NBA Statistics: Nuraman Thread, Part Deux

[MHSL82]

NBA Statistics: Looking at the Utah Jazz defense over the last four years in Synergy

By AllThatAmar

Was this a fast break, or a defensive breakdown? - Ronald Martinez

I'm not joking you right now. (I see ya, Jimbo) The Utah Jazz are not that great on defense. Particularly not since the NBA has changed the rules to give even more advantages to quick guys who can penetrate. (I see ya, Moni #UDQM) Back when we could play a soft-ish zone with a Mark Eaton or Greg Ostertag anchoring things in the middle while we could be a little 'grabbier' on the perimeter things were fine. Things are different now. And since we've had access to Synergy we've isolated some of our problems (in the stats world) to things that match up with the eye-ball test: isolation defense, pick and roll defense, and spot up defense.

When there is an isolation the defender is mostly on an island right now, and if you actually are a team with a team defensive concept (and not every team does) then your man who is used to playing team defense is all alone. The Pick and Roll is something we should know pretty well, either you get the screen setter a great shot, or the ball handler is free to go nuts on us. And in all cases, depending on the defensive over-reaction in rotating (or not rotating at all) -- there could be one or more opponents left wide open for spot up shots. To wit, this is what we were picked apart by in the playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs two seasons ago. We had trouble with dribble penetration (via isolations or pick and rolls), and our defensive system would not work in relation to this external threat (essentially a biological cell without a cell membrane), and we'd leave people wide open.

Effectively, it's these simple defensive fundamentals that unravels us completely. I think, to our defense, this is what happens to most teams as well. But on a young team with a coach who is inexperienced as well -- and bad defenders hogging up the majority of the minutes -- we had some poor results.

Let's look at the changes over time, from the last four seasons across the Synergy stats for our defense overall, in isolations, on pick and rolls, and against spot ups. And yes, it's the middle of July and SLC Dunk is going back to summer school already looking at our team. Our blog (and a big part are the participants in the comments section) kicks so much butt that you guys motivate me to write so much all year long. (No RV vacation for the AllThatFamily this year)

Glossary:

• G = games, this includes lock out shortened seasons and playoff extended seasons. It's not 82 games for each set
• # = number of defensive possessions
• PPP = points per possession
• NBA Rank = league-wide rank in terms of defensive ability in terms of PPP (lower is better here), there are 30 NBA teams
• # / Game = number of defensive possessions per game
• ePPG = estimated points per game, for a particular defensive play type
• paPPG = pace adjusted points per game, adjusted to 100 possessions
• Yes, the last three things are data points that MySynergySports.com doesn't even display, I calculated it myself because you SLC Dunk readers are smart enough and deserve the best information all year long.

Utah Jazz Defense Overall: 2009-10 to 2012-13

SeasonGWL%#PPPNBA RankFGMFGAFG%3PTM3PTA3PT%# / GameePPGpaPPG2009201092573562.0%10,0620.90123,2747,23645.2%6071,73235.0%109.498.490.02010201182394347.6%8,8940.92212,9496,40446.0%5921,57437.6%108.599.892.02011201270363451.4%7,9100.89222,6115,75545.4%4731,37034.5%113.0100.689.02012201382433952.4%8,9450.89172,9916,54145.7%5541,51236.6%109.197.189.02009201332617515153.7%35,8110.9018.011,82525,93645.6%2,2266,18836.0%109.898.990.0


For the four years our overall defense, as a product of PPP, ranks at 18.0th best in the NBA. That's nice. It's also in the bottom half of the league. We kinda knew that already. The other team shot a cumulative 45.6 fg% against us, and made 2,226 threes against us at a 36.0 3pt% clip. There were significant areas where we could have improved -- but over all we're "middle-ish" of the pack defensively. The trend overall was a downward trend in defensive rank, while our PPP got lower (which is better for defense). Our W/L record started to look better as well, but we were far and away removed from the 09-10 season when we were a playoff contender (small "c", not big "C") and we played a different type of game and our offense worked.

We look at our defense overall as the baseline with which to judge how good or bad we are at the different parts / defending different plays. I will say that fixing the defense is a long term project, it's not something that changes over night. And while or defense was quite poor in 2010-11, I think we're in the middle of fixing things. With better talent on the floor, and a more unified defensive system I think that NEXT season (2013-14) we could have a Top 15 defense in the league. Baby steps.

