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Under-the-radar additions providing major value

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Randy Hill

Veteran columnist Randy Hill is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.
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Updated Nov 20, 2009 3:25 PM ET
     
 
While impact from the NBA's noisier offseason personnel maneuvers continues to kick in, the league is experiencing a few tremors from some less conspicuous roster shifts. These moves, for example, have helped the Atlanta Hawks threaten to join a tight list of East contenders and the Phoenix Suns begin an uprising out West. They also remind us that Shaquille O'Neal and Vince Carter are not the only important newcomers in Cleveland and Orlando, respectively. Sometimes even small change is good. But a truly surprising spike in performance has occurred in Indiana, where new Pacers swingman Dahntay Jones has proved to be quite a steal for $2.5 million per year. Jones, who became a starter as perimeter defensive stopper for the Denver Nuggets last season, looks like quite a find for Indy. While assisting Danny Granger in leading the Pacers back toward respectability, Dahntay has averaged 17.4 points per game, up from the modest 5.3 he produced during his stay-out-of-the-way role in Denver. Actually, Jones — whose minutes have risen from 18.5 to 33.8 per game this season — stayed out of the way by quite often sitting down in Denver. As an early and late option for the Pacers, Jones scored 25 points in a Wednesday loss to the New York Knicks that ended Indiana's winning streak at five. The Nuggets must feel a bit silly for allowing Jones to get away, right? Well, things seem quite ducky again in Denver, now that former Detroit Piston Arron Afflalo is filling the Jones role with even more production than Dahntay provided. A stellar defender since his days at UCLA, Afflalo is averaging about 25 minutes per game and rewarding the Nuggets with 9 points on 52-percent shooting. With Afflalo adding a spot of defensive bother to the proceedings, Kobe Bryant managed just 19 points in a recent Denver rout of the Los Angeles Lakers. Another tidy upgrade in numbers has been found in Orlando, although the return from suspension of Rashard Lewis should limit the statistical bump from first-year Magic forward Ryan Anderson. Anderson, who came over from the New Jersey Nets in the Carter deal, had been receiving five more per-game minutes than he was getting last season. The result was a jump in points (14.6 from 7.4) and a six-percent increase (43 from 37) in 3-point accuracy for the 6-foot-10 former Cal Bear. Now that Lewis has reclaimed his role as long-range power forward, Anderson must provide the same high level of efficiency while giving Orlando more depth than it had last season. In the Eastern Conference, having another viable sniper certainly can't hurt the Magic's ability to spread the stingy, Pack-line-style defenses played in Cleveland and Boston. The Cavaliers' interest in spreading the floor to benefit the drive-and-crush skills of LeBron James has been abetted by the addition of former Toronto Raptor Anthony Parker. Parker, who's averaging 9 points in his 31 minutes per game, is shooting a ridiculous 55 percent from 3-point range. Delonte West, the shooting guard Parker has replaced in Cleveland's starting lineup, is converting just 17 percent from that range. And even though Candace Parker's big brother is shooting a chilly 39 percent overall, he also provides Coach Mike Brown with another committed and accomplished defender. This gives the Cavs an even greater ability to defend the likes of Boston's Ray Allen, Orlando's Carter and Atlanta's Joe Johnson during the anticipated playoff struggles. Another potential defensive target for Parker is first-year Hawk Jamal Crawford, a former Golden State Warrior who is providing Atlanta with 16 points per game off the bench. In addition to the underrated capacity of adding firepower to the second unit, Crawford is quite a boon to the Hawks' versatility. At 6-5, he's long enough to play shooting guard and either give Johnson some R&R or enable Coach Mike Woodson to play Joe at the three when the Hawks go small. Crawford also handles the ball well enough to initiate the offense and give reasonable defensive efforts against certain point guards when Woodson wants to play a bigger lineup.
