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winning teams are built upon efficiency and volu from corse178's blog

NEW YORK -- When Larry Nance Jr. Stitched Jerseys New Zeland . kept climbing until he had all but jumped over Brook Lopez for an electrifying dunk late in the third quarter, the Lakers looked ready to overcome any obstacles standing in their way.Then the Brooklyn Nets made sure that was about the final highlight for Los Angeles.Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 points, Sean Kilpatrick had 22 and the Nets sent the Lakers to their eighth straight loss with a 107-97 victory Wednesday night.Nances dunk came near the end of the Lakers 33-point third period, but they managed just seven baskets in the fourth -- none over the final 6-plus minutes.Our offense kind of hit a wall, Nance said.Lopez added 20 points for the Nets, who played without Jeremy Lin again but avoided a third consecutive defeat. Trevor Booker grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds and helped key Brooklyns rare fourth-quarter defensive stand.I think if were going to take a step thats where we need to take a step, is defensively, coach Kenny Atkinson said. I was very pleased.Lou Williams scored 16 points for the Lakers, who have fallen from a .500 team early in Luke Waltons first season as coach to one that is 10-18. They shot 38.5 percent from the field and were dismal as well from 3-point range (22 percent) and the free throw line (61.8).As a group, as a team, weve got a lot to learn about winning and how hard it is, Walton said. Its frustrating, but its where we are at. Like I told our guys, were going to find a way out. When that is? Time will tell.The Lakers led by one midway through the fourth before consecutive follow shots by Luis Scola and Lopez put Brooklyn on top for good, and Lopez had back-to-back baskets later during an 11-2 run that gave the Nets a 102-94 advantage with 4:47 to play.Los Angeles kept misfiring and the Nets eventually increased the lead to double digits near the end.Nick Young scored 14 points but shot 5 of 15 for the Lakers, who had won the last three meetings. He dislocated his finger but said he was OK.It wasnt no real Kobe moment, he said. You know, it wasnt that (badly) dislocated. It will be all right.TIP-INSLakers: Young and DAngelo Russell both played their third game since an injury absence. Walton said a minutes restriction remained in place for Russell, who missed 12 games with a sore left knee, but no longer for Young, who was sidelined six games with a strained right calf. ... The Lakers lost for just the fourth time in the last 20 meetings.Nets: Bogdanovic had his sixth 20-point game of the season but first at home. ... The Lakers 13 second-quarter points were the fewest the Nets have allowed in any period this season.LINS LOSSLin had just returned from a 17-game absence with a strained left hamstring to play in the Nets loss at Houston on Monday. Atkinson said the point guards back tightened up Wednesday morning and Lin was ruled out shortly before the game.WALTONS WORDSWalton was fined $15,000 by the NBA for verbally abusing a game official and not leaving the court in a timely manner after an ejection for arguing what he thought should have been a foul in a loss to Sacramento. But apparently, he wont change his fighting ways when he deems it necessary. Our guys arent getting treated right, then Im going to stand up for them, Walton said.UP NEXTLakers: Visit Philadelphia on Friday for the third stop on their seven-game trip.Nets: Visit Orlando on Friday. The Magic have won the last four meetings. Cheap Jerseys New Zeland Online . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. Cheap Jerseys NZ Authentic .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. http://www.cheapjerseysnz.com/ . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. Who won the divorce?When it comes to our high-profile couples, that unfortunate question is hard-wired into humanity.A super-couple torn apart. Shudders. Splits. Despite all of the pairings obvious symbiotic benefits. Post-schism pontification immediately shifts to whos winning and whos losing.It happens in sports, too. When I was a younger, thinner fantasy enthusiast?It was Kobe and Shaq.Oh my, young people, you have no idea. As of this writing, you hand me 45 minutes and a Telecaster, and I could still write a half-decent extemporaneous rock opera on the Laker Summer of 2004.The ultimate inside-outside punch, splintered and scattered across two coasts.From a fantasy perspective, Kobe won. Hands down. Its wasnt even close.Age, a decade of constant above-the-rim battering, Kazaam, and a sub-.500 free throw percentage had already conspired to take Shaq down a numerical peg.But Kobe was just entering his statistical prime. He vacuumed every possession in sight. The roster was reconfigured to facilitate outside-inside. His vacated usage rate (from 29.1 in 2003-04 to 38.7 in 2005-06) was all Kobe needed to ride off onto a five-year statistical vendetta ride.Cut to 2016. The it split: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.Versus Kobe and Shaq from a reality-based perspective? Not even close. OKC never won a championship.But from a fantasy perspective, Durant vs. Westbrook is deeper dish stuff. Were talking two players in the midst of their statistical primes.Durant evacuated to join one