Injuries wreak havoc ... for some (cont.)

Other news and observations

(All stats are through Dec. 16.)

• Injuries to Manu Ginobili and Leandro Barbosa has made Jason Terry an early favorite to repeat as Sixth Man of the Year. Yet, while the Jet has markedly improved his defense and is averaging 16.7 points and 3.4 assists in 34.2 minutes per game, his shooting percentage from the field (43.4) and beyond the arc (33.8) are his lowest in six years. Knicks forward Al Harrington (19.8 points, 6.5 rebounds in 31.5 minutes per game) is a serious candidate but may lose eligibility if New York continues to play well with him in the starting lineup.

• A couple of other superglue-guy forwards belong in the sixth man discussion. Houston's Carl Landry (16.6 points, 6.0 rebounds in 26.6 minutes per game) has 165 fourth-quarter points in 25 games to rank among the league's top three in that category, one reason Houston is a plus-19 in the 31 crunch time minutes (defined as within five points with five minutes or less to play in the fourth quarter or overtime) Landry has played this season.

• Miami's Udonis Haslem (10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per game] likewise elevates his game in the clutch: The Heat are plus-22 in the 34 crunchtime minutes Haslem has been on the floor. Not coincidentally, both Houston and Miami are among the league's biggest overachievers thus far this season.

• But if you're looking for a sixth man who has had the most positive impact on his team's performance, check out the much-derided, fuzzy-haired, flop-oriented Cavs forward Anderson Varejao. During the 567 minutes Varejao has been on the court this season, the Cavs have scored 10.5 more points per 100 possessions and allowed 12.3 fewer points per 100 possessions to their opponents than in the 445 minutes Varejao has been on the bench. Put more simply, in gross numbers, Cleveland is plus-159 when Varejao plays and minus-39 when he sits.

That's a lot more impressive than the modest individual statistics (10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per game) that the fifth-year power forward from Brazil has posted and it's because Varejao's defense has been superb thus far this season. His rotations are quick and aggressive and his rebounding -- his signature tap-outs on the offensive glass but also his jousting for inside position -- is vastly improved.

According to 82games.com. the Cavs' allow opponents fewer points per 100 possessions when Varejao is at center than when either Shaq or Zydrunas Ilgauskas are playing the position. The disparity is even greater between Cleveland's other options at power forward and Varejao, who is limiting opponents to a miserly 86.4 points per 100 possessions when playing the "4". Add in that Cleveland leads the league in yielding just 33.9 points in the paint to their opponents and Anderson Varejao, of all people, needs to be recognized as a highly effective defender in the low block.

• Old school hoops fans grimace at the preponderance of three-pointers in today's game, but it is hard to ignore how important the inside-outside dynamic has become in the modern NBA offense. Still, even the most efficient shooting teams can become besotted with perimeter treys and the Orlando Magic are a Exhibit A. Currently fourth in the NBA in true shooting percentage (which takes into account free throws and the added value of three-pointers), the Magic are most vulnerable when they start denying touches to Dwight Howard inside. In Orlando's 19 wins this season, Howard has attempted an average 10.3 field goals per game, but for the six Orlando defeats, Howards shot frequency is cut in half, to 5.3 FGA. Six times this season, Howard has attempted five or fewer shots from the field and Orlando has lost four of those games.

• After watching Tracy McGrady land among the starters in early returns from the All-Star balloting, quibbling with any aspect of the process seems like a Byzantine enterprise. And watching Amar'e Stoudemire successfully return from injury, in a contract year, with the All-Star Game in his home city, it is hard to begrudge him a spot on the Western Conference squad. Those caveats aside, however, it is interesting to see how Stoudemire stacks up against the three other top-shelf centers in the conference -- Tim Duncan in San Antonio, Nene Hilario in Denver, and Andrew Bynum in L.A. He leads the pack in two categories, minutes-played and points. Otherwise, Stoudemire is third in field-goal percentage (ahead of only Duncan), second in free-throw percentage, last in rebounds, last in assists, second in steals (behind only Nene), last in blocks, and worst in turnovers by a wide margin.

• The dirty little secret in Utah is that a front line of Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur is horrible on defense. The Jazz are 10.5 points more porous per 100 possessions when Okur is in the game and 6.2 points per 100 worse when Boozer plays, so obviously the tandem together doesn't stop anybody. Paul Millsap and big boy Kyle Fesenko both dramatically improve the team defense when they get minutes so maybe it is time for some new combinations.

• Among the woes for San Antonio is Tony Parker's wayward jump shot. Last year, 59 percent of Parker's attempts were jumpers and he had an effective field goal percentage of 42.4 -- not great, but enough to keep opposing defenses honest. This year, the mix of jumpers in his game has dropped to 54 percent because his effective field goal percentage is a paltry 36.7 from outside. Opponents are giving him the open look and denying penetration: His percentage of blocked shots in the paint has risen from 12 percent to 16 percent thus far this year.

• It's become too easy slap the superstar label on LeBron James and then stop paying attention to the consistency and subtlety of his excellence. Right now, he's hitting 50.7 percent of his shots and is sixth in the NBA with eight assists per game, more than pure point guards who live on dimes, like Jose Calderon, or players with killer jumpshooters for teammates, like Russell Westbrook (Durant) and Chauncey Billups (Anthony). Explosions, like his 11 points in 1:55 of the third quarter versus Oklahoma City, remain in the memory, but for real value, consider how consistently he bails out the Cavs' offense. Nearly a quarter of his 515 shot attempts have been taken with three seconds or less on the shot clock and his effective field goal percentage (which factors in the added value of threes) on those attempts is 56.4.