When Kenyon Martin was suspended by the Nuggets in the middle of their first-round playoff series with the Clippers, much was made of the fact that the team had actually done better in the regular season when K-Mart was out of the lineup (19-7) than it had when he played (25-31). As it turns out, a different member of the 2001 All-Rookie team looked even worse from this perspective for the 2005-06 season ... read on to find out who.

In January, I looked at which players seemed to be having the most significant effect on their teams' performance—positively or negatively. It included players who had averaged 25+ minutes in 10+ games and also missed 5+ games. For this latest 2005-06 recap, I ran the same analysis for the entire season. Of course, without considering other factors like opponent strength and other players' participation, it's impossible to make any true statistical inferences.

Expendable Players (2005-06)

Player	Team	Played	Missed	Difference
Mike Miller	Grizzlies	41-32	8-1	(0.327)
Peja Stojakovic	Kings	11-20	33-18	(0.292)
Kenyon Martin	Nuggets	25-31	19-7	(0.284)
P.J. Brown	Hornets	33-42	5-2	(0.274)
Chris Webber	76ers	33-42	5-2	(0.274)
Brevin Knight	Bobcats	19-50	7-6	(0.263)
Jumaine Jones	Bobcats	23-53	3-3	(0.197)
Marquis Daniels	Mavericks	43-19	17-3	(0.156)
Ronald Murray	Sonics	17-31	17-17	(0.146)
Mark Blount	Timberwolves	14-28	19-21	(0.142)

2000-01 Rookie of the Year Mike Miller tops the expendable list with the biggest difference between the Grizzlies' record with and without him in the lineup. As it turns out, Miller has been extremely consistent in this respect. In each of the past 5 years, his team has had a better winning percentage when he didn't play than when did (see table to the right).

Other Notes:

• The 2000-01 rookie class, considered to be one of the weakest in recent history, is well-represented on this list with Miller, Martin, and Mark Blount.
• Peja Stojakovic ranked 2nd primarily because of the Ron Artest-led surge that the Kings enjoyed in the 2nd half of the season. Stojakovic's presence didn't translate to much for the Pacers—they posted .500 records with and without Peja in the lineup.
• Blount and Flip Murray also switched teams at midseason. Blount's relatively poor record with the Timberwovles can be partially explained by the departure of Wally Sczerbiak, who played well during the 1st half of the year. Murray doesn't have that excuse (he was traded for Mike Wilks and cash), which explains why some Seattle fans would create sites like TradeFlipMurray.com.

Indispensable Players (2005-06)

Player	Team	Played	Missed	Difference
Tracy McGrady	Rockets	27-20	7-28	0.374
Andrei Kirilenko	Jazz	38-31	3-10	0.320
Chris Bosh	Raptors	26-44	1-11	0.288
Zach Randolph	Blazers	21-53	0-8	0.284
Shaquille O'Neal	Heat	42-17	10-13	0.277
Jameer Nelson	Magic	31-31	5-15	0.250
Caron Butler	Wizards	40-35	2-5	0.248
Ron Artest	Kings	26-14	18-24	0.221
Yao Ming	Rockets	27-30	7-18	0.194
Allen Iverson	76ers	35-37	3-7	0.186

With 2 Houston stars missing a considerable number of games, the Rockets deserve special analysis (see table to the right). The team played on track for a 56-win season when both players were able to go, but they could only manage 1 win in 9 games when T-Mac and Yao had to sit.

Other Notes:

• None of the top 5 finishers in the MVP voting missed enough games to warrant inclusion in this analysis, although most of them seemed to demonstrate their value. In the games that Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, and Chauncey Billups missed, their teams were a combined 0-7. On the other hand, the Cavaliers were a surprising 3-0 with LeBron James out of the lineup.
• Artest clearly made a big difference for the Kings—enough to get some Sacramento fans thinking about 65 wins next year.
• Zach Randolph missed 8 games for the Blazers as well as team picture day. Unfortunately for the team, it looks like their season would have been even worse without him.
• Washington 3rd banana Caron Butler may have had the most dramatic return from injury in the league this season. The Wizards lost all 5 games that he missed in April (including 2 to lottery teams). Upon his return, they finally clinched a playoff spot and finished the season with 3 straight wins against playoff teams.