I told you I'd shoot! But you didn't believe me! Why didn't you believe me?

- Stinky Wizzleteats

Stinky Wizzleteats is a fictitious character from The Ren & Stimpy Show. He sang the song, "Happy Happy Joy Joy." In it, he echoes the sentiments above. Wizzleteats provided information, and when it actualized, he blames the listener for not heeding his warning.

During the offseason, I fired off some prophetic tweets based on extensive research. They went largely unnoticed. Four weeks into the season, it's time to test their validity.

https://twitter.com/jjcallejr/status/649617339953094657

Drummond converted 38.9 percent of his 4.5 free throws per game last season, but the volume was a circumstance of playing on a bad team. He's attempting 6.1 free throws this season in 35.6 minutes per game and converting at a career-high 43.5 percent, including 12-of-22 in the last six games (54.5 percent). The attempts increase to 7.8 in Pistons' wins. The Pistons are more competitive this season, and Drummond is playing a career-high in minutes. His negative impact in the free-throw percentage is less detrimental this season with the rise in accuracy, which I didn't expect.

https://twitter.com/jjcallejr/status/648510725296640000

As of November 26th, 12 players are averaging at least 36 minutes a night. At this point last season, that number went 11 deep before finalizing at six. James Harden, last season's total minutes leader, leads the league in minutes per game through the first month. The list below denotes those above the aforementioned threshold. Coach Stan Van Gundy's fingerprints are all over this list.

https://twitter.com/jjcallejr/status/647807677230358528

https://twitter.com/jjcallejr/status/647812761410502656

I'm not a soothsayer. I just focus on context. It's been a turbulent first month for last season's Rookie of the Year runner-up.  And by turbulent, I mean Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, and Taj Gibson have exhibited healthy tendencies early on. Ergo, Mirotic ceded touches and playing time.

Last season, Mirotic played most of his minutes with Aaron Brooks, Kirk Hinrich, Butler, and Tony Snell on the court. This year in 336 minutes, Butler (306 minutes), Pau Gasol (257 minutes), and Rose (224 minutes) are the headliners. All four sport of a usage between 22-23 percent when Mirotic plays.

His outside shot belies his reputation as a sharpshooter. The ball, court dimensions, and three-point arc are all different in the NBA compared to international standards. After shooting 31 percent on three-pointers last season, mostly against second units, Mirotic has marginally improved his efficiency to 34 percent this season. He's shooting a combined 21-of-60 on shots after receiving a pass from Rose or Butler.

Aside from his heinous shooting splits, which were to be expected, Mirotic isn't offering blocks at last season's rate, further minimizing his fantasy value. In fact, Mirotic has gone the last nine games (210 minutes) without a block, the longest stretch of his career.

https://twitter.com/jjcallejr/status/647034319941292032

Bosh is averaging 1.1 blocks per game. I was wrong about this. The Heat aren't blitzing pick-and-rolls with Bosh anymore. As a result, he's situated closer to the basket, simultaneously improving his rebounding rate. Coach Spoelstra is doing a fine job staggering their minutes, too. On offense, however, Bosh is shooting 36.6 percent from the field with Hassan Whiteside on the court as opposed to 47 percent with Whiteside on the bench.

https://twitter.com/jjcallejr/status/624598895998300160

The following is what you would have read in August if the O-Rank article I crafted had been published prior to Yahoo! and ESPN updating their rankings.

Two factors played into Noel's rapid improvement last season: switching to center full-time in January and the addition of Ish Smith after the trade deadline. That's not to take away from Noel's innate ability on the defensive end or the Sixers' development staff, but his strides on the offensive end were accentuated by a compatibility with the journeyman point guard. Noel converted 70 percent of his shots on passes from Smith and made 53 percent of his shots when sharing the court with the currently unsigned guard.

