NBA Playoffs 2012: Power Ranking the Postseason's Biggest Ball Hogs

During the playoffs, every possession matters. Some players just like to use a little bit too many of those possessions, and these are those players. 

We call them ball hogs. I feel comfortable using the word "we" because we've all sat down on our couches and expressed to a friend that we feel like a player is calling his own number way too many times. 

Read on to find out where the players most commonly called ball hogs land in the rankings of all 73 eligible players. However, before you do so, make sure you pay close attention to the next slide as it fully details the criteria for the rankings. 

Ball Hog Factor

Even though I've watched just about every minute of the 2012 NBA playoffs, it's impossible for me to retain what I've observed about each and every contributor. Things are bound to slip my mind. 

Plus, how am I supposed to instantaneously recognize a player's offensive value and determine whether he's calling his own number to much? I can't, and I'll be amazed if there's anyone out there who can. 

As a result, I'm turning to a quantitative measure of "ballhoginess." Unfortunately, though, no such measure actually exists (to the best of my knowledge and Google-searching abilities), so I had to make up my own, which I'm simply calling Ball Hog Factor. 

So first of all, what exactly is a ball hog? 

In my mind—and this is important because it's the working definition that this article is based around—a ball hog is someone who produces offensively at a lower level than his team's average level of offensive production. The bigger the ball hog, the more he falls short of that team average or the more he's used at a lower level. Or both. 

Fortunately, we have previously existing metrics that measure all of those things, so it's just a matter of combining them in the proper fashion. 

Here's the formula I came up with: 

Ball Hog Factor = (Usage Rate/100)*(Individual Offensive Rating - Team Offensive Rating)

Simplicity reigns supreme here. 

Usage rate measures the percentage of possessions a player uses while he's on the floor, with 100 being the highest possible score and 20 the league average (seeing as there are always five players on the court for a team).

I'm dividing by 100 here just to keep the numbers more manageable and express usage rate as a decimal value rather than a percent out of 100. This just changes the appearance of the stat but doesn't actually mess with its inner workings. 

The second component of Ball Hog Factor is offensive rating. Abbreviated as ORtg, this metric estimates the number of points produced per 100 possessions. 

Taking the difference of the individual's offensive rating and his team's overall offensive rating should tell us how much better or worse he is than the average offensive production of his team. However, herein lies the one flaw with the formula: A player's offensive rating is incorporated into his team's, so this is a little bit self-referential. 

Stripped down to its nuts and bolts, Ball Hog Factor multiplies the amount a player is involved by how much that involvement varies from the team's average level of production. The more positive the number, the better. The more negative, the more of a ball hog the player is.

On the following slides, I've identified all 73 players who, going into Monday night's games, had played in three or more contests and averaged at least 25 minutes per game. Then, I applied the Ball Hog Factor to their numbers and ranked them accordingly.

You'll find the full rankings here, but the first 53 are meant for nothing more than a cursory glance. The 20 biggest ball hogs of the postseason are the ones I actually wrote about.  

For those 20, please be advised that the numbers at the top of the slide apply to the postseason only.

