At A Glance - Week 4/16

The Statistical Landscape of the NLL (by nick)

We're a quarter of the way through the season and we now have a decent sample size to start statistical analysis. Like in previous seasons, every 4 weeks i will provide a writeup of the best & worst teams and players of the 2011/12 season.

Top 5 Offensive Teams

(rated by offensive officiency)

#	Pic	Team	W/L	OEff	Comments
1		Sacramento Kings	11-6	115.98	After years of rebuilding through the draft, the Kings appear to be finally primed for title contention with a stacked roster. Chris Paul leads the charge of the best offensive team in the league. Kings are currently #1 in the West.
2		Minnesota Timberwolves	8-8	115.93	The T-Wolves have been up and down so far this season, but their offense is not to blame.
3		Phoenix Suns	10-6	115.16	The little team that could. Most GM's would have overlooked Phoenix this season, but the new coach & GM has injected this team with a new energy. Can they get back to their former glory days? Currently their offense has never looked better.
4		Toronto Raptors	11-5	114.72	Durantula is currently 3rd in the league in points. When you match him with players like Bosh and Lawson, you have yourself a recipe for offensive success. Raptors are currently #2 in the East.
5		Miami Heat	9-7	114.22	Joe Johnson has been producing out of his mind so far this season. Pair him with Stephen Curry and opposing teams are having nightmares.

Bottom 5 Offensive Teams

(rated by offensive officiency)

#	Pic	Team	W/L	OEff	Comments
26		San Antonio Spurs	4-12	107.06	Spurs have a lot of talent on their team, but they're not there yet, and it's showing in their production at present.
27		New York Knicks	7-8	105.36	The Knicks traded away Deron Williams in the offseason and are currently experiencing the consequences. They have talent though and will only improve from here.
28		Chicago Bulls	5-11	104.67	The Bulls are rebuilding and are raw. May not get out of the bottom 5 all season.
29		Detroit Pistons	7-9	102.25	The Pistons are a nice defensive team but really have nobody on the roster that can create offense.
30		Washington Wizards	4-12	101.84	The champs decided to blow out their roster and begin the rebuilding process... It shows.

Top 5 Defensive Teams

(rated by defensive officiency)

#	Pic	Team	W/L	OEff	Comments
1		New Jersey Nets	11-6	102.48	Wade, Wallace, Artest World Peace and the Nets have been shutting teams down, and their recent trade for Haywood will only improve their D.
2		Milwaukee Bucks	13-4	104.69	The Dark Lord has a nice blend of veteren smarts and young athletes that's making them tough to score on.
3		Toronto Raptors	11-5	105.02	Perkins anchors a good defensive team.
4		Orlando Magic	9-8	106.07	Magic look good on both sides of the court and we can expect their W/L to improve.
5		Cleveland Cavaliers	11-5	106.22	Looking at their starting 5, it's hard to imagine them not being the top 5 for ANYTHING.

Bottom 5 Defensive Teams

(rated by defensive officiency)

#	Pic	Team	W/L	OEff	Comments
26		Minnesota Timberwolves	8-8	114.12	Minnesota have been great on offense but their defense is losing them games.
27		Atlanta Hawks	4-12	114.19	Losing Rose for a while hurt their defense, but losing Bogut for the whole season hurts more.
28		Sacramento Kings	11-6	114.31	The Kings are surprisingly poor on D, but their superior offense and rebounding is winning them games.
29		Denver Nuggets	7-9	114.66	The Nuggets have been playing a run and gun style that is sacraficing key defensive mentality, despite Dwight's presence.
30		LA Clippers	4-12	117.52	Matt Bonner is their starting center. 'Nuff said.

Top 5 Best Teams
(judged by Wins & Losses)

#	Pic	Team	W/L	Ranks	Comments
1		Milwaukee Bucks	13-4	Off: 11th Def: 2nd Reb: 5th	Considering the amount of talent on their roster, it's no surprise to see The Evil Empire on top.
2		Toronto Raptors	11-5	Off: 4th Def: 3rd Reb: 1st	Durant is among the MVP candidates and it's not just because of his individual game. The team is performing fantastically.
2		Cleveland	11-5	Off: 6th Def: 5th Reb: 3rd	Lead by MVP candidate LeBron James, this team has a starting 5 one can only dream of.
4		New Jersey Nets	11-6	Off: 13th Def: 1st Reb: 4th	This team is producing in a very similar way to the Bucks. This team is another title contender providing their starters remain healthy.
4		Indiana Pacers	11-6	Off: 15th Def: 6th Reb: 10th	This team is in great shape. They're young and talented. They'll experience a big boost when/if Gordon comes back. But until then - LINSANITY!!!

Top 10 players

Melo has played spectacular ball but has only played 4 games, so take his position in the rankings with a grain of salt. Meanwhile, Durant and LeBron appear to be the main 2 MVP candidates going forward, unless Kobe's team can start winning more games. Johnson and Jackson are surprise breakouts and Billups played great in the 8 games he played before the injury. Meanwhile, where's all the big men?

MVP RACE
1		Carmelo Anthony PER 36.53 MVP 41.83	9-8
2		Kevin Durant PER 30.63 MVP 37.53	11-5
3		Lebron James PER 29.15 MVP 36.05	11-5
4		Kobe Bryant PER 30.66 MVP 35.36	8-9
5		Stephen Jackson PER 29.19 MVP 33.59	7-9
6		Joe Johnson PER 27.19 MVP 32.79	9-7
7		Kevin Martin PER 27.42 MVP 32.42	8-8
8		Chauncey Billups PER 25.56 MVP 31.86	10-6
9		John Wall PER 26.02 MVP 31.32	9-8
10		Dwyane Wade PER 24.61 MVP 31.11	11-6

Keep an eye out for the next update at the half way point of the season!