New Orleans Hornets 2012-13 Power Rankings – Week 17

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Published: February 27, 2013

Despite posting a scoring margin of +2 for the week, the Hornets won only one of the period’s four games. The team started off week 17 with a 5-point loss in Cleveland followed by a very disappointing 4 point home loss to Dallas. Fortunately, they were at least able to hand a 15 point beat down to Sacramento before losing a close one to Brooklyn last night.

 

Week 17

 

1) Ryan Anderson, PF – 58 GP, 30.9 MPG, 57.1 TS%, 16.4% DRR, 6.4% TOR, .152 WS/48, 19.5 PER; Last Week: 1

Overall, it was a pretty good week for Anderson, who not only scored 57 points on 45 shots, but also added nearly 8 rebounds per game as well. I sent out a tweet last night that criticized Anderson’s 3-point shooting in February last night, but immediately deleted it, realizing the error of my ways. He has made 38.5% of his three-pointers this month, exactly the same as in January; the difference is that he is taking over two fewer three-pointers per game in February (5.42/game) than he was averaging before the month started (7.65/game). He was making 39.8% of those threes compared to his slightly lower percentage now, but if anything, we should appreciate the fact that Anderson isn’t forcing bad shots.

2) Greivis Vasquez, PG – 58 GP, 34.3 MPG, 50.0 TS%, 14.1% DRR, 35.8% AR,  12.2% TOR, .074 WS/48, 16.7 PER; Last Week: 2

Only 50 points on 52 shots for Vasquez this week, but he poured in great numbers in all other areas, averaging 5 rebounds per game and nearly 10 assists per game with a very impressive assist/turnover ratio of 4.3. He got flat out embarrassed on the defensive end though, but at least it was against two of the league’s best point guards, Kyrie Irving and Deron Williams. Overall, however, Greivis continues to blow away expectations, and will be an asset for the Hornets going forward whether they decide to keep him or move him.

3) Anthony Davis, PF – 45 GP, 27.7 MPG, 54.8 TS%, 22.2% DRR, 9.9% TOR, 0.145 WS/48, 20.7 PER; Last Week: 3

Though Davis only shot 45.9% from the field, a perfect 14-14 week from the free throw line gave him 48 points on 37 official attempts, which is pretty solid. He was hit or miss on the boards, grabbing just 4 rebounds in 29 minutes against Cleveland, but bouncing back in spectacular fashion against Dallas with 11 rebounds in only 23 minutes. Additionally, he only committed two turnovers in his 101 minutes of play this week. In general, the game appears to be slowing down for him, and we should only see him continue to get better as the season winds down.

4) Robin Lopez, C – 58 GP, 25.6 MPG, 59.4 TS%, 11.2% ORR, 10.2% TOR, .151 WS/48, 20.2 PER; Last Week: 4

Apart from a Dallas game in which he really had no clear match-up, it was a pretty good week for Lopez. He scored 15 points in 16 minutes against Cleveland, but got absolutely ravaged by the referees as fouls prevented him from playing more. He combined for 26 points on 20 shots in his most recent two games along with 14 rebounds, 4 blocks, and no turnovers. Lopez’s value is pretty clear at this point. Against about 2/3 of the teams in the NBA, he’s a very valuable piece to have on the court. Against the other teams with either A) centers too much more talented than him or B) small-ball lineups that deploy no true “center”, he will struggle.

5) Eric Gordon, SG – 22 GP, 29.5 MPG, 52.0 TS%, 14.0% AR, 13.6% TOR, .021 WS/48, 14.9 PER; Last Week: 5

Another inefficient week from Gordon is causing the questions to continue to mount about whether his health is still the problem or if he just isn’t as good as expected (and it has also made the gap between 5-7 in these rankings incredibly narrow). After watching his first half against Dallas (20 points on 10 shots with 0 turnovers), I am convinced he can still be the player that the Hornets thought they were getting in the Chris Paul trade, but he has a long way to go to actually get there. After a back-to-back DNP against Cleveland, he finished the week with 50 points on 48 shots and 10 turnovers. He did dish out 14 assists in his last two games combined, so at least that is a positive sign moving forward.