No. 73 Through No. 61

73. Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls: 7.87

72. Spencer Hawes, Philadelphia 76ers: 4.55

71. Amar'e Stoudemire, New York Knicks: 4.26

70. James Harden, Oklahoma City Thunder: 4.21

69. George Hill, Indiana Pacers: 3.96

68. Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers: 3.82

67. Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies: 3.61

66. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics: 3.53

65. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers: 3.34

64. Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder: 3.34

63. Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks: 3.25

62. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs: 3.22

61. Richard Hamilton, Chicago Bulls: 3.08

No. 60 Through No. 51

60. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks: 2.89

59. Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics: 2.89

58. Glen Davis, Orlando Magic: 2.87

57. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics: 2.56

56. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks: 2.55

55. Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers: 2.24

54. Randy Foye, Los Angeles Clippers: 2.12

53. Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies: 1.99

52. Ty Lawson, Denver Nuggets: 1.88

51. Chris Bosh, Miami Heat: 1.67

No. 50 Through No. 41

50. Kirk Hinrich, Atlanta Hawks: 1.58

49. Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia 76ers: 1.57

48. Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers: 1.56

47. Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz: 1.47

46. Brandon Bass, Boston Celtics: 1.45

45. Al Jefferson, Utah Jazz: 1.41

44. Jason Richardson, Orlando Magic: 1.15

43. Luol Deng, Chicago Bulls: 1.15

42. Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks: 1.12

41. Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets: 0.92

No. 40 Through No. 31

40. Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks: 0.91

39. LeBron James, Miami Heat: 0.89

38. Elton Brand, Philadelphia 76ers: 0.87

37. Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat: 0.76

36. Boris Diaw, San Antonio Spurs: 0.63

35. Danilo Gallinari, Denver Nuggets: 0.58

34. Ryan Anderson, Orlando Magic: 0.35

33. David West, Indiana Pacers: 0.27

32. Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz: 0.24

31. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat: 0.15

No. 30 Through No. 21

30. Andre Miller, Denver Nuggets: 0.07

29. Paul George, Indiana Pacers: 0.03

28. Ramon Sessions, Los Angeles Lakers: -0.15

27. Lou Williams, Philadelphia 76ers: -0.25

26. Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks: -0.34

25. Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies: -0.47

24. Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks: -0.48

23. Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic: -0.62

22. Shawn Marion, Dallas Mavericks: -0.88

21. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder: -0.93

20. Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia 76ers: -0.95

Usage Rate: 15.9

Individual Offensive Rating: 98

Team's Offensive Rating: 104.0

Although he boasts the top turnover percentage of all players in the 2012 NBA playoffs, Andre Iguodala has shot the ball horrifically (34.9 percent from the field) and has only dished out 3.3 assists per game, well below his regular-season average. 

Iggy has produced a number of highlights during this postseason, but his offensive contributions have lagged well behind the production of his team.

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: 0.73

19. Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando Magic: -0.98

Usage Rate: 17.5

Individual Offensive Rating: 88

Team's Offensive Rating: 93.6

Unfortunately for Hedo Turkoglu, this has actually been a step in the right direction as his postseason Ball Hog Factor, which still ranks in the bottom 20, is decidedly better than his regular-season mark. 

The masked warrior for the Orlando Magic, Turkoglu hasn't been able to step up in Dwight Howard's absence as he's been remarkably uninvolved in the scoring distribution. His 8.8 points per game are well below his 12.8 points per game during the regular season and trending in the wrong direction.

Couple that with a shooting percentage from the field that's hovering right at basketball's version of the Mendoza line, and it's easy to see why Turkoglu finds himself with a negative Ball Hog Factor. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: -1.17

18. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers: -1.00

Usage Rate: 35.7

Individual Offensive Rating: 104

Team's Offensive Rating: 106.8

It should come as absolutely no surprise that Kobe Bryant becomes a bit more of a ball hog when the stakes are the highest. His playoff Ball Hog Factor of -1.00 is slightly worse than his regular-season mark, which you can see below.

Interestingly enough, Bryant's usage rate of 35.7 in the playoffs is identical to his 35.7 usage rate in the regular season, both of which led the entire NBA. The problem is that while the team's offensive rating has gone up by 0.8 during the more important part of the season, Kobe's has gone down a full point.

The Black Mamba may be leading all postseason players in scoring with his clip of 28.3 per game, but some of those points are coming at a detriment to his team's success because he's knocking down his attempts only 42.6 percent of the time.

Based on the fact that he's ranked as the 18th-biggest ball hog while Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol come in at No. 68 and No. 55, respectively, I'm going to go out on a limb and say he should be getting them a little bit more involved. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: -0.36

17. Avery Bradley, Boston Celtics: -1.03

Usage Rate: 18.0

Individual Offensive Rating: 90

Team's Offensive Rating: 95.7

Avery Bradley has always been considered more of a defensive player than an offensive player, but it might be time for him to start reading the articles written about him so he realizes it and stops shooting so much. 

The young shooting guard has played great defense, as expected, in the postseason, but he's shooting only 37.5 percent from the field. While Bradley's cutting skills off the ball are impressive, the rest of his offensive game is obviously still rounding into form. 

For now, I'd like to see Bradley pass the ball a bit more and up that 0.8 assists-per-game mark while focusing less on doing the scoring by himself. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: -0.18

16. Paul Millsap, Utah Jazz: -1.05

Usage Rate: 21.4

Individual Offensive Rating: 91

Team's Offensive Rating: 95.9

Paul Millsap is traditionally an underrated big man with offensive skills that need to be utilized more, so I'm willing to chalk his postseason Ball Hog Factor up to a combination of small sample size and a cold spell. 

