The man in the middle

by GameFace on Dec 29, 2008 2:10 PM PST

I shouldn't be, but I am mildly surprised at Joel's numbers so far this year. Many expected his productivity - along with his minues - to drop because of Oden's presence. Neither has happened. Joel is a model of consistency. Everyone has an off night at times, but Joel doesn't have too many.

Joel's scoring pace increased from last year (4.8 to 6.1), and his rebounding (8.4 to 8.2) and blocks(1.3 to 1.2) are virtually identical. His steal rate has increased and his turnover rate has decreased. These last have minimal impact because they are not Joel's forte. Increasing steals from 0.2 to 0.4 double the rate. Nice, but still not like going from 2 to 4 steals. Then we can't forget about his 75% FG accuracy so far. I expect that it might not be that high at the end of the season, but there is no reason to believe it couldn't stay in the 60-70% range. Joel's FT percentage has remained relatively high as compared to earlier seasons except last year. It looks like the FT work has paid off.

Joe'ls minutes have remained steady because Oden is still developing slowly, and now the center position is more clearly defined with Oden and Przybilla. Frye and Aldridge are no longer needed at center, "small ball" aside.

I wonder if other teams take Joel lightly. If I were scouting the Blazer's, I wouldn't overlook his defense (rebounding and shot blocking). He rotates well and gets down the court. While others get the highlights, Joel is my current MVP (in a metaphorical sense). Yes, and he does those things (like setting picks) that don't show up on the stat sheet.

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I wonder if

playing against the second string and playing w/out worrying about fouling out has helped JP. He has always been a stud but I think having Oden start and take the attention has allowed JP to do what he does best…hustle. He no longer has to worry about fouling out or running out of steam. He can bang and board with the best of them no doubt. Great job Joel!

by The Natural ala Mode on Dec 29, 2008 4:36 PM PST reply actions

Christmas Night

against Dallas, TNT’s Reggie Miller said,
“Joel Przybilla is the best backup center in the
NBA”. His partner replied, “Yeah, he’s one of the
best in the game”. The Miller replied something
like, " No, I mean he’s the BEST Backup Center
in the League, BAR NONE !" He then proceeded
to tell the story of how Joel was willing to go to the
bench in favor of GO. Old story as most of you watched
the game.
The interesting part is that Joel still doesn’t get
his due nationally, because he’s dosen’t score or
play a lot of minutes. We all can agree that in the
BE 1/3 season awards, JP was 1/3 DPOY, 1/3 MVP *
and top 2 in 1/3 MIP. The amazing part is that he is
doing it in only 23 minutes a game. He’s a team guy
who is trying to help GO become that dominant center,
while teaming to give us the great 1-2 BIG punch.
Hang on for the ride !