Some All-Star Break Numbers

Jeremy Lin has 20 ball-handling turnovers in his recent 9-game surge. At that rate, he'll rack up around 80 of them by seasons end. To put that number in perspective, Kyle Lowry's total ball-handling turnovers for the entire season is 24 and Chris Paul's is 13 (!!!). If Lin keeps it up, he'll be following in the footsteps of Williams and Westbrook, who've totaled 40 and 55 respectively. Call me crazy, but I'd rather a point guard turn the ball over while trying to thread the needle than while dribbling.

I've compiled some other numbers I find interesting after the jump. If you don't enjoy them, I'm not sure what I'll do with myself.

Chris Paul is Really Good

After examining Chris Paul's numbers further, I'm entirely convinced he has the title of the "NBA's Best Point Guard" firmly in his grasp. While I love me some Derrick Rose, his scoring and passing numbers can't compete with Chris Paul's.

Derrick Rose's Scoring and Passing Numbers

Chris Paul's Scoring and Passing Numbers

P.S. Lowry is still a better rebounder than every other point guard in the league.

Houston: Where Defense Happens (to be something we're getting better at)

The Rockets are still a mediocre defensive team at 95.9 points allowed per game, good for 19th in the league. However, according to basketball-reference.com, they're 16th in the league in defensive rating at 103.3. As far as I'm concerned, that means one more good defensive performance should bump us up to 15th, and we'll finally be able to call ourselves a mediocre defense. SCORE. Wait... No, don't score.

Clutch Stats

I've never been a Russell Westbrook fan, until I meandered over to 82games to further examine the numbers on him. His passing and turnover numbers are far worse than Paul, Williams, Lowry, Rose and Nash. At 48%, his eFG% is middle of the pack amongst other elite point guards. However, comparing his clutch numbers to other elite point guards reveals his true value.

Chris Paul - Clutch Scoring

Kyle Lowry - Clutch Scoring

Deron Williams - Clutch Scoring

Derrick Rose - Clutch Scoring

Russell Westbrook - Clutch Scoring

Then again, if Westbrook could play like this in the first 43 minutes of the game, he might not have to be Superman for the last 5.

Equally as impressive is what Chris Paul does in the Clutch without being assisted by any of his teammates. Cross-referencing his clutch shooting numbers with Rose's, who also has gone unassisted during clutch time, reveals just how good Chris Paul is at creating his own shot. Yet another example of what separates Chris Paul from other elite point guards.

Kyle Lowry is disgustingly good from the three point line in clutch time. 82games has his 3P% per 48 minutes of clutch time at .625 on 7.9 attempts per 48 minutes of clutch time. That's good for 14th in the league. However, only two of the 13 players in front of him in that category have a higher 3PA per 48 minutes in the clutch and those two players have each played half as many minutes in clutch time as Lowry, which is perhaps the reason for their inflated 3PA per 48 numbers (Morrow 10.1, Thomas 10.0).

Houston has 4 players shooting 100% from the free throw line in the clutch: Lowry, Martin, Scola and Dalembert. On another note, Parsons might suck at free throws (what's a more intense word for suck?), but he's turned the ball over a total of 0 times in clutch time, a rare feat for a second round draft pick in his first year receiving minutes during clutch time. He's also averaging 7.1 assists per 48 minutes of clutch time, that's good for 3rd among small forwards, behind Paul Pierce and Lebron James. The more I watch this guy, the more he reminds me of Battier. If he continues to develop his defensive skills, he'll be a valuable player in the league for a long time. Drafting the undervalued college senior out of Florida has turned into yet another sparkling bullet on Daryl Morey's resume.

Anyways... Happy All-Star break to all of you. It's time for me to go get faded with my wife in the wine country (one of the many perks of living in California). Live long and Lowry. I look forward to your comments.