NBA Draft Lottery Preview

If you're a Sixers fan, you might want to check out tonight's NBA Draft Lottery before doing anything else. If you're a Lakers and/or Heat fan, you may want to brace yourself.

While the thought of walking away with the #1 overall pick in this year's draft sounds nice and I'm sure most fans would love to have a problem like figuring out how to maneuver a roster that boasts the likes of Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and either Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor.

Philly could be leaving Brooklyn tonight with much, much more. In fact, they have a chance of owning 3 picks within the first 11 selections of this year's draft.

After finishing with the 3rd worst record in the NBA following the end of the 2014-15 regular season, the Sixers are guaranteed a Top-6 pick in this year's lottery. With a sliding scale, the probability of picks within the Top-6 varies (#5 - 26.5%, #4 - 22.6% & #1-3 - 15% each) but the biggest steal depend on the fate of two other franchises; the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat.

Thanks to what has turned out to be a completely disastrous trade for Steve Nash, one which the Lakers could continue to pay for. The Lakers will have to sweat it out tonight as they potentially watch their top-5 protected 2015 1st-rounder (Lakers/Suns Nash deal in 2012), now owned by Philly, fall out of the top 5.

After an abysmal year in Laker-land came to an end, the only redeeming factors were the development of rookie point guard Jordan Clarkson and the possibilities surrounding their pick. With a 16% chance at the #6 pick, the Lakers dreadful season may continue well into the spring.

Although the Heat's season didn't fare quite as badly as the Lakers, it was no less disappointing considering the fall from grace that has taken place in South Beach over these past 11 months.

After reaching the NBA Finals for four straight seasons, including two NBA titles, the Heat's tumbled started last July when the face of the league LeBron James decided to return home to Cleveland. Despite the team's still very talented roster, Miami stumbled throughout the season and was then forced to deal with a devastating blow when star PF Chris Bosh was lost for the season due to a scary blood clot found in his lungs.

As if things couldn't get any worse, the Heat now face the possibility of losing its 1st round lottery pick if they fall out of the Top-10. The way things have gone for Miami of late, it wouldn't be completely shocking to see their nightmare season continue but for the sake of their fans, here's hoping at least some good can come out of this year.

All told, there is a scenario (albeit with 1-in-357 odds) that they could go home tonight with the #1, #6 & #11 pick in this June's 2015 NBA Draft.

Certainly worth following tonight if you cheer for the boys from the city that boos Santa.

Whether this does anything to change the Sixers "tanking" philosophy...well, that remains to be seen.

The full list of lottery-bound teams odds of coming away with the #1 pick tonight:

1. Minnesota Timberwolves (16-66) - 25%

2. New York Knicks (17-65) - 19.9%

3. Philadelphia 76ers (18-64) - 15.6%

4. Los Angeles Lakers* (21-61) - 11.9%

5. Orlando Magic (25-57) - 8.8%

6. Sacramento Kings (29-53) - 6.3%

7. Denver Nuggets (30-52) - 4.3%

8. Detroit Pistons (32-50) - 2.8%

9. Charlotte Hornets (33-49) - 1.7%

10. Miami Heat** (37-45) - 1.1%

11. Indiana Pacers (38-44) - 0.8%

12. Utah Jazz (38-44) - 0.7%

13. Phoenix Suns (39-43) - 0.6%

14. Oklahoma City Thunder (45-37) - 0.5%

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Trade Deadline Report Cards

An astonishing 40 bodies were moved yesterday. 

So much for my claim on this week's episode that trade deadline days have been quiet and disappointing in recent years. 

The basketball gods shut me up REAL good!

So who were the big winners and losers from yesterday’s trade deadline bonanza?



Boston Celtics
Sent: Tayshaun Prince, Marcus Thornton, 2016 First Round Pick (Cleveland)
Acquired: Isaiah Thomas, Luigi Datome, Jonas Jerebko

The Celtics needed a true scorer in the backcourt, and they got one.  Isaiah – while undersized, is natural born basket maker.  With Thomas under contract for the next 3 seasons on a very fair deal, the team will likely be shaped around him and their 2014 draft pick Marcus Smart.

Thornton desperately needed a change of scenery after posting anemic scoring numbers as a Celt. 

