When Albert Einstein said that, he wasn’t referring to the raft of numbers, figures and statistics that report, and sometimes distort, modern day sports. But he might have been.

With this in mind, it’s just about mid-point of the NBA season, so it’s time to take a look at the League’s statistical leaders. Sure, these measures of productiveness and performance may not tell us everything, but they talk loud enough and clear enough to make a timely consideration of them worthwhile…

Of course, it should be noted that in the time it’s taken to find, transcribe and contextualise these ‘unofficial’ statistics, they have already become out of date. Typical.

Scoring (min 24 games)

Iverson, Allen 27.1 – Missed 12 games, but still taking , and making, a mountain of shots.
McGrady, Tracy 25.7 – FG% down, but can’t be blame for the Magic’s disappointing season.
Stojakovic, Peja 25.1 – Very quietly carrying the load for the Conference leading Kings.
Garnett, Kevin 24.5 – Always stellar, but this year is the first time the MVP talk is legit.
Davis, Baron 23.6 – Back to 100% fitness after a bumpy 2002/03, and it shows.

Rebounds (min 24 games)

Garnett, Kevin 14.1 – Leading the Battle of the Boards by a suprisingly clear margin.
Wallace, Ben 13.2 – Numbers down on last year, but Offensive Boards are up.
Duncan, Tim 12.9 – Has made the spectacular seem commonplace and routine.
O’Neal, Shaquille 11.6 – Could average 20 rebounds per night if he put his mind to it.
Randolph, Zach 11.2 – The season’s most improved player, but the Blazers can’t win.

Assists (min 24 games)

Kidd, Jason 9.61 – Remains the best pure PG in the game today.
Marbury, Stephon 8.56 – Averaging 10.6 assists since aquired by the Knicks.
Nash, Steve 8.27 – Scoring down but assists up by 1 full dime this season.
Davis, Baron 8.03 – Hornets in good shape with the ball in his hands.
Cassell, Sam 7.49 – Teams are always eerily effective wherever he plays.

FG Pct (min 180 attempts)

Dalembert, Samuel .598 – Philly C producing like the 1st rounder he was back in 2001.
Blount, Mark .586 – Foul-prone and ugly, but he’s the Celts best player above 6’9″.
O’Neal, Shaquille .553 – Utter monster in the paint. Apparently back sometime soon.
Hilario, Nene .549 – Changes his name once a season, but game improving as well.
Brand, Elton .540 – A miracle of nature, simply doesn’t have a weakness.

3 Point PCT (min 48 attempts)

Bell, Raja .507 – Making a name for himself in Jerry Sloan’s outstanding system.
McKie, Aaron .506 – Career 35% three-point shooter having a standout year.
Korver, Kyle .473 – Little known Philly bench part who also thrives on open looks.
Welsch, Jiri Bos .465 – Danny Ainge’s best addition, starting ahead of Ricky Davis.
Peeler, Anthony .462 – Wasn’t actually aware he was still in the league. Sacto.

FT pct (min 72 attempts)

Houston, Allan .923 – On track for back-to-back FT percentrage titles.
Boykins, Earl .917 – A non-pint-sized part of Denver’s impressive season.
Stojakovic, Peja .911 – A career year at the line, in both attempts and accuracy.
Nash, Steve .901 – Obviously no problems keeping the hair out of his eyes .
Cardinal, Brian .893 – Power Forward with soft touch found a home in Oakland.

Steals (min 24 games)

Iverson, Allen 2.63 – May not be 100% fit, but doesn’t shirk the effort on D.
Davis, Baron 2.49 – Simply having an outstanding 2003/04 on both ends.
Artest, Ron 2.08 – Flat out locks people up, but registers stats for it as well.
Kirilenko, Andrei 2.08 – Quick hands and long arms make him a nightmare.
Ginobili, Manu 2.03 – Defends his man and passing lanes with alacrity.

Blocks (min 24 games)

Ratliff, Theo 3.10 – Leading the league again, despite fewer minutes this year.
Wallace, Ben 3.05 – Impressively averages more blocks than personal fouls.
Kirilenko, Andrei 2.84 – First player since Olajuwon in top 5 in steals and blocks
O’Neal, Jermaine 2.72 – Having a terrific season at both ends under his new coach.
Duncan, Tim 2.69 – One of the game’s most accomplished defensive players.

FT Attempts

O’Neal, Shaquille 10.81 – And still he claims he doesn’t get all the calls.
Iverson, Allen 9.26 – So quick, almost impossible to guard without fouling.
Duncan, Tim 8.91 – Instoppable in the low post, but only hitting at 61%.
Bryant, Kobe 8.00 – Now needing another judgement on his physical play.
Maggette, Corey 7.91 – Has always had that extraordinarily explosive first step.

Turnovers

Iverson, Allen 4.74 – Always has the ball in, or just out of, his hands.
Pierce, Paul 4.12 – Also leads the C’s in scoring, rebounds and assists.
James, LeBron 3.87 – Puts up numbers in every single stat column.
Francis, Steve 3.76 – Numbers don’t reflect it, but having a terrific season.
Odom, Lamar 3.37 – Sometimes is too versatile for his own good.

Personal Fouls

Thomas, Kurt 4.10 – Works his tail off nightly against taller, wider opponents.
Voskuhl, Jake 4.08 – Career highs in points, rebounds and minutes this season.
Curry, Eddy 3.84 – Meant to be out of slow and foul-prone development stage.
Hilario, Nene 3.74 – Still in the slow and foul-prone development stage.
Ratliff, Theo 3.53 – Enjoys the physical confrontations in the paint.