Is Nene Too Unselfish?

According to his teammates (and some stats), Nene might be that rare case of an NBA player — gasp! — passing the ball a little too much: “Nene’s unselfish,’ Chauncey Billups explained, ‘and it’s a good feature to have, but sometimes it’s to a fault, because you’re like, ‘That guy can’t guard you! Just take him!’ I have to encourage him all the time. He’s getting better at it, though.’ Nene is a puzzle. He is averaging 13.3 points per game and is fifth in the league in shooting percentage (58.1), yet he’s a shoot-second big man (perhaps the first?). But then, there are nights he will be aggressive offensively — only in the first half. Entering tonight’s home game against Houston, Nene is averaging 8.1 points in first halves and 5.2 in second halves … Nuggets coach George Karl called Nene ‘an interesting guy,’ and said Nene cares more about the team operating effectively and efficiently than he cares about scoring — ‘and that’s unusual in our day of studs and stars.”‘