from 2.3 to 3.8 this year. It’s not to the point where it is setting off alarm bells in the Boston area, but it may if it continues on this trend.

Photo by RambergMediaImages via Flickr

“From the outside looking in, you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.”

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that phrase to explain the Greek Community of fraternities and sororities to those that were not part of them, I’d be a very rich man right now. The same principle applies when explaining to a non-sports fan why we spend hours upon hours of our lives invested in players that we will most likely never meet in our lives and cheering for teams because they have a particular logo on their chests. To the outside observer, sports are a simple game. Put a round ball in a round hoop. Take an oblong ball and run it over a line marked on the field. Kick a ball into a net. What is there to get excited about? But reducing it to this simple of an observation is akin to saying that Van Gogh’s paintings are just some colors on a piece of canvas or Beethoven’s compositions are a series of notes strung together. In the most basic, technical sense, it’s true; obviously, it’s much more than that though. Feel free to use this the next time you’re presented with the “Why do you care so much? It’s just a game,” argument with a friend or significant other.

Because it brings people together. It’s hard enough to get a group of co-workers to agree on where to go to lunch most days. Throw a bunch of people from one city together though, and you’ll almost certainly find that they pull for the same sports team.  There are very, VERY few things that people of different genders, races, religions, political beliefs, sexual orientations, and social classes can agree upon, but sports is one of those unique, uniting factors. Luckily, there is no prerequisite for cheering for your local team. Sure, money plays a part in where your seats may be located, but it certainly doesn’t affect your passion for the game. In fact, often times the upper reaches of the arena are louder than the lower bowl. When the home team knocks down a buzzer beater to win, you don’t care the history of the people around you; you just want to high-five everyone in sight. Maybe one of you goes back to your studio apartment and the other goes back to his $500,000 house, but that game gave you the opportunity to share that moment, albeit briefly, with one another. There is nothing else that provides this type of experience.

Because it’s a distraction. The world economy is suffering. There is war going on all over the globe. People are murdered every day. Flip on any news show, and chances are one of these problems is leading off the telecast. In fact, ask yourself this: when’s the last time you saw a newscast lead off with a positive story that wasn’t sports related? Go ahead; I’ll wait. You’re struggling with it, aren’t you? We are constantly bombarded with negativity and depressing stories all day. Sports serve as welcome distractions to all the evil in today’s society. Whether your team wins or loses on a given day, if you’re reading this post, you mostly likely have a better life than a huge majority of others worldwide. Tiquan Underwood did a great job keeping things in perspective this weekend when he was cut from the Patriots less than 24 hours before the Super Bowl and tweeted, “I Been Thru A LOT…But There Are Ppl In This World w/ More Serious Problems So I Cant Hang The Head.” Sometimes it’s nice to take our minds off of our problems and do something else for a change; sports provide the perfect outlet to do this.

Because it’s an opportunity to learn. In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, “You can observe a lot by watching.” How many times in your life do you get to see the greatest people in the world at what they do perform on a nightly basis? If you’re an auto mechanic and had the chance to watch the best mechanic in the world day in and day out, don’t you think you would take advantage of that with the hopes that you would learn something from him over time? The same goes from sports. The opportunity to watch Hakeem Olajuwon’s footwork, Ray Allen’s sweet shooting stroke, or Steve Nash’s court vision is an absolute privilege for everyone from those learning the game for the first time to those college stars about to go pro. There aren’t a lot of high school players that are going to sit and break down NBA game film on a nightly basis, but I can guarantee that those who watch games closely can pick up on little things that can help them with their game. Not athletic enough to play in the big leagues but love the game? Go to a game and watch where the referees or umpires position themselves during a game. Observe the situations in which a coach uses his timeouts and how he addresses his team during them. You pay good money to watch every person on that court because they are simply the best at what they do; take advantage of it. Sports can be fun, but they present a terrific learning opportunity as well.