Utah Jazz Defense vs. Isolation: 2009-10 to 2012-13

SeasonGWL%#PPPNBA RankFGMFGAFG%3PTM3PTA3PT%# / GameePPGpaPPG2009201092573562.0%1,1170.851132582539.4%2811823.7%12.110.385.02010201182394347.6%8790.882425864240.2%318337.3%10.79.488.02011201270363451.4%7150.832621153639.4%248129.6%10.28.583.02012201382433952.4%7370.831721857438.0%258629.1%9.07.583.02009201332617515153.7%3,4480.8519.51,0122,57739.3%10836829.3%10.69.084.8

Okay, well, we're not that bad here. Over the four year period guys only shot 39.3 fg% against us in isolation, and shot under 30 3pt%. That's not bad. This data doesn't show how frequently a guy got to the line against us (an oversight in displaying this information here -- but still calculated in the PPP values), but it does show us that we faced isolations about 11 times a game, and each year the value went down. This could be a product of our pace going down as well. But when we faced them, we did not suck.

We were really bad at this for two seasons, but last year we made a come back. I think part of this has to deal with guys thinking they can score one on one against Gordon Hayward. They under-estimate him, and learn the hard way. More seriously, in isolations the Jazz don't usually send a help defender over. Which is fine now. But for the middle two seasons this meant "we did not send a help defender over, because the primary defender wasn't playing defense either." Yeah, I'm a mean guy. Get over it. But as bad or improved our defense is here, this isn't the main reason for panic.

 

[MHSL82]

Utah Jazz Defense vs. Pick and Roll (Ball handlers): 2009-10 to 2012-13

SeasonGWL%#PPPNBA RankFGMFGAFG%3PTM3PTA3PT%# / GameePPGpaPPG2009201092573562.0%1,2700.77234595436.2%5016729.9%13.810.677.02010201182394347.6%1,0320.892933677943.1%4614431.9%12.611.289.02011201270363451.4%1,0620.872933774845.1%4812538.4%15.213.287.02012201382433952.4%7370.862640591844.1%5516533.3%9.07.786.02009201332617515153.7%4,1010.8421.51,4233,39941.9%19960133.1%12.610.684.8

Yes, yes. I see. I think I'm beginning to understand the problem here.

Back on a team where our primary players (in terms of season mins or MPG) were Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko, Ronnie Brewer, Mehmet Okur, and Wesley Matthews we were the #2 team in the league at defending the ball handler on pick and rolls. IN THE ENTIRE NBA. I don't think we ever gave Deron the credit he deserved for being a stronger, taller, longer, more athletic guard than a lot of the shorter, quicker guys he faced. We were really good at this, and part of it was Jerry Sloan, part of it was the team defense, and part of it was Deron. But since his departure we've been flat out awful at it. Combining either Mo Williams and Devin Harris with a lead-footed dinosaur like Al Jefferson is a force multiplier in defensive failure. The team went from giving up 77 points in 100 pick and roll defensive possessions to giving up almost 90 in the span of one season where we lost Deron Williams.

I guess this is why so many Jazz fans were eager to add a long armed, big point guard to play defense -- like a Dennis Schroeder or Myck Kabongo (one of the two is even on an NBA team right now, just a hint). If we drill down we see that some guys on our team were better defenders than others at this thing (Alec Burks >>> Mo Williams). We're probably going to see a lot more of Alec at the PG spot for defense this year too because Trey Burke is going to be blind-sided this year with NBA men crushing him in the pick and roll from Day 1.

I cannot stress enough how bad we are at defending this. So I will just let the next part drive the point home . . .

Utah Jazz Defense vs. Pick and Roll (Screeners): 2009-10 to 2012-13

SeasonGWL%#PPPNBA RankFGMFGAFG%3PTM3PTA3PT%# / GameePPGpaPPG2009201092573562.0%4321.00616634747.8%154831.3%4.74.7100.02010201182394347.6%4690.99817937947.2%154434.1%5.75.799.02011201270363451.4%4600.961418338048.2%113432.4%6.66.396.02012201382433952.4%6280.93524352046.7%124526.7%7.77.193.02009201332617515153.7%1,9890.978.37711,62647.4%5317131.0%6.15.997.0

Look at how good we are at defending the roll man here? We're a Top 10 team in the league at this. On a shot to shot basis the FG% looks really high here, but that's in comparison to (for example) a spot up shooter. The roll man is supposed to shoot very well here. But compared to the rest of the NBA this is where our defense shines.

