Rummpd
04-30-2013, 07:23 PM
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9226929/nba-jason-collins-no-stats-all-star
.....But stop him he did. Howard averaged 21.9 points and 13.5 rebounds per 36 minutes during the regular season, but with Collins on the floor in the playoffs, Howard's averages plummeted to 16.1 points and 12.2 rebounds.
More importantly, [Jerome] Collins' effort translated to winning. When Howard played 155 minutes without Collins on the court, he averaged 26.9 points and 13.5 rebounds per 36 minutes, and the Magic outscored the Hawks by 20. But the Hawks outscored the Magic by five points in the 103 minutes with Collins on the floor against the MVP candidate. Superman met his kryptonite, and the Hawks prevailed.
After Game 4, then-Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy called Collins' effort "the best defense on [Howard] all year."
This wasn't just a one-series blip. Going back to when the data became available in 2007-08, Collins has limited Howard to just 47.1 percent shooting and 16.5 points per 36 minutes while the two have shared the court in the regular season, according to NBA.com/stats. When Howard played with Collins on the bench? Those numbers jumped to 60.1 percent shooting and 19.5 points per 36 minutes. Similarly, Collins' teams have lost by a total of 146 points (minus-11.3 points every 48 minutes) with him on the bench and Howard on the floor. With Collins on the court, Howard's teams have lost by nine points, or about three points every 48 minutes. It's hard to stay employed in the NBA when a player can defend only one particular player better than anyone else. But when that player is the most dominant big man in the game, that's a valuable commodity. As Haralabos Voulgaris -- considered the most successful NBA gambler in the world and one who relies heavily on data -- told ESPN The Magazine earlier this year, Collins is "useless every game, except when he's guarding Howard, which he does really, really well."
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.....But stop him he did. Howard averaged 21.9 points and 13.5 rebounds per 36 minutes during the regular season, but with Collins on the floor in the playoffs, Howard's averages plummeted to 16.1 points and 12.2 rebounds.
More importantly, [Jerome] Collins' effort translated to winning. When Howard played 155 minutes without Collins on the court, he averaged 26.9 points and 13.5 rebounds per 36 minutes, and the Magic outscored the Hawks by 20. But the Hawks outscored the Magic by five points in the 103 minutes with Collins on the floor against the MVP candidate. Superman met his kryptonite, and the Hawks prevailed.
After Game 4, then-Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy called Collins' effort "the best defense on [Howard] all year."
This wasn't just a one-series blip. Going back to when the data became available in 2007-08, Collins has limited Howard to just 47.1 percent shooting and 16.5 points per 36 minutes while the two have shared the court in the regular season, according to NBA.com/stats. When Howard played with Collins on the bench? Those numbers jumped to 60.1 percent shooting and 19.5 points per 36 minutes. Similarly, Collins' teams have lost by a total of 146 points (minus-11.3 points every 48 minutes) with him on the bench and Howard on the floor. With Collins on the court, Howard's teams have lost by nine points, or about three points every 48 minutes. It's hard to stay employed in the NBA when a player can defend only one particular player better than anyone else. But when that player is the most dominant big man in the game, that's a valuable commodity. As Haralabos Voulgaris -- considered the most successful NBA gambler in the world and one who relies heavily on data -- told ESPN The Magazine earlier this year, Collins is "useless every game, except when he's guarding Howard, which he does really, really well."
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