I hate Brian Scalabrine
Last night, the Celtics took the Cavaliers to double overtime before falling 113-109.
Each team's star had a huge game, as they tried to carry their teams to victory. LeBron had 43 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks for the Cavs. Paul Pierce had 50 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists for the Celtics before fouling out after 54 minutes of play.
So we have a tight game against a quality team....and somehow Brian Scalabrine manages to play 34 (!!!) minutes, totalling 2 points (on 1/5 shooting), 2 turnovers, and 4 personal fouls. That's it. No rebounds, no assists, no steals, no blocks. Now, I've heard all the nonsense about how he does the little things that don't show up in the box score. But shouldn't he do something, ANYTHING, that does show up in the box score?!?
I've looked at his breakdowns at 82 games.com (Link) and the team doesn't play significantly worse when he's on the court. The offense stagnates, but the team defense improves, so the net effect is negligible (-3.1 points per 48 min with him, -2.1 points per 48 without him). Of course, he's playing a lot of minutes with the starters, so the other 4 guys on the court could be masking the true damage he inflicts on the team.
But it's when you compare Scalabrine to the guy he's guarding that things get ugly. When he's at PF, he averages 10.5 points (.389 eFG%), 5.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per 48 minutes. The PF he's opposing averages 17.2 points (.537 eFG%), 9.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per 48. When he slides to SF, the numbers are even worse. Now, it's not so much the numbers he's giving up (his opponents are actually less efficient than league average according to John Hollinger's PER whether he's at SF or PF). It's that his own stats are horrendous. Oh, but the things that don't show up in the box score, Kevin, don't forget them!!
I do feel a little bad for him, though. Since we traded Mark "I rebound like a schoolgirl" Blount, there aren't as many targets for my vitriol, so Scalabrine gets a larger share than he used to. Poor guy. If only vitriol showed up in the box score.....