Each season, a new name or two will pop up on the NBA’s top-10 scoring list, an unexpected party crasher, like Mickey Rourke at this month’s Golden Globes or Charles Barkley in a holding cell.
Last season, it was Sacramento’s Kevin Martin, who has a career 15.6 scoring average, but finished last season with 23.7 points per game, sixth-best in the league. The year before, it was Atlanta’s Joe Johnson.
This season, listed after one-name stars D-Wade, Bron, Kobe and Dirk is a gentleman whose two names you might not know — Danny Granger. He’s the budding Pacers forward, fifth in the league with 24.9 points. Sixth is Olympian Chris Bosh, but after him is yet another surprise, New Jersey’s Devin Harris, who had never averaged more than 15 points per game, but this year puts up 23.6.
“I’ve been a big fan of his, but probably didn’t think he’d do what he’s doing,” said Nuggets coach George Karl, who knew Harris as a Milwaukee high-schooler and coached against him when Harris played for Dallas. “I always thought he does a great job defensively, and now he’s turned into a very good offensive player.”
Karl believes New Jersey’s offense fits Harris’ speedy skills quite well, and because there aren’t any Dirks on New Jersey, Harris is getting more shots than ever — 15.5 per game, compared with his career high from last season, 10.8. He has tallied eight 30-plus nights, and on Nov. 30 against Phoenix, he had a Vesuvius night — 47 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
Asked who is the biggest surprise in the NBA, Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin said: “Devin Harris. He has freedom — freedom to play basketball. And Lawrence (Frank) is putting the ball in his hands and they trust him to make plays. He has gotten better, and that’s what it’s about, working on your game in the summertime and improving. He’s knocking down shots, controlling the tempo. I think it’s working in his favor.”
As for the Pacers’ Granger, 25 just like Harris, he was a player the Nuggets coveted in the 2005 draft, Karl said. He’ll be in Denver on Monday to play the Nuggets. The 6-foot-8 Granger had shown flashes in previous seasons, but, according to legendary Pacer Reggie Miller, this season his shooting touch — and range — has visibly improved.
“But I love his game,” Miller said. “I would like him to work on his post-up game a little bit. I think he would be more effective if he was closer to the basket. I think he could be a double threat — if he can knock down the long-range shot, he can have guys come out and guard him.”
In one week in December, he had a night of 42 points with 13-for-13 free throws and another of 41 points with 17-for-17. But his most memorable moment was on Nov. 1, when he dived face-first for a loose ball, smashing his two front teeth into the hardwood, an unfortunate heads-down play.
Looking back.
This season’s Nuggets have slowed down their pace a little, after years of playing at an up-tempo style that Karl said was “different than other teams in the NBA.” But this week, Karl said: “We were pretty successful with that — but I didn’t see any ability to win in the playoffs playing that way, at least with the crew that I had.” Denver has lost in the playoffs’ first round in each of the past five seasons.
“So we went back to the old school fundamental nature of: Let’s go defend and also run,” he said. “You can run and play fast and play defense, too.”
Accidental history.
I met a nice guy this week, former NBA player and coach Chris Ford, who told an interesting story about how he made the first 3-pointer in NBA history — and didn’t even know it.
See, the league added the 3-point line for the 1979-80 season, and Ford hit a 3-pointer early in the Celtics- Rockets game on Oct. 12, 1979. But it wasn’t until the next week that they figured out that of all the games that night, Ford’s 3-pointer for Boston had occurred first.
Clutch, as usual.
The Spurs have won three double-overtime games already this season, tying an NBA record.
The Spanish Stockton?
If you tuned in to the Nuggets-Raptors game last week, you were treated to a little helping of Jose Calderon, the Toronto point guard. I continually say he’s one of the more underrated players in the league, because he didn’t play American college basketball, he’s not a flashy, Nike-ad sort of guy and he plays for the Raptors. Against Denver, he tallied 11 assists, each time the public-address announcer saying the scorer’s name, followed by: “Gracias, Jose Calderon.”
He is third in the league with 9.0 assists per game and second with 4.03 assists per turnover.
“He’s a true point who cares about the point,” Karl said, “and in the last few years we talk about Chris Paul and Deron Williams, but this kid isn’t very far behind him. I think Calderon is (John) Stockton-like. Eighty percent of his team’s decisions are made by his decisions.”
Spotlight on …
Rodney Stuckey, Pistons guard
One of the reasons the Pistons felt comfortable about trading Chauncey Billups to Denver was because they stuck with Stuckey. The 22-year-old guard played well in the playoffs a season ago. This season he’s averaging 13.2 points and 5.1 assists. He’s coming to Denver on Friday, along with backcourt mate Allen Iverson.
Stuckey has scored in double- figures in each of the past seven games, averaging 22.3 points. That total includes his 40-point game against Chicago on Dec. 23, when he was 15-for-24 from the field and 9-for-11 from the line.
“We know he’s capable, because of his aggressiveness and how he attacks the basket,” teammate Richard Hamilton told reporters after the game.
The former Big Sky MVP at Eastern Washington made the leap to the NBA last season, where he showcased his sharp passing and composure in Detroit’s three playoff rounds. He was just the third Pistons rookie to start a playoff game, with Tayshaun Prince and Joe Dumars the others.
“I’ve always felt, even last year, that he was ready to start,” Detroit coach Michael Curry said after Stuckey’s 40-point game. “Tonight, he was dictating the game. He wants to be an all-star, and he’s working in that direction.”
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