Jerebko at this stage of his career appears to be ‘just a guy’ and won’t challenge any of Boston’s forwards for minutes.
DRAFT DAY GRADE: B+

Brooklyn Nets
Sent: Kevin Garnett
Acquired: Thaddeus Young

Last season the Nets went for broke, and … it broke.  They emptied the cupboard of draft picks and went above and beyond the cap ceiling to get themselves clobbered by the Heat in the second round.  The departures of Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston punctuated that it was time to begin a rebuild.

It was common knowledge that the Nets were trying desperately to move Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez.  A deal that would have seen Lopez become a member of the OKC Thunder was nearly executed yesterday, but the Thunder walked away at the last second to work with Utah. 

Thaddeus Young has been nothing short of flat this season, and his contract could see him up at 10 million bucks next year.  The Nets failed to move their 3 big cap eaters, and moved an overpriced, aging big man for a younger overpriced big man.
DRAFT DAY GRADE: D-

Detroit Pistons
Sent: Kyle Singler, DJ Augustine, Jonas Jerebko, Luigi Datome
Acquired: Reggie Jackson, Tayshaun Prince

Detroit was looking for some help to get them into the playoffs.  While Augustine is much better shooter than Jackson, Jackson is a natural scorer – albeit often at the expense of his teammates.  Jackson is a freakish athlete with arms as long as Michigan and should be a much better defender than he currently is.  His helpside D is frustratingly bad most of the time.  If Pistons fans are hoping for a James Harden type explosion from this Thunder bench player, they will be very disappointed. 

Prince was playing better in Boston this season, than he had been in Memphis.  Perhaps he was showcasing himself to other GMs.  He was hoping to be moved to a contender – but instead he got shipped backed to where he started his career.  The Pistons are hoping his length and defensive ability will fill a gap and help them grab a playoff spot this season.
DRAFT DAY GRADE: A

Denver Nuggets
Sent: Arron Afflalo, JaVale McGee, Alozono Gee, First Round Pick (Oklahoma City; protected 1-18 in 2015, 1-15 in 2016 and 2017, becomes two second-round picks if not conveyed by 2018)
Acquired: Thomas Robinson, Will Barton Victor Claver, First Round Pick (either 2016 or 2017, turns into two second-round picks if Portland misses the playoffs in both seasons).

The Nuggets were looking to unload and certainly they gave up a ton of talent without bringing much back.  They had stated that the price for Arron Afflalo was a first rounder, and while they got it – it’s so heavily protected that it is unlikely it turns into much in the next two seasons of shallow draft classes.

While Afflalo isn’t playing at his near All-Star like level he did last season in Orlando, you have to think they could have amassed better assets than this.
DRAFT DAY GRADE: D

Houston Rockets
Sent: Isaiah Cannan, Three Second Round Draft Picks
Acquired: KJ McDaniels, Pablo Prigioni

While I like Cannan’s ability to spread the floor, and the way he fit with Houston, he isn’t much of a two way player – and if you listen to Sir Charles Barkley, the Rockets suck on D. 

McDaniels is a great athlete who could evolve into a very good two way player, especially with a guy like Trevor Ariza around to show him the ropes.

Prigioni is an insurance policy at the point, and even at 38 yrs of age, offers a little something off the bench.
DRAFT DAY GRADE: A

Miami Heat
Sent: Noris Cole, Danny Granger, Shawne Williams, Justin Hamilton, 2 First Round Picks
Acquired: Double Dragon (Goran &Zoran Dragic)


While the Heat DID get the best player to change uniforms yesterday, they have to hope and pray that this is a good fit.  Giving up a pair of first rounders when you are currently a bottom dweller in the East’s playoff picture is risky. 

The roster guys they gave up don’t hurt the Heat in the least.  Cole has been bloody awful, and Danny Granger has confirmed to the world that he is done.  Done done.  Really, really done. 

Goran loves to fast break and get up and down the floor – but who on the Heat is willing to play that way?  Wade would – if it was still 2006.  As a half court facilitator, you remove a lot of the Dragon’s fear factor.
DRAFT DAY GRADE: A-

Milwaukee Bucks
Sent: Brandon Knight
Acquired: Michael Carter-Williams, Tyler Ennis, Miles Plumlee

A good ol fashioned basketball trade.  Three young guns for a borderline all-star.  It seems the Bucks were looking to become a little younger and longer at every position.  Wingspans for each their potential starting line next season: MCW 6'7", Jabari 6'11", Plumlee 7'0", Giannis 7'4" and Henson 7'6". Bring on the zone defense!!

Still, this one has you thinking, “Huh?” 