While Crawford and the Hawks were busy serving notice in the East, the Phoenix Suns and newcomer Channing Frye began re-establishing themselves out West. Currently registered at 10-2, the Suns have been receiving considerable production from Frye, who returned to his hometown following a rather uneventful run as a Portland Trail Blazer. After averaging 4.2 points per game in limited minutes last season, Frye was transformed from not-so-powerful forward to pick-and-pop center by Suns coach Alvin Gentry. Frye's offseason work deserves a few bows as well, because it has enabled him to dramatically expand his shooting range. Frye, who shot a combined 70 3-pointers in his first four seasons as a pro, has fired up 76 already this season and is succeeding at a brisk 46-percent clip. His ability to hang out on the perimeter and threaten the defense makes life much easier for Suns point guard Steve Nash and screen-roll power forward Amare Stoudemire. The two-man game that often was sabotaged by the low-block presence of O'Neal has been resurrected with another space-the-floor shooter in Frye. His 13 points per game come with an affordable price tag of $2 million per season. Although the Suns have to rank as the biggest surprise in their conference so far, the Dallas Mavericks also are playing at a clip that has surpassed the expectations of most prognosticators. The addition of small forward Shawn Marion hasn't exactly provided a shocking statistical upgrade, but the still-bouncy veteran is giving the Mavs a needed defender and rebounder. He also is able to run and rebound his way to a dozen points per game, an offensive output that is generated without steering half-court sets away from the established skills of designated scorers Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry. Marion, who whined about being a third or fourth option during the halcyon days with Mike D'Antoni, Stoudemire and Nash in Phoenix, has been a quiet contributor in Dallas ... so far. If the Mavericks continue riding this wave into the playoffs, Marion can give them a reasonably capable defender against the likes of Bryant, San Antonio Spur Richard Jefferson (assuming a revival in San Antonio) and Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets. While Marion is working out well as a former Sun in Dallas, an almost Sun has returned for duty in Detroit. That would be Ben Wallace, a one-time Pistons hero whose recent stint in Cleveland was terminated when the Cavs used his contract to help acquire Shaq from Phoenix. The Suns had no on-court use for Big Ben, so he returned to Detroit and is handing the Pistons an impressive 9 rebounds per game in 29 minutes. Not bad for $1.3 million. And he has the experience, strength and lingering defensive chops necessary to battle some of the low-block brutes the Pistons will encounter if they find themselves in the playoffs. If you're looking for frequent flying under the radar, Miami Heat swingman Quentin Richardson is your guy. OK, so he's averaging a pedestrian 7 points per game as a 3-point marksman who keeps the floor spread for Dwyane Wade. But Q leads the league in transactions. Going into the last NBA Draft, Richardson was working for the New York Knicks, who traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies. In a matter of weeks, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Minnesota Timberwolves and, finally, the Heat. If you're interested in a pretty important address change that seems to have been overlooked, we offer first-year Houston Rocket Trevor Ariza, who was considered a bit cuckoo for leaving the defending champion Lakers for something less than a true bonanza in Texas. While L.A. is 9-3, Ariza and the Ron Artest-free Rockets are a respectable 7-5. In 14 more minutes per game than he was given by the Lakers, Ariza has doubled his scoring (from 8.9 to 19.3) and assist (1.8 to 4.2) averages. As a bonus to Houston, Ariza has yet to record a rap CD or refer to himself in the third person.
Tagged: Heat, Timberwolves, Nets, Steve Nash, Knicks, Magic, Dirk Nowitzki, Suns, Pau Gasol, Spurs, Jason Terry, Quentin Richardson, Jamal Crawford, Delonte West, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Ben Wallace, Rashard Lewis, Anthony Parker, Arron Afflalo, Joe Johnson, Channing Frye, Ray Allen, Trevor Ariza, Danny Granger, Shawn Marion, Hawks, Celtics, Cavaliers, Mavericks, Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets, Ryan Anderson, Pistons, Rockets, Dwyane Wade, Pacers, Dahntay Jones, Richard Jefferson, Vince Carter, Lakers

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