There has been much ado about Carmelo Anthony heading to the New York Knicks and significantly less buzz when news broke earlier today (Wednesday) that the New Jersey Nets had acquired Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams.
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Deron Williams
Sure, Anthony signed an extension with the Knicks that assures that he will play in the Big Apple for the next three and half seasons, and Williams is only guaranteed to stay with New Jersey through the next season. But a company that specializes in crunching numbers to produce a certain game’s "excitement rating" at any point in time, says Williams is actually the most exciting player in the NBA. Anthony? He’s No. 22 out of the league’s 448 players.
Thuuz.com is the company and it services fans by sending them e-mails or text messages when certain games hit an objective excitement level that they would want to know about. Fans then can more closely follow the game on their mobile device or turn on the television.
Thuuz officials recently took the first half of the NBA season, looked at the excitement ratings of each game, and factored in how much each player had to do with making the game exciting. Obviously players who play for teams with fewer stars, like Williams, have an advantage in the rankings since they have a better chance to individually influence the excitement of the game.
“Williams could have a huge impact, given that he’s coming to play in a major metropolitan area,” said Thuuz CEO Warren Packard.
The excitement ratings take into account anything that shifts a game, from a basket to an assist, block or steal. Since it’s a complex algorithm, it doesn’t yet account for how exciting a particular play is — like a Blake Griffin slam dunk.
The average starter in the NBA had an excitement rating of 45. Williams finished the first half of the season with a league-high excitement rating of 90.9.
Williams was followed in excitement by Steve Nash (Suns), Kevin Love (Timberwolves), Derrick Rose (Bulls) and LeBron James (Heat). Russell Westbrook (Thunder), John Wall (Wizards), Chris Paul (Hornets), Monta Ellis (Warriors) and Kevin Durant (Thunder) rounded out the top 10.
Anthony fell outside the top 20, but his new teammate Amar’e Stoudemire is the 16th most exciting star in the league, according to Thuuz. In a shocker, Raymond Felton, who was traded to the Nuggets in the Anthony deal, is actually the 11th most exciting player in the league.
Thanks to LeBron being on the team, Dwyane Wade is 14th. Packard said the reason why Kobe Bryant appeared at No. 19 on the list is because the distribution of excitement between Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom is fairly even.
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