Knight was playing out of his mind, and while he is an RFA this summer, there was no real danger of him walking.  They have certainly downgraded their starting PG spot. 

Ennis goes from being the 4^th string guard in Phoenix to the 3^rd stringer in Milwaukee as he will struggle to pull minutes from Bayless – this season anyway.  The Bucks went from being a team that could pull a first round upset, to a little less scary to face.DRAFT DAY GRADE: D

Minnesota Timberwolves
Sent: Thaddeus Young
Acquired: Kevin Garnett

Cue Skylar Grey.  I’m coming home!

We told you on The Bench weeks ago that you could expect KG to be sent back to the Wolves this season and then take up a minority ownership role next season. 

The hope for the Wolves is clearly that KG helps the younger guys, makes them a little smarter, sells some tickets for his farewell tour, and curries favor for his new career as a Minnesota TimberSuit.
DRAFT DAY GRADE: A+

New Orleans Pelicans
Sent: John Salmons
Acquired: Shawne Williams, Norris Cole, Justin Hamilton

“Sometimes teams make trades just to see their name in the papers the next day”.  One NBA player stated this to me yesterday, and in the case of the Pelicans this seems appropriate.

They dumped Salmons, are expected to buy out Williams, grabbed a practice court punching bag for Anthony Davis and a massive underachiever in Cole.

While the Pels will spin this as “we picked up a two time championship winning point guard” – Cole is not the answer for New Orleans depleted lead guard spot.
DRAFT DAY GRADE: D-

New York Knicks
Sent: Pablo Prigioni
Acquired: Alexy Shved, Two Second Round Picks

Shved started the season out with so much promise.  Playing for the lowly Sixers, he was posting a career highs in points (9.9) and was trying to fill a role as an agitator. 

After being shipped to Houston, Shved played in only 9 games and was essentially invisible.  If things don’t improve significantly in New York, he’ll likely be looking for work in his native land of Russia.

He is a smart player that could be a fit in the triangle.  It’ll be interesting to see how that pans out.
DRAFT DAY GRADE: B-

Oklahoma City Thunder
Sent: Reggie Jackson, Kendrick Perkins, Future First Round Pick
Acquired: DJ Augustin, Enes Kanter, Kyle Singler, Steve Novak.

The Thunder got better.  Not doubt about it.  The question is how much.

I don’t think they are as improved as Thunder fans on social media seem to believe.   While Jackson is a better all around scorer than Augustin, he was a terrible outside shooter, a lazy defender and disliked by most of the organization.  He also turned down a ridiculous 4 year / 48 million dollar offer from the Thunder which sealed his fate. 

The fact that the Thunder got this much for an aging 5 and a guy that didn’t want to be there and that they didn’t want is miraculous.

Since being picked up by the Bulls last season, Augustin has cemented his reputation as the NBA’s preeminent backup point guard.  That being said, all he really does is fast break and shoot the 3.  Running a half court offense isn’t something he excels in – but coaching a half court offense isn’t something Coach Brooks does much of anyway. 

Enes Kanter is a better scorer than aging Perkins, but Perkins in a wheelchair is still a better defender.  That being said, if there is a team for a scoring center who doesn’t play D – this would be it, as Kanter will be teamed up in the frontcourt with Serge Ibaka. 

Singler is going to struggle to find minutes on this team, and Novak will hit a TON of 3s … in practice.
DRAFT DAY GRADE: B+

Philadelphia 76ers
Sent: Michael Carter-Williams, KJ McDaniels
Acquired: JaVale McGee, Isaiah Cannan, First Round Pick (LA Lakers top-five protected in 2015, protected 1-3 in 2016 and 2017, unprotected in 2018), the lesser of Denver or Minnesota’s 2015 second-round pick, first-round pick from Oklahoma City (protected 1-18 in 2015, 1-15 in 2016 and 2017, becomes two second-round picks if not conveyed by 2018), second-round pick from Houston.


Unlike many out there, I don’t have an issue with the 76ers dumping MCW.  They clearly didn’t seem him as their point guard of the future, and frankly, neither do I.   But dumping KJ McDaniels seemed premature. 

The 76ers claim that they are not looking to buy out JaVale McGee, but honestly – what the hell is he doing there?  You don’t need JaVale McGee on that team.  He doesn’t want to be on that team.  It doesn’t make any sense at all.

The Sixers must see something in the 2016 / 2017 draft classes that I don’t, because they continue to amass picks for what appear to be rotation players / potential starters at best.

