Everything Norman Powell

[ball4life]

Good discussion about potential new PFs (possibly a good new thread idea), but this is the Powell thread...

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[KeonClark]

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[DanH]

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Two, now.

[Barolt]

The only thing that concerns me with the plan of replacing Ross with Powell is that defenses didn't respect Powell's shot at all this season, and Indiana hasn't yet in the playoffs either.

During the season, he shot 23/42(54.8%) on wide open 3s(6+ft seperation). He shot 11/38(28.9%) on open 3s(4-6ft of seperation). 2 for 8 on Tight 3s(2-4ft), and took no 3s with very tight coverage. All of his 3pt attempts in the playoff have been either 'open' or 'wide open'.

So while sample sizes are all tiny with Powell's 3pt shots, it does make me wonder how much his overall percentages would drop if he faced defense like Ross does. Ross took 79 wide open 3s this season, shot 41.8% on those. He took 148 open 3s and shot 39.9% on those. 98 tight 3s, shot 33.7%, and 8 very tight 3s and hit 5.

So with better defensive coverage, the numbers would indicate we're better off with Ross shooting than Powell.

[Puffer]

The only thing that concerns me with the plan of replacing Ross with Powell is that defenses didn't respect Powell's shot at all this season, and Indiana hasn't yet in the playoffs either.

During the season, he shot 23/42(54.8%) on wide open 3s(6+ft seperation). He shot 11/38(28.9%) on open 3s(4-6ft of seperation). 2 for 8 on Tight 3s(2-4ft), and took no 3s with very tight coverage. All of his 3pt attempts in the playoff have been either 'open' or 'wide open'.

So while sample sizes are all tiny with Powell's 3pt shots, it does make me wonder how much his overall percentages would drop if he faced defense like Ross does. Ross took 79 wide open 3s this season, shot 41.8% on those. He took 148 open 3s and shot 39.9% on those. 98 tight 3s, shot 33.7%, and 8 very tight 3s and hit 5.

So with better defensive coverage, the numbers would indicate we're better off with Ross shooting than Powell.

Unless you think that Powell might continue to improve. Was he a 3 pt shooter in college? And is his work ethic better than Ross's? And is he more even temperamentally, so that he can be relied on even if things aren't going his way? And does he complain to the refs and get a stink face every second time he is called for a foul? These questions may be important ones to answer if you are trying to determine how his three point shooting may evolve into his second and third year in the Big Leagues.

[Barolt]

Unless you think that Powell might continue to improve. Was he a 3 pt shooter in college? And is his work ethic better than Ross's? And is he more even temperamentally, so that he can be relied on even if things aren't going his way? And does he complain to the refs and get a stink face every second time he is called for a foul? These questions may be important ones to answer if you are trying to determine how his three point shooting may evolve into his second and third year in the Big Leagues.

Powell was a mediocre 3pt shooter in college. 31.4% for his college career.

Work ethic is one of those things that we can't measure because we aren't inside the team at practices. Any speculation would be purely based on the bias of a poster towards which player they prefer, no matter what anyone here thinks.

Temperament again speaks to bias, largely. I'm not sure what 'stink face' has to do with 3pt shooting, but I'd suspect that you're trying to covertly take shots at Ross here again.

Powell probably will continue to improve, which is great. But right now he's good when wide open, and well below average when guarded. So this is great when he's getting open 3s, but would indicate regression should happen if defenses stop ignoring him.

[DanH]

In any case, a shooter serves one of two purposes. Hit your open shots, or force your man to cover tightly and let the rest of the offence play 4 on 4. Sure, it's nice to be able to hit tough threes. But that's not the shooter's primary function.

And it's not like Powell has a slow release like Scola where no matter how far away the defence is they have time to recover. He gets those open shots up because he'll nail one without hesitation, much like Ross. Also, we don't have any proof that Powell would shoot worse than Ross on contested threes. We just don't have evidence that he'd perform as well. So there's some small risk there. Of course, there are three key aspects of basketball (offence, defence, rebounding) and Powell, to my eye, has already proven more capable in the latter two.

[Barolt]

In any case, a shooter serves one of two purposes. Hit your open shots, or force your man to cover tightly and let the rest of the offence play 4 on 4. Sure, it's nice to be able to hit tough threes. But that's not the shooter's primary function.

And it's not like Powell has a slow release like Scola where no matter how far away the defence is they have time to recover. He gets those open shots up because he'll nail one without hesitation, much like Ross. Also, we don't have any proof that Powell would shoot worse than Ross on contested threes. We just don't have evidence that he'd perform as well. So there's some small risk there. Of course, there are three key aspects of basketball (offence, defence, rebounding) and Powell, to my eye, has already proven more capable in the latter two.

For sure. I wasn't saying Powell's a bad shooter because he can't hit contested ones, I'm just saying that if defenses start to key on his shooting which (so far) they haven't, it might change his effectiveness from outside based on evidence presented.

He's a hard player to evaluate because detailed stats for college are complicated to find, and his NBA career is basically one small sample size problem.

[DanH]

For sure. I wasn't saying Powell's a bad shooter because he can't hit contested ones, I'm just saying that if defenses start to key on his shooting which (so far) they haven't, it might change his effectiveness from outside based on evidence presented.

He's a hard player to evaluate because detailed stats for college are complicated to find, and his NBA career is basically one small sample size problem.

If defences key in on his shooting, mission accomplished. One less help defender on Lowry/DD/JV. That's all you want from a role-playing shooter, that and to punish teams when they leave you open.

[Barolt]

If defences key in on his shooting, mission accomplished. One less help defender on Lowry/DD/JV. That's all you want from a role-playing shooter, that and to punish teams when they leave you open.

I agree with you, but a lot of fans seem to think that for guys like Ross if they don't score it's a bad game. To some extent, a large portion of the fanbase is never going to see the value of space.

It's why Ross/Patterson are in our 3 best lineups from this season, because of that space that becomes so valuable.

[JawsGT]

If Powell continues to shoot well, he will get the respect from defences which will open the floor for ball handlers. Plus, he won't need to shoot contested 3's, as he can attack the basket well on closeouts. Powell has more options at his disposal for these situations. Just needs to shoot well in order to gain that respect from the D.

[Chr1s1anL]

Powell DFG is .286 in the playoffs. This kid is amazing. I can't wait to see how good he gets after spending the summer working out with DD and Lilliard.

[LJ2]

I don't know if his defence will improve working out with those two this summer. But on the other side of the ball yeah it should improve. But his game/role is different from DD or Lillard. I just like the kids toughness and work ethic.

[Chr1s1anL]

I don't know if his defence will improve working out with those two this summer. But on the other side of the ball yeah it should improve. But his game/role is different from DD or Lillard. I just like the kids toughness and work ethic.

Lol yeah. I meant offense. I heard Casey mention he wants him to work on his handle. He wants him to be more of a combo guard than just a SG. Westbrook played a lot of off ball when he first got in the league. Sky is actually the limit for this kid.

[tonious35]

Lol yeah. I meant offense. I heard Casey mention he wants him to work on his handle. He wants him to be more of a combo guard than just a SG. Westbrook played a lot of off ball when he first got in the league. Sky is actually the limit for this kid.

Work Ethic gives you more sky to work with