Almost 78 percent of the basketball season is complete. With the exception of Philadelphia, most of the teams have maximum 20 games balance. As a matter of fact, out of the 30 teams, 22 have several games to be played. Consequently, this is not the moment when any team can afford its prime players to be injured. However, the fact is that by misfortune, many key players are on the shelf due to injury. Let us consider the injury of one player.
Jameer Nelson
Jameer Nelson has played 42 games for Orlando Magic. In his presence, the team has won 32 games and has lost 10 games. The Off. (Points scored per 100 possessions) of the team has been 112.2 and Def. (Points allowed per 100 possessions) has been 102.9. In the absence of Nelson owing to injury, Orlando Magic has participated in 21 games out of which it has won 14 games and lost 7 games. The Off. has been 110.5 and Def. has been 107.0. These statistics suggest that in the presence of Nelson, the Off. is +1.7 and Def. is -4.2. The total Gain/Loss is +5.9. A positive G/L clearly indicates that the team is in a better position in the presence of the player rather than without him. Whenever Nelson had to miss games due to injury, the defense of the Magic was more hampered than its offense. Magic replaced Nelson by Rafer Alston. After Alston’s inclusion, the Off. became 111.0 and Def. became 106.8. Thus, Alston has not been successful in reaching Nelson’s level regarding the defense.