Because you may see something unbelievable. I touched on this in a post last week, but it bears repeating. You just never know when you’re going to see something unexpected and witness history. We all knew this week that we were going to see Kobe Bryant pass Shaq on the all-time scoring list and Paul Pierce do the same to Larry Bird. What we don’t see coming are moments like Kobe randomly going off for 81 points against the Raptors on a random Sunday night in January back in 2006 or Michael Jordan’s incredible switching hands layup against the Lakers. It’s why we stay up late, even in the middle of the season in seemingly meaningless games, wondering if maybe, just maybe, this would be the night that something spectacular would occur. The trade off of sleep for witnessing something like this is worth it to say that you were there or saw it live. You can go on to eBay right now and buy tickets of old games that had historical significance to the sport of your choosing; the thought and allure of attending one of those games keeps some people coming back year after year on the off chance that it could be them having one of those tickets some day.

Because it’s real. I’ve often told people that sports is the best reality show on television; yes, even better than Jersey Shore. There is no script. There is no acting. At its core, we are drawn to the unknown of not knowing what is going to happen. Sure, we may think that we can predict some things (the Heat will win, the Bobcats will lose, Javale McGee will do something hilarious, etc.), but ultimately we have no idea how it will play out. Note: this is why sports gambling exists. Unless you DVR a game to watch the next day and come across highlights or a recap of a game prior to watching it, there are no such things as spoilers that will ruin the ending for you. A lot of us like the familiar and routine, but the unpredictability that sports provides is a nice counterbalance in our lives as well.

Because one day it will be worth it. Every single year, 29 out of 30 NBA teams do not win the championship. In fact, 13 out of those 30 teams (Charlotte, Cleveland, Denver, Indiana, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Orleans, Orlando, Phoenix, Toronto, Utah) have never won a NBA championship in their history. So why invest time, energy, and money into being a fan of teams like this when they continue to break our hearts year after year? It’s because we tell ourselves that one day, the clock will strike zero and our team will be left with more points on the scoreboard than the opposition. At that instance, you will feel more joy than at nearly any other point in your life aside from marriage or the birth of your child. Let’s put it this way, you simply don’t get that feeling from watching a great episode of Community or Grey’s Anatomy. You live in the moment of celebration, consequences be damned. To this day, I remember a friend of mine running outside to make snow angels, while in a t-shirt, immediately following Ohio State’s national championship win over Miami in 2003. Name something else that can cause that kind of reaction in people in life. We live for that moment, that joy, that ecstasy. In the days that follow, you will go out and buy as much championship gear and accessories as you possibly can. DVDs, t-shirts, hats, posters, and more are all in play. Why? Because you never know if or when you will ever get that opportunity again. Rest assured though, when the ball is tipped off next season, you’ll be glued to the TV again ready to start the roller coaster ride all over again.

After all, it’s why we love sports.

Photo by creationsanew via Flickr

Pretty much everything NBA-related until Thursday (when All-Star reserves are named) will truly be All-Star-related, instead, so why not jump on the bus? With six games tonight, I’m highlighting the players in each game that stand at least some chance of being selected for the festivities.

Jazz at Pacers, 7 PM EST, NBA TV

Roy Hibbert, seen here firing massive artillery into the water, has an affinity for blowing up expectations and previously established career averages.

Possible All-Stars: Paul Millsap, Roy Hibbert

Both of these teams have big men who are likely longshots for selection, yet both players would be worthy choices. Millsap has the longer odds, in my estimation, which is a shame. He’s playing at an absolutely elite level on the offensive end, rebounding almost 18% of total misses when he’s on the court and is a neutral defender at worst most nights. Due to a glut of power forwards, especially in the Western Conference, Millsap might not make the game.

Hibbert, as a center in the Eastern Conference, is a safer bet to make the team -- Dwight Howard will need a backup, after all -- but he’s by no means a shoo-in. Hibbert is having the best season on offense of his career, like Millsap. He’s more accurate from the field than ever, and he’s blowing his previous rebounding rates out of the water. It’d be nice to seem him play more minutes (just under 30 per game), but he’s had a solid season.

Bobcats at Celtics, 7:30 EST

Possible All-Stars: Boston’s Big 4

All four of Boston’s core players have faced limitations of some sort this season. Kevin Garnett got off to one of the slowest starts in the league, generating speculation that he had in fact retired during the offseason and was allowing various small children to control his NBA-playing hologram/avatar as part of a community outreach. Garnett has come on stronger of late, though, and he might receive a Lifetime Achievement selection to the team, nominally predicated on Boston’s improved defense of late.

