| By The Numbers - Jameer Nelson Through 13 games Authored by Marten Liebster - November 30, 2005 - 2:03 am
During the off season, and with the Keyon Dooling signing immenent, Jameer Nelson had openly said he wanted to start if Steve Francis was going to slide over to play the 2 spot. Keyon was brought in with promise that he had a chance to start for the team. Some, myself included, thought that this might lead to sour grapes from Nelson. After all, he came into to the league with a chip on his shoulder and the need to prove himself.
Jameer certainly has proven something to all of us in the early going of this his 2nd season - he's clutch in the 4th quarter. So for this installment of By The Numbers, I'm going to focus on the little guy who has come up big for us. The majority of his minutes come in the 2nd and 4th quarters and that is reflected in the numbers.
The most remarkable part of his performance this season has been his shooting. Despite taking more 3 point attempts, compared to the previous 3 quarters combined, his shooting percentage hasn't really dropped off much in the 4th. Plus, he has been able to step up and hit some big 3s for us.
1st, 2nd, 3rd quarters - 4 of 9 for 44.4%
4th quarter only - 6 of 14 for 42.8%
Within the arc, his shooting percentage rockets up in the 4th quarter.
1st - 1 of 4 for 25.0%
2nd - 11 of 30 for 36.6%
3rd - 5 of 15 for 33.3%
4th - 19 of 35 for 54.2%
His offensive agressiveness is also evident in his dramatically increased number of FT attempts in the 4th period.
1st, 2nd, 3rd quarters - 8 of 10 for 80.0%
4th quarter only - 12 of 14 for 85.7%
If we combine the numbers to see how many points he scores per period, one can really see how he steps up his game in the last frame.
1st - 0.15/game
2nd - 2.23/game
3rd - 1.76/game
4th - 5.23/game
Despite his diminutive stature, he has also contributed nicely to the team's rebounding effort with 12 and 16 rebounds in the 2nd and 4th quarters respectively. Although he still has a tendancy to look for his shoot first, Jameer has shared the ball nicely, with 13 assists in the 2nd period and 15 in the 4th quarter (which is the same total Steve Francis has in the 4th quarter). Another plus is his defensive intensity leading to nearly a steal a game, with 5 of his 12 coming in the 4th quarter.
All in all, he really has stepped his game up this season. Jameer's game is developing nicely and starting to click within Coach Hill's system. One area for improvement - not just for him but the entire team - is in the area of turnovers. Even with his limited time on the floor, he is averaging about 2 TOs/game, which is 33% more than last season. However, as the season progresses the team will get more and more familiar with the new schemes that Brian Hill is installing and the team as a whole will improve in this regard.
What the numbers don't show is his effort. More than a few comments in forum are about how this team reminds them of our Heart and Hustle years. The effort that Jameer puts forth day in and day out is a big part of that. He's proving himself a real sparkplug and has helped us to win games.
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