A Perfect Example Why Stats Are Misleading

[Dr. James Naismith]

Just read this article from NBA Fanhouse this morning which discusses Bosh & Bargnani forming a "Killer Combination". Now if stats alone determined the success of certain players than by all means they'd be two the best, but I still question whether or not these two can co-exist moving forward long term.

If you asked me this after the first game of the season when Bargnani resembled Hakeem "The Dream" in the low post, I would absolutely agree with the aforementioned sentiment, but seeing how he really hasn't been a low post threat since then and is back at "stretching that offence" with his hanging around the arc, the ability to hit those three pointers have been very generous to Bargnani's numbers. The boards are misleading too. Most time for Andrea it appears that the ball just falling in his hands. Rarely do you see him fighting for position with anyone.

Perhaps having a consistent weapon in the backcourt would take the focus off both Bosh and Bargnani, not to mention the pressure. But until then I don't know if these two can lead us to the "holy grail" of the NBA as some may think. Most significantly Bryan Colangelo.

Right now, the top combinations of four and five men in the NBA are Orlando's Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis and the Lakers' Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. Considering the importance of big guys, it's not surprising those pairs battled it out last June in the NBA Finals.

If you go by statistics, one could make an argument Bosh and Bargnani are third-best. Bosh is averaging 25.4 points and 11.9 rebounds and Bargnani 17.4 and 6.5. In this era, getting 42.8 points and 18.4 rebounds per game out of your two low-post starters is impressive.

Of course, there's one statistic that doesn't look too good. The Raptors, expected by many to return to the playoffs after beefing up their roster, are a mere 7-9.

"Statistically, they're certainly putting up good numbers,'' Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo said of his duo. "But, at the end of the day, we're not judged on stats. We're judged on team performance.''

Lately, that been quite uneven. The Raptors have dropped five of their past seven games, including an embarrassing 116-81 loss Wednesday at Charlotte.

"I would say we're up there, but we still have a long ways to go,'' Bosh said in comparing Toronto's duo to other top NBA low-post combinations. "We're both young players. There are still a lot of things that we can get better at... I think [Bargnani is] getting more comfortable and confident.''

Bargnani, a 42-percent shooter from three-point range who is hardly a traditional center, certainly is. Taken with the top pick in the 2006 draft, Bargnani at times looked to be in jeopardy of any BB initials standing for "Big Bust.'' In his first two seasons, he averaged 10.8 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 40.5 percent.

Source - Click here

[brothersteve]

To start the season,

The early Killer Bs line is 51.5 points and 19.8 rebounds per game. A line that should lead to a lot of Raptors’ wins this season.

The Killer Bs are Back

But these numbers have been sliding steadily are more like the Average Bs now.

And if Bargs can't get more than a dozen shots per game, those combined 50 point nights are history.