Blake Griffin will have the most career double-doubles in NBA history

[bluechox2]

whos next in line to overtake malone?

[jlauber]

Well, the one thing I'm surprised at, is that Shaq is shooting 68% from the field. Other than that, I'm not really surprised. I was much more surprised two years ago when he averaged 18/8 on 61% shooting in 30 mpg with Phoenix and had monster games like 45/11 on 20/25 shooting, 35/8/3 on 14/19 shooting, 33/7/3 on 13/18 shooting in a win vs the Lakers and 29/13/6 on 10/15 shooting.

Even last year, as a role player, he played pretty well vs Boston and actually led Cleveland in scoring 1 game in that series, and prior to his injury, he was really rounding into form. In his last 14 games before his injury(yes I know it's an arbitrary number), he averaged 15.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 1.5 bpg on 65.1% shooting in 26.1 mpg.

In fact, he had scored in double figures in 26 of his last 28 games before his injury despite playing 30+ minutes in only 5 of those games and he scored 20 in each of the last 2 games.

This year, I think he's been very effective because he's much more of a finisher than a guy who is relied on to score with post moves, which is a better role for him due to how much he's declined physically. He also benefits from playing with a great playmaking point guard, underrated passers like Pierce and Allen as well as Garnett who is another excellent passer and a mid-range/perimeter player offensively who gives Shaq more room in the post.

I said before the season that Shaq was a much better option at center than Jermaine O'Neal. These stats haven't been updated in the last game or 2, but the Celtics outscore their opponents by 14.1 points with Shaq on the floor, while they're outscored by 0.2 points with Jermaine on the floor.

Interesting stat line. I also recall him shutting Howard down for most of the game on Christmas day, too.

I know that Rivers has really limited his minutes, and even reduced his games, but he played him for 35 minutes in the last game, and Shaq was outstanding. I suspect that he may be playing 30+ mpg in the playoffs, too.

And Pop has continued to limit Duncan's minutes, as well. In fact, I think TD is even pacing himself while playing. One thing about Duncan (and Shaq this year, too) is that he doesn't concern himself with the number of shots he takes. I really believe that as long as the Spurs are winning, he doesn't need to satisfy his ego regarding his offensive numbers. Having said that, though, I think we will see more of an effort by both in the playoffs.

And, at this point, it looks like it will be a four-horse race with the Heat, Celts, Spurs, and Lakers.

[CelticsDraftee]

the way blake jumps i dont think he'll last that long

He has a new method of getting where he needs to be.

[Pointguard]

what about Dwight Howard?
he is a double-double machine and misses like two games a season.

Yeah its gonna be Dwight Howards because of his iron man status and 5 or 4 year headstart (at least 320 games?).

[Pointguard]

Well, in terms of what I find exciting, it's not just a statistical achievement alone. And Kevin Love is a perfect example.

Love is averaging 21/16, which is phenomenal for this era, except, his numbers to me are pretty empty. His numbers would suggest he's a franchise player, but he's not even close to that level. I'd take Dwight who averages 22/13 over Love without hesitating, and the same goes for last year's version of Dwight who "only" averaged 18/13. Hell, I wouldn't hesitate to take a past his prime 2006 Shaq who put up "only" 20/9 over Love, I'd also take the older version of Kareem that was "only" averaging 21-22 ppg and 7-8 rpg, or the version of Duncan that was "only" averaging 18-20 ppg and 10-11 rpg. I'd take them all over Love and I wouldn't think twice.

So to me, Love's numbers aren't something I get excited about at all. And it's nothing against Love, he's actually one of the few college players I followed in recent years. But if anything his numbers are disappointing to me because you see these statistical accomplishments and the impact falls well short. He's not a bad player by any stretch, but he's putting up Moses Malone numbers that don't have a fraction of Malone's impact.

I so agree on the empty feel of Love's numbers. And he will get leverage come negotiation time on those numbers. His numbers are so big I don't understand how they don't feel bigger. Fact is he knows how to rebound and get points. What's more baffling is that in Minny they really need his rebounds.

When the Knicks lost David Lee and attained Amare there was a statistical difference in favor of Lee. Despite Amare's 4th quarter scoring the points mean more and the rebounds seem more.