LeBron James has a usage rate of 42.9 when he's on the court this season without Kyrie Irving. Irving injured his shoulder on Thursday.

James has a 33.1 usage rate overall.

Russell Westbrook leads the NBA in usage rate at 37.1.

Dean Oliver is one of basketball's pioneers of advanced analytics and participated in a discussion about its place in the game.

Oliver was asked to dispel the myth that "stat guys don't even watch the games."

"A good scout, a good analyst, they go and they watch the game," said Oliver. "Your eyes see the game much better than the numbers. But the numbers see all the games. And that's a big deal....They see all the detail and they really get you a lot of the story....Watching on video and going to games, those add different components to what the numbers can give you....And then there are other things that you have to talk to people about. You have to talk to the coaches."

Oliver currently works for Vivek Ranadive and the Sacramento Kings.

James Harden has become one of the NBA's best players since his trade to the Houston Rockets, but wasn't a clear-cut win at the time for Daryl Morey.

Some believed Harden would not be able to extend his production to superstar minutes when he was 6th Man of the Year with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"The Harden trade was about 60-40 in favor of our side at the time," said Morey. "Even we had doubts. You need to prepare yourself to be ready for those opportunities when they come. It's not like anyone's giving away these good players. You have to maneuver your way into them....The notion that people in analytics don't think talent wins is ludicrous."

The Cleveland Cavaliers' five-man unit of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov and J.R. Smith has been the best in the NBA in terms of net rating at +25.9.

The lineup has played 242 minutes together since Smith and Mozgov were acquired via trade. The unit scores 118.6 points per 100 possessions while allowing just 92.7.

The Golden State Warriors' five-man unit of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Bogut, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes ranks second at +19.6.

The Cavaliers host the Warriors on Thursday.

Tony Parker took his share of the blame for the San Antonio Spurs' recent struggles, which includes a four-game losing streak.

“It’s tough right now," Parker said. "It’s tough. Since I’ve been with the Spurs, I’ve never experienced that in a 3-game, 4-game stretch. We’re not making shots. It starts with me. I’m not making shots. Our 3-point shooters are not making shots, and everything is tough. We just have to stay positive."

Parker believes finding his midrange jumper again is at the core of his offensive struggles.

“That’s the whole key. I had great looks tonight, shots that I always make. That’s why it’s like … it looks good. It feels good when I shot it. But I miss my first 5 or 6 shots, and then you know the defense, waits until I make that shot. Once I make that shot, everything will open up. The last three games, I haven’t been hitting that shot.”

With Derrick Rose undergoing another surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee, Russell Westbrook has been referenced as a reason for optimism.

Westbrook underwent three surgeries following his torn meniscus suffered during the 2013 NBA Playoffs. Westbrook has inarguably been one of the NBA's best players since the third surgery from December of 2013. Westbrook had a PER of 24.6 while playing all 82 games during the 12-13 season.

PER by Month

November 2013: 16.8

December 2013: 24.7

(third surgery)

February 2014: 24.8

March 2014: 30.9

April 2014: 31.3

Playoffs 2014: 28.6

December 2014: 30.0

January 2015: 19.9

February 2015: 35.0

Rose's production has been consistently down from his MVP levels since returning from a torn ACL. 

10-11/14-15

PER: 23.6/15.9

TS%: .550/.496

AST%: 38.6/29.8

FTr: .348/.224

Dunks Per Game: 0.39/0.09

(Westbrook: 0.52 in 12-13/0.77 in 14-15)

The New Orleans Pelicans' odds of reaching the playoffs continue to fade.

General manager Dell Demps sees reaching the playoffs as an important step in the maturation process of a young team.

“We’ve got a group we’re growing together to get better,” Demps said. “The key to our philosophy is to have a core built around Anthony Davis.

“That builds continuity.”

Demps has been reluctant to deal away any core players and has instead worked on shuffling the end of the roster.

Rajon Rondo worked with Holger Geschwindner recently.

Geschwindner is the shot doctor of Dirk Nowitzki and is an official member of the Dallas Mavericks' coaching staff.

“Holger helps everybody,” Rick Carlisle said. “He spent quite a bit of time with him before the [All-Star] break, too. I’m pretty certain that work is going to be a positive thing.

“Holger is a brilliant guy when it comes to shooting. I don’t know if there’s anybody on the whole planet I would recommend more than him.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder aggressively remade their supporting cast via trades this season, acquiring Dion Waiters, Enes Kanter, D.J. Augustin, Kyle Singler and Steve Novak.

Kevin Durant will be a free agent in 2016 and Russell Westbrook follows one year later, but the Thunder front office doesn't operate "like, geez, are these guys gonna leave? Are these guys gonna be happy?," a league source said.

Kendrick Perkins was a beloved teammate the Thunder parted ways with at the deadline.

Mitch Kupchak refuted the notion from Magic Johnson that his authority has been taken away with Jim Buss' ascent in the Los Angeles Lakers' front office.

"I have the same authority that I had with Dr. Buss," said Kupchak.

"Jerry West had the same authority with Dr. Buss and I’ve got that same authority with Jimmy."