Is this by design? Rotate to lock down the screen setter while letting either the guard or the spot up guy go nuts? If so, I disagree with it. Let's make the Tim Duncan beat us with 20 footers, instead of letting a Tony Parker get to the rim, or leave a guy like Danny Green open for three. I said this two seasons ago in a podcast w Gothic Ginobili's Doc Rostov. And I'm saying it again now. Our defensive plan, which nice that we can 'stop something' is stopping the wrong thing. It is nice that this "thing" (being able to shut down the roll man) has remained mostly stable and almost uniformly effective through the last four seasons. But I'd rather be uniformly good at stopping spot up shooters or the ball handler. The reason why we are better here than the other two points of attack is because this is where our defenders end up being. Instead of defending the rim from guards, or defending the perimeter from spot up guys (the two more "moneyball" shots in today's game) we're defending the shot you kind of want the other team to take -- the no-man's land shot from a screen setter.

Yes, LeBron James won a title making this shot. But let's make Serge Ibaka do it, instead of letting Russell Westbrook single-highhandedly dominate us with penetration and kicking it out to open spot up dudes.

But again, see how poorly we are at defending the ball handler in the pick and roll vs the screen setter. We need to reverse that, as locking down the ball handler would also help us with . . ..

Utah Jazz Defense vs. Spot Up Shooters: 2009-10 to 2012-13

SeasonGWL%#PPPNBA RankFGMFGAFG%3PTM3PTA3PT%# / GameePPGpaPPG2009201092573562.0%1,8311.02246851,69140.5%37399737.4%19.920.3102.02010201182394347.6%1,7011.04256341,54641.0%36290839.9%20.721.6104.02011201270363451.4%1,4090.95134871,28837.8%25771336.0%20.119.195.02012201382433952.4%1,4831.03285531,35140.9%30776140.3%

8.118.6103.02009201332617515153.7%6,4241.0122.52,3595,87640.1%1,2993,37938.4%19.719.9101.0

The whole point of dibble penetration is to move the defense around to create open looks. The failure to stop dribble penetration allows for these open looks to occur all too frequently because, as Raja Bell said it best, "we're consistently doing dumb sh*t." Very specifically, it's because we leave dudes open and they bury us from the outside.

Yes, our opponents only shoot 36 3pt% against us over the last four seasons. It's not 46%, so there's that! But in situations where we're defending spot up shooters it is basically 40%. That's way too high. It would be lower if our help defenders rotated as a team (which, by the way, means the first guy who gets beat HAS to be the man who makes the last rotation -- and if it's either our PG or C being beat, it means the open look a guy gets is because Big Al or Mo consistently did dumb sh*t), or our help defenders stayed home on the shooters -- and dared their PF to shoot a 20 footer.

Last season we ranked 28th out of 30 on spot up shooters. And we surrendered 103.0 points per 100 defensive possessions. That's awful. Over all, over the 326 games we've placed since 2009 and now the team gives up 19.7 points a GAME to spot up jump shooters. Do you remember what our margin of victory was over this same span? One or two better close outs a game and we're in the playoffs every year, instead of once in the last three..

 

[MHSL82]

So what has happened?

We used to be one of the best at defending the pick and roll, and are really bad at it now. We were always below average at defending spot up guys (except for two seasons ago when the other team just missed open shots -- we didn't close out better or play better team defense -- we said that during that season as well in game threads). And now we are one of the worst teams at both of those things.

And as a result, our defense at two of the most fundamentally critical forms of offensive attack are greatly exposed here.

The good news is that we're okay against isolating teams. That has gotten better -- but it's all bad compared to when we had Deron Williams here. Maybe Deron isn't the capstone on a good defense, and it really depends on your bigmen. If that's the case, Derrick Favors could be our MVP next year if he has a good season as our defensive anchor.

But according to Synergy, it's pretty clear where we need to improve on defensively as a team. It's been the same things we've had trouble with for nearly half a decade. As a fan, the main hope isn't for a defensive expert to join the team as an assistant coach -- the main hope is addition by subtraction now that we no longer have Al Jefferson, Mo Williams, Devin Harris, Randy Foye, and others on the team.

Time will tell if the results on the floor will be any different in 2013-14. For our collective sakes, I sincerely hope there are.

 

[MHSL82]

Click on the link above to see the real charts - they look a lot better.

 

[nuraman00]

Click on the link above to see the real charts - they look a lot better.

