20 Second Timeout

NBA Leaderboard, Part V

Here is the final NBA Leaderboard of 2006. The Mavericks now have the best record in the league, but the Spurs and Suns are not too far behind. The Jazz were the early leaders but are now at fourth and sinking. The Magic started the year quickly but are now just four games above .500. The Pistons are the first Eastern Conference team to make the top five in several weeks.


Best Five Records
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1) Dallas Mavericks, 23-7
2) San Antonio Spurs, 22-8
3) Phoenix Suns, 20-8
4) Utah Jazz, 22-9
5) Detroit Pistons, 18-10

The Lakers (19-11), last week's fifth place team, are just behind the Pistons, and the Bulls have recovered from their slow start and are on the verge of making the list (19-12).


Top Five Scorers (and a few other notables)
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1) Carmelo Anthony, DEN 31.6 ppg
2) Allen Iverson, DEN 30.7 ppg
3) Gilbert Arenas, WSH 30.7 ppg
4) Kobe Bryant, LAL 28.4 ppg
5) Michael Redd, MIL 27.8 ppg
6) Dwyane Wade, MIA 27.5 ppg
7) LeBron James, CLE 27.1 ppg

10) Yao Ming, HOU 25.9 ppg
11) Vince Carter, NJN 25.8 ppg

The top four have stayed the same (of course, Melo's numbers will not change until he comes back from his suspension) but Agent Zero has heated up his hibachi with shouts of "quality shots" and increased his scoring average 1.6 ppg since Leaderboard IV.


Top Five Rebounders (and a few other notables)
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1) Dwight Howard, ORL 12.5 rpg
2) Chris Bosh, TOR 12.2 rpg
3) Kevin Garnett, MIN 12.2 rpg
4) Carlos Boozer, UTA 11.7 rpg
5) Tyson Chandler, NOK 11.3 rpg

11) Ben Wallace, CHI 10.1 rpg

13) Tim Duncan, SAS 9.9 rpg

16) Yao Ming, HOU 9.4 rpg

21) Rasheed Wallace, DET 8.8 rpg

29) Jason Kidd, NJN 8.3 rpg

The top five has not changed too much since week one, but Howard's lead keeps getting smaller. My hunch is that he will not succeed this year in supplanting Dolph Schayes as the youngest rebounding champion ever; there must be a reason that record has stood for five decades. Duncan's rebounding average is the lowest of his career by far. As expected, Sheed's rebounding numbers are steadily declining toward his career norms.

Top Five Playmakers
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1) Steve Nash, PHX 11.3 apg
2) Jason Kidd, NJN 9.2 apg
3) Andre Miller, PHI 9.0 apg
4) Chris Paul, NOK 9.0 apg
5) Baron Davis, GSW 8.6 apg

Baron Davis edged out Deron Williams for the fifth spot but other than that this list has been remarkably consistent. "Starbury" is up to 24th with an average of 5.2 apg. Maybe the self-proclaimed best point guard in the league will actually crack the top 20 in assists before the season is over.

Note: All statistics are from NBA.com

posted by David Friedman @ 3:11 AM

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