Six Mid-season NBA Surprise Stats
Remember back to Opening Night of the NBA season? The Knicks laid an egg against the defending champs in what was secretly a harbinger of doom for the Boys from Gotham this season (even if they did throw us off their scent with that one good month). The Spurs jack hammered the Warriors for the first of many mini-freakouts about the Super Villains in Oakland this season. And the Trailblazers topped the Jazz in a game I’m sure you didn’t know actually happened. Doesn’t feel that long ago, does it? (Although that was before the election, so maybe it does feel that long ago; time is weird.)
It’s been three months since then, and most teams have played in the range of 42–44 games. It can be hard to keep track of the 400 some-odd players across the league, and who is doing what. There are bound to be players that slip through the cracks, so the goal of this article is to find a few of those guys who will make you stop and say, “Wait, Player X is averaging how many points a game?!” We’re not going to deep dive into net ratings and ESPN real plus-minus here, simply sticking to the staples: points, rebounds, assists, etc. Ok, let’s see if we can surprise you a bit.
Zach LaVine: 20.1 points per game
The man from the Slam Dunk Competition is beginning to see his game blossom on the real court. After averaging 10.1 points per game in his rookie season and 14.0 points in his sophomore campaign, the 6’5” ball-of-flubber-come-to-life has seen his points production jump through the roof in his third season. Fun fact: The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of just three teams in the NBA to have three players averaging 20+ points per game this season. The other two teams? The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors — not bad company for the Timberpups to be holding. There may be lots of progress still needed in Minnesota (namely the ENTIRE defense), but those three young studs are going to be scoring a lot of points for a very long time.
“Wait… what?!” Level: A lottery pick in his third season improves in a statistical category in which he has shown constant improvement throughout his time in the NBA. (Honestly, this one isn’t that surprising, it’s more a matter of how many people are checking box scores for the Timberwolves on a nightly basis?) 2/10
Bradley Beal: 22.2 points per game (and 37 games played)
Beal has been on the verge of stardom the past couple of seasons, but he hasn’t been able to make the jump. Until this season, apparently! Beal has only missed four of the Wizards 41 games, and his points per game have jumped nearly five points from last season (17.4), which was his previous high for points per game. Beal is still just 23 years old, and after starting the season 2–8, the Wizards have won 20 of their last 31, and are looking like they are finally rounding back into shape after their runs in the 2014 and 2015 postseasons. Beal is a big part of the reason why.
“Wait… what?!” Level: You’re walking past a TV in the living room and overhear the phrase, “Joey Buttafuoco’s name has been mentioned in connection with a ring of illegal arms dealers.” 5/10
Tyson Chandler: 12.1 rebounds per game
Tyson Chandler is a 34-year-old big man who has been in the NBA for 15 years! How on earth is this dude still banging bodies enough to snatch up over 12 boards a game? If he maintains this pace, it would be his second-best rebounding season of his career and his highest rebounding season since 2006–2007 when he was a spry 24 years old. Chandler is also shooting 67.1 percent from the field this season, and (very) quietly putting together a nice rebound season (pun intended) after struggling in 2015–16.
“Wait… what?!” Level: You overhear a colleague talking about a time in their life when they used to run a real-life Fight Club. 7/10
Deron Williams: 13.9 points and 7.0 assists per game
I was pretty sure that Deron Williams was mummified in a Utah Jazz mausoleum at this point. If not quite that extreme, he had to at least be running some kind of YMCA youth basketball camps by this point, right? No. Apparently the 11-year veteran (wait, Deron Williams is only 32 years old?!) is throwing up 14 and 7 on a nightly basis. That’s not half bad, even considering the absurd offensive numbers sweeping the league this season.
“Wait… what” Level: Your 80-year-old grandpa dunks on your 23-year-old little brother in the driveway. 8/10
Rodney McGruder: 25.8 minutes per game in 38 games
Quick, tell me what team McGruder plays for. Quick, tell me literally anything about him other than the fact that his first name is Rodney and his last name is McGruder. This man has played very nearly 1,000 minutes in this NBA season, and I can honestly say that even Mrs. McGruder didn’t know that fact. I know so little about this guy I don’t know if in that joke Mrs. McGruder should be his mom or his wife. Who is this guy?! One. Thousand. Minutes. Unbelievable.
“Wait… what” Level: Your friend tells you that he has been secretly dating Jessica Alba for five years. 8.5/10
By the way, Mr. McGruder plays for the Heat.
Brook Lopez: 191 three-pointers attempted (5.2 per game)
10/10.
