Denver nuggets vs Los angeles lakers 7 game series

[Bgil]

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4th least points per 100 possessions allowed (which incorporates fg%, 3p%, ft% ft/fg etc) = 4th in defense.

No, per 100 possessions is the ONLY metric that uses assumed data and therefore it is less reliable than other metrics. It assumes the number of and1's and technical free throws in addition to how many free throws are offensive rebounded.

http://www.nba.com/celtics/stats/inside ... op-up.html

Depending on who's measuring it there is also an assumption about offensive rebounds:

Pos = .96 * (FGA + .44*FTA - OR + TO)

The .44 multiplier is because not all free throws take up a possession. Technical foul shots and "and-ones" do not, while there are more than two free throws on one possession with a three-shot foul. Research has determined that about 44% of all free throws take up possessions, thus .44 is used as the multiplier. The .96 multiplier accounts for team offensive rebounds in situations where a missed shot is tipped out of bounds by a defensive player, continuing the possession without an offensive rebound being credited.

[Bgil]

Denver creates the 3rd most turnovers, they are 7th in ft relative to fg, and they are above average in defensive eFG%. All indicate that they are way above average in defense (which would be way better than "sucks").

"Sucks" is relative. I don't mean "sucks" in the Minnesota or Miami sense but as in "gonna cost them a lot of games" sense. AI, Melo, and Camby should be a top team but their defense is clearly holding them back... unless the niggets fan have some other explanation as to why they're 7-8 record wise in the west every year.

[corona]

you need READING COMPHRENSION classes bad. I didn't mention PPG it was PPS (points per shot), which given Denver's increased pace and less fouling SHOULD be rather low but it's not because their D sucks.

combine 10th in opponent points per shot with their ability to force opponents into the most turnovers in the league, and it equals very good defense.

AI, Melo, and Camby should be a top team but their defense is clearly holding them back... unless the niggets fan have some other explanation as to why they're 7-8 record wise in the west every year.

a) offense. 12th in fg%, 5th in topg, 22nd in 3 point fg%, 14th in offensive efficiency. that's what's holding them back. they really didn't have too big of a problem playing defense against san antonio last year (94ppg on 44%)...but they scored 88 points a game on 42% shooting, and 32% from 3. can anybody hold san antonio to 87 points a game on 41% shooting (and awful from 3) over a series to try to win with the kind of offense denver had? not really. even detroit couldn't in the finals a couple years back.

b) you act like iverson/melo/camby have been together for half a decade and have failed over and over. iverson and melo played 35 games together before the playoffs last year, they didn't have kmart, they switched the other starting backcourt player midseason too, they played .500 for quite awhile because of all the injuries/trades/suspensions. and they finished the season 16-6 before running into a buzzsaw called the san antonio spurs. the starting lineup on opening night was miller/smith/anthony/najera/camby, the lineup to finish the season was blake/iverson/anthony/nene/camby. that's an overhaul at 3 starting positions...in the middle of a season...and they're supposed to get a high seed (52+ wins) and/or knock off the future nba champions? wow. you apparently have high expectations for a virtually completely new team.

and that's not to mention the complexities of trying to integrate one of the game's historically unique players into an offense, and coby karl undergoing surgery for cancer midway through the season, and nene's struggles to get through his acl injury, and iverson missing a bunch of games with a tweaked ankle...which set the gelling process back 3 weeks...etc.