Call it crazy, but Al Jefferson’s is making a late case to earn his first All-Star selection.
The Bobcats beat the Clippers Wednesday night, and afterwards Bobcats’ sideline reporter Stephanie Ready told Al Jefferson that once again he had been named the Sprite Player of the Game. Big Al’s response? “How come I don’t get no Sprite?”
Good question Al, but I have a better one: why isn’t anyone talking about your All-Star bid? The starters for the All-Star game are voted for and set, but the remaining seven selections are set to be voted by the league’s head coaches and announced next Thursday. Only once in the history of the franchise has a Bobcat been named to the All-Star game (Gerald Wallace in 2010), but Jefferson is making a strong late case this year to be the second, even if it is somewhat by default.
A weird occurrence of injuries has hit the league this season. Hands are fracturing, ligaments are tearing, and all of it sucks. Notable players have found themselves sidelined for weeks or even the season, and currently the Eastern Conference has two of its best big men out for the year. First Al Horford tore his right pectoral muscle. Days later, Brook Lopez had surgery to repair his fractured right foot. Both players had been having All-Star esque years; Horford averaging 18.6 points and 8.4 rebounds a game, while Lopez averaging 20.7 points and 6.0 rebounds a game (with each shooting over 56%). Both were the most productive players for their respective teams at the time of their injuries and were likely strong candidates to be part of this year’s All-Star team. With both out, things have changed.
Enter Al Jefferson. It started slow for Big Al due to a sprained ankle sidelining him all of preseason and parts of the early regular season. While less than stellar in the months of October and November, he has become increasingly dominant since. In December he averaged 17.7 points and 11.5 rebounds a game, and in January has averaged 20.9 points and 10.9 rebounds a game, with a overall season average of 18.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Over his last four games he has 98 points and 59 rebounds, the most by any player in Bobcats history over that span. With the ankle stronger (though not 100%) Jefferson has increased his production and impact each month. It is coming at the right time for Charlotte as well, who just lost Kemba Walker for two weeks. However they are 2-0 since he went out, beating the Raptors and Clippers at home, largely thanks to Jefferson’s dominate play.
Most significantly is just how important Jefferson is to the Bobcat’s success. During wins, Jefferson has an offensive rating of 109 (100 is considered average), and a defensive rating of 95. In losses, the numbers are virtually flipped, with an offensive rating of 97 and a defensive rating of 104. In other words, Jefferson’s good play is crucial to the Cats. If he’s playing well they win, if he’s not then well, you get it. This seems obvious, a team’s best player is supposed to be important to his team’s success. What’s surprising however is his overall defensive rating of 99.1, which ranks 14th in the NBA and ahead of Jimmy Butler, Serge Ibaka, and Taj Gibson. He also ranks 18th in Defensive Win Shares with 2.2, which estimates the number of wins contributed by a player due to his defense. By comparison, Paul George ranks first at 3.5.
Also contributing to his defensive rating is a Defensive Rebound Percentage of 27.5%, ranking 9th overall and above Dwight Howard, Andre Drummond, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Joakim Noah. Good defensive rebounders contribute on that end for the obvious reason of preventing offensive boards and second chance points. Jefferson’s rebounding has always been strong, but it’s interesting to see his percentage above some of the best rebounders in the league, though it should be noted the others listed play alongside other strong rebounders, while Jefferson is far and away his team’s best rebounder.
For a player who has always been known as a defensive liability these numbers are more than a little surprising. Now it should be understood that Jefferson hasn’t suddenly become a defensive stopper. His effort on the defensive end has been pretty good all year, though there have been points (particularly during Charlotte’s five game losing streak around New Year’s) where Jefferson left much to be desired on that end. Still, it’s important to recognize that Jefferson has benefited from the system Steve Clifford has put in, which serves to hide some of his more glaring defensive weaknesses. While he doesn’t give the amount of effort on defense that he does on offense, the numbers show he has actually contributed to the Bobcat’s top ten defense rather than hinder it.
Going against Big-Al? All-Stars are now picked simply by frontcourt and backcourt. If the center position was still an option Jefferson’s case would be much higher. Instead he competing against every frontcourt player in the East, meaning he will have to beat out the likes of Roy Hibbert, Paul Milsap, Chris Bosh, Drummond, and Noah, as well as small forward Loul Deng. All good company to be mentioned with, and I’d wager three or four front court players will be chosen. Tough choices to make, but Jefferson’s numbers do stack up well next to each of them.
It is interesting to compare Al Jefferson’s season with Gerald Wallace’s 2010 All Star campaign. Much more noise was being made about Wallace’s All-Star chances, while virtually none has been made about Jefferson’s. Yet their numbers are almost identical, as Wallace averaged 18.2 points and 10.0 rebounds a game that season. However Charlotte was a different team back then; their strong January had pushed them above .500 and into the playoffs, and Wallace lead one of the best defenses in the league. The current Bobcats are six games under .500, sitting in the playoffs only thanks to a struggling East, with an above average defense that has dropped off in recent weeks. Maybe that will be the difference maker in the end; the Bobcats are better with Jefferson, but far from intimidating. A stronger, injury-free start to the year would have helped his numbers as well, yet his play over the past couple months shows just how important he is to the Bobcats, and why this year he deserves strong consideration for his first All-Star selection.
(Al Jefferson’s stats come via basketball-reference.com)Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