Or, you could just do the trick we learned for how to format tables.

 

[MHSL82]

Or, you could just do the trick we learned for how to format tables.

Nah, too much work, but feel free to volunteer.

 

[MHSL82]

Top 10 Stat Lines of 2012-13

July 27, 2013 · 10:30AM
By Jonathan Hartzell, for NBA.com
If you look near the benches after every timeout, and especially after each game, you will see a floor littered with stat sheets. Usually these white pieces of paper show pretty unremarkable lines for players and instead are used to gauge the team as a whole. But on some nights, individual stat lines stand out from the rest and allow us to see who is truly outstanding.
Here are the top 10 stat lines of the 2012-13 season:

10. Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers

December 16, 2012 vs. New Orleans Hornets – 11 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 5 blocks

A 5/5/5/5/5 stat line is incredibly rare in the NBA, with it only occurring 15 times since the 1985-86 season. But the feat Batum accomplished against the New Orleans Hornets of 10/10/5/5/5 is an even more uncommon stat line with Jamal Tinsley in 2001 being the only other time it has occurred. Batum is the prototypical player to accomplish this type of box score with his all-around game which allows him to have the length to block shots as well as the speed to steal. The Trail Blazers won the game 95-94 over the Hornets thanks to a game-winning jumper from Damian Lillard.

9. Samuel Dalembert, Milwaukee Bucks

February 5, 2013 at Denver Nuggets – 35 points, 12 rebounds, 17-21 FG

This game came out of nowhere for Dalembert. The Bucks big man saw only six minutes of playing time in the Milwaukee’s previous game and the only reason he got into this game against the Nuggets was early foul trouble to Larry Sanders. But Dalembert jumped on his opportunity and exploded for 35 points on 17-of-21 shooting. He made his first nine shots and finished the first half with 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting. Dalembert did a great job, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger fluke game from anyone this season. The Nuggets beat the Bucks 112-104.

8. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks

April 2, 2013 at Miami Heat – 50 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds on 18-26 FG and 7-10 3P

Anthony put on a scoring show against the Miami Heat, who were without LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in early April. This game could be higher on the list if Anthony collected stats in anything else besides points, but he didn’t. It was Anthony’s third 50-point game of his career and his first since 2011. The Knicks defeated the Heat 102-90.

7. Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic

December 31, 2012 vs. Miami Heat – 20 points, 29 rebounds (11 off., 18 def.), 2 blocks, 3 steals

The last day of 2012 was a special one for Vucevic as he became the first player to score 20 points, grab at least 29 rebounds, and block 2 shots since Dikembe Mutombo in 2011, and only the fifth player to do it since 1985-86. This feat becomes even more special when you factor in that Vucevic is just 22 years old. It shouldn’t be a surprise to see him put up lines similar to this more often as his career progresses. The Heat defeated the Magic 112-110.

6. Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies

December 4, 2012 vs. Phoenix Suns – 38 points, 22 rebounds, 3 blocks, 15-22 FG, 8-8 FT

This was the only game Randolph reached the 30-point mark all season and he decided to also grab 22 rebounds while he was at it. He is only the third player to accomplish this box score of at least 38 points, 22 rebounds, and 3 blocks since 1985-86 and his 15-of-22 shooting was the best shooting night of his career. The Grizzlies beat the Suns by a score of 108-98.

5. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

January 18, 2013 at Dallas Mavericks – 52 points, 9 rebounds, 21-21 FT

52 points is special, but what Durant did at the free-throw line is what’s incredibly rare about this box score. A perfect night from the stripe with more than 21 attempts has occurred just two other times since 1963-64. Even though Durant benefited from the game going into overtime, his ability to draw fouls and consistently connect at the line is a rare combination. Durant led the league in free-throw percentage last season at 90.5 percent while also being second in free-throw attempts. The Thunder beat the Mavericks 117-114 in overtime.

4. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

March 6, 2013 at New Orleans Hornets – 42 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds, 14-21 FG

Bryant has collected at least 40 points and 12 assists only twice in his Hall-of-Fame career. And he did it in back-to-back games last season. The first occurrence was this game against the Hornets, where Bryant erupted to score 13 of his 42 points during a 20-0 run to lead the Lakers back from a 25-point deficit. He played like classic Kobe and forced many to momentarily forget the disappointment of the Lakers’ 2012-13 season. The Lakers defeated the Hornets 108-102.

3. Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls

February 28, 2013 vs. Philadelphia 76ers – 23 points, 21 rebounds, 11 blocks

Take a moment to look back at Noah’s box score again. A 20-20 game is impressive in itself, but you get an historic box score when you also add in 11 blocks. This 20-20-10 feat has been accomplished by only Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Shawn Bradley, and, now, Noah since 1985-86. And of that group, Noah blew them all away in shooting percentage as he went 8-of-12 shooting and 7-of-9 from the line. As Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game, “He was spectacular.” The Bulls beat the 76ers 93-82.

2. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

February 27, 2013 at New York Knicks – 54 points, 11-13 3P, 7 assists, 6 rebounds

This could easily be labeled as the game which Stephen Curry emerged as a star in the NBA. His 54 points is the fifth highest scoring game for an opposing player in Madison Square Garden and the four players in front of him are a special group: Michael Jordan, Rick Barry, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bryant. And none of those four players also recorded 7 assists during their scoring outburst. He was simply in another zone and it was a privilege to watch. This box score would be No. 1 if the Warriors did not lose the game to the Knicks 109-105.

1. LeBron James, Miami Heat

February 26, 2013 vs. Sacramento Kings – 40 points, 16 assists, 8 rebounds, 14-23 FG

The most incredible thing about this box score from James is it doesn’t seem too remarkable for his standards. However, a stat line of 40 points with at least 16 assists and 8 rebounds had never occurred in the NBA before this game. James benefited from his opponent being the hapless Kings along with teammate Dwyane Wade pouring in 39 points. But neither of those factors should diminish the remarkable statistics he collected in late February to help the Heat beat the Kings 141-129.

 

[MHSL82]

Bonus points for Nuraman, I mean, anyone who can tell us the two other times a player has shot 21 or more free throws and made them all. Extra bonus points for the free-throw stat line in Wilt's 100 point game and what his normal FT% was that year and/or his career.

 

[nuraman00]

Bonus points for Nuraman, I mean, anyone who can tell us the two other times a player has shot 21 or more free throws and made them all. Extra bonus points for the free-throw stat line in Wilt's 100 point game and what his normal FT% was that year and/or his career.

I haven't read this thread yet.

But one of those is easy. Paul Pierce during Opening Day of the 2003 playoffs, he went 23/23. That was a great opening day because Iverson and Pierce had big games. I don't think I saw either of those though. For the opening day quadruple header, I caught the first half of the Nets-Bucks game, then was out during the day, and watched the Jazz game in the evening.

I also missed Amare Stoudemire's bank shot 3-pointer to send it to OT, and the Suns winning.

It was a great day of playoffs headlines in general, even though I missed the 3 biggest ones.

(Jazz should have beaten the Kings in the 2002 playoffs, the 2003 Jazz wasn't as good so not as disappointed with losing to the Kings in 2003, but that's a rant (the non-win in 2002) for another post.)

EDIT: WTF, there were 5 games played that day? Some of them must have overlapped.

EDIT: Pierce went 21/21, not 23/23. I just remembered he had been perfect, that's what made it so special. I love watching great FT games. I liked it when Sam Cassell kept making FTs as a rookie in the playoffs in 1994. I was also rooting for Ray Allen to set the record for most FTs in a series without a miss, in the 2010 Finals. I had been tracking it. He was perfect heading into game 7, and then he missed one. I was so disappointed.

I like remembering big FT makes and misses.


Boston Celtics at Indiana Pacers Box Score, April 19, 2003 | Basketball-Reference.com

 

[nuraman00]

I haven't read this thread yet, but I would say # 1 is my biggest priority next year, then # 2. But maybe this thread would change my mind about what the biggest defensive weakness was last year.

Then again, does it matter what last year's team was weak in? It's a new team this year. New frontcourt, new backcourt.

 

[MHSL82]

I haven't read this thread yet.

But one of those is easy. Paul Pierce during Opening Day of the 2003 playoffs, he went 23/23. That was a great opening day because Iverson and Pierce had big games. I don't think I saw either of those though. For the opening day quadruple header, I caught the first half of the Nets-Bucks game, then was out during the day, and watched the Jazz game in the evening.

I also missed Amare Stoudemire's bank shot 3-pointer to send it to OT, and the Suns winning.

It was a great day of playoffs headlines in general, even though I missed the 3 biggest ones.