Now that Jahlil Okafor is projected to play center, Noel will assume power forward responsibilities. The chart below delineates his stats based on where he started last season. You'll notice his blocks, steals, and field-goal percentage decline when he started at power forward alongside Henry Sims or Furkan Aldemir. That's not to say Noel didn't play center in those games, but a good proportion was spent defending opposing power forwards, moving him further from the basket.

Noel	Games	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Steals	Blocks	Field Goal Percentage
Power Forward	33	31.2	9.4	7.2	1.3	1.4	44.5%
Center	42	30.4	10.4	8.9	2.1	2.3	47.5%

I'm primarily concerned about the loss of Smith and Noel's relocation to power forward. He shot 30 percent from the field on 310 attempts outside the restricted area last season, a zone he'll spend more time this season with Okafor planted around the basket. Noel's in line for plenty of weak side blocks, but I'm not expecting him to breach 2.0 blocks per game if he spends most of his time at power forward. In 482 minutes next to Sims last season, Noel blocked 18 shots, or roughly 1.9 per 100 possessions. Next to Aldemir, in very limited minutes, Noel's blocks per 100 possessions dipped to 1.6, noteworthy because Noel played his final six games of the season as power forward next to Aldemir.

I could never have predicted his rapid decline (1.1 steals, 0.4 blocks, 59.5 opponent field-goal percentage inside the restricted area). Some of that regression can be attributed to lingering wrist and knee issues. Noel has as many blocks (7) in 166 minutes with Jahlil Okafor off the court as he does in 277 minutes when sharing the court with Okafor. For the second straight season, Noel is shooting 62 percent in the restricted area, but his frequency of his shots near the rim has declined significantly due to Okafor's presence. Noel's sore wrists combined with his affinity for launching mid-range jumpers is why he's shooting 40.8 percent from the field the season, five percent drop.

https://twitter.com/jjcallejr/status/619211099213299713

In his career without Andre Drummond on the court, Monroe shot 53 percent from the field. This season, Monroe is shooting 51 percent from the field surrounded by minimal three-point shooting. Outside of five feet, he's made 31 percent of his shots; inside of five feet, Monroe is converting 60 percent of his attempts. The problem is glaring: he's 15-of-39 (39 percent) on hook shots. During his career, Monroe is closer to a 50 percent shooter on hook shots.

Monroe's best statistical improvement has come in the blocks category. After two seasons, mainly as the power forward, of averaging 0.6 blocks per game, Monroe is swatting a career-high 1.1 in 32 minutes per game. Increased blocks don't correlate to better defense; while he has one of the worst vertical leaps I've ever witnessed, being situated around the basket has increased his block opportunities.

https://twitter.com/jjcallejr/status/619548674641784832

Lillard currently has a 31.5 percent usage rate and 41.7 percent field-goal accuracy in 602 minutes. Eerie.

https://twitter.com/jjcallejr/status/617422797636247552

Lillard is copping 1.5 steals per 100 possessions this season, and in coach Stotts' conservative defensive scheme, he leads the Trail Blazers with 1.2 steals per game, which is the same number he recorded last season in two fewer minutes per game. Spooky.

https://twitter.com/jjcallejr/status/617035741638590464

This is the ultimate, I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me. Why didn't you believe me? Markieff is straddling 41 percent shooting from the field and 28 percent on three-pointers. Before Marcus arrived in Phoenix, Markieff was a 40 percent shooter off the bench for the first two years of his career. I think it's as simple as his brother is no longer on the team, and the chemistry they developed growing up made Markieff a better shooter during Marcus' Phoenix sojourn. This season, Markieff is shooting 32 percent outside the restricted area. Nearly a quarter of his possessions are post-ups, but he's recording 0.77 points per possession, ranking him in the bottom third percentile. That's because most of his post-ups devolve into a step-back, fadeaway jumper. Markieff is isolating too often and not relying on his teammates, mainly Brandon Knight, to set him up.

Stats via NBA.com, Basketball-Reference, StatMuse, NBAwowy!, and NBA Savant.