While his Utah Jazz have been getting destroyed by the San Antonio Spurs, Millsap has only connected on 43.2 percent of his shots from the field, a number that is significantly below his regular-season mark of 49.5 percent. 

He also hasn't recorded a single assist up to this point in the playoffs. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: 1.44

15. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder: -1.24

Usage Rate: 31.0

Individual Offensive Rating: 106

Team's Offensive Rating: 110.0

This should come as no surprise, because Russell Westbrook has always been viewed as a bit of a ball hog. He absolutely does possess that infuriating desire to pull up early in the shot clock and shoot a contested two-point jumper instead of initiating a play for his team. 

However, Westbrook's aggression is part of what makes the Thunder go, so until Kevin Durant is willing to complain about it, I'm not going to either. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: -0.59

14. Evan Turner, Philadelphia 76ers: -1.36

Usage Rate: 22.7

Individual Offensive Rating: 98

Team's Offensive Rating: 104

Evan Turner has taken a step in the right direction after a sophomore season filled with ball-hogging, but he still finds himself at No. 14 in these rankings. 

Maybe the days in which Turner was the all-around, do-everything stud at Ohio State are a little bit too fresh in the mind of the 6'7" shooting guard. Turner is averaging 14.0 points per game, but he's doing so on 41.7 percent shooting from the field while turning it over 2.3 times per contest. 

The signs of improvement are clearly there for this young player as he struggles to redeem the high pick that was spent on him, but there's still a long way to go. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: -2.21

13. Steve Blake, Los Angeles Lakers: -1.40

Usage Rate: 11.9

Individual Offensive Rating: 95

Team's Offensive Rating: 106.8

The problem here is that Steve Blake just isn't very good at offense. 

Seriously, that's just about it. 

Blake is making only a third of his shots from the field, and his 11.9 usage rate shows just how involved he is in the offense that the Los Angeles Lakers are running. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: -1.04

12. Shane Battier, Miami Heat: -1.44

Usage Rate: 11.5

Individual Offensive Rating: 96

Team's Offensive Rating: 108.5

Shane Battier normally just stays out of the way on offense, preferring to let Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Mario Chalmers run the show on that end of the court. His usage rate of 10.7 during the regular season was shockingly low. 

The veteran small forward can still drop long-range shots from the corners, but that's about it. During these playoffs, he's tried to do too much and shot only 31.8 percent from the field. 

No matter how you slice it, that's not going to cut it. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: 0.15

11. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs: -1.46

Usage Rate: 24.3

Individual Offensive Rating: 111

Team's Offensive Rating: 117.0

Whether I'm backed up statistically or not, I just feel bad saying anything negative about Tim Duncan. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: -0.76

10. Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies: -1.69

Usage Rate: 22.0

Individual Offensive Rating: 100

Team's Offensive Rating: 107.0

Maybe Blake Griffin is a bit better than we typically consider him on defense, because Zach Randolph has struggled more than he normally does on offense in his first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers. 

Z-Bo has converted only 40.5 percent of his attempts from the field so far and has more turnovers than assists for the Memphis Grizzlies. 

As he plays more games, though, I get the feeling that this problem will correct itself. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: 0.45

9. J.R. Smith, New York Knicks: -1.87

Usage Rate: 24.0

Individual Offensive Rating: 84

Team's Offensive Rating: 91.8

While J.R. Smith has been able to do ridiculous things like this that no human being should be physically able to do, he's also struggled throughout the series with the Miami Heat to the tune of 34.4 percent shooting from the field. 

Smith can get it going, but he's been more cold than hot during the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: -0.09

8. Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers: -1.90

Usage Rate: 28.0

Individual Offensive Rating: 97

Team's Offensive Rating: 103.8

Danny Granger is undoubtedly the best offensive player on the Indiana Pacers, but he's not a superstar, even though that's the role he's been thrust into on this squad. 

During the regular season, with games against the Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors and other bottom feeders of the NBA, that worked. However, in a tough series against the Orlando Magic during the playoffs, it doesn't work quite so well. 

Granger has shot only 41.6 percent from the field and already has an unseemly 14 turnovers during the postseason. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: 1.11

7. Tyson Chandler, New York Knicks: -2.29

Usage Rate: 14.5

Individual Offensive Rating: 76

Team's Offensive Rating: 91.8

Thanks to a league-leading offensive rating of 130 during the regular season, Tyson Chandler's Ball Hog Factor was well into the positive figures. 