Rajon Rondo has missed eight games due to injury, but his rate statistics are at their usual level -- excepting his usage rate, which is up a tick or two after taking on more of the scoring load compared to last season; his FGAs/36 minutes are up by one attempt per “game.” Given his status as one of the East’s best point guards, he seems the likeliest Celtic to make the team.

Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have had fine seasons of their own, though injury and a need to handle the ball more and shoot less, respectively, got them off to slow starts as well. They’re among a handful of potential wing players whose selection would not at all surprise me.

Cavs at Heat, 7:30 EST

Possible All-Stars: Chris Bosh, Kyrie Irving

When I initially typed the heading for this game, my fingers decided to take it upon themselves to type “Heart” instead of “Heat.” That’s fitting for both teams and both players; Bosh and Irving are at the core of what both teams do. Irving has a slightly larger responsibility on the offensive end than Bosh, what with running the entire Cavaliers offense, being their best scoring threat, trying to make Antawn Jamison look like someone for whom teams would actually want and generally making defenses look silly. He probably won’t make the team, with veterans Rondo and Deron Williams likely ahead of him on the coaches’ hierarchy, however.

The Heat depend on Bosh to a great extent on the defensive end -- letting along his offensive versatility. Much of Miami’s ability to fly around the court, rotate like madmen and trap multiple ballhandlers in a single possession stems from Bosh’s skill at covering large swaths of the floor and various positions. He’s a lock for the All-Star Game.

Suns at Bucks, 8:00 EST

Possible All-Stars: Steve Nash

I would have loved to include Andrew Bogut on this list, but whatever universal force doles out injuries is a bastard.

Nash turned 38 today (happy birthday!), yet he’s still leading an NBA offense at an elite level.* Basketball-Reference’s AST% estimates that Nash assists on 57.7% of Phoenix’s field goals this year. Given that the Suns score fewer points per possession and, by my eyes, play at a slower rate when Nash is on the bench, that surely underestimates Nash’s impact on the Suns’ scoring. Oh, and he’s having one of his best shooting seasons ever -- career-best in eFG%, career-silver medal in TS%.

*Individually, that is. The Suns are elite at playing Shannon Brown way too many minutes. That’s about it.

Kings at Wolves, 8:00 EST

Possible All-Stars: Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio

Love is a lock; I’d have taken him over Griffin, but whatever. He’ll be there.

Rubio’s a stretch, but I’d beseech the coaches to give him some consideration. All-Star Games are more fun with players adept at passing the ball, and -- even in his first year in the league -- few are better than Rubio. And let’s be honest -- the defense in the All-Star Game is going to be Wizards-esque. Rubio would be perfect for that setting.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8uZHq2Fjz4

Thunder at Warriors, 10:30 EST, NBA TV

Possible All-Stars: Russell Westbrook, James Harden

Westbrook is another player sure to be in Orlando. Harden, on the other hand, will likely be jostling for a spot with the other elite guards in the Western Conference -- Nash, Tony Parker, Kyle Lowry -- while also having to contend with the fact that coaches will likely make room for LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love, at the very least, from the assembly line of power forwards in the West. Harden is one of the players with both the most realistic chance of making the game and the highest potential for missing out, and it’s through no fault of his own. Here’s hoping the coaches find room.

30 is the sum of the first four squares, which makes it a square pyramidal number.

Everybody who had 30 points gets a Lion Face. Because it’s my post so I get to make the rules.

Lion Face: Dwight Howard

33 points, 14 rebounds. And a heartbreaking double-OT big nothin’ to show for it.

Lemon Face: Hanging onto your superstar til he walks and you have nothin’ to show for it.

Lion Face: John Wall

31 points on 10-19 shooting, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and an OT W. Yessir, this is who we all hoped John Wall was.

Lion Face: Jerryd Bayless

30 points helped tremendously by 6-10 from the arc, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. This is who Portland hoped Jerryd Bayless was.

Lion Face: Linas Kleiza

30 points on 11-16 shooting, 4-8 from 3, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and a steal off of the bench.

