Rebounds & Putbacks | 12/27

By Paul Gotham

Just another night at the office

Steve Nash’s numbers on Christmas Day: 14 pts. on 6-10 shooting from the field/ 1-1 from the free throw line and 1-3 from the arc. To go with those points, Nash accumulated eight assists.

The final number should not be overlooked. With eight, Nash had more assists than baskets made.

Phoenix defeated the lowly Clippers 124-93 on Christmas night.

Getting more assists than baskets is a familiar situation for the Sun point guard.  Against Oklahoma City on the 23rd, Nash went 10-17 from the field with 12 assists. Two nights earlier, the Santa Clara grad finished 7-13 against the Cavs with 10 assists.  Nash dished out 15 assists versus the Wizards going 6-12.

Nash has 7,852 career assists with 5,074 field goals.

It can be argued that Nash has more field goal attempts than assists. Imagine if the NBA kepth track of assist attempts. How many lay ups does Nash provide for teammates that go unfinished? Better yet, how many shots does Nash provide where a foul and miss occurs?

Is there any coincidence Phoenix leads the league in scoring? Nash is an old school point guard who thinks pass first and shot second.

Go figure

Pittsburgh’s Penguins rank number one in the NHL with 26 wins. The Penguins’ 121 goals rank third in the league. Sidney Crosby with 22 goals and 24 assists is fifth in the league with 46 points.

Despite those impressive offensive numbers, Pittsburgh ranks dead last in power play efficiency. Pittsburgh has had 169 power play opportunities (more than any team in the league). The Penguins have connected on only 26 of those chances – or 15.4 per cent of the time – 30th in the league.

Miller for MVP

How much longer before Buffalo’s Ryan Miller is mentioned in the MVP conversation? The Sabre netminder has made 913 saves out of 976 opportunities for a league-leading save percentage of .935 per cent.  Miller is second in the league with 4 shut outs (Ilya Bryzgalov leads with 5). Miller’s 1.98 goals against average is second only to Boston’s Tuuka Rask. Rask has played 17 fewer games than Miller.

Don’t hold your breath

USC’s Joe McKnight is under investigation for the use of an SUV. Anyone wonder how long the inquisition will take? After all, we are still waiting for a decision on Reggie Bush.

McKnight. Bush. OJ Mayo. Matt Leinart. Who is the USC compliance officer? How much is that person making? I am about ready to apply for the job.

Timing is everything

Someone please explain why Urban Meyer had to come out and announce he was stepping down over a week BEFORE the Sugar Bowl. Why not wait until after the game? And now Meyer has already changed his mind? Geez. Who is he taking lessons from? Bobby Cremins? Or Brett Favre? Or both?

Forecast calls for…

SNOW in Boston on Friday. Should be a great day for an outdoor hockey game. Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow.

Anyone have a rebound and putback? Post them here.