6) Al-Farouq Aminu, SF – 52 GP, 27.1 MPG, 52.4 TS%, 26.0% DRR, 14.4% AR, 16.3% TOR, .074 WS/48, 13.8 PER; Last Week: 6

If only he could shoot. Aminu was an absolute stat sheet stuffer this past week, averaging 8.25 rebounds, 2.75 assists, 2.25 blocks, and 2.0 steals over those four games while committing only 1 turnover per game. Unfortunately, he scored just 19 total points, and it took him 24 shots to get them. That being said, if a poor man’s Gerald Wallace is what the norm will become for Aminu, it’s still better than what most expected before the season began.

7) Jason Smith, PF – 51 GP, 17.2 MPG, 54.4 TS%, 16.6% DRR, 11.6% TOR, .099 WS/48, 16.8 PER; Last Week: 7

Smith was a scoring machine this week, pouring in 50 points in just 79 minutes of action on 38 shot attempts. He held his own in other areas as well, adding 18 rebounds and 5 blocks to those scoring numbers. The Hornets are very good in putting Smith in the best possible position for him to succeed, so it’s no wonder he loves playing here so much.

8) Brian Roberts, PG – 56 GP, 14.1 MPG, 51.5 TS%, 24.1% AR, 8.2% TOR, .091 WS/48, 15.8 PER; Last Week: 8

Roberts played well off the bench this week for New Orleans, highlighted by his 17 point outburst in Cleveland, getting those points in just 11 minutes on 8 shot attempts. Overall, he scored 31 on 22 shots to go along with 8 assists and just 2 turnovers in 41 minutes. While he is not always the smartest player, there is no doubt that Roberts can play and has a role in this league.

9) Roger Mason Jr., SG – 52 GP, 18.3 MPG, 59.5 TS%, 12.9% DRR, 15.9% AR, 11.9% TOR, .070 WS/48, 10.7 PER; Last Week: 9

More solid scoring from Mason, totaling 30 points on 19 shots with only one turnover in 3 games (56 minutes) this week, aided by his 4-7 shooting from beyond the arc. If Mason is scoring and not turning the ball over, he is doing what is expected of him.

10) Lance Thomas, SF – 46 GP, 11.7 MPG, 50.0 TS%, 7.7% ORR, 8.5% TOR, .059 WS/48, 8.1 PER; Last Week: 10

Pretty empty week for Thomas, playing just 16 minutes over three games and scoring 2 points on 1-2 shooting. Apart from some decent defense, no other real contributions from him.

11) Austin Rivers, SG – 57 GP, 23.1 MPG,  41.8 TS%, 20.0% AR, 11.7% TOR, -0.045 WS/48, 5.5 PER; Last Week: 11

Rivers finished with as many points as shot attempts (25) in his 89 minutes this week, and while those scoring numbers aren’t too good, I was pleased with his protection of the ball, as he committed just one turnover. His seven assists look good when compared to that turnover total, but that total is fairly disappointing in comparison to his minutes played. Defensively, he showed some promise down the stretch against Brooklyn, but he also picked up 5 fouls in his lone start against Cleveland, as fellow rookie Dion Waiters kept getting past him.

12) Xavier Henry, SG – 35 GP, 11.7 MPG, 48.6 TS%, 13.4% DRR, 10.9% TOR, .018 WS/48, 8.2 PER; Last Week: 12

Just eight minutes for Henry over two games this week, finishing with just a missed shot, a rebound, and a block.

13) Darius Miller, SF – 37 GP, 11.2 MPG, 48.2 TS%, 27.2% AR, 10.9% TOR, .044 WS/48, 6.2 PER; Last Week: 13

Miller only played one minute this week in garbage time during the win against Sacramento.

 

All season long, these player power rankings will be presented alongside various “advanced stats” in order to more accurately evaluate each Hornets player’s impact (click here for a glossary of the statistic abbreviations). In addition, we also have created a chart with the goal of standardizing advanced stat categories to distinguish the good numbers from the bad ones. Hopefully, these tools give each of you the means to comprehend the advanced statistical metrics used in these rankings as well as other columns throughout Hornets247.com.

For historical power rankings, click here.

 

All stats were obtained from ESPN.com except for WS/48 stats, which are a product of Basketball-Reference.com.

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