11-3-09: Biggest Movers

GOING UP

Danilo Gallinari

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know Gallinari has been lights out from 3pt range, shooting staggering 18-36 from 3pt range over his first 3 games. But that's not the only facet of his game that's improved.

Per 36 mins
21.5 pts (last yr: 14.9)
4.5 reb (last yr: 4.7)
2.5 ast (last yr: 1.3)
5.3 3PM (last yr: 2.8)
1.1 stl (last yr: 1.2)
0.8 blk (last yr: 0.3)
3.1 foul (last yr: 4.2)
21.5 PER (last yr: 13.4)

On top of the increased scoring, he's handling the ball more and setting up his teammates, while not completely embarrassing himself on defense (certainly much better than last year when he was limited by the back injury). He is quickly justifying Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni's faith in him, and we could be looking at the next Stojakovic right here.


Channing Frye

Similar to Gallinari, Frye has been on a three point tear. The difference is he wasn't considered a 3pt threat until this season, but is suddenly challenging Mehmet Okur for the title of best 3pt shooting center in the league.

Per 36 mins
22.1 pts (last yr: 12.7)
6.4 reb (last yr: 6.8)
1.1 ast (last yr: 1.2)
4.9 3PM (last yr: 0.5)
2.3 stl (last yr: 0.8)
0.7 blk (last yr: 0.8)
3.7 foul (last yr: 5.1)
23.9 PER (last yr: 10.0)

Looking forward, Frye obviously won't continue to hit 65% of his threes, and unfortunately, it doesn't seem like he's improved in any other facet of the game - which really limits how much you can pump his rating (threes don't really do much for a center's overall). Still, it's nice that he's added this skill to his repetoire as he was looking like a career backup.

Brandon Jennings

Jennings is offically the favorite for rookie of the year, which is a bit surprising given he's the #10 pick and it's the first week of the season. Let's check out how the players drafted in front of him are doing.

Blake Griffin: Out for 6 weeks, which could take him out of the running.
Hasheem Thabeet: A bench role on a bad team
James Harden: Backing up Thabo Sefolosha
Tyreke Evans: Starting at PG for the Kings, but recently outplayed by Beno Udrih. Jennings top competitor.
Ricky Rubio: Not in the league, obviously.
Jonny Flynn: Starting in Minnesota but will be on a short leash all year with Ramon Sessions lurking.
Stephen Curry: Has played well, but team has lots of depth and a loony coach.
Jordan Hill: Out of the rotation and looking like Mike Sweetney part deux.
Demar DeRozan: Starting in Toronto but production is nothing special.

A couple of these teams may have missed out, but we won't find out for another year or two. Focusing in on this season...

Per 36 mins
20.5 pts
6.0 reb
6.5 ast
1.6 stl
0.0 blk
4.4 turnover
5.5 foul
.516 FG% (8.7M)
.556 3PT% (2.7M)
.667 FT% (2.2M)
21.2 PER

Jennings has been much better than expected, and a lot of that stems from his shooting percentages. Jennings wasn't supposed to be this good a shooter, so kudos to him for putting the work in. I don't think he can keep it up (especially with Michael Redd out) but he'll surely continue to put up the points/reb/ast.

Chris Kaman

Kaman has been a beast in the absence of Blake Griffin (similar to his 2007 season when Elton Brand went down). He was even serenaded with MVP chants by the Clipper loyal. While we won't go that far, let's take a look at Kaman's improvement.

Per 36 mins
20.0 pts (last yr: 14.6)
9.0 reb (last yr: 9.7)
1.2 ast (last yr: 1.8)
0.9 stl (last yr: 0.7)
1.6 blk (last yr: 1.8)
2.5 foul (last year: 3.6)
.600 FG% (last year: .528)

Kaman is scoring much more efficiently despite an increased scoring load. He's worked dilligently on his post game and mid-range jumper, and it's paying off for him. He's even worked on his defense and is playing 40 mpg by staying out of foul trouble.


GOING DOWN
Nate Robinson

Last year Nate took the next step, and really thrived in a run/gun offense. His numbers compared very favorably to guys like Monta Ellis, Jason Terry, and Leandro Barbosa, and made him one of the league's top sixth men. he didn't get the FA contract he wanted though, and I wonder if that's affecting his play.

Per 36 mins
12.2 pts (last yr: 20.7)
4.7 ast (last yr: 4.9)
0.9 stl (last yr: 1.5)
0.5 blk (last yr: 0.1)
2.8 turnover (last yr: 2.3)
5.6 foul (last yr: 3.4)
.286 FG% (last yr: .437)
.200 3PT% (last yr: .200)
9.4 3PA (last yr: 6.3)
2.3 FTA (last yr: 4.8)

The key here is the shot attempts. Nate has ceased driving it in and is content to take every three he can get. The problem here is he is only an average 3pt shooter (at best). His turnovers and fouls are also up, while his steals are down. Overall it is not a good start for the little man, who will also miss the next two weeks with an ankle sprain, and has seen the team thrive after his minutes were taken by Larry Hughes. Yes, THAT Larry Hughes.