It's nothing new. But in case you wanted further evidence that statistics can have a funny influence on the NBA -- making people perform in a way that is not best for their team -- consider the case of Zach Randolph and his 20 and 10.
Brian from Knickerblogger writes:
Note that, in 2002-03 (his second season), Randolph played 17 minutes a game. The next year? 38 minutes a game.
His per-36-minute averages in 2002-03? 18 and 9.5
His per-36-minute averages in 2003-04? 19.1 and 10
Sure looks like Randolph didn't really improve much, right? He was just given more minutes. It is certainly significant that he was able to keep up his same level of production even with the improved playing time, but as has been shown in the past, that is usually how these things go.
So, without really changing as a player, Zach Randolph got himself a nice award. Oh wait ... he also got something else. Before the beginning of the next NBA season, Zach Randolph got himself a 6-year, $84 million dollar contract extension. And that is why 20/10 is so poisonous. ...
Zach Randolph is a massively talented player. Make no mistake about it. He is a great low post presence, and the man can rebound better than 90% (maybe more) of the NBA. But this is not a man who will ever be taught to do anything than to try to score 20 points and net 10 rebounds, because that stock of being the "20/10 guy" got him this contract, and he is not going to change his game now, or any time soon.
Since the Knicks are being actively hurt by Zach Randolph (whose True Shooting Percentage is 207th in the NBA among qualified players, while his usage rate is 15th -- think about that for a second!), and since he has been poisoned by "20/10," the Knicks are best off just divesting themselves of the guy, even if it means taking back near-scrubs like Dan Gadzuric and Bobby Simmons.