We are putting the Sixers on probabtion.  One more dumb move like this and we are shipping your whole organization to the D-League.
DRAFT DAY GRADE: F

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Hassanity Is Runnin Wild!

Multiple fan bases, including the Kings, Raptors and Grizzlies are all lamenting the fact that they had Hassan Whiteside wearing their colors and they let him slip away.

As much as I am the one driving the Hassan Whiteside bandwagon, people have to remember that what is happening right now, was not for seen by anyone; including the Miami Heat.

This is not a guy who was sure fire prospect by any means.

Since leaving college after a single season at Marshall where he averaged 13.1 points, 8.9 points and 5.4 blocks, Whiteside has played for the Kings, the Reno Bighorns (D League), Sioux Falls Skyforce (D League),Rio Grande Valley Vipers (D League), Iowa Energy (D League) and overseas (Lebanon and China) with 4 different clubs in a single calendar year.

Reports have come forth from various cities, (both in the US and abroad) that despite being the soft spoken, gentle giant – that Whiteside may have had issues with more than one coaching staff.  Nothing frustrates an organization more than a guy who hasn’t proven anything having a chip on his shoulder.

Whiteside denies these claims, but the fact remains his reputation was not good with GMs across the league.

In addition to that, his multiple NBA try outs prior to sticking with the Heat were all underwhelming at best – despite being handed the opportunity to impress.

Management with each of those teams likely felt that Whiteside was not going to walk into Toronto, Memphis or Sacramento and make an impact because each of those teams have fixtures at their starting 5. 

It seems clear today, that in order to be impactful, Whiteside is the type that needs a daily routine, understanding of his role and starter type minutes.

This season with Miami he is averaging 18 minutes per game, but over the last few weeks it has been significantly more, and the results have matched or surpassed his massive per 36 projections.

To put it in perspective, since the calendar flipped to 2015 and Hassanity really hit fever pitch, Whiteside is averaging 13.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game.

The only other men in NBA history to average numbers like that are Alonzo Mourning, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Dikembe Mutombo, Patrick Ewing, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob McAdoo.  All of those men are either Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers. 

Of course, the big caveat is that those men did it over the course of an entire season – and not a month.

With a salary under $800,000 (and a $900,000 option next season) Whiteside is clearly the best value in the NBA right now, but even his own teammates are amazed by what he’s doing.

After a game this past week where the Heat went to Whiteside on 3 consecutive post up options, Chris Bosh commented that he hadn’t seen Whiteside score like that in practice, and he doesn’t think Hassan himself had seen it.  Bosh also stated that Whiteside “continues to surprise” him. 

It’s an amazing story. 

The high octane, shot blocker that was all but forgotten by the NBA, and is now making waves; but by no means was this part of Pat Riley’s vision when they picked up the 7 footer and called him up from the D League back in November.  Several members of the Miami Heat (Bosh included) have openly admitted they had never heard of Whiteside before he worked out with the team.

Comparisons to Jeremy Lin have been inevitable.  The big difference here being that nobody ever expected Lin to do anything at the NBA level, whereas many thought this college kid with 5+ blocks per game and a 7 foot 7 wingspan could evolve – if he had the patience, maturity and determination.

It has been said on The Bench that for players to succeed at the NBA level, it often comes down to opportunity and having an organization willing to commit and give you the opportunity to succeed and fail.

Most clubs don’t have that luxury, but one that is in the bottom third of the Eastern Conference’s playoff picture – with gaping holes in their frontcourt, could certainly take the risk.

And what a risk.

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Dem Shoes ...

Dwyane Wade recently posted some images of some new shoes he designed on Instagram. They aren't Nike's. They aren't Reebok. 

Hell, they aren't even Keds. 

These are from a Chinese based company called Li Ning and they are being branded as The Dexters.

There have been sneakers based off of movies like The Freddy's (Freddy Krueger) and those bad ass Marty McFly shoes. 

No shoe will ever be able to top the incrediocity, not a real word, that the “Macho Man” Randy Savage shoes have. I mean, those shoes scream “Steal me!” and “Stay away!” in the same pitch.

The thing about these Dexter shoes is that with the way folks act when new shoes are released there won't be a need to add the fake blood on 'em. Every time a new shoe is released someone is going to die or get attacked.

Over shoes.

Shoes!

Back when I was a kid the first time I ever heard of a shoe causing violence was when you'd put a quarter in your Penny Loafers and someone would take it. 

