Monday Notes -- Team Statistics

Ten games (or so) into the season and there are some telling gems in the "team statistics" department.   Let's take a look at some of the winners and losers in key departments.  Some tell stories you probably already know; others may reveal the unexpected.

• Assists:  Here is one stat that is probably not a surprise if you seen some of their early-season games.  The Celtics smooth offense leads the league with 268 assists, while the discombobulated Thunder attack is struggling with a league-low 146.  Rotation guys Serge Ibaka, Nenad Krstic, and Jeff Green have combined for a total of 10 assists this season.  Way to make the extra pass, fellas.
• Opponent's FG percentage:  Three best:  Dallas, New Orleans, Milwaukee.  No surprises there.  Dallas started well last year, but will sustain it this year by adding Chandler and Butler and subtracting Dampier.  Three worst:  Washington, Toronto, Sacramento.  Washington has gotten excellent shot-blocking so far from Javale McGee and a suprising Yi Jianlian, but they are woeful rebounders and they get pushed around inside for easy buckets.
• Opponent's 3-pt. FG percentage:  Another bad mark for the OKC Thunder -- they are letting opponents hit 43.4% of their shots from deep.  As Kobe said recently, you can't "put guys in the gym by themselves."  The Thunder are giving opposing shooters way too much space.  On the other end of the spectrum, the Hornets have been magnificent, allowing only 28.2% of their opponents shots.  The league leaders in recent years have been in the 31%-34% range, so perhaps we can expect some regression to the mean in this department.  Or maybe we can expect more of the same:  New Orleans is second in the league (behind Dwight Howard and the Magic,) allowing opponents only 80 offensive rebounds this season -- depriving them of the golden second-chance looks that often lead to wide-open threes.
• Steals:  Want to begrudge Mike Conley and his $40 million contract?  His league-leading 30 steals have paced the Grizzlies to a high mark of 113 steals.  The league average is 72.  The Nets scrape bottom here with only 39.  Maybe we should tell them that it is good to have possession of the ball?
• FT percentage:  Here's a head scratcher -- for all the trouble that the Thunder have had this season, they are hitting 87% of their free throws this season.  What makes this stat all the more remarkable?  Their top-8 rotation guys are 23 years old, on average.  It's rare to see such a young bunch with such sweet strokes.  On the other hand, for obvious reasons, Orlando is hitting 65.1% of their free throws.  More to come in a second.
• Opponent's FT percentage:  Okay, this one is a bit of a farce.  Nobody is playing good FT defense.  The worst:  Orlando's opposition has made 81% of their free throws.  The best:  New Jersey's has made 70.1%.  What do we learn here?  1)  Orlando doesn't get the benefit of playing against Orlando (and Dwight Howard).  2)  New Jersey is 3-6 despite being rather lucky.