Neo Workxx » and 1.3 steals. And hes 20. Russells got a highe

September 15, 2016. India A were unravelling against Australia A in Brisbane. Kane Richardson and Jackson Bird were zipping the pink ball around, and the lights hadnt even come on. It wasnt a toss Naman Ojha wanted to lose. He resisted for 52 balls - the longest among the top six - before Bird had him lbw. India A were now 46 for 6.Hardik Pandya walked out to replace his captain, having had an eventful few months leading up to the match.After a heady start to his international career that peaked with the World T20, a reality check arrived through a dismal IPL which then led to him being dropped for the tour to Zimbabwe. Pandya wouldnt have even been in Australia if not for injuries and curious, last-minute changes to the A team.He had done alright as a bowler in the quadrangular one-day series that preceded the four-day games, but the runs were missing. In fact, after he made 0 and 7 batting at No.7 in the first unofficial Test, he was demoted a spot.Pandya ensured his team survived the night and was the last man out the next afternoon. He had contributed 79 runs to India As total of 169. The innings convinced Ojha that Pandya ought to be playing with the senior team.The pink ball was seaming around under lights. It was a slightly new experience for us, but he dealt it with brilliantly, Ojha told ESPNcricinfo. He has all the qualities an international allrounder should have. As soon as he gains more experience, he will become a trump card for India.The national selectors must have thought so too. They knew India needed a seam-bowling allrounder and, with only eight ODIs in 2016-17 before the Champions Trophy, they needed to find one fast. That performance for the A team in Brisbane put Pandya front and centre. Pandya made his ODI debut in Dharamsala, clocking over 140 kph and troubling New Zealand with seam and swing. Then he produced an outstanding cameo in Delhi with the match on the line.India needed 60 to win off 55 balls and had only two wickets in hand. It was a difficult pitch to score rapidly and New Zealand had Tim Southee and Trent Boult bowling intelligently at the death. But with each passing over Pandya kept slicing the target down, playing proper shots. That 36 off 32 balls signaled a marked change in his game because, until then, he was seen as a T20 specialist who hit some lusty blows and squeezed in a few overs in during the middle stages.An India A team-mate believes Pandyas interactions with Rahul Dravid, the India A coach, has brought about the transformation in his batting.He learnt a lot from Dravid not just about batting, but also about staying mentally strong. So long as Pandya remained disciplined nobody had a problem with his happy-go-lucky attitude.He showed good work ethic in terms of his training and recovery pattern and diet. When he was out of the team, he focused on becoming physically stronger and that helped keep the negative thoughts away. It also helped that he was out of the team for only two months.While it is understood both Indias captain MS Dhoni and coach Anil Kumble had praised Pandyas efforts which nearly aced a difficult chase in Delhi, they had also reminded the 23-year old about the lessons to be absorbed from that experience.With 11 runs needed from eight balls - and only Nos. 10 and 11 left - Pandya flat-batted a bouncer from Boult, who had been New Zealands best bowler, and was caught by the sweeper on the off side. India lost by six runs.It will be harsh on him, he could have [taken it to the end] the option is always there, Dhoni said after the match. You always have to target who are the bowlers you want to hit and in these kinds of situation even the last ball counts. May be if that shot would have gone over point it could have been a boundary and everything would have been different. He is still learning and more often than not he will be alone along with the tail.With the likes of Kumble and Dravid to guide him, however, Pandya knows, at least off the field, he is never alone. Air Force 1 Just Do It Prix . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Air Force 1 Blanche Pas Cher . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. http://www.airforce1justdoit.fr/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Air Force 1 Homme Promo .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. Achat Nike Air Force One Just Do It . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. The 2015-16 edition of your Los Angeles Lakers were crafted upon three principles:1. Must not land out of the top three in the NBA draft lottery. Anything lower than No. 3 overall gets sent to Philadelphia . . . which would mean a whole season of tanking will be in vain.2. Kobe Bryant gets to do whatever he wants.3. Byron Scott rides shotgun.In reality-based NBA terms? These three principles produced their desired synergistic effect: Brandon Ingram.In fantasy-based NBA terms? The 2015-16 Lakers were a numerical sinkhole.They placed 29th out of 30 teams in Offensive Rating (101.6 points per 100 possessions), 30th in effective field goal percentage (.460), 30th in true shooting percentage (.509), 18th in pace (95.6), 30th in assists, 22nd in 3-pointers, 23rd in steals and 24th in blocks.Bad teams can equal fantasy upside. They can combine promising young players with the copious minutes required for growth.In this case...that wasnt the case.This team-wide implosion was evidenced with a pronounced lack of Player Rater production.Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 4.36 points. DAngelo Russell finished strong and posted 3.61 points. Lou Williams posted 3.12. Julius Randle posted 2.65. Kobe Bryant? A time-management/injury depressed 1.28 points. And thats off of a stratospheric (2008-esque) 32.2 percent usage rate. (Their combined score would have place fifth overall on the Player Rater, right ahead of Chris Paul).The 2015-16 Lakers were -- easily -- one of the worst NBA fantasy teams of the past decade.The 2016-17 Lakers are a case study. An object lesson. A laudatory tale. They are what happens when you:1. Forget about next years lottery-protected pick and play to win, but in a low-expectations, youth-infused atmosphere.2. Subtract a retiring superstar (and his 32.2 percent usage rate) and divvy up his touches amongst your young, promising core.3. Bring in Luke Walton to turn up the pace.Exit Kobe. Exit Roy Hibbert. Enter Brandon Ingram, Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov. Exit Byron Scott. Enter Luke Walton.The still-young season features multiple still-young teams that have increased both their pace and fantasy prospects. (Brooklyn, Phoenix, Denver).But none have leaped so far, so fast as the Lakers.Los Angeles is now 12th in offensive rating, 10th in effective field goal percentage, ninth in true shooting percentage, fourth in pace, seventh in assists, 10th in 3-pointers and fifth in steals. (But just 25th in blocks. Nobodys perfect).And one of the impressive aspects of the individual Lakers fantasy improvement is how theyre doing with essentially a series of timeshares. Ten Lakers are currently averaging over 20 minutes a night. No Lakers average 30 MPG. On most teams, this distribution of minutes would spell roto regression. But these Lakers are statistically better for it.So which individual players have benefited from the Lakers new look? All of them.Lou Williams, PG/SG 2015-16 Player Rater: 3.12 2016-17 Player Rater: 7.01 (leads Lakers)Lou Williams is averaging 23.5 minutes per game. That puts him on pace for his lowest amount of playing time in five seasons. Yet, somehow, hes registering career highs in points per game (16.6), 3-pointers (1.9) and steals (1.3).Lou Williams is what happens when you start parsing out a departed superstars touches in a higher-paced, more efficient system. In a career stuffed with super-compacted superb stats, Williams is averaging a career high 28.2 percent usage rate. Hes destroying his previous career high in PER (23.00 vs. 20.22 back in 2011-12).Williams has also taken over as Lakers closer. Hes third in the NBA in fourth quarter scoring. On a young team still learning how to win -- yet has already won half as many games as last years Lakers did in a full season -- Waltons given Williams an incandescent late-game green light.Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG 2015-16 Player Rater: 4.36 (led Lakers) 2016-17 Player Rater: 5.77Clarkson has also primarily come off the bench. Hes logging almost five minutes less per game than in 2015-16. Yet he still leads the Lakers with 27.dddddddddddd8 minutes per game.Despite the minutes drop, Clarksons volume stats by and large compare with his solid 2015-16 numbers. But the secret sauce in his improvement comes from the steals department. Clarkson currently averages 1.8 thefts per tilt, a huge leap over last seasons 1.1 steals. Hes already posted multiple five-steal games, including last Fridays monster 20-point, 4-3-pointer and 5-steal line versus the Warriors.Julius Randle, PF 2015-16 Player Rater: 2.65 2016-17 Player Rater: 4.70Randles minutes have also decreased. Hes dropped by two rebounds per game. Yet Randles fantasy impact has also improved. More than improved: its nearly doubled.Cause one: his field goal percentage bump. His .538 percentage marks a quantum leap versus last seasons .429. Randles shooting has improved despite the average distance of his shot moving out from 6.7 to 7.9 feet. Even more incongruously, his biggest jump is in deep 2-pointers (from .254 to .556).The area where Randles doing something special for his position? Assists. Randles court vision has opened up to the tune of 3.8 assists per game. Thats one of the best big-men per game averages in the entire league.Randle still isnt adding much in the defense categories (0.7 steals, 0.6 blocks), but his dimes have the potential to make Randle a unique fantasy asset.Nick Young, SG/SF 2015-16 Player Rater: -3.43 (depressed due to injury and a social media mishap) 2016-17 Player Rater: 4.45Youngs heartwarming comeback campaign suffered a bit of a scare last night via an Achilles strain. Its hard to believe, but the preternaturally sophomoric Young has transformed into something of a 31-year-old grizzled veteran.Like every other Laker on this list, Youngs transformation arrives via efficiency. Youngs improvement is concentrated in one specific area: 3-point production. As of last nights game, Young was averaging a career-high 2.6 3-pointers per game. That high average is accompanied by a career-high .418 3-point percentage.(I mean come on. Nick Youngs eFG% is 59 percent! Walton should get Coach of the Year based on that alone.)Larry Nance Jr., PF 2015-16 Player Rater: -0.31 2016-17 Player Rater: 3.87Nance is only getting 21.8 minutes per game. Hes only averaging 7.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. But hes shooting 60 percent from the field and is averaging 1.2 steals per game.DAngelo Russell, PG 2015-16 Player Rater: 3.61 2016-17 Player Rater: 2.99 (depressed due to injury)Calm down. Hes been hurt. Hell be back in 10-14 days.In the meantime, comfort yourself with these averages: 16.1 points, 4.8 assists, 2.5 3-pointers, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. And hes 20. Russells got a higher ceiling than anyone on this list. (As far as 2016-17 is concerned. Beyond that, its a foot race with Brandon Ingram.)Two numbers tell me Russells going to break out in the New Year: 28.6 percent usage rate, 17.37 PER. Ill tell you: Russells a true fantasy star in the making.(Note: Im not a Laker fan. I just live here. No Lakers Exceptionalism in this house. Im too busy editing together Ledell Eackles highlight reels).Timofey Mozgov, C 2015-16 Player Rater: 0.87 (with Cleveland) 2016-17 Player Rater: 2.92For the year, Mozgov is averaging 8.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.7 blocks and $191,121.95 per game. So, before we criticize Mozgovs lack of rebounding, lets be honest: how good of a year did you have?Brandon Ingram, SF/PF 2015-16 Player Rater: NA 2016-17 Player Rater: -0.31Ignore the crappy shooting (.372 FG%). Ingram is a 19-year-old drooling -- teeming, oozing, percolating -- with athleticism and freakish upside. Hes already averaging 24.6 MPG. Hes already defending his position. Hes already started to hit the NBA 3-pointer (.438 3-point percentage over his past five games).Ingram may not be roster-worthy in standard leagues until the last lap of the season. But I have a feeling that when Ingram arrives, it will happen in an awful hurry. ' ' '