Allow me to explain how this works. We have taken each of the ten players that are ranked in the DASL assist-leader database, who happen to all be point guards, and have examined each player analytically and statistically in an attempt to help shed some more light on those who are truly the most valuable via John Hollinger's famous Player Efficiency Rating.
As a reminder to those less familiar with this, the formula used in this case is a simplified version of Hollinger's complex mathematical system, but does the job. We take into consideration the following categories in calculating a player's PER:
- Field-Goals Made
- Steals
- Three-Pointers Made
- Free-Throws Made
- Blocks
- Offensive Rebounds*
- Assists
- Defensive Rebounds*
- Free-Throws Missed
- Field-Goals Missed
- Turnovers
- Minutes
*In order to distinguish between the offensive/defensive rebounding rate, we have opted to number 40% of the total amount of rebounds as the number of offensive rebounds, and the remaining 60% as the number of defensive rebounds. These numbers were not taken at random, but rather through a ratio found over in the NBA, our brother-league.
We plugged the statistics at our disposal, and have presented the results in this table below.
The first thing that catches our eye is the only player to log a 30+ PER in Stephon Marbury, rising a whopping six spots from his assist ranking to the top of the board. Unfortunately, while he is doing everything for the Washington Bullets, there seems to be something amiss on a team that features what can be argued to be the best backcourt in the league, as well as an excellent forward in Shareef Abdur-Rahim. It would be wise for the Bullets GM to wake up and make adjustments accordingly.
Another pleasant surprise is the Los Angeles Clippers' point guard, Jason Williams; "White Chocolate" has led his team to a 15-10 start in the West, good for sixth in the conference standings while holding a 3.5-game lead ahead of the seventh-ranked Seattle Supersonics. Williams' formidable 6.07 A/TO ratio has really helped improve the rest of the team, notably the rising center in Eddy Curry, who is putting up career highs across the board. The team currently logs the second-most points per game with Williams at the helm.
The Indiana Pacers have unfortunately been underwhelming thus far this season, seated at 11-9. Baron Davis, the third-ranked dime-dropper in the league, drops three spots to sixth-ranked in PER at 23.85, under the likes of Kirk Hinrich, Chris Paul, and Jason Terry, the first two leading their teams to much better winning percentages than Davis; Terry, on the other hand, has his team suffering at 12-14 as we near the end of the first trimester. While he is doing all he can for the team, outside of Yao Ming, the team is mediocre. Even Ming has been underwhelming at protecting the paint, averaging 0.3 blocks-per-game at 7'6". The shot-blocking is something Houston will need to address to improve their team and help Terry out.
Finally, young and rising star point guard Chris Paul from the San Antonio Spurs has his new team ranked second in the Western Conference thus far this season, and this with injuries plaguing the team across the board to start the season. While he could improve his turnover numbers, his terrific play on both ends have set the tone for the team, and with the return of Maggette and addition of Ray Allen and Mark Blount, it will be very interesting to see how the young floor general manages the added firepower.
~PistolPeteJR
