We've come to the point where the "new LaMarcus" has played exactly
as many games this season as the "old LaMarcus." The "old LaMarcus"
played 26 games, and then BRoy, our franchise player, went out with
double knee surgeries. The "new LaMarcus" has filled the void as go to
guy quite remarkably. What do the scoring and rebounding stats tell us
about this tale of two half seasons?
The "old LaMarcus" averaged 17.8 points and 8.0 rebounds. This is
consistent with his prior three (non-rookie) years, in which he averaged
17.9 and 7.7.
So what has the "new LaMarcus" done? Just averaged 25.4 points and
10.2 rebounds. He jumped his scoring by 43% and his rebounding by 28%!
Points-wise, "new LaMarcus" would be tied witrh Kobe and DWade for 4th in scoring, behind only Durant, Amare, and LeBron,
Rebounding-wise, "new LaMarcus" would be 6th in the league, behind Kevin Love, Dwight Howard, Zach Randolph, Blake Griffin, and Pau Gasol.
If you make a "big man index" that adds points per game and rebounds
per game, the rankings of this year's top big men are as follows:
1 Love 37.0
2 "new LaMarcus": 36.6
3 Dwight Howard 36.1
4 Durant 36.0
5 Griffin 35.7
6 Amare 35.1
7+: 33 or below: LeBron, Randolph, Carmelo, Nowitzski, Gasol
"old LaMarcus": 25.8
"New LaMarcus" has vaulted himself to the top of the pack of NBA big
men! What a remarkable transformation! Congratulations, LA, and keep
it up. Good things lay ahead!