Raptors: Ball v.1.4

This edition of T.Jose Caldeford coming at you live from Vancouver... I'll be out here for the Olympics but I'll still get my Raptors fix as much as possible (9 a.m. local gametime tomorrow!).

Anyways, the other day, Mr. Grange wrote about Andrea Bargnani's struggles in back-to-back games. This is a useful stat. Useful in that it confirms some qualitative analysis (Bargnani is not in as good of shape as he could be)... Even better, Mr. Grange wrote about those struggles BEFORE Bargnani played the second half of a back-to-back, and Bargnani followed the script almost perfectly (6-for-17 shooting from the field).

Quick Stat of the Day: I say "almost perfectly" because Il Mago still swatted away four New Jersey shot attempts. It was only the 11th time in his career he's had at least four blocked shots in a game (and just the second time this season). Most encouraging: In both instances this season, Bargnani had his "block party" so to speak in games when he wasn't shooting very well. In other words, perhaps he was looking to impact the game or help the team win in any way possible... not just the way he usually does it (making shots).

Anyways, Mr. Grange's post led me to a question: Do any other Raptors have statistical trends that show they struggle with or without rest between games? Let's check it out:

Chris Bosh shoots in the high 50s with 2 or more days rest, he shoots at around 48% on the second night of a back-to-back (48% is still good... high 50s is crazy)

Hedo Turkoglu's points, rebounds, and assists averages are all lower on 0 days rest compared to his seasonal average

Jarrett Jack shoots 40% from the field with no rest, and around 50% with 1 or more days rest

DeMar DeRozan shoots 42% from the field with no rest, and around 50% with 1 or more days rest

Antoine Wright's best games have come with no rest

Weird trend of the day: Jose Calderon shoots 94% from the line on 0 days rest, 80% on 1 day, 67% on 2+ days .... Amir Johnson shoots 82% from the line with no rest, and about 50% on 1+ days rest .... why are these guys better from the line with no rest?... (this is when you call chime in: small sample size)

Anyways, is there an underlying trend, a point I'm trying to make? Well, I don't think anyone would say Chris Bosh or Jarrett Jack or DeMar DeRozan is "out of shape," despite their shooting variances. I guess my point is, sometimes it's easy to find a stat that confirms an opinion you hold of someone (i.e. Andrea Bargnani is out of shape)... but does that stat always tell the whole story?

Chris Black is the mastermind behind the basketball blog T .Jose Caldeford and his passion for the orange rock and statistical analysis offers unique insights and in-depth coverage of the Toronto Raptors.