(Jazz should have beaten the Kings in the 2002 playoffs, the 2003 Jazz wasn't as good so not as disappointed with losing to the Kings in 2003, but that's a rant (the non-win in 2002) for another post.)

EDIT: WTF, there were 5 games played that day? Some of them must have overlapped.

EDIT: Pierce went 21/21, not 23/23. I just remembered he had been perfect, that's what made it so special. I love watching great FT games. I liked it when Sam Cassell kept making FTs as a rookie in the playoffs in 1994. I was also rooting for Ray Allen to set the record for most FTs in a series without a miss, in the 2010 Finals. I had been tracking it. He was perfect heading into game 7, and then he missed one. I was so disappointed.

I like remembering big FT makes and misses.


Boston Celtics at Indiana Pacers Box Score, April 19, 2003 | Basketball-Reference.com

Partial credit, you only listed one of the two times, not both.

Just as a warning: negative points if you mention Karl Malone and free-throw shooting and big shots. Note: plural. Only I can mention it without negative points

 

[nuraman00]

Partial credit, you only listed one of the two times, not both.

Just as a warning: negative points if you mention Karl Malone and free-throw shooting and big shots. Note: plural. Only I can mention it without negative points

I liked it when Karl Malone hit big shots that were free throws.

 

[MHSL82]

I liked it when Karl Malone hit big shots that were free throws.

Challenging me? Even positive mention is negative points for you because it implies negative remarks when he missed big shots that were free throws. -1.

 

[nuraman00]

Challenging me? Even positive mention is negative points for you because it implies negative remarks when he missed big shots that were free throws. -1.

It rarely happened, compared to all of the other players in NBA history that were in the same situation with free throws. I could, and have, easily pulled up game logs where Nash or Bryant or Nowitzki missed FTs. Bryant is easy, as he's attempted so many, it's easy to find misses.

It's not about individuals. Malone didn't miss big shots that were FTs. The JAZZ (the team) didn't get defensive stops, or they turned it over, or they fouled when they shouldn't have. Those happened with the same degree as some other non-winning teams in NBA history.

Where as missed FTs happened not as often compared to all of the other misses in NBA history.

So its the team's fault for not succeeding, not an individual. Remember, it takes five. It's not about individuals with "big" mistakes.

 

[nuraman00]

Or they made bad plays like offensive interference by Rusty LaRue (that refers to a series which I said I was going to save the rant for another post.)

 

[nuraman00]

Challenging me? Even positive mention is negative points for you because it implies negative remarks when he missed big shots that were free throws. -1.

What makes you think he missed? He only made them.

 

[nuraman00]

Or, I could paste all of the Jazz missed FTs (and all missed FTs are "big"). Everyone missed FTs at some point.

 

[nuraman00]

MHSL82 needs to vote on this poll too, and explain his choice. He's the one that created the poll. You can't make a poll and not offer your vote.

 

[nuraman00]

Pretty good article. It's hard to take away a lot though, since the 2013-2014 roster will be so different.

 

[nuraman00]

Top 10 Stat Lines of 2012-13

July 27, 2013 · 10:30AM
By Jonathan Hartzell, for NBA.com
If you look near the benches after every timeout, and especially after each game, you will see a floor littered with stat sheets. Usually these white pieces of paper show pretty unremarkable lines for players and instead are used to gauge the team as a whole. But on some nights, individual stat lines stand out from the rest and allow us to see who is truly outstanding.
Here are the top 10 stat lines of the 2012-13 season:

10. Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers

December 16, 2012 vs. New Orleans Hornets – 11 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 5 blocks

A 5/5/5/5/5 stat line is incredibly rare in the NBA, with it only occurring 15 times since the 1985-86 season. But the feat Batum accomplished against the New Orleans Hornets of 10/10/5/5/5 is an even more uncommon stat line with Jamal Tinsley in 2001 being the only other time it has occurred. Batum is the prototypical player to accomplish this type of box score with his all-around game which allows him to have the length to block shots as well as the speed to steal. The Trail Blazers won the game 95-94 over the Hornets thanks to a game-winning jumper from Damian Lillard.

9. Samuel Dalembert, Milwaukee Bucks

February 5, 2013 at Denver Nuggets – 35 points, 12 rebounds, 17-21 FG

This game came out of nowhere for Dalembert. The Bucks big man saw only six minutes of playing time in the Milwaukee’s previous game and the only reason he got into this game against the Nuggets was early foul trouble to Larry Sanders. But Dalembert jumped on his opportunity and exploded for 35 points on 17-of-21 shooting. He made his first nine shots and finished the first half with 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting. Dalembert did a great job, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger fluke game from anyone this season. The Nuggets beat the Bucks 112-104.

8. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks

April 2, 2013 at Miami Heat – 50 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds on 18-26 FG and 7-10 3P

Anthony put on a scoring show against the Miami Heat, who were without LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in early April. This game could be higher on the list if Anthony collected stats in anything else besides points, but he didn’t. It was Anthony’s third 50-point game of his career and his first since 2011. The Knicks defeated the Heat 102-90.

7. Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic

December 31, 2012 vs. Miami Heat – 20 points, 29 rebounds (11 off., 18 def.), 2 blocks, 3 steals

The last day of 2012 was a special one for Vucevic as he became the first player to score 20 points, grab at least 29 rebounds, and block 2 shots since Dikembe Mutombo in 2011, and only the fifth player to do it since 1985-86. This feat becomes even more special when you factor in that Vucevic is just 22 years old. It shouldn’t be a surprise to see him put up lines similar to this more often as his career progresses. The Heat defeated the Magic 112-110.

6. Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies

December 4, 2012 vs. Phoenix Suns – 38 points, 22 rebounds, 3 blocks, 15-22 FG, 8-8 FT

This was the only game Randolph reached the 30-point mark all season and he decided to also grab 22 rebounds while he was at it. He is only the third player to accomplish this box score of at least 38 points, 22 rebounds, and 3 blocks since 1985-86 and his 15-of-22 shooting was the best shooting night of his career. The Grizzlies beat the Suns by a score of 108-98.

5. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

January 18, 2013 at Dallas Mavericks – 52 points, 9 rebounds, 21-21 FT

52 points is special, but what Durant did at the free-throw line is what’s incredibly rare about this box score. A perfect night from the stripe with more than 21 attempts has occurred just two other times since 1963-64. Even though Durant benefited from the game going into overtime, his ability to draw fouls and consistently connect at the line is a rare combination. Durant led the league in free-throw percentage last season at 90.5 percent while also being second in free-throw attempts. The Thunder beat the Mavericks 117-114 in overtime.

4. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

March 6, 2013 at New Orleans Hornets – 42 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds, 14-21 FG

Bryant has collected at least 40 points and 12 assists only twice in his Hall-of-Fame career. And he did it in back-to-back games last season. The first occurrence was this game against the Hornets, where Bryant erupted to score 13 of his 42 points during a 20-0 run to lead the Lakers back from a 25-point deficit. He played like classic Kobe and forced many to momentarily forget the disappointment of the Lakers’ 2012-13 season. The Lakers defeated the Hornets 108-102.

3. Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls

February 28, 2013 vs. Philadelphia 76ers – 23 points, 21 rebounds, 11 blocks

Take a moment to look back at Noah’s box score again. A 20-20 game is impressive in itself, but you get an historic box score when you also add in 11 blocks. This 20-20-10 feat has been accomplished by only Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Shawn Bradley, and, now, Noah since 1985-86. And of that group, Noah blew them all away in shooting percentage as he went 8-of-12 shooting and 7-of-9 from the line. As Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game, “He was spectacular.” The Bulls beat the 76ers 93-82.

2. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

February 27, 2013 at New York Knicks – 54 points, 11-13 3P, 7 assists, 6 rebounds

This could easily be labeled as the game which Stephen Curry emerged as a star in the NBA. His 54 points is the fifth highest scoring game for an opposing player in Madison Square Garden and the four players in front of him are a special group: Michael Jordan, Rick Barry, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bryant. And none of those four players also recorded 7 assists during their scoring outburst. He was simply in another zone and it was a privilege to watch. This box score would be No. 1 if the Warriors did not lose the game to the Knicks 109-105.

1. LeBron James, Miami Heat

February 26, 2013 vs. Sacramento Kings – 40 points, 16 assists, 8 rebounds, 14-23 FG

The most incredible thing about this box score from James is it doesn’t seem too remarkable for his standards. However, a stat line of 40 points with at least 16 assists and 8 rebounds had never occurred in the NBA before this game. James benefited from his opponent being the hapless Kings along with teammate Dwyane Wade pouring in 39 points. But neither of those factors should diminish the remarkable statistics he collected in late February to help the Heat beat the Kings 141-129.

#2 shouldn't be in the top 10.