Then there were British Knights which people said were gang affiliated. And of course there were the Air Jordan's that put more people in the hospital than polio.

I doubt these will sell because they aren't a name brand. No matter how ugly a shoe is all's you have to do is slap the right logo on that sumbitch and it will sell. 

You see Kanye's shoes? 

Those are ugly as sin but people still fought over them. I'll stick with my painful ass Converse that offer absolutely no support whatsoever, thank you. I'm not gonna get my ass kicked over some shoes based off a series that died a slow and painful death.

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Can Social Media Predict The NBA's Future?

Before Lebron 'came home', remember how people clued in on his eventual decision to go back to the Cavaliers by his wife's Instagram post?

The NBA True Detectives could not contain themselves.

This was a clear prophecy of Lebron James' intent to return to “The Land”. All the answers were in that Instagram post.

How could anyone not see it at the time? 

And what about this Instagram post by Lebron himself, six months before he made his 'decision part deux'?

In his touching message to Dwyane Wade, he says “No matter what happens in the future, we stuck together like brothers for life.”

 NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS?

How were we so blind? The clues were all there.

He might as well as said, “Thanks for the rings, I'm out!” By the way, that “no matter what” line is almost a complete reworded rip off quote from the Michael Bay classic, “Bad Boys II”.

You are no Will Smith, Lebron. And, you are no Martin Lawrence, Dwyane Wade, which is good because Gabrielle Union would have been your sister in said movie.

As evident by Lebron's post; who else is leaving cryptic messages in various social media posts that could answer a lot of questions now?

For instance, Bench Guy founder, Donnie DaSilva wrote a great article, “Where's Rondo Going?” If we dissect some of Rondo's activities on Twitter, one may stumble across the answer.

Eh? Eh? What the hell is Rajon Rondo doing in Albany, INDIANA?

Indiana, the home of the Pacers? To buy fireworks? Puh-lease!

Who spends their July 4^th Holiday in Indiana unless they are from there?

A quick Wikipedia check told me, yup, he is from Louisville, Kentucky.

And then a google search told me that, Louisville is actually across a river from Albany, Indiana. 

So you would think the theory is debunked. Rajon Rondo is not going to the Indiana Pacers, right? Think again. Explain this post...

@darty24 asked “Who yo Favourite Comedian?” and Rajon answered Kevin Hart and Mike Epps. Everyone loves (well, some what) Kevin Hart but Mike Epps?

Black Doug from The Hangover? Naaaw, no way.

Rajon is meticulous with his Twitter responses as he is on the court.

There is a reason, he chose Mike Epps.

If you did not IMDB him by now, Mike Epps is from Indianopolis, Indiana.














The same city Rondo will demand a trade to in the coming months.

The stage has already been set. Rajon Rondo is ready to be an Indiana Pacer, well according to the interpretations of his twitter.


Another burning hot topic is, how will the Miami Heat do this season without Lebron?

Will they win another title this year?


Will they rise up without the king, and prove the strength of a TEAM is greater than any one individual?

We can venture into Chris Bosh's Instagram Posts to find the answer to that question.

Seems pretty clear cut, doesn't it?

No.

Many of us are hyper aware of Kevin Durant's impending free agency in 2016.

The All Star has been bombarded with questions of whether he was going to play for his home town Washington Wizards or even the suddenly popular dark horse, Toronto Raptors.

Filtering through a plethora of tweets and Instagrams, one will find that Andre Iguodola's post was most conclusive of Kevin Durant wearing a Raptor Uniform...

Will Kobe Bryant beat Father Time? Can he play in season 2024-2025?

This can be answered by a recent twitter post from the Black Mamba himself, observe...

In that video post, Kobe takes an ice cold water plunge bringing the ALS bucket challenge to a next level. But read between the lines guys, Kobe did not just do that to support ALSA.org.

No, Kobe is preparing to cryogenically freeze himself a la Demolition Man/Austin Powers to battle a new dynasty in the future.

A dynasty up north, in the form of Andrew Wiggins, Tyler Ennis, and other high flying Canadian Super Stars (none of whom will be named Kevin Durant) in Raptor uniforms. 

The clues are out there, pay attention or you'll be lost like Team USA observing a Hakka dance.

Join us next time, when we review, "Stephon Marbury the Musical: A Tale of Making It in Beijing"

Budda Perera

@Prabudda on Twitter and Instagram

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Curry VS Lebron: Offensive Comparison

On August 12, 2014 there was a shot fired that was heard around the hoops world.

