Chunky Soup

How different a 0.500 record can mean dependig on the team. The Amoebas are 1-1 and on the way up; the Chunky Monkeys are 1-1 and seemingly in trouble. Why?

PTS, REB, AST: The first big problem area here? Putting the ball in the basket. The Monkeys are ranked 9th in PTS despite having talented scorers like Gilbert Arenas, Tim Duncan, Charlie Villanueva, and Jason Terry. Even Emeka Okafor has shown an unexpected strong scoring hand this season at 18 ppg. So why so low? Because the supporting cast can't/won't score. Proving that depth is certainly important, the Monkeys lower caliber guys don't put in very many points. Manu Ginobili is the main culprit here, putting in a putrid 13 ppg -- how do you say "a bit more Manu!" in Castilian? At least the Monkeys can go get all those rebounds coming off the glass; they're ranked 3rd in REB and could easily be better. Strangely, despite a plethora of point guards, they can't pass worth a lick (ranked 9th). That's probably because outside of Shaun Livingston, none of the little guys (Smush, Mo Williams, Terry) are really pure point guards. Of course, Arenas drops 7 dimes a game, but he can't do it all by himself. Actually, without Agent Zero, this team would be even worse off in PTS and AST. Shudder.

STL, BLK, 3PT: The Monkeys are easily first in the league in BLK and a strong 4th in 3PT. Let's talk about those blocks. It's pretty much all Okafor (3.5). Duncan -- not to mention Josh Smith -- should pick up his BLK numbers a bit more but until then, Okafor is enough to lead the way. Free agent acquisition Andris Biedrins is adding fuel to the fire since he's a monster BLK guy too, but his skills might be overkill on this team. The strength in 3PT should continue. Arenas, Terry, J Smith and a surprising Danny Granger should help to spread the floor. What they don't do is swipe the ball. The Monkeys are ranked 9th here too. The second highest STL guy on this team, aside from Arenas, is Charlie Villanueva -- he's a power forward on a team full of guards. That's not good. Plus, it looks like Evan is dumping his plethora of guards for some big guys (new lineup), so the STL numbers will drop even further.

TO, FG%, FT%: Why's Timmy D turning the ball over to the tune of four per game? Despite Duncan's atrocious TO numbers, the rest of this team protects the rock enough to rank the Monkeys fourth in TO. The biggest problem here is shooting. As in, the Monkeys can't hit a thing. 10th in FG% and dead last in FT%. The latter can be attributed to Duncan and Okafor, who combine to make for a truckful of bricks from the line. The terrible shooting from everywhere else? Blame Manu, Smush, Livingston and Mo -- all four shoot under 40% each. Duncan and Okafor don't miss (aside from the line) and Charlie V, Granger, and Jason Terry are shooting very well so far but their fine eyes for the basket is being dragged down by that awful quartet.

On the bright side, it looks like the worst of it is over as Smush, Shaun, and Mo are going to the bench, which should translate to better FG% and well, still terrible FT%.

Bench: Previously, Andris Biedrins was sitting pretty on the bench next to virtual non-factors like Marquis Daniels and a flood of waiver picks up like Sasha Pavlovic, Antoine Wright, Kenny Thomas, and Damon Jones. Now Biedrins and Sasha are in the lineup and Smush, Shaun, and Mo take a seat. Let's see if that helps.

Well, it looks like we've talked about Gilbert Arenas alot hunh? He's responsible for keeping this team even semi-competitive in PTS, AST, STL and 3PT. But here's what's funny, the clear strength of the team is everything that Arenas doesn't do. The front line of Duncan, Okafor, and potentially, Josh Smith are suited for dominating a game through defense, should the Chunky Monkeys become the Shut-Down Monkeys?

Dr Jon says: I say "Yes!" It looks like the Monkeys have been playing all the wrong people. Take out all those shooting guards who can't pass or hit threes -- or shoot for that matter. Dump them on the bench, or better yet, other owners. Smush, Shaun, and Mo have value, just not on this team. What I would do is try to build on the Monkeys' strengths and stop fighting some of the big weaknesses. They are close to the top in REB, BLK, TO and 3PT. Push those four categories to the max. Then work on that FG%. It's ranked 10th now but with the subtraction of some poor shooters, that number can rise high -- maybe even to the top of the league.

Heck, even Jason Terry and Manu Ginobili might not be good fits here. Okay, Terry is okay if he keeps hitting at a 48.8% clip, but Manu needs to go. Bring that FG% radically up, cut down on TO, and move for shooters who can hit 3PT and maintain a good percentage.

Here's the thing, as great as Arenas is, he could be all wrong for this team. He shoots like crazy but would be far better replaced by another big man (like Elton Brand) or maybe a Michael Redd or Ray Allen type. In fact, Rashard Lewis would do too, since he hits major 3PT at a good percentage, and he can rebound. Arenas could have some major trade value if Evan really wants to turn his team around.

The other guy I'd look to move, aside from Manu and his crew of poor marksman is Danny Granger. Granger is a talent but his 11 3PT might be a mirage (5 in one game). Granger has a nice all-around game and high potential, but is currently just a younger Shane Battier. In order to guarantee wins, this team might need some dramatic lineup changes, and to re-think their way of doing things. And it would sure help if Josh Smith started to do something special.