However, beleaguered by the flu and a suffocating Miami Heat defense, Chandler's field goal percentage has dropped from 67.9 percent during the regular season to just 42.1 percent during the playoffs. 

Normally, his efficiency from the field made up for his lack of involvement in the New York Knicks offense, but that just hasn't been the case recently.

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: 3.33

6. Devin Harris, Utah Jazz: -2.65

Usage Rate: 22.3

Individual Offensive Rating: 84

Team's Offensive Rating: 95.9

Devin Harris performed well offensively during the regular season, but he's struggled during the postseason, as have so many of the Utah Jazz players. The bigger problem is that he's struggling even more than the rest of his team. 

Harris is shooting 41.9 percent from the field and he has two more turnovers than assists. While that would be okay for Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson, it's not for the player who starts at point guard. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: 1.01

5. Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers: -2.67

Usage Rate: 27.2

Individual Offensive Rating: 96

Team's Offensive Rating: 105.8

For all the grief he gets about his one-dimensional offense (and for the record, he can do more than just dunk), Blake Griffin's still had a positive Ball Hog Factor during the regular season and it wasn't even that close to zero. 

Maybe it's the pressure of the playoffs. Maybe it's the toll of the compressed season and the constant stress that his game puts on his body. Maybe it's the increased defensive attention. 

Whatever it is, Griffin just hasn't been the same player during the postseason. And the problem here really boils down to one thing: way too many turnovers.  

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: 1.20

4. Arron Afflalo, Denver Nuggets: -3.02

Usage Rate: 18.2

Individual Offensive Rating: 88

Team's Offensive Rating: 104.6

Maybe during the playoffs Arron Afflalo should just stick to being the Kobe-stopper on defense and not worry about offense. 

Actually, that's probably one of the main reasons for his putrid offensive output during the postseason. It takes a hell of a lot of energy to even slow down Kobe Bryant, and that doesn't leave a lot of gas in the tank for the other side of the court. 

Something tells me Afflalo would not find himself at No. 4 if the Denver Nuggets were playing a team not called the Los Angeles Lakers. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: 1.30

3. Carlos Boozer, Chicago Bulls: -3.81

Usage Rate: 26.8

Individual Offensive Rating: 85

Team's Offensive Rating: 99.2

Carlos Boozer played just about the right offensive role during the regular season, but he tried to step up a bit too much once Derrick Rose went down with a knee injury in the playoffs. 

While the power forward's 47.5 percent shooting from the field is adequate, he's canceling out all the good he's doing with his scoring by turning the ball over a ridiculous 3.8 times per game. 

For a player who doesn't always have the ball in his hands, that's simply unacceptable. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: 0.14

2. O.J. Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies: -4.14

Usage Rate: 30.2

Individual Offensive Rating: 94

Team's Offensive Rating: 107.7

O.J. Mayo was a ball hog during the regular season and has continued to be during the 2012 NBA playoffs. 

For the second straight postseason, the former USC Trojan has shot below 40 percent from the field, this time 33.3 percent going into Game 4 against the Los Angeles Clippers. 

Mayo also has 10 turnovers and only seven assists, a ratio that is anything but good-looking. There is absolutely no way his play can justify a usage rate on the upper side of 30. 

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: -0.72

1. Vince Carter, Dallas Mavericks: -5.84

Usage Rate: 21.7

Individual Offensive Rating: 76

Team's Offensive Rating: 102.9

Vince Carter has been a ball hog throughout his entire career, but his complete and utter futility during the four-game sweep at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder allowed him to take that to another level. 

Sure, he had one throwback dunk (followed by a bloodcurdling scream) and he didn't show the same sort of indifference we've seen throughout much of his career, but Carter absolutely forgot how to put the ball in the basket. 

How does a formerly great offensive player manage to make just 29.3 percent of his shots from the field? That is not a typo—29.3 percent. 

And the truly sad part is that he didn't ever stop shooting. Carter attempted 10.3 shots per game during the postseason, a mark that was well above his regular-season average.

I'm trying to find a word here that can sum up Carter's offensive performance. Putrid? Despicable? Disgusting? Retirement-worthy?

Help me out here.  

2011-2012 Regular-Season Ball Hog Factor: -0.27