Stephen Curry, the exceptionally gifted point guard from Golden State, made a claim on “The Dan Patrick Show” that he was a better offensive player than LeBron James.

It should be noted that he didn’t come out with a puffed up chest, full of bravado and swagger to make this statement.

Dan Patrick asked Stephen a simple question – “Who is the best offensive player in the NBA – Stephen or LeBron?”

Curry calmly digested the question and answered it without having an air of cockiness but definitely carrying himself with assurance he stated he’s the better offensive player.  Instant reaction is to scoff at this claim until you do a little comparative research.

"A better offensive player, me or LeBron? That's the first time I've ever been asked that question. Me," Curry said. “He obviously demands a lot of attention on the floor, but I like to say I can distribute, get my teammates involved and be a playmaker as well.”

A quick rough comparison and you would think Curry is blowing smoke out of everyone’s backside.  LeBron scored 27.1 points a game compared to Curry’s 24.0 a game.  But what if we break it down beyond that immediate stat?  Let’s also take into account assists, turnovers, assist-to-turnover ratio, offensive rebounds, free-throws as well as shooting percentages.  Basically if there is an offensive statistic we’re going to look at it from last season.

LeBron played 77 regular season games and Curry played 78  and there is only 1 minute difference in their average playing time so when we compare totals there really isn’t a great disparity for numbers considering that one game and one minute.

Let’s compare their scoring ability first.  LeBron was good for an average of 27.1 points a game which definitely beats Stephen Curry’s 24.0 points a game total.

So we’ll say LeBron 1 and Curry 0.

LeBron also was shooting at a rate of 56.7% from the field.  Curry, on the other hand, shot 47.1% from the field.  Both men fired up more than 1350 shots this season, LeBron with 1353 and Curry with 1383, so even that is comparable.

This would take the total to LeBron 2 and Curry 0.  Not looking so good for Stephen.

This is where things start to change a little.  Once both men go beyond the arc into 3 point land LeBron isn’t looking so hot.

 LeBron fired 306 shots from the land of 3 but only hit 116, or 37.9%.

By comparison Curry launched 615 shots from the 3 point arc and nailed 261 of them for a 42.4% success rate.

LeBron 2. Curry 1.

When it comes to free-throws I wasn’t sure what stat to use – shots made/taken or percentage.  Both men made over 300 trips to the line, but to me percentage was the key.

Shaquille O’Neal made a lot of trips to the line every season too but it was also because the odds were better that Shaq would miss which strategically made it more sense to foul him.

So using the percentage number Curry beats out LeBron by shooting 88.5% to LeBron’s 75.0%.  We now have a tie at 2-2 based on stats.

When it comes to turnovers there isn’t much of a comparison.  In the span of 78 games Curry had a total of 294 turnovers.  LeBron in his 77 games had 270 turnovers.

LeBron takes the lead 3-2.  But what if we make those turnovers relatable to another offensive stat?  The assist-to-turnover ratio tells a different story.

Curry basically is handing out 2.27 assists for every turnover compared to LeBron’s 1.81.

We have a tie again at 3-3.

Offensive rebounds see LeBron take the lead again.  LeBron pulled down 81 offensive rebounds compared to Curry’s 46 offensive rebounds.

But then again with LeBron having a 5 inch height advantage and outweighing Curry by 70 pounds any other result would have been even more shocking than Curry’s answer to the question.

So with LeBron leading 4-3 we go into the category of assists.  LeBron dished the ball for 489 assists, giving him 6.4 a game which really is a very good number.  Curry, however, dished out 666 assists which game him a total of 8.5 assists per game.  We again have a tie at 4-4 between the two.

So we need a tie breaker.  There has been a long going debate, going back to John Stockton actually, that what if in the scoring tally that players were awarded points similar to that of players in the NHL.  For clarity sake we’ll assess each assist 2 points much like a player would get 1 point for assisting a goal, which is only worth 1 in hockey, since it leads to 2 points most times.

Adding LeBron’s 489 assists to his scoring total of 2089 and LeBron gets an additional 978 points added to give him 3067.

How does Curry match up to this?  Well his 666 assists add an additional 1332 points to his 1873 giving him 3205 points for the season.

So in theory Curry wasn’t lying that he’s a better offensive player when you look at the numbers.  In reality?  Well that’s what beers and sports bar debates are for.

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