Lemon Face: Making up for a 42-point first half and coming back from an 18-point deficit only to lose in overtime.

Linsanity Face Break

Lion Face: DeMarcus Cousins

Cousins came one bucket from the the pyramidal list and one rebound shy of a 20/20, dropping 28 and 19 in a rare Kings victory. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Lion Face: Kevin Durant

A career high field goal attempts proves to be enough of a boost to bury the Blazers in the Rose Garden. KD had 33 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and a block in the win.

Lion Face: LaMarcus Aldridge

Welcome to the All-Star game, LMA. 39 points on 50% from the field, a perfect 11-11 from the fee throw line, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block on national television should be enough to sway the fence sitters that he’s overdue for accolades.

Lemon Face:

Lion Face:

All numbers are courtesy BasketballReference.com and are through February 5 for the current season.

PPG: Self explanatory, Points Per Game

Pace: An estimate of team possessions per 48 minutes

D-Rtg: An estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions.

Note: The difference between O-Rtg (offensive rating) and D-Rtg (defensive rating) can be misleading to those unfamiliar with it. The league average O-Rtg and D-Rtg is always the same number — a higher number than the average is a better O-Rtg, lower is a better D-Rtg. So the D-Rtg in this exercise is also the league average O-Rtg, but as offense is already represented in PPG I opted to present it as the defensive measure. That is, of course, a simplified explanation, but serves for these purposes

The 1998-99 regular season didn’t actually start until 1999 and consisted of 50 games per team starting on February 5 and ending on May 5, 1999

The 2011-12 regular season started on December 25, 2011 and is scheduled to consist of 66 games per team and end on April 26, 2012

The results were not what I expected when I started down this road. This is one of those times the eyeball test deceived me. Sure there’s been some eggs laid, as there are every year, but all-in-all I’ve had no complaints about the action night to night.

Observations

• PPG is off 5.1 this year compared to last while it fell of only 4.0 PPG in the last lockout cycle. However, since it was so low in ’99 it feels a lot less worse this time around. The difference between pre-’99 lockout and the current season is barely more than a single made free throw. The league average PPG has hovered around 100 for the last several seasons. The lowest-scoring non-lockout season in the David Stern era (1984-present) was 2003-04, at 93.4 PPG

• Pace is least affected by lockout seasons, comparatively, although this is the one measure more affected in the previous lockout compared to this one, a difference of 1.4 possessions from ’98 to ’99 compared to only 0.7 from last to this. Maybe readers can help unlock this mystery

• D-Rtg  has also risen dramatically in lockout years (remember, lower is better for D-rating), a difference of 2.8 from ’98 to ’99 and a difference of 4.5 from last to this. This is obviously due more to worse offense than better defense, as the following numbers will bear out, but we’re in far better shape overall when PPG are concerned with similar D-Rtg’s in both lockout years. This is largely due to the league as whole experiencing a high water mark for 3-point field goals both made and attempted in recent years

• From ’98 to ’99 FG% dropped from .450 to .437, a difference of .013, while from last year to this it fell from .459 to .443, a difference of .016 — pretty comparable. What makes the difference here is, .437 is pretty close to bad while .443 is almost respectable

• David Stern’s ’99 lockout beard > Any Spaniard-in-the-NBA’s neckbeard. Golden opportunity Gillette. Get on it

• 3-point percentage from ’98 to ’99 barely fell, from .346 to .339, a difference of less than one percentage point, .007,  while from last to this it’s off by .013, from .358 to .345. Thing is, .346 in pre-lockout ’98 isn’t too good or bad to begin with for a league-wide average so this lockout’s .345 feels a lot more acceptable even if it’s off a fair bit from the previous non-lockout year

• The extremely low 88.9 pace of play of the ’99 lockout season is the lowest in the Stern era. The 2003-04 non-lockout NBA season featured the next-lowest pace of play, 90.1, and a mere 93.4 PPG, a catalyst for the continued changes to the perimeter hand-check rules (for more on that odd era and what ultimately ended it, read this)

• David Stern has tremendous earlobes. He should totally pierce ‘em. Like, with half a Hope Diamond in each