of the most brutally efficient offensive amalgamations in the history of basketball. Westbrook remained in Oklahoma City, signed an extension and gets to play out of this world one-on-five for 35.7 minutes a night.So who won the divorce?Stroll through Fantasyland, and Westbrook is accruing the predominant amount of hype. Thats understandable. When youre throwing down triple-doubles (11 out of 22 games) every other night, you transform. Youre drool-worthy. Youre 1961 Oscar Robertson. (61-62 Robertson: 30.8 PTS, 12.5 REB, 11.4 AST.)16-17 Westbrook: 31.0 PTS, 10.9 REB, 11.3 AST, 1.9 3PT, 1.3 STL, 0.4 BLK16-17 Durant: 27.0 PTS, 8.4 REB, 4.7 AST, 2.0 3PT, 1.5 STL, 1.8 BLKVolume trumps efficiency. Durant might be closer to a title, but in fantasy, Westbrook is the player locked into beast mode for the foreseeable future. Heck, we have three prospective fantasy MVPs that overwhelm Durant via sheer force of possession: Westbrook, Anthony Davis and James Harden.Just yesterday, our own Joe Kaiser put Westbrook at No. 1 on our fantasy rankings. Kevin Durant: No. 3. But while I respect Joe Kaiser as one of Fantasylands wisest, craftiest, smartest, most camera-ready experts, I respectfully agree to disagree.Durant vs. Westbrook?Kevin Durant is the fantasy MVP. Hands down.Pull up a chair. Because its not even as close as you think. Because I would be hard-pressed to put Westbrook in my top five.Take a gander at our Player Rater. Durant is a solid No. 1 at 20.48 player rater points. Thats 20.48 player rater points while having to share the ball with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.Westbrook on our Player Rater? Barely hanging onto No. 5 with 16.79 points.If Im redrafting right now, Id take Durant, Davis, Harden and Curry over Westbrook. Id even consider Giannis Antetokounmpo (and his multiposiitional eligibility) over Westbrook. Wholesale Jerseys New Zeland Store. And if Im redrafting in a league that tabulates turnovers, Westbrook barely makes my top 10. Id also rather have Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, or Kawhi Leonard. Maybe even Draymond Green.This isnt a hot take. This is science. This is what we parents call a teachable moment.Because winning at fantasy basketball is 50 percent volume. And still 50 percent efficiency.Yes, Westbrook is sporting a career high 29.8 PER. Which is galvanized by Westbrooks 41.6 usage rate. Which, extrapolated over a full season, would be the highest single-season usage rate in the history of everything. It would shatter Kobes 2005-06 rate of 38.7.But take a look at the percentages:16-17 Westbrook: 42.7 FG%, 81.0 FT%, 33.3 3PT% 53.9 TS%, 46.6 eFG%16-17 Durant: 56.5 FG%, 86.7 FT%, 42.0 3PT%, 67.9 TS%, 62.4 eFG%Durants percentages are staggering. Even more drool-worthy.Extrapolated over a full season, Durants 3-pointer-laden 67.9 percent true shooting percentage would rank as one of the great shooting performances ever. Even better than Currys 2015-16 mark of 66.9 percent.And were not talking Kyle Korver here. Durant is taking 23.3 shots a night. Launching 6.6 3-pointers. Taking 9.6 free throws. Its not GOAT Westbrook usage, but were still talking about a player with All-Star volume.Durant still has a 27.3 usage rate. So hes backing up his GOAT shooting percentages with a ton of point-based production.And a still-higher-than-Westbrook PER of 30.3.Lets break that down by ESPN Player Rater category.Westbrook leads in point production with 3.89 player rater points. Durant ranks seventh with 3.03 points. Westbrook is just ahead of Harden in assists (5.92 points to 5.76). Durant is only 28th in assists at 1.83 points. Westbrook is eighth in rebounds (amazing for a PG). Durant is 19th.Westbrook wins in those three categories.But Durant is No. 1 in field goal percentage with 4.36 player rater points.Westbrook is 389th.Durant is also ninth in free throws, 28th in 3-pointers, 21st in steals and ninth in blocks. He beats Westbrook in all of those categories.Durant helps everywhere. Westbrooks game sports a sizable divot.Fantasy seasons are a long slog. Westbrook in 2016-17 is preternaturally thrilling to watch. The most must-see player in the NBA. But while its fun to count the triple-doubles, winning teams are built upon efficiency and volume.From 2010 to 2016, Durant and Westbrook were equally and collectively thrilling. The most exhilarating duo in all of basketball. But getting past the Spurs and the Warriors every postseason can be a drag.So it ended. And like Kobe and Shaq, playing what if? can leave you depressed.But any attempt to put what Westbrook is doing ahead of Durant for fantasy purposes is misguided. It sends the wrong message.Dont be blinded by possession. Thats NBA reality. In fantasy? Study pace. Study percentages.When you share the basketball the way the Warriors do? When you create that kind of rarified operational space? You end up with offensive numbers we havent seen before.Youre outer rim. Youre beyond Pluto. You cant reference 1961 Oscar Robertson.Who won the divorce?Durant.Its not even close.Wholesale China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike Basketball Jerseys Hockey Jerseys China Supply Baseball JerseysFootball Jerseys Sale Authentic College Jerseys MLB Jerseys China Stitched Soccer Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap Nike Jerseys ' ' '

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