• The highest PPG in the Stern era happened in 1984-85, an astounding 110.8. It wouldn’t drop below 100 PPG until 1995-96, the year the Chicago Bulls set an all-time NBA record going 72-10. Pace in ’84-’85 was 102.1 while D-Rtg was not that far off of last season’s at, 107.9

While we’re only one-third of the way through the current season, and numbers could drop more yet as players tire under a relentless schedule (that isn’t as grueling as it was in ’99, even, which featured far more back-to-back-to-backs per-team. Tip o’ the hat to Matt Winick here), overall it’s not a bad brand of basketball we’ve gotten thus far by the eyeball test. Even with numbers off farther from this season to last in comparison to the last lockout, they were so low, and falling, to begin with at the conclusion of the last century that the quality, pace, and scoring of the game was in jeopardy already. David Stern recognized this at the time and set about tweaking rules to rectify it.

Throw in the fact that guys never really take time off in the offseason anymore as they used to, and came back after the current labor outage ready to go, as opposed to so many last time around, plus ever-rising talent levels, and even if the numbers took a bigger dip this time than last, the quality of the basketball presented us is simply a better all-around brand and product making any fall-off less glaring. This unusual season aside, the number of players shooting at least 50% from the field has steadily risen.

Be sure to thank your players, organizations, and the commish for this. They’ve worked awfully hard to continue to raise the bar, a testament to how many hours of preparation are put into the end product, a product that leaps off of the shelf and into your living room, daily conversation, and memories.

LA Clippers at Orlando 7:00 PM
Is Orlando’s 3-game winning streak a fluke? Will a team with really good guards and a pogostick-like frontcourt bring them back to their fragile-OMG-we-are-doomed-and-he’s-leaving state of mind? Tune in for the next installment of “As the Dwight Turns.”

LA Lakers at Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Just what the Lakers need: a difficult opponent. If LA can beat Philly handily, I will officially reevaluate every assumption I have about post-season standings. Seriously. I’ll do it. You don’t think I will? Oh, I totally will. Watch me.

Also, Kobe needs 24 points to pass Shaq on the All-Time Lakers scoring list. In his hometown. Yeah. Let’s just pre-congratulate Kobe now.

Toronto at Washington 7:00 PM
Again? Doesn’t it seem like these guys play each other like 3 times a week? I’ll tell you how this one goes: Calderon passes way better than Wall for some early buckets. Jordan Crawford hits a bunch of ill-advised jumpers. Amir Johnson outrebounds everyone, except somehow Vesely gets the best of him on a crucial possession. Calderon starts forgetting to cover Wall and Mack, Wall’s jumper begins to fall. Then Wall gets to the line a few times and nails his FTs. Throw in a couple of moving screens for the Euro bigs, and that’s the game. Wiz win by 5, and Randy Wittman lives to fight another day. But can you really call this living?

Phoenix at Atlanta 7:30 PM
Joe Johnson’s revenge game! Actually, it’s really not. Though it’ll be interesting to see what a star PG in Nash and a good center in Lopez can do against Jeff Teague and a Horford-less frontline. Probably still lose, but we’ll see.

Chicago at New Jersey 7:30 PM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lqi4rd6y38

Mmmm… Classics….

Utah at New York 7:30 PM
Lin is starting after having a career game this weekend. Stoudemire is out due to a family tragedy. Utah’s brains are a-buzzing with the unnecessary drama of Malone vs. Miller. Not much of this description has to do with actual basketball, but sometimes neither does the outcome of a game.

Sacramento at New Orleans 8:00 PM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GpPGD7_yRY

San Antonio at Memphis 8:00 PM
If you can watch two games tonight, let this be one. I usually love to watch Spurs/Blazers games, and I think this game will have a similar air to it.

Houston at Denver 9:00 PM
What do both of these teams have in common? They’ve completely depleted the Knicks of depth and ability to draft depth for the foreseen future.

Oklahoma City at Portland 10:00 PM
This is the other game you should watch tonight. The I-5 rivalry is gone, but not forgotten. And it’ll be fun to watch arguably the best PF playing right now (LMA) versus an absurdly strong frontline (Ibaka & Perkins).

Now go grab a bowl, put on your favorite sweatpants, plop down in front of the TV, and enjoy a long night of basketball.